Love Match on an Alien Game Show

Chapter 1

I pocketed my wallet and keys before I headed out the front door of my apartment. It was a beautiful spring morning. There was a soft breeze, the sun was shining, and there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky.

So, there was nothing to block my view of the three giant alien spacecraft that hovered above Harrisburg’s capitol building.

They were absolutely massive and metallic in appearance, though I doubted it was a metal any of us in this world had seen.

Each one looked different, too. The largest one was more blimp shaped, while the smallest appeared more saucer shaped, like how people often picture alien spaceships to look like.

The mid-sized one was almost shaped like a drone with four huge cylindrical slots where propellers might go, except they appeared to be empty, so I wasn’t sure how the ship was staying in the air.

Each spacecraft appeared to be solid metal, with no obvious windows, so I was unsure how they were being piloted since there weren’t any places to see out of.

The ships arrived last week, and if the news was to be believed, the three in our city weren’t the only ones. Supposedly, they appeared at around the same time in every major city across the world.

Their arrival had launched everyone into a panic, and people were barricading themselves in their homes and stealing supplies from all the local stores.

There had even been a surge of suicides, as people decided they’d rather die in their own way than by whatever way the aliens had in store for them.

Of course, panic wasn’t the only reaction people had.

A lot of the city’s ‘rednecks’ got drunk and decided to get their guns and use the spacecraft as target practice.

Of course, most of their bullets didn’t even reach that far, and the bullets just fell back to the ground at high speeds. One guy even shot straight up into the air, and the bullet came right back down… straight into another guy’s foot.

The local police quickly put a stop to their idiocy.

Then there were the people like me, who were wary but not panicked.

At least, not yet…

The military had shown up mere hours after the aliens had, and people who lived nearby were forced from their homes and into makeshift evacuation shelters.

First, the military attempted to communicate with the strange spaceships, but whether they were being friendly or giving threats, they received no response from the ship’s occupants.

So, they switched tactics.

Once the military was sure the general area was clear of civilians, with our president’s blessing, they opened fire on the alien ships.

It did nothing.

They hit those ships with almost everything we had: missiles, guns, and even a few weapons I’d never seen before. They brought everyone in for the attack, too: Air Force, Army, National Guard, Navy…

You name it, they were there, but none of it seemed to work.

A lot of people were worried the military was considering using nuclear weapons next, but that would be the end for everyone if they did, evacuation or not, so I doubted it was an actual serious consideration.

Despite the worldwide panic, the aliens hadn’t actually done anything yet. They made no threats, or any move to attack, and nobody had actually seen any signs of life from the ships. They just hovered there in the sky like heavenly ornaments.

Eventually, the general population was told to just pretend the ships weren’t there and to go about their daily lives.

As if it was that easy.

The military had set up a permanent residence nearby, and the spaceships were a constant and looming threat, so a lot of people refused to pretend everything was normal, and many wouldn’t even come out of their houses or apartments.

But what was I supposed to do? Lock myself in my apartment and wait for the day the aliens finally decide to destroy us?

I probably could if I really wanted to. I was very big on the whole ‘preparedness’ thing, and I’d always been sure to keep at least a year’s supply of food and water in rotation, plus a plethora of blankets, flashlights, solar power banks, batteries, and other emergency supplies in case I needed to hunker down for any reason.

I also always kept a full tank of gas in my truck, in case a speedy evacuation was necessary.

On top of that, I kept ammunition for my AR-15 and Smith and Wesson M&P 9 well stocked in case I needed to defend myself for any reason, so I was well equipped for all sorts of disasters.

But I also wasn’t a ‘hide and panic’ sort of guy.

So, I took our government’s advice and continued to live life like there weren’t huge, threatening, alien spaceships in the sky, but I was always alert for any sort of change.

I watched the news every night, and they showed clips from all over the world, not to mention the videos on social media that others had put out there, and it seemed all of the world leaders had come to the same conclusion as our government had: we can’t destroy the ships, they haven’t done anything yet, and we should live normally while they come up with a solution.

