Invasion of the Face Snatchers

Invasion of the Face Snatchers

Jack got into their car, closed the door, and pulled out his phone. “Pop’s sent us a message. He says Serena sank at her usual bedtime while telling her the story of Goldilocks and da three bears.”

His wife, Tiana, smiled. “That’s her favorite story. Your dad sure knows how to handle kids.”

“Yeah, he shows it every time.” He backed out of the driveway, braked, and shifted into first gear. “So, Tiana, whadya think of them three horror flicks we just saw?”

Tiana looked through the windshield. Two bright orbs shone in the headlights. “Stop. There’s something in front of the car.”

“What? I don’t see nothing.”

“It’s gone. Maybe, I’m just imagining things from watching those horror films. Anyway, to answer your question, they were all scary. I don’t think I could watch The Exorcist all by myself. Psycho will make me think twice before I take a shower in a motel. And, Invasion of the Body Snatchers was ahead of its time for its theme of you can’t trust anyone.”

“Perceptive… I didn’t know your friend was inta horror flicks. Nice of her to share her interest on tonight of all nights.” Jack chuckled. “You know, Friday da thirteenth.”

Tiana nodded. “Yeah, Julie’s a little different.”

Jack raised an eyebrow. “Weird would be a better word. That witch get up was as good as anything Pop could dream up with his wax dummies. I loved that ugly pimple on her nose. And, that stew with pig toes was yummy. Even, them rice crackers with da tiny dried fish went well with da beer.”

Leaning over to give him a kiss, she whispered into his ear, “I’m glad you enjoyed the evening.”

Turning the wheel right, Jack entered Seaside Avenue.”I hope that kiss was just starters.”

Tiana leaned forward. “What’s with the traffic jam at this hour?” She pointed up. “Hey, look at that pink cloud. It’s breaking up into smaller ones and some are coming this way!”

Jack’s eyes bulged. Up ahead, people were staggering out of their vehicles clutching their faces, which were covered with the clouds. They collapsed twitching onto the asphalt. “What da…?”

Tiana pointed. “Look at that lady on her porch!”

A cloud wrapped itself around her head as she flapped her hands in front of her face. She took a few steps, stumbled down the stairs, and flopped on the concrete.

Tiana’s voice cracked. “The cloud…it’s killing her!”

Jack turned off the headlights and put the car into reverse. The car roared, backed up, stopped, then screeched as he turned left into an alleyway. He thought about his father babysitting their three year old daughter, Serena. “Call Pop. Tell him we’re on our way.”

“He’s not picking up. He’s probably asleep. I’m calling Julie to warn her.”

Julie’s phone rang. “Hello?”

“Julie, it’s Tiana. You’ve got to believe what I’m going to tell you.”

“Let me guess. You’ve discovered that Jack is really a werewolf and he’s chasing you.”

“It’s a thousand times worse than that. Turn on the news. Be careful. I love you.”

Julie looked at the silent phone with a frown. It wasn’t like Tiana to play a prank, and she had never used the words I love you to her. With a trembling hand she turned on the television.

A slanted frame lent a surreal detail to the unending screams. Breathless, she watched as men and women ran across the frame chased by clouds. Some ran into obstacles and fell as the clouds caught up to envelope their heads. One heroic man wearing a motorcycle helmet tried in vain to grasp the cloud over a colleague before a cloud entered his helmet.

The pimple on her nose fell to the carpet as Julie placed her hands over her eyes. She turned off the television and hurled the remote across the room. Dogs were barking. Running to the window, she closed the curtains then locked the door. She backed away as she heard gunshots, shouted obscenities, screams of terror, and cries of anguish.

A draft of air chilled her back. Twirling around, she gasped. What seemed like a pair of eyes glowed far back in the dark kitchen. Julie ran up the carpeted stairs two steps at a time while covering her mouth to hold back the whimpers that would reveal her location.

She fought waves of panic. It’s going to catch you. Where to hide? Where to hide? The bedroom closet. Hide there. Hurry!

Julie placed a suitcase in front of herself, hid behind her clothes, and shut her eyes as tight as she could. Then, in the deep recesses of her mind, she denied reality. This isn’t happening. It can’t be real. Just a nightmare...I’ll wake up soon and things will be normal. Just a nightmare…God, please wake me up!

Her hands were the first to feel the cold, then it chilled the tears on her cheeks. Something felt like Jello taken out of the fridge and pressed over her face. Like a cold tongue going into her mouth and down her throat, it filled it so completely she couldn’t breathe. It barely registered in her mind that she was flapping like a fish out of water.

Tiana tried again to contact her father-in-law. “Damn, he won’t pick up.”

Jack slowed down as he approached the end of an alley. “It won’t be long. We’re almost there.”

“Stop! Do you hear that?”

Tires crunched gravel as Jack braked hard. “Hear what?”

“It’s the sobbing of a child.”

Jack opened a window. “I hear it. It’s coming from behind us. I’m gonna check it out. You stay in da car.”

“I’m not staying in here alone.”

“Alright, but we gotta be real quiet.” Leaving the engine running and the door open, he went in the direction of the sobbing, as Tiana got behind him.

Entering the house through the back door, they stood in the kitchen listening to the sobbing. There was the stench of human waste. Tiana whispered, “Sounds almost like Serena. It’s definitely an infant.”

