Fiction Short Story: "End-All"
I've never liked the news. I avoid it when I can. It always sends out the same depressing information: murders, car accidents, heists, and cop killings. I block it all out. All it does is give me anxiety. Instead I like to watch reality TV shows about redecorating houses with my border collie, Houston. I know, weird name. My ex-girlfriend named him. Whenever he made a mess or destroyed something, she would put on the shuttle voice, "Houston, we have a problem," and she would laugh at me. I never found it funny, but the dog's name stuck.
Today was different. After a long day at work, I was exhausted and done eating my microwaved Salisbury steak dinner. I was in the middle of yelling at Houston for begging and licking his damn chops - When the news came on. I tried turning it over but it was on every channel. So I turned up the volume from the mellow drone I'd been watching my show at and listened.
"Good evening everyone, I'm George McNare. We interrupt your evening broadcast to inform you that there have been reports of hundreds of sightings of UFO's around the San Francisco Bay Area. These are not large alien spaceships, but flying orbs. According to eye witnesses, these orbs glow in alternating shapes against our understanding of physics. The orbs range from small disks to large ovals in the sky. They appear harmless for now, but should anyone see anything unusual, please contact the hotline number at the bottom of the screen immediately. Thank you, and now back to our regularly scheduled programming."
The show crackled and went back to my show about fixing up houses. I went to my window and there was nothing I could see outside. I closed the curtains behind me, shrugged at Houston and went to get another beer. I sat back down to my show and learned about different wood floors and the benefits of tile in high traffic hallways. I had almost fallen asleep when the harsh horn played four times announcing the emergency broadcast, and the same newscaster came back on TV.
"Breaking news. We apologize for interrupting your regularly scheduled program. Thousands of unidentified flying orbs have landed around the San Francisco Bay Area. If you take a look at our newsfeed, Sarah Bates brings you a live broadcast from the closest UFO sightings. Sarah, can you tell us what you are seeing now?"
The TV cut to a black woman in her early 30's wearing a crisp white shirt.
"Thank you, George. I'm here at Dolores Park where a crowd of more than three hundred people have gathered. As you can see behind me, seven unidentified objects are floating in the sky above us. I'd say they are about two hundred feet in the air -- pure orbs of green light. We can't measure their size correctly at this time due to our inability to calculate their distance. People around us have described the light as being close to five feet wide. What we see here are disks and round balls. Our cameraman Jordan here will attempt to show you now."
The camera zoomed in to five orbs in the sky. They were bright green disks and orbs, just as the newscaster had said. They floated in the sky behind her. The camera cut back to the woman,
"Back to you in the studio, George."
The TV cut back to George,
"Thank you, Sarah. That's all the breaking news for this evening. Please continue to call in with stories and send videos to the hotline number at the bottom of your screen. Hopefully we won't be interrupting your program again tonight. We will keep you updated as this story progresses. This is George McNare."
Confused, I stood up and walked over to the windows. I ripped apart the curtains and I could see them now: Green lights. Orbs that lit up the sky. I closed the curtains again and sat back down with Houston who began to whimper. Over the course of twenty minutes I told Houston to shut up five times. All of my shows continued uninterrupted, and I began to forget about the earlier newscasts. At 11:15pm, the same newscaster came on. This time he looked disheveled and like he hadn't slept in days.
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Bay Area. We are interrupting your regular broadcasting to inform you that a large flying saucer is now hovering over the San Francisco Financial District. It lowered down upon the town about a half hour ago. NASA has been working to make contact.United Nations has been notified and armies across the globe are standing by. People of the Bay Area, get under ground. If you do not have an underground basement, run to the subways. Get to subway stations right away. NASA wants us to warn that the UFO's are hostile, killing five in Texas moments ago. Five in Texas have died shooting these orbs. I repeat, the unidentified objects are not friendly. San Francisco Bay Area: Plan for attack. All civilians get underground immediately and wait for further instructions on radio station 740 AM. I REPEAT, ALL CIVILIANS GET UNDERGROUND IMMEDIATELY!"
The broadcast cut out and went back to my regular TV show about rebuilding houses. I sat numb, staring at the goofy-faced man telling me how best to paint my dining room. It all felt so stupid now. I stood up and walked back over the curtains I had shut so many hours before. When I pulled them, I saw hundreds of the greens orbs floating above the skyscrapers around the city. I could see the enormous flying saucer hovering above the TransAmerica Building.
I froze staring at it all. It couldn't be real. Maybe I drank more than three beers? I put my beer down and watched the first laser beam from the flying saucer hit a skyscraper. My jaw dropped as the skyscraper caught on fire and collapsed. I shut the curtain again behind me. I drank too much. I knew it. I'm drunk and imagining things. My TV show stopped again and the news anchor resumed his position in his chair. This time he had tears in his eyes, his hair was all over the place, his armpits were drenched with sweat and when he began speaking, his voice was cracking,
"Breaking News: Get Underground. If you have not left San Francisco City, get underground. Everyone above ground will die. I repeat, everyone above ground will die. Get underground and God help us. God help us all."
The newscaster's face shattered into a million pieces and was replaced by static. My show didn't come back.
