Chapter 3- The Invasion

CHAPTER THREE-THE INVASIONBack On Earth... 6 years later

“Hey Midnight, you want to play 52 pick-up?” asked 12 year old Pyris.

“Come on, Pyris. Just ‘cause Terra’s gone, that doesn’t mean I’m stupid.” Said 8-year-old Midnight, referring to her 15-year-old sister who always looked out for her.

“Fine, then!” Pyris said dramatically. “What else to do? It’s not like there is anything to do. What to do when there’s nothing to do...What to do when there’s nothing to do... What to do when there’s...”

“PYRIS! Snap out of it, okay? We’ll find something, just... don’t break down. Hey, maybe Terra’s back. Let’s go find out, okay?.”

“Fine,” Pyris said. She took off after Midnight, still repeating the same thing over and over, probably to annoy Midnight. “What to do when there’s nothing to do... What to do when there’s nothing to do...”
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“MOTHER!” Terra called from the gigantic castle gates. She stepped inside, not seeing Midnight and Pyris watching quietly from the doorway to the courtyard.

“MOTHER!” No one answered, not even one of the servants. She screamed again, louder this time. “MOTHER!” she yelled. She grunted, knowing that she was probably about to get herself into trouble with this next one. “MOOOOOOOOTHEEEEEER!!!” she screamed, loudest yet. “MOOOTHEEE...AAAAHH”

Midnight and Pyris giggled, and 13-year-old Aryana and 10-year-old Aqua walked in with 6-year-old Starlight, all watching as Jeeves, one of the servants, walked down the corridor into the Grand Hall with a tray of small milkshakes for the girls. Too bad for Terra, they ended up on her dress.

Right then Red walked into the hall.

“Goodness gracious, dear, whatever do you want?”

“Oh, uh...hmmm... I had it a second ago... give me a minute...uh...oh yeah. Hi!”

Red smiled, much too obviously amused at how absent-minded Jeeves could be, which sometimes got him in trouble. She walked over and almost gave her daughter a hug, but then decided a pat on the head would suffice for now. “Well, how was the slumber party?”

“Oh, it was a blast! You would not believe how much fun we had! Oh my gosh, I have to tell you every little detail later... can’t wait!”

“Can’t wait,” Red said reluctantly.

Out of nowhere, there was this high-pitched zing sound, as if someone had just bounced a tangible beam of light of one of the kingdom’s many skyscrapers, which looked more like giant metal satellite dishes on 40 ft. round poles. Then there was complete and absolute silence that was so omnipitent it hurt their ears.

Martha walked in, strangely slow, staring out the wall that was made of glass that stood directly to the left of the huge entryway. Something was different about her, Red could tell. She just couldn’t put her finger on it. Just her presence, the presence of the woman Red had grown up with and trusted her whole life, seemed disturbing, dangerous, threatening. Her eyes were clouded over as if she were in a trance. She had that strange look in them even as they were clouded over, the look Red had noticed all her life when she was around Martha, but could never translate. Yes, it was the same look, but more... intense. As if something she had been waiting for, something she had been waiting a very long time for, was finally about to happen. Red pulled Terra close to her, like she had to protect her from something. Pyris and Midnight, freaked out by this sudden change in atmosphere, ran to their mother’s side.

A wave of fear ran through the castle, so strong that it sent Aryana, Aqua, and King Ferdinand with Starlight in his arms running to the cavernous Grand Hall. He handed the baby to Midnight, who held her tight. After a minute of calming her down, she sat her in the cradle and stood by her. The servants had come by then, too. It seemed that everyone in the castle was there. The silence of the many people echoed off the walls, bouncing back, hurting their ears. It was deafening. No one who was there that day knows exactly why they were all pulled to the Grand Hall that afternoon, but for whatever reason, it was something they would never forget. All of the doors and windows all over the castle started opening and closing, then finally slammed shut, the noise resounding and loud. A strong wind blew through the castle. It knocked over lamps and vases, tore pictures down from their place on the wall, and gained strength as it went. It whipped through the castle and formed into a twister. It raced into the Grand Hall and rested against Martha, pulling her up into it. Red screamed, foolishly thinking Martha was the one in danger.

Out of nowhere, there was another zing. Then there was another, louder. Then there were three or four, echoing off the buildings, bouncing off of them and sounding again. Then there were several more, all joining with the echoes of the first, all of them bouncing off the skyscrapers, rolling around in the satellite-like dishes of the buildings, creating a deep, horrifying sound. Everyone turned toward the glass wall. Hundreds, no, thousands of golf-ball sized things were flying through the city. Glowing, green orbs, coming out of nowhere and everywhere at the same time. They kept coming, no sign of stopping. Time seemed to freeze, and reality seemed to disappear. The orbs glowed and rolled and bounced, demanding stares from the people inside. They couldn’t take their eyes off of the things. Red jumped as on of them slammed against the glass wall. Then more. In a matter of seconds there were thousands of those horrible things throwing themselves at the wall. People screamed. Suddenly they all disappeared, going back into the nowhere where they came from, leaving only their deafening echo. Then silence.

Turning their attention back to the twister, they saw Martha sitting on top of it, controlling it. She laughed cruelly, her eyes still having the same eerie look, the same clouds in them.