Mud splashed Axel's knees as he dropped to the ground. Tears wet his eyes. His body trembled from shock. Striker hobbled over to him and pulled him into a hug. They stood there for a moment. Explosions in the distance lit the city up.

Neither of them knew what to say. Huge black domes hovered in the sky. This couldn't be real. They trained for five years, there had to be something at the end of it. Axel had pictured them; Scout, Rolly, Striker, Nitwit and himself. They'd be pilots together. Spend the rest of their lives cheering each other on. Now that fantasy would remain a fantasy. They were gone.

Striker released him and Axel shook his head. This wasn't happening. It almost felt like if they didn't acknowledge it, all of their problems might go away.

"That attack," panted Striker. "It came out of nowhere. There was nothing we could have done."

Axel tried to speak but a lump in his throat prevented him. Why were they the ones who had survived? What made them so special?

Striker had always been a talented shooter but Axel was merely average when it came to anything related to piloting. His exam results were never perfect, he'd muddled his way through the last five years and had a lot of support from his peers. How could all of those people, all of that potential, be gone?

"We need to remain focused," said Striker. "We can't let those guys up there win. You understand?"

"What's the point?" Axel said. "Everything we worked for..."

Striker shook his head. "We have a duty to them. We can't let their death be in vain. We need to arm ourselves and then contact Wizan. He will know what to do."

Axel nodded. He didn't want to add that they didn't know for sure that Wizan was alive. He could contact him with his wrist device but he didn't want to know the truth just yet. If the invasion had taken him out too, maybe it was best to live in blissful ignorance for a little longer. Wizan's mansion was in the outskirts of the city. Closer to the surrounding forest than anything that had been hit so far. Axel hoped that meant he was safe.

Axel followed Striker across the grounds towards the Academy in front of them. The building was at least fifty stories high. Black fog puffed from the top where one of the alien's bombs had hit it. Everyone who attended had been forced to learn its history. The walls were built to survive even a nuclear attack. There were few buildings more important to Valaxoria, as this was one of the only places this side of space that trained their military forces. It was a shame that the same job hadn't been done for the council building.

The place was completely deserted. They must have gone up when they realised how much fire power it would take. Striker crept up to the door and held up a hand to halt him.

"We need to be careful," he said. "We don't know if any of them are on the planet just yet."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

They wouldn't have been able to terraform the planet that quickly. If these aliens weren't able to breathe the air, they wouldn't have had chance to enter the building yet either.

When Striker was satisfied the coast was clear, they walked into the corridor. It was like a ghost land. Happy memories taunted them as they made their way up a flight of stairs and through to the face-to-face combat room.

The door hung off its frame. Target drones lay scattered across the room. It seemed deserted. Axel gave Striker the thumbs up and they ventured inside. The last time they were in here, they'd had a competition to see who could shoot the most on target. Striker as usual was miles ahead of him and Axel had smugly replied; "But you have two years on me, let's try again when I'm nineteen and we'll see who would have won."

Little did Axel know he might not hit that age if he didn't survive today. There was a huge part of him that wondered what they were going to do even if they escaped the building. How could they possibly get away from these aliens if they'd already taken down half of the city?

He took a deep breath and reminded himself of his training. Get to safety first, ask questions later. Brixton's words rang through his head. There is nothing more important than the here and now. If you're in danger in the present, you might not live to see the future.

"Get a load of these, dude," Striker said, bringing Axel out of his thoughts. He stood in front of a supply cabinet. This one was full of different types of guns. Axel's eyes rested on the BR-95. A large metal tube which launched energy grenades. Just one grenade shot in the correct place could send an entire building toppling down. Students were never allowed to use them. For obvious reasons. Striker swiped up.

"This is so sweet," replied Striker. He looped the strap over his head. "I'll only use it outside. See those arseholes mess with us then."

A clatter out in the corridor got their attention. Something hurried towards them and whatever it was didn't sound like it was slowing down anytime soon. Striker didn't tell him what to do next. They dived inside a supply closet each.

A creature entered the room. Its monstrous roar rattled against the metal doors.

Axel held his breath and peeked through the keyhole. For the first time, he laid eyes on whatever it was that was attacking them. A disgusting animalistic creature. Its body looked like a caved out skull standing on a skeletal structure with skin made of leather. It scuttled along on its gangly legs as it sniffed in the direction of Striker's supply closet.

It screeched, spittle formed on its chin. Its round mouth was a deep cave full of sharp teeth. This thing didn't have the sentient intelligence that races like the Vaxorians and the Ivarozzans had. It didn't seem like it ran on anything but instinct to kill. The creature stuffed its bony nose against the supply closet Striker was hidden in and sniffed. It stood back and let out another cry.

While Axel had expected it to find a way to open the supply closet and eat whatever was inside, this monster seemed to be waiting for something. A padding in the hallway led to the entrance of a robed man. His thin structure glided gracefully into the room. His red skin contrasted against the darkness of his other features. He had four arms. Two rested on his hips while the other guided the way. He wore a belt which had two pistols on it that Axel had never seen before.

He spoke to the creature in an alien language. The creature didn't reply. Instead, it led him to the Striker's hiding place. Axel stifled a scream. He wanted to help but his body remained frozen to the spot. The man yanked open the doors and smiled as he lay hands on Axel's best friend.

Axel's heart pounded in his ears. His eyes darted around the closet, desperately searching for a weapon which could help him fight back. The monster's snarl grew louder. Its skull-like head twisted in his direction. Axel pushed his back against the closet as it started to move towards him!