So, this is how the city looked like thousands of years ago.

I rambled in late nights before, but I never saw Alexandria this dark. Even when electricity went off, there was always a fading ray of light coming from somewhere. Sometimes it was the New Bibliotheca Alexandrina(*); lights never went out there. But not this night. This night, darkness reigns over the whole world, even the Bibliotheca has fallen to it.

All men of Alexandria are in the streets now in front of their buildings, gathered around fire. Some of them carry cudgels and metallic chains, staring at me when I pass by them. I can't see their eyes, but I can tell from their dark figures they are looking at me. "You should hurry back home, son," one of them advises me. I want to tell him it's a bad idea to hurry while you can't see what's beneath your feet. I'd stumbled twice before I reached him. As I don't feel like talking at the moment, I just nod.

I remember I read that penguins make long journeys between the ocean and their breeding grounds; journeys that take months on foot. I'm a penguin now, I tell myself, yet my journey is much shorter. As my legs are killing me, I realize I'm not as a strong as a penguin.

At last, I spot my block at the end of my line of sight. I'm the heart of the penguin, I remind myself. The March of Ali is going to end soon.

As I arrive, the scene at our block is not much different from what I saw in my journey. Our neighbors are gathered around a fire they made at the entrance. Each one of them is carrying a weapon; either wooden or metal. All except Dad who carries nothing. Perhaps, he has his pistol strapped to his waist.

"Ali?" Dad called out, his voice betrays his doubt. I'm sure the way I walk makes me look like a zombie.

"Thank God! He's fine!" said Mr. Fekry, our neighbor who lives in the second floor. I recognize other familiar faces, but I don't recall their names. I'm surprised they all know me. I'm received by pats on the shoulder and the head before Dad rescues me from this forest of tangling arms.

"Where were you?" Dad asks me. I know this tone; a mix of worry and rebuke.

"Corniche," I reply. "Near Commander Ibrahim Mosque(**)."

"And my car?" he resumes the interrogation.

"I left it there," I swallow. I'm not sure whether it's nervousness or thirst.

"Oh God!" one of our neighbors exclaims. His name is Sameh, I remember. "Is everything there down like here? The cars and the mobiles and everything?"

"Everything's dead, sir," I reply.

"This is unbelievable!" Mr. Fekry puts his hands on his waist, contemplating the cars that occupy the street. "What happened to these machines?"

"EMP." The thought suddenly crosses my mind. I know he won't understand what I'm talking about. Only a geek, like me, will get it. I read about it before in the Future File series(***).

"What did you just say?" Dad's eyes widened.

It's a waste of time to explain to him. Probably, he will ridicule my source of knowledge if I tell him where I brought that from.

"You mean an electromagnetic pulse, right?" Dad asks. I'm stunned now, nodding with my jaw dropped down.

"You know about it?" I ask.

"Of course, smarty." He smirks. "Did you forget that your father is a retired Navy Commodore? The question is how do you know about such stuff?"

I never thought that Navy guys would know about such stuff. But this is not the only thing that surprises me; it's the look in Dad's eyes. "An EMP," he muses, holding his chin. "We're in real danger if what you say is right, son."

Well, this completes the series of shocking events of today. A date bloop. An EMP. And Dad taking me seriously. A day to be remembered in the history of mankind.

"Let's go upstairs. Your mom's worried sick about you." He grabs a stick from the ground, ignites it with the small fire they made on the sidewalk and walks me inside our building. "We'll be back soon. Excuse us," he tells our neighbors.

Another journey into the darkness to reach our apartment, but it's a much shorter one this time. Thank God, we live in the first floor.

"Can you imagine how grave our situation will be," Dad stops in front of the door of our apartment, looking at me, "if your theory is right?"

I'm still not used to being taken seriously by him. My theory? It seems that Dad can't help thinking of it. "Will be?" I echo cautiously. "Isn't it grave already?"