Jack frowned. “I don’t like it. It smells really bad, and it’s getting badder da further we go.”

Peeking around the corner into the living room, Jack saw an infant boy sitting on a darkly stained carpet. Next to him were three prone bodies, two adult and one child. “Stay here. I’ll bring da infant. It’s a boy.”

He knelt next to the boy. The stench was so bad, he could hardly breathe. He caressed the boy’s curly hair, and whispered, “Hi, kid. What’s your name?”

The boy nearly closed his eyes.

“Your Mommy and Daddy are sleeping. I’m your Daddy’s friend. I’ve gotta little girl. You kin play together at my house. We kin come back in da morning when Mommy and Daddy wake up.”

The boy fell asleep.

Jack scooped up the boy, returned to the kitchen, and handed the boy to Tiana. “I’m gonna check on his parents and da sibling.”

Jack heard the words be careful as he went back to the living room.

The bodies were face down, their hair drenched, and their hands under their faces. He turned over the child and the arms dropped to the floor. Jack recoiled as chills swept through like a tsunami. A skull, with dark patches of skin, was grinning back despite a swollen tongue hanging out. Staggering up, he didn’t have the courage to turn over the other two.

Tiana gasped when she saw Jack’s face drained of color and lined with worry. His eyes were staring as if she weren’t there. “What did you see?”

“They’re gone and ain’t coming back. Let’s get outta here.”

They ran back to the car and drove away. Tiana cradled the boy in her arms. “I’m wondering how this boy survived.”

“Yeah, if we knew, we might have a chance. He was just sitting on da floor, right next to da others. Though, he might’ve been somewhere else when they were attacked.”

“Well, this little boy won’t be able to tell us.”

“It’s better that way.”

Tiana pointed. “There’s our house up ahead. The lights are on. Everything looks fine.”

“Maybe, they overlooked this area.”

After parking the car in the driveway, Jack rushed into the house with Tiana, carrying the boy, close behind.

A foreboding stench assaulted his hopes. A body on the floor demolished them, for Jack recognized the clothes his father had been wearing. Not having the courage to turn him over, he rubbed his father’s shoulders and begged. Pop, say something. Show me you’re still alive.

For a moment, he sobbed.

“Jack, there’s a folded piece of paper in your father’s left hand.”

Jack gently pried the paper from his father’s hand. “Here, I don’t think I kin manage ta read it.”

Tiana laid the boy on the sofa. “Dearest Jack and Tiana, I saw what was happening on the news. I hid Serena in the big suitcase in the walk-in closet. I’m going to try to fool the clouds. If it works, you and Tiana will be safe. I can’t describe how much I love all of you. Have trust in God.”

Tiana dropped the scrap, and sprinted up the stairs to the closet.

Pausing before the door to the closet, she took a deep breath, and prayed. Please, let her be safe.

Tiana opened the door and stepped inside. The suitcase was against the far wall, on its side, and not completely closed. She listened keenly, but didn’t hear a sound. Please… With a pounding heart, she opened it and let out a deep breath of relief. Her daughter was sleeping unharmed.

She scooped Serena up and put her on the bed. Returning downstairs, she put an arm around Jack. “Serena’s safe.”

“Thank God. While you were upstairs, I went into da dining room. Guess what I found? Two dummies sitting at da table. You know Pop was working on waxis that looked like us. Their faces were gone. I guess that’s what his plan ta fool them was.”

“Bring da boy upstairs. We need to talk and make plans.”

Upstairs, after closing the curtains, laying the infants in the crib, and putting it beside their bed, they sat in the dark.

Jack rubbed his eyes. “How duya see this?”

“It’s an alien invasion. But, there’s two odd things about it. One, I don’t believe Serena and the boy were just lucky. It’s part of their plan”

“But, why ain’t they killing infants?”

“To raise them.” Tiana shrugged. “For what purpose, I can’t imagine.”

“Whoa, that’s hard ta wrap my head around.”

“Yeah. The other weird thing is erasing the facial features.”

“Not just weird. Creepy. I wonder what Pop was thinking when he put da waxis at da table.”

“My guess is he thought they had some kind of data base which included photos of everyone on the planet. He thought he could fool them into thinking they’d gotten us.”

“Wow. Sounds like da cloud.” Jack raised his eyebrows at the irony.

Tiana nodded. “The important thing is what do we do from here.”

“We head north. There’s lots of lakes and ponds surrounded by forests. Go by motorbike. Get our supplies as we go.”

“Honey, what’s going to happen to us?”

Jack placed his arm around her shoulders. “Try ta get some shut eye. We’ll leave tomorrow.”
They fell into a deep sleep.

Jack woke and let out a breath of relief. That was one bad dream.

He looked at the crib. The kids had disappeared! Rising, he shook Tiana awake. “Da kids are missing. Look for ‘em upstairs. I’ll search downstairs.”

Nearly flying down the steps into the living room, Jack saw the kids and something else. Something that didn’t make sense.

It can’t be. It looks just like Pop.

In silence, a cloud rose through the floor behind him.

A chilly breeze flowed between his legs, as a battering ram smashed the last dam holding back the wave of insanity.

His final thought was…It ain’t Pop.

It cradled the infants, and turned them away from a disturbing sight. “Once upon a time, a family of bears lived in the woods…”