First to Rise

ALITA

Opening my eyes, I was blinded by light and lifted my hand to block out some of the sun while looking at the sky. I sat up as a cold breeze washed over me and looked around at my surroundings.

There was nothing but the forest of pine trees surrounding me. Besides the sounds of chirping birds and a light wind rustling the treetops, it was quiet. I sighed and got up, looking to my backpack.

I suppose it’s time I start heading back...

Grabbing my backpack and slinging it over my shoulder, I reached back to grab my hood, and my fingers lightly grazed my short messy hair, making me pause.

I ran my fingers through my hair to see how long it had grown out. Two? Maybe three inches? I bit my lip, realizing I’ll need to chop it off again soon... I hated the idea... I had always loved my long golden hair, but ever since that day, I’ve had to keep it cut as short as possible, and all the time I spend outside has practically sun-bleached it stark white.

Grabbing my hood, I quickly covered my head and put on my facemask, doing my best to disguise myself.

(Flashback)

I stumbled and whimpered as my father kept his hold on my arm and urged me to keep running. I didn’t understand what was happening. Why were there explosions and gunshots going off?

“Dad?! What is happening?!” He stopped as we found an alley between two buildings and tried to catch our breath while hiding. Wait... What are we hiding from?!

Dad peeked out into the open, and I moved closer to do the same. I saw a military helicopter fly by and shoot a missile towards the area we had just run away from.

I watched as the missile suddenly hit something invisible, before ricocheting and hitting a nearby building, causing an explosion. Whatever it had hit shimmered in a strange way before disappearing once again. The helicopter started backing away, only for a monstrous roar to fill the air as a giant black beast with wings collided with the aircraft, latching onto its side.

It started spinning, losing control as the winged creature tore it apart, ripping off the tail end of the vehicle.

We watched, horrified by the scene, before my father grabbed my wrist once again and pulled me into a small military office building. What was that thing?! Seeing the various desks, my father rushed over to one and handed me his big jacket. “Alita, put that on.”

I was confused but still complied as he dug through the desk drawers looking for something. He pulled out a pair of scissors and then came over to me. I watched him, confused, as he looked at me with so much fear and worry in his eyes. My father had never been this afraid... not since my mother died.

“What are you doing?...” I looked between him and the scissors. He kneeled before me and took my hands in his.

“Honey, I have to cut your hair...”

“What?!”

“Please, this is for your own safety... starting now, no one can know what you are.” He stood up and turned me around by my shoulders. I flinched as he started chopping away at my blonde locks. What on earth is happening?

“I... I don’t understand.” I whimpered again, watching strands of my hair fall to the floor. “Why are they attacking us...”

He was silent as he finished cutting it all off. I touched my head, feeling what little was left of my hair. Once he was done, he threw the scissors away and scoured the room for any stray clothing left behind by soldiers. He found a pair of black military boots and some baggy pants and handed them to me.

“Put these on...” he tried removing my shoes, but I pulled away.

“Tell me what’s going on!”

He hesitated before looking to the door in worry as more gunshots went off outside. Standing up, he pulled me to the back of the room where it was darker and away from any windows.

Grabbing my shoulders, he looked at me sternly. “Alita, these creatures are far more advanced than humans could have ever imagined, but knowing how people react, the military and general public will still continue to fight back against them.”

I listened intently as he crouched down and helped me change into the boots.

“They are after females. It’s a matter of great importance to them, so they won’t leave until they have what they need. You need to hide away, pretend to be a young boy while in the presence of others...”

I gulped and spoke up again. “So the aliens won’t find me?” He paused at that question instead of saying yes.

“They aren’t the only issue... they’ve practically declared war. The government hasn’t been as cooperative as they want, so they are taking things into their own hands... as stubborn as people can be, there’s no doubt going to be some who will stop at nothing to make sure the aliens don’t get what they want...”

“What? What do you mean?...” He finished tying the laces and pulled out a face mask, putting it over my mouth and nose.

“During times of crisis and war, humans won’t always think rationally... they will do anything to make sure these creatures don’t succeed... and if they want girls, there’s a very good chance human men might target you...”

“Like...trying to catch me before the aliens get me?”

The look on his face made me even more worried. “You need to hide what you are... let no one know you’re a female... our own kind will be far more unpredictable than the aliens...”

“They may try to kill you to keep you out of their hands...”

—-

Walking through the trees, I made my way to the edge of town. Through the treeline, I could make out a few buildings ahead of me. I walked closer to one of the abandoned houses, approaching from the back.

