March 25th

9:00 pm, Vancouver, BC

A.K.A “the end”

2050

Peyton sighed as she examined her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She stared blankly into her half-closed amber eyes, dreading the moment she had to return to work. Strands of short, dyed red hair stuck to her moist forehead. Crumpling up a handful of paper towel, she dabbed the sweat of her face and pushed back her hair.

Letting out another exhausted sigh, she pushed the door open, walked through the dingy kitchen and into the bar area where she worked.

‘seems pretty empty tonight.’ she thought. She breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly, looking around the nearly empty bar. The sound of old hockey games played quietly on the T.V., but no chattering voices accompanied it.

“Nine twenty five. Almost there.” She muttered to herself as she looked down at her phone.

“scuse’ me, miss.” A voice called from in front of her

“What can I get for ya?” she asked as she slipped her phone in her pocket, noticing the new customer.

“Rum and coke.” He replied. He reached deep into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled five dollar bill. “Keep the change.” He said, smiling at her.

Peyton inspected the area for her boss, and proceeded to stuff the whole bill in her back pocket.

Condensation beaded up on the glass in her hand after she finished mixing the drink. She turned around and set the drink down on an old weathered coaster beside the man. He was still gazing up at her. It felt like his eyes were glued to her the whole time, burning through her.

“Thanks, sweetheart.” He said, winking at her. A yellowed grin with holes from missing teeth spread across his face.

“Don’t call me that.” Peyton snapped at him as she turned around to leave for the night.

“Nice ass!” He teased her. Turning back around without a second thought, she stomped towards him. Her fist pounded against the wooden bar, inches away from him.

“Say one more word to me and I’ll pull the rest of those teeth out myself, alright?” She said between barred teeth. “Now get out of my face.”

The man grasped the cup in his leathery hand, glaring at Peyton with his wrinkled eyes.

As Peyton turned around, she noticed her boss standing near the entrance to the kitchen. He shook his head as she walked towards him.

“Peyton, what have I told you about treating customers like that?” He asked in a stern voice. She could tell she was in trouble, but that wasn’t anything new to her.

“You know I won’t take that kind of shit from somebody.” she said, storming past him. She clenched her jaw, and ignored the pain of her fingernails digging into her palms.

“Well you better knock it off real quick!” He shouted at her as she continued to walk away.

“Why? Cuz you’ll fire me? See if I care.” Peyton huffed.

She threw her leather jacket on over her dark shoulders and swung open the back door. She looked up as she pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pocket. Shades of purple and navy blue danced in the sky as she lit the cigarette between her lips. She held the smoke in her lungs as she continued to gaze up at the sky. A flickering light suddenly caught her eyes, flashing from red to yellow, then yellow to red.

‘must be a plane, or satellite.’ she thought, blowing carcinogens into the polluted sky. As she started walking home, she noticed it wasn’t just the bar that wasn’t busy- it was everywhere. Empty streets and little no lineups for bars and clubs was an odd sight to see. The silence in the air gave her a sinking feeling in her gut as she sped up, trying to shake it off.

The shuffling of footsteps behind her caught her attention once she was almost half way home. She turned her head as she walked, trying to catch a glimpse of who could be walking behind her. From the corner of her eye she could see it was the man she threatened earlier in the bar. Peyton stopped in her tracks and turned around, She balled her fists tight and stood her ground.

“I thought I told you to leave me alone.” she said.

“Look sweetie, why don’t y-” He cut himself off with a hiccup. “Why don’t you just come home with me. You won’t regret it.” He slurred his words and swayed back and forth. He stumbled forwards, towards Peyton.

“Why can’t you just take no for an answer?” she said. “You might want to before you regret it.”

The drunk man took offense to her words and stepped even closer to her, grabbing her by the shoulders.

“I don’t take no for answer!” he shouted. The stench of liquor and vomit on his breath caused Peyton to turn her head and gag. He grunted and pushed her back into the side of a building behind them.

“Big mistake.” Peyton said. She grabbed onto the man and pushed back. In one swift motion she raised her knee, pressing it hard into his groin. As he let go and hunched over himself, Peyton shoved him and sent him tumbling to the ground. With no hesitation, she lifted her foot and kicked the man square in the gut. He let out a string of incomprehensible words before curling into fetal position, heaving.

Peyton knelt to the ground looking over his pathetic body. She held her lips together for a moment, collecting saliva in her mouth. She grabbed the mans face and spat directly on the center of his forehead.

“I told you, don’t fuck around with me, man.” She said as she stood up. Once she began walking again she looked up, noticing the flashing light again. The clouds above spread apart, moving faster than usual, leaving a large empty hole in the sky. She shook her head and continued on walking.

