The Invasion

by Terrance Mulloy

  At least in theory.

  Before Matt could react, it rushed him again with terrifying speed and leaped for his throat. Matt threw his arms out and caught the dog mid-air, his hands clamping around its thick, sinewy neck. The mutt’s limbs flailed wildly, its razor-sharp paws clawing at Matt’s stomach, its powerful jaws showering him with ropes of saliva, metal teeth gleaming, snapping like shark jaws inches from him. With a superhuman grunt, Matt hurled the squirming beast through the open trailer door and kicked it shut. There was a series of hard thumps as it rammed its bulk against the door, the trailer shaking with each blow.

  Matt staggered back, gasping for breath, his eyes wired with adrenaline. “Jesus…”

  “Well, ain’t that some shit,” said a husky voice behind him.

  Matt wheeled around to see the suspect he had been chasing - a tall, rail-thin young man, his bare arms laced with raised scars and tattoos that looked like some weird mix of cyberpunk and Latino Catholicism - pointing Matt’s felled sidearm directly at him, holding it sideways like a gangster. The young man’s hard-etched complexion made it difficult to tell his exact age, but he was somewhere in the vicinity of eighteen or nineteen. There was also a calculating menace that ticked behind his glare. His eyes stayed locked on Matt as he motioned for him to raise his hands. Matt could tell by the way the kid was dressed, he wasn’t a branded member of Odin’s Outlaws. He was an affiliate. A hired thug. Either a Fizz-cook or a foot-soldier. Perhaps both.

  “Your rifle. Toss it to me.”

  Matt kept his hands up, palms out. “Easy now.”

  The suspect curled his lip and stiffened his aim. “I said your fuckin’ rifle, ese’! And don’t try nothin’ or I’ll blast your ass.”

  Matt slowly loosened the strap around his neck and slid the rifle across the ground to him. He then raised his hands again, sizing up his opponent. “Now what?”

  The suspect grinned. Eyes still on Matt, he knelt down, scooped up the rifle and started back-peddling to the parked Tesla. “Now I book it outta here.”

  “You really think you’ll get far? There’s gonna be three separate police departments looking for you. You won’t make one mile before a drone spots you and disables your vehicle.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s a risk I’m willing to take. Like I’m gonna stay here when this whole place is goin’ loco.”

  Matt began to inch closer, hands still raised. “You noticed it too, huh?”

  The suspect blinked. There was a slight falter in his expression.

  Matt could see the kid understood exactly what he was referring to. “And here I was thinking it was just me. All those dogs barking and going crazy,” he said, nodding to the trailer behind him where the pit could be heard pacing behind the door growling, its steel nails clicking on the linoleum floor. “Then there’s the weird feeling in the air - like static.”

  When Matt took another step forward, the suspect stiffened his aim again. “Stop movin’, man. Just stay the fuck back!”

  Suddenly, a black, KDCI police helicopter blasted over the yard, swooping down low and then arching back up into the air in a steep climb. The sleek, aggressive design of the chopper looked as if someone had successfully mated a Black Hawk with an SR-71 Blackbird.

  Matt’s first thought was that some back-up had finally arrived, and perhaps the pilot was searching for his location. But his relief evaporated instantly when he saw how erratic the chopper was flying. It seemed like it was frantically trying to escape something.

  Something unseen.

  Matt’s eyes darted to the suspect. His eyes were tracking the police chopper overhead that was about to disappear over the horizon. Matt had about a second to act, so he rushed the suspect head-on like a freight train.

  The suspect heard boots crunching dirt, spun his head around and fired a shot.

  The round whizzed over Matt’s right shoulder and punched into the dirt as he tackled the suspect by the waist, pulverizing him into the side of the car with the force of a sledgehammer.

