Blue Through the Grey
Stargazer
I want to scream, I want to die. Maybe that guy had family still alive and he was on a supply run. Why did I pull the trigger? He left me no choice, I didn't know what he had in his pocket. He should've been a little clearer on that. I grabbed as much stuff as I could and ran the hell out of there. I've killed people before, though they weren't the innocent kind of people. I'm back on the highway, making my way to...where? It's almost dark and I need to find a place to hunker down for the night. I can't stop thinking about him, how his head snapped back, his chest ripping apart. Why did I pull that fucking trigger? I pull myself out of this fog and find a decent car to take refuge in. I look up at the lonely sky. There's no planes, no helicopters flying overhead. It's just me, the stargazer and them, the aliens. Maybe I'm wrong about them, maybe they aren't here for our planet, but maybe they just came for some sort of sick game. Let's kill the humans, that'd be fun.
"Wake the hell up!" Probe whispers, shaking me until my vision blurs.
"What?" I push her away.
"Come look"
We slowly walk to the front door where Slim and my dad stand, looking outside. Dad points upward, meaning I should probably look the hell up. Jesus Christ. There's about ten or twenty drones hovering only a few hundred feet above the camp. I jump out of view and press my back against the wall. Well, seeing that just made me so freaking happy. Thanks, Probe. Bitch. I look back out the window. What are they doing? They're just hovering there, not moving, not doing shit.
"Maybe they're scanning the area," Slim says.
"Or maybe they're going to blow us to shit." My sarcasm echoes through the whole building.
"Jennifer," Dad says. "Watch your language."
I don't know why it mattered, but like the good girl I am, I say "Sorry, dad."
And then a bullet buzzes through the window, taking out Probe. Not from the drones, but from a guy standing a few hundred yards away. I can faintly see his silhouette and three more of him and no...make that five more of him, no...six more. God, there's a shit load of guys out there with high powered rifles. We duck out of the way and Slim runs to the gun cabinet. He comes back with a few weapons. Dad hands me a rifle and looks at me, like it's the last time he'll see me. His lips meet my forehead, like it's the last time he'll kiss my forehead.
"Jennifer. These aren't the good guys. Probably some alien takeover. We're gonna go out the front door, you head out the back."
"Dad."
"No arguments. I love you, Jenn. Get as far away as possible"
Before I could say my final words to him, he busts through the door with Slim, Beef, and a few other people. I grab my bag and head out the back door. Running, pause, running, pause, running. I'm stopped by a guy. Military. He aims his gun at me. Why is he aiming at me?
Out of breath, I say "Help...there's people...at the camp. Bad people."
He inches closer to me and I finally realize. He is one of those bad people. He smacks the butt of his gun against my chin, sending me towards the ground. OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT. Aim, step, aim, step, aim, shoot. But it wasn't him that shot. It was me. I don't remember shooting, it kinda just happened. I quickly jumped to my feet while he fell to the ground. Dead. I expected to see some squid thing crawl out of his mouth. But nothing happened. He was dead. And so was the camp. I didn't have time to get very far and that sucked cause when I heard the hissing sound the flash of light, I didn't have time for anything. The camp exploded into a million pieces and there I go, Jennifer, flying backwards through the air, hair singed. I smack against a tree and land face first into the dirt. Fighting Horse almost to her last fight.
The bitter cold tapped against my face, forcing me to wake up. I look at my watch, the watch my dad had given me. 6:30 in the goddamned morning. I wanna go back to sleep, I wanna sleep for the rest of my life. HELL NO, JENNIFER. GET YOUR ASS UP AND MOVE. Fine, I will. I push open the car door. EEEERRRT. The door could probably be heard for hundreds of miles. That stupid door. When I get out onto the road, I quickly check the wound on my arm. Slightly better, still hurting, still a huge wound. And there it is, coming towards me like a cop running after a thief. A helicopter. A bullet hits the ground in front of me, spraying asphalt into my face. If I hide under this car, I'll die. If I run from the helicopter, I'll die. It slowly hovers above the ground for a few seconds then lands. The wind slices against my face, throwing around my hair violently. Out walks a man, no older than my dad.
"Stop!" I yell over the intense noise. He must not hear me. I lift my rifle but I can barely aim it. The wound hurts too much.
"It's okay!" He screams. "You're safe!"
"No!" I don't know what's going on. Who is this guy? Is he one of the men that blew up the refugee camp, taking my dad's life? Then something hits the back of my head and I fall to the ground. Someone snuck up behind me. That's the last thing I remember before blacking out. When I awake, I'm in a white room. White walls, white tiled floor, white counters, white cabinets. I'm in a chair, like the ones you'd sit in at the dentist. There's an IV attached to my arm, what's in it, I dunno. Where are my clothes? Why am I in this paper thin white robe type thing? I'm sure if this got a tad bit wet, all the goods would be exposed. The door opens and in walks a woman, a nurse. She checks my vitals, my blood pressure, makes sure the IV is properly pumping fluids through my veins. She says; You're okay. Then walks out. Thanks for telling me. No more than two seconds pass and the guy from the helicopter enters the room.
"Hi," He says as if he's seeing a long lost friend.
"Who the hell are you? Where the hell am I?" I guess I'm not so keen on the long lost friend bullshit.
