(XX)

The next day

Date: July 27th

BEEEEEEPPPP! BEEEEEEPPPP!

(Static)-"This is the emerg-(static)-broadcast system. This is not a test! Federal offi-(static)-advise all citizens to leave urban areas immediately! Invading forces are targeting cities! To repeat, the invaders are targeting cities! All citizens are advised to flee immediately!"

It was the same message all over the world. Invaders are coming, everyone must leave! That is what everyone was doing, or was trying to do. But within hours, chaos was beginning to reign across every major population centre across the planet. Highways were jammed with cars, some having been abandoned by their owners as they just wanted to flee, not caring about those behind them. Trains had come to a halt by the loss of power and for the fear they would be attacked by alien forces. Planes had also stopped for the same reason, leaving thousands of people stranded from family or in difficult places when they wanted to getaway.

And this was just one of the major predicaments occurring around the world.

Within the cities themselves, mostly ones that had not yet been attacked by the invaders, rioting mobs were beginning to brew. In supermarkets, corner shops, even the normal family homes, mobs were looting, rioting and destroying. Loot, riot and destroy. That was what was being repeated everywhere. Windows would be smashed, cars overturned, food, water, medicine, hygienic items, all of it was taken off the shelves. Fuel stations were virtually empty of the little petrol they had left. It was just utter chaos.

And if anyone happened to be in the way of the rioters, they would be brutally beaten up. The sad thing was: this was not a first thing for Humanity. They were fighting over resources just as their nature had been intending them to do ever since they could walk hundreds of thousands of years ago. With an invasion by an extra-terrestrial race, this only just accelerated that nature to fight each other and made it more violent than ever. It also increased it on a much wider scale. Instead of the violence being limited to a city or a nation, it was all over the world.

And the big difference now, unlike it had been in the past, help would not come, ever. Before, the army or the police would arrive to help those caught in the middle and bring order and stability. However, none of that was coming now. With the armies of the world in disarray and the police in just about the same way, the people of Earth were left to fend for themselves and flee the cities.

Modesto, California

In the streets of Modesto, a smaller version of the chaos that was being reeked across the world in the cities was occurring here as well. The streets were packed with cars or fleeing people, some held down with their children and/or bags of luggage filled with the few supplies and possessions they could take with them. Shouting and panic had gripped everyone like a disease, and it was spreading rapidly like an epidemic, only this one would have no end or cure to it.

Inside the house down the street from where the Murphy's lived, Michelle's mother, Sally, ran down the steps into the landing in front of the front door, which was wide open, a suitcase in her hand. The noise outside rang in her ears, but she was determined to get her and her children out of here. Her daughter had her son, Alex, and was waiting for them in the car outside.

Sally grabbed a pair of shoes from under the coast hanging on the wall next to the door and put them on. As she did, horrible thoughts were running through her head. She had not heard from her husband for over twelve hours since the attacks began and she had tried contacting him on his mobile phone, but it had not worked. Even though she hated herself for thinking this, her mind was already going to the worst case scenario if he was not replying to her calls or messages: He was dead.

NO! she sternly shouted to herself. He was not dead! He was still alive! She sighed and grabbed her car keys from the set of drawers and ran outside to the car, not bothering to close the door behind her as she doubted her house would be left out in the chaos reigning in the streets at this present moment in time.

In the car, her daughter Michelle held out her hands for her mother's suitcase, which she passed to her.

"Where should I put it, Mommy?" she asked.

"Just put it on the seat next to your brother," Sally told her daughter.

Michelle did so, reaching over her brother, who was in one of those small baby car seats, dressed in a small stripped top and a small pair of jeans. He had short brown hair and green eyes, looking around wonderingly at what was going on. He was too young to understand that he had been born in a time of war and that chaos was reigning on the streets just metres from them.

Sally started the car and slammed shut the door. She was in a desperate race to get out of Modesto as quickly as possible before they were caught by a group of mobsters, or worse, the invaders. Oh, she hoped her husband was okay. She needed him right now to settle her worries and also to keep them safe from what was going on.

