I knew the aliens were coming. And I remember when the damned things arrived.

I tried to ignore them. But they came to us. I tried telling Sam that they weren't real. But he was too smart to be convinced otherwise. He knew the truth.

Moments before they were spotted, I was working hard. To finish my donut, that is. You know, I'm getting paid for this, I thought, kicking my feet up and taking another bite, sending sprinkles sprinkling over the counter top.

"Sir?" said my coworker Henry Phillips, walking into my office. I panicked and shoved the rest of the donut in my mouth.

"I hope this is worth interrupting my lunch break for," I said, sending bits of donut spilling out of my mouth.

"Well, sir, it is four in the afternoon."

"I never asked for the time. What do you want?"

"We've found something. You may want to take a look at this," said Henry, trying, but failing, to disguise his worry. He showed me to his computer. The screen showed a single, flashing red dot in a grid.

"What is it?" I said, leaning in close.

"Well, I can't say for certain," said Henry, "but it's about the size of Canada. And quickly heading this way."

"Do we have an estimated time of arrival?"

"Not for years yet, sir."

"We can't let this get out. It would cause a panic."

"I know."

"Good," I said. "Alert Scott. We'll begin investigations immediately."

"Yes, sir," said Henry, hitting a button and speaking into the intercom system. "Scott Miller? You're needed in the operations department. We've discovered something."

"Get a research team together," I said, resting my hand on the computer screen. "This'll be the biggest thing since the moon landing."

I got home from work at midnight. The remaining part of the day was spent in a frenzy, comparing notes and trying to get more information about the mysterious blip. Of course, it wasn't really a "blip" so much as a "massive death machine".

"I'm home," I announced, closing the front door behind me and hanging up my coat.

"Oliver, honey?" said Emily, sitting on a couch in the living room. "What happened at work?"

"Something came up," I said. "I've just been under a lot of stress lately."

"I'm sorry to hear that," she said. "Sam and Keira are in bed now, but they would have loved to tell you about their days at school. Did you hear that Sam aced his reading quiz?"

"Oh, that's so great," I said. "Maybe I'll tell him how proud I am in the morning."

Emily smiled at me and stood up, falling off balance and quickly sitting back down again. "Hey, are you okay?" I asked, sitting down beside her.
"Yes, I'll—I'll be fine," she replied, smiling, more uneasy this time. "I just feel a little bit more fatigued than usual. But I'll be okay. I promise."

I put my arm around her and she nestled her head into my shoulder. I gently kissed her on the forehead. Everything was going to be okay. I knew it had to be. She promised.

Then my sweet Emily was diagnosed with cancer.