Natalie woke with a start, and smashed the ‘‘snooze’’ button of her alarm clock. She closed her eyes for a second, before realising this was at least the third time she’d pressed the button. She groaned and sat up, rubbing the sleep our of her eyes. The clock said 7:30am. She yawned, then stood up to stretch before making her way to the kitchen. She turned her radio on, not really listening but appreciating the presence the voices created, then she poured her orange juice in her bowl of cereal and her milk in her glass. Her face turned to disgust when she ate a spoonfull and realised her mistake. She turned to the seat next to hers to share her laughter at her misadventure, before remembering his absence. She turned the radio up to fill the void.
‘‘… a few hours ago to find out if their intentions are peaceful. They have not yet given sign of life, prompting officials to wonder if they will even return. The entire world is holding its breath as we await any form of communication. Sources from inside the government have revealed that the diplomats were sent as a last resort, after every other means available to establish contact, from radio signals to visual cues, have already failed. While we can only speculate about their intentions at this point, one thing is certain – humanity is facing a turning point in its history. Stay tuned for more updates as we gather more information. But untill the, we urge everyone to stay indoors and remain vigilant.’’
The radio went silent, and Natalie realised it was flat. She went to change the batteries but she didn’t have enough. So instead she pulled her phone out and was met with a dozen notifications from various news outlets, all with the same story : A strange spacecraft had landed on Earth. She checked the date, but it wasn’t the first of April. Still, she was sceptical. And who could blame her ? It is rather hard to believe.
However she couldn’t deny that something was going on when she switched the TV on and it was only broadcasting an official government message, prompting everyone not to leave the building they were currently in, and to await further instructions. She pinched her arm ; maybe she hadn’t actually reopened her eyes after smashing the snooze button again. But the pain was real, which meant all of this was real too. She took her phone out again, tried calling 911, but the line was busy. It seemed many others had gotten the same idea. She sat down on her sofa and waited for anything different to happen.
She woke with a start. She must have fallen asleep after sitting still for a few hours. She checked the time : 5:23pm. She felt hungry, so she stood up, then immediatly sat back down again because her vision went dark and her head spun. She waited a few seconds then stood back up and headed to the kitchen. She grabbed microwave pasta and a fork, and didn’t even bother heating it up. She sat back down on the sofa and stared at the TV, that was displaying a different message now, though still on loop.
‘‘… however, we still ask everyone to stay home untill more information is available to us. Await instructions from your local law enforcement agents.
‘‘Our team has returned with good news : the aliens declare that they are peaceful, and that they simply intend to share knowledge with us. However, we still ask everyone to stay home untill more information is available to us. Await instructions from your local law enforcement agents.’’
Then the message looped again. She checked her phone but she found no new information, only idiots who thought they knew better than everyone else, debating on online forums, and idiots declaring that America is the land of the free, therefore the government can’t keep them locked inside their houses. Does the Internet have no place for common sense ?
Not that she cared. If humanity died it would be a welcome ending. People don’t deserve to rule the world, and those who rule it even less. And if not, then, her life would probably be all the same anyway. Wake up, work, eat, work, eat, sleep, repeat. Whatever knowledge the aliens intended to share would probably remain in the hands of the rich. She waited a while longer, before simply falling asleep again. She needed it. Maybe this lockdown would prove useful to get her mental health somewhat back on track.
===
On the TV screen, there were images of chaos. It had only been two months, two months since those five people met the aliens, two months since the spark, as people liked to call it. Three days after their first contact, one of the five had turned. He’d gone crazy. His teeth had become sharper, his nails had grown into claws, his eyes had gone yellow and bloodshot. He’d bitten four people, killed six, and then he’d turned back. Those who’d been bit had been kept back, to avoid spreading anything, but then one of the five’s partner, a man who’s name she’d forgotten, who’s name didn’t matter, had turned too. And he was outside. He bit people outside. That’s how it all started. And that’s when the aliens left, maybe realising their mistake, or maybe because their work here was done. Either way the illness was on Earth.
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And, it would have all been fine, if people were capable of following simple instructions. Don’t go out except for absolute necessities. If you’ve been bitten, report it. If you see someone turn, get somewhere safe and report it. But no ! People can’t do that, apparently ! The virus spread, but not really that fast. The infected weren’t always crazy monsters, they were just people, most of the time. What really did it was the panic.
People rushing to shops to hoard and stockpile food, hygiene products, clothes… Everything they needed, or wanted. Someone murdered someone else, and then others started doing it too. Some politician said this or that and the world erupted into chaos. Humans become savages when they’re scared. So in the end, it was humanity that destroyed itself. The aliens and their illness were only a trigger for a gun that had been loaded for a very long time.
Natalie avoided going out at all cost. Outside was dangerous. Outside, people might kill her, or worse. She’d thought she wouldn’t care, but in the end she was scared, she didn’t want to die, she wanted to survive. And not just survive, she wanted to live. But she had to now. She already hadn’t eaten anything the previous day, and she couldn’t just let herself starve. She put on her longest coat, with the hood up so her face was hidden. She put her empty backpack on. She grabbed her biggest kitchen knife, a blade she was rather certain she’d never actually cooked anything with, and shoved it in the pocket, keeping her hand on the handle at all time. And she went out.
The streets were empty. There was a bunch of burned stuff everywhere. Some people just wanted to destroy things. Cars, tires, bins… everything had burned. Some buildings too. She ignored the scenery and quickly made her way to a nearby store, praying that there would still be things there. She got there without seeing anyone else.
The supermarket was empty. There was nearly nothing left on the shelves. A few open cans of food, some expired junk… She kneeled and checked under the shelves. She had more luck there : there were a few unopened cans, that had rolled under there when people were fighting for things. She took everything she found and stuffed it in her bag. This wasn’t much, and she wondered what she would do when that was done. She couldn’t leave, someone had burned her car down. She decided that was a problem for future her and walked out the store.
She was halfway back when someone appeared behind her, and before she had time to react there was a knife against her throat.
‘‘Drop the knife…’’ a voice said.
She did just that, and dropped the knife on the ground. The man behind her kicked it away then pressed his own knife a little less firmly on her throat.
‘‘Now, here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to release you so that you can take your bag of your back and hand it over. If you try anything funny, you die. Understood ?’’
Natalie gave a faint nod and the man removed his knife and stepped back she turned around to look at him. He looked young, maybe late teens or early twenties. He also didn’t look very confident, like he didn’t really want to execute his threat. She turned and ran as fast as she could. She heard him run after her.
‘‘Hey, come back here you cunt ! We agreed you’d give me that bag !’’
She realised he was catching up with her. Damn it ! She was old and she hadn’t eaten near enough food those last few weeks, of course this young man would catch up ! But she couldn’t give up. If she didn’t have food, she would starve. And to choose, she’d rather have a quick death than die slwoly and painfully.
He grabbed onto her backpack and tried pulling her back, but he lost his grip. The slight change made her lose her balance, and she tripped and went crashing to the ground. Before she could react he was on her. He stabbed her. Over and over.
The first few hurt like Hell, but strangely, after that, it stopped hurting. She closed her eyes and thought of her loved ones who she would see again soon. This wasn’t so bad...