Survival

Humans are cockroaches, they can survive anything and keep crawling out of the worst situations was the thought going through Ned Natter’s head as he sat in his kitchen starting at the tv.

The volume was down low and the subtitles were on. He could hear some sounds, but he mostly read lips. The news anchor Miss Taylor was trembling just a little as she talked and her co-host was barely holding back tears. Pictures kept flashing up on the screen of the world in chaos, people panicking, busy gas stations, and bare stores. 

“Today we watch as a large ship enters our atmosphere and we have first contact with aliens,” Miss Taylor said. She continued to explain nothing that had not already be said before in the past 24 hours since the ship appeared. Every time she attempted to talk to her blubbering co-host it would get quiet, a few words would stumble from the poor man’s mouth and then Miss Taylor would take over again. She always did have a strong presence and Ned enjoyed watching her on tv. 

Today Ned couldn’t help but roll his eyes. He had always known he was going to die and had very little to live for, so the appearance of aliens only added interest to his mundane life. Maybe he would find some interesting way to die. His hand twitched a little and then it calmly stroked his rifle. Maybe he would even get to help his country again. 

His eyes widened as he heard Miss Taylor say, “Just coming in there is to be a report given by one Amy Addison. What do you think of that Jack?”

Ned straightened in his seat a little still watching the tv avidly looking at the picture that had been thrown up of a stunning woman with beautiful black curls. The woman who had destroyed her own husband’s career because she found out about the fraud and scams he had been running. The woman who explained to the world that she had to raise taxes and why and still got elected. The woman who always said exactly what she meant and did her best to follow through with what she felt was right. Ned was half in love with her just for that, but then pretty much everyone else was too. 

Once again her co-host, Jack, stuttered and looked like he wouldn’t be able to get a sentence out. Ned couldn’t understand why this guy was still on the tv, he was incompetent and annoying. But then Jack managed to choke out a few words, “At least we’ll know something.”

Miss Taylor nodded along and said, “Exactly Jack, we’ll finally have some honest good information. Most recently all we’ve heard is that ‘everything is okay', 'these aliens are not hostile’, and ‘we (the government) have everything under control’. But we have no real information and with how often politicians lie these days how do we know anything they say is true.”

She continued to talk and the screen flickered back and forth between Miss Taylor and pictures and videos of the ship. Ned continued to watch reading lips and catching every word he could. He didn’t want to miss anything. 

Suddenly there was a hand waving in his face and he startled and looked up. Alex Anderson stood just off to the side of the tv and his wife, Alice, stood right behind his shoulder in the doorway of the room. Alex was speaking and Ned had missed it. 

“Sorry,” Ned croaked.

Alex stopped and sighed and then said, “I should have made sure you were paying attention before talking. Ned come with Alice and I. We have a bunker and you could join us in there while we wait out this mess.”

Ned watched the oldest couple in the neighborhood and could see the stress lines creasing Alex’s forehead and could see the tremble in Alice’s body. He wanted to help them, but then he glanced back at the TV and saw Mrs. Addison walking toward the podium to speak. Ned didn’t take his eyes off the TV again as shook his head in refusal. 

“What is it. What is on the tv,” Alice said as she shoved past her husband. “Move Alex, let me see.” When she was at an angle to be able to see the tv her eyes widened and she hurried over to the couch to watch. Alex sighed and thumped his way over after her. A few minutes after the two had made themselves comfortable Mrs. Addison began to speak.

“Today is not an easy one. Everyone has had quite a scare. There is a large spaceship hovering above the planet and we are all feeling unsure.” She paused and looked down at the papers sitting on the podium and then glanced off screen. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. As she released her breath she opened her eyes and Ned felt like she was standing before him speaking only to him. “I was asked to come out here today to give some speech about how everything is okay and the government has everything under control, but…. Hey,” she interrupted herself as she looked off screen, “if you shut this down no one will believe a word you say next and everyone will panic. Do not shut this down or you will lose the audience completely. The people deserve the truth."

Something must have happened off screen because Alice said, “Oh dear, I hope no one got hurt.”

“Who cares,” Alex said. 

Ned just waved them to be quiet as Mrs. Addison began to speak again. 

