Polaris is best known as the North Star, used to help sailors find their way home when stranded in the ocean.
Not only sailors may benefit from its guidance. Lost souls who are weary use the star by wishing upon it, and sometimes, that wish is grant...
Joshua shot up in bed, sweat beading at his hairline and dripping down his face. Panting heavily, he stared at the blackness before him, beside him, above him; all around him. The only source of light was his digital alarm clock that read 4:06 a.m.
Gulping, the redhead sighed. His eyebrows furrowed tightly before a sob escaped him. He brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them.
The nightmare had come again. It bit and clawed at his brain, ripping it apart only further. He sobbed into the blanket, unable to control the emotions that he struggled to keep in check on a day to day basis.
Seconds later, anger had overridden the fear. Joshua sat up, wiped his tears, and threw the covers off of his body. He stood up, ready to punch holes in the walls, only to be knocked right back down onto his bed.
A colossal boom shook the sleepy town of Columbus, Ohio. Car alarms wailed in the nights, dogs howled, and windows shattered.
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Joshua, bewildered, peeked out of his blinds and looked to the sky. Bolts of a brilliant blue mist shot across the Heavens, dissipating once they had all traveled the same distance.
People had begun to spill out into the streets, pointing up at the fine trail that the blue streaks had left. Others screamed in terror, grabbing their loved ones and hurrying back inside their homes.
Joshua was still unable to believe what he was seeing. He didn't have much time to, either, as the emergency responder radio on his bedside table crackled to life.
"Holy shit, did you guys fucking see that?" A member of the SWAT team screamed into the radio.
Joshua crossed the room and swiped the radio, holding down the button and speaking into it.
"How could we not, Gibson? The world's fucking ending!"
A third line crossed into the frequency, an even harsher, more commanding voice on the other end.
"KEEP THIS LINE CLEAR, MEN. ALL SWAT MEMBERS REPORT TO BASE AND GET READY TO GEAR UP AND ROLL OUT."
"Sarge, what are we facing here?" Joshua asked as he stomped on his boots. He grabbed his keys and ran out to his car in record time.
"I SAID KEEP THE LINE CLEAR, DUN."
Growling to show his dissatisfaction, he threw the radio on the passenger seat beside him. He jammed the key in the ignition and backed out of the driveway, spitting curses at his neighbors who were gawking at the sky, which had long since returned to its inky black.
It was a flurry of movement as the men and women of the force burst into the gear room, everyone talking amongst themselves. Joshua had gotten swept up into the confusion but was still able to get to his locker.
"LET'S MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!" The Sargent barked orders at the SWAT members who were strapping on layer after layer of protective gear.
"Hey," Gibson smacked Joshua upside the head, his chewing gum slightly slurring his speech. "Ready to get moving and fight some aliens?"
Joshua didn't have time to blow up at him for smacking him. He had just heard the word "aliens." Anyone who knew Joshua Dun even the slightest bit knew he had a juvenile obsession with life from behind the stars.
"What? We're fighting fucking aliens?"
"Black said she saw something crash to Earth downtown, probably landed in some poor bastard's yard."
Gibson patted Joshua's arm before marching to the front, where the rest of the team was already suited up. Joshua was dragged along, his unlit cigarette hanging from his mouth. He clambered up into the SWAT van, gun pressed against his chest.
Aliens...
Blinking slowly and tightly, Tyler jerked his hand back from the meteorite that had landed in his yard.
It had been a rude awakening when the small, yet devastatingly large in its effects, comet crash landed in Tyler's backyard.
He was hesitant to approach it, wary of the 2 by 1 foot object that sat in a steaming pile of black rubble. A large ring of soil encircled it; the crash site.
But when a soft blue glow emanated from deep within the meteorite, he found himself wanting to be drawn closer. So he took a step forward. And another. And another.
Until he was crouching down in front of it, his shaky fingers barely grazing the surface. It was warm, and the pulsing blue light of it only fed Tyler's hazy idea that it was living.
Open your heart to me, a voice whispered. I can see you, Tyler. I can see what they did to you all those years ago. So open your heart and accept me, and we can get revenge.
The blue glow grew stronger, reflecting in Tyler's wide eyes. His lips parted, a short shudder leaving him.
His arm was outstretched once more, centimeters away from the meteorite. It was as if he was locked in by a tractor beam, forcing him to lean forward and just touch this magnificent thing.
As soon as his fingertip touched the surface, a burning sensation crawled through his veins. He screamed in pain and jumped back, only to be tugged forward again.
A long, thick rope of blue light had shot from the space rock, grabbing ahold of Tyler as if it was a hand. Its mucus-like body throbbed and pulsed as it pumped itself into Tyler's body.
His whole body was shaking, as if he was experiencing a seizure. The pain he was feeling was indescribable. If he didn't know any better, he would've thought he stepped into Hell itself.
As the color drained from the meteorite, it flowed into Tyler. Beneath his skin, the faint blue was ebbed away as it sunk into his muscles and bones.
Before the last of the slop bled into Tyler, his eyes flashed with the color. Then, they closed, and the SWAT team showed up, kicking down his door.
As the beam of flashlights skittered across Tyler's unconscious body, every trace of the meteorite vanished. To the SWAT team, to Joshua, he was just some poor bastard.
