A soft golden glow was cast across the clear blue skies of a small coast town, making it seem like a perfectly normal day like any other. The birds were merrily chirping while the roosters excitedly announced the arrival of dawn, as the warm sun rays illuminated everything on their path.
In the heart of its only shopping district, a certain two-story building stood there, with the words 'Old Luke's food' written messily on the large signboard right above its entrance.
As the sun's rays gently enveloped the building, seeping through the freshly cleaned windows still wet with water droplets from last night's rain, the cheerful voice of a young man sounded from within as he called out loudly
''Grandpa, I'm off!''
The young boy who looked around 17 years old threw one last look in the large mirror in front of him, fixing his messy black hair and straightening out his black-colored school clothes, and after taking one last look at his strikingly handsome face and those bright blue eyes that resembled the night's stars, he opened the door and walked out with a smile.
From the balcony of the second floor, an old man in his early 70s, with a long beard that reached all the way to his chest could be seen collecting some dried clothes from a long laundry rope, when he suddenly turned to the young man walking out the door and shouted dotingly
''Arthur, don't be late! I need your help with the shop later today.''
''Don't worry Grandpa, I'll see you after school!''
Old Luke had a contented smile on his face as he watched his grandson run through the empty streets of the shopping district, passing through the shops that had yet to open their storefronts for the day.
As Arthur sped through the streets, greeting a few familiar store owners who were still preparing to open early, he soon arrived in front of a wooden 3-story building that looked eerily similar to his own house.
'Emma's Bakery'
The tantalizing scent of freshly baked bread and sweets had given this place its reputation as the best bakery in town. However, Arthur wasn't here to grab a bite.
Just as he turned his gaze away from the main entrance, the wooden door suddenly swung open as a familiar figure stepped out.
The young man with tousled blond hair and bright green eyes seemed to have spotted Arthur the moment his foot touched the stony ground, as a wide grin quickly covered his face
''Lazybum, how come you are up so early? Don't tell me the sun is about to rise from the west today?'' As he spoke, the blond boy slung his right arm around Arthur's shoulder while waving farewell to the bakery behind him with the other hand.
Rolling his eyes, Arthur brushed his friend's arm off and answered
''Early? If I waited for you to get ready every morning, we'd be sprinting to school drenched in sweat.''
''Tsk. What do you know? This is called exercise! Who do you think is responsible for keeping us both in such good shape? Missing the bus to the city once or twice is just collateral you know. Besides, don't you know that sleeping longer makes you more handsome too? This is common sense...'' Shaking his head, the blond boy had a look of feigned disappointment as he muttered ''Sigh, how can my childhood friend be so ignorant? You are so lucky to have me by your side.''
Arthur chuckled, ignoring Leonard's shameless remarks as the two boys strolled toward the bus station that was just a 5-minute walk from Leonard's house.
The busy station was no different from its everyday look. Multiple buses were arranged in neat rows, one after the other, and as always the two boys boarded the bus at the very front, settling into two seats on the left, right behind the driver's seat.
Of course, the driver was nowhere to be seen, but everyone knew he'd arrive just in time, right before departure. Leaning his head back, Arthur closed his eyes and decided to catch some extra rest. He had stayed up late last night looking for some furniture online to replace the tables and chairs in his grandfather's restaurant.
Unfortunately, even the cheapest sets he could find weren't something the shop with its declining profits could now shoulder. Business wasn't that good lately, and it seemed to be getting worse and worse with every successive winter season.
Still, Arthur was determined to help his grandfather find a way around it. But first, he was planning to get some extra sleep.
In less than an hour, the seats of the half-empty bus were filled almost completely with students, along with a few middle-aged workers in their business attires. Opening his eyes, Arthur realized that the bus driver had also found his way to his seat, while the engine's loud revving signaled their imminent departure from the station.
Shaking his head, Arthur closed his eyes once more and was about to steal a few more minutes of rest. But then-
The engine revved again. And again... but the bus didn't seem to move.
Arthur didn't know why but he could tell that something was wrong. Was it the bus? The bus driver? Or the other passengers? No, it was the eerie silence that had suddenly filled the entire bus, as if everyone had gone mute!
Opening his eyes, Arthur was about to turn around and see what's wrong, but then... a trembling hand pushed him violently from the side, before a voice, no, a whisper laced with horror and disbelief entered his ears
''A-Arthur... look.''
Arthur turned to Leonard only to notice the shock in his friend's eyes as he looked out the window, his finger still shaking as he pointed at the distance.
Following his gaze, Arthur looked at the sky above them before his eyes opened wide as well.
The morning sun had vanished, swallowed by a massive, ominous shadow. Shadow? ...No. The sheer size of that thing couldn't be described with a formless, inexplainable word like that. Even from a distance, Arthur could see that this thing wasn't a shadow. It was a flying object that could rival a small city in size.
At the very least, that's what it looked like from a distance!
And from the depths of that 'object', numerous hatches seemed to open before a fleet of enormous, pitch-black aircraft followed, quickly blotting out the sky.
Arthur had never heard of any such aircraft before, let alone seen one, but just looking at that thing was enough to send shivers down his spine. Those sleek, blade-like features resembled an aircraft called the 'Nighthawk', but even with a glance from afar, it was obvious how different this thing was. This... wasn't something that had been built by man. It wasn't something that could be built by man!
Arthur struggled to process what he was seeing, but one word involuntarily surfaced in his mind, quickly taking hold of it and causing his body to go even more tense than before:
Aliens.
A moment of deafening silence filled the bus, shattered by a loud, piercing scream.
''AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!''
A businesswoman in a grey suit bolted from her seat, running towards the exit of the bus without looking back.
Her cry seemed to have flipped a switch as the whole bus erupted into chaos the moment after that. Passengers shoved and scrambled against each other, desperate to escape! Even the driver who had just returned turned around and fled without a second thought.
Arthur and Leonard exchanged a single look before running towards the entrance of the bus as well.
Of course, no one could have imagined before this very morning, that this would be the day the structure of the entire planet was about to change.