No One Would Have Believed (A tribute to War of the Worlds)

by Infina-Phoenix

On December 8th, 2022 30 year old Shawn and his friends, Daniel and Richard, run for their lives as a Martian army takes over our world. The Martians pilot giant three legged robots with shield-like helmets known as Tripods that zap, kidnap, and crush everyone that gets in their way. Will our protagonists survive the attack on earth? Only one way to find out...

No one would have believed…

A tribute to "War of the Worlds" by H.G. Wells

For the best experience, Songs have been provided at the beginning of each chapter for you, the reader, to listen to as you read.

Song 1

"Most have called it a War of the Worlds, but there was never a war. Just a mass homicide."

~H.G. Wells

Prologue

(The alien language has been translated to english, so that you, the reader, can understand them.)

The door to the dark and mechanical room opened, and one of the Martian scientists had walked in.

"Mars is incapable of sustaining life," said the alien in a surprisingly calm manner, "our resources are exhausted, and the planet, dying."

The general stood up on 5 of its worm-like tendrils like feet, and began to speak in a harsh voice, "The only consequential course of action is the conquest and occupation of earth, our young solar neighbor."

The tech engineer scanned his databases for earth's information, then looked up at the rest of the Martians, "The resources are bountiful, and its surface is sustaining life, but it is still habitable."

"The problem is, of course, the humans." added the general with a cold tone.

Chapter 1

The eve of the war

Billions of people were busying themselves on December 8, 2022 with their own individual affairs and chores, serene in our assurance of our domination over this planet we call Earth. It now seems so strange and foreign to me that this horrible date in time started off like any other ordinary day, men and women shopping for christmas presents, mall santas playing their roles as the jolly man himself, and kids writing down wishes on their little list for santa to read. The least of our worries during this serene time was our opposition from mars, for we had seemingly more important errands and family members to take care of. But this all changed when the subtle beginning of our greatest battle was making headlines on the local news channels.

"Breaking news" said the female reporter, Ashley Kenns,"a mysterious greenish blue gas is currently covering mars like a blanket due to hydrogen gas eruptions on the red planet, while in other news, we are getting many individual reports of a meteor shower. Truly an extraordinary day for the world. We'll be right back with more details.

After I had moved from London a few years ago, I was one of the many citizens of Princeton, New Jersey when the unthinkable happened. The "meteor" landed in Grovers Mill, next to a local farmer's barn. In minutes, dozens of citizens were gathered around the cylinder like ants around a discarded apple, including Sarah, my wife. Of course she drove there while I was distracted by the news, even after I warned her not to. It was just like her to do this, ever since she was a teenager, she had always been a troublemaker. All were conversing about what they thought the object was, for this was not shaped like an ordinary meteor. In fact, it didn't look anything like a fallen rock! Where we would usually see a rough and spongy surface texture, was instead replaced with a shiny, glazed and intelligently placed armor. Police were desperately trying to keep the people away from the crater, while I was perfectly content with staying at home and observing the event through the news.

As reporters were trying to talk over the commotion, they were silenced when somebody noticed the cylinder's top unscrewing, and everybody started to back away. After what seemed like an eternity of watching the hatch rotate and rotate, the lid suddenly fell off. THUD! Then, the most eerie sight made itself visible. Two rounded eyes peered out from inside the hollow and dark interior, almost as if they were hiding. A gray snake started to wriggle out of the dark hole in the object, then another, and another. We all soon realized that these were no snakes, these were tendrils! I cringed in disgust. The figure struggled to rise up out of the cylinder, as if weighed down by gravity. When the hulking body climbed out, it appeared as big as a bear. Tentacles writhed in the air around their host, as the alien dipped back into the machine.

Song 2

Chapter 2

A monsterous machine

An hour passed, but it felt like forever. The news had more information on the scene, now that something new was unfolding. When the live footage was airing, I noticed that the crowd had backed away from the crater even further, while officers approached the crashed object with a flag of truce. At that moment, I believe that most of those watching their TV's hoped with every fiber of their being that the Martians knew what this action meant. It is my opinion that they did, but didn't care, making their response even more disturbing somehow.

As the men approached this extraterrestrial pod, it started to shake and open. A tall, looming giant on three skinny legs unfolded like paper from its broken metal shell. Three searchlights on its armored face lit up, and shined its radiance onto the small trio of ants that dared to engage with it. It released two tendrils from the bottom of its sheltered head, each with a crescent moon shaped head on the end of them. Both of its new appendages pointed at the advancing group of men as they started to back up slowly and carefully, dropping the flag of truce on the ground. The inner curves of the crescent shaped metal started to glow a bright, brilliant blue haze. Then, a beam of simmering heat shot out of the blue light, burning the men to death.

The crowd bolted back to their cars as soon as possible, trampled and scorched by the fighting machine that chased its minuscule prey. Before the lasers hit the camera, I caught a glimpse of Sarah's terrified face as she was vaporized by the bright cyan ray of heat. I quickly jumped out of my chair, and ran into the streets, witnessing the three legged titan on the horizon coming this way. Down the steps I went, and headed to my car, before realizing that I had forgotten my keys on my way outside. I rushed back into my home, trying desperately to find my key to freedom. I searched the living room and looked under couch pillows, chairs, tables, and various appliances. Later, I felt really foolish when I stopped at the doorway, for the keys were on a little hook next to the front door. I snatched them as swift as lightning, then dashed back to the car. Hoping luck was on my side, I pulled the keys from my pocket and prayed that the lock wasn't as stubborn as usual. But it was, and as I watched the tripod enter the other side of town, I started panicking and struggling to open the door. It wouldn't budge an inch, so I tried even harder to turn the lock, but to no avail. I tried for what seemed like an endless amount of time, until I heard a low, trumpet-like warcry from the fighting machine. I don't know how else to describe it, other than an exultant deafening howl. It was only a few blocks away when I turned to face it, sweat dripping down my face.

I could hear its stomping feet now, making the ground tremble as it traveled ever so closely to my block. My fight or flight response kicked in, making me pull the car door harder than ever. When that didn't work, I broke the window and opened the door from the inside. I climbed into my vehicle and drove off, barely missing the white and cyan heat ray.

As I made my way to my friends' houses, I made a plan in my head, trying to ignore the emotional damage that had been done to me after watching my wife's own painful death on TV. I would pick my friends up, drive to the docks, and make it to safety with them. I pulled up in the driveway, far from the metal titan that still gave chase. I rushed to Daniel's residence, and banged on the door rapidly, for we didn't have much time. I heard him stumbling around to the door, and realized he must be drunk again.

"W-wazzup?" Daniel stuttered as he opened the door,"Shawn? What… w-what are you… doing… (hic) here?"

"We're going on a road trip," I replied as I grabbed him, and dashed to my SUV,"It's gonna be… fun!"

I started the engine, and drove off while Daniel was rolling around in the backseats. We headed to Richard's home, and pulled up in front of the house. I climbed up his porch steps, and rang the doorbell every second that he didn't open the door.

"I told you, I don't want to be in an ad-" Richard stopped when he locked eyes with me,"Shawn, is it urgent? You never ring my doorbell like that."

"Grab your wife and kids," I replied without answering his question,"We need to get to the docks."

He nodded, then ran back inside. I waited 12 minutes for them, then suddenly the door blew open and there they were, bags and all. I helped them carry their luggage to their car, while Daniel was falling asleep. When we were almost done, we suddenly heard the roar of the tripod's horn interrupt our work.

"What the hell was that!?" Daniel screamed from my car,"and how did I get in your car?"

"There's literally no time to explain!" I yelled back.

I finished helping the Bardots with their packages before sprinting back to my vehicle.

Song 3

Chapter 3

Desperate measures

Our cars sped out of the small town, leaving the fighting machine to smash buildings like lego houses. The Bardot family's car ahead of us suddenly came to a halt, then so did we. I got out my phone and called him, so I wouldn't have to get on the highway. Immediately, Richard picked up.

"Why did you stop?!" I asked in a panicked voice.

"Get out of your car and look!" He replied.

I climbed out of the car and looked at the worst timed unlucky situation I have ever seen.

I ran back, opened the rear door and pulled Daniel out of the car. We ran to the Bardots' car and told them to just run, so they unloaded the car and ran with us to the docks. We all carried some luggage, each of us doing what we could to help others who waited in their vehicles. While our crowd of various citizens grew, we heard the war machine's deafening roar in the distance. Most people stopped to look at the source of the booming horn, while I only took a second to glance at the tripod's reflection in one of the car's side mirrors while still keeping my momentum. It was as if it was staring right at me.

The titan's feet crushed cars under its three fingered appendages, killing passengers and drivers. While the fighting machine strided with bendy legs, we started to feel ours get stiff and heavy. Our team pushed through the overwhelming exhaustion, desperate to get to safety. We got closer and closer to the docks as we fought the heat that gripped our bodies. Finally, we made it to the entrance of the ferry, and fell onto the deck. When our group regained our strength, we got up and split up. The Bardots hurried to the rooms, while Daniel and I turned to face the tripod on the fiery horizon. It took people from their cars with long, hair-like tendrils, then dropped them into a round, metal basket on the back of its head. I watched as it flattened its prey under its slow and deliberate steps. Meanwhile, the bridge between the ferry and the crowd started to rise, like two drawbridges slowly blocking each other. I ran to the rising road, helping those who clung to the edge of our drawbridge. I looked at those who helplessly reached out to me, even though they were too far away. I tried to reach out too, but it was too late. The bridge had risen, and nobody else could enter the ship. I still stared at the desperate citizens with a deep feeling of guilt in my stomach, I felt their fear. I gazed at the crowd, straight into the eyes of my 7 year old nephew, William.

"Jump!" I yelled to the lonely kid. The ground shook as William got ready to leap, knocking him off balance. Right underneath us I heard another fighting machine let out a muffled cry, and I soon realized that there was another one in the water. It must've been folded up like the other one was at Grover's Mill, because when it rose to full height, it towered over everything. Thankfully, it was facing away from the ferry. I saw symbols engraved on the side of the machine's head.

"Oh thank god!" I exclaimed before remembering that William was still on the other side of the water. When he finally leaped, a tentacle snatched him from the air and pulled him up to the iron basket.

As the ferry and many other ships departed from the docks, members of the crowd were being taken like medicine off of shelves. I thought to myself as the ship swam swiftly through the waters, 'do the martians have any remorse? Are they the ones who started this war, or did we anger them? Maybe they're parasites, swimming through space, looking for another planet host to use? If so, then we're in the way. Mankind is going to be exterminated so that they can use our planet! Dear lord, I hope the government knows how to deal with this.'

Song 4

Chapter 4

Artillery

"How the hell are we going to deal with this?!" General Lancer exclaimed into his walkie talkie with immense panic,"It's right there on the horizon! Hello?! Watson, do you hear me!? Please, someone, answer me! I-is anyone… there?"

Lancer slowly lowered his hissing walkie talkie, and stared at the three legged titan that marched toward him and his army. Soldiers tried to get him to do or say anything, but to no avail. General Lancer just stood there in shock, until one of the men smacked him in the face. He snapped out of it, and hollered one single command.

"Fire at will!" Lancer yelled while pointing directly at the Tripod.

Bullets were flattened by the highly durable armor, missiles made mere dents, and the tanks were obliterated before they could even get a chance to fire. Fighter jets raced through the heavens to circle the fighting machine, but the engines were shut down by a strange light that was being emitted from the titan.

"Eagle to bluebird, come in bluebird." One of the pilots said.

"Bluebird to eagle," another pilot replied,"what is it?"

"M-my engine has shut off and will not turn back on," Eagle answered,"Any ideas?"

"Hawk to eagle, my engine is down too." added another pilot.

"I can't release my bombs on it! The only thing I'm in control of is my direction!" exclaimed yet another pilot.

"Only one thing left to do…" said bluebird,"drop the plane on them."

CRASH! The fighter jets nose-dived into the head of the Tripod, decapitating it. While the military camp cheered, a second martian machine headed toward their camp site, heat ray ready to obliterate the unsuspecting troops from behind. Its three fingers on one of its legs squashed a few of the army's tents, killing all that resided in them. They scattered about the camp, trying to get to their weapons and supplies before the monster flattened those too. Hisssss… The soldiers looked up at the noise. It was a thick black smoke being sprayed from metal hoses and pipes coming out from the underside of the helmet.

"What is it doing now?" asked one of the weaponless men,"Trying to blind us?"

The veteran right in front of him started coughing up the smoke once it reached him, then the others around him started coughing. Every living thing the black smoke touched had started to choke, until a few of them fell onto their knees and coughed up blood. Alarmed, Lancer sent everyone to go get their gas masks, but the ones caught in the black gas wouldn't budge.

"What are you doing?!" General Lancer yelled,"Get your gas masks before you die!"

One of them tried to answer, but only let out a sad little wheeze.

"What?" The General asked as he ran toward the kneeling victim,"What did you say?"

The hacking soldier picked up his radio, his hand shaking. He could barely even lift his arm, let alone hold the walkie talkie.

"I-I… Can't m-m-move…" The dying warrior tried to yell, his voice was barely a whisper,"Tell my m-my kids… T-that dad… l-loves… that… t-that dad… l-l-loves them… v-very… v-ve-...v…"

General Lancer stared in disbelief as the coughing, kneeling father collapsed on the dying grass. Soon, the other men and women started to fall to the ground with him. They all died slowly, some of them were somebody's neighbor, a friend, a parent, a son, a daughter, a lover, a teacher, a student, or maybe even somebody's hero. It's one thing to hear about somebody you know dying in war, it's another thing to hear that they died slowly and painfully. Just another unnamed victim in a news article, another card in a deck. Dying without fully knowing why it had to be them. Lancer stopped running to the fallen bodies and backed away as the gas creeped toward him, tears running down his terrified face. There was nowhere to run, for he was trapped by the black, undulating gas.

