This is for contests-galore009's Contest 1.

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*Picture of Amber*

I had always hated birds. They were just...creepy. Even before it happened, I would always feel a slight chill roll down my spine every time I heard the chirping of a little avian beast.

There was always something off about birds, something that didn't seem quite right. Maybe it was the way they eagerly flocked together, far away from the rest of the world, as if they knew something we didn't. Or perhaps it was their extremely territorial habits, some species guarding their own with their lives. Whatever it was, I always knew the vile little creatures had a secret, and six months ago, my suspicions were confirmed. It was the day we would never forget, the day the Ravens came.

I was on the bus, on my way home from school, when I saw my first Raven. No, not a raven. A Raven. There is a very big difference, a difference that, in my world, could mean the difference between life and death.

Looking outside, I noticed a gigantic raven circling directly in front of the window. As usual, I turned away in disgust at the sound of the bird's dreadful screech. Usually, crows and ravens let out a couple of strident cries and flew off, but this one wouldn't stop. It continued to shriek over and over again, following the bus. The sound was louder and more piercing than usual, pounding into my eardrums and sending reverberations through my skull.

Finally, with one final, terrifying shout, the bird began to grow. I stared, both transfixed and repulsed as it began to enlarge itself, taking on human features. When the transformation was complete, it was a mostly humanoid creature standing about six feet tall, with cold, blue eyes, retractable talons, and long black wings that it could fold into its back to appear human if it wanted to. It was no longer a raven. It had become a Raven.

It raised its hands and deadly talons emerged from the tips of its fingers. With a grunt, it swung one hang at the bus, smashing a window. Kids screamed, pushing past the bus driver who had just fainted and running out of the bus. Unfortunately, I was near the back, and I was still nowhere close to the front of the overcrowded school bus when the Raven approached a window, opening its mouth wide, like it was preparing to scream.

"Don't listen to it!" I felt large, strong hands clamp down on my ears as the Raven wailed. It was the most torturous, agonized sound I had ever heard, and I was sure it would return to haunt me in my dreams. My ears, head, and spine throbbed as I buried my head in my older brother's shoulder in an unsuccessful attempt to keep out the terrible noise.

*Picture of Dylan, Amber's brother*

"Okay, Amber, it's over," my brother released his grip from my ears and handed me a pair of tiny, black earplugs.

"Put these in and don't take them off under any circumstances," he warned as I shoved them into my ears. "You've heard what a Raven's Scream sounds like, and that was with me covering your ears. If I had gotten there a second later...well, if you were lucky, you would've instantly gone deaf."

"What if I was unlucky?" I asked.

"Don't ask."

"What even are those things?" I scrunched my nose up in disgust as Dylan led me out of the bus and through a back alley to avoid more Ravens that marched through the streets, letting out deadly Screams, which were thankfully much less jarring with the special earplugs.

"They're called Ravens," my brother sighed. "They're aliens. About ten years ago, a terrible disaster destroyed their planet. Now, they want ours. Here, take this," he handed me a small gun edged with glowing blue crystals. "Regular weapons can't penetrate the Ravens' thick feathers, so these laser guns are the only things you'll be able to use against them."

"Wait, slow down, these Ravens are-"

"No time!" Dylan yelled, raising his laser gun and shooting a Raven that was raising its head, ready to Scream.

"How do you know all this stuff anyway?" I asked, still curious, as Dylan and I ducked into a back alley to avoid the Screaming Ravens.

"The Ravens have been here for almost three years now," he sighed. "They've been disguised as ravens, perfectly ordinary birds. We didn't give them a second glance as they watched us, studied us, and figured out our weaknesses," he shook his head.

"You know Mr. Freeman, my science teacher?" Dylan turned his head.

"Yeah."

"He was the one who figured it out. He saw a Raven transform a couple of months ago, him and a couple of his friends. He told my entire class, but I was the only one who believed him. I helped him build a little safehouse, a shelter just in case something like this happened. It's actually not far from here, in an old warehouse."

"How are we going to get there?"

"We need to travel down low," Dylan squatted and began to walk with his knees fairly bent, blending in with the bushes. "It's slower, but it'll keep us from being seen. Just like us, the Ravens only see what's at their eye level at first glance, and they're very tall.

I nodded, following him through alleys and bushes, flinching at the echoes of screams- both human and Raven- as I went along. Bile rose up in my throat as I passed body after body, covered in the telltale marks of Raven talons. Why aliens with the technology to land on a distant planet still used their talons as their primary weapon was beyond me.

