ALIEN INVASION

by Hallett, Peter

  “The air was stinging me, so I opened my window like you taught me ... Sorry.”

  “You don’t need to be sorry, that was very smart. Good boy. I’m proud of you.”

  “The thunder started as the lawn spit the bomb out.”

  “Mommy is confused. Could you show me what you’re talking about?”

  “Yes.” He scooted from under the bed, I did the same but it took me twice as long as him. He grabbed my hand and ran me to the window. I had to jump debris on the way. I also noticed a large crack in the wall over his bed.

  My jaw fell when I saw he was telling the truth. In the middle of our backyard was a shiny metal-looking object sticking out of the ground. It looked like a space-age peapod. It appeared as if it had blasted through the dirt in an upward motion, forced its way from underground somehow.

  The top of the pod was open, four separate sections spread wide. There was flashing lights inside and a larger light on top, shining in the direction of our house. The inside of the pod looked like a mess of computer parts, blinking and flashing, it reminded me of that movie, Tron.

  “See Mommy, I told you.” Freddie tugged on my arm.

  “Yes, you did.”

  “What is it?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Is it a bomb?”

  “I don’t think so, baby.”

  “A spaceship?”

  “Don’t be silly.” I laughed, uncomfortably. It could have been one of those things for all I knew.

  Something crashed, cracked and crunched downstairs. Both Freddie and me jumped. I quickly placed my hand over his mouth and said, “Hush.” I led him to his closet as quickly a possible and we both got inside. I closed the door, and looked through the slits in the wood.

  Thuds. Someone was on our stairs. Creak. Someone was at Freddie’s door. I held my breath, could feel my son’s on the palm of my hand. I knelt down next to him; his eyes were wide, tears flowing. Crunch. Someone had stepped into his room.

  It was pitch black in the room but I could see what had entered well enough for a little piss to sneak free. The shadowed creature slowly walked toward Freddie’s bed. I could hear sniffles, like it was trying to get a scent. That made me swallow and Freddie start to shake. I held him to me, tight, praying he would stay as silent as possible.

  The blackness in front of us had to be over six feet. It was deathly thin though, with legs longer than its body. Its head was enormous, its neck just as big. Its arms were long enough to reach to the floor and its hands had three, long fingers.

  A beam of light lit the creature. It turned toward it and roared a feverous shriek. Freddie grabbed hold of me, but my hand fell from his mouth. He screamed and the beast turned to the closet, the beam showing me its full features in high-definition.

  It had four mouths, all connected in the center of its head. They were full to the brim with rows of teeth, dripping slobber. They were sharp, long, thin, and needle-like. The eyes above its mouth were bugged out, huge, black as midnight. Its skin was the color of gloomy crystal, practically elasticated, glossy, oily, wet.

  A bang boomed, sounded like a gunshot. It was. The blast hit the monster as it reached toward the closet. Its torso erupted in spurts of gooey, gloopy grease as it backpedaled with its long arms pinwheeling and its talons scratching at the roof of Freddie’s room. Dust was flying.

  Another shot struck it. This one hit an eye. The eye exploded. More slime popped and it cried out loud enough to smash the window in the room. Another bang followed quickly and the monster’s right arm flew from its body, hitting the wall behind the bed, leaving a trail of slug-like glop.

  The last shot dropped the monster onto Freddie’s bed, the dark blood of the thing soaking into his covers, running over the floor at a quick enough speed to reach us in seconds.

  The closet door sprung outward. The bright light hit us. Freddie screamed. I pulled him into me. I squinted. I couldn’t see shit, though. The light was too intense at first. When it was angled at the floor a man came into view. He was carrying a pump action shotgun.

  “What the fuck was that thing?” I screamed with a shaky and croaking voice. “And who the hell are you?”

  “The name’s Kent. That thing was an alien. Come with me if you want to live.”

  JUNE

  Alec and me ran back into his apartment and slammed the door closed. Alec was quick to lock it. I turned off the flashlight then hugged into him and whispered into his ear in a stutter of breathlessness, “What was that?”

