the fall

25 December, 2963

 Safe-zone 48, or Seoul as it used to be known as, was the last remaining human civilization left. Its counterparts all over the world had long since been pulverized and left to rot, their inhabitants all dead, captured or fleeing.

  But not SZ48.

  It was the safest, surrounded on all sides by sky high walls that were always guarded by men armed to the teeth with the latest weapons. Nothing could get them here, and it was with this thought that the citizens of SZ48 allowed themselves to breathe and forget about the terrors outside. It was with this sense of security that they revived, for the first time in decades, the age old tradition of Christmas.

  The spirit of cheer was all around – in the simple but steaming hot feasts set out on tables, in the small but lovingly selected presents being exchanged, in the bright smiles that replaced the haggard and drawn expressions brought on by the war.

  Fairy lights decorated most of the city and laughter filled the air. Children played on the streets, teenagers shared shy kisses and adults gave each other warm greetings and hugs. The atmosphere was joyful and nobody expected anything to change anytime soon.

  But then, the gate that separated their safe world from the one outside started to rise.

  Countless bodies froze and confused whispers took over as the dominant noise.

  Was it an expedition returning late?

  Were there survivors outside?

  Out of all the guesses, not a single one came close to the truth.

  Finally, someone broke apart from the crowd, sprinting to the guard house that controlled the door. It was silent, too silent, and he knew why when he opened the door to find blood splattered walls, broken bodies and a single teenager glowering at him.

  He recognized the teenager instantly as the helpful boy who spent his time doing volunteer work. But he now knew it was all a façade. If it wasn’t obvious from the spent bullets that lay harmlessly at his feet, then it was obvious from the mocking laugh that spilled from his thin lips.

  “You humans are so stupid. A whole group of us hiding among you, and you didn’t even notice!”

--

  Outside, the murmurs had quietened down to restless fidgeting. As time stretched on with no news, the atmosphere thickened with worry and tension. Eyes flickered over to the opened gate, fear mounting at the vulnerability it gave.

  Then, from the bleak darkness outside, they heard them. The growling rumble of huge machines, the snick of weapons powering up, the patter of feet marching towards them.

  It was a moment before it struck them. The Malri had come; SZ48 no longer offered any protection.

  They dispersed, running like frightened rabbits and bumping into one another in their panic. Gifts fell to the ground, toddlers were yanked from their mothers and unlucky souls who tripped got trampled underfoot. But no one paid any heed. They were all too busy in their scramble to find somewhere safe to hide.

  Mere seconds later, the sirens came to life, ripping through the air with their high pitched wails; the perfect symphony to the hundreds of dark shapes that floated through the gate.

  The feeble moans of the wounded and dying soon joined the cacophony, along with the sobs of lost children that got cut short when they wandered too far in the wrong direction.

  She squeezed her eyes shut, hands wrapping tightly around her sister. They were huddled under the table, the food above them lying forgotten and cold. Feeling her sister burying her head in the crook of her neck, she uttered a quick prayer to her late parents to let them survive.

  Just one more lucky streak, please, she thought even as crashes and booms threatened to deafen her. Then, the room darkened even more and she felt her sister stiffen. She turned slowly, almost afraid to look out the window behind.

  Outside, one of the Malri’s enormous machines had paused. The dome on it was opaque, but she knew the Malri inside was gazing in steadily.

  Time seemed to come to a standstill, when the window suddenly exploded, glass shards raining on them. She lurched to her feet, intending to drag her sister to safety.

  But it was too late.

  A smooth black limb reached through the hole, aiming straight for the girls. The metal claw attached to its end closed around the younger girl’s waist, and she felt her sister being ripped from her arms. Nevertheless, she clung on to the screaming girl, determined to free her.

  Or at least, she clung on until a jet of blood red liquid shot out from an unseen pore in the limb, hitting her square in the face and seeming to set her skin on fire. Howling in agony, she released her sister and clawed at her face, horrified to see strands of skin come apart in her hands.

  But the pain did not stop there. It spread, moving like it was alive, leaving behind black patches and melting skin. It seared her wherever it touched, and she wanted to rip off her skin. And so she lay, writhing in agony as she watched the machine continue on its journey, her little sister still clutched in a claw. She reached out a feeble hand, gurgling as the pain overtook her senses.

  She wanted to sleep the pain away.

  And so she did.

--

  At the edge of SZ48, a squat grey building sat, a monster compared to the other buildings. Usually, it was quiet and contained, but not today. As the sirens blared on, thick steel doors rolled open to reveal rows of glowing eyes and glinting metal limbs.

  The cyborgs moved swiftly in neat formations, eyes locked on the gate at the other end of the city. Their goal: Get rid of all undesirable creatures. They ducked and weaved around both obstacles and humans as they crossed in opposite directions. Towards what the humans were fleeing from.

  It was only a matter of minutes before they clashed with the first of the Malri. Weapon against weapon, the cyborgs held their own at first.

  But there were just too many of them. For every Malri that fell to the ground defeated, ten more replaced it, and soon the cyborgs were overwhelmed. They fought hard, but they were being pushed back, with fewer numbers standing each minute.

  In the rest of the city, humans shivered in cramped spaces, their breaths held as they listened to the fight between alien and machine. Many of them prayed, many of them cried, but when silence reigned after a particularly loud screech as metal was ripped from its socket, not a single soul could deny that their last line of defense had fallen.

  And with nowhere else to run, the humans waited like sitting ducks, whispering last words to loved ones, sharing their last intimate moments, steeling themselves for their fate.

  Their peaceful illusion had been shattered, horror spilling in. And as the Malri started to spread out through the city like water flowing through cracks, the gruesome music of gore and violence grew to its crescendo.

--

  With the glow of the rising sun returned the endless cycle of the world. The sound of birds chirping echoed through the empty streets, the sniffling of stray dogs as they nosed around the multiple corpses, the crack of metal and bones as animals passed over bodies.

  It was peaceful and quiet. The Malri had long since finished their business and gone, leaving behind buildings filled with bodies, but empty of any soul and emotion. Fires still burned in some places and blood still dripped. But it was silent, devoid of the civilization it once held and protected.

  Time had come to a standstill in Safe-zone 48.

  A gentle breeze blew, carrying with it the tattered remains of a faded red flag. A once great flag that represented the power of humanity, now reduced to shredded ribbons.

  Just like the flag, the great power that was humanity was now gone.

  Humanity had finally bowed its head to the Malri.

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