Chapter 3: Nothing But Cattle

Zane was thankful he was only half a kilometer away from the city. He would be able to get there with very little effort. He had even found a sturdy stick on the side of the road which he used to support himself while walking.

As Zane closed in on the big city, he could hear blood-curdling screams and gunshots echoing through the streets. Grenades and other mini-explosions shook the ground beneath his feet. It was almost like a war was taking place in the once peaceful city.

The situation was so dire, that Zane began to rethink if coming to the city for help was such a good idea. However, he had already made it this far. It would be a complete waste to turn back now.

Zane then quickly limped into the city to meet upon a horrific sight. Tall majestic buildings were now nothing more than heaps of rubble in the streets. Only a few buildings were fortunate enough to be left standing. Fire and smoke also danced through the streets like they were holding a parade of destruction. There were down electrical wires and people running and screaming about in panic.

Dead bodies laid underneath rubble with blood neatly repainting the streets. Even the sounds of ambulance and police sirens boomed in hurry to aid the citizens in need.

The situation was much worse than back in the suburbs. Zane had thought that he had seen everything until his eyes caught glimpse of the giant blue beam that emitted from the clouds. He quickly looked up in horror, not wanting to believe his eyes.

Hovering above in the thick blanket of darkness was a massive black saucer-like spaceship that had spread across the entire city of New York. Its lights fluctuated from red to green to blue in bright flashes.

"What the hell?! Aliens!? This can't be real..!" Squealed Zane, stumbling to the ground.

Suddenly, he heard a terrifying scream wail from behind him. Zane quickly turned around to see a lady looking around her mid-twenties running away from a hoard of shadow creatures. The lady was on the verge of being caught with tears streaming down her face. She bawled at the top of her voice in hopes of someone coming to her aid.

"Help me!!! I'm begging you, please!!!"

Zane was tempted to help. The desperation that clung to her face made his heart throb with pain. However, Zane knew the situation was complicated. If he tried to help then he would surely reveal himself to the creatures.

Zane knew it would be best for him to let the creatures catch her. Unfortunately, his inexperience and stupidly-kind personality got the better of him. He couldn't help but imagine himself in the lady's situation. If he were in her shoes, he would want someone to help him as well. This resulted in him making a dangerous decision.

"Hey, miss! Over here!" He shouted.

A bright sparkle suddenly dashed through the lady's eyes. She could hardly believe that someone was kind enough to offer her help in such a life-threatening predicament.

However, Zane had to start thinking quickly. He needed to find a place for them to hide. Sadly, the area was so badly damaged that there were very few places to consider.

Zane's eyes were then fortunate enough to meet upon a ten-story building not too far away. The building was only slightly damaged and seemed like the perfect place for them to hide. Zane then quickly outstretched his hand in hopes that the lady would reach him in time.

"Come on... Come on... Come on..!"

Their fingers were now mere inches away. Zane was determined to limp off with his fractured leg as soon as he grabbed her arm. Unfortunately, this was when the worst-case scenario happened, flushing all hopes of rescuing the lady down the drain. The lady had stubbed her toe on a pile of rubble and fell flat on her face. With desperation clutching onto her soul, she raised her hand in hopes of Zane picking her up.

"Damn it!" Shouted Zane in frustration. Now that she had fallen, it did not seem like a bad idea to leave her. However, Zane still helped nonetheless.

Zane grabbed onto her arm and began pulling her up as fast as he could. Sadly, he was not the only one. One of the shadow creatures had managed to grab onto her leg, pulling her back to them. A tug of war then immediately initiated between Zane and the shadowy figure.

Zane pulled with all his might as the lady screamed, kicking her legs wildly in hopes of getting free. Unfortunately, a second shadow figure then jumped out at Zane. He quickly dodged his attacker but was forced to release the lady in the process. There was nothing more he could do to help her. His efforts were all in vain.

"No! No! Nooooo! Please, I beg you!!! Don't leave me!! Aahhhh!! Don't let me dieeeeee!!!!" Bawled the lady.

Unfortunately for her, there was nothing Zane could do. The shadow creatures then pulled her away violently, destroying all hopes of her survival. Nevertheless, she refused to accept her fate. She bashed her hands into the ground desperately, wailing and searching for anything she could latch onto to prevent herself from being taken. 

Zane then gave her one last remorseful look as the creatures latched a metal bracelet onto her arm, rendering her unconscious. However, things weren't over as yet. The creatures were now aware of Zane's presence and would not allow him to escape so easily.

