...gasp...

Aliens.

I can't convince anyone that they're here. The aliens landed on earth and now they live among us, taking the shape of people they've killed. No one else has seen the signs, but I have. I know what happened, but everyone else says I'm crazy.

My best friend Leah is the only one who believes me. She can't see the signs, but she thinks I'm right and she's willing to help me root out the aliens of our society, even though it's scary work. We've stolen her dad's gun and use it to shoot them, which makes their eyes go red before they die. Leah says she thinks their eyes go red if they get injured, because she claims she saw one do it when they tripped. It's a good way to figure out if someone is an alien. Give them a shove or trip them and their eyes go red.

We've been at this for weeks when the accident happens. Leah and I are out in the woods, trailing an alien who stole the body of our teacher. Leah has the gun and is aiming to fire, her eyes narrowed. The alien doesn't know we're there. It's a clean shot.

She fires the gun and hits them right through the back, killing them instantly. I smile. Leah is getting up, pushing herself up from the ground, when the gun goes off again. I gasp and Leah screams, crumpling the ground. Her foot's bleeding profusely and the gun is smoking.

"I accidentally pulled the trigger," she gasps, as I bend over and try to stop the bleeding. It's not too bad, and the bullet went right through so we don't have to worry about getting it out. As I'm looking back and forth between her wound and her face, I swear I see a flash of red in her eyes. But I'm sure I just imagined it.

On the slow walk back, Leah carries the gun and I don't make it home.