Chapter 1

Maiya walked up the cracked, weathered, concrete stairs to the 2nd floor of the building that she lived in. Her apartment was on this floor. She stopped in front of the battered door that was the entrance to her home. She fished a worn key out of her pocket and unlocked the door. Inside the apartment the wallpaper was peeling away from the wall. Some areas of the walls had holes in them. The celing had water spots on it. Everytime it rained, her apartment leaked. This was because there was virtually no 3rd floor above her. The building used to be 5 stories tall, but an artillery shell had taken out the top 3 floors. She flopped down on the old ripped couch in the living room and closed her eyes. Darkness overtook her, and she didn't mind this at all. As she lay there she thought of ways to do it. "It" referred to how she was going to end her life. There was jumping from a tall building, though there wern't many of them left. Poison, plenty of that floating around, what with all the military and industrial chemicals. She could drown herself, there was a polluted lake a few miles from her apartment. Her apartment had electricity, nobody had dared to bomb the nuclear power plant, so electrocuding herself was also an option.. But overall she leaned towards the gun in the mouth. She had found an old service revolver with a single bullet in the chamber. Gun barrels were dark and dangerous, much like the world she lived in, had lived in ever since the war had turned bad...

Her stomach growled. She had been out looking for food, without much success. One thing she didn't want to die of was starvation. Too slow and uncomfortable. Food was hard to find unless you knew where to look. She figured she could raid the military base again. The city she lived in housed a military base. Before and during the war it had been one of the most secure bases in the country, but now security was lax, and if you were caught, they either shot you or threw you into a holding cell for a few days. If you wern't caught, you got away with some army MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat). There were a few farms and factories still producing food and items for the military, though it was finished as a fighting force. All the worlds armies no longer resembled fighting forces. Hardly any army soldier had weapons, and even if they did, there was virtually no ammo to go around. Safe to say this ment that if you raided an army base, you had little chance of being shot at. There was still a chance though, but that didn't worry Maiya too much. If they got her in the head then she would be freed from her miserable life. If they got her in a non vital area however, it ment several weeks of being fed in a prison cell while the wound healed.

She decided to go for it. She had gotten caught before and knew the drill. She would be locked up in a cell for a few days, fed during that time, then released, unless they shot her. There was one downside to rading the army base though. She was an attractive 23 year old, redheaded, blue eyed woman, and a magnet for army soldiers, especally drunk ones. There had been a couple times where she had been raped by them after being caught stealing food. She was a pretty good fighter, but it had been 15 against 1 and she couldn't beat them all. So they had their fun with her, she got fed, got released, and went back to her miserable apartment. She got up and left her apartment.

As she headed for the military base, she thought back to the start of this whole mess. She had been only 13 when the war had started. Back then, the city was a much brighter place. Her life had been much brighter too. She had lived in a house with her parents. She was fed every day, she never needed to steal food. They always had money to go to the store and buy food. There were complaints among the adults about the government and "those damn corrupt politicians". She never paid much attention to them. She wasn't into politics. It had turned out however that "those damn corrupt politicians" started the war, and eventually their war came home to bite them in the ass. Back in the first years of the 21st century, there was the mentality in Washington D.C. that The United States of America could do anything to anyone and not have to worry because they were the most powerful country in the world. First they invaded countries in the middle east, then in the far east, then when the USA's allies began to turn on them, the US invaded them too. That started the global war. For the first 3 years after the war had started, it seemed the US was winning, but then the tide began to turn. For all of the USA's technology and knowhow, it was still just one country fighting the whole world. When things started to turn sour, many politicians suggested tapping into the United States nuclear capabilities, but it was all talk. Nobody dared to fire a nuke at anybody for fear of retaliation.

