Author's Note: Hey there folks! This here is the back story of how Marie and Evie survived the Alien Apocalypse and became totally awesome BADASSES. So. It's gonna be short, sweet, and hopefully epic. Sorry for the lack of Predatoryness.

Disclaimer: Nothing owned.

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The End of the World As We Know It

Evie handed in her test and walked out the door of her classroom, happy to FINALLY be free from school for another summer. Sighing, she stretched her arms, working the kinks out of her system. The final for her Ancient and Medieval Philosophy class had been harder than she had wanted. Scowling, she swore to never take another philosophy class EVER.

She brushed some of her hair out of her face as the wind caught it outside her classroom building. She had gotten a ride to campus today, because today was very special, and Evie wouldn't need her own crap vehicle.

Pulling out her cellphone, she tapped out a quick message, sending it off in however text messages went. The wind caught her dress and whipped the fabric around her knees. Thankful for thinking to wear a long sleeve shirt under the beautiful green dress, Evie steadfastly ignored the howling wind.

She smiled as a distinctly recognizable vehicle whipped into the parking, zooming straight towards her. The dark blue minivan slid to a stop in front of her and the window rolled down. Leaning out the window, shades over her glasses, her own long hair pulled back in a half pony tail, was Marie.

Grinning, Marie looked over her shades, glasses glinting in the sunlight. "Hey there, hot stuff. Goin' my way?"

Giggling and shaking her head, Evie went around the front of the car and hopped into the passenger seat. Marie had a sneaky look on her face, even with her eyes hidden behind black sunglasses.

"So! Guess what I have?"

"WHAT do you have? A coconut?"

"I hate coconut and you know it. No, I have a present for you for finishing your Junior year of college!"

Evie settled in as Marie began driving off. Watching the pastoral scenery of Iowa rolling by, Evie felt perfectly content. "What is the present?"

Marie's face looked like it would split in half if she grinned too much more. "You and I are going to enjoy a girl's weekend out, courtesy of my parents, in lovely Chicago! Everyone was going to do stuff, leaving me alone, so I brought it up to Mom, and she was totally chill with it!"

Evie smiled just as widely. "Really? I didn't think you'd manage to do it. I was all set to have to wait for our 15 year anniversary to travel anywhere!"

"Nah, just had to wait for the right time, you know? Oh, Evie, you're going to LOVE it! The museums are great! We can go to a musical or a theater production of some sort! Maybe Wicked will be in town. You haven't seen that one, right?"

"Nope. It's on the list."

Trundling down the mostly empty highway, surrounded by recently planted cornfields, the girls chatted on, planning their wonderful trip. What to bring, what to wear, when to get haircuts, what to do, which museums to go to first. The day was sunny, windy, beautiful and bright. They would remember this day in their darkest hours.

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It had been a week since their weekend trip to Chicago. It had been perfect, as far as they were concerned. Reluctantly, the girls went back to work, waiting to see each other again. Finally, Sunday came and Evie and Marie hit the pool.

It was hot and still, and the two lounged at the pool, listening to the shouts of other people nearby, giggling at the antics of children and young men alike. Marie set her arms on the side of the pool, legs kicking lazily in the water. She always had loved being in the water.

Evie, her back to the side, peered up into a cloudless, bright blue sky. "Say, have you heard about those killings?"

Marie blinked and slowly turned her head, her long, high ponytail flopping about her head. "Killings?"

Nodding, Evie turned her face away from the burning sunlight. "Yeah. Apparently, they've been finding these bodies that look like ritualistic killings. Bloody."

Sitting up, Marie began slowly walking through the water. "Oh, yeah. Aren't those mostly over West, though? Like, the Dakotas and such? I've been telling Jacob to be careful, since he's out that way and all. I hope he gets back from his training exercises soon. I miss that guy."

"I'm sure he's fine. Like a rock, that one. And I read an article recently that says it looks like the killers have been moving. Closer to us. And that there are some showing up down South. But, none in Costa Rica, as far as I can tell."

"Worried about Kyle?"

"Well, he tends to do stupid things sometimes. And what if I get killed? He'll be devastated. He's been telling me to be extra careful."

Marie shrugged. "Well, hopefully they'll catch the killers soon. Not much else we can do. I wonder if they're related to those disappearances?"

Evie copied her friend, shrugging and moving about the water. "Dunno. Seems like it could be. I hope they get these guys. I saw a picture from one of the crime scenes. Like something out of a horror movie."

