“It is,” Reno said. “There should be an exit up here; then we should be home free.”
Maya nodded but didn’t say a word, not willing to allow her focus to fade for even an instant until they had made it inside the stadium. She saw the exit sign and took the off-ramp toward the parking lot.
The sky suddenly dimmed. Maya knew the sun was setting, but it felt like darkness was coming too fast. Like it was artificial. Alien.
Laura looked up into the sky. “Something doesn’t feel right.”
The ground shook then, and Maya looked into the rearview mirror. Her first thought was that a hive of mad bees had begun chasing them—a mass of insects so large that they blotted out the sun. But she knew better. They weren’t bees.
Near the southern horizon and coming through the darkening sky, a laser flashed like lightning and Maya could see the nose of a massive alien ship descending through the clouds in a swarm of flying aliens. Hundreds, possibly thousands, filled the sky, and the dark cloud began to close the distance.
Reno turned to look out the back window and then spun in his seat, waving his hands at Maya. “Go! Go!”
Maya stomped on the gas and jerked the wheel to the right. Reno kept his eyes to the sky as Maya slowed through the parking lots, following signs to the stadium entrance. Three minutes, four tops. That’s about how long she thought they had before the aliens would be on top of them.
“How close are we?” Maya asked. “Which entrance do we need to get to?”
“How should I know?” Reno looked at her and pounded his fist on the dashboard. “Just get us to the main entrance before they get here.”
Aiden pointed. “Mom, look.”
A sign had been erected near the main entrance.
Refugee Camp - Survivors Welcome
The words had been crossed out with red spray paint. The iron gate had been chained shut, and there was nobody on the sidewalk despite there being several vehicles in the parking lot, including military and emergency vehicles.
“Donna said there would be people waiting to check us in,” Maya said.
“I guess we didn’t make it in time,” Reno said. “I’m sure they lock the gates when the sun goes down.”
Aiden looked at his mother. “Now what?”
Maya had never been to Cincinnati, and it wasn’t exactly like she could just use her phone to find a cozy hideout that was laser-proof. If the main gate had been chained and nobody was waiting to let them in, she’d have to come up with another solution.
“Hold on!”
She floored it and cut the wheel, barreling through the parking lot as fast as she could get the truck to move.
Reno thought he knew what she was planning to do.
“This is crazy. We can’t just ram our way inside.”
“I’m not.” Maya put her hands on each kid’s head, one at a time. “When I say so, I need you both to jump out and then climb on top of the roof of the cab. You got me?”
“Yes,” Laura said.
Aiden nodded.
Reno leaned forward. “They’ve got barbed wire on the top of the fence. We’ll get shredded going over top.”
She didn’t care. Bleeding and alive was better than vaporized and dead.
Maya heard a grinding sound followed by the smell of burning rubber. The truck’s engine stalled, and it felt as though a giant had grabbed the rear bumper.
“No, no.”
“What’s happening?” Reno asked.
“A belt snapped.”
The weight of the truck slowed it to a crawl fifty yards from the gate. She leapt from the vehicle and spun around. The ship floated amongst the cloud of aliens now, and they couldn’t be more than a mile or so away. Maya could see individual aliens diving and rising, flying in and around each other like bats.
“Everybody out. Now!”
They sprinted for the gate, Maya dragging Aiden along while Lauren helped Reno. Maya had played softball as a kid, and she remembered the coach telling the girls to run as soon as you contacted the ball because, if you watched it fly through the air, you’d run slower. Baffled by the timing of her memory, she was still grateful for the advice she immediately shared.
“Don’t turn around. Just run as fast as you can.”
She made it to the gate first, reaching through the gate and grabbing the padlock and the chain locked from the inside.
“Help! Let us in!”
Maya looked over her shoulder and thought they had less than thirty seconds before the first wave of aliens would be on them. Thirty seconds left before these fuckers would obliterate everything she lived for in a flash of light.
“I know you’re in there! Please, let us in!”
“We’re done, Maya.” Reno turned and leaned against the gate. He closed his eyes as the chain rattled against the rusted iron.
She looked back again as the aliens passed over the last parking lot.
“Come here.” Maya pulled Aiden and Laura into an embrace, caressing their heads. “I love you both more than anything.”
“No, Mom—”
It wasn’t a sound that had interrupted Aiden. It was light.
At first, Maya thought the sun had exploded—gone supernova and taking these alien sons of bitches with it. Her next thought was that a bomb had gone off, but there was no explosion, no smoke. She looked up as Reno started to giggle.
“Are you ready for some football?” He cackled, looking at Maya, Laura, and Aiden.
She looked up and realized what had just happened. Someone inside Paul Brown Stadium had turned on the lights. Maya turned and watched the aliens spinning to the ground and flying into each other. The distorted growls of junkyard dogs split the sky as the aliens scrambled to escape the high-intensity lighting rigs now burning off the night atop the stadium. Even the ship had begun a slow turn back to the south.
Laura and Aiden took a step back from their mother and Reno lifted both hands in the air, cheering like he was at a Bengals’ game. And, in a way, Maya thought they’d all just scored a touchdown on a last-second Hail Mary.
But the game wasn’t over yet.
Encounter
War for Earth Book Three
Coming Soon
About J. Thorn
J. Thorn is a Top 100 Most Popular Author in Horror, Science Fiction, Action & Adventure and Fantasy (Amazon Author Rank). He has published two million words and has sold more than 185,000 books worldwide. In March of 2014 Thorn held the #5 position in Horror alongside his childhood idols Dean Koontz and Stephen King (at #4 and #2 respectively). He is an official member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, the Horror Writers Association, and the Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers.
Thorn earned a B.A. in American History from the University of Pittsburgh and a M.A. from Duquesne University. He is a full-time writer, part-time professor at John Carroll University, co-owner of Molten Universe Media, podcaster, FM radio DJ, musician, and a certified Story Grid nerd.
