Is this the end?
(Fireworks off in the distant)
Ervin: Oy, Mike. Come have a look see.
Mike: What's up Ervin?
Ervin gestures and moves his hands in a running motion. Trying to tell Mike to move faster.
Ervin: Get over here quick. Look. Do you see what I see?
Mike: Maybe....maybe not. Why? It's just fireworks. What do you see Ervin?
Ervin: Clearly you're not really looking. Look closer.
Mike sees some kind of unidentifiable flying object in the night sky.
Mike: Whoa....is that what I think it is?
Ervin: It's the end of the world as we know it man.
Mike: Whoa, now come down man. I mean, come on.....we might be seeing things. We've had plenty to drink after all.
Ervin: Nah, listen we have to go investigate.
Mike: (sniffs, coughs) Argh! Umph. Then that was how the grim reaper reached out to us. You're leading us to our own bad fate.
Ervin: Relax. It's cool. Don't forget to carry a flashlight with you.
Mike: Why should I? Woudn't wanna give our exact location to the enemy. Would we?
Ervin: (rolls his eyes) Let's go already. Gee, why do you always have to take the fun out of everything?
As they approach the alien spacecraft, they take careful steps not to set off any alarm. They look around to see if anyone's watching them. But the coast is clear.
Mike taps Ervin's shoulder.
Ervin: Whoa. Why did you do that? Do you want me to have a myocardial infarction?
Mike: I hear footsteps coming towards us.
Ervin: (gulps) Time to hide.
Mike opens a door and closes it behind him. Ervin rushes to a thick bush, and tries not to make any noise.
A short while later. Ervin comes out of hiding and he calls out for Mike. After several minutes, with no response, he goes to look for his amigo.
Meanwhile in the spaceship, the aliens are discussing their world invasions plan. They don't notice the presence of Mike behind their boardroom.
Ervin tracks his friend in the alien ship and he ends up in the lab. Then one of the aliens spot him. He screams and shouts for help. But it's too late. He's placed on a test table.
Mike listens in on the meeting and sees the alien leader. These beings look really pecualiar. Like a mix between humans, insects and zombies. Their leader looks even more strange, and has dark galactic shiny eyes that seem to be staring into his mind, spirit and soul.
The Queen of the aliens reaches into Mike's brain with her telepathic power. She collects all the information about human life, the usual activities, plans and agendas of earth's lifestyle.
No matter how hard he tries to get out of the trance, it doesn't work. Then he recalls of something calm. A song. The story of him harvesting maize. This throws the mind power off line, and Mike is free. He falls to the floor of the ship and in a moment, remembers that there was a faint call for help from someone not too long ago. It was Ervin.
He rushes and runs like it's a marathon. Dashes trying to follow the sounds of torture, and agonizing pain.
Ervin is tied, on the experiment table and being examined. The alien scientists gather data, and information on his brain activity. They run scare tests on him to find out what he's afraid of.
At last, Mike finds the alien laboratory. He couldn't miss it. There were so many sounds of machines, equipment and bright flashes of light coming from the lab. He knew he had to save whatever was left of Ervin.
One of the aliens walks out of the lab. This is his chance. Before the door closes, Mike rolls past it. He looks around the lab. Ervin is still alive, but in a tight spot.
The scientist alien continues running tests on Ervin. Then in a zap, it's hit on the head with an XS9735 microscope. The latest, advanced, piece in the entire galaxy.
Mike presses random buttons on the control panel. In a short while, Ervin is no longer trapped in the table straps. He is released and freed as fast as possible.
Ervin trembles. He looks around him. He's glad to see a familiar, heroic face.
Mike grabs his buddy and they make an unforgettable run for their lives. The alarm is set off and guards are in red alert. They search all areas of the spacecraft for the two intruders.
The alien Queen, really outraged by the disturbance, tells her team it's time to leave. With a loud shake, and movement of the ground, they are on their way to another planet.
Ervin tried to fight emesis associated with fright and trauma. Or that was induced by it.
Mike looked at his friend. He was worried. What did the aliens do to him?
Back on the alien spaceship.
Queen Z: Did your test subject end up completing the quick experiment?
Alien Dr: Yes, we think the tests ran smoothly your highness.
