Page 1 of Doom

Prologue

Victoria

Today, we made first contact …. Earth will never be the same.

What scientists at first thought to be a mammoth asteroid on a collision course with Earth, turned out to be a series of space vessels following in the wake of what we all assumed to be a mothership.

Excitement, awe, and fear swept through every nation, worldwide. The prophets of doom quickly took to the streets, clamoring for all to repent for the hour of retribution had finally come. The alien groupies began organizing welcoming parties. The paranoid and trigger-happy demanded Earth’s militaries perform a pre-emptive strike. Weapon sales spiked overnight, most shops running out of stock within hours. The same occurred with grocery stores, all non-perishable foods and bottled water flying off the shelves in a blink. Those who had bunkers hunkered down. Many among those without one fled the populated areas to wait out the potential storm in isolation where they’d be less likely to draw unwanted attention.

And our governments? Well, they did the political thing and called on people to remain calm, instigated curfews where rioting occurred, and prepared for the worst behind the scenes.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize something smelled funky. I’d always been an avid sci-fi and fantasy addict, from movies, to TV series, to books, and everything else in between. Before my acceptance to med school, I’d even been involved in some serious cosplaying. With my fiery hair, I’d impersonated Jean Grey, Black Widow, Mystique, and Red Sonja, to name a few. But as excited as I felt at the thought of first contact, I couldn’t believe the aliens would come with such a massive fleet just to say ‘howdy.’

According to scientists, they had just suddenly appeared—halfway between Mars and Earth. No wormholes had been seen, leading many to speculate they’d somehow ‘dropped out of warp’ or something. At their current speed, they would reach Earth’s orbit within three hours, a mere two days after they were first noticed—two days during which my world had deteriorated into complete chaos.

As a young doctor, fresh out of my residency, I was on duty at the Sacred Heart Hospital. With all the rioting, stupid car accidents from people attempting to flee town, and shootings from attempted robberies of homes presumed empty, the number of patients being rushed in would soon exceed our capacity.

I wished to be anywhere but here.

My phone rang, startling me, just as I entered the staff room for my long-overdue break. I fumbled to pull it out of my lab coat pocket, always filled with way too much stuff, although all of it useful.

“Hey Mom,” I answered, recognizing the ringtone.

“Victoria, sweetie, are you all right?” her beloved voice asked. “Are you still at the hospital?”

“Yes, Mom. I’m finally taking my break, but there was another riot on the south bank. Five ambulances have been dispatched. Between them and the walk-ins, I don’t see myself being released any time soon.”

“You should be home with your father and me,” Mother said with an assertiveness I’d never heard from her before. “I know we’ve raised you to be a responsible young woman. You have a duty to the hospital, and we couldn’t be prouder of you. But this whole alien thing doesn’t feel right. If things go belly up, we should be together as a family. Your sister and her husband are on their way.”

My throat tightened with resurfacing fears I’d kept at bay by burying myself in my work. I nodded absentmindedly at Johann, one of the surgeons on her way to prep for another shooting victim. I wanted to go home … badly. If this truly was Armageddon, I wanted to be with my family, not elbow-deep in the blood of fools seeking the first excuse to stir up trouble.

“You know I want nothing more than to come home,” I said, not even trying to hide the slight tremor in my voice. “But this isn’t just about duty, Mom. It’s about saving lives—human lives. If I run home to hide, a lot of the patients stacking up in here will die.”

A heavy silence met my words. I swallowed painfully and headed for the slightly worn-out couch across from the giant screen TV. Andy, one of my fellow doctors, showed me the plate he was filling at the small buffet laid out on the counter, silently asking if I wanted him to make me one. I nodded gratefully, though I wondered if, despite my hunger, I’d be able to stomach anything.

“What if this is our last chance to see each other?” Mother asked at last.

My heart skipped a beat, and I pulled the phone away from my ear to stare at it, disbelieving. I plopped myself onto the couch, refusing to admit to myself that the same thought had been plaguing me for the past two days.

“Mom, we cannot let ‘what ifs’ dictate our lives. Que sera, sera. What if I come home, nothing bad happens with the aliens, but twenty patients die who I could have saved if I’d stayed? What if I get injured on my way home because of rioters or stray bullets? What if some desperate folks force me out of my car and steal it?”

I exhaled a shuddering breath and blinked furiously, swallowing back the tears that threatened to spill out. Andy came by and placed a full plate with utensils on the coffee table in front of me. Sympathy shone in his pale blue eyes as he gazed upon my face. With a sad smile, he squeezed my shoulder in encouragement and walked away. I couldn’t even see the contents of my plate and could feel my already frayed nerves nearing their breaking point.

“I’m scared, Mom. I’m terrified,” I whispered so the others wouldn’t hear. They didn’t need my burdens added to theirs. “I wish I were home with you hugging me and Dad telling me everything will be fine like he used to when I was a little girl. But I’m stuck here right now. And I need you to help me be strong.”

“My baby …” Mom said, guilt and love filling her soft, slightly throaty voice. “I’m so sorry. You know I’ll always be there for you. I love you so much. Your father and I love you so very much.”

“I love you, too, Mom.”

“Hey, pumpkin,” my father’s voice said, having taken the phone from my mom. “I hear you’re out there saving all those rioting knuckleheads. A good night’s sleep, without painkillers, might help get their heads screwed on right.”

I laughed through the tears that had managed to slip down my freckled face.

“You have no idea how many of them I wanted to stab with a spinal tap needle tonight,” I said, wiping my face with the back of my hand.

“We’re proud of you, baby girl,” Dad said, sobering. “We love you, okay? Come home as soon as you safely can. In the meantime, continue to be the superhero you’ve always been.”

“I love you, Dad. Pull Liz’s braid for me when she shows up.”

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