Maiya found a rusty battered bicycle and commendeered it. There were many bicycles laying around the city. Since there was virtually no gasoline, and virtually no car in drivable condition, bicycles had become the preferred way to get around the city. They were easy to fix, required no gasoline, and relatively easy to obtain. People usually found one, rode it to wherever they needed to go, then left it there for the next person to find. The only people who still had cars were either politicians or army soldiers, and they didn't drive them much because of the gasoline shortage. During the war there had been solar and hydrogen powered vehicles but they had all been destroyed. After the army's best weapons and vehicles had been destroyed or used up, and the factories destroyed beyond repair, they started using their second best stuff...then their old antiques...then just about anything that would run or shoot. Near the end of the war they had started commandeering civillian vehicles and weapons. It wasn't long after that, that the mighty United States of America fell, and left a political and economic vacuum that nobody else could fill. Oh the U.S. had fallen all right, but so had every other country. There was no invading army to occupy the U.S. All the countries had exausted their resources. The war ended simply because there wern't enough resources left for it to continue. Nobody had won.

Maiya had a bit of a tough time pedaling the bike. The chain was rusty and was stuck in a high gear. The gear shifter didn't work. She stopped and moved the chain to a lower gear. Pedaling was easier now, though the bike made a sort of a grinding noise as the chain threatened to shift back. Eventually it shifted back to the higher gear, but that was all right now. She had gained some speed and pedaling in the higher gear was easier now. The army base wasn't far from where she lived. Only about a mile and a half or so. A cold gust of wind whipped by her. It was late October or early November. She didn't know the exact date. She did know however that winter was coming. The nights had started getting cold a month or so ago. Another thing she didn't want to die from was freezing to death when Winter came. Her apartment had electricity (which is the main reason she chose to live there), and she had found 3 old space heaters to keep it warm during cold weather. As she rode down the street leading to the base, she saw a group of people. They had a small fire lit and were cooking some sort of dead animal (probably a large rat) over it. She ignored them, and continued pedaling. She would have eaten a rat if she absolutely had to, but not if there were better options.

The base was in sight now. She got off the bike and took a good look at it from inside a bombed out building. Men were guarding the front entrance. Not unusual. She could scale one of the side walls. There were places where the razor wire had fallen down. The base was almost as run down and delapidated as the rest of the city, but for some reason, soldiers still inhabited the place. They had nothing to do, other then go after people who broke into their base. The base, which during the war housed up to 4000 soldiers and their equipment now housed less then 100 soldiers. This small group of soldiers were the remnants of several army divisions. They mostly stayed inside the base, wandering around with nothing to do. Nevertheless, with less then 100 soldiers around, it made breaking into the base pretty easy.

She snuck around to the eastern wall and started to climb up it. There was a gap in the razor wire above her. She climbed up the wall, through the gap, and down the other side. Once she set foot in the ground the game had begun. The objective of the game was to steal as many MRE bags as she could carry, and get away without getting caught. If she succeeded, she won. If she got caught, it was game over and off to a holding cell for the better part of a week, or longer if they wounded her in the leg or something... or maybe she would get lucky and get her head blown off...she wouldn't have to worry about eating anymore in that case... She heard footsteps and quickly hid behind a large chunk of broken concrete. Whoever it was walked by and the footsteps faded away. As soon as she was sure the coast was clear, she headed for the main storage building. This was where the soldiers stored all their food and what little ammunition they had. The door was unlocked. This was good. It saved her from having to get in through a broken window.

Inside there were many crates and boxes. Several small boxes were labled "MRE: Meal Ready to Eat" Bingo! She grabbed one of the boxes and left. She checked around to make sure nobody was around, then she headed for the wall. She would throw the box over the wall, climb up it, come down the other side, retrieve her box and head for home! Suddenly she heard one of the soldiers shouting "GET HER!" She heard running footsteps. They were after her! She ran full speed towards the wall. She was almost there when she felt something hard strike her from behind. She lost her balance and fell. The box partly broke her fall. Hands grabbed her and brought her to her feet. It was game over. The soldiers had caught her...again. She was taken to the detention building and placed in a cell.

