Kingswood was less than a perfect picture of ideal. Slightly tarnished, not as expensive, but said to have more heart than the rest of Kingsport, it was from that that the first strands of resistance started to show itself against the alien invasion. What exactly were these things? No one in Kingsport had an idea, but the people of Kingswood knew an idea of what to do in response.

They assembled mismatched teams of fighters as more and more superpowered people rose to the occasion. Those who couldn't fight, did what they could: healing, cooking, cleaning -- or just saying 'thank you, you did your best.'

It had been a week since the first wave of aliens that had rose in response once violence had been the only solution. The fighters called them the First Movement. It was theorized that there would be a Second, Third, and Fourth, if they didn't do anything now.

Ground Zero was broken. Not beyond recognition, no; it was broken because it no longer was the place they once knew. Most of the citizens had been evacuated. Those who stayed back were fighting more than just the aliens. They battled amongst themselves as tensions ran high. The people who held themselves together remained. The ones who couldn't, left.

Some of them were at the end of their ropes. Nana had seen one of them take his own life after he couldn't bear to see yet another person die under his care. She had heard one of them talking about the end of the world while he slept. Today, that boy around her age packed his bags.

Perhaps it was for the better. Nana wiped sweat off her brow as she rummaged through ransacked cupboards and cabinets in search of supplies. Yes, it must have been the only choice. She had exchanged email addresses with him so she could send him messages, even if she didn't know whether he was going to reply. It was worth a shot.

She grunted, and squeezed her way out of the empty building. It had been a bust, and much time wasted on no supplies or survivors. The Second Movement was said to come by tomorrow evening at the earliest. She had less than twenty-four hours to find better men. She had less than twelve to make sure a man didn't die on them.

Nana took a deep breath as she rested a shaking hand on one of the broken signature pillars of Kingswood. That injured man probably wasn't going to make it, but perhaps this crying boy would. (Had he been here long? Had their team simply missed him by chance? Had he somehow survived because of freak powers?) She tightened the ribbon around her hair-bun, and walked towards him. A survivor was a survivor, child or not.

As she approached him and stood by his side, she said, gently and in a friendly manner: "My hair ribbon is pink. It is my favourite colour. I wear it so people know it is me. Is it true that your favourite colour tells a lot about you? What is your favourite colour?"

RYOU
(( no problem so far, 's all good. ))

Nana was a strong girl, but humans like her had their limits. After a trek through several buildings, her legs were ready to give -- but once the boy came tumbling towards her and flinging his arms around her waist like her younger sister used to do back home, Nana found the conviction to remain standing.

She too, wrapped her hands around his neck and shoulders. He was a child. Children weren't meant to be left behind, no matter how small. Whether they were able to contribute to the cause or not was irrelevant. Nana looked up at the skies as the boy's cries melted into soft, quiet sobbing; if she stared long enough at the clear, blue sky, perhaps tears would not fall from her eyes.

"Pink is my favourite colour," said Nana, still looking up at the sky. She gently patted him with her right hand, running it down his back to soothe his feelings. She had no idea what it was like to be all alone like this - and she did not think that she wanted to experience it - but the child no longer had to be alone. He had her. He had the rest of the medical team back at their base.

Nana looked down, at his quivering shoulders and heaving chest. There was happiness and relief in his tears, she thought. This was one of the reasons why some of them chose to remain in Kingsport. She too, would not let this child's life fade quietly into the wake of the Second Movement.

In the same bright voice, as if she hadn't had tears rolling in her eyes, she continued, "Green means 'alright' and red means 'danger.' But pink means 'friend.' It is colour of safety. My name is Nana. I will take you to safety."

RYOU

Clear, and breezy like a fine day in Spring, Nana laughed as she watched the boy clumsily attempt to clean himself. She blinked back tears when she widened her mouth in a brilliant smile; she did not know if her tears were happy ones or sad ones, but they ought not to fall like pearls from a cut necklace. Their string of life was still strong. The necklace of resistance was still going. She had a job to do, and she would not fail.

"Benedict," said Nana, her voice solemn. She recited the words her team leader had drilled into her brain the first day she enlisted. "I am Nana from Medical Team Woodpecker." She shifted her stance to accommodate Benedict, who was now gripping her forearm for balance. She must not fall.

She pulled out a medical device that resembled a barcode scanner from her waist-pouch. "I will now perform a basic scan of your vitals and provide basic treatment if needed. Medical Team Hummingbird will administer full medical care back on Base III, so please hang in there. Should you wish to fight after that, we will continue to lend you our full support. Should you wish to return home, we wish you good tidings and a safe journey."

Nana exhaled after her short speech. By now, it had become second nature to her. How many times had she recited it while administering first-aid to the wounded? Only once did she not manage to finish it before the person passed. Only once, never twice. She had grown stronger, faster, swifter since then.

Scanner in hand, she ran the device over Benedict's neck where it obtained his heart rate, body temperature, and other data. She noted that he was at a higher body temperature than normal, but his touch did not seem feverish. Nana hazarded that it was due to his heightened emotions, but it did not hurt to ask.

"Benedict? Do you feel okay? Feverish? Tight in chest?" she asked, as she wrapped her arm around his body to guide him into a seating position. The readings were concerning - in the sense that they did not tally - but he seemed fine, albeit shaken. Nana was at a loss, but chalked it up to her own inexperience. Whatever the case may be, she had better refer to her seniors in Base III.

Like an older sister caring for her younger siblings, Nana told Benedict, "For now, sit. I am going to radio Hummingbird."

