The Man With Black Eyes

There were four of them. A tight circle expecting to break at any time. Hands held together for one last time. A dying hope awashed each and every one of them and it was palpable. Even Leila, Leila who had kept them alive and hopeful…now, Leila’s eyes were drawn closed.

The rest were not speaking. The shadows of the darkened embers flickered in their eyes.

Finally, Sophie opened her mouth. She cleared her throat. Then…seconds passed…finally she gasped and whispered a goodbye. Her light eyes were no longer laughing and full of life. They had darkened and deadened as if to prepare for what was to come. “You all mean so much to me. I’ll go first”

Leila’s eyes shot open. “NO, you are not going anywhere” and she surprised herself by almost shrieking, the panic overwhelming her for the first time. She had worked so hard to stay calm the last month. She had succeeded. Her cool head and a miraculously sweet childhood that made her see everything bad as a temporary blip. Yes, a temporary blip. Aliens invading the entire country. Possibly the world. Emptying homes. Emitting shrieks meant to frighten them into cages. Transporting them who knows where. In her mind, a cosmic joke, right? Jokes are temporary, right?

But she couldn’t stay calm anymore. She felt the sweetness of life gone. As if she had misremembered something and it was never real to begin with. She knew her lifelong friend was about to run into one of the doors and Leila couldn’t process it. She couldn’t. Not now and not like this.

“Sophie!” Leila said “Don’t listen to him. Please. Please. Don’t let him break us apart”. She whispered, her eyes pleading “Stronger together, remember?” Leila was tall and regal with brown hair; a lioness; but now she was hunched as if her spirit was failing her. Her eyes were pleading with Sophie.

Sophie felt hurt inside and knew she had to say this one last time. “I love you Leila”. She broke free from the group to hug her childhood partner in crime.

While they hugged emotions flooded her. She felt they would all die if she didn’t run but she was terrified to break the group. Her blood was cold. She gulped. Inwardly, she knew she had to trigger the group to leave or none would leave. She couldn’t see them die. Not when she knew better.

“Leila” she said softly, her throat constricted with grief, “I never told you this, but I've always looked up to you. You’re my big sister. Don’t forget it”. She gently brushed Leila’s cheeks, barely seeing her through her tears and quiet panic.

Leila’s hands gripped Sophie so tight she feared she wouldn’t let her go, her eyes wide and in shock. She looked at the door behind Sophie as if calculating how hard it would be to restrain her.

Sophie said softly, reading her mind, “Leila let me go. This is our only chance”.

Then Leila finally whispered “I love you Sophie. Go.” and let Sophie’s hands drop.

Sophie slowly backed away and then hugged Rob and Michelle. She whispered something in Rob’s ear and she told Michelle sadly “my other sister”.

And then she ran. She ran as if life itself was kicking her towards something that felt like death. Or maybe death was kicking her towards life. Yes, that was it, and she prayed to a god she didn’t believe in.

She paused just a second before reaching one of the dark green floating doors. Her back seemed to spasm in fear and suddenly…she was gone. She dropped into the abyss. Or at least it looked like that to the group. Their eyes all pointed towards where she was, terrified for her.

Leila almost shrieked again. Then she realized she was screaming inside her head. Her eyes were shut and she was breathing heavily.

Rob ran next. He sprinted towards one of the open doors across from them and disappeared. But he hadn’t said goodbye. He had just squeezed both their hands. Michelle on the right, Leila on the left. He couldn’t bear to say goodbye. Unlike Leila, or Sophie, or Michelle, he was a pessimist. The worst part of all is just yesterday he was led to believe maybe…just maybe Leila was right. Maybe they were winning the good fight. Maybe they would survive if they felt life was possible. He would only lead them to darkness.

Rob disappeared in the door as quickly as Sophie.

Leila and Michelle saw him leave, saw him drop into the abyss, and felt their stomachs sicken. And they came closer together, both hearts pounding, understanding nothing but each other’s feelings at that moment.

Around them was an illuminated night, the full moon dancing shadows along the sandy beach. They looked at the illuminated open doors bobbing around them, straight out of a sci fi movie.

What if that man was one of them?” Michelle said, referring to the stranger who had broken into their group in the evening, careening towards them with dark, blackened eyes and a broken arm.

“What if his words were a trap, and we’ve allowed our friends to walk into a trap? Leila oh my god”.

Leila was quiet for a moment. Her brown hair and dark eyes camouflaged her in the night more than her light haired friend. But they were both easy targets with the full moon.

“This place might be a trap too” Leila said, this time keeping it at a whisper. She feared the aliens more than she could tell Michelle.

Leila took a deep breath and whispered again “That man who warned us, he looked real, didn’t he? He had all the marks of a human. He talked like us, had all ten fingers and ten toes. He hugged us. He...touched us...he could touch us remember? He even knew how awful the service was at our favorite taco place…” she snorted, surprising herself with a sad laugh.