Marie contemplated the sky for a moment, then the people in the pool around her. "Well, we'll see. I'm sure everything will be just fine."

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The minivan whipped along the highway, music blaring, the driver and her passenger singing along to the pop song on the radio. The two spoke back and forth, laughing wildly as the evening set in. Their waist length hair was tossed about easily in the breeze coming through the rolled down windows.

"Evie, come on. You really shouldn't be such a stick in the mud. You need to try new things more often! I promise that you will LOVE this shrimp recipe. And if you don't, you can pick out the shrimp and just eat the pasta. Either way, you get good food and you've tried something new."

The passenger crossed her arms grumpily. "But, I HATE shrimp! I hate fish! Anything from a body of water, I hate! You KNOW that! And I try new things!"

"Only when I make you!"

"I can't help that I'm a creature of habit. Besides, I tried that one Hot Pot thing your parents' friend brought over. That was, like, ALL seafood stuff! And I ate it! And pretended to like it. I was polite."

Marie rolled her eyes. Her bracelets chimed as she turned the wheel, sending the vehicle onto a quiet suburban cul-de-sac. "Again, I MADE you try that. And I've taken you to places that you've liked! You're such a pansy sometimes. But I love you anyway."

The driver chuckled as Evie focused her attentions on untangling her hair. Blue eyes glowered, or attempted to. "Aagh! Maariiee! The wind is tangling my hair AND messing with my contacts! AGAIN! Ow! Stupid earrings! Getting caught in my hair… The world HATES me!"

"Oh, hush you silly goose. You'll live. We're almost home. We'll get in our PJs, grab some munchies and drinks, then watch terrible horror movies. All will be well. I promise."

Marie brought the car into the three car garage, placing it in park. The two got out, Evie grabbing her overnight bag. The girls started for the garage door, both fussing with their skirts and tops. Marie attempted to tame her mussed bangs. "Man, you're right. The wind got to my hair, too. It's gonna take me FOREVER with a brush to get this all out."

Evie had begun to reply, when they heard something rustling in the woods behind the house. Evie took a step closer to Marie, hiding behind the stockier girl. "Marie… Let's not sleep in the basement tonight. Your woods are just too creepy. I hate seeing the shadows in the trees out the basement doors. Why do you have glass doors down there anyway? And no curtains!"

Marie hit the button to shut the garage door. The door began sliding down behind them as they entered the shadowy house. Marie's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She slowed her steps, the clacking of her heels sounding loudly on the wooden flooring. "That's odd… Mom and Daddy always have the lights on when it starts getting dark."

Evie shrugged. "Well, both their cars are here. Maybe they went for a bike ride? They do that. And it's finally nice enough out to go for awhile."

Marie nodded, flipping light switches as the two made their way across the first floor towards her room. They settled into the wildly colored room, kicking off their shoes and changing into their more comfortable pajamas. They grabbed their candy and soda laden purses and headed towards the basement stairs.

Before descending into the basement, Evie reached out and flicked on a light at the top of the stairs. Marie had gone ahead, and another light flicked on at the bottom of the staircase. Evie started down the stairs when a scream tore through the silence.

"MARIE! Are you okay? Why are you screaming? Did you see a spider or something? I'll get it, don't worry!" Evie careened down the last of the stairs, but was drawn up short at the sight in front of her friend, crouched on the ground, sobbing next to the bodies of her parents. Marie was shaking her father as her dog nudged the joined hands of the two bodies. They had gaping holes in their chests.

"DADDY! DADDYDADDYDADDY! Wake up! Please wake up! I'll call the hospital! They're your friends! They know you! They have to help you! You and mommy! You can't DIE!"

A shrill scream broke through the open basement doors from the woods and Marie's dog, Holmes, began growling and snarling. Marie continued sobbing, clutching at the still warm bodies of her parents, soaking her shirt in blood. Evie stepped forward, picking up her friend's purse and reaching for Marie's arm.

"Marie… Something isn't right. We need to leave. We have to get out of here. Look at Holmes. He NEVER growls. He's terrified. Whoever did this to your parents could still be around. We need to be smart. You can't break down now."

Marie shook her head. "I can't leave them! I can't leave them like this! The hospital could still do something!"

