The Event

by Nathan Hystad

  “Do you want a sandwich?” I asked, and jumped back as the pendant on my chest seared my skin with heat. “What the hell was that?” James looked at me, alarmed, as I grabbed the chain and pulled the pendant out, leaving my shirt to protect my skin. It was glowing bright green.

  James moved to help me, and in an instant, he was covered in a green light coming through my house from above.

  “Dean! Help me!” he called as his feet left the ground. He was screaming, but my heart pounded in my ears so hard I could hardly hear his shriek. I was sure my ears must have been bleeding, and I covered them hard with the palms of my hands. James was being lifted up by an outside force, his feet above the back of the couch now. I ran to him and tried to put my arms around his legs. I was jolted back from the green field surrounding him, and I watched as he headed towards the ceiling. The pendant was still glowing hotly as he moved into the ceiling, passing through it like a ghost. He shot me a terrified look right before he crossed into my upstairs.

  I shot up onto unstable legs, which were shaking like I’d just run a marathon. I half ran, half crawled up the stairs and made for the room James would be floating through. There he was! I hurled myself towards his screaming, green-light-covered body and tried to grab on to his legs. The light repelled me and sent me sprawling to the corner of my guest room, a floor lamp whacking me on the head.

  “James!” I called to him, but he just kept screaming. In mere moments, he was gone.

  I slowly got to my feet and looked out the window. Thousands of green lights were beaming down. Every person on my block was floating towards the darkening sky; the terror in the air was palpable. I felt the urge to vomit and choked back that first bite of my sandwich. The pendant still glowed hot green and kept glowing until every last soul was gone. The green lights blinked out, and the shadow of the ship I could still see vanished into the dark atmosphere.

  The ships left at dusk.

  _______

  There are many feelings someone goes through when they experience something traumatic. I quickly went to denial. There was no way I’d actually witnessed my city being teleported off the planet by a huge alien cube ship. It was just so impossible that, clearly, I was having a dream; hallucinating from an illness or an accident, maybe. For all I knew, I was lying in a hospital bed, morphine flowing through my veins, and I was dreaming the whole thing up. Janine was probably by my side holding my hand, telling me it would all be all right. My clients’ get-well cards would surround the room, and those cheesy balloons would be floating beside my head, tied to the hospital bed. As I lay on the guest room floor with my eyes closed, that scenario seemed likely. I could almost hear the steady beeping of the hospital equipment, keeping an eye on my blood pressure and oxygen levels.

  I must have stayed there, curled up in the fetal position, for half an hour before I braved opening my eyes. My heart had been pounding so hard I thought it would expel itself from the cage it was trapped in. It finally relaxed and soon I felt almost normal. The pendant hung cool around my neck, its color just the regular green I’d always seen on my wife.

  The noises I’d heard in my daydream were multiple car alarms going off a few blocks away. Soon even they stopped, to leave me with an eerily quiet night. I heard a dog bark down the street. I was now in the grieving phase. James’ look of terror as I helplessly watched him ghost through my roof and into the night sky was engrained in my memory. I realized I didn’t know if the ships had done this everywhere, or if I was just in an unlucky pocket. I tested my shaky legs and found them sturdy enough to carry me back downstairs.

  I didn’t have a landline, so I reached for my cell phone and tried to call my mom first. A lovely robotic operator told me my call couldn’t be completed as dialed. I then started to go through my contacts one at a time and got the same message. I texted, tweeted, emailed...all with no reply from anyone out there.

  It was after nine when I forced myself to eat something and slumped my head down on the kitchen island. Acceptance came next. I had a sneaking suspicion I was all alone. Then I heard a noise that had annoyed me on a daily occurrence: the sound of a howling cocker spaniel piercing through two sets of walls. Carey was a great dog, but he had what you might call a little separation anxiety, like so many others before him. Anytime Susan left him in the house alone, he would howl like there was no tomorrow. He would only do this for about five minutes; then I always pictured him sobbing into a pillow. More likely he just curled up on the back of the couch and slept.

