*This was for a school project.

What’s the deal with apples? Like, they are all over the place, both literally and figuratively. They are even in places where they’re not supposed to be. Take the forbidden fruit; it wasn't an apple, but we as a Western audience chose to make it into an apple, whether it's because of a pun or a bad translation. The apple symbolizes immortality, temptation, and defiance. It's also a symbol of the acquisition of knowledge. In the bible, the forbidden fruit represents the forbidden knowledge that only God holds, and eating the fruit showcases that humans have this desire to pursue knowledge that seems out of bounds. Do you know who else wanted to pursue knowledge due to an apple? Our old friend, Sir Issac Newton. Isn’t it funny how an apple fell and he was like, “Why did this happen?” and then proceeded to invent calculus? We have a whole branch of math just because of an apple! Again, we see the apple appearing in a random place and being a symbol for people pursuing knowledge.

Not only were apples significant in the past, they’re still significant in the present. Ever since we were wee little lads, and to this day, we see worms in the apple throughout our school life. The worm represents students and the apple represents knowledge. The worm consumes its way through an apple, just like a student consuming knowledge in school. We also see the apple being much, MUCH bigger than the worm, showcasing that knowledge is bigger than it seems, and we students have this desire to be enlightened. The worm can't eat the whole apple, just as a single person can't know everything.

The apple is also a symbol of desire in the sense of achieving a goal. In Turkish culture, the red apple is a symbol of an unending quest, an ever-moving goal. It’s like a dream that seems distant. During the Ottoman Empire, the red apple first represented Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) as it was the ultimate city to conquer. Later on, different cities were called the red apples such as Rome, Vienna and Moscow. These cities were the ultimate goals of conquests, and calling them red apples was a way for the kingdom to visualize their desire for empire.

If we are going down the temptation route, we can’t forget our favourite company, Apple! The logo is such a captivating branding image of the company, making it iconic. It’s an allusion to the bible, as stated earlier. It symbolizes knowledge, but that's what Apple wants you to believe. It's really a symbol of temptation. Apple wants you to buy their product, tempting you so much that you can’t resist it. By taking a bite of the apple (or in this case buying their product), you have fallen for them. You can’t get enough of them and before you know it, you're their loyal fan without even realizing it. Not only the logo, but the whole symbolizes desire and temptation, captivating the customers at every chance they can get. They've got the products like no other, and once you're hooked, it's hard to break free.

Not only are apple symbols, but it can also be a metaphor. Take a second and read this, “Apple of my eye”. Of course, Shakespeare was the one who wrote it for the play “ A Midsummer Night's Dream”, but isn’t it strange that Shakespeare used apples? The idiom goes like “Flower of this purple dye, / Hit with Cupid's archery, / Sink in apple of his eye". The apple was referred to as pupils but wouldn’t it make more sense to say “pistil of my eye” (a pistil is the middle part of the flower) as it would be more romantic? But no, Shakespeare used an apple, and we still use it to this day, however, we now use it as a metaphor. It is used metaphorically to refer to someone or something cherished, beloved, or valued above all others, much like how we cherish and value apples. It is an expression used to convey deep affection for someone or something. 

This is just the tip of the iceberg, my friends. There’s still A LOT MORE apples to be seen. We only talked about apples being a symbol of knowledge and desire throughout human history. I haven’t even talked about the idiom “One rotten apple spoils the barrel” or the phrase “comparing apples to oranges”. Face it. Apples are everywhere. Wherever you go, whatever you read, it will be apples. Long live the apple.

On the soccer field and the volleyball courts

She soars so high despite being short

With every victory, she writes her name,

Sena will forever be in the Hall of Fame.

But not just in sports, her mind is so bright,

In the IB realms, she scales the height.

With books and sports, she balances it all

Sena remains at the top as she will never fall.

If I were a house,

I would be a home

I would have lots of rooms

all of the doors, huge and flung open

And big, open windows

Not dirty

Not broken

I would have candles for lighting

and birds uncaged

I would be so inspiring

With nothing said

It's just the feeling you get

Something so utterly impossible

to forget

And the world will inquire

"Where is she?"

their hearts burning with a fire

looking for peace

looking for me

Their hearts broken

like the drawer in between

I wish they knew

I am only found in dreams.

There are different ways someone can define intelligence. If you search “What defines intelligence” on Google it says, “the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills” and “intelligence is used by a person who can handle new situations and solve problems.” Some people, whom I know, do agree with Google, while others say, that being good at school, building resilience to adversity, and the amount of skill a person knows makes someone intelligent I agree with all of these, but there’s no exact definition to define intelligence, it’s all opinion based not facts. So there is no exact definition for intelligence, only opinions.

What is IQ?

Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon created the first “real” intelligence quotient (IQ) test in 1904. However, modern IQ tests in the United States are from the work of Henry Herbert Goddard who was a psychologist in 1899. IQ is a number. This number is a result of a score to measure intelligence. The average IQ score, which 70% of people fall into, is 85-115. The highest IQ recorded is 195 by Blaise Pascal. He is considered a super genius as his score is in the top 99.99 percentile. The IQ test isn’t always accurate because it only tests you on schooling, also known as “book smart”, but not knowledge out in the real-life world, called “streetsmart”. This is further seen when looking at race in the 1900s. Black people on average had an average IQ of 85 compared to white people who had a score of 103. Historically speaking, black people had fewer opportunities to revive education compared to their white counterparts This does not mean black people are less intelligent than white people, it means that IQ is based on the education received and not a measurement of intelligence. 

How Hard is School?

Saying how hard something is broad. To find something difficult, you have to see the percentages. If we look at the percentage of people graduating from school, it determines if it's easy or not. A lower graduation rate of a school can be considered a harder school, while if the graduation rate is higher then it’s considered as an easier school. Canada is the best-educated country with a 56.27 graduation rate. However, the passing grade in Canada is 55%-60%. This means Canada schools can be considered easier than a country with a higher passing grade such as Indonesia. Indonesia's passing grade is 85%, which is considered to have ‘harder’ schools and a graduation rate of 29%-40%. Determining how hard or easy something is, isn't very accurate. It varies from person to person, but if a school has a lower graduation rate it is determined as ‘hard’. So does that mean someone who failed school in Indonesia dumb? Not necessarily. When looking at grades and graduation rates it is very easy to assume someone is unintelligent for not graduating, but if the field is not fair for everyone, intelligence cannot be compared to one another. Thus, using school metrics to label someone intelligent or not is unreliable and showcases the ability to acquire knowledge, not apply the skills that came with the knowledge.

Are Animals dumb?

