Humans were already dying out by the time the Raithes arrived. They had been pumping greenhouses gases into the atmosphere for hundreds of years, causing the temperature to rise to unprecedented levels. It was more than just uncomfortable – the rising temperatures led to an increase in evaporation, thereby raising the temperature even more. It was a vicious cycle that didn't have an end in sight, so it was almost a miracle that humans had already migrated to cool underground dwellings fifty years before Raithes landed. Humans took advantage of the natural aquifers that had formed underneath Earth's surface over the past centuries, mutating plants and animals to thrive in the darkness. Soon, nature took over and the aquifers became self-sustaining environments, the water replenished by rivers deep within the local mountain ranges.

For a while, the Raithes stayed on the surface, destroying whatever the humans had left behind and consuming the natural resources. They only became a problem once they had sucked up the rest of the oceans, and drained the rivers until they were no more than a steady trickle. Plants that managed to survive the sun's scorching rays were quickly devoured, until the surface was nothing more than a cracked, barren wasteland covered in dust. Then they set their sights on the next most plentiful source of water: blood.

It didn't take long for the Raithes to exhaust the animal populations that remained on the surface, their numbers already suffering from drought and famine. Only humans were left.

Seven-foot humanoid bodies as smooth as glass, with limbs like swords. Our bullets shattered against the large triangular spines that covered their bodies, and we had lost access to large weaponry when we migrated underground. Their obsidian figures loomed over us, our cries and screams bouncing off the cave walls and into oblivion.

People scrambled to escape into the smaller tunnels adjacent to the cave, but few made it out before the nightmarish monsters blocked the exits. Soon the large communal cave we called our home was smeared scarlet with the blood of friends, family... Mom, Dad.

I gasped. They're just... lying there.

Their eyes were wide and unblinking, red rivulets seeping out of their flesh. A Raithe was kneeling above them, and I watched in horror as a snake-like tongue appeared from a small hole on its face. The creature slurped at the blood, the thin appendage turning mahogany red when it came into contact with the bodily fluid. My parents didn't even flinch.

My knees buckled of their own accord, slamming into the rocky floor. My body was paralyzed from the anguish constricting my chest, so much so that I couldn't cry. I couldn't move. It wasn't long until a Raithe approached me, and I could only wait for the final blow.

"Juniper!"

Just before the Raithe's blade-like appendage came raining down, the wind was knocked out of my lungs by a force crashing into my side. Slightly dazed, I hardly felt the water droplet landing on my cheek. I blinked, and my sixteen-year-old sister came into focus, hovering above me.

"Don't you dare," Aurora hissed, eyes aflame – a stark contrast from her water-stained cheeks. I inhaled sharply as the Raithe appeared behind her, and with all my strength I grabbed her shoulders and twisted my body, rolling us out of the way.

A sharp burn seared its way down my thigh, and I instinctively grabbed it to stop the blood flow. I let out a low cry when the nerves sparked with another bout of pain. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw the Raithe raise its arm once more, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aurora reach for me.

"No! Run!" I tried to stand, but agony shot through my leg. I crashed to the ground on my stomach. Seconds later, a weight dropped onto my leg, holding it in place. Something cool and slimy flicked against my flesh. I let out a scream, desperately kicking at it. Aurora made another move towards me, but I fervently shook my head. "Please—"

An earsplitting trill that pierced the air, so high-pitched that it left my ears ringing.

Almost immediately, the weight was lifted off me. I felt my body being dragged along the ground, dirt and grit rubbing into my wound. I lifted my head.

"Aurora, I told you –" I began weakly, tearing my arms from her grip and struggling to stand. She put my arm around her shoulders, but I tried to pull away. "No, you have to go! Leave me—"

She shushed me. "Look." She tightened her grip and jerked her chin in the direction of the small tunnels people had fled through. Despite the two of us standing here like sitting ducks, it took me a moment to realize that we weren't being attacked. It took me another moment to realize that the cave had gone almost completely silent – no more rock hitting rock, or splatter of blood. Just whimpering sobs and groans of agony.

That's when I saw the Raithes gathered in a circle near the entrance to one of the smaller tunnels. Anyone who was still able to move made a break for the exit, but they didn't get far as more Raithes began to pour in. Our tribe of eighty people was halved in the span of twenty minutes, by a mere group of fifteen Raithes. The number of the obsidian monstrosities almost doubled, and for a second, I wondered why they didn't partake in the bloodshed. Though I was grateful they didn't, it still left me questioning if there was more to these creatures than what meets the eye. Did they post guards to catch anyone who tried to escape? Or did they happen to be nearby, and just arrived?

