Wings of Death

Fall Back!

Everyone was terrified at this unexpected turn of events. People had placed all their hopes on the military but even they were no match for these flying monsters. The commanding officers ordered a full retreat. Most of the infantrymen were instantly wiped out. There was no point in trying to rescue the fallen soldiers. Nor was it possible to retrieve their bodies. The enemy had utterly overwhelmed the defense forces.

The reporter and his camera crew ran to the relative safety of their trailer. They kept recording everything from their moving vehicle. The surviving soldiers ran back to their armored trucks and hummers. The streets bore witness to a m******e of epic proportions. Soldiers were crawling on the ground and bleeding to death. Some of them were begging for help but they had to be abandoned for the greater good. An hour passed and the sun dipped below the horizon. Under the cover of the night, the remaining soldiers beat a hasty retreat. As soon as the skies went dark, the avian monsters gave up their chase. The newsreader was mortified and burst into tears before the camera. 

Mr. Browning closed the news app on his cell phone. He had seen enough. Nathan and his family became fully aware of the fact that they were facing a threat greater than any war that humanity had ever fought. They huddled in a corner of the room and held each other’s hands for strength. They knew they had to stick together and hope for a miracle. All that mattered now was surviving the night.

The screams of these monsters could still be heard faintly from the basement. They were still flying over their house. Nathan remembered he had left his backpack in his room. He sprang to his feet and crept up to the door.

Mr. Browning called after him in a concerned tone, “What are you doing son? Get back here right now!”

Nathan promptly replied, “Dad, I need to find my backpack. My laptop is in there.”

Mr. Browning was infuriated upon hearing this. He lost his temper and shouted, “We are all going to die if you open that darn door! Are you out of your freaking mind?”

Nathan’s mom also joined in the discussion with her earnest entreaties, “Nathan, it is not worth it. You know what’s up there. You can’t reach your room. Please, stop this madness!”

Nathan pressed his ears to the door and made the hush sign with his fingers. After listening for a while he spoke in a low hushed tone, “I can’t hear here the noises anymore. Come here dad. Maybe they are gone now.”

Mr. Browning stood quietly and tried to pay close attention to all the sounds around him. In that silent room he could only hear the ticking of his watch. Everything had gone quiet again. Was this the calm before the storm? Were the monsters really gone or were they just lying in wait? Perhaps they had their gaze fixed on their house and were waiting for them to step out of their basement.

The silence was shattered by the ringing of a cell phone. Nathan picked up the call and on the other end was a familiar voice, “Nathan, can you still hear the voices bro? I think they are gone now. It’s all so quiet now.”

“Even though I can’t hear their screams anymore, I am scared to go outside”, Nathan replied.

“Yeah man, I can’t stop thinking about what happened to those soldiers on the streets. I don’t think we should go out right now. I don’t know how long we can stay here. We are holed up here with one other family. We don’t have enough food or water.”

Nathan assessed the situation in his head and tried to think of a way out of this mess. After two minutes of silence he spoke again,” I think one of you should go outside and check what’s going on. But be careful and keep your eyes peeled. I will be doing the same. We can always run back underground if we hear those screams again.”

Alex agreed with Nathan and they both decided to venture outside after midnight.

It was 11:45 PM, Nathan took on the arduous task of convincing his parents that he needed to go outside.

He sat down beside his dad and started explaining the current situation,” Dad, we can’t stay here forever.  We need food and water. You need your insulin injections too. We are only trying to delay the inevitable. I will run back to the basement if I hear anything, I promise”.

Nathan’s dad did not seem very convinced but he knew that one day or the other they would have to go outside in search of food and water. He was a rational man but his heart wouldn’t allow him to send his only son on such a perilous quest. “Look son, let me go. You take care of your mom’, he said.

“Dad, I know you are trying to protect me but I can run faster than you and besides, I am a gamer dad. I guess, you can say, this is what I was born for. I need to do this dad. You stay here and wait for me. I will be back, I promise.”

Nathan kissed his mom on her forehead and bid farewell to his dad. He slid the cell phone inside his pocket and approached the door with a small flashlight in his hand. His heart began pounding rapidly as he carefully turned the key in the lock. The door knob twisted in his palms and the door opened with a creaking noise.