Novis

chapter 1

A sharp yell woke Alicea from the same dream she had for the past consecutive nights. Duvet pushed to the floor, she ran out of the room, downstairs, only to find that it was empty.

A fierce knocking hit the front door. Alicea clasped her hands over her chest and stared at the door, without blinking. 
Her hands quivered as the door handle twisted and she gasped as she saw what was in front of her or rather who was in front of her.
"Daniel! What's happening? What are you doing here?" He rushed in shutting the door behind him. Rain dripped from his jet-black hair and his pale skin. He stared at her for a moment as he tried to catch his breath.
"Sit down, I need to tell you something." He pushed her into the living room. "They told me to come. I was scared but they told me to come and tell you but still I can't seem to...". He clenched his teeth and looked down with both hands in fists.
"You're scaring me. Please, just tell me what's wrong."
He sighed and looked up at her and for some reason a large lump started to grow in her throat.
"Alicea, your father, they couldn't find him and there was a fire a while ago at that place, while he was on duty and well, they had to assume that he's gone..."
Her heart sank. Her eyes filled with tears. Her body trembled. Neither of them spoke.
Alicea shook her head  until she burst into tears. 

***

5 years later...

 Alicea rushed from the kitchen table towards the front door. Before opening the door, she tightened her black, shoulder-length hair and straightened out her grey jacket. Opening the door, she smiled.
"Daniel! What brings you here?" Alicea said, letting him in. 

"My mum told me to bring you some of the food she made. She said it wasn't right for you to eat processed foods all the time." Daniel handed a plastic bag to Alicea. 

"This is the third time this week she's sent me food. I'm grateful." Alicea walked to the kitchen, with Daniel following closely behind, and set down the bag.

She then filled two glasses with water and after handing one to Daniel, she picked up the other and took a sip.

"I'm going out to the market today. Is there anything you need?" Daniel asked as he pulled his phone out from his jacket.

Alicea shook her head, "No, it wouldn't be right for you to buy me things."

"Might as well take advantage of it, my mum is paying." He laughed before looking back to the phone.  

"Even so, it's fine. I was going to go shopping too, so don't worry about it." Alicea reassured him. she began fiddling with her fingers before looking up, "Have- have you heard any news...from that place?" 

Daniel stopped scrolling through his phone and looked at her with piercing eyes, "I thought you promised you wouldn't ask anymore. Stop digging into it. You know it's not safe." 

"I know. I know, but if there is any news on what happened it would help. Also, I was looking through my father's old books and he wrote some strange things I thought could be clues about why he died and-"

"Alicea, he died because of a fire. There's nothing else to it and if you try searching, you'll just end p getting yourself into danger. I'm sorry but he's gone." Daniel sighed after looking at Alicea's expression. "Your dad did a lot for me and my mum so I'm thankful. I told him I'd stay with you and look after you. Remember, this isn't London like it was in the past, before our time, it's dangerous. Half of us humans don't even have a choice but to live here, we got unlucky. But we don't bring danger to ourselves. Do you understand?"

Alicea gripped her hands together before nodding. 

Daniel stood up, "Good. Well, I should go now. Have to get back to mum. I'll see you soon." He gave her a brief wave before leaving.

Alicea stood alone in the kitchen lost in thought. She sighed, looking down at her black trainers. She hated the fact that everything Daniel had said was completely right.
London had been ruined, in other words, taken over by beings that were not even human. Most humans of the new generation had to live in small towns as the cities were occupied. The towns became unrecognisable; they looked more like well-built villages. Anyone who visited would assume they had just travelled to the past. 

Alicea washed up the dishes and then checked her phone. The time always turned, it's been turning for the past 5 years with nothing to look forward to.