Afraid of the Dark

by Chris Hechtl

  Some cars plowed into the aliens but all too many of the creatures simply picked themselves up and carried on. Sometimes a driver took too long to recover from the collision and was torn from the car by the rapacious aliens.

  Even those who remained in their homes were not safe, the aliens attacked straight through thin plaster walls, burst through doors or crashed in through windows. Some used clawed limbs to climb walls and attacked through ceilings. Those that hit a barrier that stopped them rebounded, recovered and tried again, either in a different spot or persistently picking at the barrier until it gave way.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Shane and Jen had got to his stash of weapons and hunting gear, kept in a secure locker in the garage. He was so glad he'd kept his marine and police gear and even added to it over the years.

  He armed himself and his wife and carried the remaining gear through to the living room. The girls were huddled in the living room, starting to go into shock. Nick had had the foresight to close the blinds and cover the windows, he was using a pair of child's night vision goggles to keep an eye out. Shane had tried them on but couldn't use them, they were too small for his head so he'd handed them back.

  Shane taped a flashlight to the barrel of the shotgun and then put on his vest while Jen sorted out spare batteries and a first aid kit. Alarms were going off everywhere, high pitched car alarms, home alarms, and then the klaxon at the nearby March Joint Air Reserve Base started up. It was a total mad house and hard to hear anything outside. Shane realized that they needed to find a better place, a more defensible place.

  They were all suddenly startled by a knocking at the front door, not the random battering of an alien but the ordinary rapping of a person seeking admittance. Shane cautiously opened the door to find Jayne standing on the step, She'd survived the attack on her and had immediately armed herself and come over. Shane pulled her inside quickly, he could hear other neighbors screaming inside in their homes. “We're going,” he said. Jayne nodded her understanding.

  “Out there?” Tori asked and then started shaking.

  “We don't have a lot of time,” he said quietly. “We can't stay here, it’s too dangerous. We need to find a place we can defend to hold up.” Jen looked like she wanted to argue but then something roared outside, she shivered, looking at the kids and then nodded too. “Come on kids,” she waved them to go with her.

  “Come on,” Shane said, handing Jayne a rifle.

  “I'll get my car,” she said. Jayne took the tape and first taped the knife she was carrying to it as an improvised bayonet and then her flashlight.

  “I'm going to find anyone in the area still alive and then we're getting out of here. Mass exodus,” he said.

  “Safety in numbers. Got it,” she said with a nod.

  “Jen I'm...”

  “I heard. Go. Stay safe,” she said from the hallway. He looked at her for a long moment, pausing with his hand on the door knob until Jayne cleared her throat.

  “If we're going to do this, we better do it soon. People are dying out there,” she said quietly.

  “Right,” he said gruffly.

  He intended to escort her to her house but instead she headed to their other neighbors. She shook her head at the Jefferson's house. They could hear animal sounds inside.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “Helping,” she said pointing to a few people hiding in the bushes. They found Mercedes, one of the teens from down the street hiding under a car. Jayne knelt beside the car and coaxed the frightened girl out and held her.

  “We don't have time for this,” Shane hissed. A few nearby aliens looked up as he nervously looked around. Damn he felt exposed.

  “We've got to help them,” Jayne said, pulling the girl back toward his house.

  “Right,” he said, making sure they got back inside and then he headed out to help other neighbors who had fled their homes. Aliens were milling about, some were feeding, and others were forming into packs. “Come on folks this way,” he waved. Mr. and Mrs. Smith nodded and crept past a group of aliens and onto his lawn. He covered them as they moved into the house. Soon others were coming as well. Jen passed out his weapons to the new arrivals. A few of the men had armed themselves with garden tools, Shane winced at the sound of snapping wood and looked round. Hiro had snapped a rake in half and grinned at the sharpened end it had left behind.

  “What are we going to do?” Mr. Smith asked looking up from his pistol. His hands were shaking badly. He only had one bullet left in the .38 revolver he carried.

