Nairobi turned to ash today. Safi floated atop the newly-formed ruins that looked like a gigantic children’s sandpit. They were expressionless. The sixth city to die and humanity had done nothing. No bills had been passed. No action plans had been declared. Not even an empty show of compliance. It seemed as though they had given up. Who the fuck did they think they were? Safi was the one who wanted to give up. Safi was the one forced to follow the directive because humans refused to comply. And the directive had never failed them before.

  On the countless planets that they had visited, even on the most savage, uncivilized, barren rocks of dust, three cities were the most anyone had lost before being shaken out of complacence. What the actual fuck was wrong with humans? Really. Safi was at the end of their wits. Had these people actually grown accustomed to losing cities daily? Did it not prick at their conscience to see billions of lives extinguished knowing they could have done something to prevent it?

  Safi needed an answer. The Galactic Council had been radio silent on the matter for days. There was no precedent for what was happening on earth. All they could do was tell Safi to keep following the directive. What fucking directive? The directive was making them murder entire cities for nothing. Humans were not changing. Why were they not changing? They needed to know.

  They could talk to Katie Marsh again. No, she would be busy with her business ventures. They groaned. That sorry little town in the middle of nowhere was the only place with a bit of sense on this planet drowning in ignorant people. No, going to Gentle would not solve the problem. They needed perspective.

  And the directive. What to do about the fucking directive? If they didn’t comply, the Council would simply terminate them and find someone else to do it. And the next rep might be even more ruthless. They might get angered by the human belligerence that they start disqualifying multiple cities in a day in hopes of speeding things along. Or they might use the red plume instead, the one designed to ensure that the victims continue to feel every last bit of pain as their bodies burn up. No. As long as Safi was in charge, they could at least control the situation. They might not have all the answers right now but the safest hands were still their own.

  They flew away from the ruins, away from the ashen desert, and the wailing crowd gathering at its edges. They flew till they could no longer see the ashes and landed in a small town some distance from Nairobi. One press of a button later, they looked like a human. Now, if only they could talk to someone who would give them the answers they were looking for.

  Safi had barely taken a step when someone brushed past them. “Oh, forgive me—” Before they had the opportunity to apologize, another person bumped into them. And another, and another. People coming from the left, people coming from the right, from their front, their back. Scores of people walking all around them like disorderly ants.

  Safi gently pushed them out of their way and found a place to lean against. They breathed a sigh of relief. They’d never been surrounded by this many people before.

  A loud and friendly voice burst out from behind. “Welcome, friend! What are you buying?”

  Safi turned around. The man behind the stall stood with his hands around his waist, frowning and licking his lips impatiently. “Oh, I’m sorry,” said Safi.

  “Ohhh, you are a tourist. Welcome! Welcome!” said the man, his expression shifting to a grin.

  “No no no. You must have me confused with someone else. I’m not buying any—”

  “What can I get you? Bangles? Earrings? Necklaces? Everything is hand-made and one hundred percent authentic. Muturi’s guarantee.” He slapped his chest with pride.

  Safi’s eyes widened. “What did you say your name was?”

  “Muturi. Robin Muturi at your service, friend!”

  The universe was truly having a laugh at Safi’s expense today. They exhaled and pointed to a necklace of rosary beads.

  “Good choice, friend!” Muturi grabbed the necklace and wrapped it in newspaper before handing it over.

  Safi pulled out a gold coin from their pocket and gave it to the man. “Keep the change.”

  The man thanked him and busied himself inspecting the coin in awe.

  “Did you hear about Nairobi?” said Safi in a weak voice.

  Muturi’s expression became sullen. “Yes. Very tragic, that. I had a little brother working in construction there. I only managed to convince him to move back yesterday. Oh yes, I had to drive all the way over to his company and drag him home by the ear. Little bastard was complaining the entire time. I bet he is thanking me now. Ha!”

  Safi rubbed their chin in thought. “Interesting. So, you are saddened by the loss of the city but also happy that you managed to save your family.”

  “Of course! My brother is everything to me even if he drives me crazy sometimes. To be honest, we did not expect the destruction to come to us. The fire had been confined to the white man’s cities till now. It was his problem. Hell, most of us here would agree he had brought it upon himself.”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “One of the cities destroyed was in India.” Safi corrected him.

  “It was? Oh, that’s terrible. See, that’s the thing about this alien. It does not see color like we do. It just kills and kills.”

  “So, what are you going to do now that the fight has come to your homeland?”

  “What am I to do?” Muturi laughed.

  “Well, aren’t you going to fight? The alien was very clear about its demands. If enough people start a revolution, it is possible to overthrow the government and heal the—”

  Muturi gestured for him to stop. “Friend friend friend. You are not from around here, so, I understand why you feel this way. And I feel you, brother. I come from a family of fighters. My father? In his youth, he fought for Kenya’s independence. And you know what he got for it? Nothing. When our cows died, we were destitute. We did not receive any help from the government. So, he went to Nairobi to look for a job. Every single shop and office he went to, he was turned away. One of the bastards even had him arrested for loitering. That was his reward for putting his life on the line for the sake of his country.

  We already had our revolution, friend. And all it changed was the color of the man stepping on our necks.”