Song 5

Chapter 5

The tragedy of the thunderchild

The ferry had left the shore, leaving the Tripod in its dust. It was so quiet as the passengers stared at the fighting machine, and it stared back at them from the dust cloud covering the docks. The massive bot didn't move, it just stood tall and looked at the ship with an empty, quiet, and unsettling glare. Then, I heard a woman scream at the top of her lungs. We all turned around, and saw what all the noise was about. On the water's horizon stood another fighting machine, waiting for us while others came to join it. Everybody on the ship started screaming hysterically, children cried and shrieked, some stood and stared at the titan in shock, and others just sat down and cried. The deep, metallic roar shook the ship ever so slightly, but it was enough to notice. Daniel looked around the deck, then ran inside of the main navigation bridge. I followed him, intrigued by what he might be trying to accomplish by hiding inside the ship. Right when I walked in, he shuffled past me with a sniper rifle in his hand and continued towards the front of the ferry. I walked up behind him as he connected the scope to the gun, and pointed it directly at the first Tripod. BANG! Everyone went quiet and stared at Daniel, realizing what he was doing, and cheered him on. CLANG! It took a little while for the bullet to reach the three legged monster, and we were too far away to see whether or not the bullet penetrated the armor. The monster grew irritated after my companion shot it, and we heard the horn again. But instead of a deafening noise, it was a faint, barely audible rumble. It was a growl. It started to stomp its way towards us, it knew what the intent of Daniel's shot was.

A ferry's whistle blew behind us and to the left of our ship, startling all of us. The tripod seemed startled too, for it had flinched ever so slightly. We all looked in the direction of the noise, then the old ferry "Thunderchild '' made the high pitched sound again. The 2nd in command on our ship got a message on his radio, and we all recognized it as the Thunderchild's ferryman.

"You may not understand the decision I'm about to make," The ferryman's voice said,"but I don't expect you to. Remember me, Terry. It's good to know that somebody will."

"What do you mean?" Terry asked,"What are you going to do?!"

There was no answer, only static. Passengers from the deck of the Thunderchild suddenly appeared on ours, climbing over the railings and sides of our ferry. I pulled one towards me and asked her what the captain is planning to do.

"He never said," The woman replied,"He just told us to evacuate the vessel."

I thanked her, then walked to the railing, staring at the Thunderchild. Just then, the mighty cruise ferry's funnel emitted a cloud of smoke. It rapidly headed towards the fighting machine's legs, bound and determined to topple the towering terror. Applause from the crowd stopped when the short rubber tentacles revealed their shiny silver crescent shaped hands, still charging up the laser meant for the shooter. Then, hope resumed, stronger than ever before.

"Come on Thunderchild!" A member of the panicking crowd shouted.

"Human-killing Martians like you aren't welcome here!" Another voice added.

"Yeah! Knock em' clean off their feet!" Yet another passenger protested.

"Come on Thunderchild!" more people shouted.

"Come on Thunderchild!" the crowd started to chant. The Tripod roared again, as if trying to keep the humans scared, or maybe to keep them from gaining hope. Although they weren't audible, the crowd booed as the horn blared.

"The Martians released their black smoke, but the ship sped on, cutting down one of the Tripod figures. Instantly, the other fighting machines raised their heat rays and melted the Thunderchild's valiant heart."

-Eye witness account from H.G. Wells

BANG! The ferry hit the Tripod's ankle, and it lost its balance. The crowd cheered as the mighty mechanical menace fell on its side, and water poured into the head of the fighting machine. The other Tripods turned their heads swiftly towards the Thunderchild. The ferryman fired a harpoon up into the air, right before getting blasted with heat. The crowd immediately stopped, and stared in absolute silence. As our ferry started sneaking past the busy titans, we watched them relentlessly shoot at the poor little ship. None of us made a peep, for fear of getting caught by the Martians, and then soon suffer the same fate as the Thunderchild. We all heard the ferryman scream bloody murder, but couldn't do anything about it. The silence seemed like it would never end, for time had stopped.

Song 6

Chapter 6

Dead london

We made it past the Martians, thanks to the Thunderchild's brave ferryman. But when we reached London, it was in ruins. Buildings were covered in red vines, the brick roads of my old neighborhood were demolished, and empty. I saw the black skeletons of scorched citizens, and cried when I saw William's body in the middle of the road. He was just a child…

"Why?!" I shrieked, surprising everyone around me,"Why would they do this to a 7 year old?! Are we the only beings in space that can feel empathy?!"

Just then, the mighty warcry of the heartless Martians' machines echoed from the distance. We waited, looking for the source of the never ending sound. It felt like the roar was surrounding us, taunting us. BAM! The top half of houses on the horizon flew into the air, as if a bomb had gone off. The missing floors revealed an ever so dreadful sight, for ten of those beastly Tripods were advancing towards our group from behind the demolished homes. BANG! I only just now noticed the tanks heading towards the machines, and the fighter jets that stormed ahead. The projectile from one of the tanks had disappeared into a greenish blue light around the fighting machine, the Tripod had only been pushed back a little bit.

"They have force fields now?!" Daniel screamed in astonishment.

CRASH! A tank landed right in front of him, missing him by mere centimeters. He backed up and coughed from the cloud of the dust that ran right into his face. Another tank was thrown at us, but it missed. The tank flew over our heads and towards the water behind us. CLANG! The noise caught us off guard, for we had expected to hear a splash when the tank landed behind our team. We turned around slowly, and saw one of the legs of a Tripod. It snuck up on us without making a single sound, until it roared so loud that the ground underneath us shook violently. Thin, black, and robotic tendrils came out from inside the helmet of the Tripod, grabbing members of our group and dropping them in large egg-shaped metal baskets. One of the tentacles grabbed hold of my shoe, so I slipped my foot out of it before it retracted. I fell to my knees for only a second before immediately getting back on my feet, sprinting as fast as I could from the massive metal machine. As I dashed blindly into the town, I felt something on both of my ankles. Before I could even look down, my legs were pulled out from under me. I landed on my face before being dragged along the pavement by what I now know as one of the Tripod's tendrils, clawing at the ground for anything to grip. Then, I felt another robotic rope, this time around my neck. CLICK! It firmly gripped my throat, pulling me back even faster. I was lifted off of the ground, and hit the roof of a house behind me. BAM! I broke a few tiles off of the edge of the roof, damaging my back. Tiles slid off of the roof as I was dragged across it. Then, I felt a rectangular object next to me. I held onto the chimney with all of my strength, desperate to escape the mechanical beast. I couldn't breathe anymore, but I still held on. I was literally dying to live. Or, perhaps, I wanted to die this way than the Martians' way. As I used my last remaining strength, I heard a fighter jet soaring through the air above me. I couldn't see it though, for my entire body was facing downwards, but I could tell that it was getting closer, and closer. Then BAM! Suddenly, the robotic ropes around me let go, and I looked back at the Tripod while trying to stand. The fighting machine was hit directly in the face by an F-15E Strike Eagle, instantly dismantling the head and killing the Martian inside.

Song 7

Chapter 7

Search for prey

As I reached the bottom of the roof, Daniel came into my peripheral vision. His arms were reaching up to me, obviously thinking I would be crazy enough to jump into his arms from this height. Instead, I dropped down onto the balcony below the edge of the roof. I fought through the pain and scurried through the mansion and dashed out the front doors. When I saw Daniel outside in the street, I immediately noticed another Tripod maybe a mile behind Daniel trying to sneak above the town.

"You sure are lucky to be alive!" Daniel yelled from the other side of the street, walking towards me,"I still can't believe how we've survived all of this!"

I put my finger to my lips, trying to shush Daniel before the fighting machine noticed the noise.

"What?" Daniel yelled in response to my action,"They're gone now, nothing to worry about anymore, mate!"

The Tripod turned its head to our street, and waited for another yell before it advanced. I pointed at the tripod, but he was too close to the building to see over it.

"What about it?" Daniel hollered,"is someone trapped in there?!"

The fighting machine finally stomped towards us, and Daniel got the memo. I ran to Daniel and looked around for an escape, eventually locking eyes on a manhole cover. I pulled him with me and we scurried into the sewers, landing right in the underground's river. The stomping stopped right above us, we could feel the alien's presence above our enclosure. The titan made no sound, obviously searching for my loud companion. We waited in the tunnel for an hour, only communicating through small insignificant glances toward one another. Suddenly, I felt something touch my ankle in the water. When I looked over at Daniel, I could tell that he felt it too. We lowered our heads slowly, and observed the red stringy vines that clung to our heels. It was moving as slowly as we were, like a red animal. It choked the water, and tried to immobilize us along with it. Daniel silently kicked the red plant off of his legs, somehow causing it to emit a glow. The light appeared at the point of which my friend had hit, and traveled down the plant like a shockwave.

We heard the Tripod make a sudden move after the light reached the end of the dark tunnel, as if feeling the impact of his sudden attack. The lid to our hiding place flew off violently, revealing a bright light coming from the fighting machine's eyes. It saw us.

BAM! Before any of us could move, a missile hit the Martian's monstrous mech, knocking it right off its feet. Daniel and I stared in shock at each other, waiting for one of us to break the heavy silence. Suddenly, a man's head appeared over the manhole.

"You two alright?" He asked,"We heard some idiot yelling at the top of his lungs. Next thing we know, a Martian is in hot pursuit of something."

I glanced at Daniel with a look of superiority.

"Hey!" He boasted,"If it weren't for me, we wouldn't have been saved!"

"And if you hadn't made such a ruckus," I replied,"we wouldn't have needed saving."

The man lowered a rope ladder, and we climbed back up to the surface.

Song 8

Chapter 8

Family values

Richard Bardot ran off the ferry immediately after it had reached shore, his family close behind. All he could think about was getting away from the Martians, until something stopped him and his family in their tracks. Dozens of bodies lay dead and burned beyond recognition on the brick roads.

"Why?!" Shawn shrieked, kneeling next to a child's lifeless body,"Why would they do this to a 7 year old?! Are we the only beings in space that feel empathy?!"

Richard's kids were just staring at the bodies, silent and still as statues. Thoughts were rushing a million miles a second through Mr. Bardot's head, until a mighty horn cut through the madness. Tripods were blasting buildings on the horizon, coming right towards him and the crowd. He quickly grabbed his wife's hand and ran left along the beach, looking for a car that hadn't been demolished.

"Daddy?" The youngest child asked Richard,"What did I do wrong?"

The toddler honestly thought that this was a punishment for something they did. That innocent kid didn't understand that the Martians wanted our planet, and that we would all die.

"Wait," Mrs. Bardot started,"why didn't we just get in the van? It was parked on the ferry with the rest of the cars!"

Mr. Bardot face-palmed in realization, then turned to run back to the boat. It was right at that moment that another Tripod, somehow unnoticed by anyone on the docks, roared at everyone still standing at the entrance to the city. Richard and his family ran back in the direction they were originally heading, now that the ship was blocked.

They were on the edge of town now, still without a working car in sight. The family left the city and ran into the next demolished city, Leatherhead. Roads were torn like paper, buildings were completely flattened, trees were ripped from the scorched earth, the red weed that covered the remains of a ghost town fluttered in the wind, and ohh… the sweetness of the air. Mrs. Bardot gasped and ran to something, and Richard followed.

Song

"What is it, sweetie?" Mr. Bardot asked.

She couldn't speak, only cry. Christine just pointed at one of the piles of rubble that used to be a house, Richard recognized the necklace on one of the two crushed and incinerated victims lying on the dead grass. They were her parents.

"Mommy what's wrong?" one of the children asked innocently,"Why are you crying?"

She didn't respond, Richard's wife just fell onto her knees, still with her hands over her mouth. The young kids walked over to her and hugged her, trying to make their mother feel better, even though they didn't understand what was happening.

"Don't be sad Mommy," Another child said while hugging her, not knowing why she was sad, but just wanting her to be happy,"You'll feel better."

Richard walked in front of her, knelt down, and hugged her too. The red faced, traumatized wife just kept weeping as she stared over her husband's shoulder at her mutilated mom and dad. Christine finally got the strength to hug them back, crying into her husband's shoulder.

"C-come back." she finally said, weak from the emotional breakdown,"Please…

Chapter 9

You can't raise the dead

When we finished climbing up the ladder, we were greeted by army officials. They offered us a ride out of here, then led us to a helicopter.

"Nope!" I immediately said, turning away when I laid eyes upon the vehicle,"That is going to get shot down by Tripods within seconds of getting off of the ground."

"Then what about a ride in a humvee?" The soldier suggested.

"Now that sounds much better!" Daniel replied while rubbing his hands together excitedly,"I call shotgun!"

He climbed in the passenger seat, and I got in the back. A man wearing camouflage raised his foot and slammed on the gas pedal. We got pressed against the back of our seats by the force of the sudden speed. We were in for quite the ride indeed.

Song

After a while of driving by broken and scorched trees, we came across the carnage that was the ruins of the town Leatherhead. I stared out my window in shock, the houses were now just piles of broken wood and brick, and the red weed had covered the houses and replaced the grass. I rolled my window down so I could hear any survivors screaming for help, if there were any. Suddenly, a sweet scent filled my nostrils. It was the smell of the red web-like vines. I couldn't even notice it when me and Daniel were in the sewers, which now that I think about it, makes a lot of sense.

"Wait," Daniel said,"do you hear that?"

I listened closer, and heard the sound of someone weeping like they were dying!

"Stop the car!" I shouted to the driver.