If you ask a fish to climb a tree chances are that they will not be able to. This is not an accurate way to calculate and receive data. Giving animals tools that their ancestors never adapted to is like telling a newborn baby to swim; the baby is not stupid for not knowing how to swim same way animals are not stupid for not knowing how to use scissors. Measuring animal intelligence is even more difficult than human intelligence. With humans, we can converse or give them a written test. The lack of language and thumbs makes it tricky to measure intelligence in animals. Animals related to humans, such as gorillas, are considered intelligent. Along with crows, ravens, and corvides. These birds are problem-solving animals with cause and effect. Researchers Nathan John Emercy and Christaphore David Bird put food in water and the only way they can get the food is by raising the water. All the crows, ravens, and rooks used stones to raise the water levels. The birds also knew that bigger stones would make the water rise higher than smaller stones. We can’t determine an animal's IQ in math, but we can know that some animals know the cause and effects of doing something. Clearly, these animals apply knowledge and skills they have acquired over their lifetime. So why are these animals considered inferior to humans when it comes to intelligence? When a person is creating the rules on what is considered intelligence, there is a need to be the best, better than everyone and everything. The truth is, when defining intelligence, there is no way to define it without creating exceptions. Everyone and everything is intelligent in their own way, it just depends on how intelligence is defined.

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_quotient

https://www.123test.com/what-is-iq-what-is-intelligence/

https://www.google.com/search?q=what+defines+intelligence&rlz=1CARWXF_enCA877&oq=what+defines+intell&aqs=chrome.0.0j69i57j0l5j69i61.20570j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on 

https://www.google.com/search?q=what+defines+intelligence&rlz=1CARWXF_enCA877&oq=what+defines+intell&aqs=chrome.0.0j69i57j0l5j69i61.20570j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intelligent 

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2014/04/22/this-is-how-you-study-the-evolution-of-animal-intelligence/ 

https://m.phys.org/news/2013-10-animals-smart-dumb.html 

https://ourworldindata.org/intelligence  

I beg; they listen

I cry; they laugh

I die; they bury

I burn; they don't know

I'm alone; they're crowded

I want someone; they have everyone.

I miss them; they don't know

I disappear; they still don't know

I don't come back; they let me be

I forget them; they forget me.

~A.S.

Ones grief could fill oceans,

Ones tears become the stars,

and maybe one day,

these pitiful souls will

be the sky that embraces us.

and so she sits and thinks and

doesn’t know what to do,

because she feels like she’s

either dying,

Or already dead.

Everything is far too much,

but if she tells it all

just go away!

then, she’ll be telling everyone

to go away

because they’re a part of

everything, and if she tells

the ghosts to leave,

she’ll be alone again.

The leaves that 

dance 

to the voice of the wind

sounds like distant rain

upon her roof.

And vaguely, she pleads 

To   Be quiet,

because the voices are always too loud,

and the rain is always too sad.

This has to be

hell on earth,

because if it were heaven,

they would all be here too,

and she wouldn’t be alone.

But she’s not alone

with the ghosts and the wind

holding her gently,

and the grief and the guilt

grabbing her harshly.

Swear it,

she says

Swear you won’t leave 

but all she gets is

the consolation of the wind

and the rain that taps

a fresh headache into her mind.

He chuckled as he watched her dance around, letting the raindrops soak her dress. 

“Dance with me,” she called out as she held her hand out to him.

“There’s no music and I can’t dance,” even though he was trying to make excuses, he couldn’t resist the look on her face. He slowly got up and made his way towards her, grabbing her outstretched hand.

“We don’t need music,” she said as she grabbed his other hand and began slow dancing with him. 

He quietly followed her lead, enjoying the close proximity between them. The sound of raindrops hitting the concrete slowed down, nearing a stop.

“You know I love you right?” She asked as she brought herself closer to him. 

He nodded and let out a soft laugh. “Of course, and you know I love you, right?”

She smiled sadly as she suddenly stopped dancing. 

He looked at her, waiting for her to start again. 

“You need to let go,” She whispered. He sighed as he engulfed her in a hug, resting his chin on top of her head. 

“I know,” he whispered as he kissed her forehead. He held back tears as he felt her fade away, only a quiet whisper of her remaining.

”I love you, I’ll see you in our next lives.”

Saturday, third weekend of March

My shift was finally over. It was nice to finally be walking home. I grabbed my things, wished my coworkers a good night, and left the pharmacy. The shift hadn’t been too bad, but it sure felt nice to finally be going home. I walked the fifteen minute walk back to my College residence. I must have been 2 minutes away when I noticed a poster on a streetlight. I walked closer to take a better look. “Looking for a dog sitter for one night. First weekend of April. 2000$. If interested, call this number.” The poster read. I thought it was some sort of prank. Who the hell is going to pay someone 2000$ just to watch a dog for one night? But the number looked real, and so did the poster. I took a picture of it on my phone, and continued walking home. I was getting ready to go to bed when I thought about that poster again. 

I’m working minimum wage at a pharmacy. I could use that money to pay off my student loans I thought to myself.

It certainly seemed sketchy, but I figured there couldn’t be much harm in giving it a try. After all, what’s the worst that could happen? Some teenager got a laugh over someone believing the poster was real? I didn’t think the effects could be disastrous, so I thought about what to say and dialed the number. A woman picked up the phone.

“Hello?” She said

“Hi. I saw a poster to call this number to watch over a dog for a night in April and I was interested in doing that.” I told her

“Well alright, thank you for calling. But it’s getting late. Can you please call me back tomorrow around 1:30 pm?” The woman said to me

I looked at my alarm clock. It was 10:40 pm. What the hell was I thinking? I should have waited a day to make the call. I felt foolish, but I had to continue the phone call.

“Yes, of course. I’m sorry for calling you this late.” I said.

“It’s fine. Just call me back tomorrow around 1:30.” The woman told me

“Sure thing. Have a good night.” I said before hanging up the phone.

I lied in bed to fall asleep and thought about the phone call. It was nice that it seemed real, but there had to be a catch. They were offering to pay someone 2000$ just to watch a dog. Maybe the dog had a lot of special needs, or it was just a really hard dog to watch over. Regardless, I love dogs and wanted to know more about this. I just went to sleep to make the phone call the next day.

The next day

When 1:30 came around, I took out my phone and dialed the number. The same woman from the previous night answered.

“Hello?” She greeted

“Hi. I called last night with regards to watching a dog during the first weekend of April.” I said

“Ah, yes. Thank you for calling back. What is your name, age, and address?” The woman asked

“Chrissie. I’m 22. I live at the local college campus.” I told her

“Hello Chrissie. My name is Grace. My husband and I are going to a computer science convention for that weekend and we’re offering 2000$ to the person who watches over our german shepherd during that time.” The woman told me.

“Alright. What are the details?” I asked.

“You must be free on that weekend. You’re expected to arrive around 5:45 pm. You will take care of our dog and watch over our house for the weekend. This will require you staying up very late as watching over our house is very difficult. Can you do that?” Grace asked.

“Certainly.” I said to her.

“Great. Do you have a free afternoon anytime soon?” Grace asked

I thought about my work schedule. I was free on Tuesday. 

“Does Tuesday work for you?” I asked.

“Yes it does. My husband will be at our house, and he will ask you some questions and go into further detail about taking care of the house. The address is 179 Pinkerton Rd. He will be very pleased that someone is willing to watch over our house.” Grace told me.

“Understood. What time should I arrive?” I asked as I wrote down the address.

“Around 3:30.” Grace said.

