Round 6- First contact. Pictures used: picture 1,4,5,6,7,11 word count: 2,600

It was the light, I'm pretty sure anyways, that woke me up, because it was a few good minutes before my ears were able to hear again from the deafness that had caused me pain once my body fully orientated itself to its surroundings.

I was trying to get out of bed, wondering why it was more difficult than normal, when a loud explosion went off somewhere nearby. It shook the apartment building, causing anything that wasn't tied down, which was pretty much everything, to rattle. Even my interstate 314 road sign fell off the wall. It was a gift from my boyfriend; a reminder of how we were gonna' make it big by moving to the city.

Another flash of light permeated into my bedroom, blinding my eyes as I managed to untangle myself from the blankets, gracefully falling to the floor.

"Fuck," I mumbled under my breath to myself after I had hit my toe on the bedpost. The world as I know it could be coming to an end and here I am, probably the only person in the world, who couldn't find her way out of the bed.

Finally, after a few seconds, I was able to see again and got up from the floor. Hobbling my way over to the window, I tried to avoid anymore inanimate objects that had it out for me. Only, I wished I hadn't. I think, if it was possible, that I didn't breathe for a good ten minutes while I looked outside. A building, two blocks in front of me, collapsed, knocking into the building beside it.

I thought perhaps it was another terrorist attack, something horrendous that would touch the very soul of our nation. What I wasn't expecting to see, however, was when the smoke cleared there were spaceships. They were massive, hovering in the sky and blocking the remaining stars from my view as dawn was approaching.

An attack that came from our own doing was something I could handle, that it was more-or-less in our control where we have the power to take action against it. However, there was nothing, absolutely nothing, that could make one feel so powerless and insignificant than when the universe decided to come crashing down on you. When all the rules and everything you knew about the existence of cosmos and the world you grew up in no longer mattered.

I think I was in shock as I stood there, feeling small and watching them blast away our world. Their weapons left red streaks through the night sky, leaving an awful afterglow that illuminated the destruction. I'm sure that I probably should have been running away somewhere, but wherever that place was wouldn't come to mind. Where was that fight-or-flight response that was supposedly bred into our DNA?

The building directly in front of me got hit. I didn't even flinch when the blast came. Crazy stuff like this only happened in movies, not in real life. I think maybe that was why it hadn't really fazed me yet, that this was happening. People were going to get hurt and there was no turning it off. The building began to collapse in on itself as fire started to spread. It had people living in it....

I gasped, covering my mouth in disbelief. They were jumping out of the windows; men, women, and children. My eyes started to tear up when I saw a mother, wrapped up in blankets, holding a baby against her chest. She looked right at me, her expression eerily calm.

It rattled me as sadness and guilt took over. I was ashamed of my thoughts, wondering how she could do this to her baby, but I knew there was nothing I could do. I turned away, not able to watch.

"Ava?!"

Hearing my name screamed, I looked over to see Jasper. His clothes were torn and there were a couple open cuts on his face.

"Max?" I asked, my heart feeling as if it would burst. Why wasn't he here?

"He's still in the office," Jasper answered, somewhat out of breath. "At hearing the first attacks reported he had asked me to come get you... It just took a little longer with all the chaos."

"Oh..." I wasn't sure how I should feel about that.

"C'mon, we need to go!"

He looked anxious and worried, holding out his hand for me. I took it, and not going to lie, it made me feel a little safer.

We took the stairs as the elevators weren't running and were forced to be pushed along with the crowd. Everyone was trying to leave, at what felt like at the same time. Some were screaming that it was the end of the world; others damning all the sinners and claiming this was all their fault. All of them were in a blind panic and focused solely on themselves.

"God have mercy," a lady to the right of me spoke out once we had reached a landing, tear streaks were smeared on her face.

I didn't have the heart to tell her that God had no part in this, or any kind words to offer comfort. Truth was, we were all in this together and we may all very well die.

The people from the higher floors began pushing downwards, causing others to fall. It was a mess, and I grasped Jasper's hand tighter as I felt myself being shoved along. He had one hand on the stairwell, trying to keep us standing as more cries were ushered from the stampede.

"We're going to have to push our way through," he said in my ear, "Or we're gonna' be on the ground."

I nodded my head, consenting. We had just reached another landing, where I had almost tripped over a body. A kid wasn't as lucky. He stumbled over, falling to the ground. Without thinking, I had let loose of my grip on Jasper's hand to help him, but Jasper held on.