RYOU

Benedict had stopped crying, but had also said that he felt sick. Nana thought that was hardly anything to go on. She held her pocket radio in hand, and seemed to think about the best course of action. She wasn't as experienced as the Hummingbirds; they had been around longer, were usually given the opportunity to treat patients brought in straight from the battlefield, and on the other hand, the Woodpeckers scavenged for supplies and looked for survivors that might have not came out from hiding until they were at the end of their rope. They would know more than she did.

That was enough for her to come to a decision. She stood, but did not radio her seniors on Base III until she had answered his question. It was not good to leave someone hanging, she thought.

"No, I am not doctor," said Nana, "But I want to become doctor, so I am helping here. I help people like you, as friend, until I can help as doctor." She paused, trying to find the words that best represented her thoughts. English was not an easy language. "I want to learn many things."

Nana palmed the radio as she tried to explain further. People like Benedict were the people whom she learnt the most from; children were less inclined to ignore their symptoms, or to lie about their habits when prompted about them. It helped them make an accurate diagnosis and administer the right medicine. Adults were apt to pretend they were fine when truly, they were not.

Despite her many thoughts, Nana settled for a simpler sentence. She smiled, "We can learn together. I will learn how to be good doctor. Benedict can learn how to get better."

She flashed him a thumbs-up, and turned in the general direction of Base III. From where Benedict was facing, Base III was in approximately two o' clock. In the same practised voice from before, Nana pressed down on the button that patched her through to her leaders.

"Base III, this is Woodpecker Nana. One male survivor found, no -- apparent injuries." Despite stumbling over a difficult word, Nana soldiered on. "Vitals do not tally with scanner, please advise."

After a short pause, the radio crackled to life with a response from a man on Base III.

"Noted. Rendezvous with Hummingbird Szeto at The Alcove."

"Roger that!" Nana breathed into the radio, her voice a mixture of relief and excitement. She turned back to Benedict, beaming. "The Alcove is not far from us. We are lucky ones. The gods in heaven must have been watching."

RYOU

"Yes," said Nana, softly. Her mouth curved into a small smile as she recalled the scent of burning incense, smoke that stung her eyes, and papers folding under her fingers as she tossed them into ceremonial fires. It was so similar, yet so different from crumbling buildings and scorched earth. "There is Tian Gong, Mazu, and Buddha, and Guanyin, and so many more. It is not just one who watches."

She placed her arm around Benedict's back, and helped support him as they made slow progress towards the Alcove. Nana instinctively knew where it was based on the landscape; she had no need to refer to her map.

"There are many people in the world," she continued to explain, allowing herself a moment to sink back into memories of peaceful times. There had been arguments that she had cried over, and tantrums she wished she had never thrown, but she now knew they were ripples in a calm lake. Now, the lake-bed was rocked by unknown forces, stronger than harsh words and wilder than fits. People turned to gods in those times of turbulence, but the people of Kingsport had something else: They had superpowered humans.

But Nana still believed in gods.

"If there is only one, how to watch everyone, make sure they are safe?"

RYOU

"Yes, always," said Nana, firmly believing in the fact that no matter where she was, the gods would be watching over her, her friends on Base III, and everyone else in Kingsport. She was certain that Benedict's god would also watch over him. Every morning, she prayed for that as she lit a small stick of incense in a corner of Base III, and never stopped believing that the skies would once again become clear again. Change didn't happen overnight. Good change took longer than that.

Gently, she pressed a thumb against Benedict's cheek and wiped away his tears. It was fine to cry; she wasn't going to tell him to stop because it wasn't a manly thing to do, or because this wasn't the time for crying or to be a child.

They continued trekking through the deserted landscape. Nana's radio occasionally crackled to life with conversations from other Woodpeckers; Nana listened in, but didn't participate. Some of them spoke too quickly for her to understand. And besides, what was more important than holding a radio in her hands, was using those very hands to keep Benedict close to her.

The First Movement may have gone down in flames and screams, but the people devising a defense against the invasion constantly reminded everyone about stragglers that might still be lurking around somewhere. They still didn't know what exactly these aliens were, and what they were made of, but they had fared well against common weapons -- which meant that the average human stood little to no chance against them. Despite having little to no reassurance at having completely wiped out the First Movement, they had decided to soldier on. Humanity would survive.

Like a small flag of resistance, Nana's pink hair ribbon fluttered in the wind as they made for The Alcove.

RYOU

Nana's gaze had been focused on the distance, so much so that she hadn't realized that they were passing landmarks. She jerked her head up when Benedict spoke. Her gaze focused on the slightly lopsided M, its golden arches shining up ahead like a beacon. On normal days, it would have been yet another of McDonald's many outlets. Today, it looked like an iconic landmark, distinctly human and an embodiment of man's desires. Nana had heard someone say, 'Eat to live, not live to eat,' and she thought that wasn't very applicable to America.

"Miss?" squeaked Nana, as a pang of hunger crossed her stomach. She swallowed. "Ah, no! I am not teacher!"

Back home, she called her teachers 'Miss' as a sign of respect. Of course, there was also the Chinese equivalent of that name, but saying it in English reminded her of her teachers. They weren't used outside of school all that often.

"Just Nana is okay!" she smiled. "But what do you mean? I live here, on Base III. Sometimes I sleep at The Alcove."

Nana paused in thought. As she recalled the night markets back home, she remembered how her family, her neighbours, and her friends crunched down on fried food and sweet treats from stalls that lined the streets for miles on end. The food in America was good, but it didn't taste like the food back home.

Realizing that they had stopped for a while to look at McDonald's as if it were the Statue of Liberty, Nana quietly laughed to herself. Oh, what had the world come to? Here they were, standing in the middle of an empty street, quite possibly the only people for an entire block -- just staring at McDonalds. Not even talking about fries, or double cheeseburgers, but instead having a normal conversation about where home was.

Still smiling, Nana said, "Oh, no! Do you mean where I come from?"

RYOU