  “I don’t know,” he whispered back, his voice just as affected as mine. “You can bet your ass it wasn’t a terrorist, though.”

  “I’m starting to freak out.” I was. It felt like my hair was going to turn gray and my bones were going to shake from my body. My teeth were even chattering and I wasn’t even cold. In fact I was burning up, sweat running over my face, some into my eyes, stinging them.

  “I don’t think we’ll be safe in the apartment. Wherever my mom is, she won’t be safe either. We have to make a break for it.” Having his hands holding onto my body felt good. I should have probably been thinking about something more important at that moment.

  “How do you mean?” I asked. We both took a few steps back from the door as the screams reached a crescendo of unpleasantness. Gurgling. Choking. Coughing. Cries of complete anguish, coming from a voice that was losing its ability to vocalize the unbearable pain.

  “The parking lot, under the building. We go there, grab my car.” I heard him swallow, could feel his heart beating against me.

  “What about your mom?” Had he forgot?

  “I haven’t forgot. I just don’t think staying here is wise. If she has left the building, it’s more important we cut her off before she even attempts to get in the place. If she is stuck in an elevator, that’s a safer spot to be in than the one we’re in. At least that monster doesn’t have a chance of finding her if she’s trapped there, even if she’s freaking out about the enclosed space, I don’t think she’d mind if she knew what the alternative was.”

  “I guess you’re right, but …” Fear was able to choke me, to close my throat enough to stop the rest of the words flowing.

  “But what?”

  I forced them out in rasps. “To get to the underground garage, we’ll have to travel down quite a few floors, to do that we’ll have to get to the stairwell, to do that we’ll have to pass Mister Harington’s place, that thing is in Mister Harington’s place.”

  “I know, but if we don’t try, that thing could soon be in here with us. Do you think it will stay in Mister Harington’s once its finished eating, or killing, or fucking, or whatever the hell it’s doing to that poor guy? I sure as hell don’t think it will, it’s not like it’s going to make itself a sandwich and sit and watch the game on TV.”

  “Okay, let’s go.” I didn’t want to. I wanted to stay put, but then it hit me. Hiding in a dangerous place was never a good plan. It was stupid. I‘d done that at my home for years. I could have saved myself a lot of hurt if I’d just abandoned my dad, hidden somewhere less dangerous, but fear had trapped me there for too long. I couldn’t let that happen on that night.

  “Good. I’m glad you agree. Light the way to my mom’s room again, keep the beam aimed at the floor, maybe cover it slightly with your hand, so we don’t draw any unwanted attention to us.”

  I did as Alec asked, having no idea what he was planning. When we were in his mom’s room he opened up her closet and pushed some of the clothes on the rail to the side. “I started by dressing in her clothes when she wasn’t home, you know?”

  “This seems like an odd time to give me a history lesson concerning cross dressing, Alec.” I kept flitting my head over my shoulders to the door we’d entered the room from, half expecting that evil being to burst through at any moment. The suspense was killing me, but at least a monster wasn’t.

  “I guess you’re right.” He knelt on the floor, moved some shoes to the side, and opened up a compartment in the
base of the closet. He pulled a black case out and we moved to the bed, where he put the case, and started to enter a combination into the locking mechanism.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “This, my dear, is a Taurus Model 85 .38 Special+P Revolver with a white frame and pink grip. It holds five rounds. Cute, isn’t it?” he asked, as he removed the gun from the case and held it under the light of the flash for me to see.

  “That’s not the word I’d have used to describe it … What do you plan to do with that thing? I hate guns.”

  “Well, we can’t use your toy Sonic screwdriver … and what do you think I plan to do with it? If that monster tries to take a bite, the .38 special takes a bite. I’ll feel safer having it and not needing it, than not having it and needing it.”

  “I’m not sure I will. Can you even shoot that thing? I’ve seen you throw a football.”

