Monsters Like Us

It had been mere weeks since the invasion began, but it seemed like more and more ships kept appearing in our skies, depositing their violent cargo and hovering like murderous clouds above us.

Was there no end to this tide of death?

An explosion shook the floor of the small, crumbling building that I was huddled in, alerting me to the proximity of the enemy that had been hunting me. I trembled in the shadows, waiting until I could hear the heavy footsteps just a few feet away. I leaped from my hiding place, through a jagged hole in the wall to swing my makeshift club at the monster, praying that my aim was true.

To my dismay, the metal pipe skittered off of the creature's helmet, striking one of its shoulders before bouncing off to one side. It swung around to face me, expression hidden by the helmet's opaque glass. Time seemed to slow as my reflection stared back at me.

Did it at least feel remorse about having to kill me? Or were they all as heartless as we suspected?

It raised its weapon - a horrific firearm that had appeared weak to us when they first landed, but had quickly proven to be daunting in its destructive power. I knew that I didn't have time to swing my club again. In seconds, the fight would be over. That weapon would blast a hole through me that couldn't be mended, spreading pieces of me across the cracked pavement of the street with the rest of the debris.

I'd seen it happen too many times to count, to each person I'd ever known and loved until I was the only one left. It had happened to my parents, when they tried to get home to us. It had happened to my friends, when they tried to run. It had happened to my little brother, when I was scouting for food and they found his hiding place. No one was safe from the monsters, no matter what they did.

A tear slipped from my eye, carving a track through the sweat and dirt on my face as it fell. I was so exhausted, so tired of fighting, but I didn't want to die.

My salvation was a stone.

The gray rock struck the creature in its chest. Though it couldn't hope to penetrate the thick fabric of the sleek, dark suit, the impact managed to distract the creature, causing it to instinctively jerk its head in the direction that the projectile came from.

It was just enough of an opening. I grasped the rough metal pipe with both hands and plunged it upward, through the monster's throat until I felt it scrape the inside of the helmet and grind to a halt. Dark blood flowed down the shaft, washing over my hands and causing me to shudder with disgust. I pulled the pipe out with a horrifying squelch and took a step back. The creature spasmed and twitched, then went limp and crumpled to the ground.

"Are you alright?" A tall man approached me, his face pale and gaunt beneath a layer of grime. A heavy club was in one hand, the other fluttering in front of him nervously. He was the one who had saved me.

"Thank you," I said breathlessly, nearly sobbing as I clutched at him. I didn't care if I looked weak, I was just grateful to be alive. I rested my head against his shoulder while I caught my breath and he patted my back gently.

"Of course! I'm just glad I found someone else still here," he mumbled, his words mirroring my own thoughts. He didn’t offer his name, though, and I didn’t offer mine - an unspoken agreement to minimize one another’s pain in case the worst happened.

I chanced another look at the creature I'd killed. When I saw a glimmer at the spot where I'd torn through the suit, I pulled away from the man and knelt to investigate. Perhaps I could learn something about these creatures. Anything.

It was a golden chain. I tugged at it, realizing it was a necklace as the heart-shaped pendant fell into my hand. I slowly pulled the helmet off of the creature, hoping to get a better look at the monster underneath. Long, dark hair tumbled out, settling in a messy pile beside the creature's bloody head.

I looked up at the man, who was staring at the creature with a mixture of confusion and disgust, curiosity absent.

"We should get moving," he said hoarsely, offering a hand to help me to my feet. I accepted, our rough palms scraping against each other as I stood. Without a clear reason, I pulled the necklace from the monster's neck and tucked it in my pocket.

"I've heard that there are more survivors in the woods outside the city. That’s where I’ve been trying to get to,” I told him. He nodded and we started walking, quietly creeping through the small city, finally reaching a small ridge just beyond its furthest borders as the light was fading from the overcast sky. We gazed at the smoking buildings, listening to the distant boom of the creatures' weapons. I knew that more of us were dying at that very moment.

"Why are they doing this?" I whispered, tears threatening to spill down my cheeks again. A question that had been voiced over and over, with no response from the mysterious aliens that had invaded our peaceful lives.

In the fading light, I withdrew the necklace from my pocket. I examined it, fiddling with it for a moment, then it popped open. A locket.

Smiling faces. I could recognize the creature that I’d killed as one of the figures in the tiny photograph. It was flanked by two smaller ones with the same dark hair, all of them clinging to each other and grinning.

"It had a family," I murmured, holding up the locket so that my companion could see.

"We all did, too," he replied, running a hand through his thick, tangled hair and closing his eyes, face twisting in pain at whatever memories were sweeping through his mind.

I couldn’t decide if it made it better or worse that someone else would know the same suffering, the same loss that we had experienced. I had taken one of theirs from them, because they had taken so much from us.

I stared at the photograph in silence, brow furrowed. The longer I looked, the more the thought invaded my mind: they looked a bit like us.

They had two arms and two legs with seemingly-normal hands and feet, like us, with a head on top full of intelligence and organization. No tentacles or tails or strange appendages. They were mortal, as I’d proven.

There were clear differences, though. Their skin, their faces, their noses. Their teeth and their ears, even their eyes. So foreign, yet the hint of familiar lurked beneath the surface.

I wondered if the one I’d killed had been considered beautiful by the others of its kind. I looked down at my hands, still painted red with the monster’s blood. Nothing seemed beautiful anymore.

There was a rustling behind us, shattering my musings and sending an icy sliver of fear through my chest. My companion and I spun in unison, brandishing our clubs. We tried to ready our sore, tired muscles for battle, tense and trembling though they were.

Several figures stalked out of the foliage. Their skin was pale gray-green, speckled with darker splotches, thick hair atop their heads like knotted vines. Sharp eyes examined us from beneath thick brow ridges, defined snouts snuffling at our scents. Colorful beads and bright rings of gold and silver adorned necks, lips, and large, pointed ears, light glinting off of them as well as the ivory tusks that curled up from their jaws.

“More survivors?”

I nearly wept with relief, arms dropping to my sides as I relaxed for the first time since the monsters arrived. Even after finding the man beside me, I was terrified that we would be on our own in the wilderness, running from the invaders until we collapsed. Seeing so many of my own here was beyond anything I could have hoped for after the carnage I had witnessed. They welcomed us into their group, leading us back into the thick, dark forest toward their camp and promising food and rest. As the last glimpse of the city faded into the distance behind us, one of them leaned over to mutter to me.

“We’ve learned what the monsters are called, at least. Humans.”