“3:30. Got it.” I said

“Great. Do you have any questions for me?” Grace asked

I thought about asking why the amount of money offered was so high, but I didn’t want to risk getting paid less, so I decided not to ask.

“No, everything sounds good.” I said

“Alright then. Thank you for calling Chrissie. Have a nice day.” Grace said

“Thanks so much. You as well.” I said before hanging up. I felt pretty good. I was hopefully going to make a good amount of money for just watching over a dog. That sounded awesome, but I had to wonder why it was so difficult.

Tuesday

I looked on the gps app on my phone to see how long it would take to get there. Once I saw that it was about twenty minutes away, I got prepared to leave when the time came. I left the campus and walked to the address. I noticed the neighbourhood was much nicer than my own. The houses were larger and more fancy. They weren’t the kind of houses you’d see a rapper or actor living in, but they were better than an average suburban house. I felt kind of stupid, because I was wearing a sweater and jeans. But it was far too late to turn back, so I figured it would just be best to go in as I was. I got to the house a minute before the scheduled time. I went up to ring the doorbell. A man of about forty-five answered wearing a fine business suit with a large smile on his face. I felt even more stupid about my outfit. I couldn’t believe I showed up to a fancy house wearing jeans and a sweater. What was this man going to think when a 22 year old showed up to his house like this? 

“You must be Chrissie.” The man said as he extended out his arm.

“Yes I am.” I said as I shook his hand.

“Great. My name is Henry Clark, and this is my house. Come in, leave your shoes on the mat.” The man said to me

I walked into the house and followed Henry.

“That’s a very nice suit.” I said

“Oh, thank you!” Henry said to me. He had a great attitude

“I feel a little underdressed.” I said with an awkward chuckle

“Oh, don’t worry about it.” Henry said

I followed Henry to his home office, where he told me to have a seat in a chair across from where he was sitting.

“Alright. It’s a pleasure to meet you. My wife and I will be going to a computer science convention for that weekend, and you have called with the hope of watching over our dog. Is that correct?” Henry asked me

“Yes.” I told him

“Do you have any previous experience taking care of dogs?” Henry asked

“My family has always owned dogs for as long as I can remember. I also used to babysit from time to time when I was a teenager, and some of the families had dogs who I also watched for them.” I explained

“Oh wonderful!” Henry said “So I’m assuming I won’t have to go through the basics of watching a dog then?”

“Probably not.” I said

“Well, how about I show you around the place?” Henry offered

“Sure.” I said

We walked out of the office and Henry showed me the various rooms. 

“By the way Chrissie, if you have any questions about this, please ask me. I would rather you ask me a question then do something wrong when we’re away.” Henry told me.

“I understand.” I said

“We have plenty of food here in the kitchen. Various meats are in the freezer, and you are welcome to help yourself to anything in the fridge on that night. Caffeine will help you a lot. We have pop, energy drinks, milk, carbonated water, and so many other drinks in the fridge. However, I do ask that you keep your alcohol consumption to a minimum. If you want a glass of wine or two, that’s fine, but keep it at that. We also have plenty of chips, chocolate and other snacks in the bottom cabinets. You are welcome to eat them, but don’t let the dog get into them.” Henry explained

“Understood.” I said

“Great. The next thing I wanted to show you - Oh! There’s Betsy! Come here girl!” Henry called out as a german shepherd walked in to the room

“That’s a cute dog!” I said.

“You can pet her, she won’t bite.” Henry told me

I got down on one knee to pet the dog. She was very friendly. I was going to enjoy watching over her.

“If she runs to the back door and starts frantically jumping on it, it probably means she needs to use the washroom. She knows a few tricks and will usually respond when you call her name. The dog food is in the far, top left cabinet in the kitchen. The dog toys are in a basket under the counter, and there’s a fenced off area in the room over there to put her when you’re eating. If you don’t put her there, she will go at all odds to get your food.” Henry explained

“Alright, sounds good.” I told him as I followed him to another room

“Here is the living room. We have a few streaming services if you want to watch any movies or tv shows. You can play music through the speakers, but don’t play it too loud or else it will hurt Betsy’s ears.” Henry told me

“Alright. Very fancy room.” I said

“Thank you. My home office will be locked. Do not try to get in there.” Henry said.

“Understood.” I said.

“If you follow me upstairs, I will show you a little more.” Henry said

“Alright.” I said as I followed him upstairs

“The laundry room is this room right here. We also keep our cleaning supplies in here, so if you spill a drink or something, please clean it up. We have bleach, sponges, and anything you might need.” Henry explained

“Alright. I’ll be very careful.” I assured him

“Over here is the outside deck. Feel free to kick back out here on the deck chairs before the invaders show up.” Henry explained

“Alright” I told him

“Let’s head back downstairs now.” Henry said to me.

Henry told me to have a seat at the kitchen table. He got very serious about what he was about to say.

“Now Chrissie, this might be difficult to understand, but it’s the reason you’re being paid 2000$.” Henry said.

“Alright.” I responded.

“This is usually a turn off for people, or they think I’m joking when I say this. I am a tech designer. I work on computer programs. About a year ago, I was in a computer lab with my team. We were working on a very complex program. While I left to grab an item that I forgot in another room, there was a horrible accident. The computers blew up. The program which we were working on was still extremely bugged. When the explosion happened, somehow the coders got infected. They were given these weird, glitchy powers.” Henry explained

“Um… Alright?” I said, “I’m sorry that happened, but what’s the connection?”

“They blame me because I did most of the coding. Now they try to invade my house every night. The police have tried countless times to stop them, but nothing ever works. They also manage to find my house every time we move. Because of this, my wife and I have to fend off the invaders ourselves. If you’re willing to do that, we will hire you to watch our house for that night.” Henry explained

“Sure.” I said with a chuckle, thinking he was trying to have some fun.

Henry’s expression remained serious.

“Chrissie, I’m dead serious.” Henry said in a serious tone

“Alright then. I suppose I can do that.” I said, somewhat confused.

“Good. Then if you could follow me to the garage, I will show you the gadgets you will need to fend them off.” Henry said as he stood up and walked to the garage.

I followed him to the garage where he showed me a table with two gadgets. Henry picked up the first gadget, which looked a bit like a wireless radio.

“This is a signal disruptor. If you press this red button, it will cause much pain to the glitchy attackers within a five metre radius. This will cause them to run away. Just point the antenna at them, press the button, and you’ll be good for around five to twenty minutes.” Henry explained

“Sounds simple enough.” I responded

Henry then showed me the larger gadget, which was about a metre long. It had a red end on it. The red end looked like the barrel of a space gun you’d see in a typical science fiction film that’s set in outer space. There was a handle on each side and two buttons on it.

“I call this the antivirus ray. This first button is the power button. The second button shoots essentially a ray of antivirus at the invaders. It will mess up their brains and usually makes them retreat. Just plug it into the wall and you’re good to go. The ray won’t hurt you or Betsy. It only hurts the invaders. Just go outside the back door with either gadget to use them. Don’t let Betsy or yourself get too close to the invaders, because they will try to bite you which will infect you in the same way they are infected.” Henry explained

“That’s pretty crazy, but I can do that.” I assured Henry. It was crazy that this happened to these poor coders.

