Falling skies

[Dan1980]

Ok, here it is:

Quinn was less than content. "Mo-om! I've studied for 2 hours now!"

"I don't want to hear it," said a terse Helen, "you've GOT to get your grade point average up!"

"I can't study anymore," said Quinn dejectedly. "It's too much. Why doesn't anyone call me anymore?"

Helen sighed. "I don't know." She knew, she just didn't know what to say.

"Maybe I should call Sandi, or Jamie..."

"No!" shouted Helen. "You need to keep your grades up!"

"Mo-om!"

"Not another word. Study."

There was a knock at the door. Both froze and fear flashed across both their faces. Sighing, Helen smoothed her clothes down as she went to the door while Quinn suddenly regained an intense interest in her homework. She opened it with a false smile, though couldn't keep the look of fear from her eyes as she saw a half dozen well-armed grim faced deputies in helmets and body armor. "Hi! How may I help you?"

The lead deputy handed her a paper. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Morgendorffer, but we're here for Daria."

"No!" exclaimed Helen, who was showing signs of panic.

"I'm sorry. Please don't make this any harder than it has to be. It's Daria, or all of you. Her sacrifice means you and your youngest daughter can live. It means so many good people--better people--can live and just maybe humanity will survive. You have to think about Quinn now as well as the fate of all humanity."

"Listen, Deputy," said Helen in a lower but intense voice, "Ever since you took my husband Quinn keeps asking when her father's coming home. I've tried to explain to her over and over again that he's not and she just goes back to asking when he's coming home. Now you want to take Daria, too?"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Morgendorffer. These are hard times, perhaps the end times. Over 2 billion of us are already gone. We all have to make sacrifices."

"But not human sacrifices!"

"Yes," said the deputy with a stone face, "we do."

"But, but..." Helen was fighting a losing battle with panic and grief.

"Her grades are good," said the deputy, "but she's reported as antisocial and subversive, someone who's not a team player. We can't afford to protect people like that. We have to preserve the people who can fight when the time comes."

"That Ms. Li said that, didn't she!? I'll have you know that Quisling..."

The deputy held up one hand and with the other pointedly set on his service pistol. "Mrs. Morgendorffer, please, I'm not authorized to say how the choices are made, but I assure you there's randomness involved, because many of us believe that God can help us when no one else can, and the way we see it God Himself has voted that Daria be given over. Now call Daria Morgendorffer."

"I want to appeal!"

"Appeal all you want," said the grim deputy, "but call your daughter now. Or we'll get her ourselves. This is your last warning."

Helen began to sob.

"What?" asked Daria, now at the top of the stairs.

"Daria Morgendorffer?" asked the deputy.

"Just one of many aliases."

"Come with us, please."

Daria slowly descended the stairs, saying, "It's ok, Mom." Helen just sobbed. Daria saw Quinn busy in homework and paused at the strange sight before continuing down the stairs.

But Daria didn't go to the deputies, she walked past them and turned to face them. "I'm sorry," she said in a deadpan tone, "but I can't go with you."

The deputy nodded. "The hard way then." He and 2 other deputies walked in toward her with purpose, hands on their service pistols. Some even drew them as Daria dropped to the floor. Unfortunately for them they were facing the wrong way when gunshots came from the top of the stairs. One deputy went down as blood spattered from a head wound and another grunted and fell while the other, pistol already drawn, turned and returned fire haphazardly. Quinn screamed and dove behind the couch.

The wounded deputy pulled his service pistol but too late realized that Daria was also armed and barely registered the muzzle flash before he went to his final reward.

Another deputy came in, shotguns blasting, while the other deputy took advantage of the cover in the doorway and returned fire up the stars. Daria's mouth fell open as she heard Max screaming Nick's name. Then she realized too late that there was another deputy in body armor and gun in hand not more than a meter away from her and he was already turning toward her. She was too slow and she knew it. But then Helen crashed into him. He fired his gun as they both fell and Daria could see her mom was hit. As her mom fell and the deputy again turned toward her, Daria fired 3 shots, one a miss, the other on body armor, the other in the face. Even shot in the face the deputy struggled to live valiantly and Daria put her final bullet in him.

