Sami turned to look at them. “They’re over the military base. Not some super secret weather research going on there, eh?”
Jace laughed. “I wish my parents’ work was so exciting. But I don’t think even they could hide some Doctor Doom-like weather machine.”
She turned back. “Darn. And here I was looking for some excitement.”
“Well, the most excitement I can offer is Pop Rocks candy and a soda,” he suggested.
“Soda! Candy!” George brightened considerably as he babbled between his fingers.
“I guess some can’t hurt,” Sami said.
“We’ll share. I think I could use some sugar and caffeine.” He turned quickly towards the refrigerator to hide the wince as the buzzing in his head intensified. He blindly moved to the cooler practically by memory along as he said, “Have you seen any of the Naruto-runners?”
“Oh, yeah, there are so many of them in town. They’re actually wearing t-shirts identifying themselves,” Sami said and he could hear the roll of her eyes in her voice. “It’s like they want to get caught.”
Jace was fishing out a glass-bottle of Coke when the buzzing in his head became screaming. With a cry, Jace put his hands over his ears and sank down onto his haunches. Sami was immediately by his side, holding his shoulders. Even George got into the act and was patting his back with slobbery hands.
“Jace, are you okay?” Sami asked. “Stupid question. You clearly aren’t. What can I do?”
But before Jace could ask her to get his medicine from his pocket, there were half a dozen cracks. The whole of the store was filled with silvery-white light as these cracks were seemingly caused by lightning strikes. One was so near that the world went white for a second. The building shook. Bottles, boxes, and cans fell from the shelves into the aisles. The lights in the Con-Ve went really bright for a second and then the electricity died. The pain in Jace’s head receded slightly and he was able to turn to look outside.
The sky was completely covered in those clouds now. Lightning rippled through them, but it was purple, not the usual white. The sun was completely obscured. Jace took off his sunglasses. His lips parted as a needle-shaped ship exploded through the clouds and raced towards the ground. When it struck there was another blast of light and a rumble.
They’re real, his mind said, but he immediately told himself, No, you’re not really seeing this. These can’t be alien spacecraft. The Khul can’t be here. They’re only in my dreams.
“Scared, Sami!” George burbled and held onto her bare leg and Jace’s back.
“It’s okay, George,” Sami’s voice was faint though and she was staring outside at the empty street. “That last strike seemed nearby, didn’t it?”
She didn’t see the ship. I must have imagined it, he told himself but he didn’t believe it.
“Y-yeah,” Jace agreed with her. He forced himself to his feet. He had to go outside. He had to see if… if what? If there are alien spacecraft sticking out of the Earth like metal flowers? But he said, nonetheless, “I’m just going to take a look outside. You and George stay here, okay?”
She nodded as her fingers laced through her brother’s black hair.
Jace walked unsteadily to the door. His breathing came rapidly. His eyes flickered all over the place. The buzzing grew louder as he neared his objective. He put a hand on the door bar. He heard what sounded like… yells? Screams? No, not possible. He pushed the door open and the sounds of screams became louder and more real. He popped his head out and glanced down the street.
It was there.
The Khul ship.
He recognized it.
It was a matte black in color. It truly was needle shaped. The sharp part of the needle had driven itself deep into the street. The asphalt had ruptured around it. Steam was rising up from its sides. Those sides were not smooth, but there were raised rectangular sections that were several feet long. There were no windows on the vessel. But there was a single opening with a black ramp made of the ship’s exterior leading down to the street.
Gehenna… he whispered. Are you real too? Are you here?
The buzzing sound almost like static now. He thought he might have heard a word or two. Something. He winced as pain burst like fireworks in his brain. The screams though had him focusing again, cracking open one eye to see what more was happening.
The screams came from a half-dozen Naruto-runners who had gathered around the ship in amazement and shock. Like Sami had said they were wearing shirts with the iconic image of the anime characters with his arms behind him.
The screams were not from the sight of the ship which would confirm all their hopes and dreams. Aliens real! Spacecraft land! No, it was what had come out of it that was causing the cries.
There were three of them with another coming down the gangway. The three were over seven feet tall. Their bodies were covered in a shiny black carapace. A circular dome of dozens of red eyes looked in every direction. Their mouths were circular and ringed by sharp teeth. There were tentacles sprouting from a point at the back of their neck and top of their spine. Those tentacles had mouths too. The fourth creature coming out of the ship was more like a caterpillar with hundreds of legs, a segmented body and a central maw large enough to swallow a human whole.
One of the tall Khul--an Omull, that’s what these are called--he heard in his head from a voice that sounded like it was coming over an old-time radio, advanced on guy with a scraggly beard and a generally unwashed appearance. But Jace didn’t care about that. He was focused on the voice. There was that stereo-turning sound as he heard next, and that kind of Khul is called a Cetix. The buzzing and crackling subsumed the voice.
“Gehenna?!” he burst out.