"Mommy, is dad going to be okay?" Michelle asked her mother.

Sally paused for a moment as she reversed the car out of the driveway, though she looked into her daughter's worried filled eyes and tried to reassure her with an apprehensive smile.

"I..I'm sure he'll be okay, dear," she replied. "Don't worry, your father'll meet us again soon," she told her.

"When?"

"Um…s-soon, Michelle. He'll be outside Modesto soon, waiting for us. yes, he'll be there. Don't worry dear, he'll be okay,"

As Sally stopped the car and turned left and drove down the road, she began to mentally curse herself for lying like that to her daughter. Of course it was not true. She had not heard from her husband since yesterday when the attacks had begun and with all the chaos reigning around San Francisco and Modesto and…God knows where else, it was impossible for him to be outside Modesto waiting for them. Though, even though she had reassured her daughter that he would be there, Sally was feeling the same way as her daughter was.

Please be there, Jacob! She mentally begged. Please be okay, Jacob!

SMASH! Michelle and Sally looked out of the car windows on the left side to see a group of men run out of a house, their arms filled with electronic equipment, obviously meaning they had just robbed it and hoped to take whatever they could whilst they had the chance. Panic began to fill Sally. Now she just wanted to get out of here, fast!

"Michelle, sit down!" she said sternly, startling her daughter.

"Mommy, why is everyone running around breaking things?" Michelle asked.

"I can't answer you, Michelle," her mother replied.

(XX)

Then, as they turned into another street, going into a small downtown part of Modesto, which had smashed windows, burning cars and people running in different directions, some laid down low with what they had stolen, Michelle noticed something out of the right window of the car. She sat up a little and looked out, and gasped.

A man was lying down on the ground, his hand over his head. Even though he was a distance from the car, Michelle could see blood on his head and on his hand. He groaned and moved to his side a little and tried to stand up, but was knocked over by someone who ran past him and knocked him over, not bothering to apologize or even help him up. It was if no one cared for him now.

"Mommy, what's wrong with that man?" Michelle asked worryingly.

Sally looked out of the window and saw what her daughter meant. Her eyes went wide.

"Michelle, sit down, now!" she snapped, scaring her daughter a little, who did as she was told. "Don't look out the window!"

She nodded nervously. What was going on? Why was everyone running around like madmen and stealing and breaking things and hurting other people?

Her brother Alex gave a nervous moan. Michelle moved over to him and gave her baby brother a hug to try and reassure him. He moved his hand over the back of her neck as if he was returning the hug to her, thanking her sister for caring to her.

(XX)

"You son of a bitch!"

Sally looked out of the windscreen over to the left side and saw a tall man shouting at another man, who was trying to calm him down, an open car on the pavement next to them. By the looks of it, the tall man wanted the other man's car and Sally went wide-eyed at what she saw in the tall man's hand.

It was a gun!

As she drove past, the tall man, who seemed to have absolutely no state of mind whatsoever, placed his finger on the trigger of his weapon and shouted at the other man to go away or he would fire. The other man, who had a panic stricken look on his face, tried to calm him down, but the other man was having none of it.

Suddenly, the tall man grabbed the other man and swung his fist into him, hitting him in the face, the man who had been punched yelled out in pain and fell to the floor behind the car and out of sight. The man with the gun aimed and pulled the trigger, the sound of the gunshot filling the air.

Sally whimpered a little as she turned back to watch where she was driving and drove on, trying to hold back tears so as not to frighten her children.

Why is this happening? her mind seemed to cry. Why are people doing this?

It was from here she began to fear that what was happening here in Modesto was happening in San Francisco. Her mind, like before, began to go to the worst case scenario on her husband.

"My God, I hope you're okay, Jacob," she muttered hopefully under her breath.

Note: Sorry if this part was a little disturbing, but let me remind you that in the first chapter of the story, as soon as you see this symbol (XX) it is a warning to a siturbing part of the chapter.