by J Deleon
“We have to stop them. They’re working with those monsters. They’re like their slaves or something.” Emry stated.
“We will stop them. I promise.”
Cecily
“I saw them.” Cecily tried to catch her breath.
“Saw who?” Jennifer seemed worried for her.
“Uh—” Cecily didn’t know how to explain what she saw to Jennifer. “These—things. Creatures. Aliens!” Cecily rubbed her temples as she paced side to side.
“What?” Jennifer was more confused than she was. “What do you mean aliens? The monsters?”
“No, they were with the monsters.” Cecily turned to her. “They were, like, their masters or something. And they weren’t like the ones from Doctor Who at all!”
“What are you talking about?” Jennifer tried to calm her down.
“Aliens.” Cecily stopped her pacing. “They looked almost exactly like us, but somehow different. I can’t remember to well; I was scared shitless. They had these weird looking eyes and skin. But they had hair and arms and legs like us. Aliens, Jennifer! Aliens!”
Sean and the other people started to stare at Cecily. The mention of alien’s concerned them.
“Wait, what do you mean aliens?” The blonde haired lady, Breanne, asked.
“Did you see aliens?” The dark haired lady, Marcie, interjected.
“It’s those monsters!” The child, Gabriel, spoke out.
“Everybody, just, please!” Sean stepped up and approached the two. “You two, come with me.” Sean took the bag of medicine and handed it to Marcie who was holding her injured boy. He then led the two across the room and into a smaller room.
“That can’t be.” Jennifer refused to accept what Cecily was saying. “It can’t!”
“What is going on?” Sean asked Cecily.
“Aliens!” Cecily turned to him “I saw Aliens! They looked just like us! They’re controlling the monsters!”
“Are you sure that’s what you saw?” Sean tried to relax her.
“Yes!” Cecily turned to Jennifer. “You have to believe me! They’re here!”
Cecily waited for Jennifer to respond. She nearly fell into tears from the waiting.
“Okay, I do.” Jennifer finally responded. “But what now? This isn’t exactly making things better for us.”
A shriek pierced their ears in that moment. The three of them covered their ears, but were thankful that the blinding light didn’t accompany the unbearable cry. The ground shook underneath Cecily. She held onto whatever she could to keep her balance. She looked around and noticed there were no windows in the small room.
“They’re coming.” Cecily uttered.
Jennifer
Another shriek crushed her ears as she fumbled on the ground, trying to stand up. The ground was shaking too violently for her to even stay on her hands and knees.
“We need to get out of here! They’ll find us!” Jennifer shouted.
Jennifer crawled to the door and reached for the handle. In a quick twist, the door opened, allowing her to crawl out. Sean and Cecily followed her into the main room where the others were taking shelter. She saw the kids crying and the adults trying to protect them.
“We need to leave!” Jennifer shouted once more, staring out into the distance through the glass hole in the doors. She saw the silhouette of the monsters heading their way.
“Now!” Jennifer managed to get to her feet and keep balanced. “Everybody! Come on!”
The others noticed the approaching monsters, only making the situation worse.
“They won’t listen!” Sean shouted at her. “They’re too afraid!”
A hard earthquake broke the street outside and part of the floor near the entrance. The floor shifted at a slight angle as the ground continued to shake. Jennifer and the rest of them fell to the floor once more.
“Well get them too! We need to leave!” Cecily shouted.
“Lela! Get everybody to follow us!” Sean shouted.
Lela nodded her head and started to tell everybody to follow them. This got their attention when they saw Sean following Jennifer towards a side door.
Jennifer got to her feet once more and swung the door open. Cecily followed her immediately, Sean was third. The three of them waited as the others made it to the exit. The monsters weren’t too far away.
“We need to go!” Jennifer shouted.
“That way!” Cecily pointed opposite from the monsters.
Jennifer led the group as they ran from the building. It wasn’t long until she noticed that the disasters were starting up again.
Rain started to pour down on them as they ran, tornadoes blew away the abandoned cars in the distance, and the earthquake had shifted the earth once more. It felt as if they were in the center of the whole mess.
Jennifer fell over, scraping her hands again on the road. She turned back to see the monsters nearing them quickly. She scrambled her way up into a run before the blinding light finally hit her. The shriek was even louder than she remembered it. Jennifer fell back to the ground.
Once she opened her eyes, she saw the monsters closing in on them. The closest one reached out for a man and one of the boys that he had been carrying. At a last second effort, the man through the boy in front of him, allowing himself to be taken by the monster alone. The boy hit the ground, crying at the impact, but he was safe. Lela picked him up and continued on. Jennifer stood up as she watched the monster pick up the man and swallow him whole. On top of the monster, she saw a figure.
“Come on!” Lela shouted, crying, as she ran by Jennifer.
Jennifer was now at the end of the group. She saw Cecily leading them in the front. She started in a sprint, trying to not have the same fate as the man.
The monsters charged at the group until lightning began to strike. A bolt of lightning struck the earth just a few blocks away, scaring the monsters. Thunder followed the bolt of lightning, scaring the monsters even more. They halted and turned away like small animals.