I didn't have much time to ponder it, because seconds later the cave exploded in a series of clicks and whistles. I covered my ears, and I saw Aurora wince from beside me before using her free hand to cover one of her own.

Are they... are they communicating?

The swarming mass of black bodies blocked my view from the center of the circle, but whatever it was, captivated their attention. For the next two minutes, the Raithes continued to vocalize for the next two minutes. My eyes kept straying over to the exit, looking for a chance for Aurora to make a run for it.

To my dismay, two Raithes had stayed behind to guard it. Maybe they do have some sort of intelligence. People hovered near the opening, but whenever someone got too close, a sharp hiss from the Raithe made them flinch back. The Raithes weren't attacking, but they clearly weren't going to let anyone leave either.

Finally, the circle broke apart, and a Raithe emerged from the center. Gingerly held between its two blade-like limbs was one of the cyan crystals that were embedded within the walls of the tunnel system that connected to our cave. The crystals used to be in the main cave too, but most had already been extracted. When the crystals were heated, they gave off an electrical reaction that we used to power the lights that lined the cave, as well as other small electrical appliances.

The Raithe approached the nearest person, a woman with what looked like to be a broken ankle – the skin already beginning to swell and bruise. When she saw the creature approach, she tried to scramble away, but was quickly cut off by another Raithe circling around her.

"No! Please!" she cried, holding her hands out as if that could stop the seven-foot monster in front of her. But instead of attacking, the Raithe thrust its limbs at the woman, stopping right before the sharp appendage touched her. The jerking movement caused the crystal to clatter to the ground, and I watched the Raithe struggle to pick it up again with its pointed arms. After a second, it seemed to get frustrated and instead hit the crystal towards the woman, the rock bouncing off her leg.

Even from here I could see her quivering as she responded. "W-what do you w-want?" she stammered out, bewildered eyes staring at the Raithe. The Raithe let out a whistle, nudging the crystal again. "The crystal? You can have it – you can have all of them! Please... just please let me live," she begged, beginning to break down into sobs.

The pieces began to fall into place when the Raithe pointed at the smaller tunnels attached to the cave – big enough for a human to squeeze through, but much too small for their towering black bodies to fit. The woman was too frantic, and was probably in too much shock, to realize what the Raithe was trying to tell us. Or rather, ask us.

I opened my mouth. "Let us live, and we'll collect the crystals for you."

***

After I struck a deal with the Raithes – the tribe working in exchange for our lives – I became the unspoken leader of our ragtag group. Despite only being nineteen at the time, I managed to round up the survivors with Aurora's help. It was hard to calm their bedraggled nerves when my own heart threatened to jump out of my chest, but I forced myself to stand tall and speak clearly. Logically, I told them that this was the only way to ensure our survival. We had lost contact with other tribes months before the attack, so we had to assume that we were the only ones left. If they chose to leave the tribe, then we couldn't guarantee that they'd keep their lives – not with the Raithes prowling the surface. Aurora also spoke, but a few brave souls still left that day.

The next two years was a period of trial and error. After our injuries healed, the remaining forty of us set out to mine the crystals every day, but it was almost never enough. Three or four Raithes would return each month to collect what we had extracted. If it wasn't up to their standards, they would take a person in addition to the bounty. Or worse - they would slice into them right then and there. The rest of the tribe could only listen to their cries and screams as the Raithes drained them of their blood, unable to take action in fear of inciting more deaths.

Over time, our numbers diminished, which affected the number of crystals we were able to gather. I told the Raithes that they couldn't keep killing people, or we would never gather enough crystals. They didn't react – just took the precious stones and left. With the aquifer getting lower, and the people getting thinner, I was starting to lose hope. I didn't know how to save my tribe.

So it came as a surprise when one day, the Raithes arrived with a delivery.

"Junie, the Raithes are here!" Charlie, a normally chipper and energetic seven-year-old, came sprinting down into the tunnels. His brown eyes were wide, glistening with unshed tears.

"What?!" I exclaimed, dropping my pickaxe. "What do you mean? We should still have another week before they come to pickup the crystals!"

Charlie shook his head. "I don't know, Junie. They just came!" He grabbed my hand, chocolate eyes peering at me. His lip quivered. "I'm scared."

"Hey, hey, it's okay," I said softly, kneeling down. "Nothing's going to happen to you, I promise. I'll take care of it." Charlie was the youngest member of my tribe. He was six when his parents were killed in the initial attack, just like mine were. The entire tribe watched out for him, and he became everyone's little brother. But he seemed to gravitate towards me the most. I was the first person he told when he found his first wiggly tooth, and he chose to sleep next to my sleeping mat at night – even if I had to work that night. He still screamed in his sleep.

