The beginning

3 October, 2078

  It started when the Sun disappeared.

  “Oh no! Someone has been sleeping in my bed!”

  The dramatically surprised voice filled the room as the group of children giggled brightly. It was quiet, save for the teacher’s voice and the occasional fidgety laughter.

  Suddenly, a rosy-cheeked boy near the window pointed outside, leaping up in excitement, “Look!”

  Kids being kids, most of the class erupted into murmurs at this. One by one, they got up and started to push their way to the window, only to fall silent, eyes widening and jaws dropping at the sight before them.

  “What is it?” the teacher asked in slight annoyance as she set the book down and rose from her seat. Gently nudging her students aside, she stepped to the window, fully expecting to see something ridiculous, something that only children would find fascinating. Instead, what she saw made her freeze, mouth opening and closing like a fish as she tried to reason the view outside.

  Outside, it was quickly becoming dark as night despite it being only 10am. The reason for this? The millions, no billions, of dark shapes bearing down in neat, orderly formations. They were triangular in shape, each as black as onyx.

  Packed closely together, the large numbers they arrived in was enough to color the sky black, blocking the sun and the clouds from view. Occasionally, one of these objects would veer away from the main group and head downwards towards the ground.

  It was one of these that had captured the class’ attention. It dropped though the air, so slowly that it appeared to be floating. Smoothly and silently, it touched down in the middle of the playground, narrowly avoiding another cluster of children who had paused their game of football.

  Lines started to form in the gleaming surface of the object, spreading into a square that fell open into a ramp, revealing the humanoid creatures that stood within.

  For several minutes, the area was deathly silent, children and strangers staring at and observing each other. Then, someone began to wail, a pitiful sound crying for her mother.

  It was like the sobs had broken a spell. The creatures emerged from their machine, quiet as ghosts. They looked and moved exactly like humans, but something in the air around them said otherwise.

  The one in front, good-looking by human standards, glided to a stop in front of the sniffling child. It tilted its head, kneeling as if to comfort. And then it was lifting a hand, a shiny object clutched in it. A bright green beam flashed, and then silence again.

  The child gasped at the creature, shocked into silence, before she fell backwards, a single trickle of blood flowing from the neat, round hole still steaming in her forehead.

  The creature stood up slowly, turning to seemingly stare right into the classroom window. Its eyes were pitch black, a dark hole that glinted menacingly.

  The class burst into terrified screams, but amidst the chaos, the teacher still stood frozen, unable to tear her eyes away.

  She saw its mouth move, and although it should have been impossible to hear anything over her students’ panic, she heard its voice as clear as the day.

  “This planet is now the property of the Malri.”

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