Michelle looked at her and suddenly she was laughing and sobbing at once.

“Leila, remember the first alien, he had three hands! And he kept wiggling them! He thought that was what people did!” Michelle moved her body back and forth and put her hands on her head wiggling them. Leila looked at her in disbelief that she was laughing. But suddenly, she felt the contagious laughter taking over her. It was bittersweet and painful and funny all at once.

“Yes, and the second one! He emitted fire and wasn’t even noticing! A real life Mushu! Or Hades!”

At this point their overwhelming emotions destroyed their sense of caution and they erupted into the laughter of the past. Leila wheezed…”Omg Michelle his head was literally on fire!”

Michelle looked at her friend fondly through her giggles. Leila had been the first one to notice the aliens refused to touch humans. She had saved their life.

The aliens. Some were polite and nice, the smarter ones used anger and high pitched shrieks, and some were neutral. There was something off about each one of them. Even the anger wasn’t…real…didn’t feel real.

Leila had softly said to one of them, screeching at them to enter a cage…“ok, why don’t you take me then?” and slowly started walking towards them, reaching out her hand as if to touch these human wannabes. She had looked at the alien so intently her friends thought she had lost her mind. But Leila was observant. Sharp. She saw patterns before anyone else. And one thing she knew for sure after ten days of running and hiding and watching from behind buildings and rocks. Aliens refused to hurt humans and they refused to touch them. Whatever they were doing to them, they needed them untouched and unharmed.

Somehow these aliens could turn off the wifi, they could understand english, could make phones, computers, and buildings literally just disappear..they could transform themselves (badly)…but … they couldn’t touch humans. The smarter aliens had found out they could scare humans into cages with shrieks and a loud, deep voice. But Leila noticed something. They never actually touched anyone.

So Sophie, Michelle, Leila and Rob had done what they did best: they started a small revolution. They told everyone they could, running a few hours each day to spread the word, staying tightly knit and fighting the good fight. “Don’t worry! They can’t touch you. They can’t hurt you. Or maybe they're not allowed to. Just keep hiding and running!”

Until tonight, where that man, barely clothed and bleeding, had run into them. They had been celebrating. The aliens had reduced in number. There were less people, but less aliens too. The bonfire was lit and cheers made heartily with beer stolen from the abandoned 7 eleven.

“You are my last group to warn” he had breathed heavily, his presence shocking all four of them. “They have started eliminating stragglers. They must have orders from above. Please, go. These doors are your only escape. No one knows where they go but we think it leads to the others, the other world, the ones that were unharmed. They wont’ give you the option of a cage anymore. They will just…eliminate you. GO.”

“Eliminate?” Sophie & Michelle had breathed that word together.

Leila felt darkness creep into her heart “Does that mean..?”

The stranger said "I'm not sure. They might be ok. But they just disappear. Please. Please listen to me. I’m one of you. Go to where it's safer”.

Rob spoke “We’ll go together”

“No” the man shook his head. “Once you enter one door it disappears. I tried going with my friend but”…his throat constricted. “It was as if this invisible force took him and threw me out. That’s why I look like this. This broken arm, it’s not from the aliens. It’s from that door”

Michelle and Leila hugged each other; shuddering, remembering his warning, his dark, black eyes that pleaded with them to leave. His embrace, warm, like a brother. He too had then run into a door and disappeared.

Leila could not forget his black eyes.

Suddenly, Leila took out a locket from her pocket. “Michelle, can you please take this, and think of me when you can?” Leila’s voice cracked. She had never felt more trapped.

Michelle’s eyes widened and she took the heart shaped jewelry in her hand before giving it back. “No need” she smiled shakily “We’re going together”.

Leila looked down and said “I don’t want to leave you. But I don't want you to die. Don't’ make this hard for us. Please. Just take the locket! Damn it Michelle” she found herself sobbing.

Michelle took a deep breath, took the locket, and took off her scarf, and tied it around her and her friend’s waist.

“Leila, what are you always saying? Stronger together. I bet that man hadn’t tried this. How the heck will aliens know we are not just one blob? Don’t make this hard for us”

Leila found herself laughing and crying again. This time, Michelle had to be strong for the both of them.

Leila breathed deeply. “Ok” In her heart, she felt despondent, but she couldn’t bear to say no.

Within minutes they were near one of the doors. Michelle could swear it whispered something to her but she could not hear what.

Leila hugged her as tightly as possible. Michelle had taken off her sweatshirt and they somehow both managed to wear it.

“You ready?” Leila whispered.

“Yes”

They looked at each other with fear and hope. Most of all, love. Together they squeezed into the door. And disappeared.