I enveloped his small body in my arms, feeling his ribs against my chest. My heart lurched, and I could feel water gathering in my eyes. Can I even keep that promise?

"I'll go with you," Aurora said, startling me out of my thoughts. I stood up, quickly wiping at my eyes to make sure they didn't see the droplets that had formed. Then I shook my head.

"No, stay here with Charlie. Keep him safe." I stared at Aurora, an unspoken message passing between us. Her eyes reflected her concern, but she eventually sighed, extending her hand to the boy.

"Come on Charlie, you can help me fill the buckets with all the crystals on the ground." Charlie walked over to her, and she glanced at me. I gave her a grateful smile before backtracking to the main cave. When I heard a scream, I started sprinting.

Bursting out of the cramped tunnel, the first thing I saw was a Raithe hovering over someone on the ground, its forked tongue flicking back and forth in front of Mark's face. The forty-year-old had his hands in front of his face, his eyes squeezed shut.

"Please, please don't kill me!" he yelled, voice breaking. Everyone else was huddled next to the walls, far from the scene happening in the center of the cave. Nobody could do anything but leak silent tears and tremble against one another. From the looks of it, some people had gone to hide in the smaller tunnels where the Raithes couldn't reach them. But we all knew that you could only hide for so long – each tunnel led to a dead end so that would only postpone the inevitable.

"Hey! It hasn't been a month! We still have until next week!" I shouted, willing my voice not to tremble as I stormed over. My feet were as heavy as lead, my legs as weak as jelly. But I forced myself to press on, closer and closer to the monsters that haunted me every single day.

The Raithe stood to its full height, and Mark quickly scrambled away. The tongue weaved back and forth a couple more times before slithering back into its hole. They're just toying with us.

I pushed the disgusting thought to the back of my mind as I folded my arms, straightening my spine. "What are you doing here?" I demanded. "We have another week." I wanted to puke. I wanted to curl up against the wall, and close my eyes until they left. But I'm the one who dealt with them in the first place, and now it was expected that I would take care of any Raithe problems.

A second Raithe appeared behind the first, and I took an uneasy step back. But then they stepped to the side to reveal a scraggly group of seven or eight people, another Raithe standing behind them. The people were all sweating profusely, some of them swaying back and forth on their feet. Their eyes looked glazed over, and it didn't appear they could fully focus on anything. One of them was hunched over, looking like they were about to hurl at any second.

"Who are they?" I questioned. There are still people out there? At that moment, someone began to fall and instinct drove me forward to catch her around her waist. As I gently sat her down on the ground, one of the Raithes made a clicking noise. The three creatures promptly left, leaving me with the heat-exhausted group. What just happened?

***

It didn't take a genius to figure out that they were just giving us more workers. Giving us more people meant more crystals for them.

A couple days passed, and most of the group had recovered enough to be able to walk around and do some light work around the cave – bringing water up from the aquifer to filter, cooking, mending, etc. We didn't make them work in the mines yet, their health still a little unstable. But after we finished our own work, many of us liked to sit down with the new members as they told us their story. We knew that the Raithes had taken residency in the crumbling remains of a city five miles away – we saw the smooth black curves of their airship landing a little over a year ago. What we didn't know, was that they had been capturing and storing humans in some sort of weird cryo-pods.

"They wiped out most of our clan with the first attack," Lauren said quietly, her eyes downcast. "Then they forced the rest of us to walk to their spaceship, with no food, and no water. We only survived the two-day trip because of whatever liquid came out of that hole in their faces." She shuddered, her hands clenching into fists.

"Liquid?" I murmured, blinking rapidly. I don't remember the Raithes ever secreting liquid from that hole – I just thought it was the place their tongues were.

"Yeah," Kevin piped up. "But I wouldn't exactly call it a liquid. It was more like a gel –very thick and purplish red. Every time someone collapsed or couldn't move, the Raithes would force them to drink it."

Everyone had come from different places, but they each told a similar story. I became more and more unnerved. After arriving at the spaceship, they all said the same thing: the world went dark.

When they finally woke up, they found themselves in on the floor, sopping clothes clinging to their bodies. It took a bit of time for them to be able to stand up, their muscles weak and uncooperative. When they were able to regain some of their bearings, they looked around and saw row after row of tall, jelly-like substances that formed standing cylinders. Inside the jelly were people, and a few other animals.

If that wasn't creepy enough, there were things growing inside of the gel, connected to the people with thin, pale wires. As the Raithes led them through the rows, they recalled some sort of electrical charge sparking through the gel every minute or so. With every pulse sent through the clear cylinders, a flesh-like mass would writhe and twitch, before growing an inch or two.

