The sun hung low as Alexander left school. It was almost the end of his first year in high school. The sky was painted in hues of orange and red. The air felt heavy for some reason, tying a knot in his stomach. He ignored it, 'Probably just mid-day exhaustion'. He sighed and continued walking back home.
The familiar scent of garlic and butter battered his nose as Alexander stepped inside, "You're late." His mom said.
"I just took a different route home." Alexander responded. His father sat on the couch, watching the news.
"Did you hear about the meteors?" his father asked, eyes glued to the screen.
"What? Meteors?" Alexander said with some surprise.
His father nodded and pointed towards the TV. A news anchor was speaking over some footage of black streaks across the sky, followed by a blazing orange trail.
"Scientists are struggling to find an explanation for the sudden meteor activity. Some experts claim that people should not be concerned, while others say people should. No matter the case, it is advised to say cautious."
Alexander gulped.
"Authorities urge the public to not panic as they further monitor the situation."
"Do you think the meteors are gonna be dangerous?" Asked Alexander.
His father shrugged, "I don't know. Most of it is probably just the news exaggerating it. They always make it seem like the end of the world."
His mother set down some plates on to the dinner table, "Less news, more eating!"
...…..
They were halfway through dinner when the lights flickered. Moments later, a deep rumbling sound shook the house, knocking things over all around the house.
Alexander set down his fork, "W-what was that?"
His father frowned, "I don't know, probably ju- "
BOOM
Car alarms blared as the entire house shook with great intensity. His mother stood up, a panicked expression clearly written over her face, "Was that… Thunder?"
Alexander stood up and walked towards a window. He drew in a deep breath, his eyes widened in shock and fear as looked up at the sky. It was supposed to be nearly dark by now, yet there were streaks of orange painted across the sky. The streaks of orange looked like pillars colliding with the earth.
Alexander shook, 'Those are the meteors.'
He saw one of those pillars get close. Too close.
KABOOM
It collided just a few miles away, sending a rippling shock wave throughout the neighborhood. Although the meteor wasn't too large, it was still big enough to deal some considerable damage. Windows were shattered as Alexander and his parents were blown back from the force.
He screamed in pain as his body collided with a wall.
"Alexander!" His father yelled as he struggled to get up.
Alexander's vision was blurry, his entire body was racked with pain. He groaned as he struggled to push himself up. A pair of hands gripped his shoulders and pulled him up. He heard the muffled voice of his mother, "Alexander! Are you okay?!"
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just… a little startled is all." Even as he spoke, his vision swam, and his ears rang.
His father staggered to his feet, pushing himself up with one hand on the table, "We need to get out of here. Get in the car. Now."
Alexander recovered as he stared at the destruction around him. It all felt like a dream—He wished it was a dream. Suddenly, his heartbeat quickened. It wasn't because of something he saw—rather, it was something he felt. The atmosphere just didn't feel right. The air was too heavy.
His father yelled, "Come on! We must go now!"
Alexander snapped back to reality, and began heading towards the garage, his mother following behind him.
Alexander scrambled into the backseat, his parents already in front. He didn't forget to put on his seatbelt. The engine roared to life, he gripped his seatbelt tightly, voice filled with panic, "Where are we going!?"
His father quickly replied, "I don't know! Anywhere! We just have to get somewhere that's safe!"
The car's engine roared to life, and they quickly began pulling out of the driveway.
Alexander gripped his seatbelt till his fists were white. He could see flames in the distance as people mass hysteria kicked in.
The car sped down the street. Alexander's breath was shallow, uneven as he stared. Glass was littered across the floor, with some houses even collapsing. The streaks of fire in the air were still falling, hailing unimaginable destruction onto the earth.
People screamed as they ran down the street, causing the car to feel like a rock tumbler. That's when he heard it. An ear-piercing shriek. Then two, then three. Shrieks overlapped with each other as creatures began invading the neighborhood.