Knowing this, Zane quickly limped off to take cover in the nearby building he had seen earlier. He continuously took glances behind him as he ran desperately to keep track of the distance between himself and the shadow figures that now pursued him. The creatures were extremely agile and would catch up to him soon. If some type of miracle didn't come his way, there wasn't a doubt in his mind that he would be caught.

"Shit! I should have left her! Why did I do something so dumb?!" He cursed himself.

Thankfully, the entrance to the building was now only a few feet before him. Zane then dashed through the door, but he knew his troubles weren't over. Entering the building alone wasn't enough to escape. He had to find a proper place to hide.

Zane washed his eyes around him in hopes of finding even the smallest hiding spot. However, the lights in the building were flickering on and off which made it difficult to see. It was evident that the building was struggling to maintain its power.

Unfortunately for Zane, the creatures were now only a few feet away from catching him. He had to do something before it was too late. He then quickly averted his eyes to a corner where he saw an elevator. Zane immediately knew that the elevator was his only option. It wasn't much, but it was his only hope of getting away from his pursuers.

"The building seems sturdy enough and there is still some electricity running. It may be risky but I have no choice. If the elevator doesn't work then I'm done for without a doubt..." Zane painfully thought to himself.

Zane then ran over to the elevator and slammed his hand onto the call button. The doors then slowly slid open as Zane demanded them to open faster.

Just then, something happened that almost gave him a heart attack. A shadow creature fell from the elevator and landed atop Zane, forcing him to the ground.

"Aaghhh! Son of a—" 

Zane was about to scream but he noticed something odd. There was purple liquid protruding from the creature's forehead and its body seemed lifeless. The creature was thankfully already dead.

Thinking quickly, Zane forced the dead creature into the way of his pursuers to buy himself some time. The creatures were caught off-guard by Zane's sudden action. They tripped and tumbled over the dead body like a stack of dominos. The scene was almost hilarious. If it was any other situation, Zane would have been laughing uncontrollably.

However, Zane quickly rushed to his feet and dived into the elevator. He then noticed that he was standing over another dead body. This time it was that of a high-ranking human soldier. The soldier had a huge wound in his stomach which seemed to be the cause of death. Zane couldn't tell if he had been killed by one of the creatures but he didn't have time to care either.

Zane then bashed the elevator buttons as fast as he could. He needed the door to hurry and close.

"Damn it! Can't these things close any faster!?" He cursed.

The door was just mere inches from closing when dark fingers forced themselves in. The elevator doors were flung open as a shadow creature dived in onto Zane. The other shadow creatures also tried getting inside the elevator, but thankfully they were too slow. The doors were now sealed shut and the elevator had begun to rise.

The dead body that Zane had flung into their path had saved him from the entire hoard. Only one creature had managed to get inside which he would have to fight one on one.

Looking at the creature up close, Zane realized just how tall it was. It was around 6 feet 5 inches tall, towering over Zane's 5ft 11''.

Zane then began to breathe heavily as he got his stick in front of him. He wasn't sure how he would be able to defeat the creature, but he had to find a way.

Zane and the creature then steadily began walking around the body of the dead soldier. The creature was sizing Zane up to see if he was a real threat. Due to Zane's injuries, it was evident that he wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight.

Making the first move, Zane charged at the creature in hopes of catching it off-guard. He slammed his stick at the creature's head, but it was much smarter than Zane had expected. It parried Zane's attack before countering with a powerful punch to the gut.

 Zane held his stomach, coughing violently in pain, but he was determined to endure it. Zane hurried and got himself back up before spearing the creature into the wall. Unfortunately, Zane's attack was barely enough to even hurt the creature.

The creature then grabbed onto Zane's head and slammed its knee into his nose. Zane staggered backward with a newly bloodied nose. His body was aching with excruciating pain from his injuries. He wasn't sure if he would be able to win the fight in his current condition.

Sadly, the creature wasn't finished which meant Zane had to endure even more. It swung a right hook into Zane's jaw before finalizing the fight with a final uppercut. Zane was sent falling over from the powerful attack. The pain he felt was equivalent to being hit with a truck.

"Damn... these things know how to brawl..." He winced in pain.

The creature then took out a metal bracelet, ready to latch it around Zane's arm. It was time to restrain him and bring him back to the King and Queen for consumption.

Zane remembered how his family, Bob, and the lady were instantly rendered unconscious as soon as the bracelet was placed on their arms. He couldn't allow himself to be caught.