“Another thing, be sure to periodically check outside. I’d say around every twenty minutes, starting around 7:30, and they rarely ever show up after 5:00 am. If you see anybody in the distance or hear glitchy technology sounds, be sure to check them out. Don’t get very close to them. If you smell something similar to burning computers, they’re near. There will be a very strong flashlight and binoculars near the door. Plenty of batteries will be right next to it if you need to change them. Unfortunately, these devices I’ve created to fend off the invaders take a lot of power, meaning I can’t use them as much as I want because I would probably go broke from the electricity bill. I’m working on better ways to conserve energy, but we have to make do with what we have.” Henry carefully explained

“I’ll make sure to only use them if it’s necessary.” I said

“Good. Another thing, there will be a pile of pebbles next to the backdoor. Throw the pebbles at the invaders if they come too close. If you knock them in the pool, that’s perfectly fine because they hate water due to the electric component to their bodies. There is also a pellet gun in the garage. Shoot the attackers. If you need training, I’m happy to teach you how to use it.” Henry told me

“I understand. I also used to shoot targets with my uncle so I think I can manage the pellet gun.” I told Henry. 

“Great. Do you have any questions? Please ask them now if you have any.” Cole told me

“Is this even legal?” I asked

“I can assure you, no laws are being broken.” Henry said

“All seems well.” I said

“One final note, if you lose cell reception or internet access, then the invaders are too close.” Henry explained

“I’ll keep an eye on that.” I said

“Do you want to pet the dog one more time?” Henry offered

“I would love to.” I responded with a smile.

We found Betsy in the living room. We both petted her and it was great.

“Well Chrissie, thank you for offering. Show up here around 5:45 pm next Saturday. We’ll be back around 10:00 am Sunday.” Henry told me

“Let me just set a reminder in my phone for that.” I said as I took out my phone to put in a reminder. 

“No problem. Oh Chrissie, I actually have one more thing for you before you go. Follow me.” Henry told me as he walked back to his home office. I followed him wondering what it was. He took out a small notebook and wrote something down.

“Earlier, you said you liked my suit. So here’s the number and address of my tailor if you want. His name is Thomas, he’s a great guy.” Henry said as he handed me the small slip of paper.

“Oh thank you.” I said as I took the paper slip and put it in my pocket. He stood up and we walked out of his office.

“Well Chrissie, thank you so much for doing this. Grace and I appreciate it very much. Have a good day. Show up around 5:45.” Henry said

“Thanks Mr. Clark. You as well.” I said to Henry

I was about to walk out the front when I remembered something. I didn’t know where I was going to be sleeping. 

“Oh Mr. Clark?” I said

“Yes?” He asked

“Where will I be sleeping?” I asked him

His expression changed slightly.

“Chrissie, you need to watch the house. You’re not going to sleep. You have to be up all night.” Henry explained

“Oh.” I said. That took me off guard. I didn’t think I was pulling an all-nighter. But I couldn’t resist 2000$.

“Are you still willing to do this?” Henry asked

“Absolutely.” I assured him.

I put my shoes on, said goodbye and left the house. 

“The day”

Today was the day. I was watching over a large house and an adorable dog. I was ready. I put on my outfit, grabbed all my things, and sent a text to my sister bragging about what I was doing because I knew she would get jealous. I walked to the house and rang the doorbell.

Henry answered wearing another fine tailored suit.

“Hello, Chrissie! Come in!” He said. He was in a very good mood once again. The convention must be very exciting for him.

“Hello Henry. I’m ready to pull an all-nighter!” I enthusiastically told him

“Wonderful. We should be leaving any minute now. My wife just has to finish doing her makeup.” Henry explained

“Alright.” I said.

We talked in the front lobby for a few minutes. It was so hard to contain my excitement. Then a woman in a fancy dress and makeup came down the stairs with what looked like a glass of champagne in her hand. I knew it was Grace.

“There you are honey.” Henry said “Let’s get going.” 

“Of course.” Grace said

Grace turned to me

“You must be Chrissie.” She said with an extension of her hand

“Yes I am.” I said as I shook her hand.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Grace. I’m the one who answered the phone” Grace explained

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.” I said

“Well we must get going.” Grace said before finishing her drink “I’ll just put this in the dishwasher first.”

“I can do that.” I offered

“Really? Thank you Chrissie. Don’t worry about doing dishes. We’ll take care of that when we get back tomorrow.” Grace said

“Understood.” I said as I took the empty glass out of her hand.

Henry handed me a slip of paper.

“Here is the wifi password as well as numbers you can reach certain coders in the area who can help fend off against the invaders. But don’t call them unless it’s absolutely necessary.” Henry said

“I’ll make sure to keep everything under control.” I assured him

“Good. Thanks again for doing this. I’ll text you periodically to make sure everything is alright.” Henry said

“Goodbye Chrissie.” Grace said as they both walked out of the door.

With them being gone, I went to find Betsy. She was lying on her stomach in the kitchen. I put the empty glass in the dishwasher and pet Betsy on the head. She got up. She was very excited to see me. Betsy started jumping on me and licking my face. 

“Betsy!” I said, laughing.

When I got the dog off of me, I looked at my phone. It was 6:03. I had some time before the invaders showed up. I got a ball from the toys and took Betsy outside to toss a ball around the large backyard. We did this for several minutes. I missed playing with dogs. Ever since I moved out, I was so eager to own a dog. I still got to play with the dogs when I came down to visit, but I was going to be watching over Betsy for several hours which was different. She wasn’t even a difficult dog to watch. This all came to a halt when something happened. My stomach growled. I needed dinner. It took a bit of effort, but I managed to get Betsy inside. I locked the dog in a fenced off area to ensure she wouldn’t get into the kitchen to take food off the plate. I looked in the freezer. I stood there for a minute deciding on what to cook for myself. I was no fancy chef, but I knew how to cook a few things too. I decided on a porkchop and to have a side of sliced carrots and celery. When I finished cooking, I sat down to eat my dinner. I looked at my phone while I ate, reading news headlines and checking social media. Eventually, I finished my food and figured I might as well feed Betsy. I grabbed some dog food after putting my dishes away and filled her bowl in the fenced off area. I also grabbed her water bowl to fill it up. Things were going well. I watched random internet videos while Betsy ate and later played with her a bit. Then she started jumping at the back door. I knew what it meant. I let her out to do her thing on the grass. While I was waiting for her to finish, I heard a noise. It sounded like a voice but it was being interrupted. Like a video of someone on the internet talking when the internet was barely working. Then I looked at my phone. It was 7:31. The invaders must be here.

“Betsy, get inside.” I called out

She started running off in the opposite direction. I ran and grabbed her collar. The mysterious voice continued. I managed to wrestle Betsy into the house, all while hearing the voice. I couldn’t make out what it was saying. I figured I might as well try to get rid of the invaders. I grabbed a pebble after I shut the door.  I looked around the backyard but saw nobody. The glitching voice started to die down. I figured the invader had gone away for whatever reason. I started to walk back to the door to get in when I heard something behind me.