Ears ringing, Daria wondered if she should hide before reloading with the last of her ammo when she realized the shooting had stopped. She dropped her gun and ran to her mom.

"Mom?" asked Daria in a choked voice.

"I'm so sorry," she said, her voice sounding funny and gurgling. "Take care of Quinn. Don't...let them...get you."

"SOMEBODY HELP ME! PLEASE!"

"Live." She began to relax and then coughed up blood violently before gagging and then fell still.

"Why?" asked Daria.

"Daria," said an armed Jane, "we've got to go. We can't stay here."

"We've got to help her," said Daria in a weak voice.

"Daria, people will be here way too soon and they'll help her..."

"You mean they'll give her body to THEM."

"We have to go."

"She died defending me.They'd have only taken me, but now they're dead. They'd have only killed me. I should have gone with them."

Quinn sobbing, sitting, leaning against wall, inconsolable.

Jane looked up as Trent was there. "How bad is it?" asked Jane.

Trent shook his head. "We're all that's left, Janey."

Jane's head fell for a second before she straightened, and said more firmly, "Daria, we need to go. It won't be long before more come."

Quinn stopped sobbing long enough to say, "Or THEM."

"We have to go. Now."

Daria nodded, closed her mothers lifeless eyes, and got up. After retrieving her gun and reloading it she holstered it in her speed paddle and went to Quinn and helped her up. "We have to go Quinn."

"Go where?"

"Away."

Daria, Quinn, Jane, and Trent left and got into her mom's car. It was dusk.

"Not long before curfew," said Jane.

"Maybe we should get some of that body armor," replied Daria.

"No time," answered Trent.

"What are they?" asked Quinn. "Why can't they leave us alone?"

As Daria pulled out she said, "I don't know, Quinn. They must be descended from some kind of carnivorous dinosaurs and the other aliens are obviously their slaves, even if they handle most of their technology. I'm actually more spooked by those cephalopod-like aliens who can communicate telepathically and read minds. But they're obviously slaves themselves." She shook her head. "The way the master race aliens fight each other they must be very competitive and not friendly to each other. There's probably a lot more out there. Maybe these are just scouts."

Jane blinked. "You think there's a lot more on the way?"

"I don't know," said Daria. "They're very territorial even with each other. I don't think they play well with others, not even their own kind. I think even with their technology that we still could've taken them if our planet joined together and fought back but it was too easy for our governments to sell us out to buy themselves time."

"Time for more dino-aliens to show up," muttered Jane darkly. "Earth will be just one giant ranch, and us the livestock."

"Even the aliens think we're a threat because they bombarded all major power plants and military facilities as well as our institutes of technology. I'm hoping one of our terrestrial diseases wipe enough of them out so that we fight back," replied Daria in a monotone. She didn't share her fear that one of the aliens would introduce an extraterrestrial virus that would do the same to humanity.

As they made a turn their eyes widened and Jane muttered, "Oh, crap." Daria hit the brakes harder than she should have.

Up ahead was a road block with police cars. But all attention was on 3 live alien invaders and a dead one, hexapedal saurians on 4 clawed legs and 2 arms, nearly 7 meters long and 3 meters high. Though their glistening black scales were reported to be tough enough the live ones wore harnesses that created a forcefield that made shooting them with guns pointless and even grenades seemed to do little more than piss them off, and their tails bore the bands that were themselves powered melee weapons that could crush human bones beneath body armor. Strapped to each of the live ones were various melee weapons and a gun that looked like a small cannon. The dead alien had its effects removed from it and was being messily devoured by 2 other aliens of the same species, while the remaining alien was messily devouring a human, a cop if the weapons and body armor on the ground belonged the unfortunate repast. Quinn started sobbing again. It was the first time any of them had actually seen the aliens in person, before they'd simply been on the TV. They'd seen their ships before, but never the occupants, and never so gory.

As Daria put the car in reverse she saw that a human cop saw them. She felt weak-kneed gratitude as the cop turned away from them and stared at the monstrous aliens.

"What are they doing here in Lawndale?" sobbed Quinn. "I thought they were only in the major cities!"

