ALIEN INVASION

by Hallett, Peter

  I stopped and she ran into the back of me. I held the rifle to my side and rested my other hand on a knee. It was as if I was choking on the air. Cynthia placed her hand on my back; it only took her a few moments to control her breathing.

  I looked up at her. “I run every night.” She smiled.

  I tried to smile, but it was stopped by a coughing fit. She rubbed my back with her hand. I finally managed to straighten myself up. The doors were open; inside I could see another corridor, one that was thank-fuckery not as long as the one we’d just traveled down. It ended in a T, two corridors traveling opposite each other.

  I raised my rifle to my shoulder; Cynthia did the same with hers. I nodded at her and slowly walked through the doors into the new corridor. I stopped when I was a few steps inside and kept my rifle trained on the T.

  Cynthia closed the doors. “I don’t think I can lock them. There’s a bashed in computer thingy on the wall next to them, I think that might have been the lock.”

  “Shit, that means the aliens have a way in.”

  “What should we do?” she asked, as she came to stand next to me, her rifle aimed at the T too.

  “We find somewhere we can lock ourselves in, or someone that can help, a soldier that isn’t like the ones we just dealt with.” I heard her sniffle. “You, okay?”

  “I’m okay.” She didn’t sound too sure.

  “How are you holding up? Do you want to talk about what happened back there?”

  “Not really.”

  “When you do, I’m ready to listen.”

  “Thank you.”

  I started to walk forward. Cynthia did the same. We soon reached the end of the corridor. I leaned around the wall and scanned my eyes and rifle down each side of the T.

  “Which way?”

  “To the right,” I said. “There is a door down that way, we’ll see if we can open it.”

  “Okay.”

  I took the corner, my rifle leading the way. I stopped at the first door we came too. That one had the same computer lock as Cynthia had seen at the others. I pushed a neon green button that was under it. The screen lit up, a fingerprint reader.

  “We’re not going to get in any of these doors, they read fingerprints.”

  “Zack,” Cynthia said. She motioned with her chin when I turned to face her. She had her rifle locked on an arm that was on the floor, sticking out from around a corner farther down the corridor.

  “Stay here,” I told her. “Watch where we just came from. I’ll go and check out that guy.” I didn’t wait for a response. I just tucked the rifle to my shoulder again and moved to the arm.

  Once I was at the arm, I gave the hand a kick. It rolled around the corner. I peeked my rifle around the wall first, then my head. It was another corridor. I looked down toward the body. There was no body, just a hand. It was attached to a forearm, a bone sticking out of the end, blood and veins trailing behind it.

  My first thought was that aliens must be in the base. My second was that we now had a key. I bent down and picked up the hand, and ran back to Cynthia.

  “Fuck me,” she said when she saw the hand.

  I placed one of the fingers to the computer screen and the door opened inward. I stepped in the room, knelt, placed the hand on the floor and raised my rifle. Cynthia stepped in and closed the door with the hand, quickly dropping it and wiping her own on her skirt, pulling a disgusted face as she did.

  We were in some kinda high-tech science lab. It was full of computers and machines. I had no fucking clue what most of the other stuff was. It looked expensive and clean, sterile. Toward the rear of the room was a glass wall that had a glass door that led to a glass corridor.

  “What is this place?” Cynthia asked.

  “I’m not sure, but it doesn’t look military to me.”

  “It looks like a hospital almost.”

  “Yeah, but I don’t think they treat people here.”

  “What then?”

  “I think they might operate, but not to heal.”

  “Experiments?”

  “Yeah, like a student dissecting a frog in a science class.”

  I stood and walked around a few tables that had computers sitting on top. I went to the glass wall and took a look inside. My mouth hung open at the sight. Cynthia walked to stand next to me.

  “Holy shit,” she said. “Is it alive?”

  “I’m not sure, maybe, maybe not.” There was a large tube-like container filled with a clear liquid. Inside was one of the aliens. Its stomach was cut open, the flesh pinned to some kinda wires that were attached to the roof of the tube. There was nothing inside the alien’s open chest. No internal organs of any kind.