"Ava, we can't!" He shouted as he strained to keep his grip on me while I was pushed and shoved. However, it didn't matter, now, as the boy had disappeared, probably somewhere down the stairs.

The terror in the boy's eyes was going to remain with me for a long time. I wanted to be able to least help someone. I could've made a difference for that boy, unlike the mother. But I guess I was weak, and all I wanted to do was get to Max, that was what mattered. I needed to feel his arms around me and try to forget everything else, at least for a little while, anyway.

Our building shook when more shots were fired. How we managed to get out of the building that was only halfway standing behind me was a blur. I just hanged onto Jasper, hoping to be pulled to safety. Maybe that was a human flaw; to have hope when there was no hope to be had.

Our fighter pilots were there, but every single one got taken down. Even the army on the ground caused little damage. The shields the aliens had were impenetrable.

I tried not to look too hard at the dead bodies on the ground. It would just be a reminder of how likely that was going to be me. Yet, we kept pushing on, making it to Max's office. I swear I could've seen him in the glass, looking out as I had done upon waking, and appearing as regal as ever while the world exploded into hell.

Reaching for the door, I was pulled back by Jasper, who had turned, gazing into the sky. A huge ship, unlike the others, was heading closer and closer until it landed a good distance away.

Everything seemed to have gone still, until some kind of sonic boom, followed by a flash of light, blasted out from the ship. It had cut down all in its path. Jasper and I had hit the ground, knowing that there was no time to save Max.

"Max!" I cried out, knowing he was gone as I  stood up. He, the city, everyone was... Gone. The wind tugged at my ripped clothing, carrying dust that made my mouth gritty and dry.

"Ava?" Jasper questioned as he got up.

He had somehow ended up a few feet away. Well, at least I wasn't in limbo alone. I walked over to him, puzzled as to how we managed to survive.

"They're gone?"

I didn't ask who, because I knew who he was talking about. I glanced upwards to the sky, the sun had fully risen with no clouds in sight, no spaceships either.

"They'll be back," I said, knowing it to be true.

"How do you know?"

"Why go through the bother of laying waste to an entire species, or nearly an entire species, and just leave?"

"How should anyone know the reason?" He asked, staring out at what was just our city. "They're aliens."

"They want to repopulate it." Even as I said it, it left me feeling cold. This was our home, and it was being ripped right away from under us.

"Why didn't they just kill us all then?"

"Food, would be my guess."

"Great..." I could see the sympathy in his expression as his eyes softened. "I'm sorry, Ava."

"Me too." And I was sorry- sorry for those I couldn't help, sorry that I was still here and for those who weren't. Though, now wasn't the time, and I wasn't the only one who lost someone. "We should go."

"Where to?" He asked, as every direction looked the same.

"On the road to no tomorrow," I muttered, seeing a bent sign on the ground that indicated interstate 314 was up ahead a little ways.

Following the street we were on only lasted so long before it was no longer travelable, and we were forced to make several detours before coming across the suburbs. The houses here stood intact, but empty. Unlike the city though, there were no bodies lying in the roads.

"Where is everyone?"

Jasper looked at me and shrugged, before heading towards one of the homes.

"Jasper!" It didn't seem right to go into someone else's place, even if they way we're gone. Like we were invading in on their lives.

"We need new clothes, shoes." He held up his foot to prove his point, revealing his broken sneakers. "Plus, I'm hungry," he said while opening the door.

"Fine," I muttered, following him in. I had to admit I was hungry, too, and thirsty. We didn't find much in the way of clothes, but we did find food and water.

"I could have seen you and Max living in a home like this," Jasper said as he stared at the family pictures on the walls.

"Come on, let's go." I didn't need to bring up a future that wasn't going to happen. The children in the pictures looked so happy, carefree with the whole world open up for them of possibilities.

We searched a few more homes before finding out I was right about the aliens being back as the day progressed. We were in the outer suburbs when I saw it.

"Look," I whispered to Jasper, pulling him back behind the edge of a house we had just vacated, after having found a new outfit for me and a bag stuffed with extras. Jasper also had a bag full of clothes and food slung on his back.

The thing on the road appeared to be some kind of round drone on mechanical legs or something as it marched through the neighborhood.

"What's it doing?" He asked the same thing I was wondering. It made a weird humming sound, with short static waves or pulses emanating from it.

