Extraterrestrial Invasion: Annihilation

Chapter 4: The Truth

General Howard was sitting in his office in the Pentagon. He was reading his favorite book on his iPad when Colonel Mike burst into the room, panting heavily.

"What's the matter, Michael?" Howard asked.

"Sir, please, turn on the TV!" Colonel Mike said.

General Howard grabbed the remote control and pressed the button. The television flashed and an image of a mushroom cloud from a nuclear bomb explosion was shown. A reporter in radiation-protective clothing was speaking from a helicopter flying around the cloud.

"As you can see here, a nuclear bomb has been set off in Area 51," she said. "We still do not know how many died, but we expect it to be in the dozens, possibly hundreds."

"So, what happened to our troops that were sent there?" General Howard asked.

"We assume that they died in the explosion," Colonel Mike answered, finally catching his breath. "We lost contact with them thirty minutes before the detonation."

The news changed, and now, another reporter was talking about the recently destroyed satellite tower in the Chihuahuan Desert in Texas.

"But something is odd," he said. "The wreckage has been investigated, and rescue teams found out that the satellite dishes have been stolen. Who could have stolen those things and sent the tower crashing down?"

"Who could have done these horrible actions?" General Howard wondered.

"Sir, I have a theory," Colonel Mike said.

"I'm all ears."

"Maybe this is an alien invasion."

The general laughed. "There's no such thing as aliens, Michael. But I appreciate your suggestion."

"What should we do?"

"Nothing. The perpetrators are perhaps so intelligent that not even Sherlock Holmes himself can solve this mystery."

Suddenly, the general's cell phone rang. He picked it up and greeted an old friend.

"Hey, Thomas," he said. "What's the matter?"

"We-we lost contact with ISS!" Thomas yelled. "And thousands of satellites! We managed to get one last image from the Hubble Telescope, and we found out that-that the ISS was obliterated. We got a report that pieces of it were found in Japanese waters, burnt and charred."

"You know what?" General Howard told the colonel. "Your theory might be true."

***

President Victor Rowan of the United States had accepted an appointment with General Howard Jackson at five in the evening. He did not understand his quick babbling over the phone, but he did make out the word 'emergency', so he decided to take him seriously.

It was four in the afternoon, the president was reading letters from delegations all over the world. Many asked for economic development, which he would later leave to the charity organizations.

"Sir?" his secretary asked. "Excuse me, but you have an appointment—"

"Yes, yes, I know, thank you," the president interrupted.

"And...the ISS was reportedly destroyed hours ago."

"What?"

"We lost the ISS-and satellites too."

"Is this the dirty work of North Korea? Or—"

"No, sir, that's what General Howard is going to discuss with you."

The general arrived on time. He spoke with the president in the Oval Room.

"Do you have any leads regarding these attacks?" President Victor asked.

"Yes, a fellow of mine, Colonel Mike, suggested that the aliens are real, and that they have done these horrible actions against humanity."

"What about Area 51? I heard that a nuclear bomb has been detonated there."

"Oh, no, sir. It's not a nuclear bomb, and this strengthens the alien theory. What we found baffled us. The explosive device was not manufactured on Earth or using any materials found on Earth. It had far worse effects than the nuclear bombs that were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Normal radiation-protective clothing doesn't stand a chance. The reporter who went there has just passed away an hour ago."

"What would you advise for our people?" the president asked, the tension in the room growing by the seconds.

"I think we should declare a state of national emergency. There's no point in hiding the truth from the world.  It's time to reveal that aliens do exist."

***

Friday, 03:00 p.m.

Mrs. Wills, who had just received the terrible news of her son's disappearance, sat down on the couch in the living room. She felt devastated and lifeless. Her only child was gone, and so were the other students in Rosewhite School.

The police department reported that the school had been flattened and burnt to crisp. More than half of the people in the school were gone without a trace, as if they had vanished into thin air. Dozens were found dead and their bodies were almost unidentifiable.

There was no scientific explanation to the deadly phenomenon. The security cameras had been torn off from the cables, and the recordings had been trashed.

Two miles from the Wills' house, Mrs. Heather, the mother of Eddie Heather watched the news to console herself after learning of her son's loss.

A reporter was interviewing the workers in a port, and they told her that a cargo ship was gone from their radar. A rescue ship and a submarine had been deployed to search the ship.

Suddenly, the news was interfered by the president's announcement.

"Good afternoon, my fellow citizens," he said. "As you can see in some news programs, many tragedies had occurred in our beloved country. Most of you must have heard about the bombing in Area 51 and the mysterious disappearance of the personnels in Rosewhite School in Baltimore.

"I had a meeting with General Howard Jackson yesterday, and he proposed that these are the acts of hostile aliens who are planning to conquer our planet, and after the destruction of the ISS and the words of the sailors of the Neptune, I have no doubt at all in this theory.

"So, to protect our loyal American citizens, I have decided to declare a national emergency.  Martial law will be applied. There will be curfew starting at seven in the evening. Anyone who wanders around beyond the specified time will be taken to the inspection center, where they will be checked thoroughly. We thank you for your cooperation, and one more message for our citizens: stay safe."