Alien Invasion

Andrew is a good man. When the aliens first arrived, he held his community together. He worked to establish trust amongst citizens, reminding them all to retain their civility. He pioneered building an underground neighborhood, risking his life — daily — to construct a subterranean suburb. Upon finishing his project, Andrew is revered by all as a hero. One day, while searching the surface for supplies and food with his team, Andrew is attacked. The alien slashes both his thighs. Andrew fights valiantly, warding off the alien with a shotgun and alerting his team of its presence. Still, Andrew loses too much blood. Andrew dies.

Vanessa is a flawed woman. Once, before the aliens, she slept with Andrew while his wife was away visiting her parents. It was a mistake. It never happened again. But Vanessa remained wrecked with guilt. She presumes Andrew feels the same, since — after all — he is a good man. She never addressed Andrew or his family in public. She avoided social gatherings: block parties, barbeques, and grocery shopping during the afternoon. The day the aliens arrived; she reckoned the universe had finally found a way to punish her. But Vanessa survived. One day, two years after Andrew’s death, Vanessa witnesses two teens sneaking out to the surface. Despite the decrease in alien sightings, Vanessa fears for the teens — especially the young girl. She follows them out. Aliens attack. For the first time in forever, Vanessa feels she can do right. Instantly, she dives in front of the girl, hoping it gives her time to run. Vanessa is ripped apart. Vanessa dies.

Audrey is strong. Everybody knows it. Before the aliens, she was the primary breadwinner of her household, establishing her own law firm from the ground up. Her husband, Andrew, took care of the kids and worked as a contractor. Andrew never seemed to feel emasculated by this. After all, Andrew came from money. Audrey did not. He preferred a slower life, whilst she was more ambitious. One day, Audrey comes home early from visiting her parents. She wanted to be more present for her family. She sees Andrew. And Vanessa. Oddly enough, Audrey feels responsible. She blames herself, her priorities, and questions her own womanhood. By the time Audrey absolves herself of blame and works up the courage to confront Andrew and file for divorce, the aliens arrive. Audrey is smart, and she sets her pain aside. She knows her community needs a leader. They need Andrew, more importantly, they need their belief in Andrew’s good character. Audrey holds her tongue. As said, Audrey is strong. Time passes. The stress of their lives tear Audrey and Andrew apart, then brings them closer together. Audrey becomes a figurehead within the subterranean. After losing Andrew, Audrey works relentlessly to fulfill the gap he left behind. People don’t take her seriously. Soon. Audrey retreats to her room. A woman can only take so much. Still, she always volunteered to go up for more supplies. One day, Audrey never came back. After two months, Audrey is presumed dead.

James is sick and tired of this shit. His whole life, there were unattainable expectations placed upon him. Be strong and smart, like his mother Audrey. Be a caring man, like his father Andrew. Nobody ever asked him what he wanted. In fact, he didn’t even have time to figure it out. Two months before his seventeenth birthday, the aliens arrived. Now, all James had to do was survive. James quite liked surviving. Nobody asked “what’s next?” or “where too?” Then, James lost his father. Suddenly, he had shoes to fill again. His mother did all he was asked to do for as long as she could, but as James approached turning twenty, he was sent on his first mission aboveground for food and supplies. The missions occurred quarterly, and he embarked out with his mother. Suddenly, an alien attacks. Immediately, his mother starts shooting. James is overwhelmed with fear. Before he can even think clearly, James starts moving. He confronts truth then: he is not strong or smart or caring or a man. James runs. He turns back to look at his mother. She sees him. She nods. James turns back once more to see the alien fall, his mother standing triumphant. And then? Well, James soon realizes his mother is not right behind him. In fact, he can’t see her at all. Maybe, she decided to run too. Upon returning back empty-handed and without his mother, James is overcome with feelings of grief and inadequacy. That night, he sneaks out. He camps aboveground and does not run each time he hears a noise. James faces fear. The next morning, he comes back down. He repeats this cycle religiously. Night after night James proves he can still do what he knows to do best. James survives. One night, his ex-girlfriend Mia follows James up to the surface. Aliens attack. James dies.