“HE-EEE-&$-EY–EE!” 

I turned around. I was horrified. Standing right across the pool staring right at me was a figure. It looked like a man in his thirties with scars covering his arms. His clothing was ripped. He was trying to say something but his voice and face kept getting disrupted. It was like looking at a face on a computer screen from how it was distorted. He charged around the pool to attack me. I screamed. I dashed to the door, opened it to let myself in and shut it just in time. The invader started frantically banging on the door, all while his whole body was getting distorted. It was terrifying, but I had to get rid of him. I realized I dropped the pebble when I ran inside. Now I had nothing. I was thinking about it when I remembered something: the deck. I could shoot the disruptor from the deck. I ran to the garage, grabbed the disruptor, and ran to the top deck. I aimed the disruptor at the invader, and pressed the button. It made a high pitched ringing sound.

“AAAUG-@%&-GGHH#HH!” The invader shouted out in pain. I almost felt bad about what I did, but he ran away. He was lagging while he ran, but he disappeared into the back forest. He was gone

“Thank God.” I thought to myself. 

Then I looked into the forest. I could’ve sworn I saw a few sets of eyes. One set of white eyes, another set of eyes that looked normal but were constantly blinking, and I couldn’t even describe what the other set looked like. This was serious, but it’s what I signed up for. I ran back downstairs and grabbed an energy drink out of the fridge. I was going to need energy to fight them off. I looked out the back window to see what was out there. I saw four invaders. They were hiding behind trees. I could see the computer glitches coming out of their bodies. It was creepy. I kept an eye on them for a few minutes but they ended up leaving. I thought that bought me some time, so I decided to relax. I grabbed a chocolate bar and sat down, ensuring that Betsy wouldn’t grab the bar. Twenty minutes went by with no issues. After that time, I went to check again and grab a root beer for the caffeine. I looked out the window and saw nothing. But I wasn’t completely sure if everything was clear. I slowly opened the back door to check for sounds. I thought I heard something, but I wasn’t sure if it was the sound of an invader or an animal. It almost sounded like rustling in the bushes, but not exactly. I then remembered there was a pair of binoculars and a flashlight I could use, so I grabbed them. The bushes were swaying in the wind, but there was one in particular that was moving more. It must have been an invader attempting to hide. I shined the flashlight on it, and saw what looked like something red. I didn’t eliminate the possibility of an animal, but I somewhat doubted it. I decided to shout at it.

“Hey, who’s there?” I shouted

I heard a voice for a split second that was cut off by a computer glitch sound. I knew for sure that it was an invader.

“Come on. Leave.” I shouted

I heard the same voice, this time for about three seconds. It sounded angry. I knew the invader wasn’t going to go away. I grabbed the pellet gun, and loaded it. 

“Hey, come on! I’m ready to fight you!” I shouted as I stepped a metre away from the door after shutting it. I saw a multicoloured glitch from the bush. I fired a shot. I wasn’t sure if I hit the invader or not, but then something else distracted me.

I heard a sudden charge from the left.

It was a woman who looked to be around 33. Her clothes were also torn and she had several scars on her body. Her glasses were split in half, with one side floating above her head, but she didn’t seem to care. She was charging right at me. She just barely missed me. 

“Get away!” I shouted

She showed her teeth. She was ready to bite. She jumped at me, almost like a tiger. Thinking quickly, I grabbed a lower deck chair and hit the invader. 

She fell back. Sparks fell out of her when it did.

She just laid there, groaning in pain. She didn’t look like she was going to get up. I knew I couldn’t just leave her there. But she was lying down, so I thought she wouldn’t be able to enter the house if I went inside quickly and shut the door. I did just that and it worked. But shortly after I did, she got up, lagging while doing so. She then started frantically banging her hands on the door and screaming. 

Projectiles weren’t going to work. I needed the disruptor. Betsy was visibly scared of the loud noises. I scratched her on the head in an attempt to calm her down. I ran to the garage, all while I heard the loud noises of the invader hitting the door and screaming. I grabbed the disruptor and ran back to the door. This was when I ran into a new problem. The invader was right at the door. I couldn’t open it, or she was going to likely get in. The only way I was going to be able to get rid of her was to get on the balcony and fire the disruptor. I quickly ran upstairs to the balcony. This is when I noticed a large problem. There were two more invaders coming towards the house. I pointed the disruptor at the invader banging on the door and fired it.

She yelled out in pain. She ran away, with lag. A puddle of blood laid in front of the door where she stood. While the invader who was just at the door ran away, the other two had started to get closer.

“I will fire this thing!” I threatened

“We-e-e-e will me*&# you up $to the poi@nt where you’re^ unrecogn#izable!” The invader on the left shouted

“I can barely understand you.” I shouted

“That’s because we’re corrupt#46%!” Shouted the other invader. I knew what he was trying to say. I didn’t realize just how glitchy their speech was.

The two invaders attempted to move closer. The right one then suddenly glitched back about two metres.

I laughed at his failed attempt to get closer.

“I W-w-will mess - mess, you up!” The left invader shouted.

“Back off!” I shouted.

The two invaders slowly stepped closer to the balcony. I fired the disruptor at them.

“Ouch!” Shouted the left invader as scars and smoke came out of skin.

The other invader screamed and covered his ears as if I had just blasted some really loud music.

“Leave the backyard!” I yelled at the two invaders.

Both invaders ran away, with extreme lag. They disappeared into the forest. I felt satisfied to see them go.

I walked back inside to grab the pellet gun. I slowly walked out the back door, ensuring Betsy wouldn’t get out. I was ready to shoot these invaders. I didn’t care where. I needed them gone.

Slowly, I walked to check around the side of the house. I checked the side, pellet gun loaded. Nothing. No invaders. They were gone. Just as I needed them. I slowly walked back around to the other side, remaining alert. I checked every tree in the distance from where I was. I saw no invaders. I approached the other end of the house. I took a quick step, with the gun pointed. Also nothing. The invaders were gone.

Perfect

I walked back inside, where Betsy was waiting at the door. I was really happy. The invaders were gone, and Betsy looked very excited. Feeling quite satisfied, I felt like I deserved a slight reward. I walked to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of white wine. I brought the bottle to the table, along with a wine glass. I sat down at the table, opened the bottle and poured myself a glass. I decided to listen to some nice music while I enjoyed my wine. I found a playlist on the internet, connected my phone to the speakers in the living room, and let the tunes play. I didn’t play it too loud. Betsy sat on the floor right next to the seat I was sitting on. She was a really good dog. 

Eighteen minutes passed. There was nothing. No interruptions. Just me and a german shepherd. I pet Betsy while she patiently sat there, staring at me. This was turning into a really good night.

Then the music abruptly stopped. Not for an advertisement or anything. It just stopped.

I took my phone off of the table to see what the issue was. No internet. The internet had stopped. 