Lauren said that she saw a chunk of flesh with an eyeball.

"They're... cloning us?" I murmured, feeling my stomach lurch at the mere thought of a writhing mass of skin and bones. "How is that even possible?"

Lauren nodded. "Yeah, it seems like it. Some of the containers only had people – no wires or anything hooked up to them." She tilted her head, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "I don't know how they were doing it, but I know it's powered by this massive generator – and by massive, I mean massive. I was still a little groggy after being woken up, but I remember that as they led us out of their spaceship, we walked past this enormous tube that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. I don't know if you've ever seen their spaceship, but it must've been at least three stories tall."

"A generator?" Aurora piped up, and we all turned to look at her. "What did it look like?"

" I can't believe I'm saying this, but – " Lauren paused, shaking her head. "- the generator was kind of beautiful. I think it was electricity that was running inside the tube, but it made so many colors. The entire tube was glowing – I'd never seen anything like it in my life."

Aurora let out a hum from where she sat cross-legged across from the new members, her expression serious. She started to ask them another question, but my attention was diverted when Charlie walked over, plopping himself in my lap.

"Junie, I'm tired," he yawned, rubbing at his eyes.

"Stop that, you're going to irritate them more," I said, gently pushing his hands away in his face. "Did you finish washing up your dishes?" I asked, giving him a stern look. I loved Charlie to death, but he always tried to get out of doing his chores. But everyone needed to do their part, and Charlie was old enough to have some responsibilities – even if they were just taking care of himself. He needed to know in case something happened.

He nodded. "Of course!" His big brown eyes glanced to the side when I looked at him.

"Charlie," I began, a warning note in my tone.

The seven-year-old sighed, a slight pout on his lips. "No," he said. "There was no more water in the bucket, and I didn't want to go to the aquifer by myself. It's too heavy."

Putting my hands under his armpits, I gently maneuvered him off my lap so I could stand. He followed suit. "Why didn't you tell anyone? You know that everyone would be more than happy to help you," I reminded him, dusting off the back of my pants with my hands.

He shrugged. "I don't know," he mumbled, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. "Everyone looked busy."

I shook my head with a sigh. He's still not comfortable around others, is he? Even though everyone loved him, the overly energetic seven-year-old could be a handful sometimes, and after a long day of work, that's not something that most people wanted to deal with. People had snapped at him on more than one occasion, and although I thought it was a good lesson for him to learn to read social cues, it was different if he was trying to do his part in the tribe. I should have a talk with everyone.

"It's alright. Come on, let's go get the water now." I beckoned him to follow me back to our sleeping mats, where two buckets sat. One was empty and the other was covered with a black cloth. "If you bring the bucket down, I'll bring it back up," I told him.

He nodded, grabbing the empty bucket. I said aloud where we were headed, but Aurora was too engrossed in her conversation with the new members to hear. I shrugged.

Charlie and I walked towards the left side of the cave, where the tunnel connected the main cavern to the aquifer. I had to duck my head slightly as we entered, and Charlie waddled in after me, his little hands gripping the bucket's handle tightly.

We began our descent on the slight incline, a string of lightbulbs guiding our way. I kept one hand against the wall of the tunnel to keep my balance, and the other on Charlie's shoulder to catch him if he slipped. The steps that had been carved into the tunnel floor began to get slick from the moisture in the air as we went deeper in to the tunnel.

The rise in humidity and number of bugs flying into my face told me when we were close to the aquifer. It wasn't long until solid rock gave way to sediments, the gravel crunching beneath my shoes. The tunnel opened up to reveal the dark, glassy surface of the water and all of its rich resources.

We walked towards the large body of water, gingerly stepping around the deep purple ferns and mosses that thrived at the aquifer's lapping edges. Bugs swarmed to and fro, causing small ripples when they landed atop the water's surface. In the fringes of the water's edge, I could see small silver fish swimming as they bit and nibbled at the algae that stretched from the water's edges into its depths. The sound of flapping wings echoed against the cavern walls, the fist-sized bats awakening to catch their evening meal.

I'll admit, the previous generations that had set up the self-sustaining environment around the aquifer did a really good job. Not only had they engineered the plants to survive off the nutritious bat guano that fed the soil, but they also altered the animals to be more efficient at using energy, which eventually allowed them to produce more waste. Of course, the plants fed the insects, and the fish and bats that survived down here did so off the insects and the algae.

I don't know what we would've done without the science of the past.

I watched Charlie roll up his pant legs, wading into the water until it reached his shins. As he swished the bucket across the surface to fill it, I walked over to the right side of the cavern. I knelt down near the wall, noting the dried algae stuck to the vertical surface. The water level's gone down again.