The cell was dimly lit. The soldiers had skipped the interrogation session. They knew who she was and what she wanted. The only question was how long would they keep her? Not very long she figured. She'd stay here for a few days. The cell was heated, and she would be fed at least once a day, but if they tried keeping her here for longer then a few days, or they felt like raping her, she'd bust out pretty quick. The cell was in poor shape. There was a reason as to why security was almost nil, and the holding cells were in such poor shape and easy to escape from. It was a game. The soldiers were boerd out of their minds most of the time. They had food, and they knew that others knew they had it. So they spent their time looking for intruders, found them, put them in holding cells. Then they either escaped or were released a few days later so they could try again and the game could go on. It was even rumored they kept a scoreboard for frequent "visitors" to the base. She could picture her name on it "Maiya 8, Soldiers 5" Meaning that out of the 13 or so times she had entered the base, she had been caught 5 times and had escaped with food 8 times. Not a bad score, not bad at all, and escapes from holding cells counted for extra points.

She sat down on the army cot in the cell and closed her eyes. Nothing to do now. When the soldiers came to talk to her, she would probably ask them for something to read to pass the time. They usually had some old newspapers or magazines lying around. She heard a door opening. Yep, somebody was coming to talk to her all right. A man appeared by her cell door. It was Col. Stapleton, a man in his mid forties. Maiya liked him. He was a good natured man. He was more or less the leader of the small group of soldiers that inhabited the base. The soldiers pretty much did as they pleased, but he was the highest ranking officer there. He stood outside the door. "Hello Maiya." he said. "Hey." she said. "So, what brings you to our base this time?" he asked her. "Well, I wanted to see if you guys had redecorated the cellblock yet." she said. They both laughed at that. "So whats up?" she asked him. "Well, Washington's still supplying us with food, as you already know, and a little bit of gasoline every now and then. Pretty much the same ol same ol. How bout you?" he asked. "Apartment leaks when it rains, least it still has electricity. Found another space heater, so it's fairly warm in there at night. Ran out of food hence why I'm here, as you already know." she said. Col. Stapleton chuckled. He had the type of sense of humor that develops when you've realized that you're in a hopeless situation and you decide it's better to poke fun at the situation then worry about it. "Well, at least you'll be warm this winter." he said. She chuckled. She didn't have the heart to tell him that she probably wasn't going to make it through the winter.

Maiya's parents had been among the billions killed during the war. It happened when she was 17. They had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. An air raid had taken their lives. Ever since then, things had gone downhill. She had started thinking about suicide shortly after her parents had died, but it wasn't until just a few months ago that she started to seriously dwell on it. She could feel the moment approaching...She would probably do it before Spring...maybe even before Winter set in.

They talked for a bit more, then he left. Before he left she asked him to bring her something to read. About 15 minutes later a soldier turned up and gave her a few old magazines. She spent an hour or so reading them and re reading them. Some she had read before, some she hadn't. Afterwards she laid down on the army cot and closed her eyes. Nothing to do now but lay back and relax. She imagined her world as it had been before the war, before it had turned bad. This was a favorite pasttime of hers when she was boerd and needed to kill some time...

The sun was shining and a gentle warm breeze was blowing. Maiya, then only 9, was playing in her backyard with Stubby, the family pet. Stubby was a medium sized furball of a mutt. He was named Stubby because his legs were quite short. She was running around, he was chasing her. Even though the dogs legs were short, he could still catch up to her.... Maiya age 12, roughly 14 months before the war had started. The 2008 elections had come and gone, her parents had not voted. They hated the candidates from both parties. Stubby had gotten run over and died at the rather young age of 5. A few months after the elections had passed, she started seeing news articles on the internet about "The need to ppepare for war" "...dangerous hostile countries..." "The need for pre emptive strikes..." etc, but she never paid much attention to them. Things had changed but it wasn't really until she was around 16 that things had started to really change. Her parents and several neighbors were in their living room watching the news as invaders from across the pacific, a mix of many nationalties and races, set foot on American soil. The war hadn't been going that great, but now it had turned bad...