"Attention, all Soldiers of the Raven, by the infallible order of Commander Otalan, the human massacre period is over. Repeat, the human massacre period is over. Please direct all surviving humans to designated holding facilities," an announcement blared from every speaker in the vicinity.

"All hail Commander Otalan!" The Ravens yelled simultaneously as they retracted their claws and stopped screaming. They almost immediately began grabbing every human they could get their hands on and shoving them into large trucks.

"Now we really have to lie low," Dylan said darkly. "And, if they catch you and you can't escape, shoot yourself with the laser gun. I heard it's better than being taken to their 'holding facilities.'"

Well, that's great, isn't it?

I sighed, burrowing deeper into the bushes.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Downtown Dallas, Texas was the center of Raven activity. It was their landing spot, their chosen base. There were so many Ravens spilling out of so many Raven ships that no one noticed the two Raven children struggling to climb over piles of debris with their little legs, coughing as dust entered their nostrils.

Serikkha and Benaslee Otalan stopped to catch their breath as they climbed yet another hill of splintered boards and broken windows.

*Picture of Serikkha Otalan*

"How much farther must we go?" Serikkha groaned, wiping the sweat off her forehead. "I am only ten cycles old, and not accustomed to such long walks as this. I am afraid I may faint."

"Have patience, Serikkha," Benaslee said in an attempt to soothe his younger sister. "Am I not but two cycles older than you? Do I not go bravely across these mounds of filth so that we may get back to our ship? We are the children of the mighty Commander Otalan, ruler of all the Ravens. It is not in our blood to despair."

*Picture of Benaslee Otalan*

"This is all your doing!" Serikkha snarled. "If you had not been so curious as to want to explore our new planet, we would be safely on the ship at this moment!"

"How was I to know that they had decided to land today?" Benaslee threw up his arms in frustration. "I thought we could simply go out for a little stroll, disguise ourselves as birds if needed, and return to the ship in a timely manner."

"A timely manner indeed! They have shuffled everything up! It could be hours before we can locate our ship," Serikkha shot her brother a deathly glare.

"Perhaps we could find father in his Command Ship. Surely he would know where they have moved the Living Ships to," Benaslee suggested.

"The Command Ship too is nowhere to be seen," Serikkha sighed. "I'm afraid we may never make it back."

"Don't say that," Benaslee said crossly. "Surely we'll get back, it might just take a while."

The young Ravens were interrupted by another announcement. "Attention all Soldiers of the Raven, the human collection period is over. Repeat, the human collection period is over. Please assume bird form or retreat to the ships, the land neutralizing period is about to begin."

"Land neutralizing?" Benaslee gasped. He wasn't sure exactly what land neutralizing was, but he had heard from his parents that it involved flattening the planet, to make it more suitable for the Ravens to live on. He also knew it would be fatal to any humans or Ravens on the surface of the planet at the time of its initiation. 

"Run!" He screamed, grabbing Serikkha's hand. The two of them sprinted across the sidewalk as clouds of dust began to form behind them, swallowing everything in their wake. 

  *_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*  

"Okay, we're about to enter downtown," Dylan sighed as we walked down a deserted street. "This is the Ravens' base for all of North America, so it's going to be the most dangerous area we cross. If you see a Raven, shoot. No exceptions." 

"Attention all Soldiers of the Raven, the human collection period is over. Repeat, the human collection period is over. Please assume bird form or retreat to the ships, the land neutralizing period is about to begin." Once again, an announcement was made through every speaker in the vicinity. 

"Oh, no," Dylan gritted his teeth. 

"What?" 

"They're going to neutralize the land."  

"What does that mean?" I asked, confused. 

"It means they're going to erase the world, making it a clean slate for them. They're wiping away everything we've ever built, one city at a time. And, since we're the lucky ducks they chose to put their base near, we get to be first!" He grumbled. 

I turned my head to see a gigantic cloud of dust behind me and instinctively began to run forward, Dylan following close behind me. The dust seemed unstoppable, ripping apart buildings and roads in its unquenchable thirst for destruction. 

"Look! There's people!" I pointed to two figures in front of us that had just come into view. The shorter one was a girl and the taller one was a boy; they seemed to be running from the dust too. 

"Hey!" I called out struggling to catch up to them. "Do you know how to get out of this?" 

