Untitled Alien Story
Notes/Warnings:
I was in a dark place when I wrote this.
Contains an infant's death.
I'm sitting in the boxcar when the drone passes overhead. A beam of light is protruding from its center, scanning and searching the rusted train yard. I quickly extinguished the fire, looking over to my son. It's been two years since I had him; I was eight months pregnant when those things came from the sky.
He's sound asleep, which is perfect; neither he nor the drone make a sound. After making sure Jake is safely tucked into his makeshift crib, I drape a blanket around my shoulders. I'm careful to avoid any noise as I watch the drone start flying off; its spotlight switches off as it starts flying back over the yard. I hold my breath as it passes my boxcar, still remaining silent.
That's when I hear it. A sniffle, then a sob. My eyes widen as I look over to Jake; he's beginning to wake up and his cries grow louder, but they're soon drowned out by what can only be described as a metallic roar.
The area around the boxcar is illuminated, first in blue, then in red light. The scraping of metal follows next as the small door in the roof is pried open, flooding the carriage with red light. The beam narrows, searching the interior until it finds Jake, beginning to lift him slowly into the air. I jump in front of him and scream, but a robotic arm extends and presses me to the floor. It's not after me.
I continue to scream, but another arm snakes around my mouth, muffling my screeches. Jake's crying then starts echoing with an electronic undertone. I know what's about to happen and I look away, only to have my head turned, forcing my eyes upon my baby as it begins. His cries escalate into screams as flecks of dust swirl from him towards the beam. Flecks of him. His entirety begins to crumble in front of me as I'm forced to watch him turn to dust. His tattered clothes collapse inward as his being is turned to nothingness. I can feel tears streaming from my eyes, mixing with the sweat on my face. His final shriek chills me to my core as he's fully disintegrated.
The drone tears the rest of the roofing from the boxcar, aiming the beam at me. Its light returns to blue, and a hiss of steam jets out of it, as if to laugh at me, as if to add insult to injury. The arms retract, leaving me there with a pile of dust and the smoldering remnants of my fire. The drone flies off, having done its job.
Shh... don't wake her up.