  The suspect gasped as the back of his head cracked against the passenger-side window, the glass spiderwebbing from the impact. The rifle also spun out from his hand as Matt wrangled with the other hand that was wielding the sidearm. When the suspect pulled the trigger again, Matt drove his fist into the kid’s nose and began repeatedly smashing his gun-hand against the edge of the car’s hood until his grip on the weapon began to loosen. Ears still ringing from the gunshot, Matt pried the weapon free and pistol-whipped the suspect across the jaw. He collapsed onto his ass, back slumped against the car, gasping for air, blood smeared across his mouth.

  Matt then spun the suspect around and yanked out the gold-plated 9mm Luger that was shoved down the back of his jeans. He then rose to his feet and backed away, chest heaving while he sucked down some much-needed air. He scooped his rife up off the ground while keeping his newly retrieved sidearm trained on the battered suspect. “How old are you, kid? Eighteen? Nineteen?” he said, slinging his rifle strap around his vest.

  The suspect spat a clump of blood onto the dirt, refusing to look up at Matt. “The fuck you care?” he snarled, wiping blood from his chin with his forearm.

  “I care because I’ve never seen anyone with such a death wish at your age. You think shooting at a cop is gonna get you some kind of promotion with those bikers?”

  “You don’t know what it gets me.”

  “Yeah, actually I do. It gets you dead. You’re nothing but a useful idiot to them.” Matt turned and tossed the gold-plated pistol over the fence into a thicket of scrub.

  “The fuck, man? You just threw away my nine.”

  “It’s OK, you won’t be needing it anymore.”

  “Oh, so you’re one of them corrupt motherfuckers - trying to erase evidence and shit.”

  “I’m not erasing anything. I’m just parking it aside until one of our drones can locate it later on.” Matt unclipped a pair of zip-lock cuffs from his duty belt and threw them down in front of the suspect. “However, in the meantime, I’ll let you do the honors.”

  The suspect eyed them incredulously then lifted his head to Matt. “I ain’t puttin’ those on, man.”

  “Yeah, I’m bettin’ you will.”

  “Nah, I’m bettin’ I won’t.”

  Pop-pop-pop!

  Matt started unloading rounds next to the suspect. Geysers of dirt spewed into his face, the suspect jolting from each shot, like the ground underneath his ass had suddenly become electrified.

  “Last chance. Otherwise, I put a round in your leg and leave you out here with your Mutie friend.”

  “OK! OK! Just chill!” The suspect winced as he reached for the cuffs and looped them around his wrists. “What is it with you cops, man? Y’all trippin’.” The cuffs automatically tightened, snapping into place with a plastic-sounding click.

  “Up.” Matt waved his gun, motioning for the suspect to stand. “Slowly.”

  He did. Slowly.

  Weapon still aimed, Matt moved in behind him and opened the driver-side door. “Get in.”

  The suspect turned and gave Matt another incredulous look. “I’m handcuffed.”

  “This car has autonomous hands-free. You could drive it blindfolded. Get in.”

  The suspect turned and snickered, climbing into the driver’s seat as Matt got into the passenger seat behind him. “But I got no key.”

  Matt leaned forward and pressed the muzzle of his gun firmly against the suspects arm. “I heard you in that office back there. You were getting ready to ditch this yard. Something tells me you weren’t planning on walking.”

  The suspect breathed a sigh of defeat and shook his head. He then reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a set of plastic keys that looked like flashdrives. He found the right one, inserted it into a small USB-type hub on the dashboard and pressed the ignition button. The car made an electric-sounding splutter and roared to life, the dashboard lighting up with an array of information, such as weather forecast, current temperatur
e, traffic conditions, and battery charge.

  Matt leaned back in his seat. “What’s your name?”

  “Jake.”

  “What’s your real name?”

  The suspect hesitated before answering. “Joel.”

  “I want you to understand something right off the bat, Joel. When I ask you a question, you answer me truthfully. Try bullshitting me, and this is going to be a really long and uncomfortable ride for you.”

  Joel eyed Matt in the rear-view mirror. “So where am I goin’ then?”

  “Just drive towards Frankfort.”

  Joel backed the car up and crawled out of the yard, turning onto the narrow dirt road, heading away from the farmhouse property.

