All characters copyright Sterling Fisher 2000

After many years, this war has finally taken its toll on me. I tried my best to stay oblivious to it, but it slowly crept up on me like a lion hunting its prey. Then again, I was doomed to feel its wrath-my entire family joined the war effort-and suffer the slings and arrows it throws. I never wanted to go to war and I couldn't anyway. I was too young. A person had to be 18 years of age before they could enlist in the Armed Forces, and I was only 16. Therefore, my mother, father, two older brothers, and the rest of my family went to fight the evil Talurians.

I never understood why the war began. The official word was that the Talurians attacked us back in 2000 and that we had to fight back. My only question was why would any intelligent race of people attack us without good reason? I had heard of top-secret deep space weapon experiments that took place before the Talurians attacked us, but once the war started, freedom of speech was suspended in favor of propaganda and misinformation. Thus, I did not mention my skepticism to anyone.

When my family left for Talura to fight, I had no place to go. The EAG (Earth Allied Governments) let children of enlisted men and women run amok. After all, every adult capable of doing anything was helping with the war effort. I wandered the streets of virtually abandoned cities searching for food and temporary shelter. I got ambushed on numerous occasions by gangs of homeless, parentless children, searching for some kind of sustenance. Usually I had none to give up to them. I would have surely died on those dirty, dusty streets if not for the Shanger family.

The Shangers were a nice family who didn't go to fight in the Talurian war. Mr. and Mrs. Shanger were both disabled with a crippling disease known as Paralytic Disease of the Ankles, PDA for short, and could not walk. This didn't discriminate them from joining the service, but they requested a permanent deferment. The Shangers had three children: Tracy, Darryl, and Davis. Tracy was just an infant and stayed eternally happy. Darryl was a 12-year-old who loved to sing ancient American songs. Davis was the oldest at 16, and ran the household for his handicapped parents.

I met the Shangers while I wandered through a city formerly known as Chicago. A gang of teenagers attacked me when I found a huge stash of food near an old shopping mall. They all had guns that were stolen from an Armed Forces base not far away from the mall and threatened to open fire if I did not give them the food. I fell to the ground in fear. Suddenly, this guy came from out of nowhere and stood in front of me. He yelled at them to leave me alone or he would take action against them. They all laughed at him because he was unarmed but then, for some weird reason, the gang just ran away. I was still kind of scared when he turned around and looked at me. He had the most beautiful blue eyes I had ever seen. He asked me if I was okay and I told him I was. He tried to help me up, but I refused and got up myself. "What is your name?" he asked me after I got up.

"Shalina," I replied.

"Shalina, what a beautiful name. My name is Davis."

"Davis, that is an interesting name to say the least."

"Thanks. Umm, I was wondering if you need a place to stay for a while. My family and I have plenty of room on our property and you probably need to relax after that attack."

I accepted his offer and we walked together to his family's home, a mansion that once belonged to a rich businessman. The family bought it for almost nothing since EAG law stated that property of enlisted men and women could be sold to those who needed it at a very low cost. Inside, the Shanger family treated me very well and took me in as their own. They became my surrogate family until I got horrifying news. My mother, father, and most of my family were killed in a horrible battle. The Talurians attacked their EAG base camp. My brothers, the only two spared, were at a different camp when the attack happened. Instead of having a funeral for our slain family members, they chose to keep fighting. I will forever hate them for that. The Shangers were no longer my surrogate family...they were my only family.

The week after I got the news, reality set in. I went into a deep depression and started to reminisce about the times I had with my family. My father was a scientist who did research for the EAG, and my mother was a commander of the Earth Guard, the section of the Armed Forces that didn't go to Talura. My father and I had a very strong relationship. I did not have many friends. Most of the children my age hung around in a large gang that hated me simply because I had parents and they lost theirs in the war. Therefore, my father became my best friend. My mother worked long hours everyday, while my father got permission from the EAG to do his research at home. He only worked about four hours a day, spending the rest of the time taking care of me and my brothers. He told us stories of life before the war when the economy did not rely on war-related businesses, entertainment was in its golden age, and families like ours were abundant, not scarce. I loved my father dearly, and I missed him more than anyone else.

