Excerpt from "Attack on Thunder Bay"

By Frankie Derfus, senior English major at Silver Lake College

This is a story I'm working on about a dystopian future that isn't far off, taking place in the year 2020. The main character and narrator is 21-year-old Quinn, and she is trying to save her family from “the Creatures," alien beings that have been attacking towns all over the world one by one in attempt to wipe out the human race. (Thunder Bay is the town.)

            I recognize the lights hovering on the horizon as I am seemingly deafened, paralyzed by fear. Those lights... the ones that hung ominously above my house just hours before my father's mysterious disappearance. I am unmoving, can't breathe. My confusion and fright zap me with an instant headache. My stomach is in knots. The kids. They are sitting to my left at the kitchen table waiting for breakfast. They haven't noticed anything yet.

Credit: StevoKebabo (Flickr)

            “Quinn?” I vaguely hear Karli say in the background. She's as confused with my current state as the kids.

            “We gotta go!” I say hurriedly. I take a deep breath, trying hard to not reveal my anxiety. I head toward the front of the house. I grab the duffel bag of clothes, toiletries, and other necessities I've been stashing for my mom, the kids, and me. I knew it would happen eventually.

            “Quinn, what is going on!?” my mom asks in a near yell. I pull my mom and Karli off to the side to let them know it's happening. “What's happening?” my mom asks, genuinely confused.

            “The attack...” Karli whispers as a tear escapes her eye. I quickly wipe the salty droplet from her cheek so the kids won't see. Bag in hand, we head back to the kitchen.

            “Quinn?” I hear Riley call from the kitchen. “What's happening?”

            “Well, honey,” I say as I crouch down to eye-level with my six-year-old brother, “do you remember the news talking about whole towns of people dying?” I ask him. I decide I can't hide it from him. We have to duck out the back door into the woods, and he'll see what's going on anyway.

            “It's happening here,” he assumes. I take a deep breath, wishing he wasn't so smart at times like this.

            “What are we gonna do?” Lucy asks me. The kids aren't as afraid as I thought they'd be. Then we hear it. Gunshots. The look of absolute terror in Lucy's perfectly green eyes breaks my heart.

            “We're gonna run,” I declare. I swing Riley up onto my hip so he won't fall behind. Karli grabs Lucy's hand, and my mom grabs the duffel bag. We head out the back door.

Credit: Just Add Light (Flickr)

            The town is in a riot, coming closer and closer to being in complete shambles. I hear people screaming, see them running in every direction, some people already missing limbs. Most residents are still in their pajamas, just like us. My mom, Karli, and Lucy lag behind, stunned by what they are witnessing, bright red blood covering the thick green lawns, bodies of people we know strewn about town like autumn leaves. When they come to a complete halt, I stop as well to get a glimpse at whatever has caught their attention. It's them... the Creatures... Oh, no... I'm not ready for this, I think to myself. I want to take a second to plead with God, to let it be another nightmare, but I'm interrupted by my little brother's scream. Then I see it. I see him. My boyfriend Marshall. He's running toward us, flailing his arms as if saying Wait up!, but he's not fast enough. The Creature that was trailing him snatched him up. Marshall's 6'3” frame is dwarfed by the inhumanly tall thing that grabbed him, literally, with one arm.

Credit: YellMagazine

            “Quinn!” he screams my name, and the Creature looks up in our direction. From 30 feet away I can see the glowing yellow eyes of the Creature. It opens its mouth to flash a grin full of razor sharp teeth. With those lethal pearl shards it rips into Marshall's neck, blood squirting in every direction. I feel Riley bury his face into my neck, my hair shielding him from seeing his personal super hero defeated by the hands, by the teeth, of this awful thing meant only to cause pain. I thank God Riley has concealed his face because the Creature comes up for air after a second, flesh hanging from its mouth, blood dripping from its chin and running down its chest. I choke down vomit but can't keep the tears from blanketing my cheeks. The Creature takes another alarmingly large bite closer to Marshall's shoulder. When my boyfriend's killer rips this hunk off, his whole arm comes flinging off.



            I feel so lightheaded I almost drop my brother. I just watched my boyfriend get mauled to death. “Come on,” I say to my remaining loved ones, giving Riley a kiss on the head. In case we don't make it, I say in my head. “We gotta run.” And just as we turn to head into the woods and hopefully to safety, I begin to run, only to almost directly collide with her... Demona... She's the only thing scarier that the Creatures. Her soccer mom clothing is eclipsed by neon green eyes and a set her very own razor sharp teeth.

            “So this is the Bennett family,” she says. Lucy slowly scoots to hide behind my mom. Riley cowers into my chest. “We've been waiting for you.” Demona circles each of us, sensing something not totally right. “You,” she says as she points to Karli. “Who are you?”

            “K-K-Karli...” my best friend stutters.

            “Karli who?” Demona requests more information, crossing her arms over the soft pink argyle sweater covering her chest.

            “Karli Shaw,” she informs her.

            “Karli Shaw... You're not a Bennett?”

            “N-n-no,” she stutters again.

            “I'm sorry, if you're not a Bennett, you have to die,” Demona says. She pulls the pistol out of her brown leather handbag and aims for Karli's head.

Frankie Derfus, a senior at Silver Lake College, is from Wabeno, Wisconsin. She is majoring in English (writing) and minoring in psychology.