The lights that lined the cavern stopped where the rocky shore met the aquifer's edge, so I couldn't see the far side of the water. I knew a river connected to the underground lake, but the sound of rushing water had significantly diminished in the past few years.

How are we going to get water to the aquifer? At this rate -

A loud splash interrupted my thoughts, and I looked over to see that Charlie had fallen backwards into the water. He stood up, clothes dripping.

"It was too heavy," he whined, pointing to the bucket that floated sideways atop the water. An amused smile worked its way onto my face as I walked back to him.

"That's why I'm here, remember?" I said, stepping into the aquifer and refilling the bucket. I hauled it to shore, and we began to make our way back, the sloshing water making it a little hard to keep balance on the tunnel's incline.

"Do you remember how to filter the water?" I asked when we got back to the main cave, and headed over to our sleeping mats. He nodded.

"Yeah, you have to use the black cloth," he responded, going over to grab it from the other bucket. He undid the string that bound the heavy cloth to the top of the bucket, before retying it around the bucket of water we had just fetched.

"Make sure the string's nice and tight, or the water will escape," I cautioned, nodding in approval as he pulled the ends tighter. I poured the water from one bucket to another, the water going through the heavy fabric. The cloth was made with activated carbon, so most of the dirt and other large particles were caught as the water was transferred. The water was never completely clear, but it was good enough.

I started getting ready for bed as Charlie picked up his pail and set about washing his dishes. "Getting ready" primarily consisted of dusting off the sleeping mats, and organizing tomorrow's duties in my journal. I tried to keep track of everything that needed to get done, and in the morning I would divvy out the chores to the rest of the tribe to ensure that we all had equal responsibility for the wellbeing of the tribe. I think the new members should start mining tomorrow – we still have a deadline to meet.

"Oh, just in time," I said, jotting down that last note as Aurora returned from talking with the new members. She gave me a quizzical look, and I extended the journal out to her. She sat down next to me, grabbing the notebook and starting to look over it.

"I think we should pull six traps tomorrow instead of eight," she murmured, her eyes skimming over the scrawled list. "We've been getting less fish every day, so I think they need time to repopulate. We can compensate by putting out more bat traps tomorrow."

I nodded, realizing that she had a point. Even the fish we were pulling from the traps were smaller than normal, which was probably an effect of overhunting.

"Yeah, good idea," I said, as she handed the journal back to me. I made a few new notes before closing the small notebook. "So," I started, "what else happened in the spaceship?" I noticed that most people had retired to their spots around the cave, the chitchat and murmuring beginning to die down.

"I actually have an idea, and it might sound crazy –"

"Junie, I'm done! Can you tell me a story before bed? Pleeaasee?" Charlie stood in front of me, hands clasped together as he stared at me with his big chocolate eyes.

"Charlie, it's kind of late –"

"Pretty, pretty please! I haven't heard a story in forever!"

"Weren't you tired before? Why don't you just go to—"

"I'm not tired anymore! But I'll be tired after a story, I promise!"

I rubbed a hand down my face. There's no point in arguing with a seven-year-old. I frowned. I'm terrible at telling stories though, I don't even know where to begin.

I turned to my sister. "Hey, Aurora, do you mind telling Charlie a story? We both know I'm awful at it."

She looked at me from where she was laying on her mat, arm half-draped over her eyes. Her mouth was set, exhaustion drawn into her features. She was about to deny my request when Charlie turned his puppy-dog eyes onto her.

"Oh, right! Aurora's the best storyteller! Can you tell me a story, Aurora?" He walked over to her mat, kneeling down beside her and giving her shoulder a gentle shake. Annoyance flashed across her features, and I winced, feeling guilty for asking in the first place. I reached towards Charlie - and was about to tell him never mind, I would tell him a story - when Aurora let out a sigh and slowly pulled herself to a sitting position.

"Alright, squirt, what story do you want to hear?" She patted the space beside her, but Charlie chose to sit in her lap instead.

"Tell me about the lights again!" he said brightly, spreading his arms high and wide.

Aurora blinked. "The lights?"

"Yeah, the ones with the pretty colors!"

Aurora blinked again, before the meaning dawned on her. "Oh, you want me to tell you about the Aurora Borealis?" Charlie nodded vigorously. He loved hearing about a world much better than ours, where people could live outside and where there were no Raithes.

Despite her slightly drooping eyes, I saw a soft smile gently curve Aurora's lips upwards. "So, it all started one day way, way up north..."

