Chapter 1: Nadia
The sky shook with rage as a loud crackling thunder resonated across the empty desert terrain. The deep black sky lit up brilliantly with a flash of blue just before another clap of thunder sounded, slightly quieter than the first, and rolled off into the distance beyond the Sandia Mountains. I counted a few heartbeats and watched the sky, waiting for another flash to gauge how far the storm was.
I continued to walk at a brisk pace through the sand and desert brush-covered dunes, past arroyos and abandoned buildings to my hide-out in an old subdivision. The windows are barred, and I had modified a couple of security doors to fit the inside frames of the exterior doors, so even if someone managed to break the wooden door outside, the security door inside would hold. Another bright light flashed, just as a loud boom sounded above my head, causing me to shriek out loud. The thunder continued to roll into the distance for a minute or so, and once the ringing in my ears stopped, the sound of whimpering caught my attention. I looked around and called out.
“Hello, is someone there?” I called quietly. No answer came, other than another whimper, this one accompanied by a hissing rattle. I knew that sound, it meant death. I quickly turned and bolted for my house, to the security doors that the beasts couldn’t break through. A noise that sounded like a dog’s bark, mixed with an alligator’s hiss, came from behind me, almost laughing. I could see the beast without even turning around.
With four long and powerful legs used for sprinting long distances, two shorter arms near the neck to catch and hold struggling prey as it injected venom into it through a horn on the chest, and two mandible jaws on its lower face, the beast I had come to share my territory with, aka FUBAR, was chasing me. The deep claw marks on my calves burned from our last encounter, though they had healed. The long scorpion-like tail cast a shadow high above me and I dodged to the left at the last second, narrowly escaping its tail and claws. I bolted over a short fence and through a short cement tunnel that normally lets flash floods pass without disrupting the housing developments.
I just had a little further to go, up a short dune and under the back fence through the small hole and I could be home. Safe behind the locked doors. Floodlights turned on overhead and the sound of engines running into the night brought on a whole new set of issues. Raiders, pirates, ravagers, whatever you call them, are bad news. They kidnap women and children and kill men unless they promise to obey their laws and had over all their booze and ammo. I have been lucky enough to avoid them for the better part of the last few months.
It hasn’t been too long since Earth had once been a thriving civilization. We had figured out how to slow down the destruction of greenhouse gasses on the ozone, brought back the polar ice caps, and even genetically engineered some of the most endangered animals on the planet back to life. We are repairing the damage done by our ancestors. The planet was becoming green again and once it was agreed that vehicles are to be banned as well except for public transportation, well, that’s when things began to get harry. People would think giving up their guns and ammo would be the hardest thing, but for many, the luxury of being able to go anywhere on their own was harder to give up. Disagreements broke out and travel bans came into effect. You would think that would be the worst of it but no.
Once our cities had become helpless to leave when they wanted, and the distrust had gotten to an all-time high for our governments, we learned of the existence of aliens. Not the weird green guys with big black eyes and bulbous heads on stick-figure bodies. These are made from nightmares, like Fubar.
The sentient species of this particular alien, however, was pretty terrifying as well. They could camouflage, among other things. They had genetic weaponry that was attached to their bodies. Black suits that would absorb impacts from our biggest weapons, including nuclear warheads, did nothing other than fuel their bioweaponry. The more energy their suits absorbed, the scarier they became. Eventually, it became a big game of hide and don’t get eaten. The animal beasts that came with them hunted humans to near extinction in only 3 months, and the last human I had seen had been running from one of the alien hounds 2 weeks ago.
I shimmied past the broken fence, just as Fubar’s paw brushed through the hole. I hadn’t seen this one’s handler, but no doubt it was close by. A staccato of gunfire rang through the night, a few bullets pounding into the wall as the engines became louder. The loud rattling hiss of Fubar’s tail shaking and standing in a curved position caught my attention for a moment before I ran hard and fast for my house. I had to get to the bunker before anything else found me. Before the raiders decided I was good to kidnap.
A howl of pain that sounded like it was out of a horror movie chilled my bones before screams of human men drowned it out. They faded into the distance with the sound of crunching bones as I made it to my safe house and locked all the doors behind me quickly. I didn’t stop there though. I went to the middle of the floor, pulled aside the rug, and lifted the dense metal panel to reveal a small ladder that went into a basement. Not normal for homes in the desert because of the sand, but this one had one thankfully.
