They Came From Above

It was a typical day. It felt as if the whole world had found its peace for once. Everybody was happy, nobody worried, it all seemed perfect. Perhaps it was too perfect.

Asher finishing his last class found himself with Jason ”Hey dude did you hear about the meteor shower today? ” his best friend asked him. ”Yeah, my dads been studying the meteors since last year, ” Asher responded.

When class was over, there was a sigh of relief in the near-boiling classroom. Though the day seemed perfect, it was 97°. Any student in that school knew well enough that it was too hot to take any test.

Asher walked out and saw Arthur yelling at Malachi, Malachi was one of Ashers best friends, and Asher often treated the sophomore as a little brother. He ran and tackled the 6 1 Junior. After exchanging blows Malachi pulls Asher away. Arthur gets up and shrugs the dirt on his shirt off, walking away he stops and looks above.

”Asher your dads a meteorologist, right? Well, meteors aren supposed to be that close are they? ” Jason asked, the group of three stared into the sky as the rocks came crashing down.

Asher runs to his Mk 3 Supra, turning it on, he gets a call from his dad. ”You need to go home and pack your things, then come to Caracho Park! ” Asher understood that his father was in a hurry to study rocks from space, but why did he need to go? Was there something he needed to help in?

Asher muttered to himself ”Nobodys gonna care about traffic laws if the world is ending. ” and goes from 0 to 120 MPH in a matter of seconds.

When he arrives home, he packs his things and feels the vibrations in the Earth, small ones, so they couldn be mistaken for a great EarthQuake. Picking up supplies, he keeps thinking, ”What sort of meteor was this? ”

Asher then goes back into his car and drives to the nearest hospital. Picking up supplies in case he or his parents were to need any but then he notices a girl with long brown hair, this girl was the first to catch his eye, he felt something, a want to go and be with her, but he had other things to deal with. Once he finished paying he ran but kept thinking of her. ”I shouldve asked for her number. ”

Asher arrives at Caracho Park and goes to his family, with a million thoughts running through his mind he could not form words to speak his mind. But his parents assured him everything would be okay. His dad continued researching the crashed meteorite with a group of intelligent scientists. ”Asher looked at this, ” Ashers dad called him over, showing the tablet which contained the finding of the asteroid. ”Its older than the Dinosaurs Asher said to himself reading that the asteroid was over 4 Billion Years old. ”Its older than the Earth, ” his father proudly responded.

”This has to be all over the news. Lets go check it out, we might even find ourselves famous ” Ashers mother proudly suggests.

Walking in there was an ominous feeling that engulfed Asher. Turning on the news channel they did not see the great asteroid being studied by groups of scientists. The world was in a state of war. Canada was hit by the largest asteroid and from inside came Robotic-humanoids. They did not have skin, they looked more robot than alive. These robots were destroying cities, executing civilians, and taking too many bullets to kill one. Ashers parents start calling family members scattered around the globe, from Puerto Rico to Canada and Mexico.

In the distance they heard screaming, but not playful screaming, the type of screaming that you were asking for help when you were going to die. Ashers parents told him to hide and Asher looked through the window to see it was the robots, it was a group of mercenaries killing scientists, they had a skull with tears under the eye sockets as their crest.

Ashers mother holds him close and the dad nods to them, a sign to stay put. He pulls out his AR-15 from the closet and sneaks out, he chooses his target, and with a loud sound, birds flying, the blood of a mercenary was spilled. Ashers dad took more shots and took out a dozen of them but even Achiles had a weakness. He never paid attention to what was behind him. And so as he spilled blood, his was too. A colleague walked from the bushes, many more mercenaries appearing from behind him.

”You… I knew you had to be behind this. Stealing information… killing people for your success. ” Ashers dad responded. ”Look, no hard feelings, but whatever is in that boulder, I want it. ” The man responded he shot again. Ending the life of a hero.

