"Kelly!" a man shouts from the foot of the stairs, "Kelly!! Where the hell is she?!"
"Relax, John. You keep forgetting, she's not a kid anymore.", his wife says from the kitchen.
"Yeah, you're right. It's just... she always leaves without telling us where she's going and, well, I just don't trust those friends of hers."
"She's twenty-four, for christ's sake," she laughs, "Now, come help me unpack the groceries."
John proceeds towards the kitchen, as he was instructed, and gets underway his mundane task. He sorts the meats, vegtables and dairies into separate piles, then calls out, "Natalie!"
A young girl skips in through the door, "Yes, Daddy?"
"How would you like to earn a dollar?" he asks.
"Sure," she responds with a look of glee.
"Then do Daddy a favour and put away these groceries, would ya, honey? Good girl." he pats her on the head and swiftly exits the kitchen, not before grabbing a can of beer.
He heads into the living room and collapses onto the couch, bursting out a loud sigh. "Game time." he says to himself as he turns on the T.V. He rests his feet up on the coffee table, opens his can of beer and puts head back.
Natalie runs into the room, "Daddy, I'm done." she says.
"Good." he says while letting out a gentle smile, then returns his attantion to the game.
She stands there with her arms crossed, "Ahem."
"Can I help you sweetheart?"
"The dollar?"
"Dollar? What dollar?"
"The dollar you said you'd give me."
He lets out a laugh, "I never said that!"
"Yes you did!" she's on the verge of tears
"Ha ha, okay then, here," he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a dollar, "One dollar for your excellent work, go spend it on something nice, huh?"
She grabs it out of his hand.
"Now get out of here." he says and resumes watching the game, Giants versus the Packers. "YES!!" John screams, jumping up into the air. The Giants just scored a Touchdown. "Ah shit!" he's spilled beer all over himself.
Several hours have passed. John is asleep on the couch, his wife and daughter in bed. The house is quiet, dark. The front door opens slowly and silently. Kelly is home. Closing the door presents a problem as won't close without slamming it. She tries her best but in the end she's forced to slam it, waking John up.
He runs out of the living room, "Where the hell were you?!" he whispers angrily.
"Relax, Dad. I was in Tommy's."
"Tommy's? That... pothead?!"
"He's not a pothead, Dad."
"Well he seems that way. The long hair, laid back attitude, unemployed, talks like a god damn hippy! That's what he is, a hippy. I don't want you turning into one of those things."
"Things?" she says laughing, "You act as if they're not from this planet. He's a nice guy and I'm happy with him."
"Whatever you say. Anyway, get to bed. It's nearly five o'clock. I don't want you staying out this late again."
"I won't, Dad. Good night." she gives him a kiss on the cheek and goes up the stairs.
"Good night." he goes into the kitchen and turns on the coffee maker.
He sits silently at the table with his coffee and a cigarette, waiting for the clock to hit six so he can leave for work. Suddenly, he's blinded and deafened by something from outside. He falls from his chair, holding his ears and screaming.
The light dims and the noise stops. He gets up and goes out the back to see what it was. The wind is strong, blowing the clothes that hang on lines violently. Looking up he sees a large, triangular craft with a solitary light underneath at the centre. Smaller craft emerge and begin spreading out across the city. He runs back inside, noticing the craft heading in his direction.
"KELLY!! NATALIE!! JENNIFER!!" he screams, running up the stairs. They're huddled together in the master bedroom.
"We've gotta get out of here!" he yells. They stay huddled, sobbing.
"C'MON!!" he screams, "Downstairs, into the car, NOW!!"
They get up and run downstairs, out the front door. All along the street, people are doing the same. One of the craft stops at the end of the street and begins to suck up everything. Houses, cars, people, nothing can escape it.
Kelly and Natalie jump into the car. Jennifer stops, realizing something, turns and runs back into the house. "JENNY!!" John screams.
The craft is quickly getting closer and the sound evapourates from the air. The houses around him begin breaking up. Theirs begins breaking up, "JENNY!!!" he screams, but not making a sound.
He's helpless to do anything as the house begins to rise out of its foundations. He has no other option but to get in the car. The engine starts and he speeds off, the sound slowly returns and destruction is all that can be heard outside. He looks into the rearview mirror to see Kelly holding Natalie, the two of them balling. He struggles to hold back his own tears and begins slamming his fists on the steering wheel.
He finds a place to pull over and turns off the engine. His cup his face as he lets out a scream of pain and sadness. Tears trickle through his fingers.
"Dad," says Kelly, still crying, "Dad, what are we going to do?"
He removes his hands from his face and looks out the window, unresponsive to Kelly's question.
"Dad!" she shouts, giving John a jolt, "What are we going to do?"
"I don't know. Maybe. Maybe try to... try to get out of the city. Maybe these things haven't hit any rural areas. Just... just try to get some rest. I'll try to think of something."
The key turns, restarting the engine and they set off into the city.
Well theres that over with. Part three will be the direct follow up to parts on and two, obviously.
Let me know what you thought below and as always thanks for reading :D
Also if someone could tell me how put links in, I'll be sure to put a link in for part one.