Mia is loyal. She always has been. And when her boyfriend James dumps her after losing his father, she never stops caring. After all, Andrew was like a father to her too. He was everyone’s father. Mia also took care of people, it’s what she did best. In the subterranean, she soon took on the role of watching, teaching, and caring for all the young children. It was a thankless task, but Mia took pride in her work. It was Mia who first proposed the idea of a nightly watch by the entrance of the subterranean. Despite aliens not being able to fit through the gap, she feared one of her curious students might one day sneak out at night. After all, many were too young to even remember life before shifting underground. Nobody listened to her, instead they held their kids close each evening. But Mia persisted, and carried on the nightly watch by herself. It was here, when she first noticed James sneaking out after dark. Her sixth night on guard, she confronted James, asking him to stop. He didn’t listen. And when he pushed past her, Mia realized he didn’t even have a gun. Without thinking, Mia did what any loyal person would do for someone they cared about. She followed him. An alien attacks. Mia fires twice. James turns to see her and then charges — weaponless — towards the alien. Mia keeps firing, but the alien tears through James and moves closer to her. Suddenly, a woman dives in front of Mia, diverting the alien’s attention. But Mia doesn’t run, she stands by the stranger. Soon, she runs out of bullets. Mia dies.

Jason is incredibly stupid. Not once did he consider moving into any sort of subterranean. He decides to take advantage of the lawlessness prompted by an alien invasion in order to secure some coin. So, Jason and his friends agree to raid and bank and then drive to LA and live in an abandoned celebrity mansion. The plan, while nonsensical, almost works. Jason and his buddies are easily able to enter the bank. They stuff cash into duffle bags and load up the backseat of their getaway car. Just as Jason places the 10th duffle bag of cash into the car, he hears the engine rev. Shit. Someone got greedy. Jason curses out and questions why they even needed a getaway driver — there was no law enforcement. Their driver should be outside of the car helping them load up. Instead, he revs the engine again and speeds off, leaving Jason and his crew exposed. Soon, the commotion attracts aliens. Jason dies.

Eddie is Jason’s getaway driver. The one who drove off with the car door still open and swinging. But the backseat of the car still has enough cash to last a lifetime. Eddie is not good at most things. But Eddie can drive. He speeds past aliens, going fast enough to narrowly avoid death over and over. Soon, he approaches what’s left of LA. As he drives up the gates of the first mansion, he hears a gunshot. Then, Eddie goes limp. There must still be powerful people residing in that house or under it, because Eddie gets shot twice more by some unseen security. Or maybe it’s a series of stray bullets. Or maybe it’s others roaming the streets and embracing disorder like Eddie and Jason planned on doing. Regardless, Eddie dies.

Earl is a coward, but a smart one. He gathers supplies in an underground bunker and resides alone to prevent drawing any attention to himself. He lives off of root vegetables that he grows and eats raw. It’s a desolate, sad life, but Earls stays alive. He outlives them all. The heroes, the teens, the stupid, and the brave. He is left standing. Then, four days after Earl’s 62nd birthday, he experiences a stroke in the middle of the night. By morning, Earl dies.

Four-hundred years later, the aliens — having drained most of Earth’s resources — all perish. One by one, they each die. Generations of human survivors — bred underground — start slowly transitioning to life back on the surface. Some still choose to stay underground. Either way, life goes on.

Four and a half billion years later, the sun expands and it fries Earth. Life, as we know it, is gone. Everything and everyone left — dies.

Now: Try writing a different story. One less outlandish. Maybe one with less aliens. Be more or less creative. Have Audrey and Andrew live in a fairytale. Or have James and Mia be dystopian protagonists. Turn Jason and Eddie into a buddy comedy. Have Earl meet a little boy who teaches him to live again. You can change the names if you want — choose monikers that are less generic. Regardless of what names you choose, have characters with hopes and dreams and struggles and conquests. Have conflicting interests and genres and plot twists. Write whatever your heart desires.

But here’s the secret: no matter what you write, the ending will always be the same. I promise you. Even if you choose to leave it at happily ever after. Flash forward. Here’s the real ending: They will die. You will die. Everyone will die. Anyone who says otherwise is lying, manipulating your emotions, or doing both.

Regardless of what happens — the events — the subject will always die. So why bother telling a story? Why listen? It always starts with a sort of birth, has a series of events, and then ends with the blow of death. Every story — similar — merges together and with time, becomes forgettable. Stories, too, die. So, why do we write? Why read?

The answer is the same as why we live. What sets stories apart is neither the beginning and never the end — it’s the in between. It’s unique characters, choices, and struggles. It’s the how and why and when and where that makes the “what” for each “who,” the in between, meaningful.

Andrew and Vanessa and Audrey and James and Mia and Jason and Eddie and Earl all die. We will too. But, before that, they got a chance determine how they lived.

Now: Try writing a different story.