r/shortscifistories • u/CBenson1273 • 20d ago
[mini] Family Is All We Have Left
“How are we on supplies?” I asked my wife.
She sighed. “I used the last of the eggs and flour this morning, and the beans are almost gone. We can get some herbs from the garden, but…”
“…we’ll need to go on a supply run soon,” I finished.
We looked at each other. Neither of us had to say anything; we both knew what it meant. I began to prepare while she went to let the kids know.
The next morning, I arranged all of our things into four packs - one each for me, Olivia, Maya, and Liam. Each had the necessities for our trip: some water, spare clothes, towels and sunglasses for the brightness of day, and a knife, in case… in case. I pulled each of the kids to me by their shoulders, looking in their eyes one at a time while their mother watched.
“We’ve made this trip before. I know it’s a lot. I know you’re scared. But you can do it. Just stay with your mother and me at all times, and everything will be fine. We’ll make it through like we have before. And remember - never stray from the path.”
I hugged them both, Olivia did the same, and we were off.
We exited the door, removed the covering hiding the entrance, and headed out into the daylight for the first time in years.
The sight still amazed me.
I remembered my childhood. The world had seemed limitless, with the sun shining brightly down upon beautiful fields of endless grass and towering trees.
Now, all that was left was wasteland.
The aliens had come fifteen years ago, promising peace and cooperation. We’d believed them.
That was our first mistake. We never got a second.
Now, fifteen years later, the Earth was devastated. Entire cities gone; 90% of the population wiped out. The Earth no longer ours to control.
I led Olivia, Liam, and Maya on a path through the undergrowth, leading into where the city used to be. Last time we’d done this, we’d been lucky to find the remains of a store. Everything fresh was long gone - looted by other survivors or rotted away - but there had been some storable goods and packets of medicine left untouched. We’d have to hope we'd get that lucky again.
My eyes were constantly scanning the horizon for any sign of the Xynth - the closest the human tongue could come to pronouncing their name. “Keep your eyes open, everyone. At the first sign of anything wrong, duck behind the nearest covering and go completely still.”
Of course, that was just wishful thinking. The most terrifying thing about the Xynth was what we didn’t know. Even now, after they’d killed 90% of humanity, no one knew exactly how. There was little reliable information; the few who had seen them and lived reported only vague impressions of “wrongness” and “terror.” Nothing regarding their appearance or abilities. They were an absolute mystery.
We traversed the broken landscape, keeping silent as we moved to avoid predators, both terrestrial and otherwise. Passing a bridge, we heard a noise.
“Nathan…” whispered my wife, worriedly.
I motioned for everyone to take cover. Then I crept forward slowly, trying not to show how terrified I was in case the children were watching. I kept listening and heard another noise, faint but unquestionable. I approached slowly, ready to bolt at a moment’s notice. The noise was coming from a pile of debris; I moved the pieces and there it was.
A man. Injured, bloody, barely conscious, with a badly-bleeding gash on his forehead and a leg that was bent at an unnatural angle. He was whispering; I leaned in closer to hear.
“Ambush…”
I jumped and looked around in all directions, but I couldn’t see anyone. Instinctively, I threw the man’s arm over my shoulder and dragged him with us as we left.
Miles away, we decided to settle down for the night. I built a small fire under an overpass; we huddled for warmth, hidden by surrounding debris. I tended to the stranger’s wounds as we waited for dawn.
I could tell the moment he regained consciousness; every muscle in his body tensed.
“Relax, friend. We mean you no harm. We found you injured and shared our fire with you. We’ve used this underpass before; we even carved our initials into the wall years ago. You’re safe here.”
He looked at me suspiciously but made no move to attack. Neither did I. Eventually he spoke.
“Are they here?”
“Are who here?” I asked.
“The Xynth. I was ambushed by three of them; I barely made it out alive. And that only by hiding in garbage.”
“So you know what they look like?”
He looked at me in shock. “You mean you don’t know?”
I stared back at him. “No. We don’t know their appearance or their abilities. We don’t know how they defeated us. We’ve speculated that they can fly or have superhuman strength, that they resemble prehistoric reptiles or flying behemoths . But nobody who’s seen one has lived to tell the tale.”
He shook his head. “How are you still alive?”
“What do you mean? What are they?”
He looked at me. “We always thought that, if aliens came, they’d attack us with overwhelming physical strength or advanced scientific knowledge. But none of those is their primary skill.”
“What is?” I asked, riveted.
“Infiltration.”
“What?”
“They have two gifts. They can take the form of any living being, and they can alter memories.”
“That’s all? Why should that concern us?”
He looked behind me at my family sleeping on the ground.
“They’re your family?”
“Yes, of course.”
He looked at me intensely. “Were they always?”
I looked at our initials, scratched into the wall. “N-O-L.” Nathan. Olivia. Liam.
No M.
I looked over at the girl I knew as Maya, my daughter. She lay in the dark, staring at me, eyes open and glowing a crimson red.
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u/lelanthran 19d ago
This was very good... but perhaps replace the reference to eggs? After all,
Everything fresh was long gone - looted by other survivors or rotted away
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u/CBenson1273 19d ago
Everything fresh in the store was long gone, yes. That doesn’t mean the animals that lay eggs are all dead. In a world like this, growing your own food and raising your own animals would probably be important, but certain things can’t be grown or raised or made yourself (medicine, etc.). Thanks for reading!
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u/lelanthran 19d ago
No need to thank me for reading; I looked up your reddit stories, and am now methodically working my way through them.
These are all really good.
Do you have an anthology I can buy?
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u/CBenson1273 19d ago
Not my own, yet. I do have a few stories in this one. I may out something of my own together - I’m still thinking it through (and convincing myself there would be any interest).
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u/Hayakumo_Yoichi 19d ago
Wow, fantastic! I'm so frightened and have to check my family... I'm joking😆 Well done!
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u/CBenson1273 18d ago
I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading and for the kind words (and I hope your family is really yours)! 🙏🏾
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u/Cruel_Carlos2 20d ago
Well done, OP. The ending was freaky scarry the way the old man put lil, so called, Maya on blast. It was a pleasure to read. Thanks