  “You're going to take Jen's car. We're getting out of here,” he said. “We've got to find somewhere we can fort up and defend ourselves properly, the base if we can make it, cement walls if we can't.”

  “Okay,” Mr. Smith said with a nod. “Sounds good to me,” he said looking around. His wife, Wes, Cas and Hiro nodded.

  He escorted Jayne and others back to her driveway. She had her keys and getting in her car followed Shane out. He was surprised by the realization that every survivor on the cul-de-sac was with them. Jen had him stop at the entrance of the cul-de-sac so that the others could catch up, they winced as the Smiths honked their horn. Finally he tightened his jaw and they got moving.

  “Bill!” he said. “Try Bill.” He looked around, but his blue tooth wasn't there. He must have pocketed it. He hit the button on the center dash but On-star wasn't answering. Of course they weren’t. If everything was going to shit why would anyone be on the job? He thought angrily then shook his head. No, they were most likely swamped, or dead. His cell, he'd left his work cell in the car. He glanced down at it. Yes, it was still there in the cup holder. Thank god for being lax.

  “What?” Jen asked, looking at him.

  “Try Bill,” he said. He dodged a burning car. There was a lot of debris on the roads. Downed power lines, cars... he winced as he heard screeching tires ahead. Two cars racing in opposite directions tried to turn at just the wrong time and slammed into each other. They rebounded spinning off to slam into opposing corners. Jen instinctively grabbed the oh shit bar and gasped as he barreled through the intersection. He checked his side mirror. The convoy was following. No one was moving from the cars.

  “Bill? Why?” She asked after a moment.

  He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “He's got the grave shift. I figure we can fort up at the mall.”

  “Shit the Mall? Are you serious?” Jen asked eyes wide. “Watch the truck!” She pointed urgently ahead.

  “Got it honey. You've got better ideas?” he asked swerving around a truck on its side. People were milling about under the street light. There were aliens nearby. He shivered.

  “The base?” she asked. She meant March Joint Air Reserve Base, about five miles away. It was broken into two sections, a civilian side and a military side since the downsizing in the 90's. The base might as well be a hundred, hell, a million miles away right now. There was no way they could get to it or on it. He wasn't even going to try.

  “Something tells me March is probably having the same problems we have and they are a little too busy to care about protecting us,” he said dryly. He focused on the road, frowning.

  “Don't need to bite my head off,” she growled, eyes flashing.

  He glanced her way then shook himself. They didn't need to fight, they didn't have the time. Why would she pick now? It must be stress. He took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. “I didn't. Look just call him. Find out what the situation is,” he ordered, trying to keep his voice under control.

  She took his phone from the charger and went through the contact list. He glanced at her, dodging people. Finally she found it and tapped the send button. “Bill?”

  “Yeah, uh is this Jen? What the hell's going on? All hells broke loose it seems!”

  “Put it on speaker. Bill, you there?” Shane asked as his wife held the phone out and tapped speaker.

  “Yeah boss, what's up?”

  “All hell broke loose lit
erally. Full on, no shitting you alien invasion. Its Armageddon man, we've got swarms of alien critters tearing up everyone. I'm coming in with a convoy of people. We're going to fort up.”

  “Shit man. Seriously?” Bill asked. “This isn't a joke? Mass hysteria?”

  “Is it quiet there?”

  “Yeah, the mall itself is as quiet as a tomb,” Bill said looking around. Suddenly he was nervous. “I think there is a cop outside. He's going nuts, shooting at shit. Shadows... oh shit no, not shadows. I can see glowing eyes. Oh my fucking god. He's outside the food court. There is some strange shit happening in the tract housing and the hotel. I can hear crap even in here.”

  “Yeah, I kind of figured. See if you can pull him in. Get him to get anyone near inside. We're coming in hot.”

  “That is if we can make it there,” Jen growled, grabbing the oh shit bar as he swerved around a wrecked car. “Seat belts kids!” she yelled over her shoulder.