”Look, PigPen. You take care of yourself, you must survive, we love you ” Ashers mother told him, She grabbed the shotgun and came out shooting, taking out more than just a dozen of those murderers. But the man only needed one shot to take her out as well.

Asher couldn believe that he lost his parents in just one day. He couldn believe what was happening, so he got a 12-inch knife, and got ready to attack or die trying. Asher hears that the mercenaries have begun to walk away, most likely to orders from the man. Asher takes the opportunity and walks out, gripping the knife so hard, ready to take a life or let his be taken. The man takes up a drill and mines into the rock, finding a case inside, opening it revealed three pieces of technology, what seemed to be a mask, a bow and arrow, and a piece of green ore. Asher takes his chance and runs at full speed, the man hearing him turns around but Asher already plunged the blade deep into his chest.

”You are a lot like your father… weak, ” pulling out the knife he stabbed Asher in the stomach but Asher wasn going to give up and pulled out his pocket knife and cut the mans throat. Only having some time let the man hear a voice from the mask… it pulled him in his near-death experience so he reached out and put the mask on. Needles around the mask injected a black liquid into him, and his bleeding stopping, he took a sigh of relief. Looking at Asher, he was ready to end a family that has caused him distress for too long.

”Why… why doesn this come off? ” the man asked when he tried pulling off the mask, the needles weren attached to him, there was nothing the mask could attach to, so why wouldn the mask come off? He took steps back, and then looked around, Asher didn hear anything, but to the man, he heard a dark laugh which crumbled his spirit. The man tried to take off the mask again with all the force he could, he was screaming in pain as the more he pulled the mask, his skin was ripping off, he looked at Asher. ”You did this to me, you… Ill kill you! ” he said running towards him but the moment Asher was in his grasp, the man disappeared into dust.

Asher knew, looking at his chest, that he had lost too much blood already. He had the strength to stand up and looked happily at his family but saw his mother and fathers hands were pointing, and they pointed to the case. Asher looked in the case and heard a voice from the ore, ”Set me free, ” Asher reaches out and smashed the ore against the meteor, and a green liquid gas comes out, Asher took a breath and as it entered his body, he felt his body healing, becoming stronger, and he falls.

Looking at his right arm he sees that it has become part robotic, looking like the Alien Robots, he gets up and picks the Bow and Arrow up. ”Micro-Transportation activated, ” a voice said. ”What is Micro-Transportation? ” he asked himself ”Prepare, ” the voice said as he disappeared with a glow.

He woke up surrounded by the technology of the Aliens. ”This is your personal armory. ” the voice appeared again. Looking at his hand he sees that it has returned to its normal state.

”What are you? ” Asher questioned. ”I am a spirit that lives inside of you, when you broke that green ore I was able to enter your body, as you can see I can grant abilities, gifts, all to fulfill my purpose. ” the voice responded. ”So can you understand what Im thinking? ” Asher continued. ”I live inside of you now, and as your spirit, I understand and know everything about you, ” he answered. ”So can you make me stop feeling like Im falling out of nowhere when Im trying to sleep? ” Asher continued asking. ”I can work something out, ” the voice responded.

The ceiling above them begins to open and the stars are brighter, he sees them and feels hope. ”There is a prophecy. One day the created will wage war on each other, from a creation hope will arise, 8 members who are deemed as warriors will fight the others. They will defeat Arsenal. From the 8 there will be 2 who fall in love with each other, one a swordsman, who fears nothing and protects his loved ones at any cost. And a woman who has the power to take control of the Arsenal. ” the voice recalls the prophecy among the stars. Asher begins to wonder if the other is looking at the same stars he is.

”Im one of them… aren I? ” Asher asks. ”You
e the swordsman Asher. You are the one that will save humanity, but this road will destroy you. ” the voice responds. ”So what are we waiting for, train me, ” Asher responds

Then a darker voice appears ”Prepare for this vigorous month-long training that you so ask for. ”

”Pick up the sword and fight, ” the ominous voice says as the robotic aliens appear, Asher takes the sword and is able to fight but keeps getting hurt, keeps making mistakes. ”Use your arm, summon a knife, throw it, and retrieve it, ” the Ominous voice continued.

