1. Alien Invasion - Day 0 - Before it all began
Just before midnight on New Year’s Eve, the Huckleberry Hotel bar glowed with warm lamplight and quiet anticipation. Addie, Amilie, Kassie, Tatiana, and Tessa had slipped in early, claiming their favorite corner booth. They sipped fizzy mocktails and swapped jokes about resolutions they’d definitely break by February, Addie promising to finish her memoir, Amilie vowing to finally learn to cook, Kassie swearing off sweets (again), Tatiana planning a sky‑diving adventure, and Tessa determined to master the piano piece she’d been practicing.

Addie: This is me and Kassie, my best friend since kindergarten.
Addie:These are my friends Tessa and Amilie.
Addie: In between me and Kassie is Tatiana. Tatiana is here on leave from the military. We first met at the “2018 Military – Community Challenge” in Tacoma. By chance, we ended up on the same mixed team and have remained good friends ever since.
Addie: That’s Jerrica “Jem” Benton next to Kassie. She is not only a rock star but a real sweetheart. They first met a few years back when an infant was left at Addie’s fire house and she drove the infant to the Starlight Children’s Home where Jerrica, as the home’s proprietor, welcomed and cared for the baby.
Addie: Well, Gem hadn’t come out to perform but just for a night out with the girls. As a matter of fact, she had told us that she needed a break from the stage.
Addie: But once they announced karaoke, there was no stopping her.
Outside, fireworks crews setting up for their midnight fireworks display in the town square.
At 11:59, the countdown to midnight began. The girls cheered and glasses clinked.
No one suspected that the spectacular pyrotechnics would cloak far more than what anyone could ever imagine.

Addie: This is the last picture of all of us together, taken earlier that day, before the alien invasion.
Addie: Just thinking of the good times before the aliens invaded and wondering what tomorrow will bring.
Just before midnight on New Year’s Eve, the Huckleberry Hotel bar glowed with warm lamplight and quiet anticipation. Addie, Amilie, Kassie, Tatiana, and Tessa had slipped in early, claiming their favorite corner booth. They sipped fizzy mocktails and swapped jokes about resolutions they’d definitely break by February, Addie promising to finish her memoir, Amilie vowing to finally learn to cook, Kassie swearing off sweets (again), Tatiana planning a sky‑diving adventure, and Tessa determined to master the piano piece she’d been practicing.

Addie: This is me and Kassie, my best friend since kindergarten.





Outside, fireworks crews setting up for their midnight fireworks display in the town square.
At 11:59, the countdown to midnight began. The girls cheered and glasses clinked.
No one suspected that the spectacular pyrotechnics would cloak far more than what anyone could ever imagine.

Addie: This is the last picture of all of us together, taken earlier that day, before the alien invasion.
Addie: Just thinking of the good times before the aliens invaded and wondering what tomorrow will bring.
(To be continued)
















































