WriteMentor Short Story 2021

The Landing

Tomas yawned and stretched. A new day lay ahead, and he felt grateful. It was hard to believe that only ten years ago the world had ground to a halt. People were sick, families stayed at home and 6-year-old Tomas couldn’t see his friends.

Grandma had tried to reassure him. “We’ll get through this virus thing.”

“We will, Grandma,” he’d replied. “Just like you got through the war.”

And they did get through it, with the knowledge that whatever lay ahead, they had the perseverance to survive.

But that was before The Landing.

It was early March 2029, when the world changed again. Tomas woke to unfamiliar sounds.

“A spaceship’s landed!” His dad had the same look of disbelief he’d had ten years before.

“Last night . . .” he tried to explain, but his voice trailed away.

They turned on the TV and saw at least fifty hideous creatures scrambling out of an enormous spaceship.

“This is a joke, right? . . . RIGHT!”

Tomas couldn’t believe his eyes. It was no joke!

“They’re searching every house. It’s only a matter of time before they come here. They’re looking for scientists.” said his dad. Then they both turned to Mum.

“They want to take as many of us back to their planet,” she said. “We just need to work out how to stop them!”

It was now the beginning of April and Tomas welcomed another day to help his mum. The aliens were getting closer and every night, just as it got dark, Tomas slipped out. Only his parents knew where he was going. They’d all agreed not to tell Grandma anything.

Tomas walked silently through the streets, knocking on as many doors as he could, in the hope of finding the answer to a very important question; do the aliens show any signs of weakness?

Most of the people he spoke to were too scared to notice anything. But there was one thing they all mentioned. All the creatures excreted a gloopy liquid from their mouths, which quickly evaporated leaving a pungent smell.

“We need to catch some of the liquid,” Tomas told his mum later that night. “Then you can analyse it.”

“It’s too risky.” she replied.

“But Mum! We’re running out of time and they’re already at Temple Road!” Tomas reasoned. The furrowed lines on his mum’s forehead deepened as she rubbed her red-rimmed eyes.

“OK.” she agreed, reluctantly.

The next evening Tomas went to Temple Road to see Jason, a fellow scientist who worked with his mum. Together they hatched a plan! Then they waited.

At 8 o’clock there was a deafening screech and a purple glow pulsated through the windows. Jason walked calmly to the door, while Tomas crouched behind it.

 “You . . . scientist!”

“I am,” Jason replied, defiantly. “But I won’t help you!”

The creature screeched loudly, squirting liquid onto the carpet. Tomas tried to catch some in a jar, but it evaporated too quickly. It was all he could do to stop himself from gagging!

“What the hell do you hope to achieve by coming here?” Jason shouted. “Surely there’s intelligent life on your own planet!”

Jason’s goading worked! The creature reared backwards on its hind legs, spewing liquid in all directions. Tomas tried to catch some again, but it evaporated too quickly.

Jason threw Tomas a knowing, sideways glance.

 “No doubt they’re all brainless like you!” he continued, defiantly.

A deafening silence followed, then the creature started to convulse. Its mouth opened wide. Tomas thrust his hand forward and finally the liquid poured into the jar. He quickly screwed the cap back on, then watched in horror as Jason walked helplessly down the street flanked by aliens.

“Go… GO!” cried Jason’s wife, Ann.

Tomas ran home faster than he’d ever run before and went straight down to the cellar.

“Well done, Son,” his mum said with a smile. “Let’s hope this gives us some answers.”

Tomas nodded as he dropped a piece of litmus paper into the bottle. It instantly turned red.

“Acetic acid. They are excreting acetic acid,” his mum exclaimed. “We need baking soda! As much as we can get our hands on.”

Tomas suddenly remembered an experiment he’d done at school, mixing acetic acid, baking soda and glitter.

“FIREWORKS!” he shouted triumphantly.

“Ha-ha! I think we’ll pass on the glitter. Fizz and bubbles should do the trick!”

Everyone worked tirelessly over the next few days, until there was enough baking soda to go round. And it wasn’t long before an alien finally arrived at their house.

Tomas’s mum took a deep breath and opened the door.

“You . . . scientist.” said the alien.

“I am,” his mum replied. “But I’m not going anywhere with you!”

The creature let out an ear-piercing scream and turned a deeper shade of purple. Then it lurched forward, with its mouth opened wide.

Tomas was ready. He sprung from behind the door and threw a handful of baking soda into the alien’s mouth! Then they both stepped backwards as the alien froze. Tomas held his breath and watched as the drool fizzed, then turned into a mass off bubbles. He threw handful after handful, until the alien was completely overwhelmed and finally retreated down the path. Tomas sighed and watched with relief as one by one the aliens staggered down the street and out of sight.

Later that evening, Jason returned home safely, and the families watched as the spaceship disappeared into the night sky.

“What in heavens name was that?” asked Grandma.

“Just some aliens heading home.” Tomas’s mum replied.

“Well, I hope they didn’t make a nuisance of themselves.”

“We sent them packing, with some extra sparkle, Grandma.” Tomas said with a cheeky grin!