"Maybe more have showed up," answered Jane darkly.

"Or maybe something drew their attention here," said Daria. "Maybe the police weren't being efficient enough, or they're just hunters who came here by chance for some fun."

No one said anything for about a minute before Jane said, "It's almost curfew. We've got to get off the streets!"

Quinn asked through her tears, "Where are we going to go?"

Daria shook her head. "I don't know. I'm sorry. I don't know."

Quinn took a shuddering breath and asked, "Maybe we can hide at the school?"

Jane muttered darkly, "Ms. Li is with THEM."

Quinn answered, "But she should be at home."

Daria replied, "And the school is locked with high tech alarm systems."

"Churches?" asked Quinn.

"No churches," rasped Trent, "we tried before we came to your house, but that's where too many go to hide, or at least pray." He coughed. "They're all being watched, Brother John told us to hide elsewhere before we got in and not to go to any of the churches."

"**** it," said Jane, "we've GOT to get off these streets! Just stop the car!"

It was dark now and curfew was definitely in effect. To be caught out after curfew was to be given to THEM.

"We're near Mrs. Johannsen's place," said Daria. "And she was just taken. Her house should be empty."

With a few minutes of furtive walking and hiding as a patrol car passed they made their way there. Going to the back Trent pulled out a knife and pushed the blade up through the window crack and jimmied it open. Then he helped Jane in and she went and opened the backdoor for the rest of them.

"We should check the house," said Trent, "just to be sure."

"Just don't turn on any lights," said Daria.

As Jane passed into the front room she cried out in pain and surprise as she was attacked with a crowbar. She rolled out of the way as the bar hit the floor where she'd just been.

Trent grabbed the arm with the bar and punched the attacker in the face. A feminine voice cried out as she let go of the crowbar and fell to the floor crying. The smell of hard liquor was unmistakable.

"Quiet!" whispered Daria harshly, and then prodded the crying woman with her boot. "You, too! Shut up or we'll shut you up."

Quinn spoke up. "Lindy?"

"Quinn!" shouted Lindy. She was up and hugging Quinn, careless of the blood in her mouth.

"Who else is here?" asked Daria.

"No one," said Lindy. "It's just me. I'm sorry, but there's not much food left. There's still power and water but I don't use much. They might notice. We have to keep the lights off."

Daria nodded.

"Why did you hit me?" asked Jane. She wasn't bleeding but she knew she was going to be bruised.

"I'm sorry. I thought you were one of them."

"And you'd fight THEM with a crowbar?" asked Daria in dry bemusement. "Or even the Quislings in their body armor and guns? I'm impressed."

Suddenly a light shone within the front room and they all ducked low as the car went past. Trent glanced out after a minute and said in a low voice, "All clear."

"For how long?" asked Lindy before choking out another sob. "We-we're just meat for those beasts! How long can we hide? What if they use those helicopters with infrared cameras that can see bodies inside of homes? And you know THEY probably have even better ways to find us."

They heard screams and gunshots in the distance.

Daria calmly said, "There are neighbors, frightened, panicky neighbors who would turn us in if they thought it would save themselves and their loved ones from being eaten instead. We have to be quiet!" Her heavy breathing belied her fear.

Trent sighed, sat on the couch and then laid down on it. "I'm taking a nap. Wake me up when it's over."

Daria felt a strange urge to laugh loud and hard but choked it down out of the fear that if she started she wouldn't be able to stop. Instead she sat down and buried her head in her hands and knees.

Jane comes up, sits beside her, shaky voice. "I'm so sorry, freaking friend. Your parents took us in and hid us and now they're dead." She sighed. "I guess we're all dead. How long do you think we can hold out? Should we even try?"

Daria sighed. "I'm sorry, Jane, I don't know what to say."

"Then don't say anything." Jane hugged Daria, and Daria hugged her back. Just as Lindy and Quinn seemed all cried out Daria and Jane began. But they quickly recovered as another spotlight from a passing car passed by, the light entering their space but missing them all. Daria sighed and realize just how exhausted she was. She hoped she could think of something better after some sleep.

What a great story Pix I loved it. It would make a great novel. Well done.