Blue Through the Grey

Through The Darkness

PART 1: THE ARRIVAL

Music is a huge part of my life. Before the arrival, I played in my family's band. But three months later, I'm lying in the woods alone and scared. My name, I don't think it's too important but I'll tell it anyway. It's Jenn, short for Jennifer. I'm honestly not too sure what I'm supposed to do now that life is over. I was always the shy girl, the girl in the background but all that has changed. No one really told us what the hovering grey ship was in the sky, but we pretty much already knew. Aliens. I hate that word, I prefer 'Outsiders'
On the night of June first, playing at a small fairground with my family, they finally decided to invade. Glowing green blobs slice through the air, faster than the speed of sound. Our music ceased as the drones flew over the crowded area and blasted some sort of lasers at the innocent people. My father said they might just be here to shake our hands and offer some kind of peace treaty. BULLSHIT.
They came down here to rip apart the fragment of humanity. The laser cuts right through the stage, killing my mother and two brothers. My mind is racing. I don't even notice the carnage that's unfolding in front of me, the fair being blown to bits and I'm still on the stage, crying. A blast sends me flying through the wall and onto the grass that's been charred by the Outsiders gun fire. Which brings me back to present day. My tent walls are starting to close in but I know if I move from my shack in the woods, I'll die; but if I stay, I'll die. A choice must be made and It needs to be made soon. I grab my rifle and snug it close to my body. My parents were never the type for guns, but that changed when they came. My dad decided that a gun was needed. This rifle was his, it was his before they blew him apart a few weeks after the fair.

After being tossed through a wooden wall and stomped on by a bunch of scared people, I'm able to gather my surroundings. My brown hair hangs down over my shoulder, which is popped out of place, My jean vest is dirty and my black skinny jeans are littered with grass stains. I feel a hand grab me and pull me off the ground. At this point, I think it's an invader and I'm fighting the thing off as hard as possible. The thing spins me around and I see his face. My dad. He's sweaty, dirty and tears make streams in the mud caked on his face. He sees me holding my left shoulder and presses his hand against it hard. I can't hear the pop over the loud screams of the dying, they echo through my ears. He doesn't say anything, I just watch his eyes and I know. Run. He grabs my hand and we're instantly in a full sprint through the fairgrounds. My boots clomp against the pavement and occasionally a dead body. His hand slips from mine and he's gone in the crowd of people. There's a blast beside me and the Ferris Wheel comes tumbling down a few feet in front of me. I jump back, falling to the ground. On the other side is my dad's face, scanning the area for me. I jump to my feet and wave my arms around frantically like; HEY ALIENS, HERE I AM. COME SHOOT ME.
A drone flies over my head and I retreat to a nearby booth. I roll underneath and wait for the worst.

I decide to pack up my things and move, after multiple battles with myself. SHOULD I GO? YES YOU IDIOT. BUT YOU MIGHT DIE. WHO CARES?
The woods are vast but thinning now that autumn is around the corner. Multi-colored leaves pile up on the forest floor, it's beautiful but it leaves me completely open to whatever wants to track me down and kill me. It only took a month to wipe out 95% of Earth's population. That means there's 5% of people still wandering the lifeless planet, 5% of survivors and scavengers. I've used my rifle, not to kill the Outsiders, I think you can guess. When faced with a life or death situation, it's either you or the other person. There's a split second of thought, maybe killing me will set me free, but if I die, all this surviving and wondering will be for nothing. I'm heading to Cleveland, just to see what I can find there. My supplies are slowly emptying and I need to find food and water soon. Coming out of the woods is like being kissed on the cheek by your great aunt Tilly. Disgusting. The sky is a dark orange and the air is stale and smells like death. That's how I know I'm close to the city. The stench of bodies hangs in my nose. I grab a cloth out of my bag and tie it around my face, making me look like a bandit. I remove the rifle from my shoulder and step onto the asphalt.

I wait under the booth until the screams eventually stop. I don't know if they realized that screaming achieves nothing, or they've all been annihilated. I slowly make my way out from under the booth and take a look at my surroundings. There's the destroyed Ferris Wheel, there's the animal barn a few yards away, and there's my...no...my dad isn't there, he's not on the other side of the wreckage. I make my way through the debris and see no father waiting on the other side, no family, no other humans. It's just me and the grey mothership in the sky. I wanna scream, scream for my dad but if I do, I'll bring them right down on my head. I walk through the barns, where all the free stuff is. I grab a backpack and fill it with candy, free samples, bottled water and whatever else I can find. I should retreat into the woods but I can't, I know my dad is out there, I know he's still alive. I pass the front gates, looking into the small area where the people sit and give out tickets. The whole row of people are slaughtered. I wonder if they hit the whole world at once, like they've been planning this since the beginning of time. All of this is BULLSHIT. Plain and simple.