The rain poured on Jennifer, but she didn’t mind being drenched in it. The ground shook, but she didn’t move. The strong winds blew her clothes and hair in all directions, almost knocking her over, but she stood her ground. Watching the monsters flee made her more relieved than ever. She realized that they must be like animals to them. And, just like the animals on earth, they get afraid.
Jennifer started to run, catching up with the group who made it to an old brick building with the top section broken off, lying right next to the lower levels. They ran inside and waited out the storm.
Ian
“What if they see us?” Ian asked Scott who was gathering a few supplies.
“Then we fight.” Scott swung the bag over his shoulder.
“Fight? With what?” Ian was hesitant about the idea of searching for, what Scott called them, aliens.
“We’ll get you a gun. I’ll show you how to use it. Have you ever used a gun?” Scott asked.
“What?” Ian was hysterical.
“Don’t worry; it’s easy.” Scott told him.
“Wait, just slow down. You think guns will stop them? What if they have, lasers or something?”
“I highly doubt that aliens are actually like what you see on TV.”
“But what if they are?”
“Then we’ll fight anyways.” Scott looked at him. “This is all happening for a reason, Ian. We need to do this. Something tells me that you have something to do with this.” Scott motioned for Ian to follow him.
Scott led Ian through the large lobby the group gathered up in. Emry had a bag with her, waiting for them by the door, shy and staring at her feet. Once she noticed the two, her head sprung up and reached for the door handle. Kevin and Danielle walked towards Emry, waiting for Scott and Ian.
The five of them met up at the entrance, bags packed and ready to go. Kevin held a baseball bat while Danielle had a gun of her own. Emry only held on to her bag, gripping it tightly. Ian, himself, didn’t have a proper weapon either, but he was go
ing nonetheless.
“Are you two ready?” Danielle asked, somewhat nervous.
“Yeah, but I have to warn you, it’s a lot different out there than how it used to be. Just watch yourself.” Scott told Kevin and Danielle who haven’t gone a block away from there building in weeks.
“Understood.” Kevin nodded.
Scott returned a nod, then turned to Emry. “I don’t need to warn you, do I?” Scott asked playfully.
Emry slowly shook her head, looking up at the tall man. Together, the five of them walked into the street.
Emry led the group down the road, looking around every corner beforehand.
“So, where did you see them?” Scott continued to look around.
“See who?” Kevin asked curiously.
“They never stay in one spot. They move every time I see them.”
“Who are you two talking about?” Danielle asked.
“I have a feeling that more is going on here than we think.” Scott finally answered.
“What do you mean? Monsters taking over the world isn’t enough?” Kevin asked.
“No. Something big is happening. Much bigger than just these monsters. I’ve come to believe that they aren’t alone here.” Scott continued as he walked next to Emry. “That they are just the beginning.”
“What are you talking about? This is crazy.” Kevin told him.
“It’s not.” Emry turned around to look at him. “There’s aliens.”
“Aliens?” Kevin repeated skeptically. “What do you think those monsters are? Certainly not from anywhere on Earth.”
“No. Different aliens. Ones that look like us.” Emry tried to convince him.
“Are you believing this, Danielle?” Kevin asked.
“Well,” Danielle paused, “If monsters could fall from the sky and wipe out almost the entire human race, I’m sure this isn’t as farfetched as it would be normally.”
Kevin went quiet. Emry turned back and continued to look around.
“What did you all do when the disasters strike?” Ian broke the silence.
“We would go into a room inside the building with no windows. Honestly, it was the safest thing we could do.” Danielle answered. “When the monsters got near the building, we would do the same. Of course, the walls didn’t stop their crying, but it did stop that bright ass light they would give out.”
“What did you two do?” Kevin asked.
Ian looked to Scott, uncomfortable about the topic. He remembered those days all too well. It was him and Scott versus the world in those moments. There were times when the earthquakes and thunderstorms would last for hours. When they were on the road, all they could do was try to endure it. Those moments were the hardest and scariest moments in Ian’s life. He never wanted to experience them again.
“We managed.” Scott replied simply.
The silence returned as they walked. The small group continued for miles down the long roads. It felt like they had been out all day. Ian was tired of all the walking, wanting to start heading back, when they heard one. A loud screech in the distance and the blinding light overcame them, though, it wasn’t as strong as being right next to one.
“We’re close to one of them.” Scott readied his gun.
The group pressed on, scared, but Ian could see no fear in Scott’s eyes. He admired his bravery.
“This is fucking crazy.” Kevin told Scott. “What are guns going to do to them? They’re monsters.”
“We have to do something.” Scott told him, staring in the direction of the monster. “I’m not going to let these damn things take over this world.”
“They wiped out the entire race with one glare. What do you think we can do?” Kevin argued.
“Fight.” Scott sped up.
It wasn’t long before they were forced to take cover and sneak closer. They were able to see the monsters just down the road. The thick, dark gray scales on its skin were still clearly visible, even from the distance. The monster turned around, showing its crystal eyes.
Ian balled up his fists and squeezed until his knuckles were white. He looked to Emry who was surprisingly calm. Even without a weapon, she only held on to her bag. Danielle and Kevin, on the other hand, were terrified at the sight of the monster.