  “Are you kidding? Dad's driving mom, we're not suicidal like he is. It is SOP,” Nicolas said. He was keeping an eye out with the goggles. He winced at some of the sights he was seeing. Shane shot a glance sideways and snorted at Jen's amused pucker.

  “Did you get to the cop Bill?” he asked, ignoring the amused snicker. “Get him in; we'll need to get into the station.”

  “I think I can arrange it, the cop totaled his car hitting something or other. Man is he pissed.” They could hear Bill walking fast. He was puffing a little as he picked up speed. “Shit man whatever he hit just got up and its' even more pissed than he is, its' ripping his car to shreds. It just flipped the thing over and over and now it’s using it as a chew toy. I gotta run, I'll see you in a bit.”

  “Sears man, I'll get there as soon as I can,” he looked in the rear view and saw more people joining their line of cars. A few people were flagging cars down or just climbing onto the beds of pickups. He nodded. “I'm bringing friends.”

  “Sleep over at the mall,” Jen said shaking her head. “Just what the kids always wanted. Right kids?” she looked back at them and they made soft noises. He heard a mew.

  “You brought the cats?” he asked, looking in the mirror. Trina looked up and nodded then went back to stroking Puss's head.

  “Eyes on the road dear,” Jen ordered. He looked at the road.

  “We couldn't leave them behind daddy, they'd be eaten,” Trina said after a moment. Her voice was a little shaky.

  “Like Max, Broadzilla, and Rufus,” Tori sniffled. He shot her a glance in the mirror then felt a pang. The kids were doing a lot better than he thought they could, but he knew they'd eventually break.

  “Romeo and Juliet are dead aren't they daddy?” Tori asked after a moment. She was referring to her pet rabbits. The kids took after their mom, they all adored animals. Jen was always bringing home strays. He should know, he was one of her firsts.

  “I don't know honey,” he said softly. Jen reached back and stroked the girl's face. “They are smart hon, if anyone could survive they will.”

  “I hope so,” she whispered. Jen stroked her cheek then looked at him. He sighed softly, lips tightening. She took the look in and then settled back in the seat, knowing the answer and not wanting it voiced.

  Chapter 3

  Bill changed direction to JC Penny's. He fumbled the gate open then rolled under it before it was all the way up. He raced through the store to the side door and looked.

  The cop was out of his car, pumping shot gun shells at the aliens. “Want some of this?” he screamed, shooting one about to leap on him. Bill looked around and found a fire ax and yanked it. He unlocked the doors and leaned out. “Over here!” he yelled waving. He propped the door open with the ax then pulled his weapon.

  The cop had been retreating to the station door but changed directions now as he glanced over his shoulder. Bill hesitated; he couldn't shoot without risking the cop.

  One of the creatures had turned on an injured fellow. The injured four legged alien cat cried piteously. It tried to get up but couldn't, its rear hips weren't working. The second animal seemed to scent the air then turned and lunged at its fallen brother.

  The others turned at the sudden turn of events. The injured animal squealed and tried to fight but the first latched onto its exposed throat and tore it out. It gurgled and then kicked feebly.

  The others scented the blood and turned, they started moving towards an easy meal. The cop turned to run.

  “Walk!” Bill said loud enough to be heard, but hopefully not loud enough to distract the distracted predators. “Go slow, they see you run and they'll chase you,” he said quietly. The cop froze and then walked slowly, glancing over his shoulder. His hands worked, pulling shells from his pockets and putting them into the shotgun.

  “Man I thought I was toast,” he said as got to Bill. He was about ready to let the shakes take over but he knew they didn't have time for it. Time to go pieces later. Much later. Maybe never.

  “Talk later, inside now,” Bill said, pulling the fire ax as they passed through the doors. He pulled the door shut, locked it and then walked back through the second set, keeping an eye on the feasting predators.

  “What the hell are they?! I've never seen anything like them!” the cop said shaking.

  “Come on this way,” Bill said glancing over his shoulder as he took the cop by the elbow. He'd rather be in a more defensible location than this store. Besides, they had incoming.

  “You know what's going on?”

