They came, out of nowhere, creatures of myth and legend. They came in an army, unified by the common enemy: Humanity, and our destructive tendencies. Fire poured from the skies like rain, and arrows pierced the air more often than the constant, fearful, pain filled screams of innocent people. Our mighty skyscrapers crashed down to the earth below, burying the dead. All around us was the rage of a war we so rashly thought would never come.
Some surrendered to the mercy of the enemy, but not many. Few more were brave enough to stand and fight back, and were slain for their efforts. The majority ran the other direction, but were trapped in the middle, rushed by creatures on all sides. They had nowhere to hide.
I was only ten, the year of the uprising; a mere child, caught in the middle of a war. I remember that day better than any other. It was a cold day, right at the beginning of winter. All the trees had shed their leaves, only one or two stubborn ones still clung. Most people had stopped trying to keep their grass green the moment they heard the word frost but some persisted, like the leaves on the sleeping trees.
The sky was gray as it had been all winter; but today, just as the weatherman had predicted, clouds were rolling in. I shivered even though I was wearing my favorite jacket and a knit hat my Grandmother had made for me. Oddly, it hadn't seemed that cold but I shivered and I felt uneasy. Even so, I ignored the feeling.
I was out, only on the other side of the block we lived on, walking my cat, Aphrodite. An uncommon breed known as a Savannah Cat, she couldn't stand being pent up indoors and practically begged for her walks. Grandma got asked a lot by her friends how she could handle such an active cat at her age, but they didn't understand how much Grandma loved Aph. Almost as much as I did. Grandma gave her to me for my eighth birthday. At the time, she was just a little bitty kitten, but like most little creatures, she grew like a weed.
One minute, she was fine, going about her business, and the next she was scared out of her wits. Her eyes were wide as saucers and her tail had fluffed out. Hissing and spitting, she arched her back, prepared to fight some invisible force. The ground began to tremble beneath my feet; just a low rumble at first, like a heavy truck was rolling by. Except, there was no heavy truck. My uneasy feeling intensified. she was a calm, easygoing kind of cat, as long as she got her exercise.
Aph, unable to frighten away her enemy, wiggled and squirmed until she was out of her collar and streaked down the sidewalk. The last I saw of her was her white and gray tail as she dashed around the corner. I tried to chase after her, but she was long gone. I never did see her again.
The shaking increased into a loud rumble, and it felt more like an earthquake than a heavy truck. I could barely stand, let alone run anymore. Just like that, the flood of bodies came. Men, women, whole families. I recognized friends and neighbors though their faces were contorted into masks of terror. My blood ran as cold as ice and worry about my cat was forgotten. Creatures, horrible, terrible creatures more terrifying than my worst nightmares came riding bears and horses and even overgrown tigers. My mind screamed at me to run as fast as I could to the warmest, safest arms I knew, but my body wouldn't comply. I was frozen to the spot, a horrified spectator to madness. The silence my shocked mind had numbed the chaos into broke, adding to my horror. Screams and gunshots, the roar of fire: it all barely registered. I couldn't breathe, and I almost couldn't see. A silent scream clawed up my throat and out my mouth as I witnessed Mrs. Allen being impaled.
I was as awestruck as I was scared. Even through all the noise I still managed to hear the familiar voice of my Grandma as she called out my name and sprinted for me. Perhaps I heard her because it was the voice of the only mother I had ever known, or perhaps it was that there was a fear in her voice that I had never heard before. Grandma was never afraid! She was strong and brave and even sometimes scary, but never, ever, ever, afraid.
As soon as I saw her running, my feet came unglued from the sidewalk and I made a mad dash for her. Just another noiseless sound, I never heard the twang of the bow that ended her life, nor did I see her murderer in the rush. Time slowed down around me. It felt like I was trying to run through mud. By the time I reached her body, a thousand years from the time I started running, it was unrecognizable except for the tattered red and white checkered apron she wore when she was baking. The world around me became a black void. All I could see was the puddle of red around me as I fell to my knees, sobbing without ever making a sound. My Grandma,my best friend and only family, had been ripped from me the moment I needed her the most. The world had been plunged into chaos and I no longer had the little things that mattered like the stories at bedtime and the cinnamon and vanilla hugs. I had to face it alone.
I hardly noticed as I was scooped up by an armored man that rode a white tiger, and that was that. My young mind could process no more. The world faded into a blissful, soundless blackness