INVASION

Not all who wander the multiverse are lost. We hadn’t believed the rumours. The communication blackouts were all conspiracy, or so we thought. How wrong and unprepared we were.

Frozen in fear, unable to dial, the number six on the old rotary phone stares back at me in the late afternoon light like the beginning of bad dream. I thought I would be safe in Mr. Parker’s old garage. I was wrong. I can hear it coming.

Bang! A limb pierces the door as it smoulders. Dropping the receiver, I run like I have never run. My bike is out back, just down the hallway. And then time almost stops as my feet, no longer connected to the floor, pass by over my head. Pain then connects with my brain as I tumble and make best friends with the back door. “Get up. Get up!” I yell to myself. Stumbling outside, I get on my bike. I can see more coming! Firing it up, I find subtle peace in whine those RPM.

Racing through the empty streets, I duck into a back alley looking for refuge. But, my back tire suddenly leaves the pavement as it’s struck. Ambush. Once again, defying gravity I join the ground in a convergence of fate, ending my escape against a lamp post.

My eyes fight to stay open. The night is just beginning.