by Tyler Wild
It was a bad ass rifle.
I wasn’t much of a prepper, but I figured it was never a bad idea to have a viable means of self-defense in case the shit hit the fan—and the shit had definitely hit the fan.
I put on my tactical vest that was loaded with extra magazines, a flashlight, a canteen of water, and a couple of MREs.
I pulled the charging handle and chambered a round and made sure the selector switch was on safe. I slung the rifle and headed downstairs.
Oliver slumped on the couch, sobbing.
I tried to console him, but I don’t think I did a very good job. “Oli, I need you to pull it together. There will be a time to mourn later. Right now, we have to survive. We need to fill the bathtubs and sinks with water. We don’t know how long city services will function. Fresh water will become a commodity. There is a generator in the garage. We can use that to run the fridge for a few days if the power goes out. I think there’s about 20 gallons of gasoline stored. If the aliens don’t kill us first, we’re going to have to deal with looters and scavengers. It’s not going to be pretty. Right now, people across the globe are losing their collective minds.”
“What’s the point, man? We are so fucked!”
“The point is we keep going, no matter what. This might be our last day on Earth. Maybe we die tomorrow? Maybe we die the day after that? But I’m not going down without a fight, I can tell you that.”
“When did you get to be such a bad ass?”
I grinned. “I’ve always been a bad ass. I just hide it well.”
Oliver almost smiled. Almost.
Skyler lived less than half a mile away. Oliver and I left the house and stepped into the street. Fighter jets rocketed overhead—F-35s. The patter of attack helicopters filled the air. I had no doubt that the American military was going to give it their best shot. But I wasn’t optimistic.
I watched as one of the alien fighters took out the F-35 with ease—the smoldering wreckage plummeted to the ground, spitting a trail of flames and black smoke. This was the most advanced fighter on the planet, and it was no match for the alien technology. What hope did we have?
Oliver and I ran through the neighborhood, hopping fences, racing through backyards, taking the most direct route possible to Skyler’s house. It was your average suburban neighborhood. Tall pine trees, green grass, well manicured hedges. Until today, the area had looked like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting. Soon, it would look like a dystopian nightmare.
Dogs barked incessantly. Birds flocked from the area. Fighter jets darted across the sky, engaging alien ships. The muffled clatter of small arms fire filled the air.
The main roadways were jam-packed with people trying to escape the city. It seemed like a bad idea. They were going to run out of gas on the roadway. It wouldn’t take long for every station to be depleted of its resources. The news showed images of highways red with taillights. A metal river that had slowed to a crawl. They’d be easy targets if the aliens turned their wrath on civilians. Right now, they seemed to be occupied with dismantling our military forces.
Skyler’s house was a nice one-story. A palm tree towered in the front lawn, and several in back ensconced the pool. I banged on Skyler’s door, and a moment later she let us in. Her face had drained of color, and her eyes were puffy and red. She pulled us inside and slammed the door shut. She locked the deadbolt, then wrapped her arms around me and sobbed. “I’m so scared!”
I had never been that close to Skyler in my life. She felt amazing, and the fruity scent of her shampoo filled my nostrils. My body trembled with nerves. I was sure she could feel it. As terrible as the day was, it felt good to hold onto somebody.
“Why is this happening?” she asked, not really expecting an answer.
“I don’t know.”
“What are we gonna do?” Hannah said, entering the foyer.
Skyler broke away, almost embarrassed by her display of affection. My moment of bliss ended, and the reality of the situation came crashing back.
"We've got extra water at the house and some canned goods. We should gather up what food and supplies we can from here and head back."
"Then what?" Hannah asked. "Wait for those things to kill us?"
She had a point. There was no telling what the aliens would do to us if they found us.
“Do you have any guns and ammunition in the house?” I asked.
Skyler shook her head.
"I say we go to Josh's ranch," Hannah said. "It's out in the country. He's got a basement we can shelter in. He’s got plenty of guns. There's plenty of wild game. We can live off the land."
"What do you know about living off the land?" I asked. She was just parroting what she had heard Josh say before.
"I know more than you," Hannah said, defiant.
"How far is it?" I asked.
"About an hour."
"Have you seen the highways? Do you know what condition the roads are in?” I asked. "They are jam-packed. We’d be sitting ducks out there. It's too risky."
“I think we’re sitting ducks here,” Hannah replied. She pulled her phone from her pocket and called Josh again. This time he actually picked up. “Oh, my God, baby! Are you okay?”
I rolled my eyes. I heard Josh’s voice crackle through the thin speaker of her phone.
“Where have you been? I’ve called a dozen times.”
“Sorry, baby,” Josh said. “I couldn’t get to the phone. Shit’s going down.”
“No fucking shit! Where are you?”
“We’re heading to the ranch.”
Hannah’s eyebrows lifted, and her face filled with rage. “And you didn’t call me?”
“Everything happened so fast.”
“Come get me!”
“I can’t, baby. We’re already on the road. Traffic is a nightmare.”
