Prologue
Two and a half years ago
San Diego, California, USA.
10 hours before Spinner attack.
Alison Hunter kicked open the front door to her brother’s apartment, while balancing two large grocery bags in both arms. Stepping in, she waited for it to shut behind her, then made her way to the kitchen.
“Logan?” she called, placing the bags on the small island in the middle of the open space.
“Mom called while I was at the store,” she continued, not realizing she hadn’t gotten an answer from her older brother. “She says that you better make a plan to go see her soon, and that Thanksgiving this year is not negotiable.”
She unpacked the groceries, placing a six pack of beers into the fridge, with her mind fully focused on the dinner she was planning to make for them later that night.
Alison had flown down to San Diego two days ago to see the oldest of her siblings. She hadn’t seen Logan in over two years, and she missed him terribly.
Logan, an officer in the US Navy, and badass Navy Seal, had at first grumbled about her coming to visit him all the way from Virginia, but she’d always had a way with her brother and convinced him to see things her way. Sometimes, Alison thought he simply agreed with her out of love more than anything else.
After a bitter breakup with her boyfriend of four years, Alison needed to get away from the apartment they shared. Brian was an asshole of the highest order and everything in their little two-bedroom home reminded her of how easily he’d lied and cheated on her for months.
Not that she was going to tell Logan about it. She hated keeping secrets from her brother, but she also knew that Logan would be on the next plane out of San Diego, with a few of his Seal friends, and hunting Brian down if he ever found out what that sorry sack of shit did to her.
All she wanted was to forget about him and just enjoy the sunshine, beaches and spend time with her brother.
With her mind still on the conversation she’d had with their mother a few minutes ago, Alison packed the last of the shopping away and continued to speak.
“She says that dad had more tests done yesterday, and they’re waiting for the…”
Her words trailed off when she rounded the corner and found her brother’s tall, muscular frame standing in front of the TV, his shoulders tense and a deep, worried frown on his brow. He had his phone to his ear, mumbling “Yes, sir,” every few seconds as his wide eyes stayed fixed on the screen in front of him.
“Logan?” She asked quieter, not wanting to disturb the call he was on.
Logan had managed to arrange three days off from work when she first arrived, and today was meant to be their last day together before he went back to base.
With her heart racing, Alison turned to look at the TV. Logan had the news on, the sound muted, but it was clear to see what had her brother in such a state.
A young blonde anchorwoman sat behind a desk, her eyes wide and a pale, terrified look on her face as her lips moved rapidly. Alison couldn’t hear what was being said, but the large bold writing at the bottom of the screen told her everything she needed to know.
GLOBAL ATTACK IMMINENT was written in bright red letters, taking up half the screen.
Alison felt her heart jump at the words. She turned back to her brother, who had torn his eyes away from the screen and met her gaze.
There was a deep, primal fear in his gaze that Alison had never seen before. Logan had always been the strong, tough brother who was not afraid of anything. With a bone deep drive to protect others, it was no surprise to her or their family that he’d joined the Navy at eighteen.
But now, the panic in his gaze made Alison’s blood turn cold.
Finally, Logan nodded, mumbled something about being back at base right away, and hung up the phone.
“Logan?” Her voice came out in a soft, fearful whisper.
They both just stood there for a long minute, staring at each other. Logan broke eye contact first, stepping closer to her and pulling her into a tight hug.
His big body was so tense, a faint tremble vibrating through him.
Alison wrapped her arms around his waist, her hands shaking.
“What’s going on?” She asked, squeezing her eyes shut to stop the tears of fear from spilling.
Logan stayed quiet for a while longer, just holding her, then finally pulled back and released her.
“Whatever happens, stay close to me, okay? Go pack some clothes and be ready to leave in two minutes.”
Alison frowned, “What? Why? Please, Logan, tell me what’s going on.”
Logan ran a shaky hand through his thick dark brown hair and sighed.
“We’re under attack, Ali.” His simple statement made all kinds of emotions bloom inside her. Fear, confusion, anger.
“Attack? By whom?”
Logan shook his head, turning away from her to pace the small space of his living room. He began mumbling to himself, the way he always did when they were kids, and he was stressed about something he couldn’t figure out.