  “They caught one,” Cynthia said.

  “I’m not too sure if that's how it came to be here.”

  “I doubt it volunteered for it.”

  “That’s not what I’m saying. I think they might have had this thing before the others showed up. They wouldn’t have had time to capture one, cut it up, and place it in that tube. So, it must have been here awhile.”

  “You mean they knew this invasion was going to happen?”

  “Maybe not the invasion, but they knew these monsters existed, that's for damn sure.”

  “What do we do now?”

  “I think we should have a rest. I don’t know about you but I’m exhausted. Once I have my energy back, we’ll go looking for some food. There’s got to be some on the base.”

  “I want to have a look around in here, you sit, have a rest.” Cynthia walked from the glass. I sat and leaned my back on it.

  “Don’t touch anything you’re not sure of, just in case.”

  “In case what?”

  “I’ve no idea. But don’t touch anything.”

  “Okay … dad.” Cynthia walked to some white lockers at the side of the room. She eyed the padlocks on them. She poked the barrel of her rifle into one, and it just fell off. “At least we don’t need a severed hand to open these.” She opened the door of that locker and leaned in.

  She pulled out some clothes and placed her rifle on one of the computer desks. She undid the belt with the mags then and placed it next to the rifle. She picked up a black shirt from the clothes. She held it to her body then removed the cheerleader top and got dressed.

  “A little tight, but not as bad as that stupid cheerleader top.” She smiled as she removed the skirt and pulled on some black trousers. “Same again, but at least they’re dry.” She went back to the locker and leaned in once more.

  She pulled out some black boots. She held one of the boots to the bottom of her right foot. It was at least two sizes too big. “This scientist might have been skinnier than me, but fuck me, she had big feet.”

  I laughed as she put the boots on. Once she had the laces fastened she clipped the belt back in place and got her rifle. She sat down next to me. “Should we see if one of the other lockers has a broken padlock, or maybe we could shoot one off. There might be some clothes you could fit in, you look like an idiot in that football uniform.”

  “We can’t risk shooting, someone or something might hear the shots. I’m fine for now.” I held into her but she pulled away. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, hold on.” She walked to a cabinet, which was also white. She opened up the door. “Here you go.” She removed a lab coat. She threw me the coat and rummaged inside again. She pulled some kinda white pumps from inside. “I’m not sure what these are, but they should fit … There’s some white pants too, they’re made of a strange material though.”

  I’d removed my clothes and had the lab coat on when she walked back to me. She handed me the pants and pumps. Once I was in them she asked, “what do you think the material is, the coat and pants feel funny, the shoes too?”

  “I’m not sure, I think it might be what the scientists wear when they go in the room with the tube.” I fixed the belt of ammo back on and sat down in the same position. Cynthia joined me. I hugged into her again. She scooted away. “Are you sure y
ou’re okay?” I asked.

  “I just don’t want you touching me at the moment, if that’s okay?” She looked away from me.

  “Sure. I’m sorry. Do you want to talk yet?”

  “No.” Her answer was quick and stern.

  Tap. Tap. Tap.

  “What’s that noise?” Cynthia asked.

  “I’m not sure.”

  Tap. Tap. Tap.

  I stood up. Looked through the glass wall. It was the alien in the tube. One of its fingers was moving.

  NINA

  A light lit the alien and it spun to the direction it was coming from. It was Kent. He had his shotgun tucked into his shoulder and was rounding the trunk of a tree. Freddie was still on his back, his eyes closed tight. Kent fired and the blast hit the alien’s head, taking half off, one of the half’s that had an eye. Kent unloaded three more rounds into it before it dropped. Then so did I.

  Kent ran over to me and knelt. Freddie jumped off his back and hugged me. I was shocked by how easy he’d done it. He wasn’t the hugging type. He’d told me when people hugged him it felt like he was being drowned, which I translated as meaning it felt like he was being suffocated. That’s why I felt honored when he let me hug him, never mind when he hugged me, which was almost never.