My blood ran cold. Invaders were near. They needed to go. I didn’t know how many there were, but every single one of them had to be gone. 

I walked to the back door and looked out. Nothing. I saw no invaders. That made no sense. Why else would the internet suddenly cut out? But there were other windows. I looked through the window in the living room. I still saw no invaders. This was weird. Then I thought of a way I might be able to see them. The balcony.

I ran to the balcony, and Betsy followed me upstairs.

“Sit.” I ordered.

Betsy didn’t listen.

“Sit!” I ordered again.

This time, the dog listened.

I ran to the deck door when I realized I should have brought a weapon with me. I instantly ran back downstairs and grabbed the pellet gun, along with the flashlight and binoculars. I dashed back up the stairs in seconds. I ensured that Betsy wouldn’t get out, and stepped outside. It was a bit of a struggle, but I managed to do it. I stood on the balcony. The sky was dark. There was a slight breeze. I looked all around the backyard. I saw no invaders. I took another look at my phone. Still no internet. And no cell reception. This was weird. I then heard a sound. Static. It was faint, but I still heard it. I could also smell burning. I had the pellet gun ready. I was ready to shoot an invader.

I kept looking around the yard. It was about 11:50 at this point. Then the static turned into a young man’s voice cutting out. The invader must be getting closer. But I still saw nothing. I thought the invader might be under the balcony. I looked over the balcony. I knew it wasn’t the best view, but I still saw nothing. 

That was when I realized where the sound was coming from. Above me. I swiftly looked at the roof, and there he was. An invader. He looked about 23, and was covered in scars. His plaid green shirt was torn and faded. His jeans were loosely ripped off from the knees down. He trembled. Every inch of him was shaking.

He dove in an instant. Head first. I screamed. I just managed to dodge him by a few millimetres. Upon his body slamming into the balcony, green computer code oozed from his scars and disappeared.

“Back off!” I shouted at the invader as I pointed the pellet gun to his head. 

The invader tried to talk, but his voice kept cutting out to the point where I couldn’t make out what he was saying. He was about ten centimetres away from me.

I instantly grabbed a deck chair and pushed him back. This worked. More code came out of his scars, along with some sparks.

“Leave this property this instant!” I yelled.

He gave me an angry stare, his left eye twitching. Then he pounced at me. 

All of a sudden he was gone. But then I heard the sound of something hitting the grass accompanied by a static-filled scream of pain.

I turned to see the invader, lying on the ground a metre behind the deck. He had just tried to attack me and glitched farther away.

I’d had enough of this.

“GO AWAY!” I shouted at the invader.

He slowly got up, his body glitching all over. He was shaking much more vigorously now, but he ran away. It was slow, but he ran away. I watched from the balcony as he left the yard. I said nothing. I just watched.

I looked at my phone. It was 12:15. But I also had one bar of cell phone reception. Things were starting to get better.

I walked back inside, where Betsy was sitting. I gave her a head scratch. I walked downstairs, where Betsy followed. I sat in the kitchen to relax, Betsy sitting next to me. I continued to sit for a few minutes when my phone rang. It was Henry. I answered the phone to see what he needed.

“Hello?” I said.

“Hey Chrissie. I just wanted to see how everything is going.” Henry said.

“It’s going alright. I just fought off a few invaders, they’re gone now. Betsy is perfectly safe.” I explained.

“Good. Wonderful. And this isn’t too much for you?” Henry asked.

“It’s crazy, but I can do it. It’s worked out so far.” I told him.

“It’s great to hear. Grace and I will be heading to bed now. Only call if it’s an emergency.” Henry said.

“Understood.” I responded.

“Alright. Have a nice night.” Henry said before hanging up.

I put my phone back in my pocket and stood up to grab a snack. I decided to pour a bowl of chips for myself. At this point it was 12:28. 

I almost sat down before Betsy started jumping at the back door again. She was very well trained. I looked very closely for invaders, grabbed the pellet gun, and let the dog out when the coast was clear. She did her thing, while I watched closely. Nothing. No glitchy sounds. No burning smell. Nothing. I let Betsy inside and walked to the living room. 

At this point, Betsy was tired. She laid down in the living room to get some rest. 

Now I had to be more careful. I didn’t want to wake up the dog. Things went well for me before, but that was before noise was less of a concern. I knew I had to let the dog sleep. I sat on the couch to relax for about five minutes. I thought five minutes would be fine. And it was. No sign of invaders. Just pure silence. I was happy I remembered to bring a pair of earbuds with me. I plugged them into my phone, put on a playlist, and kicked back on the fancy living room couch. I was seriously considering another glass of wine, but I still had a few hours to go so I decided to play it safe and hold off. 

Minutes passed. Nothing. I just layed down on the couch, listening to song after song. I didn’t necessarily feel super tired since I had some caffeine to help me do this. Taking a long breather felt nice, especially when your favourite songs were playing. 

Twenty-five minutes passed. That was when I knew I had to check again. I stood up and tip-toed to the back door. I looked out the window in all directions the window allowed me to see in. No invaders. I was skeptical. But I still saw nothing. When I was completely sure I didn’t see anything, I opened the back door just a crack. The air smelt fine. I certainly didn’t smell the burning of the invaders. But I wasn’t convinced. I decided to go to the top deck. I grabbed the pellet gun and binoculars and walked up the stairs, all while making minimal noise to let Betsy get her sleep.

Nothing. I saw nothing and heard nothing. Nothing but the slow blowing wind and crickets in the distance. I cautiously stepped outside on the deck. I looked around. The backyard seemed void of any life. No animals. No invaders. Nothing. I was suspicious, but there was no sign of any invaders. My suspiciousness lowered. I had the pellet gun ready, and I was ready to fire. 

Twenty seconds passed.

Nothing.

Then I heard a scream, to the right. It sounded so human. I had the gun pointed at the bushes. I didn’t see any invaders. I considered the possibility of an animal. Maybe it was someone trespassing, which would be an equally big issue. 

“Who’s out there?” I shouted, not letting my guard down.

No response. Just the wind and some crickets in the distance. 

I turned to the right. No sign of anything either. I stepped closer to the right, not getting too far away from the house. I saw nothing. Then the crickets of the night stopped. It was abrupt. I jerked my head 90 degrees to the right, looking right out in the distance. I still saw nothing. 

That was when I heard something that sounded more fitting for the situation. The hum of a computer. I looked all around. There was nothing as far as the eye could see. I kept spinning, trying to find the source of the sound, but I couldn’t find it. I looked all around the backyard. No sign of the source.  It almost felt as if I were surrounded by the sound. I looked around for a solid three minutes, the sound only getting louder. 

Then I heard a shout. The shout that sounded like a zombie from a video game. I turned around instantly. Then I saw the source of the sounds. Another invader. A man who looked to be around thirty years old. His navy blue golf shirt was ripped and burned, blood staining parts of it. His khaki shorts were torn at the bottom of the legs. Scars covered his body. Then there was his eyes. His tired, shaking eyes. We made eye contact, only for a second. You could see the rage in his eyes. 