It looked like Hannah’s head was going to explode. Her face flushed red, and the veins in her forehead bulged. She looked like she’d been possessed by an evil spirit. Well, she sort of always looked that way, but more so now. When she spoke, it was slow and deliberate. “Josh, if you ever want to put mini-you in my tight little honeypot again, you’ll get back here and pick me up!”
7
“I’m with my parents, and they don’t want to turn back,” Josh said.
“News flash! I don’t have parents anymore!” Hannah barked.
“Oh, shit, baby! I’m so sorry.” Josh paused. “Look, if you guys can get here, you’re more than welcome to stay.”
Hannah clenched her jaw.
“I gotta go. Need to save battery. Text me if you’re going to come.”
Hannah hung up the phone and grumbled.
“So, what’s the plan?” Oliver asked.
“I say we pack up all the food and supplies we can carry and go to Josh’s ranch,” Hannah said.
I looked at her in dismay. “You want to run to the guy who abandoned you?”
“He didn’t abandon me,” she snapped.
“Oh, really?”
Hannah scowled at me.
“I say we stay put,” Oliver said.
“I’m with Oliver,” I said. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to travel right now. We don’t know what’s going to happen.”
“Exactly,” Hannah said. “We have no idea what’s going to happen. That’s why we need to get as far away from here as possible.”
“Let’s put it to a vote,” I said.
“This isn’t a democracy,” Hannah replied. She looked to Skyler for support.
Skyler shrugged. “I don’t know. I still haven’t heard from Brett. What if something happened to him?”
“Try calling him again,” Hannah urged.
I shook my head. These girls were concerned about guys who obviously didn’t give a shit about them. I moved into the living room and watched the news, hoping for a positive update. But our troops were getting their asses handed to them. The aliens had established air superiority. Everything the Air Force put into the sky got
shot down. Ground troops assaulted the invaders, but the alien’s superior firepower annihilated anything that moved.
My stomach twisted, and my throat burned from nervous reflux. “Let’s check the cupboard for canned goods. We should grab as much bottled water and nonperishable food as we can. I’d like to get back to our house as soon as possible.”
Oliver and I rummaged through the kitchen and packed a few grocery bags full of supplies.
“I just talked to Brett,” Skyler said as she stepped into the kitchen.
I tried to hide a frown.
“He’s stuck downtown.”
A curious expression washed over my face. “Downtown? How is he still alive?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s in a high-rise that was split in half. He’s trapped on one of the upper floors. He tried calling 911, but the line has been busy for hours.”
She was telling me like she expected me to do something. But there was nothing I could do. “That’s terrible. I’m sorry to hear that.”
“We need to help him!”
I stammered, “I don’t see what we can do.”
“We have to rescue him?” she pleaded.
I let that hang there for a moment. I didn’t want to touch it. “I’m not sure how we would go about doing that?”
“I don’t know. But we have to do something.”
She said we, like this was somehow my problem. I tried to separate my dislike for Brett as an individual from the fact that he was a human being who was in trouble. It wasn’t easy. The guy was about to kick my ass earlier! I didn’t feel like risking my neck to go save him. “You’re not suggesting we try to go downtown and get him out of a dilapidated building, are you?”
“If you are not going to help me, I’ll go do it by myself.”
“You? By yourself?”
Her face tightened. “Yes! Me!”
The last thing I ever wanted to do was make Skyler angry, but this was ridiculous. She was asking us to go on a suicide mission. I tried to think of a graceful way out of this, but my lack of a quick response seemed to infuriate her.
“Fine! I’ll go do it by myself.” She spun around and stormed out of the kitchen, her brunette ponytail swinging.
I grumbled to myself and followed her into the living room. “Skyler, wait!”
She ignored me and kept marching toward the front door.
I chased after her and grabbed her arm. “You can’t go out there by yourself. It’s too dangerous.”
“Watch me,” she said with defiant eyes. She jerked her arm free and pulled open the door.
I regretted saying it the moment the words slipped from my lips, but I was completely incapable of rational thought when I was in close proximity to Skyler. There was something about her that just made my heart beat faster and my stomach flutter. I had no willpower. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if something happened to her.
I felt like such a loser, orbiting around a girl that I was never going to get, hoping that some good deed would get me out of the friend zone. I knew nothing was ever going to happen between us. I wasn’t that delusional. But still, I wanted to keep her safe—even if she didn’t care about me. It was just an instinctual thing. “I’ll go with you. Just hang on.”
A smile curled on her full lips, and her eyes sparkled with appreciation.
I turned back to Oliver. “Stay here with Hannah. We’ll be back as soon as we can.”
“Okay,” Oliver said. The idea of being alone with Hannah wasn’t entirely unappealing to him.
“I’m not staying here alone,” Hannah protested.
“You won’t be alone,” I said.
She scoffed. Her voice was full of disgust. “Just about.”
“Gee, thanks,” Oliver muttered.
“I’m going with you!” Hannah exclaimed.
There was no arguing with her when her mind was set.
8
“You can’t be serious? Why don’t we just paint a target on our backs?” I said as I looked at Skyler’s car. She drove a little red import. It was going to stick out like a sore thumb.
