Chapter 1 - Any Other Day

Amy lived in a small city named Fieldcrest, in the midwest United States. The city had a modest population but it was not important. There were no railroad tracks or interstates that passed through and there were only two hotels, one on each side of the city. Most people just passed through on the way to somewhere else. Amy was sitting on her porch watching the sky. She was wearing her favorite t-shirt, a Borderlands t-shirt she had gotten recently, and a short black cotton skirt. Her parents were out of town on business but her best friend, Celine, was staying over while they were gone. The two of them had celebrated her fifteenth birthday by raiding her parents' liquor cabinet. She had a good excuse ready about how they knocked it over and broke lots of bottles.

Celine opened the creaky screen door and walked onto the porch. She was wearing a t-shirt, cutoff shorts, and a couple of clips in her black hair. She handed Amy a soda and said, "You know what's weird? I don't think I've noticed a plane or anything in the sky the last couple of days, likle not even birds." Amy was sitting in a rocking chair and had to look up at Celine. She brushed her blonde hair out of her eyes and said, "Half the day we played the Playstation and the other half we were drunk. You're just imagining it. " Celine sat down in the chair next to her, "You're probably right."

Amy had her feet propped up on the porch railing. She was wearing nothing under her skirt. She enjoyed tormenting a couple of guys that lived around the block. She refused to date them but she loved to be a tease and show off when she had the chance. One of the guys in question, Greg, was about 25, had short dark hair, and worked out regularly. He was on his way home from the lumberyard. Amy had a wicked smirk when she saw him walking down the sidewalk. He was wearing a pair of jeans and had his shirt draped over his shoulder. Celine noticed Amy's smirk and noticed Greg coming down the sidewalk. "Damn, I know it's hot out but I wouldn't mind getting sweaty with him." Amy jokingly reprimanded her, "You can't have him. It's too much fun to tease him." As he walked in front of the house, he waved and noticed Amy's legs propped up on the railing, then her lack of underwear. Amy swore she could see him blush. He stared for a moment, then waved, said, "hey" and kept walking, obviously a bit flustered. With her afternoon fun over Amy went back inside.

**** At the same time ****

Across town, several army vehicles were gathering. A command post was being established and vehicles were spreading out around the city. Several dozen soldiers were setting up guard posts along a fence that stretched around the city. The fence was about twenty feet high, had a band of black metal covering it, and several warning signs every twenty or thirty feet. The soldiers were U.S. military as well as several men in black suits. A small honda approached the command center and a short, fat balding man stepped out. He demanding to see the person in charge and was sent to a General Czerych. He introduced himself as the mayor of Fieldcrest and demanded an explanation. The two talked for hours and the mayor left the tent looking pale and sick. He got back into his car and drove back into town.

It was getting dark out, when Amy and Celine heard a car pull up outside. "Well, that's my parents. I starting to enjoy the two of us living together," Amy said. She really had a bad crush on Celine but didn't know how to tell her. Celine sighed, "Yeah, it's been fun but they probably won't mind if I stay one more night. My parents went to the same business meeting so they'll probably be glad to have the house to themselves." Amy opened the wooden door and was about to open the screen when she saw her neighbor, Mrs. Stuart in a panic. She glanced and noticed it was Mrs. Stuart's car in the driveway.

Amy let Mrs. Stuart in the house and Celine took her to the living room to sit down. She wasn't making much sense and it took about few minutes and a glass of tea to get her to calm down. Mrs. Stuart adjusted her hair and composed herself. Now she was sitting upright and the gray in her hair made her look wise or distinguished. "Girls, I'm sorry for being so panicked," she said. "But I was heading out of town when I got stopped by military at the city limits." "Military!?" Amy and Celine said in unison. Mrs. Stuart took a deep breath. "Yes, military. They also have a large fence all around the city. It's huge! At least twenty feet and covered in something black. You can't even see outside of it." Both girls shared a concerned look, "Did they say what's going on? Where did the fence come from? How long have they been there?"

"Girls, please. If you both ask questions at the same time, it's hard to understand you. They said there is a city hall meeting and it will be displayed on every channel. At least that should mean the cable is working again." Celine and Amy glanced at each other with an obvious question. "Girls? Did you not realize the cable and phones have been down for the last three days?" They both explained that they hadn't bothered to use either but had mostly watched DVD's the last few days. "Well girls, be sure to watch the meeting on TV. I have to go check on my husband.

After Mrs. Stuart left, they turned on the TV. Every channel was the same, a black screen with white letters that said, "Tune in at 10PM for a special message from the mayor." It was about 8:30PM now. Suddenly the girls heard the sounds of helicopters flying low over the houses. At least five Apache helicopters were flying over the city and dozens of military vehicles were driving down the streets. Everything seemed to be headed toward city hall. They where unsure of what to do, so they fixed something for dinner and waited nervously for 10 PM to get here.

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