I quietly left the shop and closed the door quietly. After a while, I realized that even the birds were not singing. I looked around, but did not see animal carcasses scattered among the crowd on the street. They may have been affected, but I don’t think so. If that were the case, there would be some birds lying in the crowd. Obviously, the birds were even scared away by the haze that suddenly enveloped the world.
As I tiptoed across the quiet street, my heart was pounding, and I carefully studied the alien spacecraft, trying not to let myself cry. It didn't come towards our town, and it didn't seem to be moving, but I knew it was only a matter of time before they appeared on the street, before they came to take everyone away. Somehow, I know this is exactly what they want to do.
When I think about what they are going to do to everyone when they come, I feel most afraid.
I slipped to another street, keeping my eyes on the spaceship hovering in the distance. Brett once told me that he thought they had eyeliners everywhere and knew our every move. I can only pray that he was wrong. Their technology is far superior to ours. This is an indisputable fact, but I have to hope that they do not have the ability to know where everyone is at all times.
Please believe me, I begged frantically. I beg you. I am not an important person, and they have no reason to monitor my actions.
I turned another corner, passed through the shadows, and walked towards the city center. I don’t know if there is a possibility of bruising inside my chest, but I am almost certain that my bruising is due to a bulge in my heart.
People are scattered on the streets in different locations and under different circumstances. A couple is kissing, and the other couple is holding hands on the bench. A family is taking pictures in the old mill, and a group of children are frozen in the middle of a game of catching people. I stopped to study the children. I have goose bumps on my skin. Even in the hot summer, I feel very cold when I see them. So far, they are the most creepy things I have encountered. In the frozen state, they are so simple but creepy and disturbing.
I forced myself to leave them, and then started screaming hysterically until the aliens were attracted by my screams. I sneaked into an alley and leaned against the cold wall, trying to catch my breath. I close my eyes and try not to let myself collapse, and try not to let myself collapse completely. I'm more than a mile away from home, and I don't know if I can make it through.
I tilted my head back, scanned the roof, looking for the camera. I didn't see anything, but it didn't matter. As far as I know, they don’t even need to install a camera to monitor us. As far as I know, they know everything. This idea does not seem completely far-fetched, it is no longer far-fetched. They can obviously freeze people in an instant, why don't they always know where we are? I took another deep breath, trying to muster my courage.
I crawled along the alley sneakily, feeling like a criminal. I quickly looked away from the man near the brick house at the end. He was about to go easily, the urine soiled the bricks and formed a puddle in front of him, but still no urine came out. I slipped onto another main road and rushed down the sidewalk quickly, avoiding the frozen people every step of the way.
I raised my arm and wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand, and the sweat dripped into one of my eyes. I sneaked into another alley quietly, bent down, and suddenly had an urge to curl up into a ball and let go of my sanity. I think if I do this, the world will become a better place. At least I won't be alone anymore. For a minute, I was swallowed by the urge to give up. I waited here until they found me, but I never gave up before, and I don't plan to give up now. When I don’t know what my family has become, maybe afterwards, if they leave... ...
I let this idea disappear, thinking that it is useless. Until I know.
I pushed aside the wall, jogged hurriedly, and hurriedly walked along the alley. After turning a bend, I started to speed up and ran fast on the sidewalk. I was breathing so fast that I could hardly hear the rumbling in the distance until it was too late. In fact, it hardly caught my attention in time.
I pressed my body against the wall, the ground under my feet began to tremble, and my fingers curled up in the wood. When I looked for the cause of this strange feeling and noise, my head bounced back and forth quickly. I tiptoed forward, keeping my hand firmly against the glass window of a shop. As the sidewalk under my feet began to tremble more, the noise became louder and louder.
I don’t know where to go or what to do. My throat is blocked; my body trembles with tension. I continued to climb forward, but I had to leave the street. I have to find a place to hide. When someone grabbed my arm, my hand almost slipped to the side. I started to let out a cry of shock, but when I was yanked towards a strong chest, a hand slammed my mouth.
"Shhh, Bethany," someone hissed in my ear.
Hearing my name, my struggle eased. My arm loosened, and my hand slipped away from my mouth. I quickly turned around, my eyes widened, and looked at the man who grabbed me. Cade stared at me too, his sunken eyes were covered with a hood, and his black hair was scattered on his carved face. His big mouth bit a line tightly.
We went to high school together, but these two words are the most words I have heard from him in more than a year. However, sometimes I find him staring at me suspiciously, or looking at me nervously, never stealing my breath and making my pulse beat faster. With just a glance, Cade can tingle my skin and curl up my toes, something that no one else can do. Although I know he has no romantic interest in me, there was a time when I had a crush on him. I am sure that almost every girl in the school has.
He is one year older than me and has just finished his third year of high school, but that's not the reason why I haven't spoken to him for a while. The main reason is that I was frightened by his melancholy personality, eye-catching appearance and rumors about him circulating in school. Rumors claim that he was involved in all kinds of things, from gangsters to worship of Satan, and even gangsters. I don't believe in rumors, but Cade didn't do anything to refute them, and sometimes I think he likes to make them lose control crazy.
He put a long finger on my lips, motioning for me to keep quiet, and his hand slipped into mine. I stared at his strong fingers, surprised that our hands were so seamlessly joined together. I am going crazy. The world around me is falling apart and I am surprised that our hands fit so perfectly, and he actually holds my hand.
He bent down, and my back trembled as his plump lips brushed my ears. "This way."
My fingers held his hand tightly. I am no longer alone. Judging by Cade's jaw and the determination in his eyes, he has a plan that is much better than the plan I had a few seconds ago. He dragged me into an alley, graceful, surprising and fascinating. I am very aware of this because I made sure that my two left feet would not trip over.
I wanted to ask him where we were going, but when he took me to another street, I didn't speak. The rumbling voice faded away, but I knew we would not escape for too long. It will find us, and I am afraid of the consequences when it finds us. Kadra held a hand behind him and stopped me by the side of an alley. He raised a finger and peered around the corner of the building. When he walked out of the shadow of Yin, I stretched out his finger.
When he disappeared from my sight, my heart beat even harder. He is the only person I have found, and I cannot lose him now. When he appeared again, I was about to follow him. His eyes were as black as agate and as cold as ice, flashing briefly on me. I felt the power of his gaze, right down to the tip of my toes. I think I will see a light of disapproval on his face, because he is a calm and reassuring being, and I am a trembling bastard, but no.
His fingers are entangled with mine again. He turned around and started pulling me into the street again. When he suddenly turned around and dragged me into the dark doorway of a store, I almost ran into him full of arms. As the rumble approached again, my legs began to tremble. I can feel the vibration of the porch under my feet. No matter what is hunting us, no matter what is there, it is getting closer and closer to us.
When Cade opened the door and sneaked into the antique shop quietly, I was filled with a sense of urgency. I followed behind, biting my lower lip, trying to suppress the scream in my throat. Cade closed the door gently; amidst the increasingly noisy sound outside, the slight click of the lock was barely audible.
He turned to the dark window, pulled down a slat and looked out. When I looked at his square chin and carved nose, I realized that even his profile was perfect. He gritted his teeth and pulled me a step back. Seeing him now and hearing his voice, I suddenly remembered the last time we talked nearly a year ago.
I have been standing on the street, watching my mother and sister, a huge alien spacecraft arrives for the first time. When it moved towards the city, it slid over us, blocked the sun, and made a low buzzing sound, which was almost invisible in ordinary sounds. I hugged my mother and sister tightly, watching all this, my heart was pounding, full of awe and fear. (To be continued) (End of this chapter)