Queen Z: We may have been foiled for only a bit then. That's not a problem. We will carry on with plan B instead. (Laughs)
July 4th
It’s July 4th and my whole family is here at the lake. Everyone is getting sunblock on and getting ready to go play in the water. My little brother runs to the water and stops. He just stops and stares out into the water. The whole family is crowding around him and he points to something floating in the water. From where I am it looks like a bag but my grandma screams and I know it isn’t just a bag. The water rolled over the figure onto the beach and I could clearly see there was a body inside of the bag. I walk over and everyone is calling the police.
A few minutes later the police came and pulled out their notebooks. They opened the bag and a head rolled out. No one could recognize the face and no one really wanted to try. The police told us to leave the lake because it will be shut down for examination. We got everything and left as quickly as we could. As we were driving away I looked back and saw the police tape. More police passed us and so did an ambulance. By that point I could no longer see the police or the body.
At home nobody mentioned the body. At about noon we went to my uncle’s for the fourth of July celebration and he heard the news. Jacob, my brother was yelled at for being the third person to tell my uncle what was going on. Jacob is always really annoying and making me mad. Then my uncle told everyone not to talk about it. On the news the police found another 13 bodies. We were shocked. The news called it the Day the Flag Turned Red. Uncle Joe turned off the TV and said that is enough. I went to the bathroom but before I turned on the light he yelled,”everyone to the basement!” I stayed and he didn’t notice I wasn’t there. A little after they went down I heard what sounded like a chainsaw and I investigated. Uncle Joe was at the bottom of the stairs with a chainsaw and everyone screamed but I knew no one could hear. I freaked out and ran back up. He didn’t notice. I hope. I pulled out my mom’s phone and called the police. Just after, the chainsaw sound stopped and I hid in his room. For a while there wasn’t any noise and I was getting scared. I jumped when I heard the sirens. They knocked on the door but I didn’t budge in case my uncle was waiting. The police broke open the door and I came out and said “help me.” They ran to the room and I said “I saw my uncle with a chainsaw about to kill everyone.” Some went to the basement while the others searched the house. “There is a lot of blood down here but no bodies” said one of the police. Then they took me to the police station for a interogation.
They asked me some questions like if I have ever seen him acting strange. Or was there any past experiences of aggression. At the end, they told me my story wasn’t working because one of the bodies found in the lake was Uncle Joe’s. They told me I had an alter ego. This made me mad and I think I passed out. Later when I asked a guard, they told me I attempted to kill the interrogators. I didn’t believe him. As fourth of July was coming to an end, I realized it was all a cover up story and I was that man with the chainsaw. I freaked out and realized I am the only one left. For the rest of my life I was in prison without parole because of the deaths of 22 people.
Red, White, and Blue Stained Red
It's July 4th and the whole family is in the pool at our house. Friends were starting to show up and food was starting to arrive for breakfast. Everyone got out and ate. When they were going to go back in the pool, the water was a pale red and something was floating on top. Quickly, my uncle grabbed something to grab whatever was floating. Once that object was pulled out, everyone realized what is was. A dead body, more specifically Aunt Clara. Everyone was calling the police, but they were not arriving. Some people decided to go check. About thirty minutes later, they did not come back. We went to check and they were all gone, only a pool of blood marked where they were. All of a sudden, shots are heard and people start falling. Fourth of July is turning red. I run for life and hide inside. No one follows me. Why? I look out the window, they are all gone. I knew I had to hide. I run up the steps and duck away into a bedroom. I hear footsteps on the marble staircase and they are coming closer. The door to the room I am in, breaks and I hear a horrible noise. Everything goes black.
Dear old Uncle Bob
In the middle of Ohio, the middle of nowhere, with nothing, nobody, is a ramshackle wooden house my Uncle Bob built.
It's a great house. Really, it is. I love living here, ever since Uncle Bob passed it on to me in his will.
It's old, and it's coming apart, and parts are broken, but it's still nice. Not really quiet, though. He still talks a lot.
But I'm okay with that. We've always gotten on just fine.
Except that his anniversary's coming up. Fourth of July.
He accidentally set himself on fire. Which wouldn't have killed him, if he hadn't stumbled onto the fireworks and messed them all up.
What a family reunion turned funeral that was!
At least, everyone joked, they were already out here, so they wouldn't need to come back out for a good while.
Right. Well, I thought they were joking. But now that it's just me living here, nobody's coming out for celebrations or fireworks or cards or anything.
It's just me and Uncle Bob, hanging out, drinking beer, planning the fireworks. I'm doing the most of planning, though. He keeps joking about how it's my turn, this time.
I laugh, but I don't think it's funny. Much as I love it here, I want to leave at some point.
But don't tell Uncle Bob that.
He might kill me for real.