The Invasion
Well, I made my first attempt at writing for writing’s sake. What began life as a disturbing dream has been turned in to a short story, albeit a short story without a decent ending. The dream was about Jess and I meeting on the way to the gadget fair. We met, the aliens came, she got sick, I carried her, and then in a trash run the aliens got a headset that announced they’d been looking for humans for two years. I think I did OK with the first part; it’s the middle and the end that kinda looks like I just got bored of them and sloughed them off quickly. Click the link to read the full story.
Invasion
Highland Park in the summer is hot enough to fry eggs in the streets. The poplars and oaks are wilt in the heat. The schlieren of heat rise off the pavement distorting the horizon in the distance. Through this is what Shaerynne is running through, on her way to the school. Sweat runs down the back of her neck, soaking the back of her shirt. Everyone she passes on her way is drenched in sweat. It’s an unreasonably warm day.
The school is where the contest for ‘Most Useful Item’ is being held. All over town citizens are making gadgets. Some are necklaces with powers, some are brooches, some are barrettes - the guidelines state that it has to be a personal item that lends the wearer something. Shaerynne’s item is a necklace that lends the wearer unusual strength.
On the way, Shaerynne runs into, literally, Janessira. They both tumble to the ground, laughing. After helping each other up, they embrace with a quick hug, greeting each other. “Hey cousin, what are you up to in such a hurry?” Janessira asks.
“I’m on my way to the ‘Most Useful Item’ display at the school with my entry,” Shaerynne answers. She proudly shows Janessira her necklace. “I’m late though, I should have been there by now. I hope they don’t disqualify me.”
“Well, lets go!” Janessira cries, starting off at a trot, necklace still in hand. Shaerynne takes off after her, and the two cousins head off to the school together. They reach the school together, huffing and puffing, sweat pouring off of them. Through the hallways they scamper, headed in the direction of the gymnasium.
Together they burst through the doors, into a quiet gymnasium. The citizens there are all talking quietly amongst themselves, moving about the exhibits. Shaerynne locates one of the officials and inquires about adding her piece to the exhibit. Janessira starts moving slowly through the exhibits, trying to calm her breathing, feeling a little embarrassed by their entrance. Shaerynne joins her at the exhibit of the brooch that makes the wearer taller.
“They let me enter it,” she says, turning to look at the next exhibit of a barrette that changes the wearer’s hair color to black. “Isn’t it amazing? All of these gadgets that bring about temporary changes to the wearer? We truly are in a blessed town - all of the citizens are so ingenious.”
Janessira nods her assent. She wishes that she could have finished hers in time. She was working on a ring that turned the wearer invisible. Well, she thinks to herself, not invisible, but that changes the wearer to the surrounding scenery, like a chameleon on steroids. She makes a few mental notes of what to finish when she gets back home, thinking if she can’t finish it for the contest, the least she can do is finish it to play pranks on people. Janessira giggles out loud.
“What are you thinking?” Shaerynne asks her.
“Oh, nothing, nothing,” she replies. They both break off into laughter, knowing that Janessira is lying, but neither cares.
The officials break off in to a little group of their own, discussing the entries. One raises her voice and says, “We have come to a decision, and everyone wins! Congratulations to each and every one of you. You are all very talented individuals.”
There was a chorus of questions that were hurled at the official, but they all went unanswered. She just smiled while the rest of the officials gathered their things. They all left together, leaving the citizens to gather their trinkets and leave themselves. Janessira and Shaerynne walk together back towards their homes. At Fifth Avenue and Magnolia Street, they stop.
“Ya know Jess, I think that answer was political bullshit.”
“I agree, I think they didn’t expect so many entries in such a small town,” Janessira replied.
At that moment, the sky ripped in two, the air screamed in response. Through the tear in space, alien ships entered and started randomly blasting targets. Houses, cars, people - all were targeted for destruction. Wave after wave of small ships exited the mother ship, engulfing the town. The aliens wore red and blue jumpsuits. Helmets hid their features as they rode down humans on their little speeders. They were humanoid in appearance.
Janessira and Shaerynne slid into the sewer system by way of a drainage ditch. They continued across town through the sewer system. The drainage pipe let them out near the park by Janessira’s house. She ran in and got her ring and the tools to complete it. They then returned to the sewer system and went further in so they wouldn’t be found right away.