Those things were straight nightmare-fuel. They had what seemed like hundreds of eyes, a fleshy body, four legs and eight arms. Alexander saw somebody who had been get pierced. The fleshy arms protruded from the person's body was brought up to what seemed like the thing's mouth.
Before he could even comprehend what had happened, Alexander's world was turned upside down, literally. Metal screamed, glass shattered, and the force of the impact sent shockwaves of pain throughout Alexander's body. Though disoriented, Alexander heard shrieking.
He was on the verge of blacking out. He heard faint sounds of metal being crushed and shrieking. Then everything went black.
...…..
Alexander opened his eyes, slowly, trying to remember the things that had happened. He tried to move, but his body screamed out in pain. He remembered that he was in a car, and then he blacked out. He called out to his parents but received no response.
Thump, thump, thump.
The thumping sounds got closer, and then softer. A door opened, but no light came in. Alexander prayed it was his parents, and that everything that had happened was just a dream, but the pain that his body was experiencing told him otherwise. Then a voice—not a familiar one— rang out, "Looks like you woke up, kid."
Alexander's heartbeat quickened, "W-who are you? Where are my parents?" His voice shook.
The light was turned on. Alexander squinted his eyes. He saw a man, probably late twenties, early thirties. The man stood there, his gaze soft, but cautious, "Look, I understand how you feel right now, but rushing things isn't gonna help."
Alexander took a deep breath of frustration, "Where. Are. My. Parents."
The man ran his hand through his hair, "I-I don't know how to say this…"
"Just tell me!" Alexander yelled, his voice cracked. His stomach was whirling around, and he hoped that what the though happened, didn't.
"They're dead."
Silence reigned.
Thoughts raced through Alexander's head.
They can't be dead.
I-I was just with them earlier.
This can't be true!
He crumbled. He stared at the ceiling, his mind a mess. The lights turned off, and the door closed. Faint murmurs could be heard from outside.
Tears flowed down Alexander's face. He didn't want to accept it. He couldn't. He had to go and see them for himself.
...…..
The man slowly walked downstairs; the frozen face of that kid still stuck in his head. Was it the right thing to do?
The man shook that thought out of his head.
He walked into the dining room, where his wife and child were. His wife sat at the dinner table, her face filled with worry and anger.
"Papa, I-is that man gonna be okay?" a tiny voice asked.
The man smiled and picked up his child. His daughter had just turned 8 a few weeks ago, "He's gonna be alright. He's just resting is all." He smiled.
His wife spoke, "Lily, go play in your room, okay? Mama and papa have some things to talk about." Her concerned face turned into a smile.
The man put Lily down and watched as she ran to her room.
Anthony took a seat next opposite to hers.
"Why'd you save that boy, Anthony?" The woman said sternly.
"What do you mean 'why', Mary?" The man said, "His parents were basically eaten alive by that thing."
"If that thing hadn't been distracted by that car, then you would've died too." Mary said coldly, "Especially since there are multiple of those things crawling around."
Anthony clenched his jaw, "Look, Mary, I understand that I could've died, but I couldn't just leave that for free for the taking," He sighed and spoke softly, "He looks like he's barely even graduated from middle school."
Mary sighed, "Just… Don't do that again. Please."
"I won't."
...…..
Alexander slowly climbed off the bed, his body still sending waves pain, though not as bad as before.
He stumbled to find the door, opened it and walked out. The house was quiet, but he could hear murmurs from downstairs. A soft glow illuminated the stairway.
Alexander walked down the stairs, the wood creaking beneath his feet each step.
The man who had talked to him earlier was sitting at the dinner table with another woman. His elbows rested on the table's surface; hands pressed together. He looked as if he were in thought.
"… I won't." Anthony said, his voice firm.
Alexander frowned. What had they been talking about?
He took another step, the stair creaked, and Anthony's gaze turned towards him, "Hey, kid. Didn't think you'd be up so quickly." Anthony smiled weakly.
