The escape

30 January, 2256

   They were coming.

  She could see it in her mother’s frantic actions as she rushed around the house, grabbing various items and stuffing them into the backpacks by the door.

  She could feel it in the barely noticeable vibrations of the ground as their strange vehicles thundered towards them.

  Gazing out the window, she was reminded of how much she would miss this place. She had grown up here, and her whole life, this neighborhood had always been full of life and laughter.

  Now, the streets remained deserted, and not a single soul was in sight. Everyone had evacuated ages ago, and they were the only ones left in this part of town, for their mother had insisted on waiting in the hopes that their father would return from wherever he had disappeared to.

  But they had run out of time. They could not stay any longer, not when the Malri were just several streets away.

  “Stop daydreaming and hurry up!” Her mother’s anxious voice snapped her out of her stupor. She was already waiting outside with a large backpack and a giggling toddler on her hip.

  “Hurry up,” she repeated, turning away to waddle down the street, obviously burdened by her load.

  Running after her mother, she paused to scoop up her own backpack from the floor before looking around the living room one last time. She was really going to miss her old life.

  Stepping out, she quickly twisted the key to lock the door. There was no point in doing so, she knew, for there was no one to left to break in, but the reality had not sunk in yet, and it would have felt weird to just leave the door unlocked.

  Jogging to catch up with her mother, who had turned back to sign in frustration at her dilly dallying daughter, she looked at the new world around her.

  It looked so different now.

  Several weeks ago, the sky had been blue and the air filled with the sounds of society interacting with each other.

  Now, the sky seemed to be permanently grey with smoke and dust from destroyed buildings. It was so quiet: the only sounds were the occasional gunshots or scream, and the ever present rushing of the city’s residents to get away from the constant presence of the Malri.

  It’s like a ghost town, she thought as she followed her mother towards the downtown area, where the only clear route out of the city was.

  They passed countless gloomy streets and empty buildings, and soon she started to feel exhaustion spreading through her body.

  She wanted nothing more than to rest, but each time she brought up the subject, it was shot down by her mother.

  Eventually though, they had to stop for a rest. With sweat streaming down their faces and soaking their clothes, they squatted in the doorway of a convenience store. They could not stay long. Just five minutes and they had to be off again.

  Three minutes into their break, the youngest of them decided to run off. To her, this must have seemed like adventure, and she itched to explore rather than stay in her mother’s arms. With a sigh, her sister got up reluctantly and trudged after her, mentally cursing her sibling to hell and beyond. She finally caught up to the toddler at a playground, and was about to go retrieve her when she was knocked over by a sudden shaking of the ground. It was exactly like the ones she felt back at home, only a thousand times more powerful. 

  And she knew all too well the cause of it.

  With her fear returned her energy and she raced forward, grabbing her sister’s wrist and forcibly dragging the screaming girl behind her as she ran.

  Someone was shrieking in the distance, and with a jolt, she realized it was herself. Incoherent nonsense tumbled out of as tried to warn her mother, urge her sister on, and scream in fear all at the same time.

  She could see her mother now, in the middle of the empty street, waving her arms. She barreled towards her, ing her crying sister into her mother’s comforting embrace.

  They ran on, spurred by newfound energy and speed. Just as they turned a corner, she chanced a look at what they were fleeing from.

  Huge was the only word to describe it. Squarish and easily several times bigger than the average bus, it towered over all the buildings. Blinding sunlight glinted off its shiny black surface as its large tires churned laboriously, crushing anything that got in its way. Giant, sharp pincers floated alongside it, attached to the main contraption by several thick wires, and on top, an opaque dome sat, shielding the Malri within it from view.

  They had been running for forever, the machine always several minutes behind them. Adrenaline was soon giving way to aching muscles, and they knew they could not continue for much longer.

  They were now in another residential district, though this one screamed ‘wealth’ with the large swimming pools and garages.

  Suddenly, they heard another roar. Not one belonging to The Malri, but of a regular car coming to life. And it was coming from the half opened garage next to them. She watched as a bright red van nosed out, packed to the brim with frightened people.

  How lucky. They don’t have to run, she thought as she willed her legs to stop shaking and threatening to give way.

  Halfway down the street, she absently mindedly realized that her mother was not beside her anymore. She slowed to a stop, looking behind to where her mother stood in the front of the garage, arms spread wide and an expression of grim determination on her face.

  The driver of the car blared his horn, impatiently motioning for her to get out of the way. When her mother made no move to do so, he rolled down his window, giving her a glare that would make babies cry. “What are you doing? Move or we’ll all die!”

  She saw her mother say something to him, but from where she stood, she could not hear anything. Quietly, she inched closer.

  The driver shook his head, barking out an angry reply that sent spittle flying. Nevertheless, he mother still stood calmly, snapping out her own reply to him.

  This exchange went back and forth, until her mother sank to her knees and whispered something. By now, she was close enough to hear and could make out her mother’s plea of, “Please they’re just kids.”

  Her words must have worked, as the driver finally nodded, gesturing something to his family behind. The door popped open, and before she could say anything, her mother had grabbed her and shoved her inside, throwing her sister into her lap.

  She was squashed up against a fat lady with terrible body odor, but she could not care less as her mother gave her a quick hug and murmured in her ear, “Take care of your sister, okay?”

  She watched dumbly as her mother closed the door, the realization slowly sinking in.

  “Mum! No!” She cried, beating her fists against the door as the car started to pull away. The car slowly picked up speed, heading for the exit, and she twisted to hysterically scream for her mother.

  Outside, her mother ran alongside the car, tears falling, before she fell behind, watching her daughters disappear around the bend. The rumbling was deafening now, and she bravely turned to face the giant monster that was working its way towards her.

--

  The tears only came when they were out of the city, out of the Malri’s grasp for now. They fell for so long that she wondered where her body was getting all this liquid to cry out, and try as she might, she could not get them to stop.

  On her lap, her sister was cooing at something she saw outside when she felt a cool droplet splash onto her head. Puzzled, she gripped her sister’s cheeks between her chubby hands.

  “Don’t cry. We’ll see Mama there.”

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