The Arrival

by Cerys McGrath

It was the creatures of the craters that heard it first. Scrawny, tawny, emaciated bags of bones that were never known to leave the sanctuary of the abandoned craters now leapt down the mountain sides with the agility and quick-footedness of a citizen at least half their years.

It was quite a spectacle. Whole families stood bleary eyed at windows gawping in amazement at the hurricane of dust and sweat and bones as the creatures come roaring past the streets. These beasts had hardly been seen by any citizen- in fact, they never left their mountain dwellings before. So why were they now? As the creatures rounded the final bend before the gargantuan glass dome of Onom city, they suddenly stopped. It was an eerily chilling moment, seeing such red-eyed devils pause so readily. And that was when it was known, something was not right.

The citizens heard it next. A sound that didn't belong in the music-like stillness of Onom, a sound that was like an unseen evil was groping around in the dark corners of the sky, pushing out all safety and moisture from the air; leaving it hard as death. Metallic whirring and the unmistakable sound of a savage language penetrating the air a few thousand feet above the growing tension in the city. There was no doubt about it. For the first time in forever, peaceful Onom was under attack.

"Quickly! Quickly!" "Take my wife and children into the TRASH!" "Who are these monsters?"

Whispered conversations and hushed cries flitted through the heavy air - all signs of life had to be extinguished. The chancellors thought that if perhaps this enemy could not see Onom, then perhaps they would go away. Though, this was harder than it sounded. The crater creatures had long since fled back to their mountain top while many citizens had flown from their homes too! A Temporary Rest and Safety House (TRASH) had been constructed many years ago in fear of attack. Far beneath the approaching predators of the sky, it was now being fitted with enough food to last through many years... and the chancellor was acting as if this length of time would be necessary.

Thousands of years of history and hierarchy, community and culture had to be protected. A shared hunger for safety rippled through the air. "Quickly," the chancellor cried "we must initiate the projector!" Hidden engines whined and whirred; an image of a desolate lunar landscape hid the town from view, so barren and bleak none would want to return. And it was done.

And not a moment too soon, for far above the last cowering citizen running zig-zag into the sealing gates of TRASH, the Devil's own carriage descended on Onom. Wrapped in a flaking, gold armour, barbed spikes protruded from the sides. After a side door hissing open, an odd being dressed in a vile war suit of white plastic stepped out onto the uninhabited planet.

Humans had arrived on the moon.