  His calls now were primal. He was howling to the aliens to return his mommy, and I’m sure the green light that had sucked her into the sky had left him a frightened mess. I left the comfort of my home and stepped onto the doorstep. The air had a chill to it, but other than that, there was no way to tell that I’d been left alone on Earth. The streetlights were still dark, but the now cloudless sky’s moon and stars shone down on me, lighting the way easily. I headed over to Susan’s house and as I passed by the window, Carey switched from a howl to a bark. He recognized me, and when I approached the front door, I could see his wiggling form twisting back and forth like only a spaniel could do.

  Not sure if the door would be locked or not, I felt a little trepidation at the idea of breaking into my neighbor’s house. It seemed a little silly to me after what had just happened, but that sense of normalcy wasn’t something that just left on a dime. Lucky for me, she was as trusting as most people on our street, and the door was unlocked.

  A blonde ball of fur jumped at me, licking my hands as he romped and hopped around. It was so refreshing to see such a normal, comforting act from a sweet animal after seeing James float out of my reach. He followed me as I went into the kitchen. I couldn’t leave him behind, since I didn’t know where I was going to be going or for how long. I thought about all the rest of the animals out there, scared and alone, but pushed them from my mind. I was only one man, and hopefully, this would all be over at any time. I didn’t know what the aliens could possibly want with the people of Earth. Maybe this was just a test. Maybe they would return all the people in a few minutes. I didn’t believe that, but it was a possibility.

  I would be leaving in the morning and Carey would be coming along for the ride, so I needed to find all of his supplies. I grabbed his dog dish, which made him throw a low growl at me, before searching for his bag of food. I found it in the basement, along with some treats and cans of wet food. I took it all. Carey barked as I took the bag of treats and packed it. I tossed a salmon treat at him and he deftly caught it. He was really cute, looking up at me, turning his head side to side so his ears alternately flopped and hung there.

  All loaded up, I found his leash, and he looked excited to be going for a walk.

  “Carey, we’re just going to go over to my house. We don’t have time to go for a walk,” I said. Carey’s head turned sideways, and he gave me the saddest puppy-dog look I’d ever seen.

  “Fine. But just a quick walk.” I was already under his command, it appeared.

  Twenty minutes later and a deposit from Carey on the Jeffersons’ lawn, and we were back at my house. Carey hesitantly investigated my home, and I left him to sniff around like a pig looking for truffles. There was something I had to get from my office, and it wasn’t something I was looking forward to. Since I’d seen the ships arrive, I knew I would have to open the letter. I’d envisioned the moment I’d open it for the past three years, and I wasn’t sure if I truly was ready to see her handwriting, or to smell a waft of her perfume on the paper.

  Janine hadn’t explained why the letter couldn’t be opened as soon as she was gone. We were in the hospital when she handed it to me, her hands shaking slightly as she passed it over. We’d argued for a few minutes about it, but after I knew she wouldn’t budge on the contents of the envelope, I ceased to protest and accepted what she asked of me. I wouldn’t open it until the right moment. She told me that I’d know when that was. Over the next three years, there were a few moments when I’d almost op
ened the thing, when I was so down in a well of depression that I thought the only thing that would save me would be seeing her words written down. Every time, I got through it on my own, and I knew for sure that now was indeed the right time to open it. It just felt right in every sense of the word, and not only that; it all fit together like some odd puzzle that I couldn’t see the full picture of yet.

  Carey followed me upstairs and into the office, pushing his face into my leg as I stood there facing my closet. He rolled on the carpet as I opened the door and pulled a shoe box down from the top shelf. The letter was sealed shut and “Dean” was scrawled across the front in shaky handwriting. I sat down at my desk and set the lantern flashlight down so I could see it. It had been a tough day: not only the dredging up all of the memories from back then, but also the fact that I was sure I was the only man left on Earth. How did it come that I was here while they were all gone? I hoped for an answer as I slid my letter opener through the top, careful not to rip the paper inside.

