Written by: henry_scott

OLMSTEAD, KENTUCKY, USA

August 23, 5:00 AM

Madison brushed her long, dark hair from her eyes. It clung to her sweaty forehead after her two-mile hike from town. She jerked open the front door to her house and stepped inside, having timed her trip to be back before the gravity shifts. The rickety screen banged shut behind her. Michael, her fifteen-year-old brother, lay on the nailed-down couch, staring longingly at his useless phone, while their dad flipped channels on the ancient tube television. For all his efforts, he received nothing but static.

Honestly, it was a miracle they still had electricity on this remote mountain because otherwise, they'd be in the dark. Literally. Before they lost all communication with the outside world, the news said they'd need to leave Kentucky and travel west of the Mississippi River to see sunlight again. That had been six days ago—right after The Event.

But her dad wouldn't leave then, and he probably wouldn't now, either. Though Madison prayed she could convince him to go, especially after what the soldiers had told her. Or . . . well, she wouldn't allow her thoughts to grow as black as the sky. Damn stupid spaceship. It had ruined her life.

To keep from screaming, she quickly put the milk and eggs in the fridge and began to pace around the house. If it could be called a house—more like a shack held together with duct tape and chipped paint. Her brother and dad watched her pace. Neither one said a word. Nor did her mother, unsurprisingly, who sat slumped in the rocking chair in the corner. She was covered in a wool blanket.

Madison made it to the far wall in five steps. She turned and paced back across the uneven floorboards. The flashlight she'd used to make the journey to the grocery store banged against her thigh with each step.

"Don't break that. It's the only one we have," her dad barked.

Rolling her eyes, she said, "So?"

"So?" Her dad retreated to his recliner. The footrest went up with a loud squeak. "So, if you break it, how are we supposed to go outside?"

"And when are you going to do that? You haven't gone outside since Mom's accident."

"That's not the point."

"That's exactly the point." She set the flashlight on the counter. "We need to leave this mountain, or we'll die."

Her dad's face turned as red as a tomato. "Stop talking that nonsense. We're not leaving our land. Not again."

"How can you say that? We're right underneath the thing. It could fall out of the sky right on our damn heads. Or shoot us with lasers. We need to evacuate. You heard the warnings before the TV stations went off. They have camps for everyone in the West. The government says we'll be safe there."

"Don't cuss."

Sticking out her chin, she said, "I'm almost eighteen. I'll swear if I want to."

He glared at her long and hard. "Well, you're wrong. Nowhere is safe. Besides, how can the government protect us when those aliens stole all our nukes right from underneath our noses?"

"The military isn't the government—or at least, not the part of government you hate. And we have to trust someone if we want to survive this mess because your old truck won't make it ten miles out of town. So why not the military? They have a convoy leaving tonight, and there's room for us."

"Tonight?"

"Please, Dad. We can't stay here," Madison begged as she made another lap around the room.

"Is that what the cute soldier told you?" Michael asked with a smirk.

Her dad put down his footrest and leaned forward in his well-worn Lazy-boy. "What are you talking about?"

Michael said, "One of the soldiers hanging around town has big muscles and a chiseled chin. Maddy said he looks like Henry Cavill."

"Shut up, dork!"

"So it's true?" Her dad growled. "You've been talking to a soldier?"

"I talk to lots of people when I go into town for groceries."

"You know how I feel about the government."

"Dad, I told you. It's not the government. It's only the National Guard."

"Same difference. They'll screw you just the same as look at you."

Her dad hadn't cussed. Not really, but it wasn't something one would say in church. Not that their mother would be dragging them there anytime soon. Still, Maddy wasn't surprised by his colorful statement. Since before she could walk, he'd been telling her how the government had stolen their land from them. Their scenic parcel down by the gorge had gone back generations in his family. But today, it was Mile Marker 113 on the Interstate. Eminent domain had screwed him out of his birthright, forcing them to move to the side of this godforsaken mountain, and he would never forget it. Or forgive them, no matter how hard her mom tried to get him to love their new home.

She stopped in front of him. "Ok. I understand how you feel, but not everyone in the government is out to get us. I've talked with the soldiers in town, and if it wasn't for the National Guard protecting the Dam, we wouldn't have electricity, and then where would we be?"