Along with the invasion of humanoids, the aliens brought radiation sickness wherever they went. The disease slowly killed those that weren’t killed off. Janessira started getting sick, so Shaerynne put on her necklace and started carrying her through the sewers.
After about a month of hiding in the sewers, the girls came upon Shaerynne’s family. Her parents, Raegard and Maeria were leading her sisters Maelora and Jaenzin. Scouting ahead were the dog, Beorhwulf and the cat, Misdic. The girls were ecstatic to see family alive and well. Maeria knew how to treat Janessira’s sickness, so she was on the path to getting better.
Raegard showed the girls how they survived this long. Between hiding in the sewers and pretending to be alien scavengers they were able to avoid detection and remain free. He told them how the aliens overthrew the rest of Earth, taking captive those they didn’t kill. Though they killed most. He instructed them in the alien’s language, which was actually similar to the human’s Latin tongue. He also showed them how to maneuver the little machine to appear as one of the droids that scavenged the streets.
The next day Raegard showed them how to present the ‘special’ pieces of scavenged items to the aliens at the droid depot. The girls went out and scavenged with their family. They found gadgets, trash, office supplies - you name it, they found it. Only the most interesting was presented to the aliens at the end of each day. The rest they were able to keep.
In time, Janessira finished her ring of stealth. She would then go on forays above ground, searching for evidence of her own family, and parts for new gizmos while she was invisible to the aliens. The ring served her well. With it she was able to find out valuable information from the aliens. She found out that since all of Earth was under their control, they were leaving, and leaving a minimal force behind to oversee the major resources. To the aliens, the resources were the oceans and the polar ice caps.
One day, she was out and her ring slipped off her finger and she was faced with two aliens! She quickly whipped out her pistol, that she made from spare parts, and blew away the first one. She maimed the second one, and was able to kill it before it reported back to their superiors.
Two years after the aliens landed, they left. Most of humanity had been destroyed. Shaerynne made a radio out of spare parts and had been trying to contact other humans that were left behind. After the aliens left, she got a response. Slowly humanity came creeping back to their ravaged homes. Most of their cities were destroyed, and they had to rebuild their energy and water stations. The humans rose again, and slowly retook their planet from the alien invaders, with a little more respect for their natural resources.
I welcome all critism. Please, criticize me, without it, I'll never learn nor become better. Thank you.
Invasion
Highland Park in the summer is hot enough to fry eggs in the streets. The poplars and oaks are wilt in the heat. The schlieren of heat rise off the pavement distorting the horizon in the distance. Through this is what Shaerynne is running through, on her way to the school. Sweat runs down the back of her neck, soaking the back of her shirt. Everyone she passes on her way is drenched in sweat. It’s an unreasonably warm day.
The school is where the contest for ‘Most Useful Item’ is being held. All over town citizens are making gadgets. Some are necklaces with powers, some are brooches, some are barrettes - the guidelines state that it has to be a personal item that lends the wearer something. Shaerynne’s item is a necklace that lends the wearer unusual strength.
On the way, Shaerynne runs into, literally, Janessira. They both tumble to the ground, laughing. After helping each other up, they embrace with a quick hug, greeting each other. “Hey cousin, what are you up to in such a hurry?” Janessira asks.
“I’m on my way to the ‘Most Useful Item’ display at the school with my entry,” Shaerynne answers. She proudly shows Janessira her necklace. “I’m late though, I should have been there by now. I hope they don’t disqualify me.”
“Well, lets go!” Janessira cries, starting off at a trot, necklace still in hand. Shaerynne takes off after her, and the two cousins head off to the school together. They reach the school together, huffing and puffing, sweat pouring off of them. Through the hallways they scamper, headed in the direction of the gymnasium.
Together they burst through the doors, into a quiet gymnasium. The citizens there are all talking quietly amongst themselves, moving about the exhibits. Shaerynne locates one of the officials and inquires about adding her piece to the exhibit. Janessira starts moving slowly through the exhibits, trying to calm her breathing, feeling a little embarrassed by their entrance. Shaerynne joins her at the exhibit of the brooch that makes the wearer taller.