The humvee came to a sudden halt, and I got out of my side of the vehicle. I ran towards the sound, it came from somewhere on the block I was on. The crying got louder as I ran through the ruins of a neighborhood, sending shivers down my spine with every step I took. I stopped when I spotted a family, they were all huddled together, comforting the mother as she screamed and cried in front of two burned corpses. I slowed my pace to a walk. I didn't dare say a word as I waited, for I didn't want to startle the already shaken up woman. I only spoke when my eyes met those of Richard Bardot, who had just noticed me.

"Richard?!" I said in surprise,"How did you get here?"

"We just walked," Richard said in an empty tone,"what about you?"

"Humvee." I replied,"Speaking of, I really think you should come with us. It's much safer."

"Not now," Richard denied,"My wife is grieving. She needs all of our support right now."

A deafening howl startled all of us, making the children start to cry. I looked at the Tripod that was still roaring far out in the countryside, and grimaced at it.

"We need to get out of here now!" I yelled once the fighting machine's warcry ended.

"Okay," He said to Christine,"time to go!"

"No!" she yelled in a state of helplessness,"Not yet! I don't want to leave them yet! They kept me safe for as long as I can remember, I can't just leave their bodies to get trampled by these heartless robots!"

Mrs. Bardot ran towards her dead parents, and took the sapphire necklace off of her mother's neck. She looked at it and cried even more before holding it close to her chest. Christine ran into the rubble and pulled out a stuffed animal toucan, then ran back to kneel in front of her parents' broken, almost unrecognizable bodies. When Daniel caught up, I walked with him and Richard to talk to the heartbroken mother.

"She wanted me to have this when I was 16," Christine said solemnly as she stared at the heart shaped necklace,"to pass it on to another generation of her family. But I refused. (Sniff) I'm so s-sorry, mom. I love you. So. SO M-much. If only… I w-was here to protect them…"

Mrs. Bardot sobbed even more, somehow not running out of tears to cry.

"A-and this toucan," She continued,"was given to me by dad on my 8th birthday, I… I loved toucans back then. (sniff) I was so happy… We were all so happy together. Now they're gone, and I didn't even get to say goodbye."

The Tripod started releasing its black smoke while charging up its lasers. And we started to panic.
"We need to leave now!" I said to her,"I'm more sorry for you right now than I think I'll ever be, but that Tripod is going to kill us if we don't move."

"I'm not going to let them stay here!" She shouted back at us,"We need to bury them properly once we get them out of here."

"There's no time to get them out of here!" Richard screamed.

Me and Daniel pulled her away as she tried to run back, her heels dug deep into the ground trying to struggle. Richard tried to bring the bodies. He was planning to bury them properly, like his wife wanted. But they wouldn't budge, the red weed had taken the lifeless beings hostage, wrapping around their waists and limbs. Richard got out his pocket knife, and started cutting the vines like rope.

BAM! The metal giant's front leg slammed down right next to Richard, black smoke following closely behind. Mr. Bardot got up and ran, unsuccessful in his attempt to free the corpses from their stringy prison. The fighting machine's black gas followed Richard as he ran towards his struggling wife. We all carried Christine into the humvee, trying to block her view of what the Tripod just did to her parents' mangled bodies. The monster had crushed them under its feet, then looked around something to throw at the car, for its lasers were still charging up. It looked back at the bodies, and let one of its outstretched tendrils pick them up effortlessly. BANG! One of the bodies hit the back windows of the vehicle, and Cristine shrieked at the sight of the broken ghouls. We drove away right when the beast's heat rays were fully charged and almost out of range. The Humvee got boiling hot as a result of the tip of the fading heat ray touching it. The heat only lasted a few seconds, for we had driven far from the laser's range.

Song 10

Chapter 10

The safe haven

Christine cried the entire way to our destination, and we completely understood, so we let the family grieve with her. A wasteland surrounded us, scraps of broken and demolished camps and military bases lay empty on the desert's melancholy plains. Gray skies filled our peripheral, until we stopped in front of a military base that was left untouched by the Martians' reign of wreckage.

The moment we laid eyes on the army's camp though, our attention was quickly taken by the three legged titan that loomed over it, looking right back at us. We all screamed and told the driver to hit the gas immediately, but he remained completely calm.

"Don't worry about that one," The driver in camouflage said,"that one is ours."

"You captured a Tripod!?" Daniel and I both exclaimed in astonishment.

"Yep," He replied with zero fear,"we caught it roaming about, so we watched from a distance. It had lost its heat rays, probably after a tough battle, and we tied it up. We took the alien pilot out of the cockpit, and claimed the fighting machine as our own. We're still figuring out all of the controls, but we're pretty close to learning the full potential of our otherworldly adversaries."

As we got out of the humvee, we were greeted with that all too familiar warcry. For some reason, I wanted to run and hide, even though I fully understood that I wasn't in any real danger. My blood ran cold as adrenaline took me over, resulting in my entire body shaking. I curled up into a ball and covered my ears, I could feel tears making their way down my face as thoughts and memories of the Tripods taking William flooded my mind. I felt the edge of the chimney's bricks under my fingers as the robotic tentacles tried to pry me away from the only thing that kept me from being taken.

"Woah, Shawn, calm down!" I heard Daniel say, pulling me out of my horrific trance,"It's okay, you're okay now. You aren't in any danger, buddy."

I was still hyperventilating, but thankfully out of the memory. I was sweating, red faced, crying, and shaking on the pavement.

"Look who found the horn!" The driver yelled to the Tripod's pilot after leaving the humvee, obviously not reading the room as he walked towards us,"Woah, hey, what's wrong? Are you hurt? Where does it hurt?"

"I don't know what caused it," I replied,"I just had a physical reaction to the sound. It's probably normal, don't worry about it."

The soldier looked at me with a look of concern and doubt, obviously not believing me. He placed a hand on my shoulder and knelt down to my level, still keeping his concerned expression.

"Did you have a physical reaction because of our Tripod's horn," he asked,"or was it a coincidence?"

"Uh," I wanted to lie, worried that he would think of me as a wimp, but decided to tell the truth,"It was the Tripod."

"Did you start to see a scary past experience involving the Tripods?" The soldier continued after I answered,"Like a flashback?"

"Yeah," I answered again, wondering whether or not he had read my mind.

"Well," he said with hesitation,"I think you might have developed a mental disease known as post traumatic stress disorder, or better known as PTSD."

I thought about the words I had just heard. PTSD? I can understand why I have it, but I just didn't want to believe it. I knew someone with PTSD, and their description of it was the most hellish experience I have ever heard! Am I going to experience my traumatizing ordeals every night in my sleep too? Is something small and simple going to remind me of the monstrous giants made of metal?

"Ah, I see." said another soldier who had walked over to us,"You brought more refugees."

"Yep," our driver replied after standing up,"Show them their rooms."

We followed the man through the corridors of tarps towards a group of reused hotels, and brought me to my room on the second floor. Room 108, a simple bedroom with a small kitchen in the corner, and a door leading to an even smaller bathroom. I laid down on the clean mattress, staring at the ceiling as the man left my room. I pulled my wallet out of my pocket and stared at my license, looking into the eyes of a man who would soon feel terror beyond that of which he had ever felt before. I pulled some small photos out of a seperate pocket on my wallet, and examined them closely. Three teenage men were in fishing uniforms in the first image. Me, Daniel, and Richard Bardot. We were in college at the time, and took the day off so we could go fishing. The second picture was of me and my ex-wife, Rachel. We were smiling at the camera from the basket of a hot air balloon.

"Was Rachel okay?" I thought."I know we broke up, but she's still a friend of mine. What if she's… "

The image of Christine's dead parents flooded my mind, before the images of Sarah's face exploding into ash drowned them. Scorched blackened bodies covered in ash, burnt beyond recognition. Red vines covering them and keeping them stuck to the ground. Tossed around by a three legged killing machine as if they were beanbags.

The horror of watching someone you love die is the worst feeling that you will ever feel. I remember the sounds of shuffling and screaming coming from the television screen in front of me, and I never felt more helpless. As she was vaporized, it was like she was staring directly at me through the TV screen.

I cried myself to sleep that night. There was nothing left to do, other than escape to the realm of fantasy and dreams. My tears guided me into the mental gate between light and shadow, and I began my slumber.

Chapter 11

They're already here

When I woke up, the room was engulfed in flames. I broke down my door and ran down the stairs until I reached the first floor. I hadn't seen anybody outside of their rooms or even in the lobby. Maybe I got out last? All questions stopped when I looked out the glass sliding doors, for a Tripod was destroying the military camps. The sky was a dark, menacing red background to a horrifying scene playing out in front of me.

"How could you?!" I turned around to the sound of William's voice behind me,"You let me die!"

His face was melting as he spoke, dripping like goo. William's eyes were bloodshot, with dark bags under them. I turned back around when I heard the awful, dreadful wail of the Tripod.

(click to hear the Tripod's horn)

It was looking directly at me, blinding spotlights invading my vision as I heard it stomping towards me. When it stopped right in front of the building's entrance, there was an eerie silence as my eyes stayed focused on the three mechanical fingers on the end of each massive metal foot. Suddenly, dozens and hundreds of those cobra shaped appendages broke through the glass doors effortlessly, and covered my body before I could even react. I couldn't move, see, hear, or breathe. I was covered head to toe in darkness.

All of a sudden, I was back in my hotel room. Nothing was burning, the sky wasn't red, and I could breathe. I was hyperventilating, sweating profusely, and shaking uncontrollably. The night was still pitch black, moonlight covering a small square patch of carpet on my floor. I got up and stared out of my bedroom window, immediately locking eyes on the same fighting machine from my nightmare. At that moment, I stumbled backwards, feeling like I was running out of time. I noticed that the titan had no heat rays ready to fire, and quickly realized that this was our captured Tripod. I felt quite silly, but still afraid. I spent the rest of the night sitting on the floor while holding my knees to my chest, and crying silently to myself.

At 6:00 am, I heard knocking on my door. I opened it and saw Daniel standing outside my doorway, he grabbed me and put his finger to his lips.

"A Tripod is coming our way," Daniel said quietly,"and we have a plan. We've shut down our power, and stayed completely silent while one of us pilots our machine. Right now, while the Martian is distracted, they'll take it down the same way they did with ours."

When we arrived at the hotel's glass sliding doors, I glanced up at the two fighting machines. They were standing completely still, staring at one another. A large group of soldiers were circling the legs of the alien machine, somehow staying unnoticed, thanks to our three legged robot. Suddenly, they tightened their giant adversary's restraints, pulling all three of its legs together. The Martian's metal vehicle was soon pushed backwards by ours. WHAM! It fell onto the sandy plains in front of our quiet base, and a crowd of military personnel started to climb onto the head of the fallen titan. A few seconds after they got into the cockpit, they pulled out the grotesque martian pilot and dragged the alien prisoner back to the base. We finally captured a living Martian!

Song 12

Chapter 12

Unfinished business

I was in the small prison, sitting directly in front of the Martian's cell. It tried to scare me by shrieking and trying to pry open the bars of the cell door. I didn't even flinch. I kept staring into its dark, beady eyes. I felt my blood boil as I gazed into the face of a cold blooded, merciless creature that wanted to kill everyone I knew. I held up a piece of paper containing eight symbols, the same exact symbols that I had memorized at the docks. The same symbols on that machine that killed my 7 year old nephew. I screamed at it, shoving the small scrap of paper in its ugly face. It backed up, nervous and confused. I could tell, though, that it recognized the symbols.

"Where is this machine?!" I screamed into its cell,"answer me, damnit!"

It merely whined in its Martian language as I got angrier with it by the second. I scurried up the stairs to meet Daniel at the entrance to the underground prison, and asked him for a gun. He handed me a Glock 18, and I ran back down the stairs, picking up an apple on the way down. I sat down in front of the cell once more, staring into the eyes of the Martian once again. I held up my weapon in one hand, and apple in the other. I fired the gun at the apple, causing it to explode into a thousand bits of fruit. After the Martian realized just how powerful my firearm was, I pointed it at the alien. It stumbled backwards, paralyzed by fear. I yelled my question at it one more time.

"Where is this machine?!" I demanded.

"Ireland! Just please stop!" It spoke english.

"Where in Ireland?" I asked.

"Dublin," the alien replied, still covering its face,"Dublin Ireland."

I lowered my weapon, and left the prison. Then, I made my way back to my hotel room.

The next day, I learned that, overnight, the Martian prisoner had died. Daniel was next to me when we heard the news, and when he processed what he had just been told, he turned to face me with a look of shock, concern and terror. I got a strong idea of what he must've been saying in his mind; "what have you done?"

"I promise," I said,"I didn't murder the Martian."

I realized just how much evidence was piled up against me, for I was the last person that had entered the building. Plus, I had entered the building with a firearm! No wonder he thought that I had killed the imprisoned alien.

"I know you," Daniel replied, finally breaking the silence,"you wouldn't do this. But there is no evidence to the contrary, so my only suspect is you."

"I understand," I said with a sigh,"but did anybody see you give me the Glock 18?"

Daniel gasped.

"Charles!" He exclaimed,"He was there!"

We ran to the detectives that were waiting outside of the main camp, and asked if a soldier named Charles had provided any information yet.

"Yes," One of them replied, staring directly at me,"Charles told us everything we need to know about what you did."

"Run!" Daniel screamed at me.

Song 13

Chapter 13

Pursued

I ran towards the entrance of the military base, and the detectives chased after me. I turned a corner through the corridor of crates, and found myself in the main area of the base. Hoping I would lose my pursuers, I zig-zagged through the crowd.

"Stop him!" I heard one of the detectives yell.

Soon, the crowd burst into chaos. Commotion and frantic movements filled the center of the base. Then, suddenly, the noise from the crowd was silenced by a sudden sound.

