The alien, the one I saw on the internet. It’s here!
Shots ring out across Brooklyn Bridge, somewhere distant behind the charging alien. It turns with a smooth motion, returning glowing blue bursts of destruction. Pandemoniumbreaks out, as tourists scream and cars skid, horns blaring. A cop car bursts into flames, before it’s turned into molten blueslop, far in the distance.
My heart thunders in my chest as I scramble onto the ground, wondering what insanity possessed me to choose death.
Dying is fucking terrifying! I want to live and get the hell away from this madness!
Crawling on the dirty walkway, I hear the panicked screams of those nearby heightening. I glance over my shoulder to see the titan standing over me. It blocks out the dim sun, its sheer enormity eclipsing me with petrifying fear. It wears its frightening ashen armor with bits of glowing red, as if crafted from an active volcano.
“Wow, wow, wow. Wait, a second!” I hold up placating hands, scooting along the ground to escape.
The monstrous alien tilts its enormous, terrifying mask as if inspecting me. I doubt he’s admiring my beautiful Chanel suit!
“Iok tau ja ailliek’rak kis.” The voice resembles a man's, if that man was as big and broad as a mountain.
Scary wisps of red mist leak from the titan’s mask near the slanted black eye slots. Frantic terror grips my heart as the alien lifts its right arm, the wrist armor glows with ominous, hazy blue.
“No, No! I don’t want to die!” I scream as an azure blast crashes into me.
Darkness consumes me.
Chapter 4
Alexandra
Exposed
Someoneannoyingisshakingme.Why won’t they just let me nap?I stir, caught between the haze of waking and sleeping. Instantly, a throbbing headache makes itself known.Did I go out partying last night?No, that doesn’t make sense. I’m too poor for parties now. I groan at the recollection, recalling the terrible reality that I’m broke—broke as a politician’s promise.
A stinging pain whips across my cheek, accompanied by a loud smack, startling me awake.
“What the hell?” I exclaim, rubbing my face in outrage. I glare daggers at my hateful assailant, only for my expression to melt into shock. “Why are you... naked?” My words trail off indisbelief as I take in the nude woman stooped over me. She looks Latina, or at least that’s what I assume from her features.
Wait!
Taking a deep breath, I brace myself for the inevitable. My eyes travel downward, revealing my own nakedness, causing my heart to pound with frantic panic.
“My Chanel suit!” I shout, scanning the black marble room—no, not a room, it’s a cell.
What the FUCK is happening?
Two other nude women are here too: one with olive skin and black hair is crumpled into an impressive ball shape, sobbing into her knees. The other is petite, an unfortunate long-haired ginger. She stands with newly dried blue eyes, raw from weeping, her youthful expression a mix of sympathy and despair.
Still, I continue searching the ominous cell in vain.
Where is my Birkin handbag?
I feel so naked—extra naked. My clothes and fashion are my armor, an unspoken display of status, wealth, and good taste. Without them, I’m just a nobody. It’s like being in boarding school again, wearing the same uniform as everyone else, but oversized and sticking out like a sore thumb—HeiferandBigfoot. The memory of the insults as chilling as the crisp air.
“No Chanel here,chica!” Miss Attitude exclaims in a Spanish accent I’m unfamiliar with. “Theputostook all our clothes. Everything!” Her face twists into a sneer, and I get the sense this woman would claw a bitch for a wrong move.
So, I make no move, offering a weak smile and averting my gaze. Miss Attitudetutsand stalks towards the thick bars of the cell.
“Hey, hey! Let us out of here, youpendejo!” She clutches the metal with a white-knuckled grip, screaming.
It only drives the black-haired woman to sob harder. I study her, trying to make sense of her features, but it’s hard to be certain with her balled up. Her cries elicit a flicker of sympathy in me. I know those tears well—crying so hard and long until exhausted, all you have left are weak remnants, but the pain and emptiness never go away.
I struggle to remember, overwhelmed by this crazy situation. The alien titan—he came for me—it must have been.Why did it ignore everyone else on the bridge?Especially with all those tourists milling around, he could’ve kidnapped anyone, hundreds of people even, if he had the time.
