Creative writing challenge!!! Something a little bit different.

It was when we had run out of hope, our world was dying , limping on only through the strength of the human spirit. Our earth so ravaged by the way we had mistreated and stripped her to her naked flesh. We had only ourselves to blame for the demise of our species and as numbers fell due to starvation, illness, and heartbreak, we really did not think we had any hope left.

That’s when they came.

Long ago we had found another planet so like ours yet so far away that we could only speculate that it had inhabitants like earth. We were light years away from being able to make contact. We had been excited like children on Christmas morning, it had played on every news channel worldwide. That was then before things took a turn, our futuristic lifestyle was our undoing. We turned on one another, no one could have predicted the when or why, weapons against weapon. Human against human and the only result was devastation for mankind across the globe. We had been foolish in our thinking, that in creating our tools of mass destruction we had somehow created a defense on them being used against one another. They always said the war would only last two button pushes as both sides launched a nuclear attack and then we would all be doomed. It had been true to an extent, except only the lucky ones actually perished. The war lasted less than a week. Those of us who were left were surviving in any way we knew how and gathering across our ravished cities and countries to find other living souls.

The first of their ships appeared like a black scar across the already foggy dull sky, we had not seen the sun in weeks, blanketed out by the heavy smog of death. Those of us who had managed to obtain breathing masks were outside , looking and scavenging for anything we could use. So many dead lay marred around us that we had stopped even seeing them. The appearance of that huge dark vessel was enough to make us all forget for a moment where we stood and in what state we were. Fear overtook all of us.

As the days past and what was left of our governments tried to reunite it became clear that our visitors were not here as a threat, not then anyway. They came among us so effortlessly with aid and hope that soon we no longer saw them as some sort of alien invasion. They were the saviors we had been looking for, praying for.

They looked like us in a way, they were human…..almost. Everyone, man and woman a perfect specimen of strength and vitality. Perfect flawless physique and looks, a higher species than us. They all averaged a height of six feet or more, all the men wide and sinister with ripped muscles and set jaws. The woman beautiful yet equally physically perfect. They wore black and blue clothes made of futuristic fabrics, I had never seen anything quite like it, they matched their dark aura’s, sculpted clothing and naked arms displaying an array of marks and symbols littering the skin. So many of them had the same dark blue markings almost like tattoo’s and some , those who seemed to be in command were covered right up to their necks and up one side of there heads with these lines, dashes and equations. Before long we realized those with the most were high in command, these markings seemed to be how they carried the ranking they had achieved. They were a team with military precision, blank expressions, and harsh unflappable tones, yet every one of them had something that made them stand even more apart from us than anything. They had eyes that changed colour at will, bright almost neon to glowing or metallic, whatever they chose was reflected in those eyes and it instilled a fear in us like no other. They had strength, speed and powers too, we saw it from day one, like some sort of mutant from a Hollywood movie. With all the grace of a cheetah they could move through the shadows in a blink, they could pick up cars from the road as though they were weightless. They could use their minds to carry out tasks, move things and bend our wills, I had seen it. In the camps they set up for us we had been herded like sheep, taken and controlled by these outsiders and made to assemble like prisoners of war to be fed like animals.

Our governments seemed to relinquish all control to the visitors, relying on them to start putting our planet back together. They brought machines and glowing orbs which roamed the ground looking for sparks of life to harness and rear back to something that once was. They used the humans to clear the bodies of our fallen and incinerate them in the vast open furnaces that had landed on our planet after they did. They were like a super human clean up crew and despite seeming like they meant us no harm every single human left on the planet was deathly afraid of them.

They didn’t talk to us directly unless they needed too, eyes an almost neon blue would watch us closely , command and guide, they seemed emotionless and both men and women served to be our captors. They didn’t initiate friendships with us, any form of affection was devoid in all interactions, it was as though they had deemed themselves our superiors. In a way we were, they had advances in technology and intelligence, bodies more powerful and minds able to do things that humans could not begin to fathom. They were an intimidating species.

‘Cara? Here are the things you asked for’ the tired voice of Michelle made me look up as she brought me the flour and egg substitutes needed to make bread for the meal tonight.

‘Thank you’ I smile at her brightly, aware that even though I had been in this camp with her for weeks on end we had never really spoken much. I guess everyone was just so afraid of making bonds anymore , after so many deaths ripping our hearts apart, we all tried to stay impassive with one another.

‘I think something is happening at the west side’ she whispers almost fearfully and looks around incase the walls had in fact grown ears.

‘why? What makes you think that?’ I look up with a frown, the visitors didn’t ever tell us anything and after dark we were confined to our camps under guard. They seemed to never sleep and with nocturnal eyes would often be seen walking the perimeters with that sinister shine of creatures in the night. They did not trust us anymore than we trusted them.

‘There seems to be a new ship, smaller and a lot of them arriving just beyond the lines, I saw them all get on those flying bike things they use and head west.’ I rub the back of my flour-covered hand across my forehead to push the sweat of exertion away and throw her a cautious look

‘I gave up wondering what it is they do Michelle, I’m just thankful they feed us and clothe us and give us tasks to help get our planet back on track’ it was true, I had no wish to become embroiled in conspiracy theories or whispers about them. Although they had never harmed us there was always that looming atmosphere that they could turn easily. That lack of human emotion in empty eyes that never made a connection with any of us. We were like pet rats to them, amusing only if we did not bite the hand that fed us.

‘You’ the deep husky voice of command startled us and I spun to see the familiar centurion of our own camp area, he was pointing at me with a blank expression and flat tone.

‘yes?’ I gulped, reacting in the same fearful way I always did.

‘You are the one who makes the bread for your people?’ he demands coldly, icy luminous blue eyes piercing into me

‘Yes I am’ my voice is shaking, I had been given the task as baker among this division as I had been the only one capable among the women to bake from scratch. A skill that seemed lost in the generations.

‘Then come with me…. you have been requested’ he turns and moves off expecting me to immediately follow. I quickly clap the flour from my hands, dropping the dough into the bowl and scurry after him, we all knew to never make them wait. His huge form in front of me took easy strides that were hard to keep up with and he never looked back once. I knew he could sense my every movement in that eery way they had. They seemed able to anticipate everything we did. He leads me to another division where another camp of survivors are kept together, this was one of their rules. We had been separated into manageable sized groups, they never explained to us why but we knew it was a tactical manoeuvre. Keeping our numbers small so we could never pose a threat.