Author's Note: This was inspired by the 1930's radio broadcast of "War of the Worlds".
"Let's try it out!' my dad exclaimed.
He was referring, of course, to our brand new radio! We were all so excited. We had actually never owned our own radio before. We had been saving up forever. Or at least so it seemed.
My dad set it up on the table. He turned the dial and left it on the first station we picked up.
"Dance music?"
He shrugged. "Good enough."
We all crowded around the new, wooden wonder. It seemed like magic, even though I had seen one similar to ours at Jimmy's house.
"We interrupt this program for an important announcement," a person spoke through the radio. "Earth is being invaded!"
All of us let out a small shriek simultaneously. It couldn't . . . it couldn't REALLY be true . . . could it? Our new radio had just done its first thing: bring us bad news. Honestly, what are the chances of that?
For the next week, we moved into the cellar. We only went back into our house to listen to the news or get something to eat. We usually did the two things at the same time because we couldn't risk spending too much time in the house.
After a while, we didn't venture back into the house. Then again, why would we if aliens were attacking the earth?
We prepared a month's supply of food and clothes and brought down our most prized possessions (including the radio although we couldn't get a signal from the cellar).
One day, we heard some banging on the cellar door. Some clicking and other strange noises followed it. It was faint, but I knew then that it was aliens. We all hid ourselves away under our pile of blankets. I was closest to the door, and I wasn't happy about it.
All of a sudden the strange noises stopped. With one final pounding, the door opened. Strange shadows spilled onto the floor. A disgusting scent filled the room. A single alien walked into the cellar. It was green, slimy, and revolting. Any other description might give you nightmares.
I cupped my hand over my mouth so it couldn't hear me breathing. This was the scariest thing I had ever seen. I tried to calm myself, but it was so impossible.
Desperate for comfort, I turned to God. Just as so many other people like me were doing at that very moment, I prayed. I prayed that we wouldn't be caught. I prayed that we wouldn't be killed. I prayed that the aliens would just go away.
Then, a miracle occurred. Our radio turned on out of nowhere, but couldn't get a strong signal. It made a bunch of clicking sounds from static. Oddly enough, it sounded enough like an alien that the creature in our cellar left.
Once it had closed the door, we all let out our held breath. My mom and dad reinforced the cellar door with any random things they could find. Having an alien get back in was about the last thing we wanted.
"Did you see it?" my brother asked.
"What?"
"The alien. Did you see the alien?"
I didn't answer right away. What if other people found out? Would I be taken in for questioning?
"No," I lied.
I detested lying, but perhaps it was best in this case. I figured it was best to keep to myself.
"Oh."
We moved out of the cellar about a week later. It was dreadful to live in such a gloomy and dark place.
We stepped out into the equally dismal world. So much had changed since we had last seen the outside world. The aliens demolished the whole town. Trees were obliterated and only charred stumps remained. The occasional rabbit or bird was found dead on their feet. Most of the houses had been damaged, or destroyed. The world was now depressing and lifeless.
A couple other families poked their heads out of their cellars. They seemed just as surprised as us. A child hugged its mother's leg and sobbed its eyes out. It's mother cried too. So did my family. So did I. The world we loved seemed so far away.
A man went back into his cellar and returned with some hammers, nails, and paint. He started to hand them out to people that needed them. Following his notion, other people got their tools too. That man was like a star in an otherwise lightless sky. He gave hope to all and expected nothing in return.
I realized that one thing had survived through all of the carnage: hope.