  “No, ah,” he glanced at the cop. “Wayne is it?” he asked. “Officer Wayne?”

  “Yeah, John Wayne. Friends call me Wayne. Thanks man, you definitely qualify as a friend.” He was holding a hand to his right shoulder. Bill could see a bit of blood dripping there.

  “John Wayne huh?” Bill asked amused. Despite the situation he had to crack a smile.

  “Yuck it up later. Where we going?”

  “We'll make a quick stop at your place, then Sears. I've got my boss and his friends and family all coming in here in a minute. Dozens of terrified people so we need to get our game faces on and get ready for action.”

  “Oh shit,” the cop muttered. “Is it as bad as that?” he asked.

  “Worse. My boss said it’s much, much worse,” Bill said shaking his head. “Worldwide.”

  The cop fumbled at his radio. There was only static and the occasional scream. “Anyone there?” he asked keying the mike. There was a garbled reply then screams. He shuddered and turned the volume down. The last thing they needed was the aliens hearing it and following the sounds. “I dunno man, I dunno if I can go back out there.”

  “We'll work it out. Right now, let’s get these people safe and plan our next move,” Bill said quietly as he broke into a jog. After a moment Wayne picked up the pace to follow.

  They got to the police station in the mall to find Julio, a minor Hispanic gang member there. He'd been locked up earlier for shoplifting and had been waiting for transport to the county jail in Riverside. Technically Wayne was supposed to have stayed with him but apparently he'd abandoned his post when the shit hit the radio net. “Hey man! I want a lawyer man!” Julio yelled. “What the hell's going on out there? Sounds like...” he looked at their grim determined faces as they came in and began to load up from the armory. Quietly they took down shot guns and loaded them, then filled their pockets with ammo.

  “What the hell's going on man?” Julio demanded. His homies weren't stupid enough to try to break him out. No, not over this. The plan was for him to get caught, get into the joint, not get... shit something bad was going down. He could feel the hair on the back of his head standing up. Bill's back was turned, when Julio grabbed his arm Bill spun around, eyes flashing, gun up. Julio quickly backed away, hands up eyes wide. “Easy man, easy. What...”

  “No time kid. Invasion. Aliens. Just chill.”

  “I can help!” Julio called not even thinking about what they had said at first. “Wait aliens? What the hell?” Wayne glanced at him for a momen
t. He looked at Bill who shrugged and then nodded.

  “Okay kid,” Wayne said coming over and unlocking the door. “Here,” he handed him a shotgun. “Try to stay alive okay?” he said.

  “What the hell?” Julio asked, looking at the gun in his hands. An escape like this? He was trying to think of what the hell to do. Wayne snorted.

  “Alien invasion if you can believe it,” he said, wincing at the blood running down his arm. He set his gun down on a desk to check it. He pressed a pad of paper to it. Bill went over to the first aid box on the wall, yanked it off and came over.

  “We've got incoming. Aliens are all over the place outside. Most are heading into the apartments,” the sheriff said shaking his head.

  “You pulling my leg man?” Julio asked. Bill glanced his way and snorted. He reached up and turned the TV on. They all looked at it.

  There was a hysterical scream before the video came on. The anchor desk of the local news channel came up. “I'm sorry, the feed from our Miss Perez has... unexpectedly ended. I'm sure, I hope it was technical difficulties,” the reporter said shaking his head. “For those of you just tuning in. Please, this is no joke. An alien invasion has begun. Arm yourselves and stay indoors. Please try to refrain from calling 911 or other emergency services, the authorities are swamped and phone lines are jammed. To reiterate, an alien invasion has begun. This is not a hoax.” He turned to see someone off camera.

  “How the hell did they get in here!” a woman screamed as something growled. “They are everywhere! Run! Run!” she yelled. She started to run as the news anchor stood horrified. She tripped on a cable and fell in front of the camera. Then the camera jerked down as the cameraman screamed. The camera jerked and then they could see blood spraying in different directions. The woman screamed, trying to crawl backwards.