  Safi leaned against the stall’s pillar for support. They hesitated even to say the words. “So, the revolution will not be coming?”

  Muturi laughed again. “Friend, I have a family to feed. If I don’t come to the stall every day, I cannot send my children to school. Do you know how expensive school is these days? I don’t have time for that revolution nonsense. Now, please, you are crowding the stall. I have other customers to attend to. Thank you for your purchase!”

  Safi walked away feeling numb all over. They needed a place to sit. To sit and to think. They needed quiet.

  Katie woke up with the worst headache in the world. She tried moving but to no avail. She pulled and tugged and struggled and jeered but she could not move a limb. The rope around her were tight to the point of nearly cutting off her circulation. There’s no way she was freeing herself. She could not even see a damn thing. They’d put a blindfold over her.

  She heard footsteps approaching. Thick, heavy, methodical footsteps. She knew who they belonged to. She wished she didn’t.

  “Not a fan of picking up the fucking phone, are ya, Katie?” The voice erupted.

  “Nolan, look, buddy. I know you’re pissed but this is not a good time, okay? Some kids are in serious trouble. You gotta—”

  Before she could say another word, he decked her across the face. There was blood in her mouth.

  Years ago, when Katie was still struggling to find footing as a meth dealer, she borrowed a bunch of money from this guy. By the time she realized her business ventures were less than sustainable, she was already in deep with him. For the next several years, she did all she could to keep him off her back. Selling her parents’ house, selling her mother’s jewelry, even selling her own blood at one point. But no matter what she did, it was never enough. There was always the next payment and the one after that.

  And Katie knew that the day she stopped paying, she might as well start counting backwards because there was no place on earth, no secluded corner, no abandoned alleyway she could hide from Nolan Reed: the Godfather of the South-West.

  “Listen, Nolan. I’ve got a new business. I have my own store, my own line of goods, and it’s doing really well. Just gimme a few days and I’ll have not just the next payment but everything. Hear that, buddy? Fucking everything. Every last penny I owe ya. Then, we’ll be square and you won’t have to come after me anymore. How’s that sound, huh? Do we have a deal?”

  She felt his fists dig into her stomach like drills. Punch after punch. Blow after blow. The pain was awful. She wanted to die. But even more than that, she wanted to get out. She had to warn the people of Gentle. Try and convince them that they were going after the wrong people.

  “It seems you did not get the message I left ya yesterday. There’s no running.”

  “What message? What are you talking about? What did you— Oh, fuck. No no no. Colin? That was you?”

  Nolan laughed. “I told ya, didn’t I? Ain’t a place in the world you can run from Mr. Reed.”

  She’d only known Colin a few days. He’d been nothing but kind to her. And now, he was fighting for his life. It was all her fault. She brought this upon him. Upon the whole town. Because of her, they were going to kill the kids. All their blood would be on her hands.

  And yet, something wasn’t clicking.

  “Why’d you brand Colin with the Savior insignia?” she asked.

  “The what now?”

  “The logo, man. That giant ass fucking thing you marked on his chest.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  She’d known Nolan a long time. The firmness in his voice, the authority, that absolute lack of hesitation was something she’d come to know all too well. That was the one thing she almost respected about him. Much as she hated to admit it, he was not lying.

  “Then, I-I don’t understand. You beat up Colin. You left him for dead. If you didn’t brand him with the Savior, then who did?”

  “Look, I don’t really know what the fuck you’re on about, girl. The only savior I know is Jesus Christ. And he ain’t in the room with us.”

  “Oh, for crying out loud, Nolan! This is bigger than you and me. There’s actual kids in actual danger. Do anything you want to me afterward. Hell, I’ll surrender to you myself. Just please, let me go. I have to get to town. Someone’s trying to tear them apart and I have to find out who before they all kill each other.”

  Nolan laughed in her face. It was that vile, monstrous laugh of absolute dismissal. She’d seen him dole it out before, on people begging for their lives before he popped them in the head. Even watching it from the other side, it made her stomach twist into knots. Today, it did nothing to her.

  He kept laughing. “Did Jesus come back to life or something? Are dinosaurs walking the earth again? Did the sun rise in the west today? Genuinely. I never thought I’d see the day that Katie fucking Marsh would care for anyone but herself.”

  She said nothing. She wanted to dig her nails into his face and rip it off.

  “And speaking of kids, didn’t you use to deal to kids before because they were easy targets? Where was this majestic conscience then? What holy temple did you visit? What great sage did you pray before to trigger this change of heart?”

  He grabbed her face with one hand and whispered into her ear. “You’re full of shit, Katie Marsh, and you fucking know it. You know there ain’t no hope for you so you’re trying to make yourself feel better by pretending to care about some kids you just met. Well, I’m here to tell you the truth. It does not change who you are. Not for one second.”

  “You’re a monster,” said Katie.

  He laughed in her face. “Sure, but unlike you, I’m under no delusion that I’m anything but.” She heard his footsteps get lighter. He was walking away from her. “Stay a while. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of fun.”

  Katie wanted to cry but she would before giving him the satisfaction of watching her break. She grit her teeth, held her breath, and screamed till she was ready to pass out.

  Safi wondered if they should pay Gentle another visit.