Evie began to respond when something pale flashed out of the shadows. Marie screamed, falling backwards away from the strange creature screaming and snarling at her. Just as it was about to reach her, Holmes barreled into it, knocking the monster off balance. It still managed to slash Marie's face, slashing deep gashes across her lower left cheek. Holmes stood in front of her, facing off against the tiny terror.

Evie grabbed Marie's arm, forcibly hauling her to her feet, pulling her back towards the stairs. "MARIE! We need to get out of here, NOW!"

"NO! No, I can't leave Holmes! I can't let him die! HOLMES!" Marie tried pulling away from Evie's grip. The creature shrieked and made another lunge for the two girls. They both screamed and threw their arms up in an attempt to ward off their attacker.

A snarling howl broke through the higher pitched noises and the small beagle attacked the pale monstrosity. The alien beast screamed again, blood gushing from the bite wound inflicted by the small dog. Holmes' howl climbed in pitch suddenly, before it was cut off by a panicked cough as the creature's blood trickled down the brave dog's throat.

Marie screamed again, crying for her dog as he toppled over, gasping for breath and making small, pained noises. Evie, tears streaming down her face, tugged on her friend once more, this time managing to get her up a step. Marie began back down the stairs, when the injured beast charged for them a third time.

The two girls screamed, running up the stairs, tears blinding them. Marie continued calling for her dog and her parents, while Evie screamed at Marie to focus and to keep up. In all the ruckus, neither noticed another of the small pale demons above a cabinet in the dining room.

Another scream joined the first and Evie looked back to check on Marie. She stumbled over the leg of a chair, just as the alien launched itself off the top of the cabinet towards her face. The young creature misjudged the trajectory of Evie's fall, its claws cutting across the bridge of her nose, rather than gouging out her eyes.

Evie cried out in pain and threw the small bugger as far from her as she could, before continuing to drag Marie towards the garage. She opened the door to the garage, slamming the door behind them as Marie finally broke out of her daze. Marie pulled her car keys from her purse and the two scrambled back into the van as a series of loud thuds came from the door behind them.

Marie hit the garage door opener and began backing out before it had opened all the way, as several more of the monsters lunged for the vehicle. Marie slammed on the gas and careened into the street, bending part of the garage door in her haste to escape.

Marie drove them away, face bleeding, tears still running down her face. Evie sat in shocked silence, nervously twisting her hair, wishing she knew what to say. She opened her mouth, ready to try and comfort Marie, when a choked gasp of horror came out. Marie didn't look over, but asked what was wrong.

"Marie… What if it's happening everywhere?"

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Marie typed out the number again, holding the cell phone to her ear, praying for a response. She'd called everyone in her contacts. And Jacob more than once. Where was her fiancé when she needed him? What if he was already-

"No. No thinking about that. He's fine. He's tough. He'll come back to me. Just gotta be patient."

Staring down at the bright screen, more tears dripped from her eyes. "He promised he'd protect me… I can't do this on my own. I'm too scared. Jacob, where are you?"

The car door rattled and Marie started, shrieking. She relaxed a little when she saw it was only Evie. Pressing the unlock button, Evie clambered in, eyes downcast. Marie reached out, grasping her friend's pale hand. "No luck?"

Evie sniffed loudly, wiping a hand across her eyes. "Maybe they went to Uncle Rich's place."

Marie's spirits drooped even further. They'd searched everywhere. Marie knew her parents were dead. She couldn't get a hold of any of her family. Her fiancee's family… Well, they'd found some of them. Marie shuddered, trying to forget the monster latched onto some of the family… She'd already counted them as her own.

And Evie… They had found none of her family. Everyone just gone. They could hear screams and death cries as they drove by some places. Her boyfriend's family was also missing, all of the ones nearby, and there was no way of knowing about the others.

Backing out the driveway of the small trailer home, Marie began driving through their town. There were lots of cars packed on the interstate, trying to escape the town. There were… THINGS, in and among the cars, shrieking, screaming, always that awful sound.

Some were chasing people down the street. They tried not to notice. Some people ran towards them, the van. But, they were caught and dragged off, killed, or had more of the monster come out of them or latch onto them before they made it.

The girls recognized many of the people. There were plenty more they didn't. Finally, Marie maneuvered them out of the city by way of some back roads, going West, leaving Hell behind.

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Evie sighed, watching the sky. Summer would be turning into Fall soon. And they hadn't found Jacob yet. Struggling to blink back tears, Evie tried desperately to not think about her Kyle. She hadn't heard anything. There was no communication anymore.