Suddenly the invader pounced at me, then froze right where he was less than a second after pouncing. The computer hum stopped. I was ready to attack, but he just stood there, looking like he was frozen. Then I looked up. There was a spinning pattern of translucent dots right in front of his face. He was lagging. 

Is this actually happening? I thought.

I began to laugh. Nothing was more funny at that moment in the world. This invader was trying to attack me, and he was just stuck there.

What happened next was what taught me to never let my guard down ever again. 

He became unfrozen. Then he glitched right in front of me. I was in shock. He went from standing two metres in front of me to twenty centimetres in front of me in less than a second. My moment of joy came to a screeching halt. 

“Back off!” I shouted as I hit him with the back of the pellet gun. 

The hit proved to be ineffective. 

“I’ll kill-!” The invader yelled before being cut off by a glitch inside his body.

He tackled me. I fell hard on my back in front of the pool. It was a miracle I didn’t get a concussion. 

I found all the strength in me to push him off and into the pool. I grunted and breathed hard. I wasn’t exactly the strongest girl in town. The splash was loud. The invader shouted and flailed about in the pool. I was panting from pushing him off of me. The invader kept shouting and flaining. I didn’t pay much attention as I was tired from pushing him off of me. I really needed to start working out. 

The invader managed to pull himself out of the backside of the pool. But he didn’t stand up. He just knelt with his upper body hunched over, his right hand on his chest. Tiny electric bolts shot out from his scars. 

“Water!” He shouted in pain. “This electric curse of m-”

His speech was interrupted again by his body glitching. Just for a second, the skin on his head disappeared, showing his skull. I was horrified. I had no idea what the extent of these glitches was. 

The invader started to stand up.

“You will-” His body glitched again. He shook for a second. Sparks and blood drops shot out of his scars, accompanied by a computer glitch sound.

“Back off!” I yelled.

I looked down. The pellet gun laid right in front of me. I picked it up and pointed it right at the invader. 

“Say goodbye!” I shouted as I fired a pellet at the invader.

He yelled in pain as it hit him right in the chest. He limped away. Shaking and glitching as he left the backyard.

My heart was racing. I was breathing heavily. I felt good about fighting off another invader, but goddamn I was exhausted. 

It felt good to have a rest break. Or so I thought.

Right when I thought I could rest, I heard a shock sound right behind me.

I turned around instantly. Another invader stood mere centimetres away from me, covered in scars and wearing torn clothes like the rest. She instantly clawed at me, knocking the pellet gun out of my hand. 

I instantly dashed to the left. The invader jumped at me and managed to push me to the ground. Then I felt a pain in my right elbow. I was hurt and couldn’t defend myself. I needed to get inside. 

The invader attempted to bite me. She quickly lowered her body on top of me, her mouth getting so close. At that moment I just did what I had to do. I punched her right in the head, my elbow still hurting. I just barely managed to escape her. I had not a second to spare. I quickly ran to the back door of the patio, my elbow still hurting. I could hear the invaders footsteps behind me. I dashed into the house and tried to shut the door. Then I ran into another problem. The invader managed to get her hand stuck in the door and was reaching at me.

Great

I thought of what to do. Then I remembered one thing: invaders hate water. That would get rid of her. The kitchen wasn’t far. All I had to do was run to the sink and fill a glass with water. 

BANG!

I didn’t have time to spare. The invader was hitting the window with her fists. I dashed over to the kitchen sink and reached to turn the tap on. When I did, something sudden happened to me. A pain in my elbow. I was so distracted by the invader trying to get in that I completely ignored the pain in my arm. I looked down at it. My elbow was bleeding. It stung like crazy. Now I was really processing my injury. 

BANG!

It didn’t matter now. She kept hitting the window with her hand. I reached for the cabinet with the glasses, grabbed one, filled it with water and ran to the back door.

The invader still stood there. I ran right back over. Her expression went from angry to horrified when she saw the glass of water. I splashed her forearm without hesitation.

She yelled in pain as she held her arm. I wasted no time shutting the door. That was when the pain really sunk in. I had to clean off this wound before it got infected. I quickly dashed to the upstairs washroom.

When I was in the washroom, I turned on the tap and put my elbow in. It stung like crazy. I was seriously worried it would leave a scar. But I still had a house and a dog to protect. The wound was clean. It hurt, but it was clean. I looked under the sink and sure enough I found a bandage big enough to cover it. I needed a break. This was tiring.

I walked out of the washroom and back downstairs. Then I took out my phone. It was 3:22 in the morning.

Almost over.

I walked to the patio door and looked out through the glass. No sign of any recent invaders. That was good. No burning odour or computer sounds. Just the sounds of the night. I was hoping to be able to rest. That was when I saw the Pellet gun, lying there on the deck. I knew I had to grab it. I did one final look around and made sure that there were no invaders nearby. 

I dashed over, grabbed the gun, and ran right back inside. It was so nice to have some time to rest. Then I remembered something. Betsy. I walked to the living room where Betsy was sleeping. There she laid, dreaming away in the early hours of the morning. I couldn’t believe it. She had just slept through all of what had just happened, meanwhile I was working hard as hell to protect this house, and I felt proud that I had been successful. 

It was almost time. The night was going to be over soon. I was happy the end was near, but my heart was still racing. 

I sat on the couch for about twelve minutes. I was starting to calm down. I figured that after twelve minutes, I should do a check for invaders. I grabbed the pellet gun and walked to the upstairs deck. I arrived at the door, quiet as a mouse. I slowly opened the door, prepared for anything. It didn’t look like there were any invaders, but I was prepared nonetheless. I slowly stepped out onto the deck and had the gun ready. I looked out at the wide backyard. Nothing. No invaders as far as the eye could see. Then I took a deep breath to relax. But when I did, I did it through my nose. Then I smelt it. Burning. I looked up in an instant and turned around. There was an invader, standing right on the roof, looking at me. He had just as many scars as the rest. I lifted the gun up and gave him a shot right to the stomach. Smoke and sparks poured right out of his scars and he jerked to the left, sounding like an overrun computer. He fell off the roof and left the property. I was calmer than I was before, but still alert. I looked back out in the backyard. Another invader emerged from the woods. I lifted the gun up, aimed it, and pulled the trigger. Then I ran into an issue I didn’t think of: The pellet gun was empty. 

I need to load this thing now.

The invader still ran. I didn’t have time to lose. I dashed inside, not even bothering to shut the door, and ran to the garage. I found the ammunition, loaded the magazine, and ran right back out, nearly tripping as I left the garage. I sprinted to the back door, where the running, glitching invader stood just 15 metres away, getting closer by the second. I fired a shot, made him stop, and sparks flew out of his body scars.

“Back off!” I yelled.

He stood up slowly, glitching and shaking. 

“I will shoot you again!”

He still continued to rise. He looked ready to charge at me. 

“I warned you!” I said as I fired a pellet at him.

The pellet hit him right in the chest. Sparks splattered about. 

“Iiii*)%6!” The invader said. I had no idea what he was trying to say, but it didn’t matter. The invader slowly glitched away, leaving behind a trail of smoke as he left the backyard. I didn’t have time to celebrate though, for as soon as the one invader left, three others appeared.