I remembered the last day I saw Mom and Dad. The EAG had already shipped all capable adults off to war. My older brothers left with the rest of my family earlier that week and my parents were preparing to leave. Due to a lack of soldiers, the Earth Guard had to be disbanded and its employees moved to the EAG Marine Unit. The research project my father was working on was halted and he was sent to Talura to work on a separate experiment. The one thing about that day that always stayed with me was what my mother told me. I rarely got a chance to see her since she worked all the time, but the last words she said to me were particularly strange.

"Don't worry, Shalina," she told me, "all of us will meet again in a place away from the hostility. It's just a matter of time."

My parents were not in any way religious, and what she said wrecked my brain. I didn't understand it...what did she mean when she said it's just a matter of time? Although I think otherwise, I hope that her words come true, for the sake of our planet.

After a couple weeks of isolation and tears, Davis came in my room one day. I had been crying that whole day and it was about dinnertime when he knocked on my door.

"Shalina, it's Davis. Are you okay?" he asked.

"No, I'm not. Please leave me alone," I told him. He didn't say anything for a while then he opened the door as he knocked again.

"I said leave me alone, please."

"Look, Shalina, I just came in to see if you needed someone to talk to. It's hard losing people you love. I know exactly how you feel."

"How can you? You may have lost one or two people in your life, but I lost most of my entire family. All I have are my two jerks for brothers."

"I can because I lost most of my friends and family, too."

"You did?"

"Yes. My grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and the families of my best friends were vaporized when Talura bombed our city."

"Oh my God."

"Me, Mom, Dad, Tracy, & Darryl were the only ones who survived the attack."

"In your city or in your family?"

"In our city. Twelve million people wiped out like that. We only escaped because we were underground putting away food."

"Davis, I had no idea that this had happened to so many people. How am I going to get through it?"

"It takes a long time to heal but I will be here with you every step of the way."

On that day, I saw Davis differently. He was able to heal and stay hopeful when adversity hit him. He stayed strong and helped me to become strong. We were becoming good friends.

Davis and I shared our life stories. He told me of how his parents’ disability had been induced by Talurian biological warfare. He had to deliver his baby sister Tracy because his dad was ill. I told him of my years wandering the streets, roads, and fields of what was once the United States because I was the only member of my family who didn't go to war. Every time I mentioned my family I would break out in tears because I missed them so much. Davis let me lay on his shoulder as I cried. He really cared about me and I cared about him even more. As we got to know each other, I slowly realized I was falling in love with him.

"Shalina, do you ever wonder when this war will end?"

"Yes, every waking moment of my life. The whole thing drives me crazy. I have never known anything but this stupid war. For once, I would like to live in a world that actually cares about its children and its people."

"Me too. I'd love to actually relax and enjoy myself and not have to hunker down like a survivalist. You know, my dream was to become a painter."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh. My father and I painted murals before the war started..."

"Uhh, Davis...the war started in 2000."

"Oh...yeah...I mean right after he got the permanent deferment we painted murals on the walls of our old house."

"How did he paint with the PDA and all?"

" He used very long brushes and rollers and a scaffolding I designed for him."

"Okay."

Over time, I noticed that something was unusual about Davis. He sometimes talked about the start of the war as if he was alive when it happened. I tried my best to ignore it but I had a gut feeling something was up. Nonetheless, I decided to confess my love to him.

"Davis, I have something to tell you."

"You do?"

"Yep. Listen, I've known you for about six months now and you have always been nice to me. Whenever I felt down and depressed, you always found a way to cheer me up. You let me into your family when..." tears were streaming down my face, "when I had none. All I have to say is thank you for everything you've done. You've helped me in more ways than you’ll ever know and quite simply I love you. There's no other way to put it. I cannot live without you and I want to share the rest of my life with you."

He looked at me with those beautiful blue eyes and I could see a hint of nervousness. He smiled and held me close to him. I started sobbing into his chest. "I love you, too," he whispered.

The next day, Davis and I were beaming with joy. We each wore huge smiles and kissed a lot. However, I still had an uneasy feeling. His parents noticed our affection and met with him behind closed doors. When he came back his blue eyes had darkened with sadness.

"Shalina, I have something important to tell you."

"All right, what is it, hmm?"

"Well, this is hard for me and I want you to know that I love you no matter what. You see, my family and I are not humans. We are from Talura."

"Oh my! Talura? But how? You look just like us..."

