The Underground

This just in. I hate to say it folks, but it looks like we are being invaded by a species that claims to come from outer space. I know it sounds unbelievable. I’ve been told that if you look up at the sky, you can see their ship. I haven’t been able to see it yet, but…

The news reporter droned on, but Kayla stopped listening the moment she thought she could actually catch a glimpse of the space ship. She stared up at the sky through her window, too afraid to go outside. If an invasion were happening, little green men could be walking around everywhere just waiting to beam her up to their ship and experiment on her. 

The faint outline of something in the sky caught her eye. A shiver ran through her body, and she took a step back, pulling the curtains closed. She stood there staring at the navy blue curtains until the doorbell jarred her from her thoughts. 

Her heart pounded in her chest as she unlocked the door and opened it a crack. Relief washed through her, and she opened it the rest of the way as her best friend Lin stood impatiently tapping her toe on the doorstep. 

“Have you heard about the aliens?” Lin opened the screen door and pushed her way into the house.

“Yes. I just saw an outline of something in the sky.” She closed and locked the door before joining Lin in the living room. 

“What are we going to do? Where are we going to go? We aren’t equipped to fight aliens.” Lin paced the dark brown carpet, chewing on her bottom lip. 

“I’m going to stay right here and keep my doors locked.” 

Lin stopped pacing. “Locked doors aren’t going to stop aliens. We should try to find the underground.”

“Oh come on Lin, the underground is a rumor someone made up to make others feel better about extraterrestrials and unidentified flying objects. They don’t really exist.” She plopped down on the couch, trying to still her quivering nerves.

Lin crossed her arms over her chest. “I think they do, and I’m going to go look for them. I’m sure someone knows something about them.” She made her way to the front door. “You wait around here for the aliens to come and get you.” Lin unlocked the door and stepped outside.

Panic gripped Kayla’s chest, she couldn’t stay here. “Wait!” She flung the door opened and frowned when Lin stood just on the other side, a smug look on her face. “Let me collect some supplies. I’ll come with you.”

Lin nodded and followed her back into the house. It only took a few minutes to collect her things. Kayla grabbed a flashlight, change of clothes, some bottles of water, and a bag of jerky. Satisfied she was at least slightly prepared for their quests, she followed Lin back out the door and locked it behind her.

They jumped into Lin’s four-door sedan and buckled up. But when she turned the key, nothing happened. No lights came on, no annoying dinging, not even clicking of the battery trying to start. It was completely dead.

“Now what?” Kayla stared at Lin.

“We walk.” She got out of the car and grabbed a backpack from the back seat. “Are you coming?”

With a heavy sigh, Kayla opened the door and stepped out, dragging her backpack out behind her. “What direction do we go? Where do we start looking for these guys?”

“I don’t know. Let's just start walking.” She slung the backpack over her shoulder and headed down the road towards town. 

People were coming out of their houses, staring up at the sky or talking quietly in small groups. Several people tried to start their cars with no more luck than Lin had. Kayla watched the ground as she walked, mostly to avoid the staring eyes that followed their steps. 

Once they got off the main street, the people thinned, and Kayla’s anxiety eased slightly. She still had no idea how they were going to find the underground or what they were going to do if they did. That still hinged on whether the group even existed.

“Let’s head down into the subway tunnels.” Lin rounded the corner and headed right into the center of the city.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? The subway will be crawling with people.” 

“Yeah, but rumor has it, these guys wander through the subway, and if you leave a calling card at the right spot, they will come get you.”

Kayla jogged to catch up to Lin who had picked up her pace. “And you know where the spot is?”

“Of course I do. And I have a calling card too.” she pulled a white business card, with a green bird in the corner, from her pocket. 

Ten minutes later, the card was set. They sat down on a bench watching confused people shuffle back and forth across the platform, trying to get home without a working subway. 

The ground shook just as a young man in a black leather jacket approached them. He grabbed their hands and pulled them forward just as debris from the ceiling came crashing down on the bench. 

Kayla’s heart skipped a beat, and she asked herself for the hundredth time why she let Lin talk her into this. The young man didn’t give them a chance to catch their breath. He tugged and pulled, bringing them along behind him as he made his way down the subway tracks. 

Loud bangs came from above them, and dirt rained down on their heads as they continued to run. A door leading into a small room came into view, and the young man pushed them inside. The door banged shut, plunging the room into darkness. 

“I’m sorry to be meeting under these circumstances, but we thought we had at least another day before the attack started.” He lit a candle he pulled out from somewhere. “My name's Jared. I’m here to take you to the underground. Follow me.” He opened a small door hidden behind a stack of boxes.

With nowhere else to go, Lin and Kayla followed him to a dimly lit tunnel. The smell of mold and mildew made Kayla crinkle her nose and cover it with a hand. They walked for several minutes before the tunnel opened up into a large round room.

Blank computer screens lined one wall, on the opposite side sat another row of computers, working computers. Several desks, chairs, and tabled took up all the space in the middle of the roo. Man and woman roamed from one end of the room to the other, each lost in their own task as they shuffled papers and exchanged folders of information.

“Welcome to the underground, ladies. This is humanity's only hope for fighting back against the aliens.” 

Kayla stared in wonder and knew her life would never be the same again.