The Longest Day

Through the kitchen blinds, I watch the sun peek over the horizon, its golden rays fanning out from a blood-orange sky. It’s early morning, but the steam is already rising up off the pavements. Feels like it’ll be a hot one, bright and muggy, a typical Aussie summer day.

The thought twists my stomach into knots.

I gaze around the kitchen, at the dishes piled in the sink, the flies buzzing overhead, smell the stink of the overflowing rubbish bin.

I close my eyes and imagine my family seated around the breakfast table.

“So Dad, what do I do now?” I ask. “Mum, I could use a little help here.”

But no one answers. The house is full of ghosts.

My parents aren’t around any more, and my little sister is missing.

I’m all alone and scared shitless.

It’s not frickin’ fair! I’m only fourteen, just a nerdy high school kid who hopes to live long enough to become a famous microbiologist. I should be worrying about how to talk to girls and whether I’ll grow any hair on my chin. I shouldn’t have to deal with life-and-death situations until I’m way older.

Nobody will see me if I cry. But I won't. It’s not gonna help Hailey if her big brother loses it now. I make myself sit down and eat some breakfast. I need to keep my strength up, but I’m shaking so bad I can’t even lift a spoon of stale cereal to my mouth. But, by holding one hand with the other to steady it, I manage a few nasty mouthfuls.

I glare up at the calendar, willing the date to change. Please, just a few days to the left or right, anything but this one frickin’ date. But as much as I try to zap it into oblivion, the date refuses to budge.

December 22. It’s the summer solstice, the longest day of the year – and the most dangerous. Fourteen and a half hours of more intense sunlight than usual. It gives the flesh-eating monsters extra time to hunt because they just love the sun. It seems to amp them up, toughen their bodies to the umpteenth degree. And makes them hungry, real hungry! Since they first appeared a few months back, they’ve been treating the earth like their own private fast-food stand.

I hate those frickin’ things!

Everyone’s had to massively change their lives because of them. Nobody goes outside in the daytime any more. No one parties or meets up. It’s bad. I even gotta sneak around at night because there’s not much food left and, these days, it’s every man – or kid - for himself.

The number of survivors I see when I go out gets less each time, though. Without any way to communicate with the rest of the world, I’ve no clue how many people are still alive.

Nobody’s come to help. The adults here are all stumped. Our police force and military were taken out early by the monsters. Nobody’s found a way to kill these things coz they’ve survived everything we’ve thrown at them. And I mean, everything! Guns, bazookas, tanks, bombs, lasers, flame-throwers, you name it. They haven’t even been able to capture one to study. We don’t know where they came from - if they’re like a mutant strain from nature or whatever. I reckon they’re from outer space or another dimension. I guess in the end it doesn’t matter. They’re here and they probably won’t leave until there’s nobody left to eat.

I yawn and cover my mouth before I realise there’s no grownup around to tell me to mind my manners. I actually miss mum lecturing me on swearing or not picking up my clothes. I miss so many things - my friends, surfing, music, TV, video games, phones, computers. Sometimes I’ll read a book from the library or play cards with my sister, but mostly we sleep until nightfall. I can go out safely then to scrounge for food. I actually even miss school. But most of all, I miss my parents.

The thought brings a lump to my throat. Dad never came back from a foraging expedition a month ago, Mum was killed when the monsters broke into our house last week. Though Dad barricaded everything as best he could for us, an open side door let the monsters in. I didn’t say anything, but I knew my little sister Hailey had been the one who forgot to shut that door. At five, small for her age but a real character, always smiling and singing, she was smart enough to undo all the door locks but not mature enough to understand why she couldn’t play outside any more. Or later, why Mum and Dad wouldn’t be coming back. I just couldn’t bring myself to tell her that the monsters in her story-books were real.

My head drops toward the table and I jerk myself awake. I’ve been out all night, traipsing all over town, raiding any shop or supermarket I could find, without luck. The shelves are all bare but I keep looking. We need to eat. I’m just so frickin' tired of it all. It’s morning and I should be hitting the sheets. But I checked on my sister a few minutes ago and she wasn’t in her bed. She wasn’t anywhere in the house. Hailey’s gone and the only place she could be is outside ... where the monsters are.

Breakfast over, I push back from the table. I get up and go check the still-locked doors - with all our heaviest furniture stacked against them - wondering how my sister had gotten out this time. All the windows downstairs were boarded up. Likely she sneaked down a rope of sheets from an upper window, just like I used to do before the infestation. I was impressed. The kid was a real Houdini. But this time there might be no magical escape for her.

