ALIEN INVASION

by Hallett, Peter

  “We need to find a route to our destination that doesn’t consist of us traveling through populated areas. The more humans that are around, the more aliens we will encounter,” Lexion said as she fired another blast of her laser. The green beam hit the window of a liquor store, the inside exploded into flames, an alien ran from the wreckage, screaming, its flesh boiling, bubbling and fizzing.

  “I think I have an idea, show me the map again,” Alec said. Lexion flashed the hologram to life. “Okay, hold on!” Alec took a sharp right, smoke coming off our wheels, the smell of burning rubber assaulting me.

  Our car was in an alley. The sides of the vehicle scraping the walls of the buildings to each side, sparks flying, some of them stinging my face. I moved to the center of the seat to escape them. My cheek was burning. I could smell burnt flesh. I placed a hand over the pain I was feeling, my fingers started to warm.

  A dumpster was in our path. There was no way to avoid hitting it. Lexion shot out the windscreen, Alec turned from the shards, then locked his eyes back dead ahead, and the green blast of laser hit the dumpster and it took off into the air. We past under it and it landed behind us, garbage flying up on the impact.

  We approached the end of the alley. I’m not sure what speed we were traveling at, but it was fast. I got car sick, and I’d been able to hold it in until then, but I had to let it out. So I did. Lexion threw me a quick look, she smiled, and I rolled my eyes as I moved my feet from the chunks.

  A car crashed into one of the buildings at the end of the alley, blocking our exit. There was a guy in the driver’s seat, his head buried in the airbag that had been deployed. Lexion shot through the windshield again. Her blast hit the front of the guy’s car, spinning it from the exit moments before we shot from the alley, the rear of our vehicle, as we bounced off the curb, hitting the ground with force, causing the last of the sparks.

  We were driving through an industrial estate. It was almost calm compared to where we’d come from, fires were burning in some of the buildings, a crane had toppled, but no people or aliens could be seen. I could still hear the horror that was escalating in the city; although it was starting to fade the farther we drove.

  Alec stopped the car. I wondered why, but then I saw that barriers had come down in front of us; there was a bell chiming. A train sped past, all of it on fire, screams elongating and fading as it left our sight. The barriers rose and Alec drove us over the tracks and from the city.

  We all sat in silence for a while. Trees were on either side of us; the road was long and winding. The cold air rushing through the car was freezing me to my core. Then Alec asked Lexion, “So what’s going on here?”

  “We are heading to a military compound. I will be able to send a signal to my people from there. They will be able to help, but we must hurry.”

  “Who are your people?” I asked, as I held my arms around my body, trying to get some heat. I did appreciate the cold on my burnt cheek though; it was soothing, easing the pain.

  Before Lexion could answer Alec said, “So you’re an alien too? What are you called, you have a name, like the Klingons or something?”

  I rolled my eyes and sighed. “My people have a name,” Lexion answered.

  Alec didn’t say anything. His eyes weren’t even on the road. They were locked on Lexion’s tits. Her nipples were standing to attention. I was concerned they’d freeze and fall off, it was that cold, but the low temperature didn’t seem to affect her.

  “What are your people called?” I asked.

  “We are the …” Her lips moved but no sound came out.

  “The what?” Alex asked, as he flitted his eyes back to the road for a second before taking in her breasts again.

  “The …”

  “Am I missing something?” Alec managed to remove his stare from her nipples long enough to give her a confused look.

  “No. You are not. I am a …”

  “Why won’t you tell us?” he asked.

  “I am,” Lexion answered. “We are the … I am a …”

  “I’m not hearing anything. Don’t you want to tell us what you’re called? We’re called humans.”

  “I know you are. And my people are called …”

  “I can’t hear anything. I can see your lips moving, but no sound is coming out.” Alec was getting frustrated.

  “That is because our name only features silent letters. Do you not have them on Earth?”

  “I think,” I started, “she means how in Django, the D is silent. We pronounce it Jango.”

  “That is correct.” Lexion said as she let her hologram map flash again, showing that we were heading in the right direction. She shut it down.

  “So what are the bad guys called?” Alec asked.

  “Aliens.”

  “I know, but they must have a name, like we’re humans and you’re …”

  “That was very good pronunciation.” Lexion smiled. She was beautiful. I was jealous. Of both how attractive she was and how Alec couldn’t stop staring at her naked form. “They are called aliens. We are called … And you are called humans.”

  “But aren’t we all aliens to someone else?” Alec wasn’t going to let this go.

  “Not where I am from. They are the only life form called alien. Their masters have a name.”

  “Their masters?” I asked.

  “Yes. The aliens are like your dogs to them, pets, ones that can be trained to kill. The aliens are the least of our concern. It is the masters that should be feared.”

  “And why’s that?” I edged closer to her.

  “They are intelligent. They are advanced. They destroy worlds.”

  “The pods looked advanced.” I sniffed down some snot.

  “They were created by the masters. The aliens were just along for the ride.”

  “And yours?”

  “The same, the masters.”

  “How did you get in one?”