I settled back onto the tattered blanket I slept on, listening to Aurora tell her tale. I closed my eyes as I listened to her build a world out of words – a world where trees stood tall, rooted in lush green grass that swayed in a gentle breeze. A world where birds soared through the bright blue sky, and fish ruled vast seas that stretched on indefinitely. A world where two people would meet under the cover of a pitch-black sky, looking towards the heavens above.

Watching, waiting, completely frozen underneath the billions of small white dots that littered the dark blanket covering Earth.

Then, an emerald streak would slice through the darkness, and the two people would smile; this was the moment they were waiting for. Dark juniper green would give way to chartreuse, dancing, jumping, playing in the sky until it met its magenta partner. Together they whirled and spun, meshing with one another to create a unique blend of polar opposites.

The two people mimicked the dance, a symbol of the freedom and happiness that they had in that very moment.

And they would continue to dance despite being out of breath, despite their aching feet, despite the exhaustion that had settled in their cores. They would dance until the lights faded, darkness reigning once again.

I could feel tears gathering behind my closed lids. I was always in awe of the sheer beauty my sister was able to make with simple words and hand gestures. Charlie interrupted her several times to get clarification on what certain words meant and why the people did what they did, but she managed to keep the story flowing and the images clear. Even if the stories were about the same subject, no two were ever the same and it seemed that each version was better than the last.

She was a master storyteller, just like Dad was.

I opened my eyes, wiping away the droplets that had gathered. When I looked over, Aurora was gently laying Charlie down on his own mat, before returning to her own. I smiled at her, but she didn't glance in my direction before she turned over and went to sleep.

She must be really tired – I'll lighten her duties for tomorrow to give her a break.

***

"Hey, Juniper, about last night –" Aurora started, following me around the cave as I informed the tribe members of their responsibilities for the day.

I looked at the journal in my hands. "Mark, you're going to go reset the traps. Six for fish, and eight for bats. After bringing last night's catch to Reed for prep and cooking, head down to the mines for a four hour shift today."

"Juniper –"

"Hold on Aurora, let me finish," I told her as I walked to where the new members had set up their sleeping area. "Hey guys," I greeted, smiling at the eight of them. "Today you're going to be working in the mines. We're grateful that you've been able to help some people around camp the past few days, but I think it's time for you to start doing the grunt work that everyone has to do. Don't worry, each of you only have to work two hours before returning to camp and doing some chores around here." Thankfully, nobody protested. "Just check in with Kimberly when you're ready to start." I pointed at the blonde woman who was situated a few feet away, and she looked up at the sound of her name. She waved at us, already informed that she'll be helping the newbies out.

I started towards the next tribe member, when Aurora grabbed my shoulder. "June!"

I sighed, turning to her. "Can't it wait? We have stuff to do, and the Raithes will be coming soon." I gave her a hard look. "We can't be short this month. I'm tired of losing people."

She met my gaze evenly, throwing up her hands in frustration. "That's what I've been trying to tell you – we're all going to die if we don't do something about the Raithes soon."

I blinked, confusion setting in. "What? What are you talking about? We have a deal –"

"Do you really think they care about our deal?" she said, making air quotes around the last word. "I was talking to the people they dropped off, and they were telling me all about the things they saw as they left the Raithes' spaceship. They told me about the generator, the experiments, and the flight test they saw as they walked to our cave." A pit of dread formed in my stomach at the urgency in Aurora's tone. "June, the Raithes are going to leave, soon. And there's no way they'd let us live –" I grabbed her arm, dragging her over to a secluded spot in a nearby tunnel. We can't alarm the tribe members. She continued without hesitation, "-- not when they've probably killed everyone else on the planet."

"But we have a deal," I declared. "They can't kill us, they need us to mine the crystals!"

She shook her head. "I don't know what kind of crazy technology they have - or if they have other people mining the same crystals - but based on what Lauren told me, they have a ton of crystals already. More than we've ever been able to mine. Not to mention the size – the new people said that some crystals were as big as their heads."

"I don't understand," I mumbled, rubbing at my temple. "If they're going to kill us soon, then why give us more people? Why not just kill us now?"

Aurora shrugged. "I have no idea. My best guess is that they're just trying to get as many crystals as they can before getting rid of us. Besides, even if they don't kill us now, we'll die anyway when the aquifer finally runs out of water."

I paused, inhaling sharply. "You've noticed it," I muttered quietly, warmth flooding my cheeks as my eyes found their way to the ground. Aurora's lips thinned in a sad half-smile as she looked at me.

"Yeah, everyone has. It's pretty hard not to notice the receding shoreline every time you go down there."

I shouldn't have been surprised – but I was hoping that I could find a solution before it became too obvious. "Oh," I murmured.