Yeah, I’m mad with her. Now I have to go out there amongst the flesh-eaters to find my bratty kid sister. I don’t dare wait for nightfall. Who knows what trouble Hailey could get in by then! I’m the big brother – and her only surviving family – so it’s up to me to save her. Even though the thought of going outside makes me want to upchuck my breakfast.

But, if I think about it too long, I’ll just crawl into bed and pull the sheet over my head. So I go up to my room, taking the stairs two at a time. It’s time for action! I try to think what my Dad would do. I strap on my softball gear - catcher’s helmet, padded chest protector, leg, knee and shin pads, and grab Dad’s cricket bat. I can hardly move, but it sure beats getting eaten. Into my belt I tuck a few spray bottles, filled with my ‘secret weapon’. It will definitely be a last resort since the theory behind it is solid but untested. But hey, since no grownup seems to have a clue about killing these monsters, I figure my idea is as good as any.

Downstairs, I remove all the furniture from the front door, undo all the locks, detach the chains, and then step out onto the verandah. Though I’m wearing sunglasses, the unaccustomed glare burns my eyes. Blinking away the tears, I take a deep breath and lumber down the steps toward the gate.

Glancing left and right, I heave a sigh of relief. The street is empty. I can smell the fresh, salty tang of the sea behind me, and the familiar smell makes me a little less afraid. But there’s a stronger stench in the air – one of rotting meat, overflowing rubbish bins, and urine. A coppery smell too, like blood. It makes me nervous again. But it’s the dead silence that really creeps me out. Usually, there’s noise blaring out from all sides of the street - motor mowers, dogs barking, kids shrieking, mothers yelling. Even the radios that the old people used to play day and night are off because there’s no electricity, and no DJs besides. The birds don't sing anymore and I haven’t heard a plane or a chopper fly over in a month.

It’s as quiet and still as a frozen video game. Nothing moves. I would give my left nut to see Hailey’s freckled face grinning up at me from the front yard. But at least there are no monsters that I can see, either.

I know where my sister’s gone. She’s been begging me for days to take her to the old playground at the end of our street. I tried to explain why it’s dangerous, but she was asleep when the monsters broke into our house. She never saw Mum bravely lead them away to save us. I suppose I can’t blame Hailey for going stir-crazy inside all day. I feel the same. Still, I’m gonna shut her up in her room forever when I find her. If I find her … no, delete that. I AM gonna find her, safe and sound.

I have to.

I move clumsily down the street, staying alert for any signs of life. I wish I could ask the neighbours for help, but everyone’s become paranoid since finding out that the monsters took on the form of whatever they ate. It was animals first, because of their curiosity for all things new and different. So a friendly dog or cat might be an acid-spewing monster, instantly dissolving the unsuspecting victim and then lapping up the ‘leftovers’ like spilled milk.

Then, when they added humans to their diet, we couldn’t tell friend from foe because the monsters looked just like us. They didn’t change size immediately so for a while there were a lot of weird dog-, bird-, and mouse-sized humans running around. No one laughed at the elephant people, though. A lot of people died before everyone started avoiding each other altogether just to be safe. So I reckon I’m on my own.

I grasp my bat tighter and shuffle towards the playground, glancing nervously from side to side. The back of my neck tingles. I lift my helmet every few minutes to listen for the weird cries that the monsters make when they’re hunting, a sort of high-pitched wail that makes your skin crawl because it means they’re close by. I only heard it once close up, the day Mum was killed.

A swishing sound from behind makes me jump. I whirl around, my bat held high over my shoulder. But it’s only a plastic bag dancing in the breeze. I take a deep breath to steady my thumping heart.

I creep forward again, glancing enviously at the old weatherboard homes and the newer brick houses where I know our neighbours are all tucked up safe in bed.

This really sucks!

I am nearly at the end of the street when a scream shatters the silence.

Hailey!

I lumber awkwardly toward the playground. Then I hear another sound that stops me dead in my tracks - a high-pitched wailing coming from the direction of my sister’s scream.

I tear off my bulky protective gear, knowing I’ll need all my speed to get there in time.

Unfortunately, my belt breaks and the spray bottles tumble to the ground, scattering across the pavement. But I don’t have time to collect them.

I race into the playground, terrified of what I might see. Wading through the long grass, I rush past the creaking swings and the teeter-totters and the monkey bars. Then I catch sight of Hailey scrambling up the slippery slide. A dozen monsters are pushing against the slide like a feverish football scrum. Their shrill, piercing wails are so loud up close that I cover my ears. Their human-like faces are blank, their clothes dirty and ragged. I recognize one face as belonging to my science teacher from school.

“Mr Pitt, can you help…” I call out, before I remember that it’s not really him.