The sound of a door closing jolted Maiya from her light doze. Somebody was walking towards her cell. She sat up to see who it was. It was Sargent Balmer. Unlike Col. Stapleton, Maiya loathed Balmer. He was the leader of a small group of men, no more then 5 or 10. He was also one of the soldiers who had raped her. She tensed up and gave him a death stare. Balmer looked at her. "Hello Maiya. It's been awhile. Come back to give us some more lovin?" he asked her. "Hell no! I never gave you any lovin, you motherfucker!" she said. She stuck her middle finger up at him. He just stood there and smiled. "You gave it to me and you know it, and later tonight, you're gonna give it to me again!" he said. That was Maiyas cue. She needed to escape real soon. "Fuck you!" she shouted. "Fuck me? Nah. I'll fuck YOU...later." he said. He turned and left. She heard his footsteps leaving, then the door opening and shutting. Now was her chance! She had to escape and fast! The base had been constructed back in the mid 20th century, and was showing its age. There were cracks in the concrete that held the window bars in place. She started working on the bars, twisting and pulling on them. At first there was no give to the bars, but as she pulled and twisted and beat on them with her fists, one of the bars started to give a bit. After pushing and pulling on the loose bar she worked it free. She held it in her hands. One bar out of the way. She would need to remove one more bar in order to squeeze through. She started banging away at the concrete with the freed bar. It chipped away fairly easy. Once she had worked the second bar free, she used it to break the window. She crawled through the broken window, careful not to cut herself on the broken glass.

From the prison building to the nearest wall was a fairly short distance. There were guard towers nearby but nobody was in them. She was home free, but she wasn't going to leave empty handed! The sun was setting now but there was still enough daylight to clearly make out the main storage building. Nobody was around so she made a quick dash to the building. She tried the door and found that it was still unlocked. The box that she had tried to steal earlier was sitting on the floor a few feet away from the door. She grabbed it and made a mad dash for the wall. This time nobody saw her. She heaved the box over the wall and heard a thud as it landed on the other side. She started climbing the wall. Up and through the gap in the razor wire then back down the other side.She retrieved the box. There was now a large tear in the cardboard and a couple MRE pouches had spilled out. She gathered the bags and placed them back in the box. She would have to carry it carefully. Cradling the damaged box and its contents, she started heading for home. When she was away from the base and back in the city, she looked for a place to stop and rest. Nobody was around which was good. If people were around they would see her carrying the box, see what was in it, then gang up on her and steal it. It had happened several times before. She found an alley and hid in there. Partly obscured by a dumpster she took out an MRE bag. She was tempted to open it as she was quite hungry by now. But is somebody happened to wander by and see her with food...better to wait until she was home.

It was dark and cold outside by the time she got back to her apartment building. She was tired and hungry. When she got up to the second floor, she saw that there was light seeping through the bottom of her apartment door.. Somebody was in there! She set the box of MRE's down and opened the door. She saw a girl, younger then 20, probably even younger then that sitting on her couch. The startled girl got up. 'What are you doing in my home?!" Mayia asked her. The girl stood there dumbfounded. "Well?" Maiya asked. "I'm- I'm sorry! I didn't know anybody lived here!" the girl said. "Bullshit! I locked this door!" Maiya said. The girl looked quite puzzled. "It wasn't locked when I came here..." she said in a small voice. Maiya stopped to think. She all of a sudden remembered that when she left for the army base she forgot to lock the door. She calmed down a bit. "Well, still, you can tell somebody lives here." she said. "I'm sorry. I just needed someplace to stay. Can I please stay here? It's warm in here, and I'll be gone by tomorrow!" the girl said. Maiya was calmer now. This was just some girl, barely out of her teenage years. Maiya did have a nice setup: Electricity, heat, running water, though she had to boil it before drinking it. This girl seemed all right. She didn't look very threatening. "All right. You can stay the night. But I want you gone by morning, and you sleep on the couch. The bedrooms mine, nobody sleeps in there but me." Maiya said. The girl started to visibly relax. "Thankyou!" she said. Maiya went and picked up the box of MRE's She carried them in and sat them on a battered table in the tiny kitchen. She took another look at the girl. Under the girls baggy clothing, Mayia could see that she was skinny. Not skeletally thin, but she could use a good meal. Maiya let out a sigh and tossed her an MRE bag.

