12 AM.
That’s when everything went to hell.
You probably are confused so I guess i should take a step back if you don’t know what’s happening right now… or maybe it’s just happening where i am… though that seems like some optimistic BS.
Yesterday was a normal day like every other; I arrived at work in the morning, nothing unusual seemed to be happening and I made my way to my office desk when Brittany- my coworker; decided to inform me of the latest “gossip”.
“You know- like, there’s been some reports lately about some weird alien sightings” She exclaimed to me, eager to hear my opinion.
“So? You know it’s all made up- right”? I said, raising my eyebrows at her and awaited a response.
“Well- duh, but this evidence is something else- here, look”! She said as she thrusted her phone in front of my computer and forced me to look at some picture that seemed normal at first;
It was an old barn that seemed pretty run down but in the right corner of the room, A knot tied in my stomach as I saw some grotesque creature that resembled some kind of parasitic worm that was abnormally large and was stretched across the wall, looking directly at the camera.
I immediately was repulsed by the creature.
“You know that’s some AI art right? It’s not real brittany”. I said.
“Whatever you say, Kristina. You know that the guy who took that photo went missing the day of, right”? She said, smirking.
“Coincidence”. I said, now looking a bit uneasy.
“Keep Lying to yourself, I’m getting groceries today and preparing for when aliens takeover”. She said boastfully.
I shrugged it off and got back to work.
After work had ended, I thought of what Brittany was saying and I remembered I also had to get groceries today as I had ran out of sugar and milk the other day.
As I drove to the grocery store, I saw lots of police cars pass the highway at breakneck speeds. It seemed odd but I reminded myself that crimes happen a lot around here and today was probably just extra chaotic.
I entered the grocery store and got everything I needed and I got a little extra after talking to the cashier and them explaining that they have been having food shortages and it was going to get worse.
On my way out, I got a teddy bear for Angie; my daughter.
I opened my front door to a surprise, Brittany was playing with Angie in the Living room.
“Brittany- What are you doing here”? I asked, confused.
“Oh- your babysitter left and they happened to leave your door unlocked on the way out. Sooooo, I decided to care for Angela until you came back”. She Said.
“The babysitter was supposed to stay here until 4! It’s only 3:56 right now, how long ago did they leave?!” I asked, shocked.
“Well, You know how my shift ends earlier than yours so it was just as I got home- around 2:35” Brittany said.
“Well, thank you for taking care of Angie”. I said apologetically.
“MOOOOOM, IT’S ANGELA”! Angie said, annoyed.
“Well you’ll always be Angie to me”. I retorted.
“I know this is probably a lot to ask but, do you mind If I stay the night? That picture really spooked me”. Brittany said nervously.
“Yea it’s fine, consider it payment for dealing with my little monster” I said, chuckling.
Angie rolled her eyes and ran up to her room to go play with her toys.
“She’s only what, 8? And she acts like a teenager”. Brittany Joked.
“Yea, that’s Angie for you, I’m gonna go put away the groceries and cook up dinner, you can go watch TV in the living room if you want-“ I said as she rushed to the living room the moment I said “TV”.
She put on some local news broadcast in our town that told people of all the strange things happening in this town.
I decided to reheat the spaghetti from last night and the rest of the night was pretty quiet.
Brittany slept in the guest bedroom and I decided to stay up a bit later and watch TV.
Eventually, I got bored and looked up info on that picture Brittany had shown me earlier. Surprisingly, all the info- even the picture was censored and blocked by some government officials.
I found it odd but shrugged it off and fell asleep…
I awoke in a cold sweat as the TV was blasting some Alert. I quickly turned down the volume and listened in as I glanced at my watch; 12 AM.
“ALERT,ALERT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL, I REPEAT; THIS IS NOT A DRILL”.
An EA alert started playing on the TV and my stomach tied into a knot as I saw a familiar picture on the TV.
“AN UNKNOWN SPECIES HAS STARTED RAVAGING THIS NEARBY TOWN. GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON AND IS CURRENTLY UNRESPONSIVE. PLEASE STAY INDOORS AND DO NOT MAKE ANY LOUD SOUNDS”!
