In the early 1900s, a dark shadow covered a small country town in rural America.

The massive and vaguely mushroom-shaped ship hovered above Earth. The details weren’t very clear, but there was a dark, glass bubble attached somewhere in the middle, and many little hatches that covered it like chicken pox. Within the bubble was a faint movement, and suddenly, the inside was slightly visible. It was the silhouette of a strange, skinny, humanoid creature.

At that time, a young married couple vanished mysteriously from their home.

The figure was very still for a moment. Hesitation? Enjoyment? Fear? Whatever it was, it shook itself and waved one of its spaghetti-like arms. As if this was a command, all of the hatches swung open, pushed by the barrel of a cannon. The figure gestured one more time, and there was silent explosion. All the cannons had fired at Earth.

The man’s name was George; the woman’s name was Maria.

The shooting continued on, sending pill-like objects all over the continent below. Some landed in large concentration, while others were more spaced out.

One of them was approaching the seemingly insignificant town of Reindeer.

Two years later, as suddenly as he had left, George returned.

I walked up to the batting plate, completely unaware of what was going on just above my head. All I was worried about was winning the game, wanting to make sure my last impression on this town was one to remember. I was about to move that day.

I should have been used to moving around a lot. We had been almost everywhere in the country, so our dad would be able to visit us between his long work hours, but he rarely did anyway. It was unfair. I knew he worked hard for our sake, so why did I feel so cheated whenever this came up? “Why do you feel so cheated, Ken?”

Isn’t it obvious?

It was only yesterday when I last saw my friends. All perfectly human. Today, though, there was something extraterrestrial that had possessed everyone at the field. They talked, they played. Andy, the pitcher, wound up and hurled the ball at me. Then I realized it.

None of them had a face.

I felt a desperate rage. My vision flushed to red, and suddenly, all I could see was the ball flying toward me, and fire surrounding my body. All I cared about was the ball, though, and my hatred towards Dad. I felt so much stronger in that moment than ever before.

He never told anyone where he had been or what he had done, but he began an odd study all by himself.

I’m pretty sure I didn’t know about the pill thing coming at us, but some part of me must have, maybe on a subconscious level. The baseball I hit tore through the thing, which apparently knocked it off course. The pill swerved and jittered, making a few other noises that didn’t sound good, before becoming silent and falling towards a different, even less significant town. The one I was about to move to.

As it collapsed into a woods, some unusual stuff flew up from the explosion. A coffin, a garbage can, a pink hat, a microphone, two letter Xs.

As for Maria, his wife…

Everything fell to the ground and shattered like glass.

…She never returned.