All of us looked up at the three legged behemoth, and the pilot spoke through the speakers.

"Calm down," our tripod's pilot said,"just calm down. Now, whatever's bothering you guys better be solved in a calm, humane fashion or we are going to have serious issues. I shouldn't have to use this thing to tell you that, you should already know that no rough housing is allowed on military grounds-"

BOOM! A cyan colored light shot through the head of our fighting machine from behind, killing the pilot instantaneously. We stared in awe of what just played out before our very eyes, then panicked when the massive machine began to lean in our direction. Most of the crowd, including me, got away in time. I ran to the back of the base, and brought Daniel with me. We got into our second humvee this week, and began to drive away from the second Martian driven monster. There was no other exit, only tall metal fences covered in a dark green tarp. I drove faster with the intent to break through the thin barrier. CRASH! The wired fence collapsed when the front of our car collided with it. We had escaped.

city background noise (for immersion)

We had driven far from the base, trying not to look back at the burning sanctuary as we drove. Neither of us knew where we wanted to go, yet we kept going regardless. We made it to a city after a few hours, and were astonished by the fact that everything remained intact. We read the sign in front of the untouched town. Birmingham. We drove around for a bit, taking in the scenery. People were walking around on the streets of this lucky city, as if the Martian attack didn't exist in the first place. We found a small and empty parking lot, and left our humvee there. It stuck out like a sore thumb, but we didn't care. All we wanted to do was live our lives again until a Martian inevitably found us. I talked to the first person I saw. She was a dark haired, blue eyed, gorgeous lady, probably in her 20s. She wore a red and black striped dress, carrying her purse over her shoulder and looking at her cell phone.

"Hello miss," I said politely, trying to hide my scars,"we're new in town, and we just got here, but how come your city hasn't been demolished like the rest of the world?"

"Oh," She replied in a disgusted manner,"you're one of those people, aren't you?"

I raised an eyebrow, wondering what she meant.

"What do you mean one of 'those' people?" I asked.

"I mean," she continued,"one of the many idiots that have come here talking about some 'Martian invasion.' like, how could you be so stupid?"

I stared at her with a look of pure anger, but decided to walk away instead.

"Hmph!" I turned away from her,"good day to you too, ma'am."

Daniel and I ventured around the maze of skyscrapers and small shops, looking for a good hiding place for when the Martians arrive. As we traveled, we saw so many people in different small groups around the city holding up signs and protesting. They were trying to warn people about the Tripods that roamed about outside of their town, but nobody believed them. Citizens just walked past them, not even looking at them. I felt a strong urge to join them, but I had to stay focused on my mission, for there was no time to dilly dally. It felt ominous, even though nothing was happening yet. We made a plan after 15 minutes of walking around the massive city, and figured out the best hiding place. We would stay near Birmingham Moor Street, and hide in the subway station there in case another Tripod arrived.

Ambience

6 hours of sightseeing and dining later, we heard screams coming from the direction of New Street. We got up from our tables outside of Costa Coffee, and ran to the underground station. Daniel ran down the stairs, while I waited at the entrance with my left hand on the railing. I stared at the buildings that blocked my view of the chaos, and gasped when the entire Lloyds Bank building was sent flying into the air. It landed with a mighty crash right into the Parcel Delivery Service, and pieces of debris flew away from the deafening collision. From behind the Rotunda Birmingham came the fighting machine that caused all of the panic, and I focused all of my attention to the symbols on the mighty, monstrous metal menace.

The symbols did not match those on my scrap of paper, so I dashed down the stairs to Daniel. It was crowded with many panicking citizens and louder than a New Year's Eve celebration, until the ground was shaken by the Tripod's loud warcry. People made room for the scared citizens who came down the steps into our safe haven. Waves of people boarded the subways, Daniel and I with them. I heard the entrance to the station rumble after one of the fighting machine's feet came down on it. Lasers made their way into the underground railway station, disintegrating dozens of members of the crowd. Then, the doors on the train shut tightly. People still tried to force them open, so I decided to help. I broke the square windows on the top half of the doors and pulled people in through the opening. The train began to move while I was pulling a 12 year old child through the window after the mother successfully boarded the subway. I never let go of her arms as I struggled against the momentum of the train. I finally got the child in safely, and reunited her with her mother. The subway train entered the tunnel at the end of the station's room, making its way through the dark catacombs of the underground.

Everyone on board stayed as silent as mice, sheltering their loved ones as the muffled sounds of chaos shook the passenger car. Husbands and wives that were separated from their beloved cried silently, holding their partners' most treasured possessions. Me and Daniel just sat next to each other silently, trying to tune out the destruction playing out above us. Then, someone pulled out a deck of cards and laid them out on the middle of the floor. People started playing poker together, betting wishes instead of money. I watched from the sidelines as Daniel joined in, he was losing, but still had fun. I listened closely to the noises above our little gathering, and heard a Tripod charging up its heat ray nearby.

"Does anybody else hear that right above us?" I questioned the players who didn't pay attention to what I was trying to say,"Seriously, it's making me nervous-"

BOOM! A huge bright light crashed through the ceiling, and everything went dark.

Chapter 14

Fighting the Fighting machines

December 8th, 2022. Manhattan, New York.

A 23 year old woman was smoking a cigarette at the bethesda fountain, constantly getting messages on her phone. Once she was finished, a homeless man with a poorly made sign on him that read "the end is near" began shouting in the middle of the park. She flicked her cold cigarette at him and walked away. Birds were chirping, and the sun was shining. Trees swayed majestically in the wind, and people walked about the park. Some of them were beginning to return home because of the alert on their phones that informed them about the Tripod figure at grover's mill, and that another cylinder had landed nearby.

But Cindy wasn't concerned with what she thought was "fake news." She made her way to the upper section of the Terrace with a bit of pep in her step. Cindy began her trek to Pilgrim Hill.

As she walked, she noticed a homeless man and woman on the side of the trail.

"Ew!" Cindy said in disgust at the sight of someone with less money than her.

She kicked some nearby pebbles in their faces, then quickly flipped her head away from them, her hair whipping the air. Then, after being so terribly rude to these poor people, Cindy strutted away.

More alerts appeared on her phone, but she didn't even care enough to look at them. Her phone vibrated in her pocket, desperately trying to warn her before it was too late. Cindy got a bit irritated at the constant buzzing, and finally pulled her phone out of her right pocket. She got in a throwing position, and chucked her phone over the trees and into the lake on the other side. A man looked at her in shock, no longer walking home.

"What is wrong with you?!" He exclaimed, "You just threw a perfectly good cell phone away!"

Cindy snickered at this man's words, "I'll just buy another one."

He stared at her in a look of pure disappointment, then continued on his way.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. Then it calmed down as quickly as it appeared. Then, it happened again! This went on for quite some time. Cindy fell to the ground, knocked off of her feet by the sudden burst of movement. Gunfire and explosions were faint, but noticeable. She sprinted towards the gunfire, rushing through the trees and bushes. When she exited the brush, her eyes met a scary sight. Military personnel, tanks, choppers, jets, bombers and soldiers filled the streets of Manhattan.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?!" Cindy exclaimed in the most entitled fashion, "Hello? Are you even paying attention to me?!"

Nope. They were busy doing their jobs, they had no time for a karen. She was drowned out by the sound of heavy gunfire, and then she stopped doing anything completely when she saw the mechanical menace. Her body froze, and her face was stuck in an expression of pure terror as the monsterous Tripod stepped out from around the corner of a skyscraper. It let out an exultant deafening howl that roared like thunder. Then it began to fire cyan lasers from two crescent shaped hands that had emerged from under the head.

"Take cover!" General Lancer commanded, ducking behind a jeep.

The machine stomped on soldiers, scorched the ones that ran, and trampled the nearby tanks. The Tripod was hit by missiles from above, and looked up at the fighter jets and helicopters that flew over the tops of the skyscrapers. It aimed the claw-like heat rays at the airborne warriors, ready to eradicate them with one clean shot.

"Incoming lasers," Lancer informed over his walkie talkie, "get ready for the hardest dodging of your lives, men."

The jets soared out of the heat ray's way, barely missing the cyan beam. Like acrobats, they flipped, turned, and maneuvered majestically through the sky, avoiding every laser shot. Reading their movements, the Martian predicted where they would move. BOOM! It hit a jet, and the entire winged vehicle exploded, fire leaping from the spot that the laser had shot. The titan took down the flying fighters like it was hunting season! BAM! They went off like bombs, getting destroyed left and right. One of the fighter jets, however, sped towards the Tripod instead of trying to escape. CRASH! To everyone's amazement, it took down the fighting machine with one swoop! The pilot gave his life to save everyone else's, he was a true hero for sure.

Lancer saluted sadly at the remains of the pilot's jet, wishing that he could've saved him, even though there was nothing he could've done to do so from the ground. The tanks had been decimated, the rocket launchers crushed under the behemoth's mighty stride, and most of the soldiers had been killed, but the Tripod was gone now, and that's all that mattered.

Chapter 15

A dark omen

I walked through the doorway of my brother's old house on maple drive, and was met with the most welcoming of greetings. William rushed over to me and hugged me tightly, and I scooped him up and held him above me. He laughed as I spun in circles, twirling him in the air. My brother and his wife entered the room, and I put William down so I could greet my bright sibling.

The sky was dark over the snow covered neighborhood, and I was on the sidewalk with William, helping him button up his winter coat. While he stood there, something behind me caught his eye. I turned around after all buttons were locked, and saw the big flashing sign that read "Toys-R-Us." I gave William a quick glance, raising an eyebrow and smiling. He started jumping up and down with excitement.

"Can I get the Mickey Mouse toy?" he asked,"Please? Please?"

I exited the school from a different door this time, still shaken up from hearing the news. My girlfriend, Rachel, was moving soon. All of a sudden, Rachel cleared her throat as my young self started to take a different path home from high school.

"I kinda hoped you wouldn't see me…" I admitted with a whisper.

She looked at me curiously, though she knew the answer, "Why?"

I couldn't look back at her, "Because it's harder this way… having to say goodbye."

She gazed at me until I finally looked back at her, "meet me at the beach, tomorrow at 10:00 pm. And we'll discuss this then."

The super moon hovered above the glittering lake in the clear night sky, surrounded by the glorious stars. I sat on the wooden man-made structure that lay between where the grass grew, and where the sandy beach began. Rachel sat beside me, her shoulder touching mine. We just sat there in silence for a few minutes, enjoying each other's company as we took in our surroundings. The lake reflected the moon and stars beautifully as fireflies began to appear around us, and the sounds of crickets chirping in the distance and the rustling of trees swaying in the wind were the only things breaking the silence. I finally broke after a few more minutes.

"Is it because I'm bisexual?" I asked suddenly. She chuckled at my question, my query caught her completely off guard.

"No," Rachel said, still smiling,"I'll never have a problem with anyone's sexuality."

I sat back a little, placing my hands palm down onto the wood underneath us, "I wish the world was more like you, as accepting as you."

She turned to me with a bored expression, "don't try to change the subject this time. Please. We both know why we came here."

Even though neither of us had spoken a word before my question, we both were thinking about the same thing. She swung her feet leisurely over the edge of the wooden platform, the sounds of nature filling the silence.

"I don't want you to go," I said solemnly, "This is the first time I've ever felt a connection this strong."

Rachel's eyes began to water, glistening whenever she faced the super moon. "You don't need me in your life all the time, you're still you. Nothing, not even me moving away, will change that. You'll keep your family business alive and be successful, even without me. You're meant for so much more than you know. You're meant to do more"

"I don't want to be greater, I don't want to do more. I just… want to stay with my friends."

Rachel held my hand, and turned back to the sea, "You'll still have Daniel, a-and Richard! You three are inseparable!"

"Until now," I replied, this response surprised her, "We're all going to separate universities for college once summer is over."

"Oh," she looked at the sand with her head slightly pointed down.

"I have no other friends besides them," I said, tearing up, "and now you're leaving too! I… I don't want to do this alone. What am I going to do?"

I slowly pulled my hand away and twiddled my fingers in slight discomfort. "I'm supposed to do all this stuff, and I have to keep my family's business going… How am I supposed to do that? I've never been anything. I've always just been the weird one."

She gripped my hand a little tighter, "Everything will fall into place and make sense. You'll figure it out as you go. I know you will."

We looked at each other, smiled, then turned our gaze to the crystallized ripples in the water ahead. We leaned our heads towards each other, almost touching. A song played in my head, a song that made the atmosphere go from melancholy to just… sad.

We were about to enter high school next month, but we didn't care. Me and Daniel sat down on the school's front staircase, it was an average summer evening. The sun sat on the horizon like a boulder in a crater, only the top half peeked out. The sky was a gorgeous gradient of orange, red, purple and pink. I stared at the sunset, taking in the magnificent scene. I looked to him, and his eyes turned away from the evening's blooming beauty to look back at me. Then, we stared at the pavement below us.

"Do you think the three of us will stay friends after high school?" I asked, breaking the almost awkward silence, "or will we drift apart like most high school friend groups?"

"Of course we'll stay friends!" Daniel replied energetically, "Us nerds have always got each other's backs, nobody can stop us! We're a team of idiots who just like hangin' around with each other."

"I just need to know where you're planning to go after college!" I interrupted, "I don't want to live in a city without you two."

"I really don't care about college," he said bluntly, "I just wanna have a good time! Also, you've definitely changed since the beginning of the year, Mr. "Lone wolf"!"

I chuckled a bit, but still didn't feel better. Then, Daniel got out his guitar case.

"Here!" he said brightly, "A jig ought to cheer ya up!"

He started playing a happy, upbeat tune. I quickly recognized it as "Sweet Caroline," and joined in when he started singing the lyrics. He was so off key, but I didn't care. We started to sing louder, and then I knew that he was aware of his terrible voice. I tried to act like I felt better afterwards, but he could tell I was still thinking about the future with fear.

