elytra
a beetle may or may not be inferior to a man
When the Zolny invaded, no one had really expected it.
You don't really expect those sort of things to happen on normal days, the sort of days where the sky is clear and the sun is shining, the type of days when you have things you have to do, and errands you have to run. Those days, the ones where nothing is really bad, but it isn't outstandingly good either, are the ones that are the most boring. They lull you into a sort of security, because nothing happens. You follow the same schedule you always do, on a sort of auto-pilot state of mind, just waiting until you get some free time during the day to do things you want to do. That was the sort of day it happened on, and maybe that's why no one really saw it coming. And, when you don't see things coming, it's easier for them to take you down.
That's what happened, about a year ago. It happened so quickly that no one really even had the chance to fight back, because for a moment, they weren't there, and then suddenly they were, destroying things and hauling people off. Within weeks, the bases for camps were built, and more people had been taken, forced into a sort of subdued state where they couldn't fight back if they wanted to. The number of people who hadn't been taken dwindled, and those who tried to fight back were taken care of quickly. A few more weeks, and the camps were a bit more permanent, and creatures from the aliens had been sent to hunt down the rest of the escapees. Then, months passed, and more people were gone, and more, and more, until seeing another person was either a miracle or a curse, because hostility had risen, and you had to do what you could to get food and clean water, not to mention other supplies and shelter. It was a coin flip, whether reactions to other people would be good or not.
So far, Daphne Eunice had been lucky.
As a medical student before the incident, she had been lucky enough to know various medical tricks, which came in handy whenever she was moving quickly and got injured. She had also made it a point to help out other people as she went, if she could and if they were willing. People had been willing and even grateful for all the instances that she had been in such situations, so her luck shone through again there. Another luck-filled occurrence was the fact she had been camping at the time, and so, she still had all her supplies, for the most part. She didn't need to raid as much as other people might have, and that was a good thing, because at first things had been crazy. She had stuck to the wilderness outside the city for about a month, waiting the crowds and riots out. She was lucky. In short? She was waiting for that luck to run out. It hadn't yet, but it couldn't last forever. She kept her expectations low.
Currently, she was dodging a patrol. She had tried to memorize the patterns and areas they scanned, but she hadn't been able to remember them as well as she had wanted to. It was difficult, and sometimes, they switched it up. They didn't always check buildings, though, mostly the streets and alleyways, and through shop windows. Office buildings and small businesses that didn't have food were passed over with not much more than a thought. They didn't have much comfort, nor many supplies, but as far as she was concerned, the fact she was safe surpassed both of those. So she had set herself up in a building, and, as it did every once in a while, a patrol was going by. She was staying away from the windows, under a desk, taking note of the exits if she had to run. So long as she didn't hear anyone come in, she was good. She clutched her weapon, a crowbar, a little tighter.
Her luck was running out.