Asher summons a knife and throws it and it hits a robot in the head, as asher tries to retrieve it he can , his body has frozen.

”Retrieve the blade, ” The ominous voice continued

Asher reaches out and the blade appears in his grasp.

”This is your destiny. You are the first human to enter our clan. We are Phantoms ” The ominous voice says. Asher trembles as he feels the souls of thousands looking over him. He takes his sword up and chants with the souls, ”I do not take my sword to defend, I take it to fight, I do not use my shield to block, but to parry. I am not the weak, I am what you can see. I am a Phantom ”

He returns to training with the sword and the ominous voice returns. ”Tell me how did it feel to be witness to your parents death, how did it feel that you couldn be there to save them, or be there to take care of your cousins, how does it feel to be weak? ” Asher hated himself, everything he said was true, he couldn protect them, he couldn save his family, he was weak. Asher falls to his knees and cries and slowly his pain turns to anger, and then he grips his sword tightly and buries the sword, causing a force of energy destroying every robot nearby.

”Feelings can make you weak or strong. Keep your burdens to yourself, rarely speak, and rarely dread anything. Keep moving forward, focus all your pain to strength, and one day youll have cuts that run deeper than any blade. Only after you find her can you be healed. But to find her, you must be strong, you must be the Hidden Swordsman, ” the ominous voice continued. Asher looks at the ground shining his eyes, one being green and the other being red.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Emily was living her daily life, doing her best to fit in and be there for everyone she could. Though she was a solid 10, she never dated anyone. She was always waiting for ”The One. ”

On her way out of school she saw a group of kids huddled together, she knew it was a fight but she wasn going to get herself involved in that. She thought it was stupid, such a good day and these boys were fighting.

She could see him, he had dark hair, his eyes seemed in pain but focused, and though blood ran down his nose he kept fighting. She saw something in him, something relentless.

She was taking in the fresh air, breathing what was called life. But quickly her mood, her focus changed. Seeing the sky, she saw the Meteors crashing down, she knew something was wrong, everyone did.

Leaving in haste she calls her parents, ”Mom! Mom, Im going to pick up Danny, then Ill be going to you, ” ”Hurry, Im at the hospital, when we
e here we can talk about what we
e going to do next. ” her mother responded. ”Rose! We got patients coming in every second we need all hands! ” Emily overheard. ”Got it! Ill talk to you later, stay safe please, ” Rose said as she hung up.

She drove as fast as her Chevrolet Camaro could. Racing through the streets, not caring about the red lights, she reached her younger brothers school. She ran quickly inside, scouted out the area looking for 11 years old, once she found him, she took him in the car and drove quickly to the hospital.

”Is Mom and Dad ok? ” Danny asked, Emily, didn know about her father, he was in Puerto Rico making medical errands but she knew that Danny needed reassurance. So she replied, ”Yes, they
e fine, we just need to go somewhere safe. ”

At the hospital, they waited for their mother who was running around helping her patients. She notices the same boy that was fighting run in for supplies, they made eye contact, and he broke quickly and ran to pay for his supplies. Quickly leaving, she regretted not saying something to him.

”Baby! Sweetheart! ” Rose called out from the other side of the hallway, Emily took her brother in hand and ran to her mother. ”Mom is everything ok? Have you talked with Dad? ” Emily asked her mother. ”Puerto Rico is not getting any signal, Im sorry, ” Rose responded.

Emily felt Danny grip her hand tighter, ”Everything going to be okay, its nothing just a few unexpected rocks from the sky. ” she continued.

Emily then goes to help her mother with patients, shes studied medicine but even so, high school knowledge can only prepare you for some things. The horror that overcame her body when she saw if not tens, then hundreds of people all injured and being transferred from place to place. People screaming in pain, some going crazy, and others fighting to come back to the mortal world.

