Illusive Respite

C found himself in a peculiar house. The house seemed medieval in appearance, the floor being mainly absent and the walls being made of wattled wood. It seemed rather unassuming, but something was unearthly about it. Something unseen. C felt odd, he had not remembered waking up, and did not know how he arrived in such a place. C made his way to the door, and pushed it open. 

Outside were stone streets and a few more buildings similar to the one he had just left. More interestingly, the road quickly vanished into a sickly purple void that enveloped the sky and the nearby area around the house; an element that quickly shook C into realizing he was in a dream. He tried to move, attempting to do anything that would shake him awake, but the body in his dream ignored his guidance outright: choosing instead to head out onto the road. C felt the wind breeze by, and heard the odd voices again, as if there were people crowding the road - those which were invisible to the eye. It was too vivid to be a dream, but at the same time, it was too bizarre to be real - much too bizarre.

An odd noise emanated from beyond the void; slowly transforming into one that C remembered too well. He tried to turn around, but his body turned towards the sound. C knew that the noise was a portal opening - just as it sounded back near the office - but his body started towards it. A scream was heard in the distance, followed by mass panic. C could hear the screams pass by him, as the people he could not see ran away from the area, some bumping into him despite not being visible. But his body still yet moved towards the sound; slowly at first, then eventually building up into a run. C watched helplessly, as his body engulfed itself in the void.

C shot up fully awake. He was stunned, but was also glad he could move his body again: also being glad that what he saw was just a dream. He looked forward, and noticed a campfire at the bottom of his vision, which had calmed him down slightly. He regained his composure, and glanced around the area. He saw a few tents, as well as a bag. He looked to his right, and saw F. He suddenly felt chills, and eventually worked up enough courage to speak.

"F." C said quietly, trying not to spook her.

F did not respond, and remained facing away from him. C felt a hint of uncertainty, both from her lack of response and the way she was turned away from him.

"F!" C repeated, this time with intent on getting her attention. Still no response.

C paused for a few seconds, before getting up and walking in front of her. He realized that she was sleeping; fooled by her still sitting up. She was slouched forwards with her arms crossed, and was snoring rather lightly. C guessed that she was waiting for him to wake up, but fell asleep herself. C took the opportunity to look around the camp, first looking up at the trees that were slightly illuminated, but painted nearly black by the new moon. The campfire gave him proper visuals on the camp, which was rather empty apart from the bag that was thrown precariously next to one of the tents. C went towards the tent, and jumped when he heard F speak.

"How 's your rest?" She asked in a groggy tone, followed by a yawn.

C turned, and made his way back to the log that served as his bed moments before.

"Could have been better. Had a lucid nightmare: that wouldn't have been missed." C responded, with stress in his voice.

He took a while to collect his thoughts.

"I'd ask about your sleep, but first: how'd you make it out of the town?"

F sighed.

"Ya' always underestimate me. Again, and again..." She continued droning on, "I told you already: 'I can handle myself, I can survive.' But you never listen."

C was struck odd, but realized that she was not fully awake yet, and was mumbling quite a bit.

"How'd you find me? Did you enter the bunker?" C asked, getting the gist of her response, "Then how'd you evade the skewers?"

"I didn't bump into them at all." F explained, now waking up and speaking in a more coherent manner, "I saw them run in, so I took a different entrance. Then I saw you guys were in trouble and dragged you out of there. After I knocked you out first: sorry about that."

C took a moment to think.

"What about the soldiers?" He asked, "I heard them drop before... you knocked the lights out a' me. You left them unconscious as well, right?"

"Don't worry about them, C. Believe it or not, the aliens have you as a priority target." F said.

It took a while for C to process what she had said. He started to feel light-headed, and his chest tightened. He was not sure if she was dead serious or telling a joke; even then, it would be a strange joke to pull. C sat still for a moment, his mind nearly blank, before managing to pull together an idea.

"You... were you manipulating my dreams as I slept?" He asked sternly.

"Pardon?" F responded, barely holding back a laugh.

"I'm serious. Both times I woke up near you, I had strange, almost prophetic dreams. And both of those times, I ended up waking up with you within arms distance from me."

F looked away, with her hand covering her mouth to prevent herself from exploding with laughter.

"Maybe its because both times I found you, you were knocked out cold." She finally managed to say, "Well, eventually knocked out cold."

C looked long into the campfire, unsatisfied with the answer. He mellowed himself down, and tried to piece together the situation.

"Maybe I am being too paranoid," C said, before turning back to F, "Still, how do you know that I'm a 'priority target.'"

F paused for a moment, before asking, "Remember those aliens that you mentioned back at the cabin? The sharp, pointy limbs?"

"The military calls them skewers now." C answered, albeit indirectly.

