Chapter 3: Chapter 3
I whip around to see the small child behind me on the sidewalk. Her dirty orange dress barely visible under the large jacket. She gazes up at me with her big hazel eyes and walks forwards towards me. I back up quickly and scurry away from the little girl, my hand touches the doorknob and grips it. I can feel my knuckles flush white from the pressure and I frantically search the surroundings.
The sun peaks its crest over the far hills, streaking orange, purple and pink across the early morning sky. The girl yawns quietly, covering her mouth with her small hand.
"Please, sir. Can I please come in?" She asks in a hopeful voice. I whirl around and yank the door open before bursting into the familiar room and slamming the door shut behind me. I exhale the breath I didn't know I was holding and remove my backpack. It lands on the floor with a loud thump, a small can of peas rolls out from the broken pocket. I grab the peas and the few other food items I could scavenge from the wasteland and sit them next to my very small stash of survival supplies.
I open the tattered notebook, scanning through the multiple pages. I pull the pen from the broken plastic cup it sits in and cross out the mistaken information. My dozens of theories on why their veins coil around the outside of their bodies like vines, what their language could mean and what happens to the people taken by them. I turn the yellowed pages to an empty space and fill in the information that the little girl gave me.
The thoughts of the girl stir up regret within my gut. I push the feeling and continue my day, preparing some food for breakfast and checking my map for a new area to search. The regret bubbles up into my chest, making my breathing heavy. I try to calm myself, reasoning to myself that if I took her in it would risk my life as well as hers. Memories flood my mind of the woman in the street. In an action of compassion and selflessness, she saved her daughter from a terrible fate and suffered because of it.
My eyes widen in realization. I look further at the memory and see the bright orange and striped stockings of the hungry girl. The little girl, that I shut out, had lost her mother just a few days ago. I watched her mother get crushed then taken by merciless beings. I mentally curse myself, my internal battle between charity and self-preservation raged on within my mind.
I open the door, peering outside. Nothing stirs, the chilly morning air covering the landscape in a blanket of serenity. I sigh with mixed emotions at the absence of the girl. I close the door and slink back into my small home. I finish eating breakfast and pack my bag with supplies for the day. I rub my eyes and squint toward the sky, watching carefully for the mini-ships. I run crouched to the ground, following the map that I prepared a few hours prior. My thighs begin to burn and my body begs for sleep, but I push forward.
Soon enough, a crumbling shopping district comes into sight. The neon sign directing passerbys into the mall has now toppled over and rests on top of a few cars. I scanned the parking lot for tentacles and orange fabric, resting next a dusty pickup truck. I pull out a water bottle from my pack and sip on the lukewarm liquid slowly, preserving it for later. As the sun rises higher, more sweat drips from my brow in the heat.
I gaze into the display windows, peering at the shop's contents. I let out an exasperated sigh at the brightly coloured exercise clothes and aluminum baseball bats. The clothes will only draw attention to me and the bat will do little to nothing against the futuristic technology of the invaders. A vending machine lay on the ground and I rushed over. To my disgust, animals had gotten to the junk food before I did. The bags of chips and sweets had been busted open and the half-eaten snacks covered the tile floor of the hallway. I grunt as I volt over the large machine and land on the other side.
I enter into the center of the mall, the high ceiling had collapsed into the building. I step over heaps of broken glass and piles of rubble as I traverse the shopping centre. I stumble past a small store, the walls lined with clothes. I gaze into the small space and freeze. A small orange dress hangs on one of the mannequins, the small mannequin stares into me with dead eyes. I shake the thoughts in my mind and focus on what I came here to do. I thoroughly check a few more stores, finding a few items that will help me survive.
I stand up from my position, swinging my backpack to my shoulder. My body stiffens as a low growl echos through the ruined building. I dive behind a fallen column and hold my breath. The jagged teeth appear from above me, the tall alien surveys the area, its yellow fly-like eyes sending a shiver down my spine. I grip the straps of my worn backpack to ground myself and calm my shaking hands. The teeth spread themselves and a long snake-like tongue slithers out of the dark cavern. And when I say 'snake-like' I don't mean like a snake's tongue, I mean like a snake. The tongue reveals it's own set of teeth, the translucent, sharpened bone ready to strike at unexpecting prey.
My lungs burn and my vision has gone blurry, I see the outline of the tongue creature searching above me. Black dots swirl around me and my world begins to dim. I crawl slowly across the length of the pillar, barely staying concious. I manage to stay behind fallen debris and away from the alien's vision until I make it into a hallway adjacent to the room. I breathe deeply, wanting to get air into my lungs as quickly as possible.
A spine-chilling screech rings through my head as heavy footsteps rush toward my hiding place.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone