The Eyes

         I sat there in the corner, curled into the fetal position shaking in pure terror. The screams outside filled the streets as people were brutally slain by whatever those things were. Some said they were demons, others said they were the eyes of Satan himself. I didn’t know and I didn’t want to find out.

         It started only a week ago when Buenos Aires was infested with them, apparently out of nowhere. They spread to the entire continent of South America in a matter of days. The combined effort of the nations in North America had set up a perimeter in Panama but that only held for two days.

         The eyes were immune to our weapons. It was like bullets and missiles just passed through them! We had no way to fight them. Humanity was on the brink of extinction and all we could do was cower in fear.

         Suddenly, when I was praying to God to make my end swift and painless, the door to my house burst open and a young man of about twenty-five slammed it shut behind him! He turned around frantically, looking out my front windows. He apparently hadn’t seen me in the corner crying.

         “Oh God, oh God,” he kept repeating. “Did they see me?”

         “Oh Christ. You didn’t bring them here, did you?”

         He jumped in surprise and turned around to see me curled in the corner.

         “I don’t think they saw me.”

         “Whatever, we’re all dead anyway. Just get away from the windows, maybe we can last a few more hours if they don’t spot you right away.”

         That’s right. They had invaded North America. All the major cities were gone. Wiped out. Purged from the earth. I cowered in my corner with my new friend in my modest home in Chicago.

         Why? Why were we so punished? Was this just? Had humanity truly committed sins so great to warrant cleansing us from the earth? Where was our God in all this? Was not our holy protector supposed to appear and perform some miracle as he had done in stories past?

         A low hum shook the house as a colossal green eyeball hovered by down the street. The end was close now. They were searching the homes for survivors.

         My new roommate wept in fear and curled in the opposite corner of the room. I gripped my revolver anxiously. Damn these bastards. How could they do this? What divine right did they have?

         I checked my pistol again. Six bullets. I’ve seen what they do to the people unfortunate enough to be captured by them. The eyes glare at them in sheer hatred and literally pull their spirit from their bodies where they stand! Hell no. Not me. Six bullets? Five for them, however futile it may be, and one for me. It’s my soul. No one’s taking it from me.

         You know, in the final hours before the television and radio stopped broadcasting, they said they had unconfirmed reports that the eyes descended from the sky. Somewhere in Chile or Brazil or something. Were these things alien? Were they God’s holy avengers sent to cleanse the earth in divine fire? Regardless, they are here to destroy me. And if it’s my time to die, I’m doing it myself.

         As I pondered the last of my thoughts in the mortal realm, the front door of my home burst open again. This story would not have a happy ending. A monstrous eye entered the house, tearing the doorway apart.

         My new friend, curled in the corner, let out a yelp of fear, which only drew the eyes attention. It glared at him, turning from green to a hellish red.

         He screamed in agony as a blue light left his body and entered its pupil. He slumped to the floor, lifeless.

         I stood up and fired at the Great Eye. One, two, three shots! Damnit! Go back to hell! Four, five shots! It drew nearer and seemed almost to smile at me with its one huge eye.

         I put the gun to my head. “I’ll see you in Hell.”