Three Chapters

Chapter 1: Introducing the Fallen


"Amelia Sheppard, it's only second period. Not even fourteen yet and already well on the path to being a real troublemaker. Are you trying to break a record for the most visits to the principal's office?" Mr. Gerritt's secretary inquired.
"Just send her in please, Ms. Markwell," Mr. Gerritt called from his office.
Amelia entered the principal's office as she did at least once a week for the past three years, since her father had left.She shut the door behind her and sat in her usual seat across from Mr. Gerritt.
"What brings you to my office today, Ms. Sheppard?" Mr. Gerritt had already spoken with most of Amelia's teachers, he had asked about her behavior and attitude. All of her teachers had concerns, but Ms. Fererra was the only one that hadn't sent Amelia to the principal's office. In fact, Ms. Fererra hadn't sent any students to the principal's office in nearly a decade. For Amelia to be sent to the principal's office, something major must have happened.
"Nothing! I'm innocent! I was in my seat, sleeping peacefully, when Kayla Locke started poking me. So I turned around in my seat and poked her back. Then Ms. Fererra said I was causing a disturbance and needed to come here, even though Kayla poked me first. She's the one who should be in here, not me!"
"You know Ms. Fererra hates students sleeping in her class, Amelia. Just because she hasn't sent you here before doesn't mean you can use her class for nap-time,"
"Did I say sleeping? I meant sitting. Yep, I was just sitting and she poked me."
"Mhmm. And after she poked you, your reaction was...?"
"Like I said, I poked her back. That's all!"
"Okay, Amelia. And if I ask Kayla and Ms. Fererra, they would say the same?"
"Of course not! They'd probably say I punched her, just to get me in trouble."
"Amelia, if you kept your hands to yourself I'm sure we could avoid these misunderstandings. For now, wait with Ms. Markwell. I'll need to speak with Ms. Fererra and Ms. Locke, then we will see what disciplinary action is needed."
"Fine. Whatever. It's not like I'm ever going to need to know about buoyancy, anyway," Amelia said as she sauntered over to a seat in the secretary's office.
Amelia sat in the secretary's office, thinking about why she was really in trouble. She had been sitting near the back of the class, paying attention to the lesson on buoyancy. Ms. Fererra said they'd even have a project to see what made things float. Amy always loved projects, it was great to be able to work directly with what you were learning, instead of just hearing about it.
But Ms. Fererra had a very strict rule. Under no circumstance was sleeping allowed in her class. Projects were cancelled, discussions became lectures, and everyone had a dreary time if Ms. Fererra even saw a student with their head down. Everyone said that Ms. Fererra should have been a Catholic schoolteacher, complete with the ruler ready to rapp the students on the knuckles.
So when Amy saw Kayla sleeping, she had poked her to wake her up. It was never that simple, though.
"Keep your hands off me, airhead. I don't want to catch any of your ugly-germs."
Amy tried to swallow her pride and just ignore the insult. She was normally called worse, anyway. But Kayla's head was returning to her desk, and that would mean no project. Amy lost control of her temper, and Kayla would probably have a black eye to show for it.
So Amy sat in the secretary's office, twiddling her thumbs and letting her mind wander. It was a slow day in Ms. Markwell's office, barely any phone calls or students. A few parents were calling in late regarding their children not coming in to school, the normal everyday boring blah, blah, blah.
Yet when a call got Ms. Markwell's face to go pale as she ran into Mr. Gerritt's office, Amy took notice. And when Mr. Gerritt raced out of his office yelling for her to go directly to the gym, "no ifs, ands, or buts," Amy showed a willingness to follow the instruction with a blur of motion that was no longer hindered by the school rule of "no running."
"Everyone please report to the first floor gymnasium for a special school spirit meeting," boomed Ms. Markwell over the P.A. system.
Amy burst through the doors, trying to catch her breath. The other students already in the gym looked at Airhead Amy with their usual demeanor of disgust. Amy's eyes sank to the floor, and she made her way to the bleachers. First row, right along the edge. That way she wouldn't make too many people have to sit next to her.
The vice principal came in, and started speaking. More students filtered in while he spoke. Soon the bleachers were full, too soon, because they weren't intended to hold the full student body. Normally the faculty set up chairs for these sort of events, but no chairs were ready. Teachers were near all the doors, counting off the students, making sure none were missing. It was the little details that made it clear to Amy that this wasn't planned, and it was an emergency.