The girl caught it and looked at it with a puzzled expression. "Whats this?" she asked. "Thats an MRE: Meal Ready to Eat. It's army food. Basiclly they contain food in plastic pouches thats already been cooked. Just open it and eat it." Maiya said. She watched as the girl tore the bag open and removed the smaller bags inside that contained the food. Maiya opened an MRE herself, and even though she was hungry herself, she didnt eat nearly as fast as the other girl did. That girl, whoever she was, probably hadn't eaten anything in a long while.

"So, who are you anyway?" Maiya asked her. The girl stopped eating and looked up. "My names Michelle." she said. "Where are you headed Michelle?" Maiya asked. "It's not far from here." she said. "I just need a place to stay until tomorrow. Tomorrow he'll arrive and I'll be getting off this miserable rock!" she said. Maiya looked at the girl a bit akwardly. "Wha? Youre meeting some guy and youre going someplace?" she asked. "Yeah. This is going to sound crazy, but tomorrow an alien is coming to take women back to his home planet. Any woman who wants to go, can." she said. Maiya gave her a startled look, which turned into a look of pity. "Poor girls either crazy, or somebody lied to her." she thought to herself. "I know it sounds nuts, but it's true. If you don't believe me, I don't really care. Lotsa people think I'm crazy." Michelle said. Maiya didn't say anything. Best to leave it be. The girl would be gone by morning... though in the meantime, she would make rather interesting company.

After they were finished eating they both sat at the table. "So, do you know anything about this alien whose supposed to take you away from here?" Maiya asked. "Well, I know he's really an alien. And I know that he's been visiting this planet ever since the war ended." Michelle said. "Really? How do you know that?" Maiya asked. "I was at one of his pick up locations. It was in a warehouse in another city. I believe this pick up location is also a warehouse. Anyway, He gave a speech, thats how I learned he was an alien, then I saw him do some amazing things! Things humans can't do, like levitate objects and such! Then he asked us if we wanted to come with him. I said 'No'. I shoulda said 'Yes'...Before he left he gave the few of us who remained behind directions to find his next pickup place, and the date he would arrive there." She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. Written on it in rather funny handwriting was "4502 Industiral Avenue. Ocean City, October 25th 9 AM" Michelle continued: "It's not too far from here, but since nobody's there now I can't stay there." she said. Maiya examined the note closely. That wasn't normal handwriting. It looked normal from a glance, but it was too perfect. Every single letter and number on the note was perfectly formed, as if a machine had printed it out. She realized that a machine must have printed it out. This was starting to get interesting. Maybe tomorrow she would follow this girl and see what was going on. It would give her something to do anyway.

It was about an hour later. Michelle had fallen asleep on the couch. Maiya went to her bedroom. Her bedroom contained a battered queen sized bed, lumpy but comfortable enough to sleep on, a scratched and scuffed bedside stand with an old lamp sitting on it. And an improvised bookshelf with several old, worn out books stacked on it. It was cold in the room. A small space heater sat on the floor near the door. She turned it on. Lying on the nightside stand next to the base of the lamp, was the old service revolver she had found that had probably belonged to a security guard or police officer. She had found it lying in an alleyway with a single bullet inside it. She told herself that she took it back to her apartment for protection, but the reality was that it was the key to her way out. One bullet was all she needed. She could easily place the gun barrel in her mouth and squeeze the trigger... No need to worry about food anymore afterwards... She stared intently at the gun, finally tearing her eyes away. "Not yet." she whispered to herself. She didn't want the gunshot scaring Michelle, and she was curious as to what was going on. Maiya didn't believe in aliens, but she was curious to see who was pulling off this hoax, and why.