Page 1 of Surrender
Chapter 1
EARTH 2070
Please let this end quickly.
Fiona Lockhart wished the formality of surrendering to the Kall aliens wasn’t a required public event. Shivering bodies packed the square, and hushed whispers tinged with fear floated through the crowd. Huge Kall warriors dressed in black armor paced through the gathering, weapons in hand, their faces hard masks of indifference.
She glanced at her mother, Janie, who wore a dazed expression, and hoped the unwell woman remained quiet during the ceremony. The last thing Fiona wanted was to draw the attention of a vicious alien warrior.
A horn sounded, and the whispers in the crowd immediately ceased. Dread curled in Fiona’s stomach. Worldwide government officials had already surrendered to the Kall aliens who’d invaded Earth. She didn’t understand why this formal ceremony was necessary and longed for the relative safety of the tiny, dilapidated trailer she shared with her mother.
She didn’t like being outside near the Kall warriors. They frightened her more than she would like to admit, though she always tried to put on a brave face for her mother.
She glanced at the sky. An ominous blanket of gray hovered above, and the stillness of what little nature surrounded Camp Syracuse reminded Fiona of the quiet that preceded a heavy snowfall. She wrapped her arms around herself as a shiver coursed through her.
She hoped her instincts about the weather were wrong. Her mother’s delusions had worsened of late, and bad weather would surely aggravate the sick woman further.
The sound of bootsteps called her attention away from the bleak sky. A procession of Kall warriors, along with a few American officials, marched down the steps of a hovering airship and onto a large platform. The ceremony was about to begin.
Anxiety churned inside Fiona and she lowered her gaze, not wanting to make eye contact with any of the fearsome aliens who’d conquered her planet.
But a static noise soon drew her eyes upward, where a large video screen attached to the side of the airship flickered to life, providing a clear view of the whole platform.
For a moment, Fiona was plunged back into the carefree days of her youth, when she attended music festivals that used similar screens to show closeup views of the bands performing on stage. However, this gathering was anything but carefree and the feeling soon vanished, a wisp of a memory come and gone.
Hunger pains gnawed at her stomach and dizziness assailed her. She couldn’t recall when she’d last eaten. Most of the time, she gave her daily food rations to her mother. It was bad enough that Janie no longer had access to the medication she desperately needed, but the least Fiona could do was ensure her mother didn’t go hungry.
A sudden breeze swept over the camp and Fiona’s teeth chattered. The wind pierced through her too-thin clothing and she couldn’t help but fear for the future. How would they survive the long, cold winter ahead? She would give anything to be back in her childhood home, with a cozy fire cracking in the hearth, a steaming mug of tea beside her, while her mother dozed comfortably in her favorite armchair, tucked underneath one of Grandma Stacy’s colorful quilts.
Murmuring voices on the platform pulled her attention back to the cold, unforgiving present, and another gust of wind penetrated straight to her bones.
The Kall stood on all sides of the American officials, boxing them in as if guarding prisoners. One last human descended the steps of the airship and approached a podium. He began to speak into a microphone, and his unusually high-pitched voice carried across the crowd, a painful stab to Fiona’s eardrums.
“Six months ago, Earth committed a terrible and unprovoked act of war against the Kall on their homeworld. Completely within their rights, the Kall immediately declared war on Earth and invaded our planet. I am here today as a representative of the US government to remind all Americans that the war is now over. The Kall have prevailed over us. Earth has surrendered to the Kall and taken steps to make reparations.
“Today, all around the world, our leaders are signing a treaty to ensure long-lasting peace between our races. The Kall are now our dear friends in this universe and have graciously agreed to take up positions in our government and maintain several military bases here on Earth.”
He pulled a large electronic tablet from his jacket, holding it high for the crowd to see.
“Now we will sign the treaty. It is a new day, a peaceful day.”
As the Kall and humans on the platform lined up to sign the treaty, the crowd remained deathly silent, the atmosphere heavy with fear. Fiona wondered if anyone in the crowd was stupid enough to believe the American official’s speech, or that true peace was possible.
The Kall were incapable of anything but conquering.
She glanced at the humans on the platform and noticed a short man with a thin comb-over hairdo staring straight at her. His assessing gaze caused her to shudder, but she lost sight of him when three other men stepped forward to lead an oath of loyalty to the Kall. The entire crowd was compelled to repeat the words of devotion to a race of barbaric aliens. Her heart raced as the words tumbled falsely from her lips.
To Fiona’s relief, her mother remained silent until the horn dismissed everyone. As they moved toward their trailer, excited whispers rippled through the crowd, and Fiona soon realized the Kall had modified the trailers during the ceremony. Thick, clear, plastic-like material covered each tiny structure like a tight-fitting rain poncho. Large boxes of food had also been stacked at each door.
Despite her contempt for the Kall, it was difficult not to be curious about the surprise awaiting them at home. She urged her mother to walk faster and prayed this wasn’t some sort of cruel trick.
As she navigated through the suffocating crowd in the muddy street, she kept her mother close. There was no telling what Janie would do if she got lost. Fiona grabbed her mother’s hand and eased her way to the edge of the throng, wondering how many thousands of people actually called this place home. Eight? Ten? She wasn’t sure, but there were times when it felt like a million starving refugees were packed into this wretched camp.
While this settlement was supposed to be temporary, she feared it might be years before they could safely leave. With the country in ruins, there was nowhere to go except the obscenely small white trailer with the number 2492 painted on the side.
Home sweet fucking home.
“Oh, look at this! Fiona, is this food for us?” Janie Lockhart peeked into the boxes on their doorstep, her eyes alight with rare enthusiasm.