I sat there beside him, twiddling my thumbs while looking around for a distraction. He started strumming his guitar, looking for the right notes. My curiosity peaked when he began tuning his instrument and counting silently, he began playing a short melody before he sang. My ears were filled with a lovely melody, but this time, I took a little longer to recognize the song. It was "Being Human" from the show "Steven Universe." I closed my eyes, becoming one with the music. Nothing else mattered, only the two of us were here.

When I opened my eyes, he had finished playing. He looked up at me, and we gazed into each others' eyes, not even noticing that it was almost night time.

Our eyes locked, our bodies froze. Fireflies and bright moonlight danced between us, but neither of us noticed. I couldn't hear the squawking of the birds or the rustling of leaves. My heart threatened to leap out of my chest, and I forgot to breathe. My eyes were glued to him, but all he could do was smile sadly.

I sat in my reclining chair, watching the news. Sarah's attention was on her paperwork, as usual. I, however, was done with my work for the day. My eyes widened at the sight of the next headline. "Meteor crashed in Grover's Mill, New Jersey." I leaned forward, and that caught Sarah's attention. She looked up from her work, her body remaining in the same thinking position. The moment we saw the scene, however, we knew right away that it was no mere meteor. It looked like a short cylinder with rectangular shapes protruding from it, and the top of the object held the outline of a lid.

Sarah got up from her desk.

"I have to see this in person!" She exclaimed while turning to walk out of the house.

"No you don't!" I replied, getting out of my chair, "what if something bad happens? What if you get hurt out there?!"

"Don't be silly," Sarah replied, "What's the worst that could happen, I get shot by a laser or something?"

"Please," I begged, putting my hand on her shoulder, "Just don't go."

Her face softened, and she sighed. She went back to her desk and I sat back in my chair, giving my undivided attention to the crazy news.

"If this is an extraterrestrial craft," I said, "I want you to know that I love you in case anything bad happens."

"I love you too," she started, "but I think you might be overreacting. If they were hostile, why would they arrive in one craft? They would most likely arrive in a swarm or something."

"But what if whatever's in that thing," I replied, "is capable of taking us all out?"

"Wouldn't it have come out of the thing already?"

I woke up, coughing up dust and ash. My vision was blurry, and everything was drowned out by a high pitched ringing in my ears. I was covered in cuts, burns and bruises. I tried to get up, but my leg was stuck under something. Meanwhile, a large piece of the subway train's roof loomed over my weakened body. I began feeling the ground for something to get me out of this situation, and felt a metal object under my shoulder. I picked it up and recognized it as a crowbar! I quickly shoved it under the chunk of torn road that held my leg prisoner, and pushed down on one side. The asphalt rose up, and I pulled my broken leg out of the rubble. I threw the metal slab off of me, and sat up slowly. I was horrified by what I laid my eyes upon. The sky was a dark, bloody red hue, all buildings surrounding me were now piles of junk, torched bodies covered the broken streets, and the red weed covered every inch of the demolished city while Tripods strided along the horizon. A few other people, in better condition than me, were also checking their surroundings. One of them dashed over to me with a clean cloth, took off their jacket, and placed it under my leg.

"Don't even think about moving," She said in a serious tone.

She placed the cloth on my fractured leg after pouring alcohol on it, and it stung! Her hands floated along my injury, and then gripped it tightly. SNAP! It felt like a cold explosion in my leg when the pain immediately made itself known, and soon my leg felt like it was back in place. She twirled cold metal wire around my shattered limb, and looked around the piles of junk before pulling a tall boot off of a dead man. I was shocked by the fact that she just took something from a corpse as she walked over to me with the stolen boot in her hands, and placed it on my foot.

"This should be a good placeholder for a cast." she said, satisfied with her work.

Suddenly, I remembered something.

"Daniel!" I gasped.

I got up, ignoring the pain, and started to search the rubble for my missing companion. I rescued about 4 people before finding my target, Daniel. He was unconscious, buried under broken glass and one of the subway's doors. I pulled him out, and laid him down on the towel I was just on. He was cold, and barely breathing. I felt his pulse, it was barely there. His heart wasn't pumping blood fast enough. He was dying.

I stood up, still staring at my friend's dying body, and walked away. I didn't want to witness my good friend die, since he would most likely die in his sleep. I didn't want to lose him while standing right in front of him. I picked up my pace, and soon began to run across the pulverized plains. I left everything behind as I dashed through the ruins of a once thriving city. What used to be the rotunda birmingham was now layers of broken glass and concrete, St Martin's Queensway was entirely gone, no trace of it was left. While I walked along the dirt road that replaced the Queensway, I almost tripped over a concrete shard from the crater in place of the 1000 Trades Square. A few seconds later, as I walked further into the hall of walls, my eyes danced along the scorched and cracked stone bricks that lined the flat canvases painted with destruction. Only some broken walls of the fallen structures had remained standing, emitting dark trails of smoke and ash into the air like a worm wriggling to the surface. The roads were ripped off of the ground like a bandaid, still leaving no trace. The sky was getting gray, almost completely blocking out the blood red atmosphere. The apocalyptic scene faded slowly into dawn, gray clouds still covering the sky.

Chapter 16

Hijacked

The Birmingham town hall cast a shadow over the crater, somehow still standing. I sat in front of the building, facing the crater, and cried. I sat in front of town hall for 2 months, occasionally getting up and pacing in circles, along with scavenging for food nearby. My leg was almost fully healed, but was still sore. My sobbing went unheard by anyone, for I was too far from anyone. But I wasn't too far from anything. CRASH! Something big hit the building behind me, and a subway train landed on the edge of the crater before falling in. I climbed up the tan bricks and curved windows to the pillars that made this building such a spectacle, making sure not to irritate my wounded leg, and hid behind one of the stone cylinders. Pieces of debris fell in front of the town hall as a tall, three fingered foot landed in the crater, somehow making the crash site bigger. The blinding lights glided over the place where I had been just a few seconds ago, and then lifted to face in the direction of the demolished subway I had just ran away from. Its legs strided across the land, reminding me of a jellyfish hovering through the waters. I couldn't just stand here and let it kill everyone there, I had to do something! Against my better judgment, I ran from my hiding place and observed the area.

I spotted a camouflage jeep tipped on its side next to the post office, just on the corner of the block across from me. I limped over to it, and found a belt of grenades in the trunk. I pulled them out, and got closer to the mighty Tripod. I pulled the pin from one of them, and threw it with all of my force. BOOM! It exploded on impact, causing the invisible shield to show itself. It was a swirl of green and blue light surrounding the violent orange and yellow from the grenade. It stopped in its tracks, and started to turn around. Here it was, a Tripod. One of the many fighting machines that indiscriminately took millions of lives, slaughtered towns, and leveled our structures. Now, it's giving its undivided attention to ME. It stared at me for a second, its eyes sharing an unspoken threat. I turned and limped in the opposite direction, fearing for my life. I heard the hum of the heat rays charging up as it gave chase, almost as if taunting me. My broken leg ached in protest, but I couldn't stop. I desperately tried to look for a wall, but nothing made itself known as I helplessly tried to escape the metallic titan. The deafening roar of my pursuer echoed through the city, but it sounded different this time. The audio was cutting in and out every few milliseconds, and started to fade out slowly. The stomping feet got slower, and the heat ray was silent. Burning cyan lasers hit the ground in front of me, then moved the left. It missed me by a long shot! I turned around, and saw that the Tripod wasn't moving. Its lights flickered as its loud horn finally ceased, and I stopped as well. I felt like it was planning something, but it never moved again. I backed away slowly, then turned around and tried to run.

'Why am I still scared of it?' I thought to myself,'it's not attacking me, and I'm not in danger, so why do I still feel uncomfortable? Is this what PTSD feels like?'

I stopped in my tracks, but couldn't bring myself to face it. I waited for a rumble, the sound of mechanical legs lifting off of the ground, anything! Then, I finally turned around, my body ready to run if needed. The light wasn't even on anymore, and I started to head towards the mysterious monster. No sounds were coming from inside of the Martian mech, so I began to climb the tall statue by one of its legs. I got to the torso and did the stupid choice of looking down. The shiny silver legs shimmered in the morning light, the knee, however, was made out of some metal with an oily texture. The knees were all higher up, all right underneath the torso. I got up onto the small metal platform, accidently cutting my hand on the thin sharp armor plates on the front of the body. They were probably used for both offensive and defensive maneuvers.

I looked up, and scanned the bottom of the head for the 8 symbols I had written down. I circled the platform, keeping my hand on the dark gray neck for balance. Finally, I found the location of the strange shapes. It wasn't a match, though. I climbed into the hole in the back of the neck, and the metal sliding door behind me shut tightly! I was trapped in darkness. I was in a small area, letting my hands feel for anything that seemed like it would help. My fingertips glided across the surface of a round little button, so I pressed it. The floor twitched, then began to rise. I was beginning to see a light above me as I was being brought into the head of the machine. Once I made it to the top, I saw a large tank of clear liquid at the front of the dimly lit room with a Martian dangling in the middle. I stepped out of my circular platform, and right when I did, the tank was drained within seconds. The Martian was pushed aside by a slab of metal that emerged from the bottom of one of the walls, and the transparent door opened. A metal claw grabbed my torso from behind, and lifted me into the clear box. I landed with a THUMP, and the claw retracted, closing the door behind it. I was trapped.

I pounded my fists on the glass-like alien box, but to no avail. Suddenly, the liquid from earlier started to pour violently into the wide box. I was knee-deep in Martian water within seconds, and quickly tried to swim up to the top. Soon, the water was up to my neck as I pressed my face against the ceiling of the box, and I was engulfed with the alien liquid. Somehow, I could still breathe. The liquid could enter my lungs without blocking air! Incredible!

The sounds of clicking and whirring surrounded my little box as lights flickered on. The front metal wall of the room lifted, revealing a clear window. My eyes adjusted to the light and I stared at the broken buildings below me. I was looking through the eyes of the Tripod! I leaned forward in the water, causing the Tripod to begin its march forward. I looked backwards, and the entire room shifted to where I was facing, leaving my body in the same position somehow. I leaned towards the direction of the demolished subway station.

Chapter 17

Run from them

Mr. Bardot and his family slowly creeped out from their hiding place, and were met with rubble. Together, they pushed the debris aside, and stepped out to see more rubble scattered across the base. The attacking Tripod was in combat with their own, and Richard led his family towards the nearest exit carefully and quietly. When they got there, the kids started to get excited.

"Look! Look!" Phoebe said with joy,"Truck! Truck!"

Richard and Christine glanced at each other and ran to the black pickup truck that caught their daughter's attention. They got in and started the engine, for the keys had been left on the dashboard. The truck broke through the wired fence with tarp on it, and drove away.

3 hours of driving later, they were beginning to catch a glimpse of a military humvee heading towards Birmingham on the highway. The pickup truck trailed it for miles, until the family finally reached Birmingham.

Mr. Bardot had the sole intention of talking to the driver ahead of them the moment he got the chance, but his attention was taken away by the sight of a flourishing and untouched city. All skyscrapers were standing tall, as if the Bardots had traveled back in time to before the Martians arrived. As they all gazed at the buildings towering above them, the humvee left them in the dust.

"Is it over?" Xavier asked.

"Not yet," Christine replied in a serious tone,"This is just temporary."

After they hid on the subway train, it was hit with a heat ray on its way out of the city.

Mr. Bardot was woken up by Phoebe's adorable toddler face in front of a dark crimson sky. He got up, and quickly laid eyes on the blue blanket the rest of his children were in while they were still on the train. Richard lifted the blanket, only to find one of the children. Carson was knocked out cold, but still breathing. Mr. Bardot carried him in his arms, still covered by the fuzzy blanket.

"Xavier!" Richard cried out into the valley of ruins,"Xavier! Christine!"

"Over here!" Christine shouted from the other side of a pile of rubble,"Help me get Xavier out from under this debris!"

He rushed over, still carrying Carson as Phoebe followed close behind. It was horrible. Xavier was covered in blood and still bleeding, covered in bruises and cuts. Christine was trying to lift the rubble but was too wounded and tired to do it on her own, so Richard set Carson down gently, and hurried over to help her. They lifted with all their strength, and the giant slab of concrete finally rose.

"Pull Xavier out, Phoebe!" Mr. Bardot instructed.

She did, and when the child's entire body was out of the way, the parents dropped the slab onto the torn pavement.

After a nurse patched Xavier up, the Bardots all sat together and played 'Eye Spy.'

"Eye spy with my little eye…" Xavier said,"something red!"

"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!" Phoebe said excitedly with her hand raised,"Everything!"

"Yeah!" Xavier replied happily.

The parents chuckled at that, for the red mist had indeed lowered to their level. It was like a bloody fog surrounding an already apocalyptic sight.

"Eye spy with my eye…" Phoebe said with her hand to her chin in a thinking position,"something big!"

They looked around, until one of them came up with a response.

"Uh," Carson started,"that wall over there?"

"Nope!" Phoebe replied, shaking her head in a sassy manner,"It's that three legged bug thing over there!"

Giant? Three legged!? Richard thought to himself, Oh no…

The Bardots all looked in the direction of where she was pointing, and the silhouette of a relentless, merciless Tripod strided towards the scattered gathering of survivors.

Chapter 18

Martian license

I found myself at the edge of the gathering covered in red fog, and began to speak. But the moment I did, the fighting machine I was in started to roar viscously. The sound made my entire body shake and sweat.

"Turn it off!" I screamed to nobody.

All of a sudden, it stopped. The Tripod understood me and obeyed me!

