A summer breeze kisses my bare chest as I lie on my back on the floor. My clasped hands behind my head are my pillows. It's noon, and nothing I can hear but the sound of silence. Alexandria is now a city of ghosts, which makes me wonder how this night is going to be like. Last night, it was just darkness. Tonight, it will be darkness, black sea and ghosts.

Did I survive because I'm so lucky or so unlucky? I guess the trouble is over for those who were swallowed by the mega tsunami. But damn no! I dismiss the thought from my mind. I wish my family is still alive. They are, I know it. The building we live in is tall and strong enough to stand the monstrous wave. Dad must have realized that he had to hurry with Mom and Mona to the roof. I'm quite sure he did that.

I raise my head, leaning backward on my palms, watching my new companion, Sherif take off his T-shirt. He gently lays Farah, his sleepy daughter, on the floor, rolling his T-shirt below her head.

"Those aliens have played it well." Sherif looks at me. "The EMP was just paving the way to their massive strike. They wanted to make sure that even if there were any survivors, they wouldn't be able to call for help."

He reminds me of Dad's theories about the Invaders. Yes, Dad has been right about them since their first appearance. I'm astonished that I didn't see what Dad had no doubt about. The Invaders didn't travel all that distance across the galaxies just to have a look and say hi. The government should have expected their first attack before its happening. I'm not sure how we could have evaded it, but I guess there are certain measures to protect our electronic stuff from electromagnetic waves.

"But why Alexandria?" I mutter, bracing my knees. "What is so special about us?"

"They didn't bring their huge spaceship only to destroy Alexandria." He smirks. "I think they turned all coastal cities into ugly versions of Venice."

"The coastal cities," I muse. "They won't stop there."

"I hate to say that, but I'm afraid the next wave of alien attacks will target inland cities to finish us off," Sherif puts in.

Or maybe they have attacked those cities already. Currently, we have no idea what the hell is going on in Cairo. Now I realize that the sci-fi movies have cheated the entire humanity for ages. Even in their most pessimistic scenarios, there was always a battle between us —humans—and aliens, and we always won at the end. Even in Independence Day, we found a way to manipulate their defensive shields, right? But look at us today. We are vanquished, and not a single missile or a laser beam is seen. Nobody has warned us from aliens who can make tsunamis—and who knows what's coming next?

There is no battle, and there will be no battle. The war is over before its start.

"So, now what?" I ask.

"We must reach dry land," Sherif suggests, his eyes scanning the roof. "We will use anything possible to make a raft that takes us out of here."

"But you just said that the next wave would—"

"Forget what I said," he interrupts me. "I'm just speculating, but we can never be sure what's really happened. Let's pray the aliens won't like it here, or perhaps they catch cold and die sneezing. Until this happens, we will do what it takes to survive and get help for all other survivors here. Hopefully, our families are among those survivors."

I see little sense in his plan. If we find a way to get our asses out of here, why don't we just go directly to our families and take them out with us?

And a raft? We are stranded on a roof, and he's talking about using anything possible. All I find here is a shovel buried in a pile of cement and those wires where I hung my shirt on one of them.

"How far do you think we are from dry land?" I ask.

"That's a good question." He rises and walks toward the balustrade. "I'm no expert, but I presume the sea will carve its way into the soil until it settles down outside Alexandria by a few kilometers."

From his muscular built, he looks like a Special Forces officer, but now, he talks like a scientist. Not bad for a no-expert.

"A few kilometers?" I echo in doubt. "I thought the sea must have reached the Delta."

"I tell you what, arguing about this is a waste of time. I'll go down now to find some food and water for us." He goes to the roof door.

"Down? Down where?"

"My apartment is in the fourth floor. If we're lucky, the fridge will be intact."

"What about the other apartments? You're not the only resident here, are you?"

"It's a new block as you see. Or it used to be." He smirks. "All the neighbors we have are two families in the first and second floor. The rest of apartments are not yet finished."

All the neighbors he had, he must have meant. May God have mercy upon their souls.

Should I offer to go down instead of him? His daughter will be scared if she wakes up before his return. But I think he's the man for this job. He knows where he is going to search in his flat.