"But I think I might have a solution to that too." Startled, I looked up at her again, waiting for her to elaborate. She smiled. "Lauren said that they were kept in some sort of jelly-like containers, right?" I nodded. "Well, in order to make the gel, they've got to have some source of water, right?" I nodded again, but slower this time. What is she trying to say?

"Well," she continued. "I have a theory - I think they've been diverting the river that connects to our aquifer. I thought about it, and the water comes from the local mountains – there's no way that it'd ever run out because it constantly rains there. So they must have changed the river's course, or at least most of it because there's still a tiny trickle that leaks into our aquifer. If we get rid of the Raithes, then we won't be in danger of getting killed anymore, and we would get our water back." Her words made sense, but I knew what was coming next, so I decided to put a stop to it.

"No. Don't even say it. We can't even get near the Raithes' spaceship – it's too dangerous! We don't even know how to kill the monsters. We'd be slaughtered in an instant!"

"June, just listen to me! I have a plan, and I think it'll work. I'll get into the spaceship, and then use their own technology against them. If the generator is as big as the new people said, we can blow it up and there's no way the Raithes would survive!"

I shook my head fervently, her plan sounding more ridiculous by the second. "No way in hell are you going to try and sneak into their spaceship. That's a suicide mission! Not to mention the explosion will kill all the people inside the ship too! Plus, how would you even get in undetected?" Her plan was riddled with flaws, but she still had a fire in her eyes.

"Well, they always take someone when we're short on crystals, right? That's how I'll get into the ship." I opened my mouth to speak, but she held up a hand to stop me. "And I figured it out – the liquid that the Raithes made everyone drink must've been some sort of sleeping drug. How else could they get everyone to sleep without resistance, or having to knock them unconscious? The new people don't even remember how or when they fell asleep, and when I looked them over, they didn't have any bumps, or bruises, or scars on their heads," she argued, hand gestures wild. "I could pretend to ingest the liquid –"

"And when you don't go to sleep, they'll kill you," I scoffed, folding my arms. "Aurora, think about this for a second. Do you even hear yourself?"

"Well, if you would let me finish," she ground out, fists forming at her sides. "- then I'd be able to tell you that I'll fake being asleep. They'll put me in those jello-pods, and after they leave I'll make my escape. It seemed like Raithes only came to get the people out of the pods, and it didn't sound like the people were attended to otherwise."

I let out a dry, humorless laugh. "Yeah, because this'll totally work. Oh my god, this is ridiculous! These are all theories – again, we don't know anything about the Raithes and if the new people remembered things correctly."

"Okay, then what do you think we should do oh-wise-one? I guess as the chief of this tribe, you know everything, right?" she sneered, sarcasm dripping from her lips. I narrowed my eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She held up her hands in mock surrender. "Nothing, I'm saying you're right. I'm just your dumb, little, eighteen-year-old sister. It's not like I've been helping you run things around here since we struck a deal with the Raithes two years ago. It's not like I help you organize the day's events, or work some of the longest shifts every single day. Nooo, I'm just like every other tribe member who kiss the ground you walk on because you had the guts to speak to the Raithes the day of the attack." With every word, she got louder and louder, until she was shouting in my face. The bubble of bitterness and irritation had clearly been building for a while, and it had finally popped.

I wanted to shout. I wanted to scream. I wanted her to know and understand my frustration. But instead, I tried my damnedest to keep my composure, if only because I knew the tribe members could hear us at this point.

"Okay, smart-ass," I said, folding my arms. "Let's say you miraculously get into the spaceship and let's say you somehow miraculously manage to blow up the generator. What then? What about all the people inside the ship? What about yourself? You're going to throw your life away like that? You're going to leave me, Charlie, and everyone else that loves you?"

She didn't falter as she met my gaze. "The people inside there are as good as dead anyway. They're either going to sleep forever or get eaten eventually. But if it means that you all get to survive, then yes, I'll gladly throw away my life. Even if I don't succeed, at least I would have tried to do something." She paused, her eyes closing. I was too stunned to say anything, and we were silent for a minute. How could she say these things so easily?

"I can't do this anymore," she whispered, and it was like the fight had suddenly drained out of her. "I can't keep cowering in fear, just waiting for the day I get killed, or waiting for the day we run out of resources. I-I've already lost so much. Mom, Dad, Kai..." she trailed off, teeth aggressively biting into her lower lip. I felt my heart lurch at the name of her departed best friend. He was taken a year ago because we didn't meet the quota. Her eyes slowly opened, wet and glistening as she stared at me. "I've even lost you, June."

I was speechless for a couple seconds as I stared back, watching the emotions flourish through her irises like the dust clouds that bloom when we mine. "Aurora, what do you mean?" I finally murmured. I hesitated, looking down at her hands for a second before enveloping them in my own. "You haven't lost me - I'm right here."

