Oh No, Aliens

The UFO’s appeared on a Tuesday morning. Hadley Parker woke up thinking it was the middle of the night because it was still so dark, but her clock said it was 8:30. She went to the window and flung open her curtains to find a huge craft hovering over the New York skyline. People were gathered in the streets below her, snapping pictures on their phones.

Hadley turned on the TV, flipping to a news channel. The picture was a little fuzzy but it was still clear that the newscaster’s expression was almost manically excited. News ratings would probably be going through the roof with this...whatever “this” was.

“At approximately twelve AM this morning, people began reporting seeing large structures descend from the sky and stop several miles above dozens of large cities across the globe. Reports confirm structures above New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, Paris, London...”

The reporter kept talking but Hadley’s phone started ringing; it was a video call from her mom.

“Hey, mom, have you seen the news?”

“That’s why I’m calling. Are you okay? They said there was one of these things over New York City.”

“Yeah, there is. I can see it out my window. But I’m okay, nothing seems to be happening. The streets are clogged cause everyone is stopping to stare at it.”

“If you go out today, you be careful, hear me? People are going to start acting crazy about this in no time.”

“I’ll be careful,” Hadley promised, eyes straying to her window again. The spaceship-because What else could it be?-was huge, blotting out the sun. It couldn’t have been more than maybe five miles above the city.

“I guess we finally answered that age old question of whether we’re alone in the universe,” she remarked. Her mom let out a sharp breath, her gaze worried.

“I think I’d prefer never knowing,” she muttered. “They showed them on the news, and they look evil. The closest one to us is all the way over in Houston, so thank the lord it’s not close to us.”

Hadley’s family lived out in western Texas, a couple of miles outside a small town called Fairlee, and a lot of miles from anything particularly interesting.

“That’s good,” Hadley said. “The thing gives me the creeps.”

“You stay in touch, okay? We want to hear from you regularly to make sure you’re all right.”

“Yeah, I promise. I love you, Mom.”

“Love you too, baby. Hey, are y’all gonna say hello to Hadley or not?”

Hadley smiled. She had four older siblings and two younger, and a gaggle of nieces and nephews. They were always in and out of each other’s houses; everyone met at her parents’ most Sunday’s for dinner after church services and on Saturday mornings for breakfast. Now they crowded in around her mom to wave at Hadley with a chorus of, “hi, Hads!”

“Hey, guys,” she replied. “Take care of yourselves down there.”

“And what about you?” her father asked, shoving his face too close to the screen. “You’re all alone there in that awful city, are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“I’m a Parker, Dad. I can handle it.”

“That’s my girl,” he said proudly.

“Daniel, please,” her mother said, gently shoving his face out of the way so he wasn’t taking up the entire screen. Her family wished her luck and made her promise about ten more times to check in and stay safe. When they hung up, she stood and went back to the window. She touched the silver locket around her neck; the one her parents had given her for her sixteenth birthday. There was a cross engraved on one side and a rose on the other, for her middle name. It was her habit to fiddle with it when she was nervous. She thought about her conversation with her mom as she stared at the alien craft looming above her. It did look evil.

It hovered there, seemingly silent and empty, for three days. It was all anyone could talk, text, or tweet about. You heard about it everywhere and you could see it from everywhere. Theories ran rampant. Hadley had a favorite little coffee shop near campus and she overheard scholars and hipsters alike talking animatedly about what they thought it was.

Harbinger of the end times. Proof that human life really was just a big simulation. Angels. Demons. Giant cameras trained on them and broadcasting their lives to alien beings who viewed it as reality TV. Humans from an alternate timeline of Earth.

All Hadley knew was that she’d had a feeling of dread deep in her gut since the moment she’d looked out her window and seen the craft. It felt like an eye, seeking out their weaknesses.

On the fourth day, the crafts lit up with a blue-green light that was a little painful to look at. The lights shimmered all over it, like zaps of lightning. Electronic devices started going haywire, everything turning on and lighting up. Hadley had to unplug her TV because every time she turned it off, it would turn back on fifteen minutes later.

On the fifth day, the giant crafts opened. Smaller crafts flew out from its depths; the flashing lights stopped and everything got weirdly quiet. Hadley had been practicing an aria she was supposed to perform for class. Her voice died in her throat. She crept to the window on tiptoe, feeling oddly compelled to be quiet in case the aliens heard her. She watched from her window as the smaller crafts began to descend. They moved in sync, like a dance. Or a battle formation.

Her phone lit up with another video chat from her parents. They looked panicked.

“The live news update said those things are opening,” her mother said anxiously. “What’s happening?”

“They’re coming.” Hadley turned her phone around so they could see the swiftly approaching crafts. Her father cursed and her mother whispered a prayer.

“What do you think they want?” Hadley asked.

“It can’t be anything good,” her mother replied. “Hadley, I wish you were home right now. You’re all alone, what if something happens? There’s no one to help you, no one to protect you-“

“Hush now, Jo.” Daniel put a gentle hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Don’t torture yourself like this. Now Hadley, what’s happening?”

“They’re closer.” Her gaze was locked on the window. “I think they’re going to go down all the way to the street.”

“Hold on, they’re saying something again on the news.” Daniel retreated into the other room. Hadley was suddenly so homesick it took her breath away. She didn’t want to be here, with these creepy things looking overhead. She heard her father shout.

“Oh, my God. Hadley! Jo, tell Hadley to take cover! Get away from the window!”

“What’s going on?” Jo demanded, tone panicked. Hadley reacted without thinking, leaping away from the window and throwing herself into the bathroom, slamming the door. There was a boom from outside that rumbled like thunder. Hadley felt the apartment shake slightly and a feeling like static electricity skittered across her skin.

“Hadley!” Jo was screaming. “Baby, are you okay?”

“I’m okay,” Hadley said. “I’m okay, something’s happening-“

“They’re firing some kind of weapon,” Daniel said frantically. “Hadley, you’ve got to get-“

His voice cut out, their faces went fuzzy, and then the screen went dead. She fumbled out of the bathroom to find the entire apartment had gone dark. The entire city had gone dark; New York was nothing but shadows. It was quiet again for a moment, then Hadley could hear some people screaming, far away. She didn’t know if they were screaming because of the blackout, or because of something else. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know. Her cell phone wouldn’t turn back on; whatever the aliens did, they had knocked out the power and the reception. She stumbled into her room and fished a flashlight out of her nightstand. She got dressed and packed a bag with clothes, a first aid kit, and water.

She tied her long brown hair up in a ponytail and stuffed her phone in her jeans pocket. If she could get out of the city, maybe she’d get reception again. She’d need to call her parents as soon as she could. They were going to be losing their minds worrying. Hadley also shoved a fairly sinister looking switchblade and a high powered taser in her jacket pockets. They probably wouldn’t be any use against aliens, but it made her feel better to have them.

Other people were filing out of her apartment building too, fumbling in the dark out to the street. Hadley gripped her flashlight like it was a lifeline. People spilled into the street; a woman from somewhere above was screaming at them all to stay inside. Some people retreated back in when they saw how dark it was, some hovered in doorways. Most of those with flashlights kept moving, looking around dazedly and asking each other what happened, like anyone could possibly know.

Above them, the bigger ship lit up again. Hadley flinched and a few people screamed. The streets were now cast with that eerie, surreal glow. Hadley’s heart thudded in her ears.

“What’s going on?” a woman asked, sounding near tears. “Where did those smaller ships go? What are they doing here?”

Hadley decided she wanted to get the hell out of New York and back to Fairlee before she found out any answers to the woman’s questions.