Emily rushes to an elderly man to aid him in whatever way she could, but he kept repeating the same things ”It wasn human. ” Emily didn know what to do, but the room became silent when the News showed Canada destroyed, being attacked by what looked like robots, but the metal looked worn out as if it was ancient. And these robots were not from here.

”Aliens! ” Danny happily exclaimed pointing at the tv.

Rose runs to her children and hands the keys to Emily. ”Emily I need you to go and take your brother to Caracho Park. In there I have a bunker, stay there. ” Rose commanded.

”You
e coming right? ” Danny asked Rose. ”Im sorry, I have to stay and help the people ” Rose responded. ”Ill take care of him, ” Emily reassured.

As they leave and drive away, they start to hear the emergency sirens. Emily drives as fast as she could to the bunker, once they arrived they ran through the woods looking for the bunker. They opened the hatch on the ground and went inside, Emily made sure to lock the hatch and she held Danny close.

Emily starts hearing the sound of people screaming and then the sound of gunshots after it was quiet. The siren still played but everything was silent. She then heard more gunshots after a few minutes, and there was a pause between the next one. ”Its the army Danny, they
e here, they
e going to help us ” Emily happily told her brother.

Emily climbed up the ladder and opened the hatch enough to peek through, hoping it was the army. But she was very mistaken. Instead, she saw the boy get stabbed by a tall man with short brown hair. She was horrified, she couldn move, she just watched.

The tall man reached into a box and grabbed a mask, he put it on and needles injected a black liquid into his veins. The boy laid on the floor, hopelessly watching. The man tried to take off his mask, but he couldn . Blood was spilling on the floor because the harder he pulled, the more his skin ripped from his faces muscle. In pain, the man screamed until he stopped, and looked at the boy, but as he was close enough to get him, he disappeared and turned into dust.

Emily wanted to help but the boy was stabbed, she couldn move. The boy stood up, grabbed a piece of Green Ore, and smashed it against the meteorite. A liquid gas appeared and began to enter his body through his nose and mouth, he pulled out the knife and began to talk to himself.

Emily, still frozen, had less fear. The boy picked up a bow and arrow and then disappeared.

From behind the meteorite, a Violet orb appeared and it slowly approached Emily saying ”Fulfill the prophecy. ” Emily moved her hand and touched the orb, as she made contact the orb became a cloud of violet dust and it entered her body. Emily closed the bunker and held Danny close.

Emily takes Danny to the sleeping room so that he could rest and as she closes the door she heard a voice say ”Hello. ” Emily looks around looking for someone who couldve said that.

”Am I going to die? ” Emily asks. ”Oh no no no no. My name is Wisteria and I am here to help you. ” Wisteria responded

”Will I be able to protect my brother? ” Emily continued asking. Then it became silent for a few minutes. ”Only the future can decide fate, ” Wisteria replied

”Why is this happening to me? ” Emily continued. ”There is a prophecy. That one day the created will wage war on each other. And from the Humanity will rise 8 warriors chosen by the creators. They will wield the abilities needed to defeat the Fallen. From the 8, 2 will fall in love. A swordsman and a woman who has the power of a Goddess, together the 2 will be victorious… Emily, you are the Goddess. ” Wisteria responded.

”You must search for the warriors, ” Wisteria continued. Emily nods and Wisteria appears in her floating metallic-orb form and shows a hologram of a map that locates the warriors who have already been chosen. Though Emily only sees 6. ”The one missing is the swordsman, you will encounter him soon, ” Wisteria says.

Though as peaceful as it was, it is quickly interrupted when they hear loud and heavy movement outside, Emily opens the hatch and sees the Fallen outside. ”Reach out your hand and take them over, ” Wisteria tells Emily.

Emily reaches her hand out and the robots come to a stop and in formation walk towards the bunker, opening the hatch they take her and Danny, who was sleeping in the other room and escort them out.

Wisteria then continues ”Good job. These should last us to our first warrior, whoever it is, they have the spirit of Con ”