Then, when the flow of students seemed to be ending, yet before they had found seats, the room imploded. The roof came down, the walls buckled, then the bleachers collapsed and finally sank.
Until that moment, Amy hadn't even suspected that the school had a basement. Now she and four other students were stuck in it.
One light was still flickering in the underground room, the rest were probably broken. Amy looked up, but the rubble and broken bleachers blocked the way back.
Amy tried to stand, but she could only find support on one leg. She fell back onto the cold cement, gasping at the pain in her left leg. It felt broken, like when she let the dog out when she was in first grade. Her mom said she needed to be punished. And when the dog didn't come back, her mother's torment could only fall upon Amelia.
Amy looked for something to use as a brace, or at least as a crutch, but her eyes were drawn instead to the other students. Tabitha Almond, one of the girls all of the boys noticed, had her arms around her knees, her pink skirt even more immodest than it usually was. Tommy Tumbletub, the class clown, had the wind knocked out of him, but if Amy knew him half as well as she believed, he would still be thinking of a joke about the situation. Greg Milton was hard to see in the dark because of his all-black clothes, a habit that earned him the nickname "Goth Greg." He was pretty mellow, he'd sit in the back of the class and never raise his hand, but he wasn't really goth. Even now, in the school basement, it looked like he didn't notice, like he had checked out of his body, or was just relaxing and watching some boring tv. The last of the students that Amy noticed was the other Greg, but it was clear that he hadn't made it through the catastophe. It wasn't a student, it was a corpse, crushed by rubble, construction bars sticking out of places that they had no business being in. Now that Greg Morton wasn't around, Amy wondered if Goth Greg would just start being called "Greg."
Amy had to look away from the carcass of the late Greg Morton, it was simply too grisly to endure.
"Well. This day is a real downer," Tommy said, now that he'd regained his composure. Tabitha started crying, and Greg Milton scowled.
"Greg's dead and you're making jokes? Just how insensitive can you be?" Goth Greg asked.
"Greg's... dead??" Tabitha's entire world that seemed to be spinning out of control, so much so that she couldn't even control her tears.
"We fell into the basement. I called it a downer. Because we fell down. Get it? It's funny, don't take it so personally," Tommy retorted.
"Shut your face, Tommy," Goth Greg said.
Tommy opened his mouth to respond again, and probably make the situation worse, but Amelia interrupted.
"Both of you shut your pie holes! I doubt any of us want to be down here longer than we have to, but my leg is broken. So you two can either man up and help me, or get me a crutch so I can at least get away from all of your petty bickering." The rage in Amelia's voice silenced everyone, including Tabitha's cries.
"Wow. Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed," chimed in Tommy. It only fueled Amelia's anger further. She began to make a fist, but before she threw the punch, noise could be heard from the gym above them.
Only pure and true terror could cause such awful screams to pass the lips of so many.
"Anybody else thinking maybe we're safer down here?" Tabitha mumbled.
"But safer for how long?" Goth Greg stated.


Chapter 2: Split Decisions


Goth Greg had used his overshirt and some pvc pipe he found to make a splint for Amy's leg. It was a bit mismatched and uncomfortable, but it was supportive enough that she could hobble away from the recently deceased classmate and begin exploring the basement for a way out, along with the others.
They had originally fallen into a room roughly the size of an average bedroom, it wasn't very spacious, but it would normally be comfortable for their very small group. With the rubble and glowing pale-blue rocks, though, it seemed too tight a fit, and the students were glad to find more space in the adjacent hallway. It was dimly lit, and went in two directions, right or left.
"Which way should we go?" Tabitha asked.
"Yeah, because I spend all my study halls down here, so I know the path," responded Tommy.
"Look! There's a sign. We can follow that if we get some light," Amy said, as the hallway was too poorly lit to read the sign.
"I've got it," Tommy said as he flicked open a lighter.
"Seriously? Why do you have a lighter at all, especially in school. I'm pretty sure that isn't allowed," mused Tabitha.
"I like to plan for getting stuck in the basement after the school is bombarded by alien rocks, of course. I mean, doesn't everyone?" Tommy retorted, his sarcasm running rampant.
"Who cares why he has it? He does, we can read the sign, and it says the stairs are to the right. So let's go already!" Greg advised.
