The Survivors by Sean Eads

Author:Sean Eads
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gay, dark comedy, science fiction, aliens, alien invasion, denver, clever
Publisher: Lethe Press, Inc.

2.

“You do believe me, right?”

Scott continued as if I wasn’t there, nonchalantly wiping the gun barrel with a piece of oily felt. Then he pointed it toward the ceiling and lined his gaze up with the aim. His contemplation drifted along the barrel for a few seconds. His eyes blinked, a mental shot, and then he sighed and put the gun in his lap.

“God, I think all the Freudians might have been right. All this time I thought I was gay when what I really wanted was a badass gun.” He started to aim at the ceiling again.

“Christ, Scott, don’t you have anything to say? I just told you we’re being invaded.”

“I knew that already.”

“That they can hear and see us just fine.”

“I knew that, too.”

“Some of them can speak our language!”

“How else could it have written your interview for you?”

I put my hands in my lap and bowed my head. The soft friction of the cloth against the barrel resumed, and I closed my eyes and wished he’d give me half the attention he gave his gun.

“They seem to have some kind of dissent going on,” I said.

Scott set the gun to his right without relinquishing his hold. “I’ve been thinking about that. I’d like to go back to your place and meet this alien. Ask her a few questions.”

“You mean torture her. Well, it won’t work. She won’t even be there.”

“What the fuck is your problem, Craig? You come here all breathless to tell me what these bastards are planning, you say we have to kill them all, and then you get upset over the idea of some rough tactics? Goddamn, but you’re a Laodicean.”

I hung my head again, cowed. “You’re right. I—”

“Your problem is that you believe every word she said. How can you know if it’s true?”

“But the rockets—they keep coming. The aliens keep coming. How long can we last? What if they keep this rate up for years?”

“Man up and get some self control. You’ve bought into this story. For all we know there are fifty million of them. And yeah, that’s huge until you put it in context.”

“What context?”

“Of humanity. There are billions of humans, Craig. So let’s say fifty million are on the way. Fifty million arrive tomorrow. From a pure numbers point of view the odds are still staggeringly in our favor and they know that. Even if they land a billion, we’d still outmatch them seven to one. I’ll take those fucking odds, but we need to fight back immediately. Thin them out right at the start.”

“Yeah,” I said, starting to believe. That alien bitch had lied to me.

“I think your alien is full of shit. I think there aren’t that many at all. I think the aliens are using psychological warfare, coming in wave after wave of small ships rather than a few large ones. Maybe they’ve parceled out their arrival to make their invasion look larger and—inevitable.”

I stood up with a rush of excitement. “I didn’t even think about that!”

Scott rubbed his jaw.

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