“Get in!” she demanded.
I frowned and climbed into the passenger’s seat. Hannah and Oliver slipped into the back. Skyler twisted the ignition and the engine… purred. It didn’t growl. It didn’t roar. The little four-cylinder was barely audible.
Skyler put the car into reverse and slammed on the accelerator. We flew out of the driveway. She hit the brakes, dropped it into gear, and floored it. The tires desperately wanted to bark, but the little red car just didn’t have enough power. We took off down the street, and I buckled up.
“Where is Brett?” I asked.
“He said he was in the Windsor tower,” Skyler replied.
My face twisted, perplexed. “Isn’t that a residential high-rise? What’s he doing down there?”
Skyler shrugged.
We raced through the neighborhood, careening around corners, squealing tires, blowing through stop signs. Skyler was hellbent to get to Brett as soon as possible.
It was like a ghost town. The people who were going to leave had already done so, and the rest had hunkered down to ride out the storm. There was an eerie stillness to the air, broken by the occasional roar of an alien aircraft.
We turned left on Ashton Park Drive and headed north to the freeway. The side streets were empty, but the freeway was packed. Heading west out of town, the freeway looked like a parking lot. But the east side into town was empty.
Skyler barreled down the on-ramp with the pedal mashed to the floor. The cops weren’t out writing speeding tickets—they had other things to deal with. Skyler raced down the highway at 90 miles an hour. People heading out of town must have thought we were crazy.
I thought we were crazy.
I couldn’t believe I had agreed to this. I had to file this in the category of dumb things I’ve done for girls.
It didn’t take long to encounter an oncoming car using the inbound lane to go out of town. Skyler swerved to avoid the vehicle. People were starting to use the lane because of the outbound traffic.
Another car flew by, rocking Skyler’s car as it passed.
We encountered another.
Then another.
Skyler zigged and zagged, trying to avoid the steady stream of oncoming cars. They hurled towards us with increasing frequency as more people decided it was the fastest way out of town.
“Maybe we should get off the highway?” I suggested.
“We’re almost there,” Skyler said.
That’s when everything went to shit.
An alien fighter blasted the freeway. A plasma bolt smacked the roadway in front of us, exploding the concrete, forming an enormous crater. Chips of concrete and dust showered in all directions. The little red car launched into the air and rolled.
The moment between launch and impact seemed like an eternity. My whole life flashed before me, and I contemplated the nature of my existence, and the meaning of life. I didn’t come up with any answers.
The hood crumpled as we impacted the far berm of the crater. The roof buckled, and the A-pillars bent. With a deafening bang, the airbags deployed. Glass shattered and razor-sharp shards sprayed everywhere. The seatbelt dug into my shoulders and hips. My ears rang.
Adrenaline coursed through my veins. My whole body went numb for an instant. Metal popped and pinged, and steam hissed from the engine compartment. The smell of gasoline and oil filled the air. With the vehicle upside down, the tires spun. Blood rushed into my head, and I felt like my eyes were going to pop out of their sockets. My temples throbbed, and my neck ached.
I glanced over at Skyler—the airbag had knocked her unconscious. Blood trickled from her nose, dripping down her brow and splatting against the roof of the car.
Panic washed over me. This was the girl of my dreams, and I thought she was dead. “Skyler! Skyler?”
She moaned and groaned, moving slightly.
I breathed a sigh of relief, t
hen looked to the backseat. “Are you two okay?”
“I think so,” Oliver said.
“Goddamn!” Hannah grumbled. “Bitch needs to learn how to drive.”
“I don’t think that was her fault.” I unbuckled my safety harness and dropped to the roof. I planted my hand on a shard of glass and sliced my palm. Crimson blood oozed from the wound. I grumbled a few obscenities, then twisted around until I was right side up.
Skyler was just getting her wits about her.
“Are you okay?”
“I think so.”
She released her safety harness and fell to the roof. “Ow!”
We crawled out of the car, mindful of the broken glass, and climbed to the ridge of the crater. I peered over the ledge and scanned the area. More alien fighters flew overhead. They strafed the outbound lane of traffic, incinerating hundreds of cars. I watched in horror as brilliant balls of flame erupted and bits of twisted metal spewed in all directions. Black smoke billowed. Screams of agony filled the air.
These aliens were merciless.
9
We climbed out of the pit and scampered across the tattered freeway. More alien fighters soared overhead, wreaking havoc on the outbound traffic.
We hopped the concrete barrier and raced across the frontage road, taking cover on a side street. Huddling against the remains of a brick wall, we caught our breath. We were in the middle of a war zone. The once thriving area was now nothing more than ruins—demolished structures, shattered windows, missing roofs, piles of rubble, twisted rods of rebar, fragments of walls. I never thought I would see that kind of destruction on American soil.
We were all stiff and sore and had minor cuts and scrapes. All things considered, we were lucky.
"Sorry I got you guys into this mess," Skyler said.
"Well, we probably weren't going to live very long anyway," Oliver said.
It was safe to say that no one was overly optimistic about our chances of survival.