An unexpected homecoming

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“Listen to me carefully, Stephanie.”

“Why aren’t you at work? Did you get fired?”

“Listen to me! Go upstairs. Pack a bag. Take as much as you can carry. We’re leaving. Where’s your brother?”

“He’s up in his room, jacked in, frying his brains again.”

“What’s going on? Everyone was going mental on the neural net, then it just went dead. Nothing’s working, not even the radio.”

“David, there you are, good. Go pack a bag, we’re leaving.”

“What are you doing here, Mom? You shouldn’t be here.”

“Get your stuff, we’re going, now.”

“We can’t. The court said we had to live here now, with Dad. You know that.”

“You’re an unfit mother, that’s what the court said.”

“Dad! Get up! Mom’s in the kitchen! She tipped over the refrigerator and knocked a big hole in the wall! You have to stop her!”

“What the hell is going on? Get out of my way, David. What’s in the bag?”

“Not your concern.”

“That’s alien technology, isn’t it? You’ve been keeping a stash of alien technology in my house. You’re not just going to the nut house this time. You’re going to prison. Stephanie, call the police.”

“She can’t! Dad, I’m telling you, the comms aren’t working!”

“Is that a gun? Dad, she’s got a gun!”

“Dammit, all of you, would you listen to me for once! They’re here!”

“Who’s here?”

“The T’Gurk! They’re back!”

“Mom, the T’Gurk are extinct, ok? They all died, thousands of years ago. There was a plague or a war or something.”

“The energy conduits, they’re transportation networks. They don’t need ships, they’re already here! They wiped out New Moscow and they’re on their way here. We have twenty two minutes to get to the Achilles Maru.”

“This is my house. I’m not going anywhere and neither are my kids.”

“This is not your house! This was never your house! This is a T’Gurk house! This is a T’Gurk city! We were just using it because we thought they were dead. Well, they’re not dead. They’re back and let me tell you they are not happy and it’s not ok with them that we’re here. There’s still time to get off world, but we have to get to the ship before the Chernenkov drive is charged. They’re not waiting for anybody after that.”

“Mom, look, we’ll get in the skimmer. Let’s all get in the skimmer.”

“We’re not going anywhere. Give me that…”

“One more step and I’ll shoot. I’m not kidding.”

“Oh my god oh my god she shot Dad she killed Dad!”

“He’s not dead. David, grab his arms. Help me get him to the skimmer.”

“Ok, David, here, take it. You shoot anything or anyone who gets in our way – T’Gurk, people, skimmers, anything.”

“I’m not going to shoot anyone, Mom.”

“Yes you will! They’re dead already, David, and we will be too if we aren’t in the ship in nineteen minutes. Jesus, that was some unexpected homecoming.”

Word count: 500