"Guys! Mom, Ella, Dad! Get in here!"
"What are you yelling about, Amalia?" Amalia's mother, Kerrie, slowly walked into the living room, drying her hands on a dish towel.
Amalia pointed the remote in her hand at the TV and turned up the volume. Her sister, Ella, bounded down the stairs and screamed "ALIENS!"
"Yeah, no kidding, Ella."
"Be nice," her father, Jacin, reprimanded.
"Sorry, but look!"
"We go now to live coverage of the first spaceship landing, on the lawn of the White House in Washington D.C. The authorities advise everyone to stay indoors until further notice."
"Aw, man!" Ella whined. "We were gonna go biking this afternoon!"
"Not anymore, I guess," Amalia responded glumly.
"Oh my word, guys, if it means that much to you, just go, already! I don't think any have landed here yet. But take the phone, just in case."
The two girls perked up immediately. "Okay! Bye!"
They raced to the garage, grabbing their helmets and strapping them on tight. Wheeling the bikes out of the garage, their mother called to them, "Be careful! You may not be worried about it, but there are still aliens landing all over the world."
"Okay, okay, can we go now?" Amalia pleaded.
Kerrie smiled. 'Yeah, sure, why not? Have fun!"
The girls jumped on their bikes and were soon out of sight.
***
"Come on! Race you to the top of Frederick," Amalia taunted.
"Fine, but you know you'll never beat me!" Ella retorted hotly.
"I always do!" Amalia laughed and took off down the sidewalk.
"Oh, come on!" Ella called. "Unfair!"
"Just try to keep up!"
Amalia pedaled as hard as she could. Her bike was in the highest gear, and before she knew it, the long slope of Frederick loomed just to her right. Quickly downshifting, she threw her handlebars to the right and began the arduous climb to the summit.
In reality, Frederick wasn't that much of a hill, but to teenagers on bikes, it may as well have been Everest.
Panting, Amalia slowly crested the top of the hill, Ella hot on her tail.
"Hah!" Amalia wheezed breathlessly. "I... beat... you!"
"Well," Ella hissed, equally out of breath, "I'll beat you down Pheasant!"
Amalia groaned, but followed Ella at a quick pace. Reaching the top of Pheasant, the two girls stopped and looked at each other. Amalia smirked and held her hand up for a fist bump. Ella pounded it and the two launched down the hill, laughing the whole way. They continued down a small path that cut back out to the main road, then turned and headed for home.
They pedaled into the driveway, joking as they walked their bikes into the garage.
"Wait, didn't we close the garage?" Ella asked quietly.
"Yeah, but I bet It was just Mom and Dad. Let's go in. I need water."
Ella shrugged. "If you say so."
Amalia opened the door into the house, walked into the kitchen, and stopped short.
The whole room was torn apart. Shelves of dishes were pulled out and smashed on the ground, fridge left wide open, table on it's side, nothing left untouched.
"What happened here?!" Amalia gasped.
Suddenly, a scream issued from the backyard. Amalia turned and bolted out the door.
"SISSY!"
She glanced around the yard, and saw a giant shining gray orb, a hatch open on its side. Ella, Kerrie, and Jacin were being dragged into the strange ship by three six foot, orange, four-armed, six-legged, nine-eyed aliens.
Amalia ran towards the ship. Three more similar aliens, carrying her next-door neighbors, walked past her. One bumped into her and nearly knocked her over.
"NO!"
The hatch on the orb slid shut, and the ship shot into the sky. Following its trajectory, Amalia caught a glimpse of another orb, this one the size of the moon.
As the small orb disappeared inside the larger orb, probably the mother ship, she came to a conclusion.
"Effing alien apocalypse."
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