I was shocked and continued to listen to what was being said.
“SOME PHOTOS HAVE BEEN CIRCULATING AROUND THE INTERNET ABOUT THESE CREATURES. PLEASE STAY INSIDE AND I REPEAT; DO NOT MAKE ANY LOUD SOUNDS. DO NOT TALK TO STRANGERS AND BOARD UP YOUR HOUSE. IF AN ENCOUNTER IS TO HAPPEN WITH THIS CREATURES, DO NOT PROVOKE THEM AND TRY TO WALK AWAY SLOWLY-“.
The EA alert that had broadcast-ed that local news broadcast from earlier had been silenced and replaced with some Government Message.
“The previous EA alert was broadcast-ed by unknown people, most likely hackers. Please resume your lives normally and do not pay attention to whatever has been said”. The TV then returned to normal.
I instantly started panicking and the same thought started bouncing around in my skull; “The government is lying”.
I quietly but quickly started boarding up and locking the apartment and went to wake up Brittany when something had tugged at my shirt.
I quickly turned to see Angie, who had woken up from me shambling around.
“Mom, can you get me some water”? She asked.
“Sure honey, just give me a minute-“ I went to say but quickly shut up as I heard scuttling upstairs.
“Mom? What was that”? Angie asked.
“It’s nothing. Just stay here, i’m gonna go check on Brittany”. I whispered.
“I’m gonna go get water” Angie said and ran off to the kitchen.
I quickly made my way upstairs and slowly crept into the guest bedroom to find Brittany sleeping soundly. I heard the scuttling again and looked up in horror to see the creature from the picture presumably asleep on the ceiling, somehow unnoticed until now.
“Brittany Wake up” I hissed.
It heard me and scurried closer, crawling on the wall near where Brittany was laying.
“Brittany”! I whispered loudly.
She woke up dazed and saw me put a finger to my lips and point above her. She slowly averted her eyes from me and looked up slowly to see the creature. Her skin turned pale and she held back a scream and tears started flooding down her eyes. She was trapped; If she tried getting out of the bed, the creaking would alert the monster.
“Brittany calm down, move to your left Slowly” I whispered.
She nodded slowly and moved left with minimum effort. She didn’t make much noise but it alerted the creature and it started moving quicker. If i didn’t act fast, I would lose my chance.
I crept my way towards where Brittany was once laying and moved the pillows to make it seem like something was under the covers.
Me and Brittany held our breath as the creature slowly crept onto the mass and started crawling under the covers and falling for the decoy.
Me and Brittany quickly grabbed the edges of the covers and tied it into a bag-like shape; trapping the creature.
I watched it squirm as it soundlessly tried to escape.
After me and Brittany double tied the trap, we gently hung it onto a hanger in the closet and shut and locked the door, then barricaded the closet with a dresser and left the room.
After locking the guest bedroom, I found Angie downstairs drinking water in the kitchen and together, all three of us boarded up the house as best as we could and then met up in the living room.
“Mom, Brittany, what’s going on”? Angie finally asked, confused but serious.
“Nothi-“ I went to say but Brittany cut me off.
“Aliens”. Brittany said confidently. “The government has been covering up aliens and now they are infesting our town”. She finished.
“Brittany we don’t know-“ I protested.
“Yes we do, it’s obvious. I was invested in researching the picture all day but suddenly, everything got blocked and censored by the government. It’s obvious what’s happening Kristina, you don’t need to Blind yourself from the truth”. She ranted.
I sighed and turned my attention to Angie.
“Why don’t you take a nap, Angie”? I asked in a tired manner.
“But mom, I wanna stay up with you and Brittany”! She exclaimed.
“Baby, you need to rest up… Please”. I said
She looked at me, defeated and let out a sigh and grabbed some covers off the couch and turned her attention away from us.
Me and Brittany sat in silence before she eventually decided to go to sleep as well.
I decided to use my phone to post this and alert anyone I can of what’s happening. I’ll try to keep you updated if I don’t end up dead. Stay Safe..