The Last Invasion
I'm Going To Need Skat
It had been two days, two long, tedious days since Riva had attacked him. Since that time, the alien hadn't left her house once; she had practically disappeared within her house, pulling all the blinds shut. Casey was positive she hadn't escaped; he'd kept a careful watch over her those few days, barely sleeping at night. His mind was now bent on the problem of returning to school the next day, wondering how he might keep spying on his alien neighbor while stuck at school. "This is absurd, I'm going to need some help," he muttered, hunched over in his chair, staring unblinkingly at the house outside his bedroom window. Stretching, Casey stood, heading downstairs to the phone. His uncle had left already for work, leaving a note scribbled with his cell phone number.
Casey stuffed it in his pocket, glancing warily out the window to Riva's place, then picked up the phone and dialed Zeke's number. It rang a few times before the answering machine came on, "Hi, you've reached the Well's residence. Leave a message."
"Hey Zeke, it's Casey. We, uh, have a problem, call me back soon. Oh, and I'm going to be needing some skat, lots of it." He hung up, realizing that was one of the strangest messages he'd ever left. He then began to wonder where Zeke was, thinking that he was just being lazy and sleeping in. He sighed, called Stokely, and also got her answering machine. Slowly, Casey started for the front door, stepping out and closing the door securely after himself. He spotted Zeke's house not far down, but it meant going by Riva's house.
"Don't be paranoid, she hasn't been near a window in two days, just go," he ordered himself, legs stiffly starting to walk. The sidewalk seemed to stretch on forever past Riva's house, growing longer with each step he took. Casey was just starting to relax as he reached the end of her lot when the door creaked open. He froze, hesitantly looking over his shoulder to see the alien framed in the doorway, eyes locked on him. A yell barely formed in his throat when she tore across the lawn, tackling him to the ground with amazing agility and ease. He began to kick and hit her, desperate to get away, but the blows went unnoticed as she hauled him up, forcing him into her house.
Casey's mind reeled as she dragged him indoors, dropping him onto a chair, eyes narrowed warily. She perched on the edge of a sofa across from him, watching his every move with her mismatched eyes. When she didn't move for several moments, Casey began to take control of his breath and spinning brain, unsure of what move to make next. He didn't have to wonder long, for she began to speak, sounding different from their last encounter. Instead of the rough, gravel tones it was softer, less fierce, "We meet again, Casey Conner. Though I must admit, I do not remember quite clearly what happened last time we were together."
There was a long pause as he eyed her unbelievingly, "Well, you tried to turn me into one of your mindless parasite hosts."
"Oh."
"Oh?" Casey practically yelled, jumping up at her bored tone of voice. She was up in an instant, glaring at him as she pushed him back into the chair. Riva waited until he had settled down before beginning again, "I'm sorry if that reply offended you. Last time we met, Casey Conner, I was not in charge of my own body. I was, what you call, a mindless parasite host."
The boy blinked, "What? What are you talking about? Aren't you just like Mary Beth?"
"Mary Beth?" She frowned, before lighting up with recognition, "Yes, yes, that's what she called herself here on Earth. I suppose I should start from the beginning or else you will be very confused."
"I'm already confused."
"Silent. Mary Beth was part of water-dwelling creatures known as the Atlantians. I am from the race of Littoral, a species much like you humans. About a hundred years ago, the Atlantians attacked my home planet, a beautiful planet mostly composed of deep blue water and dotted with islands. Their planet had dried up, so they took over ours. They spread their parasites throughout the whole planet, like a virus, until every Littoral had become their willing slaves. They took over my beautiful home, living in our waters, controlling us that lived on the land.
But, just as their old planet had done, ours began to dry up from so many of them. A war broke out between themselves, and in the process killed many of my kind, until only ten of them remained. It was then that Mary Beth escaped, since she most likely would have been killed if she had remained. Once the fighting had subsided, and the war resolved, Mary Beth's absence was soon noted. You see, Mary Beth was still quite young in Atlantian standards."