"I don't know, but I don't think I want to find out what will happen if it sees us."

"Agreed."

We quietly snuck away, and the further we got from the neighborhood, the better I felt. It was odd to see it untouched and unoccupied when everywhere else we've so far been to had been wiped away.

"That was..."

"Yeah." I glanced out of the corner of my eye to see Jasper, briefly wondering what if it was Max there. How would he have handled the end of everything? Somehow, I don't think he would've handled it very well. He liked to have everything in his control. If one thing didn't go as he had planned, his whole day was left off-centered.

"He should've been the one to go get you."

"Huh?" I questioned, caught off guard.

"Max."

"You know, we could play this game... There's endless possibilities, but none of what will change what is. We don't need to add to the guilt." I said, as we walked down some highway. I swear, it was endless.

"It's still pretty shitty, ya know?" Jasper continued. "You're a good person, Ava, and he should be here with you."

"Jasper, I'm no saint."

"What do you mean?" Jasper seemed truly surprised. I guess Max had built me up too much.

"Max and I had some rough patches."

"But..."

"We were fighting last night before he had left for work," I said, cutting him off. "He wanted to marry and start a family."

"That's great!"

"I told him no," I said flatly, peeking a glance over to him, and saw his questioning stare. "I wasn't ready, and he was always working."

"But he was working to have a family."

"I know."

"Why didn't you want to marry?"

"Hey, look!" I nodded towards a car. "Want to give it a go?" I didn't want to continue the conversation. That fight had ended pretty badly, which was why Max had probably sent Jasper instead of coming himself.

With luck, the keys were in the car. It also had a full tank of gas. By the stuff in it, it likely belonged to a high-schooler. We agreed to take the highway that was nearby, as we didn't really have any other plan, other than thinking the further inland we went, the less likely it would've been destroyed by the aliens.

It wasn't until the next day, with Jasper at the wheel, that I saw something in the sky.

"What?" I moved myself closer to the window to try to see better. I didn't have much luck though, until one of whatever-they-were landed a little bit in front of us.

"Shit!" Jasper shouted, slamming down on the break to avoid crashing.

Now that I was close, I could get a much better view and saw that it was a pod with what looked like a human baby.

"Is that a baby?"

And it wasn't alone as more ships came, bringing more pods, dropping them down to earth.

"They're all babies?" I questioned, looking at the wailing infant in the pod. It didn't make sense to leave babies defenseless and alone. We could pick them off easily, only except, they looked human.

"I don't get it," Jasper said.

Neither did I.

*****

Days had passed, I had lost count as we were always on the move. And the more we traveled, the more we found out that we weren't the only survivors along with what the aliens were up to.

It didn't matter that it didn't make sense about abandoning all those babies as their plan had worked. Those who had survived the first contact had felt human empathy for the babies. They took them in, taking care of them as if they were their own baby. Nobody blames them, it was a weakness to humans. One that predators were excellent at exploiting.

"Watch out, Ava!" Jasper yelled as one of the alien reptiles charged at me.

It was faster than I was expecting it to be, and I barely managed to jump out of the way in time before it came crashing down into the sand. Its shorter limbs in the front caught it off balanced as I had anticipated.

I shot it, point blank, and got a sickening satisfaction as blood and innards blasted out of its head. As much as I stared at the dead body, I still couldn't see how that thing once resembled a human baby.

"Cutting it kinda' close," Jasper said with concern as he walked over, handing me a bottle of water. "Next time, I get to be the bait."

I smiled at him, then started to giggle as something crossed my mind. I'm sure it wasn't as funny as it should be, and I'd leave it to sleep deprivation or the fact that I had cut it close, as Jasper had said. He looked at me as if I had totally lost it.

"And another one bites the dust."

He pulled me in his arms, kissing me. "God, you're insane."

"Relax, Jasper, it was a young one," I said as I pulled away to take a drink. The younger ones haven't learned to hunt in packs and when temptation walks into view, it goes crazy, wanting the food.

"Still," he said, giving me a light squeeze.

It felt good to be in his arms, felt right. He never questioned me or wanted more than what I had in me to offer, and likewise, I accepted what he had within him to offer. The world had changed, and there was only so much one had to give from all the lost.

I didn't say anything to him, as I didn't need to as I stared out at the desert. The drones that had walked our earth, come to find out, had changed our climate, making it perfect for the reptiles to flourish.

"Time to go," I said as the pack that one had belonged to came into view.