 He then looked around frantically in search of anything he could use to somehow kill the creature. His eyes then shifted to the dead soldier beside him. This was when an idea finally came to Zane. Soldiers carried around guns so there was a chance he could find a gun on the dead soldier.

Zane peered his eyes closer to see a small pistol in the soldier's waist. He desperately outstretched his arm and took the gun before pointing it at the creature.

"Just like the movies, right? Remove the safety and shoot!" Zane muttered as he shot the creature in the head. The creature then fell flat onto its face, lying in a pool of purple blood.

Unfortunately, Zane had made a rookie mistake. The sound of the gunshot echoed deafeningly in the elevator. It was so bad that Zane's ears went numb for a few seconds. Thankfully, the damage was only temporary. Another mistake like that could cost him his hearing.

The elevator then beeped, notifying Zane that he was on the top floor. The door opened to a dark silent passageway. Unlike the lower floors, there were no lights present. Zane then slowly got himself to his feet, placed the gun into his waist, and walked through the elevator door.

He at least needed somewhere to hide until it was morning. Zane then reached into his pocket and took his phone out to provide a little light.

As Zane walked, his footsteps echoed through the dark hallway. It was the only other sound he could hear apart from the distant screams and explosions outside.

Zane then came upon an office door that seemed like a good place to hide. He slowly turned the knob and let himself in as he shone his phone's light inside to illuminate the darkened office.

At the opposite end of the office, there was a decent-sized window that had allowed the moon to provide extra lighting.

Slowly, Zane then closed the door behind him and turned the lock to keep the creatures out.

"Geez... Thank goodness I survived all of that..." He sighed as he plumped himself down on the floor.

Almost as quickly as the words left his lips, he felt something pounce him flat on the floor. A cold steel-plated knife was then pressed against his throat while a soft hand covered his mouth.

"Who are you?" Asked a neat female voice in a whisper.

Zane tried to answer but his speech was muffled due to her hand.

"I'm going to remove my hand from your mouth so that you can answer me. But don't try anything funny, okay? If you do then you're dead!"

Zane nodded approvingly not wanting to die. The mystery figure then slowly moved her hand, allowing him to speak.

"I-I'm Zane... Please, I'm just trying to hide from those things like you are!"

"Shh!! Keep your voice down!" She ordered in a whispered shout.

"Sorry..."

She then began to stare at Zane intently as if trying to determine whether or not he was a threat. Due to the look of fear in his eyes, she decided that he was harmless.

She then slowly removed the knife from Zane's throat and stood herself up under the moonlight. Zane watched in amazement as the girl's smoky-grey eyes sparkled gorgeously in the presence of the moonlight and her long silky black hair swayed calmly in the wind. Her facial features were precisely perfect and she had small ball gold earrings in each ear.

She had a very petite body which was covered by a black winter coat, with a white T-shirt designed with the words "Bad Bee" underneath. She also wore black fitted jeans and high black knee leather boots.

Zane stared at her for a short moment unable to avert his gaze. Her beauty was paralyzing.

"So you came here to hide?" She asked.

"Uh- Yeah... I had to fight my way up here to hide, but I made it somehow..."

"You're covered in cuts and bruises. It seems you went through more than just a fight if you ask me..."

"Well, there were the shockwaves and I even fractured my leg. A lot happened..."

"You seem in need of help but I still don't know if I can trust you... How did you even get here in the first place?"

Zane's eyes sank into a state of sadness as he began explaining all the events that occurred leading up to the present moment. The mystery girl even felt a little sorry for him as he told her his story.

"I'm sorry to hear that happened to you..." She empathized.

"It's okay, I guess... I'm just glad I got to tell someone... It makes me feel a little better... What about you though?"

"My name's Layla. I'm 19."

"Oh, you're the same as I am then! Are you hiding here as well? If so, we should try to stick together."

Instead of responding, Layla moved over to the door and unlocked it. This confused Zane as it seemed like Layla was trying to let the creatures inside.

"Wait... What are you doing?!" Squealed Zane.

"Shh- keep your voice down! Geez... If they notice the door is locked, they'll be more inclined to kick it down and check if anyone's hiding here. They won't check the room as thoroughly otherwise since they expect us to lock ourselves inside."

Zane felt like Layla's actions were very risky but it was understandable. He then took out his phone to see if he could get it to work once more. He wanted to contact his father to see if he had made it out alive.