Casey felt his jaw drop lower, it had fallen a long time ago into the story, as he realized Mary Beth had only been, "A kid! How could she-but she was so-a kid?"
"Yes, but do realize she had all the capabilities of a full grown adult. But, anyway, I was sent to find her. So I traced her here, to a little town in Ohio, near a football field. I immediately began to research humans, and found our construction to be much alike, except for a few physical and mental differences. But it was then that I felt the parasite's hold begin weaken, unable to function without it's main source nearby."
"You mean the queen or king bee? Or should I say, Atlantian?"
"Ah, yes, Casey Conner. I see you did figure some things out while Mary Beth was here. So, I began to dehydrate myself, thus killing the parasite within me, and taking control of my own body once again. It was not truly me that attacked you those few days ago, it was the parasite." She leaned back in her chair, carefully watching Casey's reaction, done with her tale.
Casey sat there silently taking it all in, turning it over in his mind. Finally he talked, his blue eyes clouded with uncertainty, "How do I know this is all true? Mary Beth was very tricky; she had us all fooled the whole time. You might be doing the same thing." Riva nodded in agreement, standing in front of him, "You are smart, Casey Conner. The articles were not truthful about you."
"The articles?"
"Yes, Mary Beth kept a small log of all that had happened. She mentioned you, along with a few others in particular. I then researched and found you to be in some popular Earth magazines. They made it seem as if you were insane making up aliens."
"Yeah. Sometimes I wonder if it were all real, if maybe everyone is right, I am crazy. It's hard to believe something when everyone hates you for it." He sighed, staring at the floor before clearing his throat, realizing he had been caught off guard, "It doesn't matter anyway. How can I believe your story?"
She nodded, fully business, and began to undress. Casey's eyes widen and he began to stutter, "W-what are you d-d-doing? You don't need to take your c- clothes off!" He fell silent at what he saw there, something completely inhuman.
A/N: Ok, so did that all make sense? I'll be tying up some loose ends in upcoming chapters, but I hope you get the main idea. Please keep up the reviews, they're really encouraging!
I'm Going To Need Skat
It had been two days, two long, tedious days since Riva had attacked him. Since that time, the alien hadn't left her house once; she had practically disappeared within her house, pulling all the blinds shut. Casey was positive she hadn't escaped; he'd kept a careful watch over her those few days, barely sleeping at night. His mind was now bent on the problem of returning to school the next day, wondering how he might keep spying on his alien neighbor while stuck at school. "This is absurd, I'm going to need some help," he muttered, hunched over in his chair, staring unblinkingly at the house outside his bedroom window. Stretching, Casey stood, heading downstairs to the phone. His uncle had left already for work, leaving a note scribbled with his cell phone number.
Casey stuffed it in his pocket, glancing warily out the window to Riva's place, then picked up the phone and dialed Zeke's number. It rang a few times before the answering machine came on, "Hi, you've reached the Well's residence. Leave a message."
"Hey Zeke, it's Casey. We, uh, have a problem, call me back soon. Oh, and I'm going to be needing some skat, lots of it." He hung up, realizing that was one of the strangest messages he'd ever left. He then began to wonder where Zeke was, thinking that he was just being lazy and sleeping in. He sighed, called Stokely, and also got her answering machine. Slowly, Casey started for the front door, stepping out and closing the door securely after himself. He spotted Zeke's house not far down, but it meant going by Riva's house.
"Don't be paranoid, she hasn't been near a window in two days, just go," he ordered himself, legs stiffly starting to walk. The sidewalk seemed to stretch on forever past Riva's house, growing longer with each step he took. Casey was just starting to relax as he reached the end of her lot when the door creaked open. He froze, hesitantly looking over his shoulder to see the alien framed in the doorway, eyes locked on him. A yell barely formed in his throat when she tore across the lawn, tackling him to the ground with amazing agility and ease. He began to kick and hit her, desperate to get away, but the blows went unnoticed as she hauled him up, forcing him into her house.