“This isn’t supposed to be possible. How can this be happening? How did no one know?”
“Logan?” Alison called again, dread turning her muscles tight. “Please talk to me.”
He turned, his eyes filling with tears. Alison’s heart sank, her blood turning to ice. Logan never cried. Not since he was a little kid. They were only two years apart in age, and Alison couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen him shed a tear for any reason.
“It’s over,” He said in a soft, pained voice, “I don’t know how we come back from this.”
Worried for her older brother, Alison went to him and grabbed his arm. She spun him to face her and waited for him to meet her eyes.
“Come back from what? Please Logan, tell me what is going on.”
He blinked away the moisture in his dark brown eyes then nodded, as though making some kind of internal decision. He gripped her arms in a tight but not painful hold and began to speak.
“Six weeks ago, we got word that an asteroid cluster was heading our way. Nothing too big. NASA, NORAD and the European Space agency were sure they would burn up in the atmosphere and give us all a pretty light show. The first of the asteroids reached Earth five hours ago. They didn’t burn up in the atmosphere like everyone thought.”
Alison felt weak in the knees. “Are you saying that asteroids are falling all over Earth?”
Logan shook his head, a pained look in his eyes.
“No, Ali. The asteroids that entered Earth’s atmosphere hit the Far East. China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and even Australia was hit. But they’re not asteroids.”
She frowned, “I don’t understand. What are they?”
Logan shook his head, the frown on his brow growing deeper.
“Logan, what are they?” She demanded.
“Aliens, Ali. Fucking aliens. They’re killing everyone… everything in sight. The armies of the countries that were hit have tried to fight but… But there’s too many of them. They had no time to prepare for something like this.”
Alison had no words. She stared at her brother, trying to understand what he was saying. If not for the pale, terrified look in his eyes, she might have thought this was a joke.
“Too many of what?” She asked in a low voice, not sure she wanted to hear the answer.
Logan shook his head, “I don’t know. They’re some kind of spider looking thing, with lizard heads. That’s all I got so far. Each asteroid that hit erupted into hundreds of these things. They’re… They’re eating everyone.”
“What?” She breathed, unable to comprehend what he was saying.
“The next cluster is due to hit Europe and Africa in three hours. Then…”
Alison felt sick as she asked the next question. “How long until… Until it’s us?”
Logan met her eyes, “Nine hours. The last cluster will hit North and South America in nine hours.”
“Can we stop them? Shoot them down before they, eh… land?”
He shook his head. “No. China and Australia already tried that. They moved, Alison. They fucking moved out of the way of their missiles.”
Alison’s hand rose to her mouth, a soft gasp escaping her lips. “What do we do?” she asked, her own eyes spilling tears down her cheeks.
It took a second, but finally, Logan snapped out of the fear that had held him immobile and gestured to the spare bedroom she’d been staying in. “Go pack a bag. Be quick. Not too much, just a few sets of clean clothes.”
“Where am I going?”
Logan pulled his phone out of his pocket and was typing out a text. He didn’t look at her as he spoke.
“I’m taking you to the USS Lockport. If the Navy wants me to fight, they’re going to keep you safe.”
Alison ran into the bedroom and pulled out her backpack. She grabbed a few sets of clean underwear, throwing them into the bag. She pulled out two pairs of clean jeans, three shirts and a simple jacket. She shoved it all into her bag and ran into the bathroom. She grabbed her toothbrush and the tube of toothpaste and stuck that into her bag as well.
It only took her two minutes to be ready to leave. When she came back out to the open living area, Logan was arguing on his phone.
“...I don’t give a fuck, Sir. I am not leaving my little sister here alone to fight for her life. She either comes back to the Lockport with me, or I go AWOL and protect her myself.”
His voice was angry and authoritative as he paced, waiting for a reply.
Finally, he nodded and visibly sagged in relief. “Yes, Sir. Thank you, sir. We’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
He hung up the phone and slipped it into his pocket. Looking up, he spotted Alison, her backpack slung over one shoulder.
“Ready?” He asked as he moved to a small cabinet to the side of the front door.
“Yeah,” She breathed, still feeling numb, as though this was all a crazy nightmare.