They were running at me from the left. I almost felt like I was in a first-person shooter zombie game. I quickly aimed and fired a shot. I hit the middle invader right in the leg. He fell down, sparks and blood shooting out of his body. He began to crawl, but my focus was on the other two invaders. They still ran, shaking and angry. I stepped back and nearly fell into the pool. I didn’t realize how close I was to getting wet. The invaders ran close and almost fell into the pool themselves, standing nearly right in front of me. That was when their computer glitches worked out in my favour. One invader glitched right into the pool. He became drenched in an instant. You could hear his screaming from a mile away. The 3rd invader was angry. She looked like she was my age, smoke-leaking scars and blood covered her from head to toe. I turned the gun around and hit her with the back of it, right in the head. I was lucky to have caught her off guard with that, causing her to get disoriented and be pushed back as sparks left her scars. I was pretty used to how their bodies worked at this point.

Almost over. I thought to myself. I’m going to get $2000 soon.

The invader regained her focus and tried to charge at me. I didn’t hesitate to run. I was being chased all around the backyard. Then the crawling invader managed to stand up during the chase.

How could you forget this guy?

My thoughts didn’t matter though. What mattered was me not being bitten by the invaders. The burning odour filled the air. I couldn’t tell you how long I ran. It felt like forever. 

I kept running. I could hear the invaders getting closer to me. If I didn’t get inside soon, I was going to fail at protecting the house. I needed to get inside. My life depended on it. I eventually had the common sense to run to the back patio door, but I closed it. So I ran straight into the glass like a bird. I did not feel smart. But the invaders did the same thing. 

We were all disoriented. But I instantly stood up and went inside, just barely managing to shut the door and lock it. The invaders kept hitting the glass with their fists. It was amazing that they didn’t break it. I looked to the left into the living room. Betsy was woken up and frightened by the noise. I knew I had to calm her down, so I walked over to her.

“Hey Betsy. It’s okay girl. You’re safe with me. Don’t worry.” I said as I patted her head to comfort her. But the invaders kept banging on the window. My comfort wasn’t enough. She needed to be far away from the invaders. 

I managed to get the tired dog to stand up and follow me upstairs, all while the invaders kept hitting the glass door. I brought Betsy as far away on the second floor as I could. She laid down and continued her unrightfully interrupted sleep. I felt relieved. But the banging continued downstairs.

I instantly ran to the back door. The invaders were still angry and continued to hit the glass. But then I was horrified at what I noticed next. 

Invaders. A few dozen of them. They were running from all around the backyard to the house. Their screaming filled the night, even with the door closed. 

I knew in an instant what I had to do. The antivirus ray. I ran faster than an athlete to the garage, and grabbed the antivirus ray. It was heavy. But it’s what I signed up for. I carried the heavy device to the back door. But then I had another problem. I couldn’t open the back door because of the group of invaders that had grown from 2 to 8. I stood there trying to think, but it was so hard because of what was happening. I stood there for five minutes, trying to figure out what to do and panicking. There was only one way out of this: The upper deck. I hauled the big device up the stairs, hoping that this would work. I opened the door and stepped out.

It was chaos. The invaders shouted. The smell of electric smoke filled the air. They were running all around the backyard, each invader covered in nasty scars. They glitched and glitched. I mounted the heavy device on the deck table, plugged it into an outlet inside and got ready. I pressed the power button. A noise played. Then I pressed the other button. The noise got louder. The orange end lit up and a laser sound played. The end got brighter and brighter. Then things went crazy. All the invaders glitched at once. Red code coming out of their scars. Sparks, blood, and smoke oozed out of their bodies. They screamed in pain. They shook and didn’t stop shaking. It was insane. They all began to retreat, leaving the backyard. Every invader glitched and lagged to no end. After seven minutes of me holding down the ray button, they were gone. All of them. The smell of smoke lingered in the air. When I made sure they were all gone, I let go of the button. I heard nothing. No invaders. It was quiet. I turned the antivirus ray off and walked inside to unplug it. Then I looked at my phone. It was 4:45 am. The invaders rarely showed up after 5. I was almost done. I slowly brought the antivirus ray back into the garage. I was still on alert though. I kept watch of the backyard from downstairs, but didn’t see another invader again. Eventually 5:00 am rolled around. I’d done it. They were gone. I’d protected the house and the dog. At that moment I crashed on the living room couch. I was tired. I’d just pulled an allnighter.

Three hours later

I woke to the sound of the front door opening. I instantly sat up and acted like I’d stayed awake.

“Good morning Chrissie!” Henry said as he and Grace walked in “How did it go?”

“It was crazy.” I responded.

“Yeah well, that’s how it goes. Any issues?” 

“I managed to fend them off and nothing got damaged.”

“Awesome. Was Betsy good?” 

“Yes she was. You’ve got one great dog.”

“Love to hear it. Where is she anyway?”

“She fell asleep upstairs.”

When I said that, Grace walked upstairs to find Betsy. She returned about twenty seconds later with Betsy following her. Betsy started jumping up on Henry, then on me. She was excited and happy again.

“Betsy likes you Chrissie. I can tell you did a great job.”

“Thank you Cole.”

“So for the payment, would you like cash, check, or e-transfer?”

I thought for a second.

“Cash works.”

“All right. Let me walk upstairs and get it.” Henry said as he walked to the stairwell.

Just then, Grace sat down beside me. 

“So Chrissie, did you enjoy watching Betsy?” She asked me.

“Yes I did.”

“Were the invaders hard to fight off?”

“It was a wild ride, that’s for sure.”

“Yes, well, that’s how things go for us. We’re working on more effective ways to fight them.”

“You definitely need that.” I said with a chuckle, which Grace also chuckled at.

Just then Henry walked back downstairs.

“All right Chrissie, here you go.” Henry said as he walked closer with the cash.

I stood up and grabbed the bills. Twenty Robert Bordens. I’d just become 2000 dollars richer. 

“Thank you so much.” I said

“Hey thank you Chrissie, I know how hard it is to fight off those invaders.” Henry responded.

I put the cash in my pocket.

“Well, I better be going now.” I said.

“Without breakfast?” Grace asked.

“I guess I could eat if it’s no trouble for you two.” I responded.

“Of course not Chrissie. You just fended off our house from corrupted invaders trying to kill you.” Grace responded.

“All right then. Does bacon and eggs work?” I asked.

“Certainly.” Henry said “I’ll get to it right away.”

Henry made a very good breakfast with nice, hot coffee for all of us, and we sat and ate. I told them all about fending off the invaders, and taking care of Betsy. The morning was nice. When I finished my food, I stood up to leave.

“Well, thanks for letting me do this.” I said.

“And thank you for protecting our house and dog.” Henry said as he extended his hand. I shook it, then I shook Grace’s hand, and left the house. I was feeling pretty good about what I’d just done. I was tired, but I felt good. And I made some good money. The rest of the day I laid in bed because of my tiredness from staying up all night.