VIOLET'S ZILON

Violet

I could remember it like it was yesterday. The panic started with the news. Buildings were falling deep into the ground, there was suddenly a black hole right underneath us and we didn't know. The first-ever occurrence was a very serious earthquake in Finland.

I was just a child, sitting in the living room with Dad, eyes glued to the TV. The news anchor's voice trembled as she described the bizarre event. Her usual composed demeanour cracked, revealing the fear underneath. We watched in silent horror as the footage replayed buildings collapsing into the earth.

Then it happened in Norway and then Sweden. Millions of people were dying every day from the disaster but what had been even more baffling was that the earthquakes happened in countries that had the lowest frequency of it ever happening there.

The United States government became more interested in the occurrences and sent out representatives to get to the root of the matter. It took about three months to hear back from them, by then the same occurrence had happened in three other states. There had been no valid reason as to why the multiple earthquakes began. The whole world was tensed, wondering what country was going to go next. Rescue teams were sent to the affected countries but only a few were saved and some had defects they would have to live the rest of their lives with as a result of the disaster.

Within the short span of a year, 146 countries collapsed in the disaster and it was then glaring that the end of the world had come. The remaining countries began to seek safety in the United Kingdom and the United States. Schools and several organizational systems were shut down out of panic. With the United States overflowing with people, havoc was unavoidable.
All the while we hadn't known that the United States and United Kingdom had joined forces to try making contact with the outside world. More countries went down and the two nations were the last ones standing but yet no reply was gotten showing that we were all alone in the universe and left for our demise.

There had been no hope until they came.

The Zilons.

I remember the first time I heard about them. I had been playing with a worn-out doll while my parents scraped together dinner out of the scraps they could find. The economic collapse had left us with nothing but survival and a glimmer of hope.

Then came the announcement, louder than the usual street noise.

'We are saved,' they proclaimed.

The government revealed their secret efforts and told us a little of what to expect with the extra-terrestrials that were coming to our aid. The screams and tears of joy that followed the announcement could be heard throughout the street. We were told that we only had to wait three days before they arrived. By the next day, everyone was moved to a common base, a temporary haven where we were to wait for their arrival.

My family had nothing of importance to pack. All my parents could put together were a few clothes because that was, we didn't know what to expect with our move to another planet. We all clung to the hope that the next three days would pass without more disasters.

Then came the wait. We all waited hunched up together in excitement, fear, and apprehension.

As the third day dawned without incident, a cautious sense of relief settled over us. But then, it was short-lived. In the early hours of the afternoon, all we had feared came alive.

I was seated on the floor amid the crowd watching my parents queue for food at the front. Then, it happened so suddenly.

One minute they were there and the next they weren't. The ground collapsed right in front of my eyes. It all felt like a bad dream at first but the screams and sound of running feet proved otherwise.