"Uh," I said, thinking about how I should say my next sentence,"turn off the horn?"

I waited for a second, then began to say what I intended to say before.

"Hi," I moved back, startled by the amplification of my voice,"Um, I come in peace?"

The expressions on everyone's faces down below me in the plains of rubble went from terrified to relieved the moment I said that. I nearly cried when I saw the Bardots waving to me, for I thought that they surely died in the attack on the military base. Everyone's cheering went silent when I started to speak again.

"We can win this fight," I said over the speakers, and everyone started to cheer at my statement until going silent again,"As long as we all stick together. The Martians think that we have no solution, but we do! We sneak around in these hunks of junk, then we walk into their homebase and destroy it. They won't even know what hit em! But for now, we have to wait, and listen-"

I stopped when I saw three lights high up in the sky, only partially blocked by the fog. The silhouette of a Tripod materialized and entered the perimeter. I stood completely still, and tried to act like a real Martian Tripod.

"Turn the horn on," I whispered. My voice was too quiet to be heard and amplified

The only way to know if my command worked, was to talk again. If I spoke english, it would know I was human, if the horn went off, I would blend in. I took the risk and decided to speak.

"Hello!" I said. My voice wasn't amplified, instead, the horn blared in all directions.

I started to charge up my heat rays and pointed them at the ground, pretending to be a Martian. Everyone's faces turned to fear, and I hesitated before I shot at the ground.

I purposefully missed any people and hit the ground, making debris fly all over the place like an eruption from a volcano. It made it seem like I had hit a group of people, and the Tripod seemed pleased. It started to walk over to me, and I panicked. I quickly looked up and aimed my heat rays at the Martian, then fired before it could react. The bright cyan light cut straight through the head, exiting the back and fading away in the red fog. It fell backwards onto more piles containing various sizes of debris, and the red fog covered the head from visibility.

"You're no longer allowed to use that… that thing!" The nurse from earlier lectured me,"you could've killed us!"

"I tried to make it look like I hit you," I explained,"so I could blend in with the Martian! But then it started to head towards me, and…"

I looked at the fallen machine, even the three fingertips were taller than me. I looked back at the Tripod I had driven just a few minutes ago, and sighed. Another group of survivors didn't trust me, except this time, it was my fault.

"And your plan," She continued,"is absolutely psychotic!"

I headed over to a small area in our little attempt at a camp. This was the medical sector, where the nurse usually healed and bandaged other members of our group. Daniel was sitting up, he was in a sling and his head was bandaged. She had saved him! I felt so guilty, for I had left my best friend in his time of need. He must've been so scared on his own, wondering if Richard and I were dead. I took another step before he turned to face me, and his face lit up with excitement. He tried to jump out of his bed, but quickly stopped and held his head. He must still have been in terrible condition for him to hurt just by getting out of bed! I told him to get some rest, but he just tried again! I decided to walk over and talk so he wouldn't have to hurt himself trying to get up. He finally stopped when I sat down in the little chair next to his bed, and he leaned in close.

"I have a plan to stop the Martians," He whispered into my ear.

I stared in pure shock and disbelief.

Chapter 19

One last poison breath

Finally, someone other than me and the dead military base's commander had an idea! I leaned in too, eager to hear about this new plan. Daniel looked around, making sure that nobody else could hear.

"You see," Daniel said in a mysterious voice,"We humans, as humans, are done for! We don't know enough! We run around losing our heads, screaming and leading them right to us, bothering them with guns and feeble attempts at fighting back. We've got to adjust to the way the world is now, we can't fight them. We have to fight for survival now, live off of mother nature!"

"What would we use to pass the time?" I asked.

"Well," He continued,"There won't be TV in a million years or so. No more games, sports, movies, or broadway musicals. If it's entertainment you're after, then I guess the game's up!"

"Then what is there to live for?" I asked rhetorically.

"Life, That's what!" Daniel replied in a strangely happy manner considering that the life we're living is currently hell,"I want to live, and I know that you do too. I know an excellent hiding place, you know where?"

I shook my head.
"Underground." Daniel said with a hushed voice,"I know the red weed is clogging some of our sewer systems, but I've seen its weakness! Water. It rained here while you were gone. Sure, it was only a little, but look!"

He pointed at the plains of perished houses and buildings, and I noticed that the red vines were now fading. Many branches of red weeds were shriveled up like raisins, with a gray hue slowly taking over its bright red color.

"It's dying!" Daniel said with joy,"We could live in the sewers, sweet and clean now, after the rain. And what's so bad about living underground, eh? It's not so good living up here, if you want my opinion. We could build tunnels and big ol' rooms with buildings in 'em! We'll have banks, jails, and schools. We'll teach the kids, not poetry and rubbish, SCIENCE! So we can get everything working! Just think about it, 4 or 5 of those Martian machines turning on on their own. Not piloted by dumb little potato shaped aliens, but humans! People who have learned the way! It might even be in our lifetime!"

I looked at him with doubt, but continued listening to his plan anyway.

"Whoosh! With our heat rays!" Daniel exclaimed,"Whoosh! And they're running and dying, beaten at their own game! Mankind on top again!"

I thought about how amazing this plan was, then realized just how difficult it would be to find enough survivors in order to put the plan into action. I thought back to the demolished city of London, and how we hid from the Tripod. The red weeds had been floating on the surface of the water, disproving Daniel's theory. Why were the red stringy vines dying now? My train of thought was cut short by a faint hissing sound, as if a bottle of febreeze was being used. I looked around the small gathering of people, trying to find out where the noise was coming from. An old woman coughed near the source of the sound, and I started to head over to them. I jogged along the broken ground, trying not to trip, for I would surely hit my head on something sharp on the way down. I slowed my pace a little when the elderly individual's coughing started to escalate to hacking and gagging, until I stopped.

"Are you alright?" I asked,"Raise your hand if you need help, or shake your head if you're choking on something."

She raised her hand, and looked at me with tears in her eyes. She tried to speak, but all that came out was wheezing. Her eyes were bloodshot, her face was turning purple, and her entire body was shaking.

"Medic!" I shrieked, horrified and empathetic,"Get this woman help now!"

The sound of the nurse's footsteps got closer as I stared at the old lady with terror printed on my face like a tattoo. She started to fall, but I caught her before she could hit the ground. Suddenly, as I lifted her up, my lungs started to flare. Breathing was difficult all of a sudden, and I didn't know why or how. I pulled my hands away from her when I felt something wet on the back of my hand, it was blood. I turned her around to face me, and somehow saw an even more horrible sight. She was coughing up blood, but the blood was much darker than normal blood. Her veins were visible now, but instead of a faint hint of green and blue, there was just pitch black. It was like a giant black tree was spreading its branches across her skin. I turned to the nurse as my throat started to itch, she was covering her mouth with her hand.

"Get away from her!" She commanded,"It's not safe!"

I wobbled away, almost unable to use my legs. Eventually, cool and crisp air entered my lungs again, replenishing my energy. Daniel ran to me, and stayed close as we watched the scene unfold a few feet ahead of us. I saw a large plume of smoke exiting the fallen Tripod behind the old lady, and then, she collapsed on the shards of what used to be the ground. The nurse tried to run, but started coughing and wheezing. She fell to her knees, and couldn't get back up. I couldn't take it anymore. I sprinted across the broken pavement, took her hand, and we ran away from the spreading poisonous gas. The smoke covered the horizon in a cloud of poison, and I ran as fast as I could. Daniel helped others evacuate, but I saw no sign of the Bardots.

"Dad!" I heard Phoebe scream from ahead of me.

"Go with uncle Daniel!" Richard yelled from the edge of the smoke. He was pulling Christine out of the black fog, but to no avail. Her foot was trapped in a large chunk of ground, and I made a split second decision that I'm still proud of to this day.

"Go." I said to the nurse as she stood up,"I'll catch up soon!"

I ran towards the toxic fog, and used all of my strength to pull Christine out of the ground. We were all covered in the front of the cloud, so we ran as fast as we could. I had to pull them out at first, but once they exited the smoke, they're energy returned. I only glanced back at the broken machine once, just so I could identify it.

Of course, it wasn't the one I was looking for.

Chapter 20

Lost

The crowd of people suddenly scattered, trying to leave this poisonous gas behind them. I ran through the group, trying to find Daniel in the stampede of people. The crowd was beginning to split into multiple groups as we tried to scatter away from the dark cloud like mice. Eventually, I found myself at the edge of a block when I noticed that I was alone. I had been fearing for my life, so I never noticed how far I had gotten from the crowd. I saw a deep blue color on the horizon, and decided to examine closer. The beach sat on the edge of the town, red weeds swaying in the water. It was Holyhead. Faint shades of red were mixed into the shore's blue radiance, blood was in the water. I thought I saw a few rowboats to my left, almost out of sight. I squinted my eyes, but that didn't make much of a difference. I waited, occasionally waving my arms to get their attention, but they never seemed to notice. I stared at the figures as they floated by, gazing with fear as I realized something was wrong. Horribly wrong. They weren't boats, they were bodies. The six or seven corpses floated across the shore, and I was paralyzed with fear. Some of them were people I saw on TV, some looked familiar, and some of them were nobodies. Another group of bodies joined them, and the number of bodies grew every second. I covered my mouth before I could scream, for I had never seen such a large quantity of dead people in one place. Their empty faces and pale skin never left my sight, until 3 minutes later, when they had finally all passed by. I searched around the sand, trying to look for something to get my mind off of the horror show I just witnessed. Just a few yards away, lay a canoe. I didn't even feel hopeful when I saw it, I just ran to it. The Martians had managed to drain all of the hope from my soul, and it felt terrible. I pulled the blue and green canoe onto the water, and climbed in.

I had paddled for what seemed like hours, but I never stopped. To be completely honest, I don't really know how long it was before I stopped to take a break. I didn't have a working watch anymore, for the massive EMP from the Martians took care of that. I no longer had Daniel by my side, I was alone. Alone with my thoughts.

I looked back, I wasn't even close to Dublin Ireland! I sat for a few minutes, trying to ignore that constant voice in my head that told me how much of a coward I was. I felt so guilty, for I had just abandoned Daniel in a state of fear. Then, my stomach sank when the thoughts of my dead wife, Sarah, began to creep into my brain. I started to paddle again when my eyes began to water, trying to ignore the pain. It was so lonely in the middle of the ocean, and I had no food. My stomach hurt and my muscles were sore, but I kept paddling along the crystal waters.

BUMP! My canoe ran into something, and I turned around. Immediately, my eyes were met with a blinding light 100 feet above my small boat. I screamed for help, but then the light turned away from me. Once I was able to see the source of the light, I felt like an idiot. It was a lighthouse, and I had made it to Dublin, Ireland. I got out of my boat and began my climb up the shore's rocks, until I made it to the grassy surface above.

As I walked through even more green plains, I spotted Howth Castle up ahead. For some reason, the Martians left this remarkable structure alone. The odd maze of trees greeted me when I kept going in my steady direction.

A few miles later, I came across a large clearing in the wide area filled with demolished roads and buildings. It was Saint Anne's Park. Since the buildings of Clontarf were leveled, I was able to see Dublin port from all the way over here. A strange feeling of vengeance filled my brain like water in a lake. I know people would usually feel angry when feeling something like that, but it made me feel… good. It was the first thought in a long time that made me feel… "happy". I'm being cautious with my description because it was a twisted kind of joy, the type that might make a murderer grin. I was completely prepared to take that Martian's machine apart, even though I had no plan on how I would do such a thing. I kept walking, and my corrupted happiness vanished when I discovered the remains of Clontarf Castle. There were bodies everywhere, some were burnt beyond recognition, others were smashed to bits. I can take a good guess on how these people were burned, but the Tripods could've done anything to squish and take apart the other victims. This time, only two or three trees had been trampled, as if the Martians wanted them to stay. I tried my best to avoid stepping on the hundreds of corpses, but I accidentally tripped on one of them as I lost myself in my thoughts. It was a man, probably in his mid 50s. He was covered in bruises, scars, and splinters. Pieces of his body were missing, but unlike most other victims of the Tripods, this one was taken apart without care. No precise movements were made, which was unlike the Martians to do. The alien invaders had taken many people apart carefully, as if they still had respect for our anatomy, but I guess they don't care anymore. I looked around him, trying to find the tool that caused his brutal demise.

Then, it all clicked. The trees were the weapon. I examined the shattered wooden creatures of mother nature's making, and found blood covering the broken tree bark. The monstrous Tripods had grabbed people and bashed them against the trees, as if they were dolls to play with. I somehow managed to get even angrier at the Martians, and I knew I looked forward to killing one of them.

Fair view park was now out of sight, and I locked eyes on a tall dark figure in the middle of Dublin. My intentions were as dark as the silhouette of the three legged monster, and I entered the slightly mangled city of Dublin, Ireland.

Chapter 21

The battle of Dublin

I cracked my knuckles as I walked towards the mighty machine, ready to strangle the pilot. Military equipment was scattered along the streets, and I got myself some gear while staying out of the Martian's sight. By the time I finished scavenging for weapons and military grade defensive gear, I had a bullet-proof chestplate, a soldier's helmet, a belt with multiple guns in every pocket, camouflage pants with as many knives as I could fit in every pocket, a machete, a belt of charged grenades around my shoulder, and a grappling hook.

When I was underneath the titan, my full, undivided attention was captured by the familiar symbols on the bottom of the Tripod's head.