I tore my eyes away from the spacecraft so I could focus on where I was walking as I crossed the parking lot toward my truck. As I lowered my gaze, my eyes fell onto a familiar figure.

Sadie.

Sadie was a young woman who lived three apartments down from me. She was incredibly sweet but also super shy, so we hadn’t spoken much except to exchange polite greetings every now and then when we ran into each other.

Our lack of communication hadn’t stopped me from noticing her, though. She was a beautiful woman with long, dark hair that she usually wore up in a bun, soft, dark brown eyes that seemed to stare through mine and into my soul, creamy-colored skin, and a curvy figure.

Sadie was standing outside her own vehicle, with her face tilted up and her eyes glued to the hovering ships. She appeared to be very deep in thought and only tore her gaze away when she heard my approaching footsteps.

I thought I saw a faint blush when she saw me, but I could’ve been imagining things.

“Hey, Sadie.” I flashed her a small grin. “Heading to work?”

Sadie worked at the local museum as a conservator, which she explained as preserving and restoring the museum’s artifacts.

“Hi, Liam.” She returned my smile, and her eyes dropped to the ground for a brief moment before she returned them to my face, as if she were trying to collect herself before responding. “Yes, I am. We got a new piece sent in last night that’s in desperate need of restoration.”

She’d certainly seemed to have more on her mind than just ruined museum pieces when I’d caught her staring at the alien ships.

“How are you doing… with everything?” I asked, though I wasn’t sure about the best way to phrase it.

So, I jerked my chin up once toward the sky so she understood what I meant.

“Frightened, mostly,” she admitted. “And confused, just like everyone else, but nothing has happened yet, so what else am I supposed to do besides live my life?”

I was impressed with how calm she seemed despite her admission of fear. Maybe it was because she seemed so reserved, but I’d expected a more severe reaction from her.

“What about you?” she asked. “Are you heading into work, too?”

“What else am I supposed to do?” I repeated her words with a chuckle and a shrug.

This time, the smile she gave me seemed wider and more genuine.

“Well,” I continued. “I won’t keep you from work. Have a good day, and good luck with your restoration.”

“Thanks, Liam,” she replied. “You have a good day as well.”

Then we parted ways.

That pretty much summed up what most of our conversations were like. Maybe if we weren’t in the middle of some alien invasion, I’d have the courage to ask her out on a date.

Or maybe it was because we were in the middle of an alien invasion, I should have the courage to ask her out. One never knew what the next day would bring.

I got into my truck and headed to Jesse’s Mechanics, my home away from home, the place I spent most of my time.

My job.

In high school, I hadn’t been the smartest guy in class. My grades were decent, but they weren’t going to win me any scholarships. I also wasn’t too interested in football, which earned me a lot of ridicule.

What I did excel at was my shop class. I’ve always been very mechanically inclined, so putting together engines, fixing up cars, and repairing machinery just always made sense to me.

I would’ve continued on that path and pursued mechanical engineering if college hadn’t been so expensive, but unfortunately, life and bills got in the way of that particular dream.

I couldn’t complain, though, because I had a great job doing something I loved, and though I might not be rolling in the dough, my work earned me enough money to live very comfortably.

I was in one of the nicest apartments in the city, had enough money to buy most of the things I wanted, and I still had plenty of free time to study engineering on the side. I wouldn’t end up with a degree, but I had roughly the same amount of knowledge as someone who went to school for it.

I parked my truck outside the garage and headed inside, where Jesse was already elbow deep in a Plymouth Barracuda.

Jesse was my best friend from high school, one of my only friends in high school, really, and unlike me, he did grow up with money. Enough money to open this shop straight out of graduation. All it took was a ‘really small’ loan from his parents, Jesse’s words, not mine.

Though we’d both grown up in this city, Jesse was not what I’d consider a city boy. He was a redneck through and through, and he made sure it showed by the way he spoke and dressed.

Much to his parents’ displeasure.

Jesse’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Seaburst, were classy, high-society people, and they’d planned for their son to go to college, graduate with a degree, and continue in their footsteps by going to charity banquets, teaching at university, and conducting himself in an orderly manner.