Casey's mind reeled as she dragged him indoors, dropping him onto a chair, eyes narrowed warily. She perched on the edge of a sofa across from him, watching his every move with her mismatched eyes. When she didn't move for several moments, Casey began to take control of his breath and spinning brain, unsure of what move to make next. He didn't have to wonder long, for she began to speak, sounding different from their last encounter. Instead of the rough, gravel tones it was softer, less fierce, "We meet again, Casey Conner. Though I must admit, I do not remember quite clearly what happened last time we were together."
There was a long pause as he eyed her unbelievingly, "Well, you tried to turn me into one of your mindless parasite hosts."
"Oh."
"Oh?" Casey practically yelled, jumping up at her bored tone of voice. She was up in an instant, glaring at him as she pushed him back into the chair. Riva waited until he had settled down before beginning again, "I'm sorry if that reply offended you. Last time we met, Casey Conner, I was not in charge of my own body. I was, what you call, a mindless parasite host."
The boy blinked, "What? What are you talking about? Aren't you just like Mary Beth?"
"Mary Beth?" She frowned, before lighting up with recognition, "Yes, yes, that's what she called herself here on Earth. I suppose I should start from the beginning or else you will be very confused."
"I'm already confused."
"Silent. Mary Beth was part of water-dwelling creatures known as the Atlantians. I am from the race of Littoral, a species much like you humans. About a hundred years ago, the Atlantians attacked my home planet, a beautiful planet mostly composed of deep blue water and dotted with islands. Their planet had dried up, so they took over ours. They spread their parasites throughout the whole planet, like a virus, until every Littoral had become their willing slaves. They took over my beautiful home, living in our waters, controlling us that lived on the land.
But, just as their old planet had done, ours began to dry up from so many of them. A war broke out between themselves, and in the process killed many of my kind, until only ten of them remained. It was then that Mary Beth escaped, since she most likely would have been killed if she had remained. Once the fighting had subsided, and the war resolved, Mary Beth's absence was soon noted. You see, Mary Beth was still quite young in Atlantian standards."
Casey felt his jaw drop lower, it had fallen a long time ago into the story, as he realized Mary Beth had only been, "A kid! How could she-but she was so-a kid?"
"Yes, but do realize she had all the capabilities of a full grown adult. But, anyway, I was sent to find her. So I traced her here, to a little town in Ohio, near a football field. I immediately began to research humans, and found our construction to be much alike, except for a few physical and mental differences. But it was then that I felt the parasite's hold begin weaken, unable to function without it's main source nearby."
"You mean the queen or king bee? Or should I say, Atlantian?"
"Ah, yes, Casey Conner. I see you did figure some things out while Mary Beth was here. So, I began to dehydrate myself, thus killing the parasite within me, and taking control of my own body once again. It was not truly me that attacked you those few days ago, it was the parasite." She leaned back in her chair, carefully watching Casey's reaction, done with her tale.
Casey sat there silently taking it all in, turning it over in his mind. Finally he talked, his blue eyes clouded with uncertainty, "How do I know this is all true? Mary Beth was very tricky; she had us all fooled the whole time. You might be doing the same thing." Riva nodded in agreement, standing in front of him, "You are smart, Casey Conner. The articles were not truthful about you."
"The articles?"
"Yes, Mary Beth kept a small log of all that had happened. She mentioned you, along with a few others in particular. I then researched and found you to be in some popular Earth magazines. They made it seem as if you were insane making up aliens."
"Yeah. Sometimes I wonder if it were all real, if maybe everyone is right, I am crazy. It's hard to believe something when everyone hates you for it." He sighed, staring at the floor before clearing his throat, realizing he had been caught off guard, "It doesn't matter anyway. How can I believe your story?"
She nodded, fully business, and began to undress. Casey's eyes widen and he began to stutter, "W-what are you d-d-doing? You don't need to take your c- clothes off!" He fell silent at what he saw there, something completely inhuman.
A/N: Ok, so did that all make sense? I'll be tying up some loose ends in upcoming chapters, but I hope you get the main idea. Please keep up the reviews, they're really encouraging!