"Right here in this house," her dad laughed.

"True, but we'd be sitting in the dark."

Shaking his head, her dad said, "Big deal. Electricity. How is that protecting us? They should be shooting that stupid thing out of the sky, not talking to young girls, and eating up all the food in town."

She wouldn't respond to his taunts. He was trying to get her flustered, but Madison needed to keep a cool head if she was going to get him to leave this mountain tonight.

"Dad, they brought their own food. And really, what do you expect the military to do? That spaceship is hundreds of miles wide, and the aliens must have all kinds of advanced technology to fly that thing across the universe. So keeping the electricity on is better than nothing."

He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I'd take nothing."

"Please, Dad. Will you at least consider leaving with them?"

"Of course, Henry Cavill wants you on his truck. He can't stop staring at your butt," Michael said with a sneer.

"He did what?" her dad hissed.

Great. She could kick her brother. Just when she thought she was winning her dad over, Michael had to stick his nose into the debate and ruin everything, but she shouldn't have been surprised. Mike always took their dad's side in any argument.

"He was not staring," she insisted.

Michael said, "How do you know? Do you have eyes in the back of your head?"

Her dad shook his head. "Maybe they wouldn't stare at your butt if your shorts weren't so short. I can't believe your mother bought you clothes that don't cover your cheeks."

"It's the style. All the girls wear them like that. Can we stop talking about my freaking butt?"

"I said don't cuss. Your mother doesn't like it."

"Mom is dead!"

A hush fell over the room.

Several seconds passed before her dad pointed to the corpse hidden under the blanket and shouted, "Don't you think I know that?"

"Then what does it matter what she likes or doesn't?"

His eyes nearly bulged out of his head as he jumped from the recliner. His fists clenched and unclenched. The sinewy muscles in his arms hardened by a lifetime of manual labor stretched the sleeves of his t-shirt. "You'll respect her. Dead or alive."

Scared that he might smack her in her smart mouth, she took a step back. "You're right. I'm sorry. Can you forgive me? It's just I'm upset. I don't want to lose anyone else."

"Fine. Don't let it happen again." He fell back into his seat.

It had been over a week ago. On the day of The Event. At least, that's what all the news stations called it. After weeks of darkness, a big hole suddenly opened up in the ship, letting the sun come through. The whole family ran outside to bask in the light, even her dad. A feeling came over Madison; it was euphoric. They all felt it, punctuated by their hair standing on end. For a moment, they forgot all their troubles. The spaceship. The missing nukes. All the countries arguing. No answers from anyone. The doomsday clock counting down to an unknown future. They forgot about everything—even her dad. They closed their eyes, soaked up the sun, and danced.

But her mom also forgot to watch where she was stepping. Wandering to the edge of their property, she tumbled into the ravine. She rolled to a stop in a jagged pile of stones. Her leg snapped in two, along with a few ribs, but the broken bones were the least of their concerns. She'd hit her head on a rock, denting the side of her head. She couldn't speak, only groan... until that stopped, too. She hung on for a little while, but she slowly slipped away from them. Afterwards, their dad wouldn't let them touch her. Mother remained in her favorite chair, covered in a blanket with candles burning around her, though it wasn't for the light.

"Please, Dad." Madison got down on her knees in front of her dad's chair. She took her hand in hers and squeezed. "I don't want to die. You or Mike, either. Can we leave here in the trucks with the National Guard?"

"What about your mother?"

"We have time. We could give her a proper burial. What about we do it out back by the big oak tree she liked? We could perform a little service like they do in church and each say a prayer. She'd like that."

Through her decline, they kept her home—not bothering to take her to the closest hospital two towns over. It wouldn't have mattered. Everyone with any smarts had left after the first evacuation order. Besides, it was better she passed in familiar surroundings amongst her family than on a metal bed in a sterile room with beeping monitors. She couldn't stay in that rocking chair. It wasn't right.

"No." He shook his head violently from side to side.

"Why not?"

Pulling his hand away, he ran it through his thinning hair. "Because it would be against her wishes. She wanted to be cremated and have her ashes spread amongst her flowers."

"That's true, but there's no one at the funeral home for the cremation. No one around for anything. Just us—and for how long?"

