Kara

It was a Tuesday morning, and I had just woken up from eleven hours of sleep.  My eyes slowly opened to the bright light peaking through the blinds. I could tell my dad was working on the roof by the echoing of his steps as he moved from tile to tile. He was scraping the gutters clean while my mom was down in the kitchen banging around pots and pans. Recently, I started coming down with a cold, so my mom said I could stay home for the day. I decided to walk downstairs and see what my mom was cooking for lunch, since breakfast was over long before I had woken up. As my door swung open, the aroma of chicken noodle soup had made its way to my nose. 

“Good morning, sleepy head,” my mom said in a cheerful voice as I made my way down the stairs. 

“Hey mom, watcha cookin’?” I said. 

“Just some quick lunch, chicken noodle soup and some salad, want some?”

“Not right now, but thanks.” then made my way to the TV. 

I wasn’t hungry yet.

“Alrighty, can you turn on the news for a bit? I want to get a quick update of what’s going on around town.”

“Yeah sure!” I said, as I flipped through the channels until I came across WESH 2. 

At that moment when I had reached the right channel, my name was mentioned through the speakers in a public service announcement. My first thought was that there was someone with the same exact name as me, but then a picture appeared in the top right hand corner of the TV screen. More and more names were listed off one after another but I did not even bother to pay attention to those as fear struck me. Fifteen minutes passed before the news casters began to read off directions for the named people. Still in shock, I tried to listen and comprehend what they were saying to the best of my abilities.  

“The government is allowing each individual chosen to bring along another companion, but he/ she must be under 21 to join. No exceptions. You may also bring one suitcase filled with all necessities, considering the fact you will not return to your homes.” The female newscaster stated as she nervously flipped the paper.

“Further details will be given within the next hour so stay tuned for more information.”

I could not believe what I had heard, this Tuesday afternoon turned from a normal relaxing day, to a frightening, sad, and shocking one. 

My mom ran over to the where I was standing and shouted, “What in the world is going on!?” to the TV as if the newscasters could hear her. 

“I don’t want to go Mom…” I whispered through my lips that were frozen in shock. “They have just announced that people around America have been chosen to come with the government to survive the alien invasion. Apparently, aliens are taking over the world and they chose certain people to save in order to avoid diminishing the whole population! I just so happen to be one of those chosen people…I have no choice but to go! ”

“This is outrageous! They can not just take you away from everything you have!”

“There is no way I can get out of this,” I stated as I faced the reality of the situation I was put into. 

My dad came through the doors, muddy, and sweating from the work he had finished on the roof. He saw the looks on our faces and knew something was out of order. We tried to fill him in on what we just found out as calmly as possible, but the fear and shock in our voices didn’t really help. 

“This is ridiculous! How could such a beautiful morning change into this!?” my dad exclaimed as he paced around the living room. 

“There’s nothing we can do! It’s the government taking me! They knew about this for some time now and they are in charge of saving the people’s lives! And I’m not going to fight them on this decision”

We all gathered around the TV in hopes of learning more about where to go from here. 

“I have to leave you guys behind!? This can not be happening…there is no way I can leave you guys,” I said. 

“Honey, there is no yes or no response to this, you must go,” my mom said as I walked to the fridge to grab a water. 

“Let’s just wait for further information before we start freaking out,” my dad suggested as we sat around on the couches.

“I wonder if any of my friends had been picked too. I only heard my name in the mix of all this.”

“Who do you think you’re going to pick to come along with you?” my mom asked out of curiosity.

“I have no idea yet, that hasn’t even crossed my mind once.”

The commercial had ended and we turned up the volume until the sound of the newscasters’ voices echoed through the house. 

“Breaking news: Aliens are attacking the Earth. For those who are just now tuning in with us, please go on to www.app.usgov to see the list of children who have been chosen for this journey. As for the others that are waiting for further information, listen closely to all instructions.”

The female newscaster began to read off a list: “After you have chosen the person to come with you and completed the task of packing your suitcase, choose one of the following to do; Depending on the distance from your house, you could either request a pick up or drive to the National Guard yourself. Each National Guard in your state will be awaiting your arrival.”

The newscaster paused for a minute and frantically looked through her papers to find the next step. The government had already known about this prior to it taking place, however, it was brand new to us. The shock of the situation caused nerves and fear started to show on the two news anchors faces. Just as she was about to give up, she spotted the next step and proceeded to give out the instructions. 

“You must show up at your National Guard center within the next twenty hours in order to be transported to an undisclosed location before the 24 hour deadline.”

The information all came so fast, how could a Tuesday morning ever turn into this chaos. It frustrated me to know that government had known that this would happen prior. Why couldn’t they tell us this earlier? Why couldn’t they tell the people that were chosen earlier? Why couldn’t they let us prepare for this departure earlier? Question after question flowed through my mind, I started to think they wanted us to panic like I was at that moment. 

“Mom, Dad, what’s the plan?” I asked as soon as the news turned to commercial.

“Start packing your suitcase and we’ll go from there,” my dad said softly as he stood up and walked back outside to work off his frustration. He was always good about hiding his emotions. 

“I’m going to pick Elizabeth to come with me, she’s aware of what’s going on. I texted her earlier in the middle of the newscast so she is already packing her bags.”

“Good choice, Sweetie you guys will do fine together,” my mom said as she in hopes of making me feel better about this whole situation. 

Twenty minutes went by and I finished packing all I could think of into my one suitcase. The doorbell rang and my mom went to go see who it was. Elizabeth had just arrived and her parents came into the living room to further discuss what we were about to get ourselves into. 

“Hey Kara!” Elizabeth said as walked through the door to my room. 

“Hi!”

“I’m happy that you chose me to go with you! I have no idea what I would have done without you around,” Elizabeth stated in a surprisingly non-sarcastic voice.

“I’m glad you didn’t chicken out cause I wouldn’t want to take anyone else!” I stated back to her.

“Pshhh, I’m definitely not a chicken,” Elizabeth said as she walked out of my room.

We both walked back downstairs with my suitcase and put it beside hers. The next hour was dedicated to saying our last few words with our parents and the houses that we had grown up in. Then came the time where we piled into the car and reversed down the driveway into streets of chaos. 

The drive to our National Guard was short and seemed like it lasted a mere fifteen minutes, when in reality it was about an hour long. Throughout the whole ride, Elizabeth and I had been nonstop talking about the possibilities of what is to come. When we arrived, I said my last goodbyes to my dad since he was the one that drove us. My eyes were filled with tears, I could barely see the ground when I stepped out of the car. It was one of the most painful goodbyes I’d never imagined. [Error: No Signal Found]