  Eight

  Matt kept his eyes on Joel as they drove along the narrow service road. Apart from the whir of the vehicle’s electric engine, the silence between them was thick. There was also no denying that both of them could sense the same impending menace - an unseen threat that almost felt omniscient. When the vehicle reached the main road that led into Frankfort, Joel slowed to a halt before turning.

  “Did I tell you to stop?”

  Joel’s eyes flicked to Matt in the back seat. They were empty and hostile. “You’re making me drive myself to jail, aren’t you?”

  “What would give you that idea?” replied Matt with a cynical sniff.

  “Hey, I’m not as fuckin’ stupid as you think I am.”

  No, you’re right. Clearly, you’re a lot stupider. Drive until I tell you to stop.”

  Joel scoffed and shook his head before accelerating. “This is such bullshit.”

  “You should have thought about what’s bullshit before you decided to cook Fizz for a living.”

  “Not like I had a choice.”

  “We all have a choice. You just made the wrong one.”

  “So I should have gone to the academy and become a bitch-ass cop like you?”

  “Plenty of other jobs out there.”

  “Yeah, but none of them pay like this one.”

  “Well, it’s too bad you’re unemployed now.”

  “Fizz fiends everywhere in Shelby County, ese’. I’ll never be unemployed.”

  “Remind me of that when I’m booking you into a holding cell later today.”

  Matt let that implication hang there. Joel sniffed, wiping the dried sweat and blood that lined his upper-lip while he drove. “Man, my girl is gonna beat my ass when she finds out I’m in jail again.”

  “She’s not used to it by now?”

  “Nah, ain’t like that. She knows the game. But… she’s pregnant. I’ve already got three pending priors, so thanks to you, I’ll probably never get to see my baby being born.”

  Matt studied Joel in the mirror before responding. “Listen, it may not seem like it now, but I’m doing you a favor here.”

  Joel snorted a high nasal cackle. That was the funniest thing he’d heard in a long time. “Like fuck you are, cop.”

  “Whatever happens from here - just do your time and get yourself on a better path. If you don’t want to do it for yourself, at least be man enough to do it for your kid.”

  Again, Joel met Matt’s gaze in the rear-view mirror. This time, there was a hint of defeat in his eyes. He knew Matt was right, and that made him even angrier.

  Suddenly, a large series of booms began to ricochet across the sky above them, each one sounding like the punishing thunderclap of a wrathful God. Matt and Joel could feel the ground below the car tremor.

  Boom…

  Boooom…

  BOOOOOOOOM…!

  “Stop the car,” Matt ordered.

  “The hell was that?”

  “Just stop the car.”

  Joel hit the brakes. The car screeched rubber. They both sat there in the middle of the road, listening intently. They could still feel the car vibrating as another series of sonic assaults rippled across the sky with eerie uniformity.

  Boom…

  Boooom…

  BOOOOOOOOM…!

  Then, it stopped. Silence.

  “What the hell is going on?” Matt whispered to himself as he turned in his seat to peer out the back window, his jaw set tight.

  The road was entirely empty. Not a single vehicle in sight. Matt was familiar with this area, and this road was usually teeming with cars, trucks, and automated delivery drones heading towards Interstate sixty-four. But they were completely alone out here.

  Shifting back to face the front, he spotted something out his passenger-side window.

  Large gales of black smoke could be seen drifting across the horizon. He could also just make out the faint symphony of police sirens and chopper rotors in the distance.

  Matt leaned forward and nudged Joel’s shoulder with the muzzle of his sidearm. “Let’s go. Take the first exit you see onto Owenton Road and keep driving towards town.”

  Joel checked his mirrors and continued on. “Somethin’ ain’t right out here, man,” he muttered under his breath. “This is shit is straight-up giving me the creeps.”

  Matt nodded idly while keeping his eyes on the road ahead. “Yeah, me too.” He swiped the comm unit on his wrist. A holographic representation of a dial-tone blipped above his forearm as he called home. But Karen wasn’t picking up.

