It was a lovely warm evening in Scottsdale. The sky was clear, allowing the stars to shine brightly through. The days of fog had finally cleared up. Roger strolled down the hill, one of the town’s many walking trails. It was a short walk to and from town, and he didn’t have to worry about being late for work in the morning. He’d lived in the town for five years now. It was such a nice change from his old city, which was overcrowded, and he wanted something simpler. Roger continued down the path, walking through the town’s sleepy streets. Everyone called them sleepy lights because everyone left their lights on. It made for an ethereal glow, even though it was unnatural. The surrounding trees and bushes cushioned the houses, as if shielding them. The path to his home wasn’t far now. Just thirty more minutes and he would be there. The sky glittered as Roger walked slowly. There was no rush. He didn’t need to be at work tomorrow. It was his day off to travel to see his family the next morning. He grinned as he thought about meeting his new niece. Still his pace didn’t speed up. Don’t have to meet them until the afternoon tomorrow.
Suddenly, the ground shook violently. Roger felt himself swaying and fell onto his knees. Earthquake, shit! He covered his hands with his face and waited for it to pass. A few minutes later it stopped. He looked around, and it was calm. There didn’t look like there was any damage. Roger stood, brushed himself off and continued on.
After about twenty minutes, Roger looked up at the sky again. He cocked his head in confusion. The sky was cloudy. He checked his wrist watch. It was supposed to be clear today. Roger shrugged and slightly picked up the pace. Must have blown in from the East. No problem. He hoped that wouldn’t mean that his flight was late. Around the time Roger started walking into town, he looked up at the sky again. It was thicker now with clouds, and it looked like was about to rain. He ran to get to his house. But then he tripped, and was forced to take shelter temporarily. Roger got under a bus stop and checked his leg. It was scratched up, but otherwise looked okay. It was a bit sore, so he waited for it to subside. As he sat there, he saw the rain begin to fall. Roger decided he would wait it out, but groaned. It could be an hour or more. But, he decided it was better than getting wet. The rain began as a light trickle but then it slated into a downpour quickly. He looked out into it. It was raining a bit harshly for this time of year, but he figured it was a late season storm. As he sat there, the rain continued to increase. He backed up further into the bus stop to avoid getting wet.
After a little while, Roger stepped forward to walk outside. Looks like this storm won’t let up, so I’ll have to deal with it to get home. But as he did so, the clouds happened to part a bit and he saw the moon. It was a pale white but something was mixed with it. He squinted his eyes to see. It looked like it was…green. Roger looked to the rain more closely now. He realized it wasn’t falling like it should have been. And there was a strange quality to it that was unnatural.
Roger’s heart starting pounding. What the hell?He heard something else too. The metal from the bus stop sounded strange, like it was crackling and moving of parts. Roger looked up. Was this roof shorter than before? Then he noticed the faint green tinge outside. Roger’s palms began to sweat. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to run. He wasn’t wearing a jacket. Just a T-shirt and pants. This time he heard it, a crunch above him. The metal was caving in. As Roger tried to think, the rain pounded on the roof, weakening it further. Then he saw it. The metal supports of the roof began falling inwards. Roger looked outside and grit his teeth.
Fuck it. He walked towards the opening. Roger felt a burning sensation as he stood there. He looked down and his shirt smelled acrid. As he was about to force himself outside, the roof lost its final supports, and collapsed into itself.
EMTS in chemical suits walked through the ruined remains of Scottsdale, searching for survivors. Scientists followed behind with safety gauges and meters. The air was extremely toxic. There was at least a layer of chemicals floating in the clouds, and more rain to come for the area. Buildings were combed through, and cars were opened and closed. More than an hour went by, and a few survivors were recovered from apartment buildings.
As one of the scientists walked around measuring the air, he happened to look over at something. There was an impact site directly to the right of the town. Looking closer, it was still smoking with green fumes surrounding its core. An asteroid from the empty abyss of space.
Helenmollybooks 