"You got your cell phone on you?"

Tim shook his head.

"Me either." Skeet let his head lean back against the wall, closing his eyes. "Crap."

A sound came from the other side. Tim shifted to the opposite wall and opened the shutters. He couldn't see much through the thick brush and trees, but the sound carried.

"Please!" he heard someone shouting.

"My Mom is probably freaking out right now," Skeet said. "She hates it when I don't have my phone." He looked up with a sheepish grin. "Only reason I left it was so she couldn't bug me if I found some - you know - righteous babes."

There were shouts, and the sound of someone crying.

"Of course, the one time I need it I don't have it." He gave a shaky laugh.

"Hey," Tim interrupted his rambling. "Something's going on over there."

Skeet crawled over next to him.

"No!"

"You hear that?"

Skeet nodded.

"It's coming from across the street I think."

"Isn't there a church over there?"

"Yeah, but it's Saturday."

"That's when they do their stuff, man. Saturday mornings."

"Stop! Let me go!" A girl's voice echoed. She sounded like she couldn't be much older than a teenager.

Skeet and Tim looked at each other.

"You're thinking of going over there, aren't you?"

"Someone's in trouble, Skeet."

Skeet's dark green eyes narrowed. "In case you haven't noticed, we're in trouble too."

"Not like that."

Something was going on over there. Something not good. Tim needed to see what was happening. Maybe they could help. At the very least, he needed to know. Nothing today was making any sense.

"I'm going."

Skeet sighed.

"All right, brah. I've got your back. But at the first sign of real trouble, we bolt. Deal?"

He didn't really agree with that, but he nodded anyway.

Tim closed the shutters back up before heading out. His foot found the step and he worked his way back down, trying to keep from making too much noise. A minute later Skeet landed next to him, going to one knee in the tall grass.

"We'll have to cross the road," he whispered.

Westwood Ave, with four lanes and a fifty mile-per-hour speed limit was a crazy road to cross on a normal day, let alone a day like today. They'd have to be quick and careful.

Tim took point, pushing through the thick brush while Skeet brought up the rear, keeping an eye on their six. It had gone quiet across the street. Instead of giving him a sense of relief, the silence filled Tim with a dark cold ball of dread.

"I don't hear anything," Skeet whispered. "Maybe we should go back."

Tim ignored him and kept moving. Another few minutes and the road came into view through the branches. He moved as close as he dared, keeping a careful eye on the road. Cars and trucks went by like nothing at all was wrong.

Across the street were two houses, their lawns facing the road. Each had a thin line of bushes and trees along the side, but nothing in the front. It was all open. To the right of the two houses was a slight rise, and then the parking lot of the church. Tim could see cars parked everywhere, but no people.

Where were they?

There was a break in the traffic, and Tim tensed his body, ready to make a run for it. He started to push off. Skeet's hand grabbed his shoulder, yanking him back so hard he nearly fell. Adrenaline shot through his veins and he looked back expecting to see mottled gray skin descending on them.

Skeets hand reached past his face, jabbing a finger at the ground.

"Ditch," Skeet whispered.

Tim followed where he was pointing, not understanding until he saw the shallow ditch half concealed in the brush. A few inches of water ran along the bottom of it. If he'd fallen in there he'd have twisted an ankle for sure. Maybe worse.

"Thanks, man." His whisper sounded shaky.

Skeet nodded, his eyes wide, but focused.

Go time.

Tim waited for another burst of traffic to go by, then stepped carefully across the ditch and out into the open. He felt exposed. Part of him, some deep spot in his brain like an itch he couldn't reach, wanted to look up into the sky and see for himself what was causing everyone to go crazy. He swallowed hard, forcing the feeling down and then he was pushing off, sprinting onto the pavement and across the road. There was a ditch on the other side too, and he cleared it in a jump and kept going, not daring to stop until he reached the bushes and trees along the driveway. He skidded behind one, crouching down close to the ground.

Behind him, Skeet had waited for another surge of traffic to go by. Tim watched, the ball of dread growing as he saw one of the cars was going faster than the others. The driver laid on the horn, blasting it as the car swerved into the oncoming traffic lanes. His stomach clenched, but thankfully there were no cars coming the other way, and the crazy driver swerved back onto the right side of the road.

