Rick sat on the chipped and battered sidewalk, looking off into the distance. The dirt and grime left over the past month slowly seeped through his pants in a wet circle, but he didn’t seem to really care. The sky in the distance was a dark grey mountain range of thick clouds, hanging low like stalactites in the evening sky.

Ever since they arrived on this planet, the weather had never been the same.

Life changed for humanity when the visitors came ten months ago, and will never be the same again. The public had no idea how they came to Earth in the first place. To make things worse, wherever the invaders went, entire populations started disappearing without a trace. This was one of the mysteries still uncovered about these creatures

Rick’s life had been bad before, so this wasn’t too different. Five years prior to the first contact, Rick had lost his wife in a traffic accident. At least he didn’t have any children.

Deep rumbles echoed in the distance like a beast somewhere out in that deep dark abyss. The thought of seeing those biological behemoths was a terrifying sight for any human being to behold.

Around him lay cars, personal objects, litter, and…bodies.

The blue and gold delta symbol on the shoulder signified that they were part of the Monroe street gang. This group of bodies was not taken out by the giant alien creatures, but by other people. Rick checked each one of their pockets. All of them were empty, except for one person’s coat, which contained a pack of fruit snacks. Satisfied, Rick sat down and opened the package hungrily. In one mouthful, he ate those delicious mouthwatering fruit snacks.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of shuffling behind his back. The shuffling stopped for a moment, but then a loud clang brought sound back into his surroundings. The sounds were coming from the remains of an alleyway between the store, and a series of large office buildings that made up the majority of downtown. Out of his sheath, he pulled out a thirteen inch long machete in preparation to defend himself. He crept forward slowly, each step plodding quietly on the grey brick surface. He reached the corner, and slowly moved his eyes around building. Suddenly, he heard footsteps directly behind him. Even with a quick spinning around, it was too late.

A man stood behind Rick, a knife in hand just as big as his own. “Get down and show me your hands” demanded the strange older man gruffly. The man in front of Rick was about the same height as he was. He had grey hair that was greasily slicked back due to lack of proper hygiene. His eyes, although blue, shone like fire as they stared at Rick menacingly.

“I don’t want any trouble, I’m just passing through” replied Rick. “That’s what they all say.” Insulted the man. “Hurry up and give me that knife of yours.” Rick knew these kind of people. Guys like this simply killed their victims. They were no different from the visitors who were invading the planet. Swiftly, he rammed his head right into the man’s abdomen, startling him. The middle aged man gathered himself to fend off Rick, but was not fast enough. By the time he caught a hold of himself, Rick was already leaning over him holding the machete to his throat.

“I’ve had enough of you freaks killing other people. We should all be working together.” The man stared at Rick with fear in his eyes. Did the man hear something Rick could not? As he brought his hands up to knock the man out, Rick suddenly heard a low crushing sound. He looked in the direction of the noise, and cringed at what he saw.

A tan colored feeler bobbed up and down on the other side of an office building. The entire object could not be seen, but both Rick and the man knew what was coming for them. “Quickly, this way!” snapped the nervous man. He stepped into a hole in the general store, and Rick followed him inside. The thumping stopped, for the great beast was looking for them. Six legs as thick as tree trunks moved the creature through its surroundings. But there was more to this beast than its appearance. Out of one of the legs opened a small doorway. Horrified, Rick saw a thin leg reach out of the hole, followed by the body of a smaller alien.

The being was quite tall, roughly six feet. It was the stereotypical grey alien, with a large head and black unblinking eyes. The thin and bony chest gave the extraterrestrial a skeletal appearance. Its skinny arms and legs made it look unwieldy, as if not meant for movement on high gravity planets like Earth.

The thing moved forward, and turned around to help something else walk outside. To Rick’s surprise, a human stepped out. This human was not acting normally. Its eyes were completely black, as if its pupils covered its entire eye sockets.

The man pulled Rick inside, as the altered human snapped its head over toward the general store. “Get back in here! Do you know what we are dealing with?” Rick had known of the aliens that controlled the walkers, but he had never seen the product of their invasion.

Rick and the man climbed onto a shelf in the back on the store. At the top of it, a small entryway covered by boxes was revealed. It was a hole that led inside the store wall. “Close the door” said the man. Rick closed the hatch after shuffling the boxes around, just as the alien and his human hunter stepped into the general store.

The possessed human started sniffing around. A series of low clicks issued from his master, giving orders to search the store. In front of rick was a small tack-sized hole in the wall, where he could vaguely see the spectacle

“As long as you stay behind something with a strong smell, they can’t find you” whispered the man. One whiff of that stagnant drywall revealed to Rick what the covering smell was. Why was this man helping Rick? Did he suddenly change his mind about killing him?

Rick must have been thinking without looking, because now the hunter was ¬right in front of the peephole. He could see its horrifying eyes bugging out of its face as it searched. Rick could barely breathe as it sniffed past. He looked over at the man, who was just standing there watching intently. The hunter stopped sniffing, and hopped off the shelf, returning to its master. Together, they walked out of the general store. Five minutes later, they heard the sound of the walker thumping outside, signaling that it was safe to go out.

“We should be safe now. Those things don’t tend to look in the same place twice.” Said the man. “That’s right” replied Rick. “We should be in the clear.” Both men stood in silence as a gust of wind blew through the alleyway. The sound of thunder echoed miles away. “Did you have a change of mind back there?” Asked Rick. “I guess you could call it that” said the mysterious man. “I questioned attacking you because there are so few people left in this world. You cant take chances in times like these.” “I am glad you think so.” Said Rick. “I guess people really can change.”

“I’m Rick, What’s your name?” The man stood silently for a few seconds, and replied “Jedidiah.” He paused, and added “You can just call me Jed. Nice to meet you Rick.” He smiled. “Alright Jed…let’s get out of this city. With these walkers stumbling about, there’s no telling what could happen to us.” Jed nodded, and the two men walked into the suburbs, hoping to find people, supplies, and opportunity. For the first time in months, Rick was happy.