*1* Schools Out

My name is Max, and right now I'm enduring the slow and painful death called "school". But its not all brain dead boring. I can hear the city walls alarms blaring. I can imagine a Stick ripping past the security fence and attacking anything alive. Hungry, always searching for flesh, just then Mr. Dart's last lecture crept into my head.

"Sticks are monsters, but children, they were like us once."

"But, sir, why are they like that?" Asked a classmate.

"The sun caused what they look like children. You have never seen the sun with your own eyes. I haven't ether. But, the tiny particles called radiation that the sun emits, have strong enough effects that they cause the mutations, and that is what makes a Stick."

"Sir, I read up on the sun for my report, and what commonly got through to us when we were on the surface couldn't do that to us." I stated.

Mr. Dart grinned at that and picked up his charcoal and drew a picture of our planet and the sun, but something was different. The Earth had another circle around it.

Almost immediately half the classes' hands flew up. No one had ever seen Mr. Dart's face light up so much.

"I am pretty sure I know every one of your questions. You all want to know what this is." laughed Mr Dart.

All the kids nodded with eagerness. No one talked about the past either because it was forgotten, or the few shards left were dear and special.

"This is obviously the Earth we live in. This big circle is what was once called the magnetic field-."

"What is that? I've never heard that name before." Asked Charlie, a beautiful girl that I had a huge crush on.

"Yes, well miss Kreed, I was about to tell you that before you interrupted."

She immediately blushed which causing me to smile and sink into a day dream.

"As I was saying, the magnetic field is what protects us from the suns harsh rays. But as Mr. Zin said, some still got by. The worst that would do was give you a sun burn."

"What does this have to do with sticks? I mean they're just dumb skeletons with some meet on they're bones" challenged Drak, a bully, but was worse was that he was a smart bully.

"Well, we all know what happened two hundred years ago correct children?"

All at one almost automatically we said "The Purge".

"Yes, The Purge. Now children, let me tell you what really happened."

We all sat a little straighter ready to take this almost forbidden information into our lives.

" The Purge was not caused by aliens, or god, or a military power. No, it was caused by the very thing that gave us life. The Sun."

We all thought this information was amazing, and yet scary at the same time.

"The sun ripped open the magnetic field and fried our planet to ash and glass. Luckily, we survived but most didn't and the ones that did live like we do, in underground cites.. Well, let me tell you kids there are a lot worse things than the Sticks in the roads. A lot worse."

" So, the radiation from the sun caused people like us to change?" I asked.

"The appropriate word is 'mutated' and yes. It changed us as well. That is why we don't need the sun to live, and why some of us can see in the dark."

No one knew what to say. I mean what could we say, really? Is everything we loved a lie? I was scared. We all were scared.

"Now, what I have told you is secret information. You are all probably wondering, 'why tell us?'.Well, it's because I am getting shipped out tonight. This is my goodbye present."

He was getting shipped out. Every year to balance the population, two hundred men and women are sent out to push back the creatures of the back roads. Many die, and the ones that return are sent away to the hospital to be locked up. It was supposed to be a honor, but we saw it as a curse.

"Mr. Carrion.....Mr. Carrion wake up this instant!"

My head flew back instantly. My eyes wide, everybody was staring at me and snickering. I fell asleep again for the third time this week. They will probably inform Jenny about my lack of concentration. Well, this sucks.

"Yes, Ms. Kale?"

"Don't 'Ms. Kale' me you little brat!" shouted Ms. Kale.

Ms. Kale hated my guts. I don't know why, but she does and she never gives me a break. Just keeps on picking on me 'till I crack and fight back. She was about to render me under a hail of curses, but luckily, the bell sounded and I was home free. I ran quickly to the school's computer room, hoping Jack had caught footage of the Sticks.

"Jack, you in here?"

"Yeah. I'm over here" yelled Jack over the sound of the whirling fans of the computers.

"So did you get any fotage of the Sticks?"

"Yeah I did, but.... I caught something else to." Jack said, shivering as he remembered.

"show me, Jack"

"Max, I don't kn-"

"Now Jack"

Jack nodded and turned to his computer and opened a video file and played it on the projector. The camera feed Jack hacks into are the Guard towers surrounding the wall inside the fence. At first nothing was strange just guards standing around. Their mumbles cycling through the speakers in the room. Then, an ear splitting scream sliced through the silence. Guards rushed to their stations, sounding the alarm just as at least twenty Sticks came from the shadows running towards the fence. The guards opened fire tearing into the dead flesh of the Sticks. But none flinched and kept running.

For the next five minutes, I watched as the Territory guards fought the Sticks. Some of them got over the fence and attacked the soldiers, ripping into their flesh and gorging themselves with a warm meal. I felt sick but I kept watching. In the end ten men died, but the horde was pushed back.

"OK Jack, shut it off."

"No Max, watch." Jack said, softly.

I turned back to the screen and watched. Then I saw what must have terrified Jack. A creature I had never seen before. As tall as a Stick, but pale with actual flesh and eyes, I watched as it walked up to the fence without a sound. A guard finally saw and said stop and the creature did but then the Guard screamed. "Emily? Is that you?" the guard ran to the fence and opened the door. I gasped out load the gate was never to be opened for anyone. The other guards were screaming for him to get back and shut the door but he did not listen. Instead he ran into the creatures arms and pulled it close, for a second he stood there holding it then in a blur the mans body was torn in two. There was no sound but the rip and slurp as the creature buried its mouth into the warm flesh. Then it took the bottom part of the body and threw it behind it and at once more then ten of the same creatures stepped out pulling the flesh away. Then a voice deeper and more full of evil then I had ever heard came through the speakers.

"We are the new owners of this planet, man's time has gone. Prepare yourselves humans because we ae coming and we will wipe you out."

The creature then turned and walked away into the shadows. I sat there till Jack shut of the screen and turned to face me tears in his eyes.

"Max is it true? Will they come?" Jack whispered.

"I don't know Jack I really don't. But just try to stay calm try not to tell anyone I need to go home and think."

Jack nodded and grabbed his bag and left. I sat in the room thinking. What are these....these Sirens. Its like they could make people see what they wan't to. Whatever they are they are coming and something tells me there is nothing we can do to stop them. I got up and left the the room I turned again to the empty screen.

"Something must be done."