That was an hour ago and Houston won't stop barking. I can't bring myself to stop him. His barks ring out around me. I want more than anything not to open those curtains again. I'm scared. The last time I pulled the curtains apart, I ... I can't even describe it... The orbs are attacking. I'm afraid to leave my apartment. I fear this may be the end of humanity. Please. If someone finds this, my name is Sam, I want you to know how it
Today was different. After a long day at work, I was exhausted and done eating my microwaved Salisbury steak dinner. I was in the middle of yelling at Houston for begging and licking his damn chops - When the news came on. I tried turning it over but it was on every channel. So I turned up the volume from the mellow drone I'd been watching my show at and listened.
"Good evening everyone, I'm George McNare. We interrupt your evening broadcast to inform you that there have been reports of hundreds of sightings of UFO's around the San Francisco Bay Area. These are not large alien spaceships, but flying orbs. According to eye witnesses, these orbs glow in alternating shapes against our understanding of physics. The orbs range from small disks to large ovals in the sky. They appear harmless for now, but should anyone see anything unusual, please contact the hotline number at the bottom of the screen immediately. Thank you, and now back to our regularly scheduled programming."
The show crackled and went back to my show about fixing up houses. I went to my window and there was nothing I could see outside. I closed the curtains behind me, shrugged at Houston and went to get another beer. I sat back down to my show and learned about different wood floors and the benefits of tile in high traffic hallways. I had almost fallen asleep when the harsh horn played four times announcing the emergency broadcast, and the same newscaster came back on TV.
"Breaking news. We apologize for interrupting your regularly scheduled program. Thousands of unidentified flying orbs have landed around the San Francisco Bay Area. If you take a look at our newsfeed, Sarah Bates brings you a live broadcast from the closest UFO sightings. Sarah, can you tell us what you are seeing now?"
The TV cut to a black woman in her early 30's wearing a crisp white shirt.
"Thank you, George. I'm here at Dolores Park where a crowd of more than three hundred people have gathered. As you can see behind me, seven unidentified objects are floating in the sky above us. I'd say they are about two hundred feet in the air -- pure orbs of green light. We can't measure their size correctly at this time due to our inability to calculate their distance. People around us have described the light as being close to five feet wide. What we see here are disks and round balls. Our cameraman Jordan here will attempt to show you now."
The camera zoomed in to five orbs in the sky. They were bright green disks and orbs, just as the newscaster had said. They floated in the sky behind her. The camera cut back to the woman,
"Back to you in the studio, George."
The TV cut back to George,
"Thank you, Sarah. That's all the breaking news for this evening. Please continue to call in with stories and send videos to the hotline number at the bottom of your screen. Hopefully we won't be interrupting your program again tonight. We will keep you updated as this story progresses. This is George McNare."
Confused, I stood up and walked over to the windows. I ripped apart the curtains and I could see them now: Green lights. Orbs that lit up the sky. I closed the curtains again and sat back down with Houston who began to whimper. Over the course of twenty minutes I told Houston to shut up five times. All of my shows continued uninterrupted, and I began to forget about the earlier newscasts. At 11:15pm, the same newscaster came on. This time he looked disheveled and like he hadn't slept in days.
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Bay Area. We are interrupting your regular broadcasting to inform you that a large flying saucer is now hovering over the San Francisco Financial District. It lowered down upon the town about a half hour ago. NASA has been working to make contact.United Nations has been notified and armies across the globe are standing by. People of the Bay Area, get under ground. If you do not have an underground basement, run to the subways. Get to subway stations right away. NASA wants us to warn that the UFO's are hostile, killing five in Texas moments ago. Five in Texas have died shooting these orbs. I repeat, the unidentified objects are not friendly. San Francisco Bay Area: Plan for attack. All civilians get underground immediately and wait for further instructions on radio station 740 AM. I REPEAT, ALL CIVILIANS GET UNDERGROUND IMMEDIATELY!"
The broadcast cut out and went back to my regular TV show about rebuilding houses. I sat numb, staring at the goofy-faced man telling me how best to paint my dining room. It all felt so stupid now. I stood up and walked back over the curtains I had shut so many hours before. When I pulled them, I saw hundreds of the greens orbs floating above the skyscrapers around the city. I could see the enormous flying saucer hovering above the TransAmerica Building.
I froze staring at it all. It couldn't be real. Maybe I drank more than three beers? I put my beer down and watched the first laser beam from the flying saucer hit a skyscraper. My jaw dropped as the skyscraper caught on fire and collapsed. I shut the curtain again behind me. I drank too much. I knew it. I'm drunk and imagining things. My TV show stopped again and the news anchor resumed his position in his chair. This time he had tears in his eyes, his hair was all over the place, his armpits were drenched with sweat and when he began speaking, his voice was cracking,
"Breaking News: Get Underground. If you have not left San Francisco City, get underground. Everyone above ground will die. I repeat, everyone above ground will die. Get underground and God help us. God help us all."
The newscaster's face shattered into a million pieces and was replaced by static. My show didn't come back.
That was an hour ago and Houston won't stop barking. I can't bring myself to stop him. His barks ring out around me. I want more than anything not to open those curtains again. I'm scared. The last time I pulled the curtains apart, I ... I can't even describe it... The orbs are attacking. I'm afraid to leave my apartment. I fear this may be the end of humanity. Please. If someone finds this, my name is Sam, I want you to know how it
Wow! Love this short story.
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