In the quiet aftermath, Skeet dashed quickly across the road and joined him in the bushes. Tim pointed to the connecting lot, and they edged around to the back of the house. The back yard was mildly overgrown, which suited Tim just fine as they crossed it, stopping behind the line of young trees and brush that ran along the bottom of the rise.

"No, please..." It was the girl again, but this time she was sobbing instead of yelling.

Tim felt like ice had replaced his blood. His body felt stiff and cold. Slowly, carefully he lifted his head until he could peek over the edge of the rise. What warmth was left in his body fled, leaving him icy cold. A girl, probably around his age, stood near the back corner of the church, her body straining forward. Only the mottled gray fingers wrapped around her arms held her back.

A few feet in front of her, in the middle of the parking lot, a group of ten or eleven of the tall gray creatures stood. Each one held a person in their grip. They didn't look all that strong, but they must have been, because none of the people were struggling. One man was on his knees, and two women were crying, but the rest stood there calmly enough.

"It's all right, dear." A woman in gray slacks and a white blouse looked over at the girl. "There's no need to shout. These men are here to help us."

And with that the woman turned to her captor with a smile.

It stood at least seven feet tall, maybe eight. The mottled gray skin had no hair, and travelled seamlessly up to the bulbous head. Where the eyes should have been, there was only a darkened patch of flesh, as if the orbs that should have been there had been burned away.

The creature jerked the woman as it moved its hands, one grabbing her face by the jaw. The woman, still smiling, allowed her head to be pushed so that her face was pointed at the sky. The sun beat directly on her face, washing it in rays of light. She squinted at the brightness. The creature's other gray hand reached for her face, long gray fingers pulling the woman's eyes open wide. It let go of her chin to use both hands, pulling the lids away so that her eyes were fully exposed. The woman, oblivious to the wind that was blowing grit and dirt, gave a small satisfied ah as her body froze.

Tim closed his eyes, letting his body slide back down to the bottom of the rise.

That did not just happen. Please... tell me that did not just happen.

His ears caught the sound of low sobs from the girl.

Beside him, Skeets hands pulled wads of grass and dirt from the ground as his jaw clenched and unclenched.

Slowly, fighting every instinct in his body, Tim edged back up for another quick glance. They were doing the same thing to the others. One by one, each of them were forced to stare into the light, into the sun's rays until they were frozen. In just under a minute all of them were locked in place.

Click.

Click click.

Tim tensed. The creatures were making some kind of noise. As one, they released their prisoners and glided back into the church. The prisoners stayed frozen where they were. Tim was startled to see the girl running across the pavement. The gray creature that had been holding her glided back inside with the others.

The girl ran to the woman, grabbing her.

"Mom!"

She took hold of the white blouse and pulled, but the woman didn't respond. The girl shook her back and forth, but there was nothing. Slowly the girl dropped to the pavement, sobbing.

Tim looked at the church.

It was quiet, but they'd be back in just a few seconds with the next round. He was sure of it. Why most of them weren't resisting he had no idea. Why this one girl was the only one who seemed to realize what was going on was crazy, but if those things came back out and she was still there, he was pretty sure what would happen to her.

Feeling almost as insane as the world around him, Tim leapt upward, clearing the rise and hitting the pavement already running. He heard Skeet shout behind him, but didn't look back. He dodged between cars, sprinting for the girl. When he reached her, he crouched on the pavement next to her.

"Hey!" His eyes darted into the recesses of the church. The outer doors were wide open, and he could see another set of doors beyond that, going into an inner room lined with pews. The creatures were gliding up and down the aisles. As he watched, one of them pointed, and another grabbed a man.

He looked back down.

"Hey, we need to go."

He touched her back, trying to get her attention, and she jerked away.

"Easy," he said, holding his hands up. "I'm trying to help."

She looked away.

They needed to go. There wasn't time for this.

"Look, I know this sucks, but those things are coming back. If we don't get out of here right now we're going to end up just like... them."

The girl glanced inside, then finally back at him and nodded.