"Keep your eyes on Farah," he demands. "If she gets up for any reason, reassure her that I didn't go anywhere, and I'll be back soon."

"Don't worry." I glance at her, hoping she stays asleep until he comes back. I'm not sure if I can handle a panicking child.

He goes downstairs while I stay on the roof. Minutes pass, but I have no watch to tell how long he has been down there. Feeling worried, I go to the stairway and yell, "Sherif! Can you hear me?" My yell echoes in the stairwell. I repeat my call a few times, but no response.

"I'm here, Ali!" he yells at last. I can hear his panting from here.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he gasps. "But I can't open the door. Something is blocking the way behind it. I'm going to try to enter from the window. The flat above mine is vacant."

"Don't go now! Take your time to catch your breath!"

"Don't worry about me! Just keep an eye on Farah." He points his finger upward at me. "She will be terrified if she finds herself alone."

I return to the rooftop to resume babysitting. The little girl is turning now. Her eyes are wide open when she asks, "Where's Dad?"

"Dad's okay, Farah." I approach her.

"Where's he?" She weeps. Here comes the moment that I've been worried about.

"No, no, no, Farah. Don't cry." Softly I shush her, laying my hands on her shoulders. "Dad won't be happy if you cry. He's just bringing us something to eat."

"This is not true!" She folds her arms, shaking her head. "All shops are closed today!"

"Yeah...you're right." I didn't have the intention to tell her how her father was exactly supposed to get us food, but she leaves me no choice. "He is now in your apartment, and he'll be back here at any second."

"But our apartment is sunken now!" she protests. "How is he going there?"

"Daddy is a good swimmer, right?" I manage a fake smile. "He's an Alexandrian. Don't worry about him."

"I want Dad now!" She sobs, running toward the roof door.

"No, Farah, no!" I catch her with both hands. "It's too dangerous to go there!"

She screams with one word, "Dad!"

"Listen, listen, listen." I lower my voice, trying to calm her down. "I'll go and tell him to come back." I look her in the eye, my hands on her cheeks. "Do you hear me? I will bring him back, okay?"

She nods silently, her eyes teary.

"But promise you won't follow me downstairs," I continue.

She nods again.

"Good girl." I pat her on the shoulder. "Now lay your head on Dad's T-shirt and wait for our return."

"But I don't want to sleep," she protests.

"Don't sleep if you don't want to," I sigh. "Just have some rest until we return, okay?"

I watch her walk reluctantly toward the rolled T-shirt. "Good girl," I note before I hurry downstairs. I'm afraid I'm too late already. No one can hold his breath underwater this long.

Two minutes—maybe less—are all I have to finish my rescue mission. I suck in the deepest breath I can take before I dive into the sunken stairwell. Fortunately, the vacant apartment above Sherif's has no door or windows. I exit the vacant apartment through its balcony and dive downward to Sherif's apartment. Stay calm. I know holding breath underwater is mostly a mental exercise.

Oh God! Here he is!

The fridge is flipped on its side with Sherif's body above it. His open eyes scare the crap out of me. I struggle to keep my composure as I'm about to swallow water. It's my first time to look at a drowned man's face.

I swim toward him and haul his body with me. Why are you doing this? He's dead already, and you're killing yourself.

I believe it's the right thing to do, but I must listen to my mind now. My lungs won't stand more than a few seconds, and I still have a long way to go with this body.

I'm really sorry, Farah. I let Sherif's body go before I rush toward the balcony and rise to the above floor. I see the doorless exit of the vacant apartment, which is just below water surface.

HUH!

I gasp as I surface. I raise myself above the handrail and lie on the steps.

And I burst into tears.

All I've been doing today is failing others. Sherif's death is my fault. Yes, I took part in killing him. I must admit that inwardly I was somehow glad to stay on the roof and let him do the job underwater.

What am I going to tell that little girl waiting for her Dad's return? Recalling how she was alarmed when she didn't find her father next to her, I'm really scared of her reaction toward the news I'm bringing to her.

Wiping my tears with the back of my hand, I go upstairs to the roof. She sprints toward the door as I step in.

"Where's Dad?" she asks, terrified.

"Farah." I take a deep breath when I squat down in front of her. "There's something I have to tell you."