The girl turned her head and I gasped, seeing her beak and the glossy feathers that covered her body. 

"They're Ravens!" Dylan hissed hatefully. 

"But they're kids, and they're running from the neutralizing too!" 

"It doesn't matter, they're aliens! They're the enemy!" 

"We beg that you do not hurt us," said the girl in a strange accent I had never heard before as the four of us entered a random skyscraper and climbed up to the top floor to temporarily avoid the dust.

"I am called Benislee, and my sister is called Serikkha. We foolishly exited our ship earlier this day, and now we are unable to find it again." 

"I am afraid we might have gotten lost," Serikkha sighed. 

"Look at them, they're, like, fifth graders! They're adorable!" I pleaded. 

"Ugh, fine," said Dylan. "But my gun's staying raised!" 

"We thank the humans for their mercy," Benaslee beamed. 

"Why do you guys talk like that?" I asked. "You don't have to be all formal." 

"This is not formal among our people," Benaslee said. "It is but our regular manner of speaking." 

"This isn't a good time to be chatting!" Dylan scowled. I could tell he still was wary of the alien kids. "We have to go, or the dust will catch up to us!" 

We ran to the bottom floor and out of the skyscraper just as the dust consumed it whole, once again beginning our desperate sprint. 

"Why are you running with us?" I asked Serikkha. "Why don't you guys just turn into birds and fly away?" 

"We are but children," she sighed. "We have not yet mastered our Shifting and Screaming abilities. The younger we are, the more energy it takes to Shift, and we are simply too tired." 

"We cannot run forever!" Benaslee yelled behind him. "I am already tired, and the dust remains at our heels. There is but one way we could escape the neutralizing!"

"And you decide to tell us that now, genius?" I grumbled. 

"I really apologize for the delay. I only just thought of it," Benaslee shrugged sheepishly. "It's the ships. We must board a ship! We were told that is the only way to escape." 

"And how exactly would we ever be able to do that?" Dylan rolled his eyes. 

"There is one up ahead, turn to the left!" 

Without thinking, I obeyed the young alien's command to find that there actually was a small, black ship leaned against a building

"Attack!" Dylan yelled, shooting the two Ravens that stood in front of it from behind. They both fell face first into the dirt. 

Wow, he has probably been preparing for this for a very long time. 

"How do you work this thing?" Dylan asked as the four of us filed into the ship. The seats were leather, and it smelled like exotic perfume, but it was a lot nicer than I had expected. 

"We do not yet know how to operate a spaceship," Dylan's cheeks turned red with embarrassment. 

"But we have seen people do it from up close many times!" Serikkha piped in. "I am sure we could manage." 

"I'm not sure I trust these- WHOA!" I gasped as the seatbelt cut into my throat and my head banged into the seat in front of me. I felt immense pressure holding me down as the ship roared, taking off into the atmosphere. 

"It seems as if this ship has a full fuel tank and there are plenty of provisions in the back. We are in luck, we could make it to Mars!" 

"What!? Mars!" 

I wouldn't let kids their age drive me to school, let alone fly me to Mars on an alien spaceship!

"You cannot stay on this planet unless you wish to be enslaved by the Commander. We Ravens possess a base on your neighboring planet, Mars. Going there would be the best option for us at this moment." 

"Wait...us? You don't want to stay here...with your kind?" I turned my head to Serikkha in confusion but she only smiled softly. 

"The life of the Commander's family is a boring one. We have always been in search of adventure, so this is honestly not so bad for us." 

"How does this thing stay pressurized?" I looked around in awe. "It actually feels...normal. Just like being in a car." 

"We're clearly not in a car," Dylan pointed out the window and we watched as Earth grew smaller and smaller, fading into the distance. 

"The systems in this ship are very different from the crude human ones you must be familiar with," Benaslee explained. "It does feel very normal. How else can one survive a two year long trip in it?" 

I nodded and relaxed in my seat, closing my eyes and drifting off into a restless sleep. 

That was our first day on the ship. We're still there. We've been floating through space for six months, slowly depleting our provisions. We haven't made it to Mars yet, and I don't know if we ever will. But we're the last free humans as far as I know, and I'll be proud of that until the end. 

If you're reading this, spread the word. Do it for your planet, and your people. Kill every raven you see, because they're not coming. 

They're already here. 

Sincerely, 

Amber Whittaker

 *_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*  

Based on the original idea for the Books of Lessaenes series.