  “Of course I can. You point it in the direction of the bad guy and you pull the trigger. Any damn fool can shoot a gun.” He grabbed my hand and started to lead me from his mom’s room. “I’ve been to the range with my mom a few times. I painted my nails to match the color of the gun. Some guy made a comment about them … it wasn’t a compliment. I thought my mom was going to shoot him, so we haven’t been back since.”

  We both stood behind the door, ready to leave the apartment. Alec had let go of my hand, he had one hand on the door handle now, and the other was still holding his pink gun. I had the flashlight, now powered down.

  “I’ll go out first,” he whispered. “When you’re out, grab hold of my skirt at the back, so we don’t lose each other in the dark. Don’t pull on it though; I don’t want to end up on my ass. We go slow and silent. Don’t make a sound. Don’t even breathe. We only have five apartments to pass before we have to turn to be in the stairwell. When we get there, turn the flash on, or we’ll end up falling down the damn stairs. Clear?”

  “Yeah.” I took a deep breath and held the air in my lungs as he opened up the door and stepped into the corridor. I followed him and grabbed hold of his skirt. I tried to locate Mister Harington’s door, but it was too dark. The screams had stopped. But I could hear the sound of flesh being ripped from bones. I shuddered.

  I hoped Alec had a good understanding of the layout, because I couldn’t see shit. I had no idea when we’d need to turn, but then, after walking slowly for what felt like ages, praying the floor wouldn’t creak, wanting desperately to take in more air, I was able to make out Mister Harington’s shoes.

  Alec guided us around them and I made the mistake of turning toward Mister Harington’s door. Three long, claw-like, sharp-pointed tips burst through. I jumped. I screamed. I pulled on Alec’s skirt enough to make him stumble backward into me. He turned to the door when his feet were secure and fired two shots.

  We heard a scream come from the monster as it pulled its claws from the wood and back into the room. “Hold on tight! And run for your life!” Alec shouted into my ear.

  I did both of what he said as he took off running. I decided to turn the flash on, it didn’t make sense to try and hide now, the monster was already alerted to our presence, we might as well see where we were going and not fall on our asses.

  A loud crash bellowed behind us. Alec stopped running, I ran into the back of him. He turned toward Mister Harington’s apartment, and with his free hand moved me behind him. I shone the flashlight down the corridor. Mister Harington’s door was broken into pieces; the monster was gathering itself up from the floor. It whipped its head up, so its big black eyes were locked on us.

  Alec leveled the gun and fired three shots. The flashes of the weapon as it discharged lit the small space like a strobe and made the movement of the monster look jerky, like frames were missing from a film, similar to some damaged footage of Charlie Chaplin I’d seen once, as it performed erratic reaching actions with its long arms outstretched, charging at us.

  My ears were ringing. My head was killing. My heart was beating as fast as a drummer on speed.

  The first two shots missed. The third hit the monster in its chest; black, goopy blood surging forth from the wound on the bullet’s impact, but it didn’t slow it down. It kept its long arms out in front, its long, thin, and clawed fingers pointing directly at us.

  Alec must have been out of bullets, since he threw the gun at the monster. Unfortunately he threw like a girl and the pistol clattered somewhere behind the creature. He screamed, “Run.”

  I turned. Alec was already getting ahead of me. I pushed my legs to move faster than they’d ever done. My muscles were burning soon enough. I wasn’t built for speed. The sounds of the hastening thuds of the monster’s feet behind me were good motivation though. I fought through the pain and was soon running by Alec’s side as he turned to the right and took the corner.

  The beam of the flash lit the doors to the stairwell with quick flits of erratic movement. I wanted to drop it so bad; knowing it would increase my speed. Even if the increase was only a small amount that could have been enough to keep me safe, the difference between life and death.

  Alec was at the doors first. He pulled them open and I charged past. I stopped quickly when I saw the first step downward get illuminated by the beam on my flash. I spun and aimed the flashlight at the doors. Alec was through them, was pulling them closed. The monster was running toward them, its arms still held out in front, all its teeth showing in its four interconnected mouths, resembling a horrific body part in a dirty nightmare, a snapping pussy designed to castrate perverts.