"Wait, guys," Tabitha called out. "What if that comes out at the gym? I don't want to find out why everyone was screaming, least of all by experience."
"We'll be quiet. And if it's too dangerous or whatever, we can turn around," Tommy suggested.
"Besides, this might be the only way up," said Greg.
"I'm gonna keep looking, anyway," Tabitha said.
"I'm not leaving anyone down here alone. I'll go with her," Amy said.
"Whatever. You coming with or staying stuck down here with the ladies, Greg?" Tommy asked.
"The sooner we're out, the better," said Greg said, starting down the hall to the right, right behind Tommy.
"Tommy," called out Tabitha.
"What? You changed your mind already?" goaded Tommy.
"No, I just. Can I borrow your lighter? Just in case. I mean, it is pretty dark," reasoned Tabitha.
Tommy came back and placed the lighter in Tabitha's palm, curling her fingers around it. "Just make sure to bring it back in one piece. I mean it."
With that, Tommy turned and followed Greg towards the stairs, while Tabitha helped Amy along with her broken leg, and went in search of another way out.


Chapter 3: More Than Rocks

"It feels like this basement is even bigger than the school!" Tabitha groaned.
"Maybe it is. Maybe it goes under the football field or something," Amy said.
"Whatever. Explain to me again why we're only turning left?"
"It might take longer to get to a way out, but we won't miss it this way. If there's another way out, we'll find it."
"So... if you're smart enough to think of that, why does everybody call you airhead?"
"Mostly because Kayla is just a jerk and never let me outgrow it. I mean, last year you were called 'Tumbling Tabi' until your cast came off, all because you fell down the stairs of the second floor gym. But then once your cast was off, everyone just stopped. And you're Tabitha again, no nickname calling you a klutz anymore."
"I think you're wrong. I don't think it's because of Kayla at all. I mean, we need air to breathe, to stay alive. So, an airhead is someone that can save you from disaster. I mean, you did get us organized enough to make it out of that room, even with your broken leg. I mean, you're practically a hero."
"I really wish I could look at it like that, Tabitha. I really do. But I can't. Anyway, here's another door to check," Amy said with resignation. She turned the handle to the fourth mysterious room and hoped it would be better than the three previous dead-end storage rooms they'd found already.
The door swung open and the lights were off, but Amy couldn't make out much past the door frame, but she could barely make out some humming sounds that seemed far away.
"Tabitha, help me find the lightswitch."
"No problem," Tabitha said. "Wanna know where I got this lighter?"
"Excuse me?" Amy mustered, too confused to think of a better response.
"My mom was laying on the hospital bed. The lung cancer was finally just too much for her body to take, even with all the medications and therapies she was doing. She gave me the lighter and said it was her good luck charm, it helped her quit smoking before I was even born."
"Tabitha, I watched Tommy give you that lighter not even an hour ago..."
"What are you talking about? I got this from my mom. I've kept it with me ever since," Tabitha said with just a hint of confusion. She looked around, as though she was lost, finally reaching to put the lighter in her jeans pocket, only to realize she was wearing a pink skirt. "What am I wearing?? Where's my jeans?"
"Jeans? You mean what Tommy was wearing? You're acting weird, Tabitha, but we should be out of here soon. Aha! I found the lightswitch."
The scream that echoed throughout the room was Amy's, as Tabitha was still trying to shake off her confusion. Amy's scream was for a very different reason than fashion choices, though. No, Amy's scream was because inside the room she saw what could only be assumed were aliens, one staring at her while hovering, and the other falling to the ground, with a spaceship crashed down behind them. The second creature hit the ground and laid still as if stunned.
In the moment of surprise, Amy looked up and saw the large hole in the ceiling where the ship must have crashed down. Amy wondered why the room had been so dark a moment ago, despite the sunlight that was pouring in from the hole above them. She decided the aliens were a higher priority, though, and that the darkness was a mystery that would have to be solved later.
The alien that was still flying turned away from the door and went into the spaceship, making a humming noise as it flew. "Do you come in peace?" Tabitha called out to it from the hallway.
"Tabitha, do you really expect them to speak English? Even on Earth that isn't the most common language," Amelia said, growing frustrated that Tabitha didn't seem as afraid as she was.
"Oh. Umm... habla espanol?" Tabitha tried.