I finally found it, after all this time, I FINALLY found it! I would've cheered, but I knew that would be a very stupid decision. I snuck under the Tripod's legs, and threw a grenade out from under the giant's legs in the opposite direction it was facing. It turned around, probably expecting a group of military officials to greet it with the same empty glare. As it reared its massive metal head, I ran away from the explosion. I was almost crushed by the massive metal feet of the three legged titan as it turned around, but I made a conscious effort to stay away from where I thought the feet were going to land. Since I was still within the forcefield's grasp, I shot the grappling hook at the back of the Tripod's torso, and rose up into the air. It must've felt the hooks dig into its back, for it tried shaking me off before I could make it. It failed, however, and I climbed up onto the platform below the head. Before I walked into the elevator in the neck, though, I heard screaming and crying. I turned around, and my eyes found two saucer shaped metal baskets, each holding a group of scared people. Old ladies yelling and panicking, mail men trying to think about how they could've done something about this, children that sat and cried, teens screaming for their parents, widows with faces of hopelessness, and wounded soldiers as hopeless as the rest.

Instead of walking into the elevator, I jumped onto the left metal basket, and clung to their metal wires. I climbed to one of its hinges, and began cutting it with my machete. It had no effect on the alien metal. I jumped back down, and made a promise to the Martian's hostages.

"I'll come back for you!" I yelled,"I'll hijack this hunk of junk, and save all of you!"

Instead of cheering, they just stared. I tried understanding why, but then they panicked. They pointed behind me and said "Martian!" I turned around, and met with my target.

Its body was as big as a bear, and its hands were replaced with metal! Where the palms would usually be were polished, titanium spheres with three black wires sticking out. The three wires acted like fingers, with smaller spheres on the ends of them, helping it grab objects. It stood on three thin legs, and its wrinkly face held two dark voids for eyes. It stomped over to me, ready to throw me off, or possibly put in the cage with the rest of the humans. I gripped my machete and swung at its metal hands, but it's not like my metal blade would magically cut metal. It merely scraped the palms of its hands. Then, it tried to grab me by the shoulders, but I ducked before it could grip me. BAM! It lowered its hands and slammed my back, knocking me to the ground. POW! Metal hit me in the face, it kicked me. I stumbled back, trying to balance myself before I fell off of the Tripod. Through the blurred lens of my pain, I saw its fingers tighten into a makeshift fist. I ducked, barely missing the powerful iron punch, then leaped forward. I tackled the Martian to the metal floor, and began punching it in its face. Rapid hits were being dealt, but it didn't seem to be as painful as it would have been had I done this to a human. I was lost in the fury, I wasn't thinking straight anymore. That's when the alien gripped my wounded leg, and squeezed with all of its strength. I stopped punching, and fell off of the Martian. I was writhing in agony on the metallic ground, and I didn't even notice it get up until it was standing right above me. It towered over my collapsed body, and reached for my head. I quickly grabbed a gun from my belt, and fired an AK-47 at the Martian. Bullets flew straight through the alien's torso, and a black liquid followed behind them. I ran out of ammo quickly, for I never even thought to check how much ammo was in each gun. But I barely cared about that, for I had tons more. I was about to pull out a Glock 18, when it was kicked out of my hand.

A thin, transparent needle slowly made its way out of the creature's mouth, and it grabbed my entire face with one hand. Every finger wrapped all of the way around my head, and it leaned in, it was about to drink the fluids out of my skull! I grabbed my machete, and before I knew it, its hand was gone.

"WWWRREEAAAHHHHH!" It screeched.

My goal was to kill it instantly, not make its death painful. Nothing deserves to die slowly!

"But it did even worse things than that!" I thought to myself,"It's only fair if I do this."

I tried ignoring those thoughts, but I couldn't. They rang in my head like bells, until they were the only things I thought about. At that moment, I believe I became a monster. My thought process was that of a killer, and I didn't even care at the time. I formed the most disturbing thoughts, yet my expression never changed from the blank, emotionless canvas it was a second ago. I grabbed the end of its mouth needle, and tugged. It broke off like glass, and it shrieked louder. It killed my nephew, it ended so many innocent lives, and I was going to punish it. I felt powerful, so very powerful. As it fell, I glared into its empty eye sockets, hoping that it could hear all the terrible things I was thinking. I turned away, and it tried to crawl away. It stopped on the edge of the platform, and called for help. But nobody came.

I grabbed its shoulders, and pulled it up. Good riddance, I thought. Then, I kicked it off of the platform. It fell, still trying to call its comrades. It fell for what felt like eternity, then SPLAT! It landed with a sickening crunch! Then, I returned to my senses, and realized what I had just done. Part of me felt like justice had been served, but most of my mind thought "Oh god, what have I become?"

Chapter 22

Primal instinct

It would be a lie to say that it didn't feel at least a tiny bit good to defeat that Martian. In fact, it felt incredibly thrilling! But the superb feeling didn't last long, for my joy was cut short by the cries of those that were still trapped inside of the twin baskets. I entered the dark elevator inside of the neck of this mighty metal Tripod. I was raised into another dark room, with yet another clear tank holding transparent fluid. I climbed in, draining the interior of the crystal box. Suddenly, I was back in the breathable water. I told it to open the baskets, and I heard a muffled CLICK behind me. I knelt down, and so did the machine. I commanded it to release the disk-like cages, but before I could finish my sentence, I was knocked out by a bright flash of light from behind me.

I woke up, but it didn't really feel like I did. It felt surreal all of a sudden, as if I had been dreaming. My vision was blurry, and my ears wouldn't stop ringing a horrible screeching pitch. Everything hurt, but I tried to get up anyway. A brutal wound along my arm kept me from doing that, however, so I laid back down on my face. It felt so… harsh. My puny human form was never prepared for something like this! Gravel dug into my knees like men in quicksand, but that felt like nothing compared to the burns and bruises covering my body from head to toe. My remaining military gear was barely on me, and I felt as helpless as an ant under a man's foot. A deafening sound rattled my bones like I was having a heart attack, and I pushed through the searing pain to get up on my feet. Through my dizziness, my eyes found a large silhouette just half a mile away from me. I reacted immediately, and tried my best to run, but I was merely limping at this point. I was like a worm trying to escape a lawn mower, for it had begun its pursuit. Each step almost made me stumble to the ground, but it's not like it would've made a difference, for I was as slow as a sloth! My limping must've been pitiful to watch, but of course, the Martian didn't care. My weapons were gone, my hopes had been crushed, and my mindset had switched to a helpless, wounded, animal.

It let out another warcry, as if to mock me. I tried to reach for another gun, but the pain was too much. I fell to the ground, punished by my own body for moving my arm. I felt defeated, and began to see death as the better option. I lay weak and burned on the broken pavement, and turned onto my back. My eyes were immediately met with the blinding lights of my killer. I was put into my place, cowering under the might of this shiny giant. I closed my eyes, fully expecting the horrible fate that I would soon face. The heat rays charged up, and… nothing happened. I opened my eyes, and to my surprise, its lights were flickering. After 2 or 3 seconds of waiting, they shut off completely.

CREEEAAAAAKK! The sound of squeaking metal pierced through my ears, making the ringing almost inaudible. It was beginning to lean forward, and I threw myself out of the way, for I had a gut feeling that it would fall. But it never did. I took a deep breath, and pulled myself up onto my feet again, trying not to fall. I stumbled away from the towering titan, terrified to my core. The gray cloud of smoke and ash surrounded me as I backed away from the Tripod.

Then, suddenly, the colossal killing machine I was just inside of started to get up and look around. My mind raced as I froze, paralyzed by fear. There was nobody piloting that one, so why is it still operational? As I lost myself in my thoughts, however, my head was pulled out of the clouds by the machine's head suddenly jolting to point in my direction. Not even a second had passed before it started coming over to me, violently shoving the other paralyzed giant aside. I only took two steps before I was lifted up into the air by one of the mechanical limbs.

I was brought under the Tripod's chin, instead of being put into the basket. There were still people inside, and thankfully, all of them were still alive. Injured, but alive. A hatch opened from under the machine's head, and I was shoved into the head. When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the glass box. It brought me back to the cockpit!

"Are you ok sir?" asked a female voice.

"Who is that?" I asked, looking around the room for any sign of life,"and why are you concerned for MY safety?"

"I am Tripod unit 903312cycle43" replied the female voice.

"You can speak!?" I said, shocked.

"Only when you want me to, sir." it said calmly.

I suddenly felt adrenaline rush through my body when a thought occurred to me.

"W-what would y-you do if I…" I said with hesitation,"was… h-human?"

"I would follow your orders regardless of what species you were." It reassured me.

A wave of relief washed over me, and I thought about what to say next.

"Can you go to Holyhead, England?" I asked after a little pause.

"Is there anything important there?" The computer asked me.

"Yeah," I replied,"Daniel Reyer."

It turned around, then made its way to the South Stack.

Chapter 23

Taking down a monster

Song 22

"Shawn!?" Daniel screamed through the empty streets of Holyhead,"If you can hear me, say something!"

Alas, nobody responded. It seemed almost too quiet, but hope still remained in Daniel's heart. He ran down the streets shouting Shawn's name, but the only response he received was the echo of his own voice. However, he kept running through the dismantled city. His shoes hit the broken brick roads, echoing almost as far as his yelling. But when he reached the edge of town, he found nobody. He quickly decided to head to the other side of town. When he turned around, however, he spotted a certain three legged fighting machine in the distance. The horn blared, but it wasn't as loud as it usually was. Instead, the corrupted noise was barely audible. The roar, or rather a wheeze, kept cutting in and out, glitching and breaking down. It no longer sounded like the mighty warcry it used to be, but instead was a cry for help. The metal beast was completely and utterly still, as if nobody was inside of the cockpit anymore.

Daniel got closer, taking small and slow steps towards the frozen figure. As he walked, something caught his eye. Birds were circling around the Tripod, pecking at the metal. It took a few seconds for Daniel to realize what this meant. The force fields were no longer operational!

A jolt of sudden realization and bravery struck Daniel like lightning, and he looked around for a weapon before the force fields could activate again. He found an AK-47 in a military jeep that was flipped over on its side. He looked inside the gun barrel to make sure it had ammo, then sprayed the Tripod with bullets. The metal was surprisingly fragile, for it had torn off like aluminum foil. He dropped the gun and rushed to an entire grenade belt on the top of one of the piles of rubble. He chucked a few after pulling their pins, then watched as they released grand explosions directly in front of the fighting machine's face. The titan's lights began to flicker until they stayed lit, and it started to move again! Daniel's battle ready mindset never wavered, though. He only began to feel a little nervous when he thought he had heard the faint sound of the heat rays charging up. As Daniel looked for more weaponry, the Tripod clumsily pointed its crescent moon shaped laser heads at him. The busy man didn't notice the laser guns pointing at him until his concentration was broken by the louder whirring of the machine's heat rays. Immediately, he knew what that noise meant, and he jumped out of the way. When he got up, he could still hear the lasers' sizzling heat behind him. As he ran, the laser followed right behind him, and he could even feel the presence of the heat rays. Burning heat radiated off of the laser, toasting his back like a batch of cookies in the oven.

Then, he spotted a tank. Excitement filled him like a child seeing an ice cream truck on the weekend, and he bolted over to the armed vehicle. Daniel climbed up the side of the hulking tank, and fell face first into the cockpit, still filled with glee. He turned it on, and aimed the cannon at the Martian Tripod.

"Suck it, Bitch!" He cursed before firing at the alien mech.

The huge bullet sped through the cloudy sky, until BAM! The torso was torn apart, pieces of it flying off. Daniel cheered by himself inside of the tank, pumping his fists in the air. He jumped out of the tank, celebrating his victory over this giant machine by reaching down and throwing leaves into the air like confetti. Daniel reached into his backpack and pulled out one of the many bottles of vodka he had stuffed into the bag, and chugged it viciously. Even though this was but a small victory, he partied like it was the end of the world. After all this time, he finally stood a chance against the massive metal murderers! The Tripod leaned to the left, then fell to the ground with a deafening SMASH!

"I got one!" Daniel yelled into the air,"I really got it! Whoo!"

He jumped up and down, whooping and cheering. His celebration was cut short by another loud noise, and he fell to the ground after flinching. Fear covered him immediately, jumping into his body like a demon. Another Tripod was there, but it too was as still as a statue. Its horn was just as damaged as the last Tripod's too. Daniel waited on the ground, lying on his back. He got up after a few minutes of waiting, and headed over to the other frozen machine, leaving the other Tripod burning on the rubble.

Daniel cautiously strided to the other frozen fighting machine, and stopped at its feet. He lifted his hand slowly, ready to run if the titan suddenly attacked him. Daniel placed his palm on the foot's glistening metal surface. He felt a wave of relief wash over him when the Tripod didn't react. Then, Daniel pulled his hand away from the appendage, curling his fingers inward to create a fist. WHAM! He punched a dent in the Tripod's foot, slightly moving the toe backwards. The Martian Tripod leaned forward, threatening to fall on him! Daniel leaped out of the way before it could crush him, barely making it in time. CRASH! Dust and small debris flew everywhere when it landed, causing Daniel to cough profusely. He got up onto his knees, then onto his feet. Daniel turned to face the fallen fighting machine, coughing out the last bits of dust from his lungs.

He just stared at it, suddenly feeling no need to celebrate his second win over the Martians. Daniel was just dumbfounded, his mind swirling with confusion. He wondered more and more about how they could've been so weak all of a sudden, coming up with theories, then immediately dismissing them. The man just kept staring, completely unaware of just how creepy he looked while just… standing and never breaking eye contact with the collapsed Tripod.

Suddenly, his gaze was broken by the sudden roar of another fighting machine. He turned to his left to face it, expecting yet another frozen monster. Instead, it was charging right at him! He ran in the opposite direction, but it was too fast. It caught him with a cobra shaped tendril, and carried him over the Tripod's head. He was almost dropped into the basket, when the tendril stopped above the basket filled with silent people. The moment they saw him, however, they all said one phrase.

