In the After

and father were so different I wondered sometimes how they managed to stand each other at all. Still, they were so in love. Their public displays of affection were always embarrassing and I used to make gagging noises to try and get them to stop. Now I regret the way I acted toward them. I regret a lot of things that happened Before.

CHAPTER FOUR
    After those first few days, I quickly learned to keep the noise to a minimum and the lights off when it was dark outside. They hid at night, but were still attracted by light and sound. Even small noises would bring Them to the fence, their green skin sparking as They tried to tear through the electrified chain links.
    I spied on Them through my dad’s nature binoculars, carefully watching, mesmerized by their grotesqueness, their snarls and sharp teeth. They had two arms and two legs, but that is where their similarities to humans ended. They were hairless; all the same shade of yellow-green, like sunburned grass. Most were naked, though some wore torn shirts or pants they must have scavenged from the dead. One sported a dirty Cubs hat, at which I couldn’t help but laugh. My sense of humor was very different in the After.
    I spotted them at the fence sometimes. They heard me if I was too loud, or occasionally They wandered over aimlessly. They didn’t seem to be very curious in general, not concerned with anything but the pursuit of food. I tried to ignore Them when They rattled the fence, braving the electric shocks in search of meals. I’d go and hide in my room, but eventually I developed a sick fascination with Them. I decided to study one up close, determined to know what they really looked like. One day I gathered my courage, took a deep breath, and walked into the backyard. Humming softly, I waited.
    Within a few seconds, one made it to the fence. It grabbed the metal with both hands and was jolted back by a painful shock. Shaking its bald, dull-green head, it quickly got up and tried again to attack, never taking its eyes off me. Again and again it came after me; either it couldn’t learn from the earlier shocks or it just didn’t care. It gnashed its teeth, pulling back its thin lips to reveal yellow fangs. It had practically no nose, only two holes where a nose should be. Puke-green flesh hung loosely from its body like baggy clothes. I could smell its burning flesh as its hands became blackened from the electric current. As long as I was within sight, it would pursue me single-mindedly.
    I was frozen in place, terrified yet fascinated. I called out, “How have you destroyed us ?” The sound of my voice only made the alien struggle harder against the wire of the fence trying desperately to attack me.
    Finally I left it, snarling and slobbering, relieved and confident that the fence would hold. I went back inside and watched from the window, my shaking hands wiping the nervous sweat from my forehead with a kitchen towel. It would forget in a moment why it was there, what it was that drew it to that place. It would wander off in search of food again, live meat. I went to the basement, huddled in the corner, and read, pretending it was still Before, when little green men were just a joke and couldn’t eat you.

CHAPTER FIVE
    After twenty days I ran out of food. My father had a small rooftop garden, but none of the vegetables were ready, and I couldn’t live on carrots and tomatoes for the rest of my life anyhow. I went a whole day without eating before admitting to myself what I needed to do.
    I walked to my parents’ room, into their closet. I took down the box that my mother thought I didn’t know about. I’d put it off, hoping I wouldn’t need to leave the safety of the house, that all the carnage would stop and that I would be saved. My hunger made me realize that I would have to face the world as it was; life-threateningly full of Them. For that, I needed protection.
    “Most households that keep a firearm end up hurting a family member or someone they know.” I heard the echo of my father’s concerned voice as I took the gun from its case.
    “I would like to see those statistics,” my mother had replied. “What studies are you citing, exactly?” she’d asked with a wink. He tried not to smile, but his eyes betrayed him. He’d always pretended to be stern but would give in so easily. He put his hand on the back of her neck and pulled her forward for a kiss. I remember being amazed. Even when they were arguing, they still made out. They