  My dearest Dean, I’m sorry you have to read this now. I know you have so many questions, but I can’t answer them all. I only know so much, and I’m unfortunately not around to tell you about it. I love you so much. I don’t know how long it’s been since I passed to when you are reading this, but I hope you’ve stayed strong through everything. Take heed that there is help, and you won’t be alone for long. I miss you as I write this and you just left the room a few minutes ago. Don’t forget that. Don’t ever forget that I loved you so much and always will. Go to New York, Toronto Dominion on Broadway and 50th. Safety deposit box 107. The key is in the back yard under the bird bath.

  And Dean

  She stopped there, and it felt like she had more to say but didn’t. Maybe she was too weak or tired. I would never know.

  I wiped a single tear from my face and felt a sudden resolve, a sense of purpose. Janine was telling me it was up to me to save the human race, and I had a clue where to go to do this.

  FIVE

  I tried to sleep for a few hours, but I just ended up tossing and turning; the whole day was a nightmare replaying itself in my mind. Carey was curled up at the bottom of the bed, snoring lightly on his side. I was amazed at the adaptability of the animal and decided to take a page out of his book for myself. This was the world at the moment, and I was the only one here to do anything about it. My truck was packed with everything I thought I’d need for the trip, and I just had a quick stop in the morning to fill up and grab a bunch of gas cans to keep me going. I’d found a brand-new generator in Bob-next-door’s garage, and I didn’t think he’d mind me borrowing it under the circumstances. It was an eleven-hundred-watt beast with a ten-gallon tank. I figured it would be able to handle anything I would need it for on my journey.

  After what felt like hours, I decided to just get the trip started. I thought I’d test the generator and make some coffee. It was the right call. I had a bag of clothes packed, with a few winter items and shorts. I had no idea what I was in for and wanted to be prepared. Coffee in hand, and Carey and I on empty bladders, we hopped into the truck just as the sun was peeking from beyond the horizon. For a second, I thought the ships might come back at dawn, but the sky held nothing but wispy clouds and some dim stars.

  We made a few pit stops at the gas station and convenience store, and then we were off. I felt bad not paying for anything. I knew that there was no one to pay, but these things were engrained in our brains from childhood; right and wrong are always right and wrong. I had a hundred-mile drive to go, and I figured under ideal conditions it would take me just over two hours. I was wrong. The streets were full of crashed cars near town, and it took some heavy maneuvering to get around some of them. Maneuvering meant pushing with my truck’s bumper on occasion. Carey stuck his head out the window, sitting in the front passenger seat with his tongue flapping in the cool fall morning air. I sipped my coffee as we slowly made it past the car piles and through to the outskirts of town. Once I made it to the highway, the roads were sparsely littered with vehicles, and I was able to go forty miles per hour.

  “Carey,” I said, and his head turned as he looked at me, “how are you doing? I’m sorry you’re stuck with me like this. I know you must miss your mom a lot.” He turned his head the other way and looked at me with that sad spaniel face. “I want you to know that I’m actually very thankful to have you with me. You’d think I’d be used to being alone, but truthfully, I’ve never been good at it.” He slipped his butt to the back of the seat and plopped down, putting his head between his front paws, all the while never taking his gaze from me.

  “I’ve always wanted a dog. We had one growing up on the acreage. I remember the day my dad brought home Johnny. What? Don’t look at me like that. Johnny is a perfectly respectable name for a dog. Plus, he told me I could name him, and I was obsessed with The Karate Kid that summer. Anyway, Johnny came tromping over to me in the yard, all ears and paws. I must have been around seven, and he seemed so huge to me even as a puppy. I still have no idea what breed he was, but he ended up weighing around sixty pounds. We were inseparable for his whole life.

