An Apocalyptic Invasion

Prologue

Everything-her dreams, reality, and world-came crashing down when they came from the sky.

But before her life was ruined for possibly forever, she was sitting on her living room couch, watching TV. As she spooned the last amount of yogurt into her mouth, someone crashed into the main door, his hair drenched in sweat.

She turned to him. "Are you okay? You look like you've been running from something."

Todd nodded. He didn't say anything; he couldn't, he was panting too hard.

She waited until he regained his composure. Then she said, "What were you running from?"

He grabbed the countertop for support. "Remember that weird creature a few months ago, who warned us about something-something bad?"

How could she forget? It appeared over the campfire not long after Malia... she couldn't think of her; it always made her want to crawl under a blanket and cry. "Yeah. What about it?"

He held up his hands. They were trembling. He laughed nervously. "I never thought I would see myself this scared. Even when Malia... you know, died."

Charlotte had never seen Todd this scared before. Even when they faced that rival gang, he always maintained a calm demeanor.

And here he was, sweating and pale faced. Whatever he encountered, it clearly scared even him.

"Todd. You're scaring me. What did you see?"

"I... I saw Malia again. Except... not in the same way we last saw her."

Hope fluttered in her chest. Her sister had been dead for a few months, and they buried her in the local graveyard. "What do you mean, 'not in the same way'?"

He searched around for paper and a pen. Once he found them, he grabbed the items and put them on the table.

He uncapped the pen and started drawing, his hand slightly shaking.

She leaned forward to see what he was drawing. She could see Malia, except something about her didn't seem right.

When he was done, he sat down on the couch. The completed drawing sent chills down her spine. Malia had a wide, terrifying grin on her face. Her clothes were ragged and torn. Her usual luxurious brown hair was dirty and unkempt. Her eyes were pure white.

But the thing that scared her the most, the thing that would give her nightmares, was the fact that her limbs were contorted in positions that they shouldn't be in. One arm stuck out this way, one leg stuck out that way.

"That's... that's what she looked like?" She looked at Todd, who nodded.

"I... I don't know what that creature did, but it... made her like that. It was her, but, not her at the same time. Do you know what I mean?"

She knew what he meant but she didn't want to at the same time. The fact that her sister could be so deformed didn't sit right with her.

A loud alarm filled the air, its calls echoing. She turned on the TV and the news channel immediately popped up.

"Breaking news: the apocalypse is starting. Reports of infected individuals have increased over the last few hours. They started in the northeast part of California and made their way to New York City, where they have gathered by the thousands.

"Leading all of these creatures is a boy. No one knows what he looks like, but all they know is that he's the main cause of this... this plague. He makes people deformed and... and it's just horrible. Neither of us knows who will be next. But make sure to stay safe and-"