  “Are you okay?” Kent asked me.

  “Yeah, I’m just beat up.” I was too. My body was aching, a dull throb running through every inch. My head was spinning. I had speckles on my vision and the edges were opaque.

  “Me too.” He was cut on his face, but looked better than I felt.

  “I started to stroke Freddie’s hair. He had blood on his face too. I wiped some away. He had a few cuts, most likely from the glass that had smashed when the pickup toppled and flipped. “Now what? Is the base far?” I asked Kent.

  “No. We’re pretty close. It’s just a case of walking some ways. Are you up to that?” He wiped some blood from his face with the bottom of his black t-shirt.

  “Nope, but let’s do it anyway.” I forced a smile. Even that hurt.

  “Do you want to ride the old man again, Freddie?” Kent asked him.

  Freddie nodded and got back on Kent’s back. They stood and Kent held his hand out for me to take. I did and he helped me to stand. New pain surged through me as my muscles changed position. It was nice seeing Freddie interact with Kent though. I’d never seen him so eager to touch someone, to be that close to them, apart from my husband.

  We started walking. I cracked my neck. I could feel blood rushing through my limbs. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. “We’ll stay off the road for now, keep in the trees,” Kent said. “It might make the journey take longer, but it gives us some camouflage.”

  “Do you think this will end?” I asked, coughing up more blood. I wiped my hand on my leg before they had a chance to see what I’d brought up.

  “You mean the invasion?”

  “Yeah.” My head was pounding on every word. I kept my voice low, to ease the hurt.

  “I’ll be honest with you, I’ve no idea.”

  “You said there were pods in other countries.” I placed fingers to my temples and rubbed them. It did alleviate some of the discomfort but not enough.

  “I did.”

  “Is this the end of the world?” I swallowed at the thought.

  “Maybe.”

  “I thought my world had already ended.” I looked to my feet, not just to make sure I had good purchase, but also to find my expression from them.

  “You mean when your husband went to sleep?”

  “Yeah.” I coughed again, swallowed the blood. “Maybe they’re not aliens, not in the way we’re thinking. What if God sent them, to finish the sinners? Perhaps the people who had already died before they showed were the saved, you know, like the rapture.”

  “Do you really believe that?” Kent looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

  “No.”

  “I’ve learned that people want simple answers to everything in their life, but when they get one, they don’t believe it. Simple seems unreal, too easy, so they complicate things. You might be doing the same now.”

  “Who do you think you are, Yoda?” I smiled, was able to take my eyes from my feet. I must have raised my feet too fast. The trees became a kaleidoscope for a sickening moment.

  Kent laughed.

  Freddie said, “May the forks be with you.”

  “It’s may the force be with you,” I corrected him.

  “What has a date got to do with anything?” Freddie asked.

  “I’m confused.” I really was. Dizzy too, and fighting the hurl that was building in my gut.

  “May the fourth? Why should a day be with me?”

  I couldn’t be bothered explaining, so I said, with a smile, “It's a lucky day.”

  “I like dates that are multiples of five,” Freddie stated.

  “And why is that?” Kent asked him.

  “Fuck knows,” Freddie answered.

  Kent laughed. I rolled my eyes, it made my head spin.

  My legs were ready to give in on me when we reached the base. There was a car, missing some doors, parked at the barrier. Kent shined his flashlight at the vehicle. “It’s empty,” he said.

  There were two guard towers at each side of the barrier, large lights on the top of them, a slit in each of the concrete structures. “How did that car get here?”

  “Someone obviously drove it here,” Kent said as he lowered Freddie from his back.

  Freddie took hold of my hand. “Should we be concerned?” I asked.

  “At the moment, we should always be concerned. I just think someone had the same idea as us. A few of the scientists who work in the base live in the surrounding towns, so it could be one of their family’s cars.”