I slid down the ladder, pulling the string for the door with me as I went down and bolted the hatch shut. I then turned and lit an oil lamp on the side table next to the ladder. Beneath the house, my bunker wasn’t large but it was cozy and quiet and easy to hide in and defend. I stayed silent for a long while, digging through my bag quietly as I pulled out cans and cans of food. I was so hungry that I didn’t even care if it wasn’t real meat anymore. I just needed something to eat. I decided on a can of tuna, thankful to have found it, and pried it open. It was a small can but would do for dinner. I was out much later than I had anticipated.
I then turned my attention towards an old radio I had found at a pawn shop my first week out. I cranked it hard and turned the switch on.
“Attention People of Earth. This is the President of the United States, on behalf of the United Nations, informing you that Earth has fallen. It is unknown if anyone will hear this broadcast, as most electronics have been wiped out, as have local towers. We are advising the general population to find cover, not panic, and if you see the aliens, do not engage them. Call your local authorities immediately or make your way to your nearest military base.” The radio faded into the background, replaying the last known broadcast of any kind for the hundredth time. My old-fashioned hand crank radio faded to static after a couple of moments before the light faded out and the sound stopped coming through completely.
Still no updates. No new broadcasts, not even a radio song. I have a feeling they just have the same broadcast playing on a loop now. It has been 3 months since it came out, and if there aren’t any new updates by now, there probably won’t be any later either. I laughed bitterly at the thought of help coming. Sure I lived in a town near a military base, but it had been abandoned within the first week. It was the first place I went to try and find shelter. There wasn’t a soul around. Not even other civilians had gone there. I tried police stations and firehouses, hospitals, schools, and anywhere I could think of, but it was as if the whole world had vanished. I wasn’t sure how I was staying hidden so well and had not yet been found, but I was thankful either way.
I wiped my dirt-smeared face, grimacing down at my grubby hands before wiping them on my jeans. It didn’t help much, but at least the worst of the grime had come away. I looked over to my water supply. 2 gallons left before I would need to see if I could find more. Trying the pipes always left me dreading. If I tried it during the day, they groaned and moaned. If I tried it at night, I could usually get something, but it came with the cost of attracting Fubar the alien mutt. An idea dawned on me. An insane and crazy idea. The sun was setting, and I knew I had to be nuts.
I thought back to every time I tried to get water and the mutt came close. It never attacked but tried to get in. I quietly and carefully snuck into the main house. I left the hatch open just in case but took a deep breath. I still had a little time. I grabbed an old metal pot from one of the cupboards and cranked it on the water faucet. It groaned in displeasure at the water demand, but after a few knocks, it obliged. I filled the pot and two empty water jugs before putting the jugs in my cellar. I then grabbed the water moving quickly but carefully and took the full pot outside.
The telltale rattling hiss was close and I heard the warble that told me it had caught a scent. I backed away quickly and shut myself behind the security door before quietly crawling to the window and I peek out. From where I sat, I could see a little of the area around me, and the full view of the water pot. The window was grubby, but with night fast approaching, it was getting easier to see.
I waited for what felt like forever before I saw the creeping tentacles on Fubar’s head inch forward, moving around as if testing the air. A couple of them dipped toward the house, while a few more dipped toward the water. They stayed out as the beast inched its way forward, head and body low as if hunting the liquid.
It peered around a few moments before lowering its head with a tentative sniff. I had never seen it so calm before, or so still. Normally it moved so fast that it was hard to see other than a black blur. From here, I could see its sleek body. Dark scales covered every inch of its body with no fur in sight. Tentacle-like whips formed around its head and its tail like a mane of a lion. The smaller forearms in front seemed to be capable of small tasks, like holding food or in this case, a water bucket to its face. When it opened its maw though, it wasn’t how I expected. Instead of a mouth in the front of its face like you’d expect from any animal, the entire lower half of its face seemed to drop down in a maw that reminded me more of a snapdragon flower or an alligator. Hugely wide for a smaller head. It poured the water into its waiting mouth. I smiled as the first part of my plan seemed to be successful. It dropped the pot with an empty clang and I took that as my cue to go back into my hiding place. It sniffed around but moved on relatively quickly. I sat on the bed after closing and locking the hatch and pondered over what I had seen.
