Enter your story of 300 words or less. |
The Arrival WC 296 The night is so dark I can hardly find my way; the moon is a sliver, the sky murky and overcast. My flashlight flickered and died about ten minutes ago. I see a light up ahead and make my way toward it. The gabled house stands alone, illuminated in the darkness. A woman stands at the living room window; a man paces. I can hear their voices. I creep closer so I can see if they are friend or foe, real or robotic. Since the Arrival, everything is different. My parents were taken; I escaped through the backyard and ran into the woods. Armed, robot-like beings confiscated our home, so I have nowhere to go. I am just a kid, not the adult I thought I was before the Arrival. I can’t get that last argument out of my mind: “You’re sixteen. Still a kid and I’m still your father.” I’d never seen Dad so angry, neck veins bulging. “I draw the line!” “I have my license! You treat me like a baby.” “Jimmy, you are not taking the car out at night. And that’s final.” My mother just sat at the kitchen table, silently, which made me angry that she wouldn’t stand up for me. I grabbed my jacket and headed out the back door to jump on my bike…that’s when the night sky lit up and the world changed in an instant... I’m approaching the window, I can understand the words. They are speaking in English. Human? Perhaps. The man looks right at me. I run back toward the woods. The voice stops me in my tracks. “Jimmy, you get your butt in this house this instant! I can hardly wait to hear the tale you’ve spun as to where you’ve been.” Busted! |