  “The masters send the pods to worlds during times of war, they buried them underground, using the turmoil the targeted planet is in during a war as cover, to disguise the arrival. The pods sustain life. My people sent me on a covert mission to infiltrate one of the pod’s launching ships, to hide in a pod. My mission was a success. Now I must send a message to my people, it is your only hope.”

  “Why are you helping us?” That was Alec.

  “We have seen the masters destroy too many worlds. We will not stand for it any longer. A line has been drawn.”

  “Well, thank you for coming to our aid,” I said.

  “What are your names?”

  “I’m June and that is Alec.”

  “Do you only have one name? I was led to believe that humans carried two.”

  “We each have a surname,” I said. I was about to tell her them but she started talking again.

  “I have many names. We have names that mean many things and are only spoken at certain times.”

  Alec gave her breasts another look then asked, “How do you mean?”

  “Because I am on a mission, one that involves danger, fighting, actions we associate with masculinity, I am the name Lexion, which is a male name. If I were with child I would be a different name, a female name. If I am mating I would have a gender neutral name.”

  “That sounds complicated, just about as much as your names are, Alec.” I sat back and hugged into myself again.

  Lexion turned to Alec. “Why are your names complicated?”

  “Because I sometimes go by a female name, I’m dressed like the opposite sex now.”

  “Please explain.”

  “I’m genderfluid. Sometimes I feel more feminine and sometimes I feel more masculine. That’s my gender identity. Sometimes I also dress in accordance to how I feel, that is my gender expression. I have different names for the different ways I feel, but June can’t seem to remember when to use my female name.”

  “That is interesting,” she said. “I did not know gender was this complicated on Earth, my research didn’t highlight
the fact. Some of what you say sounds similar to how we use names. There is a planet in my galaxy in which all the people are gender non-binary. They are all always male and female and always neither. They are fun to mate with.” Alex laughed, I did to, and then I shuddered. I was still freezing.

  “When you say mate,” Alex said. “You mean for life?”

  “No. I mean fuck. That is the correct word, isn’t it? Did I use it correctly?”

  “Yep,” Alex smiled.

  Lexion turned to me, her brow was furrowed, and then she turned back to Alec. “Do you know your way, without the use of my map?”

  “Yep,” Alec said.

  Lexion climbed into the back of the car and sat next to me. “Are you cold?” she asked.

  “Yes.” I managed to stutter out.

  “I am warm. My body operates at a different temperature to humans.” She placed her non-biomechanical arm around me and hugged me into her, so my head was resting on her breasts. I felt uncomfortable being on them, not because of the cushion they provided, that was not the problem, they were ample, but the fact I had tits pressed on my face, her nipple knocking off my nose a few times, but she was so warm, so I thought fuck it.

  “I’m cold,” Alec said. Lexion ignored him.

  “Thank you,” I said to her.

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Are you a cyborg?” I asked.

  “No. My arm is a weapon, like your Earth guns. It can be removed.”

  “Your voice, it sounds robotic.”

  “My voice sounds like all my people’s do.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  I saw Alec throw a quick look over his shoulder. When he was back facing the front I could see him looking in the mirror at me. I stuck my tongue out at him. He smiled and shook his head.

  “Do you two fuck?” Lexion asked.

  I choked on my words and then quickly said, “No.” Alec laughed.

  “Did I offend you?” Lexion asked me.

  “No,” I said, trying to hide my shock.

  “Why do you not fuck each other? Do you not wish to mate?”

  “It’s …” I started.

  “Yeah, June, why don’t we fuck?” Alec asked. I could tell from his tone of voice he was loving this.

  “I … I don’t know what to say. We’re friends for one thing.”

  “I have mated with all my friends. That is part of what makes us friends.”

  “Well, Lexion,” I said, “things are different here.”

  “Do you not find Alec attractive?”

  “Well, June?” Alec added.

  “I … I … Yeah, I guess I do.” I was so embarrassed.

  “Then why not mate?”

  I lost my temper, pulled away from her, and said, “Two reasons of many, if you must know. One, I’m a virgin; I haven’t had sex with anyone. Two, I’m ugly, too concerned about my fat to be able to be naked around anyone, let alone that skinny fucker.”

  Lexion stared at me, as if her eyes were examining my body. “You are not ugly.”

  “I’ve told her that,” Alec said. “And I’m not skinny. I’m toned, you bitch.”

  “Why not mate with a friend for your first time?” Lexion said.

  “Because …” I had no idea what to say.

  “Because?” Lexion asked.

  “I have no idea what to say,” I said.

  “Would it hurt you if I was to fuck Alec?”

  Alec almost crashed the car. The wheels skidded and he gained control.

  “No,” I said. “It wouldn’t. Fuck away.” I crossed my arms. It would bother me. As much as I’d supported Alec when he’d had crushes on girls in the past, the more he had them, the more it had started to affect me.

  Lexion leaned forward. She kissed Alec on the neck. I placed my hand on her shoulder. I saw Alec’s wide eyes in the mirror. “Okay, enough, you’ve made your point.” Tears started to sneak free. Lexion sat back and pulled me into her chest again.

  “Made what point?’ Alec asked.

  “You might wish to mate with him … for life,” Lexion whispered to me. “But he isn’t the most intelligent of humans.”

