The Mystery in the Shadows

It was the year 3039. There was a huge meteor invasion put upon the Earth. The people didn’t know how to react. They had never seen anything like this before. What was happening? Why was it happening? Who was causing this distress upon the people? There were so many questions rushing through their minds at the moment. The tall buildings around them had all fallen and the pieces had scattered everywhere. Massive destruction had caused the extinction of the human species. Except for one human, Laura, or that's what she had thought. She was stuck under a pile of dirt and debris. Just 4 minutes ago she was enjoying a pleasant day in NYC now she was buried under a pile of rubble.

Laura dug her way out of the rubble. She looked around. There were dirt and debris everywhere. The ground was nowhere to be seen. All the tall buildings, gone. The people, gone. The beautiful parks, all gone. Nothing but destruction, debris, and death. She sputtered, trying to get the dirt out of her lungs. The air was thick with smog. It seemed like a fog was invading the Earth but it was just clouds of destruction. The clouds were angry at whoever caused this demolition. The sun was scared to come out, thinking the same thing could happen to it as well. The air was musked with the smell of smoke. Ashes were scattered among the unseen terrain. A strong breeze crept up on Laura, sending chills throughout her body. 

Laura looked around hoping to see someone in the distance but nothing could be seen through the thick air, the scattered dirt resided in it. Suddenly, there was a movement in the distance. “What was that?” questioned Laura. The movement had returned once again. Laura kept her eye out this time. She couldn’t see much through the dirt-encrusted air but a faint silhouette was visible. “That looks like a man!” she exclaimed in shock. “B-but how could it be?” She tried to venture closer to find out who it was, finding more bodies with each step, but by the time she reached the location, the figure had disappeared.

 She searched the entire area, carefully, checking under every speck of dirt and every piece of wreckage. She saw some of her classmates hiding under debris. She had always hoped to someday be like them, but not at this moment. She had always noticed a big difference between her and them, yet now she felt the difference the most between life and death. Many recognizable people were in her view but, unfortunately, no one in the same state as her. 

She knew the man was actually there, she wasn’t just imagining. That figure being here was her only hope left for surviving this phenomenon. She was going to search high and low until that person was in her possession. 

She ran through the destroyed city, stumbling constantly due to the remains of the attack. She searched under the debris hoping to find anyone, even if they were unconscious. The smoke had started entering her nostrils causing her to cough and sputter, her determination was the only thing that kept her going. 

Suddenly she saw movement, she sprinted as fast as her legs could take her. The person was so close, she could nearly grab him. Come on! Almost there! Right when she was just an arms distance away, he was gone. 

“Where does he keep going?” she questioned as she hoped for the man to come back, but he never did. She scavenged the area, hoping to find some trace of where he could have gone. Nothing. It was like he just disappeared into thin air. She wasn’t going to give up her only opportunity for survival this easily. 

She kept seeing the man over the next several minutes. Every time she would be as close as a hair but at the last second, he would just disappear. She had been walking for hours and she was exhausted. The thick air pushed against Laura. She coughed and sputtered with each breath. She thought about how she was wearing down. How her body isn’t in the same condition it used to be. Is this what it feels like to get old? Her body started filling up with bottles of sadness. Every dead body squishing, helplessly, under her sneakers added to her sad state. She could feel the soul being squeezed out of the bodies, with each step she took. Their voices played in her head like they are yelling at her for not doing anything. For not trying to stop whoever was behind the traumatic event. For not finding the man. They were screaming all at once, like drums beating against her skull. The voices were bouncing through her brain. Each voice shattered her hopes and, ultimately, her soul. The bodies laid there giving her looks of disgust and disappointment. They kept screaming until Laura dropped to the ground in self-hate. The thoughts of what she could have done to stop this fluttered through her brain, scratching away any hope she had along the way. Tears started to escape from her eyes, trying to hold until they could no more, breaking apart Laura and her being. She didn’t have anything left to save so what was the point of racing for something impossible to reach.

All of a sudden, she felt a light shining upon her. The sun had started peeking behind the dreary clouds. It was like someone from heaven was telling her to keep going and not give up. To try to save even the tiniest bit of life left on the face of the Earth. The warmth had spread through her shattered body, healing wounds along the way. Putting the pieces of her soul together, back into someone that could hope, someone that didn’t give up easily and strived for the things she wanted. Back into the person who didn’t care what other people thought, dead or alive. It dried up the wetness on her face, leaving her with a face of determination. Hope had now started replacing the great depression she had previously acquired. She believed in herself now and knew that she could get to where she wanted to be. She decided she was going to work hard to save the Earth even if she died trying. She stood up, using her knees to raise her up. She had a smug grin of determination encasing her face. She kept walking, not having any care for what the dead may think. Her legs pushed her farther with their new given energy.

She entered the deconstructed jungle, now filled with whole new energy. What’s that? She sped up to the object to take a closer look. “He’s still here!” she jumped in utter joy. Her mind burst in celebration. She went closer to talk to the man. She still saw a shadow. The man was engulfed in a pane of darkness like he was being consumed by a dark hole. Oh no, did I get here too late? The darkness started fading. The man’s face was finally coming into view. It was like he was morphing into a completely different creature. His flesh was now fully visible. Wait, that’s not a human. It was nothing like human flesh. It looked rubbery like a brand new tire ready to hit the road. The color was abnormal for any human, streaks of blue and green running through it. She started backing up, unfamiliar with the object’s intentions. 

“Greetings,” the object said, spreading chills through Laura’s body.

“Wh-What are y-you!” Laura sputtered out.

“We are the ones who caused the meteor invasion,” it replied with pride.

“B-But why?” Laura questioned, trying to figure out what is going on.

“Can’t you tell? We wanted to kill off the humans so we could take over the Earth,” the thing scolded for Laura’s ignorance. “Unfortunately, we weren’t completely successful in doing so.”

Laura questioned in uttermost fear, “W-What are you g-going t-to do to me?” 

“I’m going to send you,” it replied, inching closer to her, “to your family.” 

“H-How could you?” Laura mumbled as she trembled profusely.

“Good-bye,” it said, inches away from Laura.