  Alec closed the doors. I could see the dark shape of the monster growing larger as it closed in on us, via the small windows in the doors, some of its spittle able to hit the glass. I was frozen to the spot, watching the drool run down the windows and our certain death rushing toward us, when I saw out of the corner of my eye, Alec as he smashed his elbow into the glass of a red box on the wall.

  I spun the beam toward him, his arm was bleeding and he had an axe in his hands. He rushed over to the doors, slid the handle of the axe through the handles he used to pull the doors closed, then jumped back from them as the monster crashed into them.

  The thud of flesh hitting the metal and the smashing sound of the windows reverberated through the stairwell. We both raised our arms to cover our faces as the shards from the windows flew through the air at us. I felt some hit my arms and then heard them crackle and skittle as they hit the floor.

  I removed my arms from my face to see the monster pressed up against the doors, one of its arms just able to squeeze through the window’s opening. Alec backed away from the doors, stood next to me, as the three-fingered hand neared us. He grabbed me by my hand. I jumped.

  “Those doors won’t hold it for long! We have to move!” he screamed as he started to drag me down the stairs, my feet skidding and sliding, my balance almost lost, the sound of the monster shrieking behind us, sounding murderous intent.

  When we reached the bottom of the stairwell we were confronted with two doors, just like the ones we’d just ran from. My heart was pumping, my breathing was rapid, and my head was spinning. I was exhausted. Alec looked to be as well. We both stopped. I placed my hands on my knees. He leaned on a wall. I coughed. He coughed. I puked. He retched.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  I wiped some chunks from my mouth. “I think so. I was never the sporting type.”

  “Same here.”

  “How’s your arm?” I didn’t look at him. I didn’t have the energy to stand straight.

  “I don’t know. I’m not a doctor. It doesn’t look great.”

  I shone the flashlight at him and angled my neck to see the damage. Most of his right arm was zigzagged with long lines of red. The worst of the wound was at his elbow. I saw something shining, flicking light off, back in my direction. “Ah, shit.”

  “What?” He sounded concerned.

  “I think you have some glass sticking out of you.” I managed to stand upright. Everything spun for a few moments. I thought
I was going to throw up again. Thankfully, I didn’t.

  I walked on unsteady feet toward him, he was bending his arm to try and get a better look at the shard. I could already see it was big. I had no idea how deep it was in, but I had a plan to remove it. I think I was more nervous about that than the monster that could come hurtling down the stairs at any moment. Which is ridiculous.

  I stood in front of him and held the flashlight between my legs, so I had both hands free. I took hold of his arm and pretended to examine the wound. I made sure his limb wasn’t blocking my path, or my plan couldn’t be set in motion. I placed a thumb and finger on either side of the shard then I quickly leaned in and kissed him, while at the same time tugging the glass from his flesh.

  He didn’t react to the removal. He reacted to the kiss. He moved his injured arm from me and placed both of his hands on my hips. He opened his mouth and let his tongue play with mine. It was tender, gentle, so rewarding.

  I’d thought about what it would be like to kiss him many times. Now I knew. It was amazing. I didn’t even worry about his hands managing to find some of my fat, well, maybe a little, but not as much as I thought I’d be concerned when someone finally kissed me. I was more apprehensive about tasting like puke.

  He slowly pulled away. “What was that for?” he managed to ask through stutters.

  “This,” I said as I brought the shard into his line of sight.

  “That’s all it was for?” he asked.

  “Maybe.” I smiled. He did to. “Let’s bandage that arm of yours and get the fuck out of dodge. That monster could come charging down those stairs at any minute. I don’t want be here when it does.”

  “Agreed.” He reached a hand under his skirt.

  “Alec, what are you doing? I don’t think we have time for that.”

  He laughed. “I’m not doing that, but it’s nice to know if we had time, you’d be game.” He winked at me. I got embarrassed. “I’m getting my car keys.”

  “Do you hide everything in your panties. How big are they, Bridget Jones?”

  “I hide everything important in them, they need to be big … and cute.” He smiled.