Invasion

There was screaming.

    My eyes were focused on the ground in front of me, staring at the double yellow line my stance straddled, asphalt on either side. My eyes darted ahead, seeing flames engulfing a familiar skyline. Large towering buildings in the distance toppled, clouds of dust covering the city, the red and yellow lighting from the flames seeping through. To each of my sides was the same sight. Every building was reduced to rubble and covered in flames. 

    The screaming continued and my eyes shot over to their source. A woman, long blonde hair, sat on her knees cradling a body close to her chest, sobbing into it. She took a deep breath, her fingers digging into the body. Her head shot upwards and she let out a screeching yell, the sight of the body clearing as she did. It’s face was that of a young boy, six or seven in age, wearing a t-shirt from a popular television show. Across his chest was a clean cut, sinking into his shoulder, his right arm barely clinging onto his torso, blood soaking the shirt and the woman’s arms. 

    A sour taste filled my mouth and I stumbled backwards away from the woman and the corpse, bumping into a person running away from the city. I quickly turned around, hearing the person’s voice but not understanding any of the words. Their arms grabbed mine and my eyes looked into theirs. They were a familiar blue hue, their face extremely recognizable. 

“S-S-Samantha?” I asked, clutching at her arms. She said something, but I couldn’t process any of the words. She pulled on my arm, but my legs wouldn’t move. Tears dripped down my cheeks as I stared into her face, her eyes pleading. I felt my legs begin to stumble forward, but as I did, she disappeared.

    I stared ahead, staring at the burning building that was behind her only a second ago, blinking a few times, but feeling something clutching my arm. The smell filled my nose, completely eliminating the smells of the flames and burning corpses. My view slowly shifted down, staring at my hands, the front of my body now covered in blood. Tears now poured from my eyes, and a sobbing took over my body. Grasping onto my hands was what was left of her arms, I stared up, hearing a metallic creaking noise. A large figure stood on top of the rubble of the building in front of me, staring at me, the body of it undulating strangely. It stepped off the rubble and onto the sidewalk, and my legs just gave out. I collapsed to the ground, grabbing at Samantha’s arms and holding them close to my chest, sliding backwards across the street, closing my eyes as the thing raised an arm.