I went around the wooden fence until I found a way inside. Going through the backyard, I went to the back porch of the house. Breaking in through the back door, I was disappointed to see the place was trashed and possibly already looted. I moved to the kitchen first, scouring the pantry and cabinets for any kind of food or water.

To my displeasure, there wasn’t any food and I only found three bottles of water. Searching the rest of the house, I looked for anything else that might be useful or that I could trade in for food. Opening a dresser drawer, my eyes widened and a smile appeared on my lips as I found some batteries.

“Jackpot!” I stuffed the items in my backpack and moved on to search four more houses before it started getting too late. It was a bad idea to be out at night... They like to be out at night.

As I started making my way out of town, I was startled by some distant gunshots. I quickly made my way back into the forest and rushed back to camp. After about two hours of hiking, camp finally came into view.

I made my way over and nodded to the men standing guard outside with guns. They let me pass and I went inside. Dozens of tents filled the outside area of the old abandoned military outpost. Even with the concrete walls covered in barbed wire with a small trench around it, the place was quite shabby for a refugee camp.

The thought that barbed wire and a few bricks would keep the aliens out was laughable. At most, the fencing was just to control who comes and goes and gives some people some sense of protection.

I suppose it also helps keep out raiders to an extent, though most of the time no one’s willing to put their lives on the line to defend this place from them and the jerks will just walk in and take what they want.

As I went in, I noticed a couple heading out with everything they owned packed in the bags they carried. I paused, watching as the boyfriend guided his girlfriend out of the camp walls. They weren't happy about leaving; it means they would be on their own, left to fend off raiders and aliens alike.

But it was dangerous for her if she didn't go. If a certain group came here, then her life would be forfeit regardless of what anyone else in this camp thought. And there's more than a dozen men here who would gladly try to kidnap her to sell her off to the aliens as well...

Women have no place in this camp... that's just how it is now. I looked away and went to the main building where the trader was. Walking inside, the old man sitting at the counter looked up and smiled. “Ah Alix! I was wondering if you would be bringing me anything today!”

Taking off my backpack, I pulled out one bottle of water, the batteries, and half a pack of cigarettes I found, handing it to him. He looked them over carefully. Pleased with the batteries, he set them off to the side. He went to the back room and brought out a can of corn and beans.

“Choose one.”

I looked at him perplexed.

“But I brought you three batteries, water, and cigs!”

He sighed before tossing me one of the batteries. “Two of them are duds. You can tell if you look at the dried acid on that one.”

I cursed under my breath and threw the battery back. I grabbed the can of beans and angrily went to the door. “Oh one more thing Alix!”

Stopping to look back at him, he was looking at a clipboard with some papers. “Mmhm. You've got gas duty tomorrow!”

My stomach sank a bit, hearing that, and I looked away before leaving the building. Heading toward the back of the building, I found my tent and went inside, setting my stuff down. I laid back on my sleeping bag and groaned.

“Knock knock...” I looked up at the entrance as a familiar face poked their head through the tent flap.

“Hey Varin...” I sat up and crawled out of the tent to sit by the campfire. He was quick to sit with me. Varin was the only person in this camp who knew the truth and the only person I trusted to keep that secret. We met up early on in the war when my father was still around. Before all of this, he was a good family friend and my dad treated him like a son. Together, the three of us traveled for a bit until my dad was killed... after that, we roamed for a few months, living off scraps while the war got worse, people became desperate and violent.

Eventually, we made our way here to this camp and so far, for the most part, it's been safe and we haven't starved... we can sleep and eat here without worrying too much about the aliens nor the raiders.

“What's got you in a bad mood? Bad haul today?” He questioned.

Opening the can of corn, I started eating. “I have gas duty tomorrow...”

“Ah shit... that means you have to go further into the city... what are you gonna do if you run into those fucking bastards in the south zone?!” Varin worriedly exclaimed.

“I don't know... I just gotta try to avoid them if I can... if I do run into them, I'll give them my supplies and just hope they leave me alone...”

He was silent for a moment and glanced at the fire. “Alita... don't do anything reckless, okay? I'm not sure what I'd do if you...”

I grabbed Varin's hand to reassure him. “I promise not to do anything stupid... I'll head out early in the morning and get out of the city before night...”

“I hate the fact you have to go so deep into the danger zone...” he sulked. “You especially are at a higher risk by going out there...”

“I know, but if I want to stay here, what choice do I have?” We were both silent, staring at the fire as it crackled in front of us.

“Just be careful out there, okay? I’m gonna head to bed.” I nodded and watched him retreat into his tent before sighing.

Why does it feel like tomorrow is going to be a really shitty day?