He helped her up, using his arms to guide her as they headed back toward the cars and the side of the parking lot. Over the rise, he could see Skeet waving his hands frantically for them to hurry. Tim expected to feel something grab him at any moment, pulling his body backwards, those long gray fingers reaching for his face. He shivered violently as they slid down the grassy slope of the rise.

Skeet grabbed the girl's hand. "Come one. This way."

Tim started to follow, but something drew him to turn back, risking a glance. Instead of seeing the gray men coming out, he saw only the frozen people still in the parking lot. Only they looked... fuzzy. What was... ?

He watched, feeling the cold in his body turn to numbness as the wind picked up, swirling around the frozen people like a dust devil. The rays of sunlight seemed to burn brighter inside it, and Tim lifted an arm to shield his face, terrified that he would feel his awareness slip away at any moment as he joined their frozen ranks. Instead, the wind buffeted him, the dirt and grit so thick that the forms of the people in the lot disappeared from view.

"Tim!"

He heard Skeet calling him, but he couldn't look away. The light inside that swirling vortex intensified, and then as suddenly as it had picked up it died. The dust and debris fell from the air like a wave, crashing against the pavement.

Empty pavement.

"Let's go!"

Feeling the horror choke him, he finally stumbled away, letting his feet carry him into the yard and across it before he even pulled his arm away. In the hot air he could feel wetness on his face.

Ahead of him, Skeet pulled the girl toward the road, giving a quick glance both ways before racing across it and disappearing into the brush. Tim didn't even bother to look this time. He just stumbled after them, oblivious to everything around him. The branches were meaningless. The brush was insignificant. The trees were pointless.

They were gone.

All of them, gone. Just like that.

There were hands on his arms, and he jerked them away.

"Don't touch me." The growl sounded like him, but he didn't remember intending to say anything.

"Okay, man." Skeet backed off. "It's okay. We're at the fort. Come on."

Fort?

Tim looked up.

Above him, the fort sat nestled in the trees, hidden in its nest of leaves and vines. He could see the girl's shoulder and her dark hair, but not her face. He didn't want to see her face. Her mother was gone. They all were. And in a few minutes another group would be gone too, and then more and more and more until the whole church was empty.

No one had even tried to get away.

Why?

Just her. Just the girl.

"She's safe," Tim whispered.

"Yes," Skeet agreed. "Yes, she's safe. We will be too. Come on."

He wanted Tim to hide in the fort with them, but he couldn't.

He couldn't.

They had some food up there. They would be fine, but what about everyone else? What about Skeet's family? What about the people in the Shop-N-Save? What about the people in the houses?

What about his mom and dad?

Tim couldn't leave them to whatever fate might be waiting. He had to get to them. He had to try to make sure they were okay. He started walking. Behind him, Skeet's frantic yells followed him but quickly faded. He would figure it out. Tim didn't have time to wait. He had to go now. His foot hit something and he looked down.

His bike.

Lifting it he pushed it to the far side of the clearing, then mounted up and headed back down the trail. He kept expecting to see one of those things drift out from between the trees like a ghost, coming for him. Instead, the trees greeted him with empty shadows.

Maybe the things didn't like shadows. They only liked the sun.

The rays.

The light that was normally good and provided sustenance had destroyed the people it normally helped. The birds had known. That was why they'd been acting so strange before. He was sure of it. The crazy idea he'd had that the little brown sparrow had wanted to come inside had not been so crazy after all. Animals had instincts that people did not - at least not anymore. They must have sensed that something was wrong. They had flown into his window in their attempt to escape it.

Unlike the people who had followed meekly, offering themselves up like sheep to those creatures who pried their eyes open and forced them to look. Then the sun had done its damage. It had razed them.

The RAZE.

Tim turned his bike into the trees, welcoming the cool air that felt like safety. Those things might be on the other side, but he couldn't stop. He had to keep going.

He had to get home.

The end of the trees came more quickly than he'd expected, and his bike bounced off a curb and into the street. He heard a crack and felt the front tire give underneath him, and then the pavement was rushing up to meet him.

Pain exploded in his arm and face and then the blackness closed in, taking him.