“Sorry about that. As I was saying, the government wants me to tell you a bunch of lies but I won’t do that to you. Today we received a transmission from the ship overhead. All it sent was a message telling us to surrender peacefully and we won’t all die. Since they have settled overhead, we have had a few other communications with them and have found out that they have no desire to negotiate. We are out gunned, out manned, and they have better technology than we do. They are not friendly and they intend to take anything of value from this planet and destroy the rest. At best some 200,000 people might be saved and the rest of us will be destroyed with the planet. And if you think you are brilliant or some kind of special exception and are thinking you’ll be chosen I can tell you now they want slaves not a person with intelligence. I am not sure we stand a chance, but I stand here and tell you I will not just give in. I will do everything I can to find a way to save as many of us as I can and that means not giving in to their demands.

“The Human race does not give up. We don’t go down without a fight and we don’t give in. No matter how difficult we push and we fight. Even if every last one of us dies we won’t let them just have what they want. I will not stand by and watch the human race get destroyed. Those who want to fight can go where directed by their local government. We will find a way, we will not give up, we will fight.”

Ned couldn’t hear what happens on screen after that, but he could hear some noise coming from Alice and Alex. Ned glanced over and found Alex standing with his gun in hand looking at his phone while Alice clung to his arm and shook him. 

Ned glanced at his phone and saw the text message from an unknown number telling him to go to the Town Hall. When he glanced back up Alex was out already out the door and Alice was quickly following after. 

Ned stood slowly holding his rifle in one hand and stared at his phone. Then he glanced down at the floor and noticed a set of keys lying in the middle of the room. He walked over and scooped them up. Ned glanced at his phone one more time before shoving it into his pocket. He walked out of his house and into his shed. He opened the doors and wandered around looking through everything he had. The explosives, the guns, the ammo, the grenades. 

He glanced back outside and watched Alex’s truck rumble done the road. Alice still stood in the driveway. Ned walked over to her. 

“Help me move some stuff to your bunker Mrs. Alice,” Ned said. She started and then nodded. When he led her back to the shed, Alice froze and stared with wide eyes at his stash. “Please,” Ned said and that got her moving. She followed him to the bunker and he dug the keys, that he had found on the ground, from his pocket and unlocked the bunker. Alice was unresponsive for the most part and didn’t even seem to notice that Ned had the keys. 

It took them several trips to get everything down into the bunker. Ned then armed himself with several guns, some ammo, and several knives. He put on his best bullet proof vest and his thickest clothing. Once he was equipped, he headed to the garage and pulled out a bicycle. Alice was suddenly in front of him. 

“Where are you going? Tell me you aren’t going too.” 

“I will be back. I just need to know the plan,” Ned said and then he set off for the Town Hall. He arrived thirty minutes later and was greeted by a sight of hundreds of people with guns trying to enter the building. 

Ned decided to not go in, but just stand outside the doors and try to find someone who would tell him what was said as it ended. He stood there watching people mill about he couldn’t hear what was happening in the building and everything outside was silent. His ears started to ring and he rubbed at them and his head wishing it would calm down. 

The next thing he knew he was flying through the air and stuff was landing on him and around him. The ringing had stopped and Ned could not hear a thing. He shook his head and tried to move a board that was trapping him on the ground. There was a man to his left hobbling around and Ned called out for help. The man stumbled over and with the man’s help Ned was soon freed. The man yelled something, but all Ned could see was the man’s profile and so Ned could not read the man’s lips. 

When Ned didn’t answer the man sneered, so Ned pointed to his ears. The man shook his head and his lips said, “Well this one is useless.” And then the man wandered off. 

Ned scowled after him. Ned began to move after the man disappeared from sight. Ned wandered toward the edge of the town square and then ducked down when he saw some sort of triangular ship landing on the ground. 

He stayed still and hidden as he watched a door open and a couple of the aliens exit the ship. They were extremely tall and angular. They seemed to be wearing some kind of suit. Ned scanned the area around the ship and watched as people who had survived the explosion slipped around the shadows near the ship encircling them and slowly crept toward the two beings. 

Ned grinned. Humans always survive, he thought as he watched the noose tighten.