Another monster has the body of old Mrs. Lindley, the librarian. But now her wrinkly hands are twisted into claws as she reaches up towards my sister.

“Hailey!” I scream, and the monsters turn in my direction. Oh, great.

I run at them and start swinging my bat, relishing the thump as the hard wood connects with their skin. But though they sway a little, the creatures stay on their feet. The sun is still working its magic for them.

“Will, Will!” Hailey screams at me and sobs.

I smash the monsters over and over, but the bat keeps bouncing off. They barely flinch from my blows. My arms start to feel like dead weights. I’m covered in sweat, my palms are blistered. What the frick are these things made of - adamantium?

The monsters’ faces remain blank, but their eyes burn with triumph. One short bald man even spreads his hands in a show of sympathy. Then he bares his teeth.

I drop the bat. My shoulders slump. My strength is gone. I can’t stop them, no one can. Even if I could somehow manage to run for help, they would turn on Hailey. She is edging backwards towards the ladder of the slippery slide. All I can do is buy her time to escape.

I wait. The world seems frozen in place, except for the creatures before me. They are swaying slightly and their wails have turned into a low monotonous hum that is even more scary. They seem to communicate without words. As one, they all begin moving forward. They shuffle along as if they are deliberately dragging out the anticipation of dinner.

I stare down at the ground, beaten. Tears of frustration flow down my cheeks. I couldn't save my mother, and now my sister will die too. The entire Kenny family will be wiped out, gone.

I wonder what it will feel like to be dissolved. Will it hurt? Will I feel it when they swallow me?

Shee-it, I never even got to try out my secret weapon. My future as a great scientist is in the toilet. I’ll never meet The Rock or swim with dolphins or travel to Mars.

I need a miracle.

Please God?

I shiver, feeling a chill run down my back – fear maybe?

Then a coldness ripples across the playground, dispersing the heat of the day.

It grows darker.

My eyes travel up into the sky, where the sun looks as if a giant bite has been taken out of its surface. The moon is moving.

My breath catches as I realize what is happening. Holy crap, it’s a solar eclipse!

As the playground falls into shadow, the monsters jerk to a stop and stare up at the sky in bewilderment. They turn their heads from side to side, unsure what to do or where to go.

The moon glides gracefully across the sun and the light disappears completely within minutes. The world is covered in total, glorious darkness.

At the top of the slide, Hailey clings to the supports and chews on one pigtail. She doesn't understand what's happening and is just as scared as the monsters.

The monsters fall to the ground, their eyes closing and their bodies stiffening, mouths gaping open. They wriggle around a bit and then go completely still. I guess the absence of sun has triggered some sort of hibernation or inertia reaction.

This is my miracle. But I know the eclipse will pass as swiftly as it commenced. I have to move fast.

I race back to where I dropped my belt and snatch up the spray bottles from the pavement. Lucky the contents are intact.

Then I streak back, almost stumbling, to the playground. Bending over the monsters while trying not to make physical contact, I spray my secret weapon into their open mouths. Despite their unconscious state, I can see their jaws working as they swallow.

If they truly are what they eat, then they are about to transform.

But nothing happens for a few long minutes. I cross both sets of fingers.

Then the moon starts to move again, allowing the sun’s face to peek through once more. Soon the world is bathed in sunlight again. Time’s run out!

The monsters open their eyes. They try to crawl to their feet, but the transformation is taking effect and they begin to change. From a human-like form, they morph into large round or rod-like blobs resembling jelly… the simplest forms of life on earth - single cell organisms. Bacteria. Germs. And now, instead of growing stronger under sunlight, the monsters are now extremely vulnerable to it. 

As the fiercely intense rays of the longest day hit them, they begin to shrivel up. Their high-pitched shrieks fill the air, despairing now, as they roll and shudder on the ground, burning in the deadly heat.

Yes! I fist-pump the sky. It worked. My science experiment worked.

Two months ago, when Mum and Dad were still alive and the infestation had only just begun, I had a brainstorm. I began growing and cultivating a large amount of bacterium in petri dishes I borrowed from school. I kinda thought my simple idea was a good one.

And it was. These top-of-the-food-chain predators have been brought down by the simplest forms of life on earth. Now I just have to let everyone know about my secret weapon. First we’ll save my town, and then the rest of the world.

Cool!

Hailey climbs down and stands behind me as we watch the monsters die, their corpses turning to black and green sludge on the ground. She puts her arms around me and gives me a breath-stealing hug.

“My big brother, the monster killer,” she whispers.

I look down at her and grin.

Hey, how ‘bout that? I might just become a world-famous scientist, after all.

And go to Mars.