"Wazzup, Nerd?" they all said simultaneously.

As Daniel's realization hit, he was carried back to the front of the Tripod's face.

"Shawn?!" he exclaimed, "You crazy bastard! You got another one!"

The fighting machine started playing Sweet Caroline over the speakers as Daniel was placed into the right basket with the others. They were happy to be in these baskets now, since the harvesting of human blood was now turned off. It was like an actual safe haven, ironically, it was on the back of one of the main dangers.

Daniel started conversing with the group of people inside of the basket, asking them where they were when it happened, and when they encountered their first Tripod. A few kids said that they were camping in the woods when they heard the noise. The ones that screamed were the ones that were shot by the lasers, the rest just hid from it. Some of the ones that hid were crushed by the feet of the fighting machine.

"It was nighttime when we heard the noise," said the only remaining camp council member, "everyone was awake after that. The lights were shining over the trees, then one of our members was shot. It was horrible."

ambience (for immersion)

The members were sleeping in their sleeping bags, all in a deep slumber under a large tent to protect them from the rain. They actually thought that the rain was the biggest worry. Distant stomping could be heard, but only a few kids woke up to the noise. That soon changed when the loud horn echoed through the forest, making everyone jump out of their sleeping bags. 2 counselors walked out from under the huge tent, then ran back. They began collecting kids and putting them into groups, then they started to evacuate the area. A bright light covered the tent in its radiance, it was at that time that the counselors realized that one of the campers was missing.

"Help!" cried a small girl, whose foot was stuck under a fallen tree branch.

One of the camp leaders dashed over to help, but both of them were engulfed in a bright cyan heat ray that shot through the tent's ceiling. Trees fell to the ground, destroying the tent. Wet leaves and twigs were crushed under the shoes of the campers and leaders as they sprinted away from the left sector of the camp. It felt like it was taking forever to get to the lodge in the center of the camp, for their legs were aching after a little while. None of them had dared to make a sound, for they were all scared of the Tripod firing in their direction. Nobody cared about the rain pouring on them anymore, because fear had quickly taken over. They finally made it out of the wet woods, still never talking too loud.

"Woah," said one of the other camp members, walking out of the lodge, "Why is everyone up? And what happened?"

"Just let us in!" exclaimed the leader of one of the groups, "There's some giant killing machine back there!"

"Is that what that noise was?" the other counselor asked, "and are you sure it was what you thought it was?"

"Shut up and let us in before we all die out here!" the leader demanded.

The counselor didn't need to be told a third time. He let them all flood in, shaking in fear as they walked into the lodge. They sat at the cafeteria tables, occasionally listening for the distant roar of that horrible robot. The counselors were gathering near the windows, talking to each other and glancing out in the direction of the left sector.

A small boy walked over to one of the counselors, and tugged on their shirt to get their attention.

"Am I going to die?" He asked in an innocent voice.

"No," the counselor said, trying to smile, "you're going to be okay."

The boy smiled, then walked back to the table. A few tables away, however, there was a group of kids that didn't believe anything was wrong. None of them believed a single thing that the other kids said. They began to head over to the entrance, before getting stopped by an adult.

"It's not safe out there," said the man, trying to hide his fear, "stay in here, please."

"You're overreacting!" one of the ignorant kids replied, "We're not scared of a rumor! Let us out, now!"

The man's face turned to a disappointed, but evil expression.

"Fine," The adult said in an empty tone, "go outside. But don't come back if you see the huge metal beast out there. And don't say I didn't warn you about that thing. There's nothing you can do once it sees you anyway, so you probably won't even be able to get back."

He stepped out of their way, waiting for the kids to get scared and run back to the table. Instead, they ran out the door.

"Wait!" he yelled, surprised by the fact that they actually did it, "I didn't mean to actually go! Get back here!"

The kid in the back of the small group laughed as they dashed into the woods. Then, they slowed their pace.

"You think there's anything out here?" asked one of the kids.

"Ha! No!" replied the 14 year old leader of the group, Vincent, "giant three legged robot? Of course they're lying!"

"But they looked pretty scared, Vincent."

"Shut up, William." Vincent shouted, "they were probably shivering from the rain."

The roar of the Tripod echoed through the trees, startling the group.

"Shut it, robot!" Terry yelled, causing the others to laugh.

The laughter stopped when the three fingered foot landed right in front of them, crushing a tree on its way down. They all stared in disbelief at the foot, then they looked up the leg, and their eyes met the three spotlights on the Tripod's armored head. It just stared into their eyes, as if daring them to make the first move. A cobra shaped tentacle came out of the Tripod's spiky torso, and darted towards the kids.

"Run!" Cried Vincent.

background noise (for immersion)

The mechanical inner workings of the Tripod groaned and clicked into place while it walked, creating echoes of the machine's movements. The children ran without a second thought, each of them regretting their decision. As the titan's feet crashed to the ground behind them, the tendril took Terry, the only 10 year old in the group. Fear and dread coursed through their bodies as they began to slow down, each of them exhausted.

Meanwhile, a few of the camp counselors were searching the forest for the kids. But they paused when the sound of multiple swift footsteps began to make itself known, followed by mechanical stomping. The first child, William, ran right into a camp leader named Michael. He was nearly knocked down by the sudden force, and he did after the others dashed into him as well. While the Tripod's head began to hover over a tree, Michael took this opportunity to hide the children from the metal giant while the leaves blocked the Tripod's view..

Chapter 24

Fear in the Forest

Song 23

Michael brought the children to the right side of the trail's path, while the other counselors ran to the left. William and Vincent hid in a shrub, while Michael took Herald to an empty tree trunk and placed him inside. Then, He looked around for a spot that he could hide in. The Tripod's spotlights broke through the tree's leaves and branches, shining its bright hue on the ground below. Michael saw this, but still couldn't find a good place to hide! He began to panic, while the kids just sat in their hiding spots. Their anxiety grew as they witnessed Michael shuffle around, desperately trying to find a spot big enough to hide him. The Tripod quickly took note of the odd shuffling and began to turn its head in his direction. He ducked under the spotlight's bright beam, barely missing the machine's sight. He cried silently, just glad that he had avoided death. That feeling remained inside him for a few minutes, until it faded. Fear and anxiety replaced that relief of not getting caught by the titan.

They sat in silence as the stomping of the Tripod got further and further away.

Daniel looked into the camp members' eyes as they started to water. They began to cry with each other, but the only remaining camp counselor didn't have any shoulder to cry on. That is, until Daniel scooted over to him. Michael, the camp leader, closed his eyes and cried into Daniel's chest. Everyone else in the basket was silent, not daring to speak while the small group let out their tears. Daniel hugged Michael, for it was the only thing he could do!

They sobbed, as memories of the terrible Tripod attack swirled through their minds. They had been through so much, and only now had a moment to cry.

"I'll never forgive those Martians for what they have done." Daniel thought to himself.

For miles, this one specific homeless man wouldn't stop rambling on and on about how he thought it was the Russians, not the Martians. Daniel punched him when he tried saying that this whole thing was a hoax, and he was knocked unconscious. They finally came across a forest, deserted except for a few tents. Shawn used the Tripod's capabilities to snatch them up, even when they tried running away. They all calmed down eventually when Daniel and the others explained the situation to them.

I froze when I heard the distant roar of another fighting machine. I, too, joined in in order to blend in with the other mechanical brute. As I passed through the woods, my machine let out an exultant deafening howl that echoed throughout the abandoned woods. I nearly jumped out of my box when I turned to face the other Tripod, for it was but an inch from mine!

ZAP! I fired at the metal titan, and it fell to the ground, burning violently. I watched as the mighty mechanism crumbled to bits while the groups in the baskets cheered. I turned back to where I was headed, only to find that another machine had been staring directly at my Tripod as I killed the Martian's companion. We kept staring at each other, never making a move. It stood still, waiting for me to make the first move. I decided it was a little odd how completely frozen the other mech was, and I traveled forward. It still didn't move an inch! I stood there for a few minutes before my frozen adversary began to lean dangerously to the left, then fell with a great CRASH!

I looked around. Four more Tripods were frozen too! I strided over towards one of them, and discovered that there were crows pecking at the metal, trying to get inside. I used a cobra head tentacle to open the hatch to the monstrous vehicle, and found a Martian. It was already dead! I looked at the others. More and more birds were pecking at brown shreds of flesh. The Martians! They were feasting on the dead Martians! Slain, after all of man's devices had failed, by the humblest being that god in his wisdom put on this planet. Bacteria. Minute, invisible, bacteria.

Song

I sat alone at the lunch table, just like always. But suddenly, something caught my eye. A beautiful red haired girl was walking over to my lonely table with a tray in her hands. She brought two other male students with her.

"I'm going to be bullied again, aren't I?" I thought to myself.

Instead, she smiled kindly at me. I didn't feel good about the others, though.

"This is Daniel," she pointed to the shorter kid, then to the intimidating one, "and this is Richard!"

She held out her hand, and I shook it. The other two held out their hands next, and I shook theirs too. This was the beginning of a wonderful friendship.

Sarah and I sat on the hill outside of the millstone river school, gazing side by side at the sunset ahead. We were surrounded by a small gathering of trees, a small spot of elevated leaves in the vast field outside of the neighborhood. We held hands, and the orange glow in the sky illuminated our faces as we turned to face one another. We didn't say a word. Nothing needed to be said. Our faces just inched closer and closer as we closed our eyes, and our lips pressed together. Her hand slipped up to the back of my head, pulling me towards her further. After a while we parted, taking a moment to breathe. Her eyes sparkled in the orange glow.

"I never want this moment to end." She said softly as she rested her head on my shoulder.

We continued to watch the sunset fade, enjoying every second of our company.

"I do!" Sarah said with a smile, never breaking eye contact with me. Her white dress fluttered slightly in the wind, moving elegantly.

"And do you, Shawn Hart Ross, take Sarah Rossi Angelo as your beloved wife?"

"I do!" I responded, smiling back at her. We were lost in each other's eyes, barely hearing the priest give the rest of his speech. That is, until he said the last words.

"You may now kiss the bride." I immediately opened my arms, ready for her embrace. She lunged forward, and our lips collided effortlessly. The audience cheered and we were now officially married.

I made the Tripod kneel down, and released the baskets on the back of the head.

The people cheered, but I didn't feel as happy as they did. That pit in my chest remained, a piece of my soul had been taken away forever. Sarah.

Her life had been taken away, and with it, my only shoulder to cry on. Sarah had been there for nearly my whole life! And what have I done for her?! I let her sneak out and get murdered by an ALIEN!

Chapter 25

The End of the War

It's been 2 years since the attack on planet earth. December 8th is now regarded with the same melancholy but respectful remembrance as the attacks on 9/11. Society is rebuilding itself slowly, but surely. Entire countries are missing now, engulfed by the sea after being pounded into the earth's crust by the green missiles from mars. We were saved by a stroke of luck, yet people celebrate as if it was our victory. How stupid of them.

The thought of another Martian attack causes universal concern, although, I shouldn't say universal anymore, should I? World wide concern is more like it. I think they have learned their lesson, and don't dare to venture into our atmosphere again! I keep having night terrors about those awful machines, even though the horrible ordeal is long over, now. Many keep telling me to go to therapy, and I have been lately! I truly do have PTSD, just like that army general said. I have been provided with a therapy dog, his name is Lancer. He was named after a war hero in the Martian attack, general Lancer. After everything I've been through, I now realize just how lucky I was during the Martian invasion.

The Bardots are okay, and living in a massive cozy mansion in the Penn State Forest. I heard they have a new kid, named William, after my nephew. They wanted to always remember him, but I think it'll just be awkward when I talk to him eventually.

I still celebrate my wife's birthday, even though she'll never be able to blow out those candles ever again. Everytime I look at the colorful wax sticks with a small flame on each tip, I wait. I wait for her to just blow out the candles, even though she never does. I still imagine Sarah just walking in to make one last wish before the candles die out. I hold these small ceremonies in private, but I still decorate like it was still a party. I still sing happy birthday while staring into the eyes of my wife's picture in the frame, sitting on the table in front of me. I have finally stopped crying with every bite I take into my small slice over the years.

Every December 8th, however, I just cry at my wife's tombstone. I always place her favorite flower, forget me nots, at her grave.

"No one would have believed, in the last years of the 20th century, that across the gulf of space, human affairs were being watched keenly and closely by intelligences far greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as people busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinized and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinize the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. With infinite complacency we went to and fro over this globe about our little affairs, serene in the assurance of our empire over matter. It is possible that the infusoria under the microscope do the same. No one gave a thought to the older worlds of space as sources of human danger, or thought of them only to dismiss the idea of life upon them as impossible or improbable. It is curious to recall some of the mental habits of those departed days. At most terrestrial men fancied there might be other men upon Mars, perhaps inferior to themselves and ready to welcome a missionary enterprise. Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us. And early in the twenty-first century came the great disillusionment."

~H.

Invasion report to Mars:

Success?

Negative

# of Lifeforms eliminated:

4,198,770,043

Tripod Units sent:

5.5M

Tripod Units eliminated:

100%

Cause of Defeat?

Influenza A Virus Subtypes: H1N1, H1N2, H2N2, H2N3, H3N1, H3N2, H3N8, H5N1, H5N2, H5N3, H5N6, H5N8, H5N9, H6N1, H6N2, H7N1, H7N2, H7N3, H7N4, H7N7, H7N9, H9N2, H10N3, H10N7, & H10N8

Extremely dangerous Influenza A Virus Subtypes: H11N2, H11N9, H17N10, & H18N11

Original Plan:

Eliminate all problematic life on Earth, and take planet for ourselves.

New Plan:

Examine & study Homosapiens. Learn weaknesses. Use weaknesses against them.