  Unfortunately, big dogs have short life spans, and he passed the summer before I went into high school. I was depressed for a year, I think, and when my parents suggested we get another dog, I slammed the door and said I hated them. We didn’t get a dog, and I’ve never had one since Johnny.” It felt strange but good to talk to Carey about this. He lay still, eyes slowly closing to the sound of my voice. “So, Carey, hey? I have a feeling Susan didn’t name you after Jim Carrey, although I can see the resemblance between you two. In a good way, of course.” His eyes closed and soon I heard some soft snores. I put my focus back on the road and noticed as we got nearer to New York City how many cars were jammed on the north bound highway. People were frightened by the sheer volume of ships that had been hovering over their city, no doubt, and thought they might find solace in the countryside. It appeared no one had been safe from the beams of the ships, at least not as far as I could tell.

  I did keep an eye out for anything that might be a sign of another human being, but so far, nothing. I had the AM radio on low, so a quiet buzz constantly emanated from the truck’s speakers, but no signal came the whole trip. I honestly hadn’t expected to hear anything, but it was worth a shot. At that moment, I wondered if it had been short-sighted to not bring a CB radio. If someone was alive, they might try transmitting on one of the common channels. I decided to find one as soon as I got into the big city.

  I slowed down as I neared an exit that would take me to Manhattan in about thirty miles. If I tried to take one of the city bridges in, or a tunnel, I knew they would be jam-packed with cars and there would be no way to get my truck and supplies through. I elected to head east and make for one of the entrances far north of Manhattan so I would have an easier time; then I could meander down through Yonkers and south from there. With any luck, I would be able to get through.

  It almost seemed too good to be true as I approached the large bridge. It was fairly full, but mostly on the other side. I could tell that a bunch of people had tried to drive on the wrong side of the road at the end, but I could still squeeze through by keeping half my truck on the shoulder. I bumped the curb a couple times, but soon I was over the Hudson River and on my way into the city. I took as many side roads as I could to avoid cars. At this point, I wished the aliens had taken the cars with them too. It was extremely eerie to see thousands of vehicles strewn around the roadways, but no people.

  As I thought about a city the size of New York being empty, the hair on the back of my neck stood straight up. All of a sudden, I felt very vulnerable out here all by myself. As if on cue, I saw it lower through the clouds.

  I quickly slowed the truck to a stop as the silver-gray ship dipped lower and lower. My heart slammed against my chest, and I started to gasp for air. I checked the necklace and it was just the regular color; no molten green at the moment. I sat as still as possible and Carey perched himself up ag
ainst the window that I had closed. He watched the ship with me as it sped across the morning sky. It did a loop a couple of times, like it was looking for something, and then disappeared into the distance. One thing I knew for sure was that the ship was a duplicate of the ones that had arrived yesterday, but it was much smaller. I didn’t know what that meant, but I knew I had to keep my eyes peeled for more of those things. Whatever I was destined to do, something was going to try to stop me.

  SIX

  By the time I got to the Bronx, there were so many cars on the roads that the only place the truck would fit was on the sidewalks. Maneuvering it through the light poles and building steps wasn’t as easy I hoped. It was a very slow, rough drive, and by the time we got to Yankee Stadium, it was well after noon. My stomach was growling and Carey looked like he could use a bathroom break; so could I.

  The stadium grew in my windshield until I was parked right outside its front doors. I used to love coming to the games, watching the Yankees on a sunny afternoon, “Sunday in New York” blasting through the stadium speakers. We hopped out of the truck and to the gate. Surprisingly, it was open, unlocked to the public. I was the only public left, I supposed, so we sauntered on in, making our way to the field. I’d never stood on the grass, and once down there, I found that given the world’s current situation, being on the diamond had lost its luster. Carey decided to relieve himself on the pitcher’s mound and I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the sight. He wiggled and ran around the grass like he was a puppy. I ran with him for a few minutes, like a boy playing with his dog. After we were both worn out, I figured while we were here, we might as well get some baseball food. We went to the concourse and I hopped the concession stand, pilfering a few bags of peanuts and some beef jerky. Carey seemed to smell the meat before it was out of the bag; drool fell from his mouth as I tore the bag open.