Logan bent to pull out a motorcycle helmet from the cabinet and handed it to her. He went over to the hook where he always kept his own helmet and took it down. Grabbing his thick black leather biker jacket, he handed it to her.
Alison didn’t argue. She slipped her arms into the heavy jacket and zipped it up. She watched as Logan pulled out a small black metal box and used a key on his bike’s keychain to open it. Inside lay a black gun, with a box of bullets beside it. He took it out, checked the weapon and held it and the box of bullets out to her.
“Put it in your bag. You remember how to use it?”
Alison nodded numbly, taking the weapon and putting it into her backpack.
The jacket was warm on her skin, making her sweat in the heavy leather. She felt a little ridiculous wearing such a big, solid jacket with shorts and sneakers, but it was nothing more than a fleeting thought.
Logan opened the front door and motioned for Alison to follow him.
As they made their way down to the parking beneath the building, Alison asked, “Will you be in trouble for taking me with you?”
Logan gave her a quick glance, “Don’t worry about it. Come on.”
She didn’t ask any more questions. Logan led her to his sleek black sports bike parked in a space not far from the main entrance. They both climbed on, Alison wrapping her arms around his waist firmly, and held on as her brother raced out of the parking lot and into the streets of San Diego.
What she saw on the streets made her feel sick. People were running in a panic in every direction. Cars were backed up as far as the eye could see. Police and military personnel were shouting at civilians to move off the street as large, heavy vehicles tried to get through the gridlock.
Alison closed her eyes and held on tightly to her older brother as he whizzed between the cars. It didn’t take them long to get to the Naval Port. The guard at the gate took only a minute to check them in, and before she knew it, Alison was being led onto a massive Naval Battleship. Men and women in uniforms rushed around her, each one with the same wide, panicked look in their eyes.
Logan finally led her to a small area in the bowels of the ship and turned to her. “My bunk is on the top. Get up there, and stay out of the way, Okay. My C.O said you could come as long as you didn’t get in anyone’s way, so just stay up there until I come get you.”
Alison nodded, her breathing quick and ragged. Logan must have seen her fear, because he pulled her into a tight hug and held her for a moment.
Alison took in a long breath and asked the one question her frazzled mind could think of.
“What about mom and dad and Jonah?”
Logan stiffened, his breaths hitching for a moment. When he pulled back, the glimmer of tears was back in his eyes.
Alison’s own eyes filled, her heart aching at the unspoken words between them. There was no saving the rest of her family. They were clear across the country, and they wouldn’t get to them in time.
She nodded, letting go of her brother, and watched silently as he ran back out the way they’d come in.
A young woman in dark blue uniform pushed past her, bumping her to the side, and Alison understood what Logan meant by her being in the way. She pulled off her backpack and tossed it up to the top bunk. She climbed the small steps to the side and lay down in a tight ball on her brother’s bed. Sobs escaped her lips as she listened to the shouts of everyone around her.
She wasn’t sure how long it took, but eventually, Alison felt the ship moving and swaying, and she knew they were out at sea.
She must have drifted off, because the next thing she knew, Logan was gently shaking her awake.
Her brother had changed, now dressed in the same dark blue uniform everyone else was in. As she climbed out of the bunk, Alison noticed that she wasn’t the only civilian on the ship. There were wide eyed women and shaken men sitting with children on their laps on the floor all along the passage that led back up to the top of the ship.
Logan led her up some metal steps and through a heavy metal door. She took in a long, deep breath of the cool, fresh ocean breeze, filling her lungs with the clean air. Looking around, she found there were hundreds of people crowded together on the deck, all looking out at the darkening skies.
Turning, Alison saw what they were looking at. In the distance, she could see the dark outline of land. Dozens of boats were in the water around them, many of them Navy ships, but mostly private yachts and fishing trawlers. Each deck was full of people standing looking back at the land they had left only a few hours ago.
A loud boom echoed above her, making Alison jump. She shot her gaze to the sky and watched in stunned horror as a large black ball raced towards the land in the distance. A few seconds later, another boom sounded, then another and another.
For the next few hours, Alison stood on the ship, holding her brother’s hand in her own trembling one, as they watched hundreds of large black balls fall from the sky and hit the ground in the distance.