  I smiled.

  I’d dozed off. I shot upright when I realized my head was in Lexion’s lap, too close to her naked vagina for my liking. “We’re here,” Alec said.

  “Thank you, Alec. You have done the …’s proud,” Lexion said.

  In front of our car was the military compound. We were stopped next to a barrier, a large door after that, then beyond that was a massive concrete wall, razor wire at the top. At the side of the barrier were two guard towers. There were lights on the top of each one, the spotlight type, illuminating the road we’d come down. No one was around.

  “Where are all the soldiers?” I asked Lexion.

  “We have a saying,” said Alec. “It seems too quiet.”

  “You are right,” Lexion said. “I believe something is amiss.”

  “The aliens?” I asked.

  “Most likely,” she said. “We leave the vehicle here. We go on foot from now on. Stay close to me, do you both understand?”

  “Yes,” Alec said. I just nodded.

  Lexion got out of the car and held her hand out for me to take. I did. Once I was out she let go and aimed her biomechanical arm at the guard tower closest to us. Alec ran around the front of the car to join us. It was his turn to take my hand then.

  Lexion started to slowly walk toward the entrance of the guard tower at that side of the car. Alec and me followed. She scanned the top of the wall that was near the barrier before she opened up the door to the tower. “We go in this way,” she whispered. “We’ll not be able to open the doors beyond the barrier silently. This tower will be connected to the base, we enter it that way.”

  “It seems odd,” I said.

  “What does?” she asked.

  “That the door to the tower is so easy to open. If it leads into the base, I’d have thought they’d keep it locked.”

  “You are correct, June. It is odd. It is also the cause of my concern.” Lexion walked into the guard tower. Thankfully it was lit, so we wouldn’t have much trouble climbing the stairs to the top.

  She kept her arm held out in front of her the whole ascent. Once we were at the top, a metal door met us. She pushed the door with the hand on her biomechanical arm. It slowly creaked open.

  The inside was bare, just a square space with concrete walls. The one that faced us had a slit that looked out toward the road we had just traveled down to reach the base. I heard something crunch under my feet as we stepped in. I looked down and saw bullet casings.

  “Why are all the lights in the base still on?” Alec asked.

  “The base’s power is run from a separate source than the city,” Lexion answered.

  She was looking through the slit when I said, “Lexion.” She turned to me. I motioned to the floor.

  “I have seen them,” she said. “There has been fighting here. We must be cautious.” She walked past Alec and me to another door. “These must lead toward the wall that surrounds the base, the one we saw while outside by the car.”

  “Is it safe to enter?” I asked.

  “We have no choice, not if we wish to save your world. Do you wish for us to do that?”

  “Fuck yeah,” Alec said.

  “I have decided both of you should wait here. I will enter the base alone. You have both served me well. You got me to the base. I can’t ask anymore of you.”

  “No way,” I said, dragging Alec forward with me. “We’ll be safer with you.”

  “That might not be true.”

  “I’m willing to take that chance,” I said, looking at Alec, waiting for him to back me up.

  He did. “I’m with June.”

  “Then you are both with me, it would seem.” She smiled. “At least wait here while I check the entrance to the base is safe. I will return once I am sure that is the case, I give you my word. A …’s word is never broken.”

  She didn
’t even give us time to answer; she opened the door via a computer screen that was to the side, jabbing the metal spike that came out of her biomechanical hand into the device to do so, just like she’d done to start the car. She stepped into a concrete corridor and then closed the door behind her.

  I let out a long breath. Alec moved me to the wall with the slit. We both sat down, our backs to the wall. “This is a strange day.”

  “The strangest,” I said, caressing the back of the hand I was holding with my thumb.

  “I hope my mom is safe.”

  “I hope my brother is too.”

  “The city was a mess.”

  “It was terrifying.”

  “I’ll not forgive myself if I left her to die.” His voice broke.

  “We might be doing the right thing.”

  “Might?”

  “I know I don’t sound too sure, and I’m not, but if Lexion is right, we might not only save our families, but also the world.”

  “That sounds crazy.”

  “We’re living the video games we play.”

  “Yeah, but we only have one life.” He swallowed.

  I placed my other hand on his knee. I let out another long breath.

  “June, I …”

  “Yeah?”

  “About what Lexion said in the car. Is it such a bad idea? For us to … to … mate?”

  “It sounds very romantic when you phrase it like that.” I smiled at him. He smiled back.

  “I mean we are best friends. I’m single. You’re single.”

  I swallowed then. My heart started to beat faster. “What are you asking?”

  “I think that maybe, that maybe we should try.”

  “Try what?”

  “Us. Try us. See if it works.”

  “You don’t want to be with me. You’re just panicking about the fact I might be the last available pussy.”

  “I’m not … And I don’t just mean sex.”

  My brow furrowed. “You want to date me? The fat, ugly, clumsy girl you wanted to use as a wingman to help you get girls at the comic book convention we were going to tonight?” I raised my eyebrows next, not sure if he was joking or not.

  “You’re not fat.”

  “I am.” I sighed and rolled my eyes. Why was I the only one who could see that I was?

  “You’re curvy.”