Blue Through the Grey

A Voice of Thunder

Running through a field, drones falling to the earth behind us, exploding in a thunderous roar. Our screams brought on by fireballs shooting through the midnight sky. Melanie behind me, Reilly beside me. Our boots pounding against the ground. I leap over logs and dive under fallen trees. During a scouting mission, we we’re attacked by a group of people from ‘Ghost’ they looked just like us, we had no idea if they were aliens. They fired first and we retaliated. Obviously they were aliens, they sent drones after us. That’s why we’re running. We’re running to the helicarrier safe shield that surrounds a small house. BAM, a laser strikes the ground in the middle of us and sends shards of earth flying into the air. I can see the glimmer of the shield and it sends me into a frenzy. I leap for it and roll to safety. Then it’s Reilly and Melanie. The force field suddenly shakes and a ball of fire surrounds it but quickly fades away after a few seconds.
“C’mon, let’s get inside” Melanie says, slightly smiling. There’s no reason to smile, we almost got ourselves blown to pieces.
“Jenn, the others” Reilly grabs my hand but I pull away.
“They’ll find their way here. I’m sure they’re okay” We got separated when the drones came.
Melanie scans her I.D. at the door, the house comes to life. Lights flicker on, a beacon sends a signal to the helicarrier.
I open up the cabinets, they’re stocked with an endless amount of food. The safe houses have everything we need to survive. Medicine, food, running water, we’re lucky to be here right now, we’re lucky to be alive. The odds have been on our side lately, soon enough we’ll run into problems. Out of all the places in the world, the mothership decides to float above Ohio. My home. Would I still be alive if the mothership decided to land somewhere else? would I still be in this war? The questions are always unanswered. I sit down on the couch and pull my long hair into a tight ponytail. It seems almost unnatural to sit here while the drones hover around us.
“You look pretty” Reilly smiles, sitting beside me.
“Really. With all these cuts and bruises?”
He brushes a strand of hair behind my ear. “I think that’s what makes you beautiful. You’re strong, Jenn”
I push him away. “This is real life! I’m not some strong lead female in a novel or a stupid hollywood movie!”
“S-sorry” He scoots away and looks down at the floor. I feel bad for yelling, I’m not sure what’s wrong with me.
“No, Reilly. I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s gotten into me. I don’t want to be the face of a war”
He laughs. “Jenn. You’re not the face of a war, we all are!”

We drag the mattresses downstairs and put them together, we can’t be apart, it’s too dangerous. I fall asleep in Reilly’s arms, he makes me feel safe. Not sure what I’d do without him. When I thought he was captured, I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. I was hoping he was dead so he didn’t have to go through the torture. I wonder what was going through his head.
I awake to a bright flash and a loud thud. I quickly jump to my feet and head to the window, moving the curtain just a bit so I could see out. The shield parts like the sea and in walks a tall man, long black coat, arms crossed. He’s not moving his legs, he seems to just...hover. He got through the force field like it was nothing. He must be some sort of super alien. Reilly grabs the guns and Melanie sends out a distress signal. The windows suddenly explode and I retreat to the floor, shards of glass embedded in my skin. The front door flies open and the man floats in. There’s a slyish grin across his pale face. He raises his hand and makes a fist, like magic, we all slide into each other. We aren’t able to move.
“Who the fuck are you?” Melanie asks.
“I am your nightmare. I am the one from hell. I am your end”
“Fuck you!” She screams.
“I intend on killing you all. Just not yet. I wan’t to enjoy this war” He smiles and lets his grip go. Again, he begins to float and then retreats out the door and back where he came from.
“What the hell was that?” Reilly asks.
I know exactly what that was. “A voice of thunder” I say.