"Are you kidding me?? They're from another planet, Tabitha. They -"
Amelia's rant was interrupted by a mechanical whine that quickly grew into a dull roar before regulating into low whistle. Then the machine came into view. The bee-like entity from before was back, but now was riding a contraption that looked a bit like an octopus pretending it was a spider. It had eight appendages around a central bubble, and the bee-thing was inside of it. Most of the arms looked like fairly normal hose, but a few had weird tips at the end of them, or held tools.
The octopodium had a lumbering walk, like it wasn't used to getting around that way. It stopped about thirty feet from the door to the hallway, which was about midway from the spaceship. One of the arms rose about three feet off of the ground and began reaching for Amy. It looked a bit like barbecue prongs to Amy, but it was more squarish, and the material was thicker.
"Amy, what's it going to do with that tuning fork?" Tabitha said while the appendage continued to inch forward.
"What makes you think it's a fork? For all we know that's a death ray, communicator, medkit, and toilet paper all-in-one. Your guess is as good as mine."
"Well, I'm pretty sure it's a tuning fork," Tabitha re-emphasized. The arm, tuning fork or otherwise, seemed to have come as far as it needed, and stopped just ten feet from the two students. It flicked the ground like a whip with the strange instrument once, then the arm zipped back to the octopodium.
The tuning fork continued to make noise, and the bee-creature looked through it at the two young girls, first Tabitha, then Amy. After it peered at Amy for just a moment, all eight of its arms moved in a blur, then the entity turned, climbed on top of the spaceship, then reached and pulled itself out of the basement.
Amy began walking towards the spaceship, but Tabitha ran to the fallen alien. She picked it up and cradled it in her arms as though it was a baby, her hands resting on its chin.
"Tabi! What are you doing? It's probably dangerous!"
"I'm checking it for a pulse, I think it's hurt."
"Tabitha, they could want to kill us. This could be the start of an invasion or something. I mean, seriously, you saw that eight-legged thing that was just here! That did not look like something you wear to meet with friendly neighbors. Or what if it's poisonous or something?"
"Oh! I found its pulse! Well, I mean, I think I did. It stutters a bit. It must have been hurt when it crash landed or something, it's bleeding!" Tabitha was shouting now, upset at the small creature's suffering, even if the cut was little. "We need to help it, Amy," Tabitha continued while trying to staunch the bleeding.
"We don't know anything about its anatomy or biology. We'd do more harm than good. And since you didn't get it the first time, I'll say it again. It might not be friendly. As in, it might want to kill us. Do you understand that, Tabitha?"
"What I understand is that you're too afraid of it to help. You'd rather let it die than even risk it, even if it is friendly. I can't. I can't have that on my conscience. I need to wash out its cut. So if you're not going to help, just sit down and stay out of my way."
Amy didn't feel at all like sitting, and she definitely didn't want to get out of Tabitha's way, but it felt as if someone else had control of her body. She didn't even feel the pain in her left leg as her knees bent and she plopped down on the ground while Tabitha barrelled straight into the ship. Amelia did not like that at all! She tried to calm herself down, thinking to herself, "It's just a weird fluke. Whatever. Go get Tabitha before she does something stupid." She tried to get up, but still couldn't move. Even her jaw felt like it was wired shut, so she couldn't call out for help.
That put Amelia into full temper tantrum. Normally she would be flailing, screaming, flailing, sobbing, wailing, and a lot more flailing (yes, Amelia's temper tantrums involved that much flailing). But there was no flailing, the sobs were muffled by her closed jaw, the only thing making it clear it wasn't just a statue were the tears rolling down her cheek and the rise and fall of her chest while she cried. She imagined herself as it should have been, punching the air and floor, rocking back and forth, and she felt the concrete below her lurch, causing her to roll.
When she hit the next slab and slid to a stop, Amelia winced at the pain and let loose a string of curses at the concrete that has just bucked her off. Her hands went to her mouth, still cursing as it was, unable to believe it was doing something it had done so many times before. And then her hands, oh her hands! Amy couldn't contain her glee at being able to control her body again. The lack of control was the single scariest thing she'd ever faced. Even worse than anything she'd been through at home, and that was saying something. Her victory dance, she thought to herself, was just to make sure everything was moving like it should. Amy looked at the crooked concrete from where she was. It wasn't damaged, per se, it just looked like one side had risen about a foot.
Amy looked back at the spaceship, not knowing what to expect inside, but knowing she couldn't abandon Tabitha.