"Talurians are shape shifters. We can make ourselves look like any living thing."

"How did you get here?"

"We fled Talura because we didn't want to fight in the war. Many of our people died because they refused to fight."

"What about your dad, can he really walk then?"

"Yes, but not the way he looks now. He would have to change his shape to do so. He and Mom took the form they are in because they could get a permanent deferment from the EAG that way."

"Wait a minute, when we first met, what did you actually do to scare that gang away?"

"I morphed my face into the head of a shark."

I didn't know what to think of Davis. He didn't actually lie to me because I never asked him if he was a Talurian; I assumed he was human, just like everyone else. How could I love him if he was the enemy? My mind was spinning thinking about the implications of this, but I figured that someone who feels the same way I do about this war couldn’t be evil.

"How long have you been on Earth?"

"I've been here since the beginning of the war."

"Do you know how the war got started?"

"Honestly, I don't remember much except it had something to do with laser beams from outer space that destroyed our capital city. Next thing I knew, our planet was at war with yours."

"So that's when your family fled, right?"

"Yes. Do you think our relationship will last now that you know my dirty little secret?"

"I don't know...only time will tell, I guess."

Our relationship only got better after Davis told me his secret. We became more trusting of each other and both of us shared more feelings than ever before. However, the war showed no signs of stopping. The EAG stepped up attacks on Talura, and Talura did the same. Yet, something big was about to happen.

I started having some weird nightmares. I saw familiar images mixed with what seemed like premonitions. I saw Davis telling me he was from Talura. I saw a giant machine in the sky. I saw Mr. Shanger, standing upright, telling me something I couldn’t understand but I knew whatever it was, it shocked me. I even saw hundreds of thousands of people rising into the sky. Finally, I could hear my mother saying, "Don't worry...all of us will meet again in a place...it's just a matter of time," over and over. I woke up from the nightmare sweating profusely, hoping that it was all a dream.

One night as Davis and I were cooking dinner for the family when he stopped what he was doing. He suddenly grabbed me and pulled me out the house. Confused, I tried pulling away from him. "Davis! What are you doing? What’s going on?" He didn’t answer but only pointed above me. I fought with him all the way until we walked out the door and saw something unbelievable.

The sky blazed with red and orange and a black, glistening machine was descended from Talura. All the people left had come from their homes and were gazing at the sky. I barely recognized Mr. and Mrs. Shanger. Their faces were the same, but their bodies looked many years younger. I saw Darryl and Tracy were no longer small children and now looked about 10 years older. I turned around and saw my brothers and thought how could this be. They were supposed to be on Talura. This situation was strange, but yet oddly familiar. Then I realized that this was my dream. My dream was coming true and everything I saw was really happening.

"What is going on?" I asked Mr. Shanger.

"Well, Shalina, we're going on a journey to a place where the war won't be a problem," he replied.

"What?"

"Trust me, everything will be okay. Your mother would kill me if I..."

"Mom? She...she told me about the day we would leave the hostility. How do you know her?"

"She was my best friend. I promised her that I would take care of you until the time came for you to leave and know your true heritage. Shalina, you are a Talurian, just like the rest of us out here. Your family came to Earth in the 20th century to escape civil war on Talura. They thought the terror was over until Earth and our planet began fighting. Shalina, we have to leave now."

"Hold up, how can that be? I can't be a...how? Why can't I shape shift and why didn't you tell me sooner and what is the place?"

"Please relax, soon as we get there all questions will be answered."

Just then, Davis tapped me on the shoulder. He had a big smile on his face.

"Did you know I was a Talurian?"

"Yes."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"My parents swore me to secrecy."

"Davis, you're lucky I love you or you'd be a dead man."

Suddenly, the gleaming black machine turned a bright green. The entire crowd began to rise into the air and started to fly. I screamed at first, but I soon realized I had nothing to worry about. I somehow knew no one would fall. As we flew into space, I turned to see Earth explode into a multitude of colors. I felt sorry for all the innocent people that needlessly died because of a senseless war. If there is justice out there, they're in a better place. I looked towards space and felt hope and anticipation for the first time. I held Davis next to me as we traveled into the cosmos and tears of joy wet my cheeks. After all these years, I finally escaped the hostility, I finally could see my family again, and I finally could be happy.