Spider-Man: Close To Home
Introduction
When they came out of the sky, it was like all hell had broken loose. Out of that wormhole above New York, down came monsters the likes of which the world had never seen before. The only description that did any justice to what followed would be war.
War was never a pretty picture, but more often than not, you only see it in pictures. You hear reports of it on the news, and you hear the stories of glory and horror sometime after the soldiers come home…
It's different when it's happening right down the street.
He had just gone downtown to pick up some groceries. His nephew, Peter, had gotten straight A's on his report card, so his wife, May Parker, wanted to make an extra special dinner for him as a reward. Ben Parker was at the front counter when it happened.
There were screams coming from outside. Several customers inside looked out the window worriedly, but Ben was the first to go outside with his groceries in hand. Those on the street were looking up to the sky and pointing at what was coming down.
He dropped his groceries in shock.
Flying ships were coming down from a huge hole in the sky, raining down blasts that caused explosion after explosion. As the hive of aliens swirled out of the portal, they began to spread out further and further, closer to where he stood.
"Get to the subway!" Ben yelled to those around him, figuring that the best place to go would be underground.
He pushed himself to run as fast as he could towards the nearest stairwell, urging those who were around him to do the same. He went down just in time as explosions began to erupt behind him. He felt the ground shake as he made his way down, and rubble fell over the way he had come.
With no way to go but down, he made his way down to the station below. Hearing the rumbling and screaming going on above, some were looking upwards with concern, but no one seemed to know what was really going on.
"Do you hear all that? What is that?" A mother with her little girl asked him as he came down the steps. Ben had to recompose himself, catching his breath before answering her.
"There's… I don't even know what's up there, but they're attacking the city. It's some kind of invasion!" He said to them, loud enough for others to hear. Some looking at him and hearing him seemed clearly shaken by this, while others scoffed and shook their heads.
Suddenly, the ceiling above the subway tracks collapsed! Large chunks of the street caved into the tunnel, spilling people and cars into the hole. One larger figure fell in as well; one of the aliens attacking the city had somehow gotten mixed up into the pile.
"Oh my god!" Many screamed, now beginning to panic. Ben looked to the mother and her child, then looked around for a way out.
"What is that thing?!" The girl shouted, pointing at the alien. Her mother clutched her daughter's head to her shoulder, shielding her vision.
"Don't look, honey. Just hold on to me." Her mother said, trying to be soothing while also terrified. Ben put a hand on her arm, speaking frantically.
"We need to stay underground. We'll have a better chance of surviving down here." Ben said, pointing to a stairwell leading up to the station.
"Okay, honey, hold on to me, okay? Just hold on." The mother said to her daughter before nodding to Ben. The two of them made a break for the steps, rushing upwards.
As they ran, some aliens began to pour down into the tunnel, shooting down some of the other people in the terminal. Not looking back, Ben and the mother turned into a main terminal, where there was a huge influx of people rushing in for safety.
Peering over the terrified mob towards the entrance, Ben could see that more aliens were chasing them in, firing their weapons. Ben looked back towards the mother, knowing that their only chance was to run the same direction as the crowd.
Taking hold of the mother's free hand, Ben pulled them into the flow of the crowd, bumping shoulders with other scared people. He felt his adrenaline kicking in and his lungs heaving to keep him going, but he had to find another way out.
"In here!" Ben shouted to the mother, pulling her to another stairwell going down towards a different train. They scampered down the steps into an empty station in the dark.
The mother stopped, backing up against a wall to capture her breath. She began to sob, breathing heavily as she slid down to a seated position against the wall.
"Oh my god, it's like a war zone up there! What are we going to do?" She asked. Ben, although terrified himself, did his best to suppress his fear as he kneeled down in front of the woman.
"Listen. What's your name?"
"It's-It's Carla."
"And your daughter's name?"
"Lily."
"Okay, Carla. You need to pull it together, okay? For Lily. I wanna see you both get out of here and safe. I wanna get out of here too so I can get back to my wife and nephew. Just think about making it out of here. Okay?" He said, holding his hand out to her. She took it with a nod, letting him help her stand.
Ben pulled his phone out, turning on the flashlight. The three made their way down one of the tunnels, following alongside the tracks. Lily clutched tighter to her mother, shivering a bit.
"I'm scared, mommy."
"It's okay, dear. It'll be okay." Carla said softly, rubbing the back of her head.
They made it to yet another station, and found one of the aliens was searching the area. Ben stopped them, and they all ducked down underneath a space below the tracks to avoid being seen. Ben covered up his phone light, and looked over the edge.
The alien was making a final sweep. It gargled a bit strangely, looking down both sides of the track tunnels. Ben ducked down further into his hiding place. Finally, the alien made his way back up the stairs. Once its footsteps faded away, they emerged from their hiding place.
"They're searching the tunnels." Carla said.
"They'll find us eventually if we stay here." Ben said.
"Is it any safer up there?"
"I don't know. But we don't have a choice." Ben said, motioning her across the tracks to go up a different set of steps. They made their way back up to the surface.
In a matter of minutes, New York had been transformed into a battleground. Everywhere they looked, cars had been overturned and injured people were laid out all over the ground. Up in the buildings, fires had gone up everywhere.
"I don't think anywhere is safe." Carla said with a shake of her head. Ben looked down the street, seeing there was an evacuation going on.
"People are hiding in that bank over there! Go there." Ben pointed.
"What about you?"
"I'll guide people that way too. I'm right behind you, go!" Ben urged her. With a nod, Carla held tight to her daughter and made a run for it. Ben watched her for a moment before turning around.
"Everyone! Run to the bank! Go! Go!" He urged them. He motioned them down the road, and some followed. However, some began to double back.
Looking up, he saw a monstrous flying creature that was coming in for a hard crash landing on the road. Ben doubled back as well, rushing into a nearby bodega as the strange creature came in for a landing, sending up a cloud of dust.
Ben ducked down in one of the aisles of the little shop along with several others. He made his way back away from the window, hoping to keep himself hidden from those aliens.
With fear beginning to resurface again, Ben tried to keep his mind on staying alive: making it back to his apartment in Queens where he lived with his wife and 10-year-old nephew. Surely, they would be worried about him.
That's when the ground rumbled again, and the building crumbled down on top of everyone inside…