“What the?” Scott squinted his eyes.
Ian looked to see what he was seeing. Just under the monster was a person.
“It has someone.” Kevin whispered.
“Not someone.” Scott corrected. “That’s not a person.”
“It’s one of them.” Emry confirmed.
Scott
Scott took a deep breath, staring at the alien. Emry was right about them, from the distance, it looked exactly like a human. It even wore some sort of dress to cover itself. Scott was too far away to make out any of the details, but he knew that they were with those monsters.
“Let’s go.” Scott quietly walked forward.
“Scott, no.” Kevin hissed at him.
Emry was first to follow. She seemed as fearless as him at the moment. Ian picked up after her, followed by Danielle and Kevin at the back.
Small grunting was now audible from the monsters. It appeared as if the aliens were speaking to them—giving them orders.
“How many are there?” Kevin asked.
“I see five of the little ones.” Danielle answered.
“They’re aliens.” Emry corrected.
“Shhh.” Scott put his finger to his lips.
“This is crazy. This is crazy. This is crazy.” Kevin repeated.
Danielle was now the one to quiet him down.
Scott stopped once the aliens were clear in sight. He motioned for the others to stop as well. He pointed to Danielle and then to an alley across the street. She nodded and quickly, but quietly, made her way to it. He motioned for Kevin, Emry, and Ian to take cover. The three did so and awaited his next step. Scott turned to Danielle, her gun readied in her hands, and nodded.
With complete concentration, Scott aimed his gun at the alien on top of one of the monsters. It was peering down at the other four, ordering them to do something. After aiming directly at its head, he was ready to fire.
“This better fucking work.” Scott told himself just before pulling the trigger.
The bullet propelled itself through the air and straight through the alien’s head. Immediately, the alien stopped moving and fell hard to the pavement. The sound of the gunshot caused the monsters to screech out and shine their light. Scott forcefully dropped his gun to cover his ears. The distance from the monsters was too little, it made his ears bleed and his eyes burn. He screamed in pain, but opened his eyes.
He saw the aliens covering their ears as well. He couldn’t make out if their eyes were closed, but he knew the screech was affecting them as well.
He picked up his gun and shot again, this time, at a monster. The bullet pierced the hard scales, but didn’t seem to have much effect.
“Shit.” Scott stood up and saw the aliens looking his way.
“Danielle, now!” He shouted as he shot at the aliens.
Danielle started to fire at them as well, but neither of the two were hitting their target. What Scott didn’t notice, however, was that the aliens had weapons of their own. Oddly enough, the aliens started to unsheathe bows that were slung across their torso. They were of a different design than what Scott had seen and made out of different material, but a bow nonetheless. They pulled out arrows from a quiver on their back and readied to fire.
“Watch out!” Ian shouted, peering over the car.
Scott ducked down as fast as he could. A rush of wind blew above his head. He saw an arrow stabbed into the building he was next to. The arrow wasn’t made out of wood or anything he had ever seen. It had a metallic texture to it and glistened in the gray light. He feared to touch it.
Instead, Scott returned his focus on the aliens. The four of them were shooting swiftly in their direction. When he turned to Danielle, he noticed she was lying on the ground, an
arrow was sticking out of her.
“Danielle!” Scott started to run to her, but stopped once he noticed Emry was already half way there. “Emry, no!”
Emry made it safely to Danielle’s body and pulled the arrow out. It didn’t hurt her or faze her in anyway. Scott watched as she pulled something out of her jacket. It was a small slingshot. In her other hand, she held a strange small ball. Like the arrow, it also didn’t appear to be from earth. Emry placed the strange ball on the string, pulled it back, and launched it at a monster. Unlike the bullet, the ball pierced right through the scales and inside the monster. Upon impact, the monster cried out and started to panic. It flailed around frantically before falling lifelessly on the ground. The other monsters fled the moment their brethren had fallen.
Scott noted the panic in the faces of the aliens. Seeing one of them fall wasn’t anything they had expected. They continued to fire anyways at the group. It took a while for Scott to notice that Ian was calling him.
“Scott!” Ian shouted, bringing back Scott’s attention. “We need to do something!”
Scott nodded, finally coming to his senses, before shooting again. He shot one of the aliens in the shoulder, but missed everything else.
“Here!” Emry shouted at Ian. She tossed Danielle’s gun over to him. Ian picked it up and started firing.
The injured alien returned to firing, grazing Scott’s side. The arrow grazed past his side, enough to make him bleed, and stuck into the wall behind him. Not soon after, an arrow hit Ian in the shoulder.
“Ian!” Scott tried to crawl to him.
He looked to Emry who was now firing small stones; this time from Earth. She had gotten two more of the aliens, leaving only two left.
Determined, Scott grabbed his gun and started to fire again. Pain latched on to him like a leech, getting worse as he moved, but he pressed on.
Kevin had taken over the gun for Ian. Scott watched as he successfully killed the injured alien.
Scott tried his best to stand up and shoot, but by the time he had gotten on his feet, the last alien had fled the scene.