The dust never settled, not really. It hung in the air like a shroud, the remnants of the bombs that turned the world inside out. It coated everything, a fine grit on the tongue, a film over the eyes. Made the sunsets spectacular, though. Bloody red bleeding into bruised purple.


    I was scavenging an old strip mall, looking for anything that hadn''t been picked clean, when I saw it. A strange, gleaming object descending from the sky, landing just outside the old strip mall. I eased closer, hand on the rusty pipe I used for... well... persuasion.


    It was unlike anything I’d ever seen: smooth, with a dull shine like a pearl, and oddly shaped—like a... well, hell, I didn''t know what it was shaped like. Like nothing from this world.


    As I approached, a jolt, like static electricity, ran through the air. I pulled back, shaking my head, vision blurry.


    "Don''t be afraid," a voice said.


    I looked around, saw nothing. "Who the hell said that?" I asked?


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    "I did...," the voice said. "The craft you see before you."


    I stared at the thing. It pulsed with a faint inner light now. "You''re talking to me?" I asked.


    "In a manner of speaking. We are communicating through a translation device," it said.


    "We?" I asked.


    The thing shimmered. "My companions. We are observing," it said.


    "Observing what?'' my voice came out sharper than I intended. "The end of the world?" I asked.


    "No. The beginning," it said.


    "Ha! That''s a laugh," I said.


    "We have been watching your species for a long time. You are… resilient. Adaptive," it said.


    "We''re also damn good at killing each other," I said, bitterness thick in my throat.


    "That is a phase," the voice said. "A hurdle. You will overcome it."


    "And you''re going to help us? Why?" I asked.


    "We see potential. We wish to assist," it replied.


    I looked at the thing, at the sky, at the ruined world around me. "Help would be… appreciated," I admitted.


    The thing pulsed again, brighter this time. "We are pleased. We will begin slowly. Knowledge. Technology. A nudge in the right direction."


    "Just don''t nudge too hard," I said. "We''re jumpy."


    The thing seemed to chuckle—a ripple of light across its surface. "We understand."


    I looked at the setting sun, the dust swirling in the air. Maybe, just maybe, there was a dawn coming after all.