  We heard an alien roar. It came from the guard tower to our left. Freddie wrapped his arms around my leg. Kent pointed his gun to the tower. “That’s not good.”

  “I thought you said we’d be safe here?” I placed my hand on Freddie’s back.

  “I did.” Kent kept his eyes down the sights and on the tower.

  “Then you lied.” I was mad at him. If I were going to die, I’d rather have died in my own home. I’ve no idea why, it just made more sense for some strange reason.

  “I didn’t lie. I was just wrong ... Kinda.”

  “Kinda? How?”

  “Is it a good thing that there’s aliens here?”

  “No.” I crumpled my face, finding his question to be the stupidest I’d heard for awhile.

  “Correct. Is it good we have a large supply of food and weapons?”

  “Yeah, if we’re not killed first.”

  “I won’t let that happen.” He lowered his weapon and knelt. “Okay, Freddie boy, hop on.” I held Freddie’s hand tight, not wanting him to leave me, but he pulled free and jumped on Kent’s back. Kent stood. “We should find another way in.”

  “How long will that take?”

  “About as long as it takes me to finish this sentence.” I shook my head and shrugged. “We go through the other guard tower. We stay clear of the main entrance and the other tower that way, thus away from the alien. Easy.”

  Kent walked around the rear of the car and to the door of the other guard tower. “You coming?” he asked me. I let out a breath and joined him at the door. “This is good.”

  “How’s it good?” I asked, throwing a few looks up toward the other tower.

  “Because, this door is locked, the one at the other tower is open. That might have been how the alien got in that one, so by my reckoning, this one should be free of monsters.” He smiled.

  “This is one smarty guy,” Freddie said.

  “Thank you, son.”

  “Please don’t call him that,” I quickly said. They both looked at me. Freddie was smiling. Kent had furrowed brows. “Sorry, it’s just …”

  “I understand,” Kent said. I instantly felt like a complete fuck up.

  “See, smarty guy,” Freddie said.

/>   “How do we get in if it’s locked?” I asked Kent, trying not to focus on my messed up life.

  “Like this,” he said as he pushed something next to the door. A screen lit up, a fingerprint image faded into view. Kent pressed his finger to it and the door opened. “Open Sesame.”

  “I like Sesame Street,” Freddie added. “Not Big Bird, though. He’s a dick.”

  Kent was holding back the laughter as he stepped into the guard tower. I threw another look toward the other tower before I followed. I saw a green flash inside, coming from the slit, and heard a wub-wub. The stairs were winding, but lit. My legs were aching again when we reached the top of them.

  We were in a squared room. The walls were concrete. The slit that looked from the tower was facing us. Kent walked to a door, opened it in the same way he had the door to the tower. We stepped through into a corridor. Kent locked the door behind us with the use of the computer screen next to that one.

  “I’ve locked the door to the tower with this control panel. If we can chance it we’ll head to the other tower and lock that too.” He said as he started to walk down the corridor.

  I followed and asked, “Won’t that trap the aliens that are already inside in the base with us?”

  “Yeah, but it will stop others from getting in. I think that still makes it a worthwhile mission.” Kent turned the flashlight on his shotgun off. “You don’t appreciate lights, until you don’t have them anymore.”

  “Does the base have its own generator or something?”

  “Yeah, God bless Uncle Sam.”

  “I have an Uncle Sam too,” Freddie said.

  “Let me guess, he’s a dick?” Kent smiled.

  “Yep, the biggest of biggest, more than Big Bird.”

  “Freddie!” I said. “What’s gotten into you?”

  “I’m not being naughty, Mom.”

  “You kinda are.”

  “I’m not, am I Kent?”

  Kent looked to me and smiled. “No. You’re a good boy.”

  “See, Mommy?”

  We reached another door and Kent opened it. He stepped through with his shotgun to his shoulder then waved me to follow. Once I was by his side he turned and locked the door.

  “So we’re in the base now?” I asked.