  Then, the signal went dead.

  As Matt and Joel drove closer to Frankfort, they began to see farm fields ablaze. It was as if they were approaching the mouth of a raging forest fire. The wind whipped the flames across the highway - burning embers swirled and danced in front of their windshield like fireflies. A suffocating quilt of smoke blanketed the sky, turning the sun into some perverse resemblance of a Harvest Moon. On the horizon, they could see several barns and homes engulfed in flames. Something had struck the area. Something big. Something immensely powerful.

  As Joel drove, his eyes darted to his left side. Dark shapes began to flash past his window - human figures bathed in smoky shadow. “Man, I think there’s people out there,” he said.

  Matt turned to Joel’s side and peered out into the gloom. “Where?”

  “Out there, man. On the side of the damn road.”

  “Pull over.”

  Joel glanced at him with a concerned look. “You sure you want me to do that?”

  “I wasn’t asking.”

  Joel pulled the car over. Matt leaned forward between the two front seats and pressed the handbrake on. “Gimmie the keys.” Joel cut the engine and pulled out the ignition key from its slot, then handed it to Matt.

  Matt hoped out of the car to assess the area, his sidearm still drawn as he stood in the middle of the deserted road. The only thing he could see surrounding him in the distance was a wall of fire. He turned his attention to the cornfield that ran parallel to the road, peering down into a dirt trench that separated the road from the corn.

  He could make out the shapes of people hiding among the stalks that were yet to burn. They were watching him silently, the whites of their eyes glinting through the haze. A great fear bristled among them. Some stood, but most were crouched or laying on their stomachs, clutching their children and loved ones closely.

  Where had all of these people come from? Matt thought. Had they abandoned their vehicles from the Interstate? When he went to yell out to them, he was abruptly cut off by another thundering boom overhead, which caused him to look up at the sky. Everyone else did too.

  Through the smoke, an enormous, nautilus-shaped craft of black steel shimmered through the clouds, silhouetted by the sun. It was clearly hyper-advanced, yet in some ways, it also looked ancient, like some hulking relic that had spent eons aimlessly hurling through space to arrive here.

  The fleeting glimpse lasted no more than a few seconds, but it was enough to slacken Matt’s jaw as he stared up at it, dumbfounded. Matt could hear the others hiding in the fields begin to whimper and sob.

  Then, a terrible screaming of metal rang out as hundreds of missile-shaped objects violently detached from the dark underbelly of the craft b
efore it vanished. Each missile was the size of a small vehicle.

  Matt watched them rapidly streak towards the surface like a meteor shower, peppering the surrounding fields with huge fireballs of blue-plasma as they struck the ground. It looked as if they were carpet bombing the entire area.

  The people hiding now began to scream in panic. Matt also saw a bigger crowd surging through the cornfields, heading towards the road where he stood. It was sheer pandemonium as the crush of people ran across the road into the opposite field, heads ducked low as they scrambled to find some form of new cover. Whatever semblance of calm there was before was utterly gone.

  KER-BOOOOOM!

  Suddenly, Matt was violently jolted from his stupor when one of the missiles struck the middle of the road, just meters from where the car was sitting. Fire, dirt, and rock spewed into the air as he was blown off his feet by the impact - which was so powerful, it caused the surrounding asphalt to spiderweb like a sheet of ice.

  Matt skidded along the road on his back, a thick cloud of debris wafting over him. Coughing on the smoke and dirt that filled his nostrils, he whirled around to see that Joel was now standing by the car, gawking at the impact crater with the expression of someone who was struggling to comprehend what he was witnessing.

  “Go! Get out of here!” Matt yelled at him. “Just go!”

  But Joel raised his cuffed wrists, shook his head, and began to back up against the car. His eyes had flicked to something behind Matt. “Um… the fuck is that?”

  Matt pivoted back around to face the crater. He immediately felt the color drain from his face.

  The onslaught of metallic objects raining down from the huge ship above were not missiles. They were drop-pods of some kind.