Marie had stopped to raid an empty house. She came out with some supplies and changes of clothes. She held out some jeans and sneakers, as well as a tshirt and sweater, to Evie. "It's gonna be big on you. But, there's a belt in there somewhere. Best I can do. Sorry."

"It's fine. Thanks."

Marie nodded, then went to go put the rest of her finds in the back of the car. Mostly food and extra blankets. Those would be more than useful when winter hit. Evie shivered at the thought. Winters in the Midwest were not kind to the weak.

Marie had changed as well, and was heading off towards the trees, spotting a shovel nearby. It could prove useful. Picking it up, Marie began walking back towards Evie, when a distinct shriek filled the air. Turning quickly, it was all Marie could do to bring her shovel up, keeping the small monster from mauling her torso.

It jumped back, hissing. Evie screamed, terrified. What could she do? She was helpless like this! She had no weapons! And even if she did, she didn't know how to USE them!

Marie faced off against the beast. It was black, but smaller than the ones they usually saw. It was only about the size of a large dog. It was still growing, so it had only come out recently.

It hissed at her, then charged again. Marie screamed, flailing with her shovel, forgetting anything but to KILL THE LITTLE BASTARD.

Her shovel clipped the thing's shoulder, blood oozing out. Marie failed to notice the effect that the blood had on her weapon and everything the blood touched. Screaming more, Marie brought the shovel down on the beast again and again, the wounds making it difficult for the thing to run.

Finally, she managed to hit it just right, severing its head part of the way off. The blood sprayed and she jumped back, but it was too late. The green blood shot out, spraying her legs and pooling around them, sending Marie into fits of screaming.

She fell backwards, tears streaming down her face, trying to drag herself away from the blood that was destroying her. Evie ran to her side, dragging Marie clear. Marie kept screaming and moaning as Evie cut what fabric remained away from Marie's body.

Her right leg was worse off than her left, since it had been farther forward. Evie dragged Marie's shoe off, then turned away to puke up what food she'd eaten. Part of Marie's right foot was gone. Her pinky toe had been eaten away, leaving part of her foot bone exposed.

The wounds went up both legs, almost to the knee. Evie was no doctor, but she knew that these injuries could get infected easily. Marie would have immense trouble even walking. Would she even walk again? Evie needed Marie. What if this killed her?

Crying more, Evie dragged Marie to the van, clearing a space in the large back to lay her friend. Running back and forth from the house, Evie bathed the wounds as best she could, cleaning them, bandaging them, wincing every time Marie screamed, or worse, whimpered in pain.

Finally, after Marie had fallen into an uneasy sleep, Evie shut the trunk door and locked the whole car down, shivering in the darkness, wondering what would happen if she lost Marie on top of everything else. Tears slid down her face, and she remembered a bright, windy spring day, not so long ago, and fell asleep.

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Evie drove on, squinting down the road. Marie moaned in the back, tossing her head, panting. The wounds had gotten infected. Marie was dying. The fever kept rising. Evie tried everything she could think of, short of leeches. Nothing was helping.

She had been looking for help. If Marie didn't get a REAL doctor soon, she was as good as dead. Evie blinked back tears. "Don't worry, Marie. I'll go with you."

Suddenly, Evie slammed on the brakes. There was a car on the road in front of her. More vehicles came out of the woods around the car, surrounding her completely. Then, someone in a green uniform stepped out of the car in front of her.

Sobbing in relief, Evie scrambled out. Guns pointed at her, but she didn't care. She stayed near the car, tears running down her face. "PLEASE! Please, you have to help me! My friend, she's been hurt! She's got an infection! She's dying! Please, help us!"

The head of the group stayed still, then lowered his gun, walking forward to her. Holding out his hand, Evie took it gratefully and shook it timidly. He smiled down at her. "Don't worry, miss. We'll help you. That's what the Army is here for."

He went to the back of the van, calling out orders, and Evie followed him. She opened the trunk, showing him Marie. Another man came forward, getting into the trunk to examine Marie's injuries.

Evie sat by Marie's head, stroking one of Marie's hands. "Don't worry, Marie. We're safe now. They'll help us. Maybe they can tell us where Jacob is. He's Army, right? Or, National Guard? Whatever. You'll be okay. Don't worry."

Marie blinked blearily at her friend, then sank back into oblivious darkness once more, feeling nothing but fear.