Chapter 2

The first true hint of panic arrived in Willow Glen like a breath of cold air on an otherwise warm day-subtle but unmistakable. News had come in the night. Reports of major cities falling to the alien invaders spread across the town by morning. Word traveled fast in a place like this. What began as murmurs between neighbors quickly turned into full-fledged rumors as fear, once kept at a distance, now gripped the town like a tightening fist.

Aeliana awoke to the sound of her father, Marcus, pacing the floorboards of their small living room. The sun hadn't yet broken the horizon, but she could hear the low murmur of voices as Marcus and her mother, Lydia, spoke in hushed tones. It had been weeks since they had heard anything significant about the invasion. Every day felt like a reprieve from what loomed beyond the hills, beyond their small lives, and it was easy to pretend that they might remain untouched.

But not anymore.

When Aeliana came downstairs, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she found her parents sitting at the table. Marcus had his head in his hands, elbows braced against the worn wooden surface, while Lydia stood beside him, her face pale and drawn.

"What's going on?" Aeliana asked, though she suspected she already knew.

Marcus looked up, his eyes heavy with a weariness that went beyond lack of sleep. His once-strong frame seemed to sag under the weight of an invisible burden, and the lines on his face had deepened in just the past few days.

"They've taken another city," he said quietly. "One of the big ones." His voice had the strained quality of a man holding back a dam of emotions.

Lydia added in a softer tone, "They say the aliens are moving faster now, spreading across the continent. We're not sure how much longer we've got before" She trailed off, but the unspoken end to her sentence lingered in the air.

Before they reach us.

Aeliana felt the chill run down her spine. She had always known it was a possibility, but until now, it had seemed distant-something happening to other people in other places. Not here. Not to them.

"How long?" she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"No one knows," Marcus replied, his tone gruff but breaking in places. "Could be days. Could be weeks. Could be tomorrow." He sighed heavily, rubbing his face with rough, calloused hands. "But it's coming."

Aeliana's stomach turned. She glanced toward the back door, where the fields stretched out in the soft pre-dawn light, as if nothing had changed. But everything had. It was only a matter of time before the invasion that had ravaged cities would find its way to Willow Glen. And then what?

"What are we going to do?" she asked, sitting down across from her father, her hands clasped tightly in front of her as if she could squeeze the fear out of them.

Marcus didn't answer immediately. He stared at the tabletop, his brow furrowed in thought, before finally speaking. "We stay. We wait. We prepare as best we can."

"Wait?" Aeliana's voice was sharper than she intended. "We're just going to sit here while they they come for us?"

Lydia gave her a look of quiet understanding but nodded. "Your father thinks it's our best chance. Running we'd have nowhere to go."

Aeliana opened her mouth to argue, but Marcus cut her off with a look that told her this wasn't up for debate.

"There's no outrunning them, Aeliana. The cities have all tried to fight, and look where it's gotten them. We can't stand up to them. Not us. Not this town. If we leave, we'll be out in the open, vulnerable." His voice grew harder, more resolute. "No, we stay. We fortify. We wait."

His words sent a wave of dread crashing over her. She wanted to scream, to demand that they leave, flee to some remote part of the world where the aliens wouldn't find them. But the truth was, there was no such place. The invasion was everywhere, sweeping across continents like a tidal wave, and there was no escape.

Outside, the town was already buzzing with tension. Aeliana could hear the faint sounds of raised voices as neighbors gathered to discuss the news. Panic was creeping in, the calm façade cracking.

Tara came downstairs next, rubbing her eyes, still unaware of the news. Evan followed close behind, clutching his ever-present toy spaceship. They seemed too young for what was happening-too innocent to be thrown into a world where aliens were real, where life as they knew it could be obliterated at any moment.

Tara slid into the seat beside Aeliana, sensing the tension but unsure of its source. "What's wrong?"

Aeliana hesitated before answering. "Another city's been taken," she said, keeping her voice low so as not to frighten Evan, who was already busy crashing his spaceship into a pile of cereal at the table. "Dad thinks we need to stay and prepare."

Tara's face paled, and she glanced toward Marcus, seeking some form of reassurance, but none came. "And what if they come here?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"We'll be ready," Marcus said, though Aeliana wasn't sure whether he was trying to convince Tara or himself.

Later that morning, Aeliana walked with Tara through the town, taking a longer route toward the general store. She wanted to check on Denny, see if he had heard anything new, but more than that, she needed to get out of the house, away from the oppressive weight of her father's fears.

The streets were unusually quiet for a summer morning. Normally, Willow Glen's main road would be bustling with small-town life-people greeting each other on their way to the market, children playing outside, the faint sound of laughter carried on the wind. But today, there was only silence, punctuated by the occasional hushed conversation between neighbors.

As they passed by the Spencer's farmhouse, Aeliana overheard a heated argument. Mr. Spencer stood at the gate, red-faced and gesturing angrily toward a group of men who were trying to convince him to leave.

"You'll get us all killed staying here!" one of the men shouted, his voice loud enough to carry across the yard.

"And where do you suggest we go, huh?" Mr. Spencer shot back. "Out into the fields? Into the woods? There's nowhere to run. At least here we have walls. We can fortify, make a stand if we have to."

"Make a stand? Against them?" another man scoffed. "You've seen what they're capable of."

The conversation quickly devolved into shouting, with neither side willing to back down. Aeliana quickened her pace, pulling Tara along with her. The argument echoed in her mind as they walked. She could see both sides-those who wanted to flee, to escape while they still could, and those, like her father, who believed that staying was their only hope.

"They're scared," Tara whispered, her eyes wide. "Aren't they?"

Aeliana nodded. "Yeah. They are." She squeezed her sister's hand, feeling the small, fragile bones beneath her fingers. It scared her too, the way people were starting to unravel. Fear did strange things to people, and in a town as small as Willow Glen, it didn't take much for tension to escalate into panic.

They continued down the road, their steps quickening as they neared the store. When they arrived, Denny was outside, sweeping the porch. He looked up as they approached, his weathered face creased with worry.

"Morning, girls," he greeted them, though his usual gruffness had softened into something more uncertain. He didn't ask why they had come-he already knew. Everyone knew.

"Anything new?" Aeliana asked, stepping closer.

Denny lowered his voice, glancing around as if to make sure no one was listening. "Heard something strange this morning. People are saying the aliens are following some kind of leader. A king." He spat the word like it left a bad taste in his mouth. "Says he's ruthless. That he's the one pulling the strings."

Aeliana frowned. A king? She hadn't heard anything about a leader. Up until now, the invaders had seemed like a faceless force, a nameless terror. But if there was a king-someone behind the attacks-it changed everything.

"A king?" Tara asked, her voice trembling.

Denny nodded grimly. "They say he's already conquered half the world. And now now he's coming for the rest."

The words hung in the air like a cloud of doom. For the first time, Aeliana felt the full weight of what was coming. This wasn't just an invasion.

It was conquest.

And their king was on his way.