"I've only heard about them from you. Everyone else I've talked to since the invasion started never mentioned them at all. Heck,

I've never even caught a glimpse of them; only heard them while I was dragging you out of the bunker."

"Maybe there're only a few of them." C threw in, "Besides, the military guys I was with had seen them too."

"But you were with them at the time. Any you've seen them twice so far."

"I was only nearby; and a bit more times than that, actually."

"Still, that is enough to see that they're following you. You specifically. So that means you're a priority target."

"They could just be using me as a means to-"

"That means that there is something about you that poses a threat to them." F cut in.

C was struck odd by the statement.

"How can I pose a threat to them? At least beyond the extent that- that a soldier can? I'm just an guy trying to get by in this whole thing - I didn't even finish my boxing lessons before all of this started. In fact, I just quit my job as a police officer and was one step into becoming a pencil pusher for who knows how long. I don't see how an office worker would ever pose more of a threat to them than a trained military-"

"You're not a normal person, C." F said, rather ominously, "That's all I'll say."

Upon hearing the statement, C sat there silently. His head started to pound again, so he took a minute to think it out.

After several minutes of silence, C turned towards F.

"Where do you fit into this whole thing?" C asked.

"Just a person running around the countryside, looking for the military. Just like you."

"Since you're helping me, wouldn't the aliens target you, too?"

"They haven't so far. Though I guess that'd make me second priority."

Not finding anything else to say, C once again sat silently. He thought about asking how she knew so much, but felt that it would be too overbearing on his mind as of now. He laid down on the log, and gazed at the stars.

"Its funny." C said, after a while of stargazing, "Just a year ago, we were all so amazed about the discovery of a new planet. One filled with new life; Olodon. I heard that it means 'Planet of Life' in their language."

C continued, "And then, we were found by another form of life, and its the complete opposite... When we found Olodon, news outlets sparked, calling it the start of humanity's revolution. Then when 'they' found us, civilization crumbled in days, and now we're all knee-deep in shit."

"Guess that's a good way to describe it." F commented.

C continued looking up at the sky, still wandering through his thoughts.

"Now that I think of it," C started again, "The portals to Olodon shut down before the invasion... So that means that Olodon is doing just fine, right? So, when this is all over, we could have the portals opened up again and move to Olodon."

"A return to form for me, y'er proposing?" F then asked, in a now obviously forced accent.

C glanced at F, "You're from Olodon?"

"Made my way here a couple months back. Fine planet here if I'd say so myself." F paused, catching herself, "Well... it was fine."

"How was it like there? Before it linked with Earth, that is."

"Simple." F replied simply, "There were no electronics, no densely packed cities, no vehicles; kinda like the older ages of Earth."

"Then I guess it will return to that once this whole thing blows over. I always wondered what it was like to be a farmer."

"If anything, you'd become a soldier." F remarked in a half-serious manner.

"No." C said, with a definite tone, "I'm already tired of all this fighting. Once the invasion is through, I'll pick up a career that doesn't involve fighting. Then me and Fredrick can live peacefully without having to worry about death all the time."

"Fredrick?"

"I never mentioned him to you? He's my pal, who I've known since I was a kid. He just got enlisted into the military after the invasion happened; I met up with him a while back, but we got split up again."

"How's he like?"

"He likes to make jokes a lot. Just like you." C said, glancing at F once again, "I think you two would get along great."

"I don't make jokes that often." F said to herself.

"I still remember how that parasite tasted, y'know."

"Still can't believe you actually ate it..." F whispered to herself, "When's the last time you saw Fredrick?"

"Right before I got chased by the skewers. Then I met up with the other guys. Then I woke up here."

"So he shouldn't be that far from here. We might find him and the others wandering around the place."

"He probably won't wander around this late. He'd have joined with the rest of his squad by this point. And they're probably already at a base."

F got up, then faced C, "We'll get some sleep then. The aliens should be a couple hours behind, more or less. Then we could look for y'er friend once day breaks."

C agreed, and started to doze off on the log. He then felt something hit his arm, and he jumped up. He checked his arm, and realized that it was just a water droplet.

"Stop laughing," C scolded, "If you've been through what I have, you'd be jumpy as well."

C looked up, and saw more waterdrops falling from the trees; it was suddenly raining.

"It's gonna rain pretty hard." C guessed, "I'm gonna sleep in the tent."

"Wow. It's the first time it rained since this whole thing started. Good thing I set the tents up beforehand, right C?"

C did not respond directly, and instead said "Good night. I'm gonna get as much sleep as I can," as he entered through the front of the tent.

Inside the tent was a sleeping bag and a table. C thought for a moment, wondering how F managed to gather materials and build a table in such short notice, but was too pressed on time to think about it. He wrapped himself up in the sleeping bag, and tried to get some rest.