Time: 7 minutes. Click here to go to my list of prompts.

“I was playing in the snow when aliens walked out of the woods”

It was the first snow of the year. It wasn’t a very good snow, with patches of withered yellow grass poking through already, though it was only 10 in the morning. Still, my brother and I ran outside and threw ourselves into it. It melted quickly through our snow pants and gloves. Why is it that when snow is the warmest it’s the coldest? I tried to gather up a ball of snow to throw at my brother. It wouldn’t clump, and it just made my hands cold. Well, it was only December. The prime snow months were still ahead.

My brother ran out of the yard toward the common grounds. The retention pond, almost always empty, has sloped walls that are nice for sledding. He sets his sled on the edge, climbs aboard, and leans forward. Nothing happens. “Cruddy snow!” he shouts. It echoes. The trees are all glistening and dripping in the woods. At least it’s pretty.

Two forms approach us from the woods. I take my brother’s hand and try to pull him off the sled. In school, we learned about adults who hide in woods. They’re called molesters, and they’re bad people.

The men reach us before I can get my brother’s attention. They moved amazingly quickly, and now I am giving Miss Roth a little more respect. I had thought her characterization of molesters exaggerated and cartoonish, but indeed, they move with super human speed. They also look strange. Their skin is rubbery, and their eyes are large and shiny and black. They don’t seem to have elbows or knees, just wobbly limbs like and octopus. They flow along on these things with evil fluid grace. God truly looks down upon these men.

“Oh my god, aliens!” my brother shouts, beaming. “Pew, pew!”

“No, Jake, they’re molesters, and we have to get out of here before they get us.”

Jake shoves me away and runs toward the gray men. “Take me to your leader!”

“H-hell oh,” one of them says slowly. Miss Roth didn’t say anything about them not speaking English. Maybe Jake is on to something.