When they came, nobody noticed somehow. Alice's house had been at the edge of the town and but she had somehow heard the first scream. When she looked out her window and saw the ships hovering in the sky, the monsters sliding down the long ropes and dropping into the town, she screamed. “Oh, tyen shiao duh!” She had lived with the knowledge that the Reavers often attacked planets on the rim, and Keats was at the very edge of space but the realization of her worst nightmare was too much of a shock. Her mind was panicking because her body would not move. She knew she needed to grab the shotgun on top of the dresser—it was already loaded in case of scenarios such as this—but she did nothing but stare at the window.

The screams from the town were audible and she could even see small figures fleeing from the Reavers. It wasn't hard to tell who was who—within minutes, the ones screaming on the ground were Alice's friends and acquaintances, the ones on top of them, slicing at those same friend's flesh were the Reavers.

It seemed as if hours had passed, and perhaps they did, but one by one the screams became fewer and quieter. Alice's entire body shuddered as she saw figures rising from what was left of the corpses on the ground and skitter across the ground, spreading out beyond the town, searching for more victims. It was common sense that made her finally reach for her only weapon. She kept her eyes on the door as she made sure the shells were loaded properly. With the barrel to her throat she could just barely reach the trigger.

When the door crashed in, sending wooden shrapnel across the room, there was nothing to see but a once beautiful woman lying on the ground, her life ended by her own hand.

* * *

I was in church when the bell began ringin' and ma got an awful look of fear in her eyes. Seemed everyone else did too, 'cept for the Shepherd, but his mouth was movin in what seemed like a prayer. Everyone began movin instantly and ma jumped up, pu