She shook her head, and I felt her hands tremble in mine. "You're physically here, but it's not the same. The moment you started acting like the leader of our tribe, I lost you as my sister. You're so busy taking care of everyone else that you don't even see me anymore. I'm just another worker to help meet the quota. You didn't even see how broken I was after Kai died."

"Of course I knew how sad you were! I tried to comfort you, but you would always push me away! I don't know what it's like to lose a best friend, because you're my best friend, but –"

She cut me off with a dry, mirthless laugh. "And you've just proven my point. Kai wasn't just my best friend," she said, using air quotes to emphasize 'best friend'. "He was my lover, my first love. He was my rock when you weren't there, he comforted me after I watched Mom and Dad get slaughtered. He filled the gap that you and everyone else left, and after he was killed..." she broke off, tears trekking down the smooth expanse of her cheeks. "I can't live this life alone anymore, June. And I kind of get it – you have a responsibility to the tribe. But can you really blame me for missing my big sister?"

My vision was blurry, and I could feel water gathering along my jawline. I didn't even know when I started crying.

"Aurora," I whispered. "I'm so so sorry." I leaned in, pulling her body towards mine as I engulfed her in my arms. I tried to stop my body from shaking, and my voice from quaking, but the sobs tore through me anyway. "I didn't know, I'm so sorry that you've felt this way for so long. I promise, I'll be there from now on, okay? Whenever you need me to talk, I'll be there in an instant." I paused, pulling away slightly so I could grip her shoulders and look into her eyes.

"Just please," I begged, "please promise me that you won't do anything stupid, okay? I can't do this without you."

She gave me a sad, slow smile, but didn't say anything.

***

The Raithes came two days later to pick up the crystals. I could have sworn we had collected more crystals than what we gave them, but nobody could find the missing buckets.

Almost immediately, Aurora volunteered to go. I tried to hold her back. I begged, I screamed, I forbid her to go. I even tried to volunteer in her place. But she said that she wouldn't let anyone else in the tribe die. That it had to be her – I needed to stay here for the tribe's sake.

And then she was gone.

***

The past few nights, I've been sitting outside in the humid air, just waiting for Aurora to return. Praying for some sort of miracle that would bring her back to me.

"Junie, can you tell me a story?" I turned around from where I sat facing the ruined city, to see Charlie emerge from the cave entrance. He was rubbing at his eyes, which were already ringed in red.

"I'm not-" I started automatically, before I felt my throat close up and my eyes start to sting. I forced my lips to curve upwards. "Of course, squirt. What do you want to hear?"

"Can you tell me about the stars? Is Mommy and Daddy up there?" He sat in my lap, pointing up at the dark sky filled with twinkling white dots. Ever since Aurora left, Charlie asked about his parents more frequently.

"Of course," I murmured, wrapping my arms around his small waist. "Every time someone leaves Earth, they go to this new place called Heaven. They live in the sky, and they get everything they could possibly want. They can play all day, and eat more food than you can imagine. They even get to see everyone that left Earth before them – their friends, family..." I struggled to swallow the lump that had formed in my throat. "And they're happy."

"What about the stars?" Charlie asked, resting his head back against my shoulder.

"The stars are the people that live in Heaven – during the day they get to play and sing and dance, but at night, they visit the people who are still on Earth. They watch over them, as bright, sparkly stars so that when people look up at the night sky, they always remember that their loved ones are always with them."

"So Mommy and Daddy are looking at us now?"

I nodded. "Exactly," I said. "They get to see you grow up into a big, strong boy, and –"

I didn't get to finish that sentence as an explosion rocked the Earth. I saw the beam of light first, shooting up from the city five miles away. Then I heard the deep, hollow boom, followed by a slight tremor. I couldn't even move, instead, I instinctively curled my body over Charlie's as a wave of dust soared across the plains and swept against my body.

It couldn't have lasted more than a few seconds, but it seemed like an eternity before the harsh winds stopped slamming against me.

I unfurled my body, giving Charlie a look over. "Are you okay?" I asked, my ears still ringing slightly. His eyes were watery, and he was shaking, but he gave me an unsteady nod.

Then I looked towards the city again, and I let out a gasp.

The beam of light had struck the atmosphere, electricity crackling through the atoms. Above us, an emerald streak sliced through the darkness. I smiled. Dark juniper green made way for chartreuse, dancing, jumping, and playing in the sky until meeting its magenta partner. Together, they whirled and spun, meshing to create a unique blend of polar opposites.

"Juniper! Juniper, the cave is flooding with water!"