The World As We Know It

Chapter One

The sky was dark, black almost, with not a star in the sky. The wind swept across my face as if gesturing me to come with it. I breathed in the cold air and snuggled in my chair with my blanket and hot chocolate. Jack would be returning from work soon and we would finally be able to settle down for the night. Claire was resting on the couch, her blonde hair covering most of her face. Her mouth was wide open, gentle snores escaping her lips. She looked just like her father. I took another sip of the hot chocolate and stared out over the pond in our backyard. Usually, the moon would reflect beautifully over the water, but tonight, there was no light. No stars, no moon, no glow. I sighed and finished the drink and slowly stood to stretch.

A light flashed across the sky followed by a low, deep vibrating sound. Claire woke up suddenly and practically flew out the back door to reach me. She grabbed hold of my waist and shuddered. The wind picked up, so much that small items that were not secured lifted off of the ground.

"Mom?" Claire asked, looking around.

The wind stopped, completely still. I hurried Claire into the house and secured the door, eyes locked on the lake. Water from it had begun to rise into the air, twirling in a motion close to that of a tornado. It spun upwards into the abyss of a sky and disappeared. I stood there, watching in shock as the water was drained completely, leaving nothing but a muddy bottom with flopping fish. I looked at Claire, watching as her face showed the horror my own mind was experiencing.

The front door banged open and in walks Jack, soaking wet and out of breath.

"We need to leave," he said, trying to talk through his heavy breathing. "The vehicles aren't working, the power is gone in the city, and we are just sitting ducks once that happens. Something is coming. Something is happening."

As if on cue to his words, a spark erupted from the power line outside and filled the house with darkness as the lights shut off. I looked over at Jack who was watching me with close eyes. He slowly put his index finger to his lips and pointed at Claire's room. I understood and hugged Claire closely.

"How about we go ahead and go to sleep, huh?" I asked, looking at her with soft eyes.

She yawned, nodded, and let me usher her to her room with no fight. It was dark, our memory being the only thing leading us to her safe space. Once in her dark room, she fumbled around, reaching her bed, and dropping in it heavily.

"Mom? What happened outside? With the water?" She asked me, just a voice in the dark.

I hesitated. I had not a clue and didn't know what I was going to tell her. I slowly reached out and found her hand that was resting over her blanket.

"I do not know, Claire-bear," I replied, feeling her eyes shoot daggers in my direction, knowing she hated when I called her that. "We will hopefully know more tomorrow when we can see everything."

With that, I kissed her forehead and made my way out into the hallway, closing the door behind me. Jack had found a candle and lit it, sending small shadows across the house. He walked towards me and gave me a small kiss, pulling me close.

"I'm scared," I whispered, letting him lead me towards the couch. We sat down and he sat the candle down on the coffee table, turning towards me.

" There was something in the sky," he said. "It wasn't like in those alien movies where it is thing circular looking thing. No. This thing was huge, and metal, and had this tentacle looking s**t coming out of it." He paused for a breath. "It made this loud humming sound and water towers burst open. The water pipe we were working on broke and didn't even spray us, it went straight up. I don't know what this thing is, but it isn't natural, it isn't man made, so the only other thing that makes logical sense is extraterrestrial?"

I looked at him in the soft glow of the candlelight and shivered. How were we going to defend ourselves from something we don't even know about? I slowly got up and started to head towards out bedroom, leading the way as Jack got up behind me and followed. Tonight, we will just have a peaceful sleep and tomorrow, tomorrow we will worry about everything.