Alexander hesitated before speaking, "How… long was I out?"
Anthony leaned back in his chair, and rubbed the back of his neck, "About 2 or 3 hours, give or take."
Alexander nodded.
The silence stretched.
Alexander took in a deep breath, "What happened?" His voice came out quieter than he'd like.
Anthony sighed, and ran his hands through his hair, "Are… are you sure you want to talk about it now?"
"Yes," Hesitation and fear laced those words, "I need to know."
Anthony glanced towards Mary, who nodded, "The kid's gonna know sooner or later. Tell him the truth, and don't sugarcoat it."
Anthony seemed to like sighing, as he sighed again.
"We saw the crash, kid. That thing—it wasn't human. Your car, it wasn't the only one. People were running, screaming. Those things… They were everywhere."
Alexander's stomach churned; his breath slowly became ragged.
His fingernails dug into the railing, "And my parents?"
"They were…," Hesitation filled Anthony, "Eaten. I saw them completely swallow your parents…"
Even though he heard this once upstairs, he still couldn't believe it. A part of wished it wasn't true—that he was dreaming—but a part of him also knew that this was as real as it gets.
Alexander collapsed under the weight of his own thoughts.
"I'm sorry...," said Mary. The words were quiet—reluctant somehow.
The silence weighed heavy.
"I want to see the wreckage."
Anthony and Mary's eyes shown with shock, then hesitation, then fear.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
"I'm afraid you can't," Mary spoke up first, "Those things are definitely still crawling out there, just waiting to find people to eat."
Alexander thought back to before the crash, and how those things were shrieking almost constantly. His eyes lit up, "They aren't shrieking, so then they must be sleeping or somet-."
"No is no." Mary said, her words firm like a steel wall.
Alexander got sick of waiting. They aren't my parents anyways, so why am I even asking them?
He stood up, legs still shaking, and began walking towards the front door.
Anthony's brows furrowed, "What are you doing?"
Alexander didn't respond.
"You don't mean to-, "Anthony's eyes widened, "You can't do that. It's too dangerous."
He stood up and walked towards Alexander, raising a hand to hold him back.
Alexander snapped, slapping Anthony's hand away, "Just let me go!"
His voice cracked, "Why won't you let me go!? It's not like I'm your child anyways."
Alexander tried his best to reinforce the dam that was threatening to break, but some tears still leaked through.
Anthony clenched his teeth and looked down, his eyes contemplating something. Finally, he looked up, his eyes sharp, "I'll go with you."
Alexander looked at Anthony in shock.
"WHAT?!" Mary burst out, "Just let the kid go alone! You've already done enough for him."
"I know I have." Anthony retorted, "But I am a father. And if he goes alone and dies, then I wouldn't be able to live with myself. And who knows? Maybe the kid's right about the monsters and we'll be able to come back safe and sound."
Mary stared wide-eyed but remained silent.
"Come on kid, let's go."
...…..
The darkness felt cold, too cold. The streetlights dimly illuminated the sidewalk, and the pair walked. Anthony occasionally glanced at Alexander whose expression was unreadable.
The silence was broken by Anthony, "Hey, so uhm. I never actually got your name."
"Alexander." The response was as cold as the night.
Silence returned.
Alexander's heartbeat quickened the more they walked. He was scared—scared at what he would see. Scared of everything that had happened.
He saw it. Though it was dark, he could still see the general outline of what his family's car was once. The closer he got to it, the more wrecked it was.
It was a wreckage—no, it couldn't even be called wreckage. It was completely decimated. The roof of the had been torn off. Deep scratch marks and been etched into the side. The front seats were empty. There was no blood, no gore of any kind.
Alexander fell to his knees, "Mom… Dad…"
His voice was weak and shaky. The dam broke, and tears began flowing.
Anthony stood there in silence; his heart heavy.
Sobs had filled the night.
A night that was too cold for spring.