"We'll stick it out as long as we need to, or the government will take this house from me, too."

"The government has bigger problems. And even if they did, Mom would want us to leave, to do whatever it takes to survive."

His jaw clenched. "Don't tell me what your mother would want."

"You're not the only one who loved Mom. Mike and I loved her too." She stood up as the tears streamed down her face. "And I know she wouldn't want to be a martyr propped up in the corner, watching her family die for her. Or a silly piece of land. Right?"

Her dad didn't respond. Instead, his eyes fell into his lap as he avoided her pleading stare. Her death broke them. Her dad, most of all. Their mom was the backbone of the family and the only woman her dad had ever loved. They'd started dating at fourteen and were married a week after their high school graduation, which was not unheard of in their neck of the woods.

Continuing to play with his phone, Mike didn't say anything either. She wasn't surprised. Her brother hated confrontation, and he certainly wouldn't go against their dad.

So, without any hope of changing their minds, Madison made the toughest decision she'd ever made in her life. She turned and ran to her tiny bedroom. Dumping the books from her school bag, she filled it with clothes, some of her toiletries from the bathroom, and the small amount of money she'd managed to squirrel away from babysitting the neighbor's twins.

With the bag slung over her shoulder, she found her family exactly where she'd left them. Breathing through her mouth, she leaned over and kissed her mom on her covered forehead. She almost faltered. She almost returned her stuff to her room and stayed, but the smell of death strengthened her resolve. That wasn't her mother underneath the blanket. That was only a hollow shell. Her mother had gone on to a better place—but a tiny part of her remained in Madison's head urging her to do the tough thing. Urging her to go.

"Thank you, Mom. I'll see you soon. But hopefully not too soon."

Her dad stood up, blocking her path to the door. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm leaving on that truck."

"No, you're not."

"Yes! I am!"

She tried to step around him, but he moved with her.

"Dad, this is crazy. Mom wouldn't want us to fight. And she wouldn't want us to die for a freaking piece of land. Think of what you're doing to Mike. Please. You guys need to come with me."

"I said don't cuss!"

Spit flew from his lips with each word. He put both hands on her shoulders and pushed. Pushed hard. Madison flew across the room, landing on her butt. A jolt went up her spine.

Before he could hit her again, Mike jumped up from the couch and tackled him. Although smaller, he had the element of surprise. The blow knocked their dad into the far wall, stunning him as much from the hit as from the shock of Mike finally standing up to him.

"What the–" Their dad tried to climb to his feet.

Mike didn't back down. He loomed over their dad with his fists clenched. "Stop it. Madison is right, so if she wants to go, she should be able to go."

"Fine. Go." He slumped to the floor as he pointed a finger at his son. "And you can leave, too. I don't need either of you."

Full of regret, Madison took a hesitant step towards the door. "I love you, Dad. Will you please come with us?"

"No."

She sighed and forced herself to put one foot in front of the other because if she didn't leave now, she might never find the courage to try again. Mike followed her out the door, grabbing the flashlight from the counter. On the porch, he handed it to her. "Here."

"You hold it."

"I'm not going."

"You're not?" She stopped. "But you have to come."

He shook his head. "Someone has to stay here with Dad."

"B... But... You could..."

"We'll be fine."

"Mike... Mikey... No... Please, come with me."

"I said we'll be fine." He pulled her into his arms.

They hadn't hugged in years. It felt good. Too good. The gesture turned her into a sniveling little girl, drawing out a fresh set of tears. She wished she had the words to convince him to come, but he was just as stubborn as her father. Nothing she said would change his mind. But he had stood up for her, and she'd never forget it.

He kissed her on the forehead. "I'll see you when it's over. I promise."

"I'll hold you to that." Sprinting down their dirt lane, she wiped the tears from her eyes. She didn't dare look back. No. Instead, she ran into the great unknown.

<<<<< END >>>>>

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After an engineering career with over 400 patents, Henry Scott now invents thrilling plotlines in his novels. He lives in metro-Detroit with his family, two lovable golden retrievers, and a turtle whose pictures are on his Instagram and TikTok feeds. He loves coffee, Detroit-style pizza, true-crime TV shows, and his Triumph motorcycle.