Layla's eyes then suddenly widened in panic. She quickly grabbed Zane's phone and threw it through the window as if it was a grenade.

"Are you crazy?! How could you have a phone with you?!" She cursed silently.

"What do you mean if I'm crazy?! You're the one that hurled my phone through the window!"

"Ugh... Well, I can't blame you. I guess you wouldn't know..."

Zane looked up at her with a puzzled face, "Know what?"

"They can track humans using the signals our phones emit. Not only that but many other devices as well. Have you not realized how smart these things are?"

"Well, now that you mention it... One did give me quite the beating earlier, so yeah..."

Layla sighed before taking a seat on the floor beside him, "Also, I'm not hiding here... It's more of waiting for my dad..."

"Your dad?"

"Yeah... He's a high-ranking soldier... He told me to wait here until he was back so he could scout the building, but it's been thirty minutes already... I'm worried about him..."

Zane's memory quickly flashed back to the elevator. He froze like a statue as if he was playing freeze tag. Layla noticed this immediately.

"Wait? What is it? Do you know something about my dad?" She asked desperately.

Zane was silent for a short moment before he responded. There was no way for him to tell if the soldier he saw earlier was her father.

"No... It's nothing about your dad, I promise!"

Layla stared at Zane suspiciously but decided not to pursue it any further, "Yeah... okay I guess."

Layla seemed very distraught over her father and Zane did not wish to break such news to her, especially when he was uncertain. It was best for him to confirm it before he told her the truth.

"So what are these alien things?" Asked Zane quickly.

Layla played around with the blade of her knife as she answered calmly, "They're not aliens but I guess people would call them that anyway... Their real name is the Apocrypha."

"Apocrypha? How can something like that even be real!?" 

"They've always been real. The government and military just cover it up. The fact that I'm the daughter of a high-ranking soldier gives me access to this type of information. So trust me, I'd know. But don't judge my dad for that... He only told me because we were all going to die anyway."

"What are they here for though? There's a chance they'll leave, right?"

"Sixty-five years ago, dating back to the year 1955, the governments of the biggest countries across the world were hit by a horrific truth. These strange creatures called Apocrypha confronted them. They told them that humans were created as life forms to breed and multiply so that in the year 2020, they could harvest us as food. It's the reason Area 51 in Nevada was built in the first place. There's a lot to it."

Fear paralyzed Zane. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"What do you mean to harvest us as food?! That's crazy!"

"What do you think all the UFO sightings meant? Even the information the military released to the public a few months ago confirming the sightings? They wanted to tell the public, Zane. But how do you go about telling a population of over seven billion people that come the year 2020, we would all be used as nutrition for another race known as Apocrypha? There would be utter chaos..."

"B-But I don't understand! Why now? Why not years ago?!"

"Zane, calm down and take a deep breath. They waited till now because the more time they give us to grow and multiply, the more food they will reap for themselves. The animals and plants we have were all given to us to fatten ourselves and grow. Our generation just got the short end of the stick."

They do consider our flesh as precious meat though... It's why they don't try to shoot or mow us down when they see us. They simply want to preserve the quality of the meat they've waited on for thousands of years. The bombs they released here in the city were just to subdue us for rebelling."

Zane's eyes sunk into the back of his head. He wished he was suffering from a serious nightmare that he would soon awake from.

"So we're all gonna die then? Great... Everything I've known is a fat lie!"

"Zane, we probably will die but I refuse to die without giving a proper fight. As for what you want to do, that's up to you."

"How optimistic..."

"By the way, did you catch the Coronavirus?"

"No, I made sure to keep myself safe. This is the first time I've come out in public without a mask..."

"Good... The virus was released by them so it would be harder to hide. Once you catch it, they will be able to find you no matter where you go... In other words, it's a virus meant to track you. If you had caught it then I would have been forced to kill you just now." 

Zane buried his face into his palms depressingly. He didn't know what to do.

Layla then placed her hand on his shoulder to comfort him. She understood how he felt. Any normal human being would fall under intense stress once they were told the truth. Zane was no different. All Layla could do was comfort him.

Sadly, little did they know that there was a lot more to the Apocrypha than they were unaware of.

"Don't give up... We have to make it somehow. We'll get to my father and then we'll make a plan on what to do next."

Zane didn't answer as the situation was overwhelming for him. His family had been kidnapped and would soon be the main course of some sick species called the Apocrypha.

The two then sat still in silence allowing their situation to seep in as they awaited sunrise. Unfortunately, things would soon get much worse.