We lived in a small town in a valley between mountains much further away from here. Though maybe small isn’t the right word, it was big enough for an entrepreneurial type to build a factory, most of the town worked there, but other than that, there was one road going in and out. The conditions were fine and all; they treated us well, but many had a longing for…more, I guess you’d say.

I think that day started with me waking up at some odd morning hour. I had a nightmare, and a heavy storm throughout the night didn’t help much to ease my suffering. As it turns out, there was a thick fog that morning; it was why we didn’t end up seeing it—but I’m getting ahead of myself.

The day started with a short drive to work. I lived about five minutes away by car, but with the fog it took around ten. Long enough that A- er, who you know as Glasses, was already there.

He had to have been around 19 by then, but he was a dropout, so maybe not; it’s been so long. But he had left high school recently and taken up work in our shop. I was the plant manager, you see, sort of his boss’s boss’s boss, but we got on well enough, and he was a hard worker; I probably would have pushed for him to get a promotion or two had things stayed the way they were.

I let him in, and the workday started like normal. Slacks was next to show up; he worked in the office, engineer, or something like that, and liked to be the first at his desk; Coat was after; I think he worked in finance and many more. Bandana was always the last to show up, and we called him that name even then. Sometimes I wonder if I’m the only one that remembers his name. Anyway, he was coming in while I was walking by the door, at least two hours after the work say started, so I had to chew him out. It was as typical as a day could be.

Or so we thought; it wasn’t even close to lunch when we all heard some rumbling. Mind you, we ran a machine shop and still heard rumbling over all that noise. There had been no news at this point; we were all blissfully unaware of what had arrived. We may have even been the first to meet the invaders. The first to be slaughtered by them.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

One of our cheekier employees had already snuck away after clocking in, a friend of Bandana’s, I think, but he came running back in a flash to warn everyone… of the giant metal men laying waste to the town. Some had expressions of concern, and other's humor, but to be safe, I grabbed this old Helmet I kept at my desk and a handgun in my drawer and headed out to see.

It didn’t take long for me to run back and pull the fire alarm.

We tried to get everyone out and away, but that was when the Worm's ground forces came in. It was an entire battalion. They even brought some pets, and so they mowed many down. Helplessly. No one knew not to crowd together then, and no one had any idea how to treat laser wounds for those that held on to life. We fled.

I think the monsters saw value in our business or the materials inside because they went inside instead of chasing after us. That gave us just a little time… just enough time. So many things happened, though. Luckily, the phones were still working then, and we coordinated a rendezvous outside town. I agreed to meet my daughter and wife there, and we all grabbed whatever weapons we could.

The Worms got bored with the building at some point, and the fight resumed in earnest. I don’t think I want to go into the details, but not many of us got out… physically, of course, but mentally as well are still lying dead in that mountain village. We waited in the mountains as smoke replaced the fading fog; we waited for so many more until military copters came flying in and were promptly destroyed by the Reapers. My family never reached the spot, and as the town quieted, we realized that no one else was coming. We left and started a march to another town; I think there were nearly 30 or 40 of us in total.

You can imagine what happened after. Some stayed behind in towns as we passed through. I’d like to think they are still doing alright, and the others have been laid to rest along the path. Then we encountered a strange girl trapped in a Reaper….