Peyton soon arrived at her and Kiah’s run-down apartment building. She flicked a cigarette butt from her fingers and onto the ground, stepping on it before walking up the short set of stairs, to the door. The musty staleness of the hallways welcomed her home, as she continued down to the elevator. The elevator rattled as it came down, sliding open it’s dull, worn doors letting Peyton inside. She pressed her finger on the button labeled ‘3’ and rested her head head against the wall, waiting for her shaky ride to end. The doors soon opened and she turned down the hall, reaching apartment 303.

“Hey.” Kiah greeted her as Peyton walked inside, heading to the kitchen, immediately pouring a glass of whiskey.

“Hey.” Peyton mumbled back, taking a sip of her drink.

“you’re looking pretty rough, huh?” Kiah said, looking her up and down.

“Yeah. Some asshole at work wouldn’t take no for an answer, so I made him.” Peyton made a face as her drink burned the back of her throat. “I haven’t had to deal with dudes like that for a while now.”

“Shit-” Kiah paused. “Well I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Peyton walked over to the old leather couch in their small living room and plopped herself down.

“What are you all done up for?” She asked Kiah. Her white blonde hair was pin straight ,caressing her shoulders. Her ice blue eyes popped against the shimmering golden eye-shadow on her eyelids.

“Jay’s brother is having people over tonight. Wanna come?” She said.

“Nah. I’ve had enough of people for tonight.” Peyton sighed. Jay walked out from Kiah’s room and exchanged greetings. Peyton sighed and grabbed the TV remote, tossing it over to Kiah.

“I’ll never understand why you guys still have cable. Nobody’s had that for the last thirty years. I’m suprised it’s even still a thing.” Jay laughed. Kiah huffed and shot a glare at her boyfriend. she pressed buttons on the remote, going through each of the channels on the TV but nothing was catching her eye. It didn’t take long for her to get bored and give up, leaving it on the news channel. She set the remote down and leaned back into the couch. The three continued to chat, drowning out the news in the background.

BREAKING NEWS!

The television flashed a bright shade of red across the screen, catching everyone’s attention. All three of them turned their heads to watch in awe. A clip of the now black sky played, showing off an empty patch between the clouds. A bright light flashed from red to yellow, then yellow to red. The same ones they’d been showing on the news for over a month now, from all over the world. The camera zoomed in on the flashing light, catching the flying object for the first time. It showed that the light came from the bottom of a large, bronze oval shape in the sky. It hovered in the same spot for a moment, then shot up into the sky, disappearing in seconds.

“There have been many UFO sightings all around the world lately with a vast majority being in North America where the population is still fairly high. Tonight there’s been reports from all over the province as well as the rest of the Country. We’re not sure what to do if anything happens, only the government can handle that. Stay safe and keep an eye out.” The news reporter said.

“That’s the same light I saw.” Kiah said.

“I saw one too on my way home. Just looked like a plane or something to me.” Peyton replied and shook her head at her sister.

“How can you not believe this!” Kiah yelled. “How could they be making this up! It’s been happening all over major cities! Around the world!” The hairs on her arms stood up as another chill shot down her spine. Her hands trembled as she tried to breathe.

“I don’t know, Ki. Even if they are aliens I really don’t think anythings going to happen. People have been seeing this shit for years and nothing bad has ever happened.” Peyton said.

“Yet.” Kiah said, walking away to her room. Jay followed close behind her.

Peyton raised her glass to her lips and let the last of her whiskey trickle down her throat. Her eyes squeezed shut as she felt the burn travel down to her stomach. She set the empty glass on the coffee table, and raised her legs up, stretching across the couch. As she laid her head back, she closed her tired eyes and drifted off to sleep

☆

Peyton dreamt of the desert, A place she always loved. She tilted her head back and gazed upon the sky. Hues of orange and pink mixed together like paint as the sun set. There was nothing but sand and desert plants as far as her eyes could see. The wind blew through her hair as she stood tall, feeling more powerful than she ever had before. She began to lower herself to the ground, laying down in the warm sand and dirt. She closed her eyes as the wind blew violently around her, causing the sand to swirl over her in waves. Her chest rose and fell slowly as she took deep breaths.

As she opened her eyes, a bright white light glared back at her. She kept her eyes glued to the spot and within seconds the entire desert turned white. The sky faded away and the sand went next, grain by grain. She sat upright feeling all around her, but there was nothing. Just air slipping through her fingers over and over. All she could feel was herself.

Her heart pounded against her rib cage as she stood up, walking towards a shadow in the distance. A light purple aura surrounded it’s Small, slender silhouette. Each time she thought she’d caught up, it slid further into the distance. She reached her arms out, trying to grab at it but slipped right through the shadow.

As Peyton chased the figure, a bright red beam of light struck it right in the head. It’s body dispersed into the whiteness, just as the sand and sky did. Red beams continued to rain down around Peyton. Sounds of screaming and chaos filled the emptiness around her. Nothing but white and red surrounded her. She looked every which way looking for anyone or anything. as she tilted her head to look up, She was stuck. Everything that was once white, had faded to black.