“What? Jim, what happened out there! Are you okay? What’s going on?”

Jim heard the worry in Pam’s voice. He grabbed her hand and told Jon to stay close. He ran to the old van he saw the mechanics fixing earlier. “Please work,” he said to himself.

“Jim! What’s happening? Are we in trouble?” Pam asked again.

Every building surrounding them was catching on fire. They could still hear the cries of people losing their lives and the zaps of the tripods. He opened up the back of the van motioning for Pam to sit back there while he sat in the drivers’ seat. Jon sat on Jim's right. He said a silent, thankful prayer when the car started. He pressed the gas and drove the car through the city at full speed. Since all of the cars had mysteriously stopped working except for theirs, there was no traffic which made their escape easy. Jon still hadn’t spoken. He was always silent when he was scared. He only stared straight ahead.

Pam turned and looked out the back window when a tree caught on fire from the tripod that was nearing.

“Get down!” Jim ordered. She bent down in her seat and Jon followed.

“Jim, why won’t you answer me? What’s going on!?” Pam cried.

He finally made it out of Manhattan and onto the highway. People were running on the grassy area surrounding the highway trying to get escape New York as well. Jim dodged through the broken down cars on the highway. Jon finally spoke.

"Jim, really, what’s happening? Where are we going?”

“I’ll explain as soon as we’re safe. Do you remember where our cousin, Andrew, lives?”

“Yeah,”

“Here, then take the wheel and I tell you everything I know.”

Jim held onto the gas and Jon climbed over to the drivers’ seat. When Jim looked back at Pam, he saw she was breathing hard and had her hands wrapped around her stomach. He leaned in the backseat and held her chin up to his face. That’s when he noticed the tears falling from her eyes. She spoke in between sobs.

“Jim, what’s going on?”

“Here, hold my hand.”

Pam did so and Jim sat back up in the front seat.

“I think we’re under attack—”

“By who, terrorists?” Jon asked.

“No, more like by people from a completely different place."

"You mean like Europe?"

"No, Jon, not like Europe! God knows if they are even people.”

Pam squeezed Jim’s hand and he squeezed it back. She leaned forward so she could be closer to the front seat, and to Jim.

“The lighting we heard really did hit the same spot over and over. It made this huge hole in the ground. Then, everything started to shake. Cracks were being formed and buildings came crashing down everywhere. All of a sudden, the ground near the hole rose up and then fell straight into the earth. A tripod rose up from the opening. It started zapping people with this strange, green colored beam. When the people were zapped, they disappeared. I ran back just in time because the tripod was heading to your location next.”

Pam was holding onto Jim’s hand tighter now and Jon was gripping onto the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Everything was silent except for Pam’s occasional sobs.

***

It was dark by the time the car drove into a driveway of a big suburban house. Jim opened up the backseat car door to wake up Pam who had fallen asleep during the ride.

“Pam,” he whispered while tucking a stray curl behind her hair. She slowly opened her eyes and smiled when she saw Jim. He helped her out of the car and they walked inside the house. Jon met Jim and Pam in the kitchen.

“I looked all around and Andrew isn’t here. His car isn’t in the garage either.”

Jim nodded his head.

“Are either of you hungry?”

Jon and Pam shook their heads.

“My stomach is too uneasy to even think about food,” Pam said.

“Same.”

“Let’s spend the night in the basement. It seems safer,” Jim said.

“Are the tripods coming here too?” Pam asked.

“I don’t know. I’m still not very sure of what’s going on.”

***

The three of them walked into the basement carrying blankets and pillows. Jon started making a bed on the floor under the stairs. Pam walked and sat down on the floor. Jim looked over at Pam and saw that she looked worried. He made his way to her and sat next on her left.

“Are you alright there, Beesly?”

“Jim…”

“Yeah?”

“Are we going to be okay?”

“Truthfully… I don’t know the answer to that, but I can tell you this. I’ll try my best to make sure nothing happens to you. I’m going to protect you. I love you so much.”

Jim pulled Pam into his arms and hugged her tightly. He could hear her crying again so he pulled her closer and ran a hand up and down her back.

“I love you too,” she said.

He kissed the top of her head and stood up. “

Where are you going?”

“Oh, I’m just going to drive back to New York and leave you here while I get zapped by tripods.”

Pam giggled at Jim’s joke and he smiled back at her. He went and got them both a blanket and pillows and sat on a chair. He pulled her onto his lap and put his hands on her stomach. She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. He lay awake watching Pam. She looked so serene. He turned to look over at Jon who was in a deep slumber. Jim bent down to kiss Pam before he went to bed too.

He heard her quietly say, “I never want to lose you, Jim.”

He smiled and replied, “You'll never have to.”

He saw her smile before she fell asleep. He found himself doing the same. After he was asleep for quite some time, he felt somebody shaking him awake.

“Jim! Jim, wake up!” He slowly opened his eyes and saw Pam with worry in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” His question was answered when he looked out the window and saw a blue light. He heard rustling, and then suddenly, everything grew silent. He stood up and wrapped his arms around Pam. He could feel her heart pounding just as his was.Then, he heard the lightning again.

Pam screamed and Jon ran up beside them. A loud, high pitched whistling sound began.

“It’s happening again!” Jon said.

“No, no it’s different this time! It didn’t do that before!” Jim grabbed Pam’s hand and he took her to a closet on the far side of the basement. He ran back to get Jon who was standing in shock when the small basement window burst open and dirt came flying in.

Pam wanted to scream for Jim. Watching them run for their lives scared her. She didn’t know how she would handle things without him. She had to contain her screams, because she didn’t want whatever it was outside to hear them.

Jim and Jon ran into the closet and something burst into flames He closed the door on the fire and everything was dark. The wailing sounds outside could still be heard. Jim turned on a flashlight. Pam ran up to him and hugged him very tightly.

“Oh Jim…” He walked her over to a corner and sat her in between his legs. She leaned against his chest and clutched onto his shirt. He wrapped his jacket around her. Jon’s face was pale and he sat beside Jim and Pam. Their heavy breathing and pounding hearts were calming down.

“I’m scared,” Pam said.

“Shh, shh, shh, it’s okay. Don’t worry, we’re okay.” Jim replied. Jon just nodded his head and swallowed hard. He pulled his jacket tighter.

Everything grew quiet once again and the flashlight began to lose its light. In a few minutes, in spite of all of the terror they felt, everyone was asleep again.