"This is just the beginning, I believe," he sighs. "Having lost all means of communication, there's no way to know the extent of EMP damage, but I presume the Invaders have hit the entire city at least."

"The Aliens?" I correct him for no reason. "Do you think they are the ones behind this attack?"

"Who else?" Dad simpered. "Don't you find any connection between their presence and the EMP attack? And I thought you were smarter than that!"

Ignoring his remark about my IQ, I say, "They have been there in the sky for ten days. What have they been waiting for, then? Why didn't they attack us from the beginning?"

"I bet their attack checklist includes: studying the battlefield and planning for the attack," Dad replied. "And obviously, they've just started. We're totally isolated now, and we can't ask for help."

"Do you think they're going to send their troops?" I start to imagine the sky full of flying saucers. I should have been careful about what I had wished for.

"God only knows, son." Dad shakes his head. "But I can tell that Alexandria has become a dangerous place to stay in. You must leave—all of you—to Kom Hamada(****) tomorrow."

"We? What about you, Dad?"

"I must stay. I can't leave without finding a way out for the people here. I see panic and chaos coming soon."

You must be kidding me. What way out? What people? Wake up, Dad! No need for heroic stances. You're not in the Navy anymore. You must believe you're now a civilian, just like anybody else in this building. You're not obliged to anybody except your family.

"Dad, you can't—"

"You're not going to tell me what I can do and what I can't," he interrupts, wagging his finger firmly. "I'm not discussing this with you; I'm informing you what's going to happen."

"But why Kom Hamada?" I wonder if there is any reason other than the fact that his parents live there. "Why don't we go to our uncle in Cairo instead?"

"Because, it's big cities what they're going to start with. A small town like Kom Hamada will be a safe place...for the time being." His lips make a firm line.

"Until when, Dad? Won't we restore our life again?"

"I know you're concerned about home, friends, college, but we're on the verge of a new era, Ali. A new era where we're going to forget about our previous, normal lives and become soldiers. Let's hope this era won't stay for long. I'm sure, our armed forces will be mustered soon to fight the Invaders."

I don't want to disappoint him. If half of the crap we knew about aliens from sci-fi books and movies is true, we're screwed.

"Dad, I don't like the idea of splitting ourselves." I shake my head. "Either we stay together, or run away together."

"Listen, Ali." He holds my shoulders, leaning forward toward me. "As a military officer, I can't escape from a battlefield. But as a family man, I must keep you away from danger. Don't underestimate the task I'm assigning to you. I know you're man enough to take the responsibility of ensuring the safety of your mother and sister."

I look him in the eye, speechless. I don't know whether he really means what he says, or he just tells me that to persuade me with his plan. Which brings up the question: "What's the plan?" I ask.

"The plan for what?"

"The plan for leaving the city. Are we going to use a cart for instance?"

"Using a cart is plan B. Where are my keys?"

"The keys." I'm struck by the question. I dig into the pockets of my jeans, but there are no keys. "I forgot them in the car."

"Then, we must get it. You will get it tomorrow morning."

"Alright, but..." I'm confused. "The Civic is dead, like all cars in this city." I'm not sure if I told him already that fact, so I tell him again. Maybe he intends to fix it. But what is he going to do with the keys and not the car itself?

"Yes, I know." He nods. "That's why I'm betting on another car."

No way. "You're not talking about my Fiat." I shake my head.

"No." He chuckles. "Your Fiat is not old enough."

______________________

Glossary:

(*) New Bibliotheca Alexandrina: A major library and cultural center located on the shore of the Mediterranean. It is a commemoration of the Library of Alexandria, one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world before its destruction in AD 391.

(**) Commander Ibrahim Mosque: One of the most renowned mosques in Alexandria. It was built in 1948, in the centennial year of the death of Ibrahim Pasha, the eldest son of Muhammad Ali Pasha.

(***) Future File Series: One of the most popular Sci-Fi novel series that was published in Egypt from 1984 until 2010.

(***) Kom Hamada: A town outside Alexandria.