"You're at a very safe facility." He smiles.
"Where?"
"Columbus." He keeps that same damn smile on his face. I wanna pull his skin off.
"Why?"
"We thought you could use some help."
"How'd you find me?" I'm full of questions.
"We were flying around."
"Why'd you shoot at me?"
"We didn't know who you were until we got closer."
"Do you smell that?" I ask.
"Smell...what?"
"Bullshit." A smile crosses my face but his fades. What the hell is going on?
"Wake the hell up!" Probe whispers, shaking me until my vision blurs.
"What?" I push her away.
"Come look"
We slowly walk to the front door where Slim and my dad stand, looking outside. Dad points upward, meaning I should probably look the hell up. Jesus Christ. There's about ten or twenty drones hovering only a few hundred feet above the camp. I jump out of view and press my back against the wall. Well, seeing that just made me so freaking happy. Thanks, Probe. Bitch. I look back out the window. What are they doing? They're just hovering there, not moving, not doing shit.
"Maybe they're scanning the area," Slim says.
"Or maybe they're going to blow us to shit." My sarcasm echoes through the whole building.
"Jennifer," Dad says. "Watch your language."
I don't know why it mattered, but like the good girl I am, I say "Sorry, dad."
And then a bullet buzzes through the window, taking out Probe. Not from the drones, but from a guy standing a few hundred yards away. I can faintly see his silhouette and three more of him and no...make that five more of him, no...six more. God, there's a shit load of guys out there with high powered rifles. We duck out of the way and Slim runs to the gun cabinet. He comes back with a few weapons. Dad hands me a rifle and looks at me, like it's the last time he'll see me. His lips meet my forehead, like it's the last time he'll kiss my forehead.
"Jennifer. These aren't the good guys. Probably some alien takeover. We're gonna go out the front door, you head out the back."
"Dad."
"No arguments. I love you, Jenn. Get as far away as possible"
Before I could say my final words to him, he busts through the door with Slim, Beef, and a few other people. I grab my bag and head out the back door. Running, pause, running, pause, running. I'm stopped by a guy. Military. He aims his gun at me. Why is he aiming at me?
Out of breath, I say "Help...there's people...at the camp. Bad people."
He inches closer to me and I finally realize. He is one of those bad people. He smacks the butt of his gun against my chin, sending me towards the ground. OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT. Aim, step, aim, step, aim, shoot. But it wasn't him that shot. It was me. I don't remember shooting, it kinda just happened. I quickly jumped to my feet while he fell to the ground. Dead. I expected to see some squid thing crawl out of his mouth. But nothing happened. He was dead. And so was the camp. I didn't have time to get very far and that sucked cause when I heard the hissing sound the flash of light, I didn't have time for anything. The camp exploded into a million pieces and there I go, Jennifer, flying backwards through the air, hair singed. I smack against a tree and land face first into the dirt. Fighting Horse almost to her last fight.
The bitter cold tapped against my face, forcing me to wake up. I look at my watch, the watch my dad had given me. 6:30 in the goddamned morning. I wanna go back to sleep, I wanna sleep for the rest of my life. HELL NO, JENNIFER. GET YOUR ASS UP AND MOVE. Fine, I will. I push open the car door. EEEERRRT. The door could probably be heard for hundreds of miles. That stupid door. When I get out onto the road, I quickly check the wound on my arm. Slightly better, still hurting, still a huge wound. And there it is, coming towards me like a cop running after a thief. A helicopter. A bullet hits the ground in front of me, spraying asphalt into my face. If I hide under this car, I'll die. If I run from the helicopter, I'll die. It slowly hovers above the ground for a few seconds then lands. The wind slices against my face, throwing around my hair violently. Out walks a man, no older than my dad.
"Stop!" I yell over the intense noise. He must not hear me. I lift my rifle but I can barely aim it. The wound hurts too much.
"It's okay!" He screams. "You're safe!"
"No!" I don't know what's going on. Who is this guy? Is he one of the men that blew up the refugee camp, taking my dad's life? Then something hits the back of my head and I fall to the ground. Someone snuck up behind me. That's the last thing I remember before blacking out. When I awake, I'm in a white room. White walls, white tiled floor, white counters, white cabinets. I'm in a chair, like the ones you'd sit in at the dentist. There's an IV attached to my arm, what's in it, I dunno. Where are my clothes? Why am I in this paper thin white robe type thing? I'm sure if this got a tad bit wet, all the goods would be exposed. The door opens and in walks a woman, a nurse. She checks my vitals, my blood pressure, makes sure the IV is properly pumping fluids through my veins. She says; You're okay. Then walks out. Thanks for telling me. No more than two seconds pass and the guy from the helicopter enters the room.
"Hi," He says as if he's seeing a long lost friend.
"Who the hell are you? Where the hell am I?" I guess I'm not so keen on the long lost friend bullshit.
"You're at a very safe facility." He smiles.
"Where?"
"Columbus." He keeps that same damn smile on his face. I wanna pull his skin off.
"Why?"
"We thought you could use some help."
"How'd you find me?" I'm full of questions.
"We were flying around."
"Why'd you shoot at me?"
"We didn't know who you were until we got closer."
"Do you smell that?" I ask.
"Smell...what?"
"Bullshit." A smile crosses my face but his fades. What the hell is going on?