“Wha-what was that?”

Luther instead of slumped on the walls of the alley had his back straightened stiff by the shock of the dream. He raised his arms with his palms faced towards him as he observed his trembling hands coated in sweat. It wasn’t as if the dream had showed him anything he could remember, well nothing he could remember as of now. He felt he had experienced something, yet lost all recollection of it. The problem was the emotion that lingered behind - that had imprinted itself into the forefront of his mind. It had felt so clear and intimate. As if he personally experienced everything that had been showed to him in the dream. But then again… what was the dream about? After much struggle, faint memories attached to the dreams surfaced. Memories of environments so different and varied that he thought that it possibly couldn’t be him who had experienced it. Forests, desserts, the arctic, islands in the sky… even the pits of what appeared to be hell. It was so removed from his daily life that he couldn’t come to accept it.

Then he saw it. A species so detached from anything he had ever seen before that made his stomach's contents boil upon memory - parasites. That was the most accurate description he could make - apart from that, it was beyond description. It varied in shape and size, yet all of them had one thing in common - they brought a sense of unease, an unnatural fear that stemmed from deep within his being. It terrified him.

Finally, a memory resurfaced that silenced all those before it. The emotion that was attached to this memory brought an unconditional amount of tears to Luther’s eyes as it replayed through his head like a broken cassette tape. There was a man. A man burnt to cinders, to a lump of burnt mute flesh. He couldn’t recognise him, the fire had burnt him far from recognition at this point. Yet, Luther seemed to understand who it was… Even if he were mute, the amount of emotion expressed through his very being could be felt by Luther. He was remorseful, sad, desperate, and regretful. Those were what had been distinct to Luther as it slowly died down and became a small echo within his mind.

Where had it all gone wrong?

His eyes then removed themselves from the world of dreams and to reality. The sight of a darkened alley filled with trash and grime. The sun that began to arise that invited warmth and light. The beautiful blue skies that were - as of now - featureless and clear. It was all so clear to him now. His mind that was once filled with thoughts of greed, envy, and hate were empty. He picked up the empty bottle of alcohol and peered into its reflection. Colourful blue eyes that were deprived of life drained from the eye bags beneath them. A face somewhat chubby yet sunken beyond complexion. Hair unkempt and ragged…

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Is this what I am?

It was the face of an addict. Someone dragged into the depths of gambling and alcohol - a pit he could never of escaped when he tried. Yet, maybe here, it was possible. These memories of regret and sorrow resurfaced as he picked himself off the grimy floor. Maybe now, now he could change for the better. However, Luther was abruptly snapped out of his reverie by the roar of commotion found from the streets nearby. The people had crazed expressions as they pointed and mumbled among one another, not caring for those who watched.

What’s with them?

Having observed their behaviour - it was unnatural, even for this part of town. He wiped the tears from his face as he walked over to the crowd. He soon realised everyone was staring above as he followed their gazes.

N-no way...

Men, women, children, even himself - all stood still and aghast as they observed in terror and curiosity at the skies that were befell by a darkened cloud. It was as if their voices were choked out by the fear that showered down from above. In swarms, what seemed to the eye as towers gradually fell to the earth’s surface.

Amongst them what seemed to be foreign alien ships like those from fiction parted the skies. The sound of their roaring engines drowned out the screams and chaos that ensued. Luther along with them watched in horror as his eyes went back and forth between the foreign aircrafts. Dozens of dark elongated smooth ships propelled themselves down into the atmosphere as the towers drilled into the earth’s surface.

These… the memories are faint… but aren’t these from my dream? It’s real?

Luther slowly backed away from the tower that was airborne kilometres from him as a terrified expression covered his face. It looked as if he were courting death as it drilled nothing more than a kilometre from him. The ground became crooked and broken as ravines split the concrete road. The tower reached towards the skies as it slowly dug itself a foothold into the ground, abruptly coming to a halt. As the towers became silenced, the ships hovering in the skies released a foreign low pitched hum that erupted throughout the air.

Similarly, waves of pure blue energy were emanated from the towers all over the globe in seconds. They coursed through the earth and crowds of people - yet nothing happened. As everything became calm and still, Luther steeled his trembling body and observed the spacecraft. It really was from his dream he thought. The structure of the ship resembled those in his memory, yet some pieces were faint as he couldn’t place whether he would be safe or not in its presence. Suddenly, screams ensued as people all over the district were dispersed into blue pixelated light and absorbed into the nearest tower. Initially, Luther was panicked as he watched the unfamiliar phenomenon occur, yet deep within his mind he heard something say ‘It’s fine, take it easy.’ perhaps he placed too much trust in this voice, but he listened. Luther closed his eyes as his body was enveloped by the light. His mind and body warped and distorted under its gaze as he was carried off to the tower.

Slowly but surely, people across the globe had all dispersed into the air. All had became silent within their cities and towns, all but the sound of the towers emitting a faint robotic hum were left in their place.