“They let me enter it,” she says, turning to look at the next exhibit of a barrette that changes the wearer’s hair color to black. “Isn’t it amazing? All of these gadgets that bring about temporary changes to the wearer? We truly are in a blessed town - all of the citizens are so ingenious.”
Janessira nods her assent. She wishes that she could have finished hers in time. She was working on a ring that turned the wearer invisible. Well, she thinks to herself, not invisible, but that changes the wearer to the surrounding scenery, like a chameleon on steroids. She makes a few mental notes of what to finish when she gets back home, thinking if she can’t finish it for the contest, the least she can do is finish it to play pranks on people. Janessira giggles out loud.
“What are you thinking?” Shaerynne asks her.
“Oh, nothing, nothing,” she replies. They both break off into laughter, knowing that Janessira is lying, but neither cares.
The officials break off in to a little group of their own, discussing the entries. One raises her voice and says, “We have come to a decision, and everyone wins! Congratulations to each and every one of you. You are all very talented individuals.”
There was a chorus of questions that were hurled at the official, but they all went unanswered. She just smiled while the rest of the officials gathered their things. They all left together, leaving the citizens to gather their trinkets and leave themselves. Janessira and Shaerynne walk together back towards their homes. At Fifth Avenue and Magnolia Street, they stop.
“Ya know Jess, I think that answer was political bullshit.”
“I agree, I think they didn’t expect so many entries in such a small town,” Janessira replied.
At that moment, the sky ripped in two, the air screamed in response. Through the tear in space, alien ships entered and started randomly blasting targets. Houses, cars, people - all were targeted for destruction. Wave after wave of small ships exited the mother ship, engulfing the town. The aliens wore red and blue jumpsuits. Helmets hid their features as they rode down humans on their little speeders. They were humanoid in appearance.
Janessira and Shaerynne slid into the sewer system by way of a drainage ditch. They continued across town through the sewer system. The drainage pipe let them out near the park by Janessira’s house. She ran in and got her ring and the tools to complete it. They then returned to the sewer system and went further in so they wouldn’t be found right away.
Along with the invasion of humanoids, the aliens brought radiation sickness wherever they went. The disease slowly killed those that weren’t killed off. Janessira started getting sick, so Shaerynne put on her necklace and started carrying her through the sewers.
After about a month of hiding in the sewers, the girls came upon Shaerynne’s family. Her parents, Raegard and Maeria were leading her sisters Maelora and Jaenzin. Scouting ahead were the dog, Beorhwulf and the cat, Misdic. The girls were ecstatic to see family alive and well. Maeria knew how to treat Janessira’s sickness, so she was on the path to getting better.
Raegard showed the girls how they survived this long. Between hiding in the sewers and pretending to be alien scavengers they were able to avoid detection and remain free. He told them how the aliens overthrew the rest of Earth, taking captive those they didn’t kill. Though they killed most. He instructed them in the alien’s language, which was actually similar to the human’s Latin tongue. He also showed them how to maneuver the little machine to appear as one of the droids that scavenged the streets.
The next day Raegard showed them how to present the ‘special’ pieces of scavenged items to the aliens at the droid depot. The girls went out and scavenged with their family. They found gadgets, trash, office supplies - you name it, they found it. Only the most interesting was presented to the aliens at the end of each day. The rest they were able to keep.
In time, Janessira finished her ring of stealth. She would then go on forays above ground, searching for evidence of her own family, and parts for new gizmos while she was invisible to the aliens. The ring served her well. With it she was able to find out valuable information from the aliens. She found out that since all of Earth was under their control, they were leaving, and leaving a minimal force behind to oversee the major resources. To the aliens, the resources were the oceans and the polar ice caps.
One day, she was out and her ring slipped off her finger and she was faced with two aliens! She quickly whipped out her pistol, that she made from spare parts, and blew away the first one. She maimed the second one, and was able to kill it before it reported back to their superiors.
Two years after the aliens landed, they left. Most of humanity had been destroyed. Shaerynne made a radio out of spare parts and had been trying to contact other humans that were left behind. After the aliens left, she got a response. Slowly humanity came creeping back to their ravaged homes. Most of their cities were destroyed, and they had to rebuild their energy and water stations. The humans rose again, and slowly retook their planet from the alien invaders, with a little more respect for their natural resources.
I welcome all critism. Please, criticize me, without it, I'll never learn nor become better. Thank you.