Indigo opened the cupboard door and looked inside. There was one box of spaghetti noodles left and a package of cornmeal. That was pretty much it. The food at the cabin had only lasted a few days between four people and someone would have to go into town to find something for them to eat.

“I’ll go,” her father said. Indigo narrowed her eyebrows at her him. There were a bunch of crazies out there, not to mention the Mulgor still roaming the planet. They had heard on the radio the day before that the new Draconian space armada had pushed the Mulgor fleet back towards Venus. There were still Mulgor on Earth, and the newscast had advised everyone to stay indoors until the threat was neutralized.

Indigo knew that her father had high blood pressure and diabetes, not to mention a bad back. If things got bad and he had to run, he could get hurt, even have a stroke. She wasn’t willing to chance her father’s safety by sending him into town to find food. Nobody knew what was happening out there, and by what she and Molly had experienced at the gas station, Indigo had a pretty good idea about how quickly society started to break down.

“No, Dad. I’m the strongest and quickest of all of us. I know how to use a gun. I can keep myself safe, and I can run away from any threat if I need to. I’m not going to let you risk yourself when I know I’m more equipped for the job.”

“But you’re a girl,” her mother said.

“That doesn’t matter, Mom. I’m still stronger and faster than Dad. I’m going. That’s final.”

“Let her go,” her father said. “She’s right. She’s more equipped for the job.”

“I just don’t feel comfortable allowing her to go out there with all the craziness,” her mother said.

“Mom, I’ll be fine,” Indigo said.

“Do you want me to go with you?” Molly asked. Having Molly tag along was the absolute last thing Indigo needed.

“No, that’s fine.”

She slipped the handgun into the waist of her jeans and covered it up with her sweatshirt. She had a couple of large sacks for food and Molly’s credit cards if stores were even open anymore. At least she would be able to pay. For all she knew, she would have to just break in and steal food.

Her father handed her the keys to the SUV, and she quickly went outside and got behind the wheel. Her parents and best friend waved goodbye from the front door of the cabin, and Indigo pulled out of the driveway and drove down the dirt road.

On the way towards the highway, she saw Molly’s car still sitting in the ditch where they had left it. There weren’t any tickets or notes, and none of the windows had been broken. Basically no one had bothered with it and no one had cared.

Indigo made her way out onto the main highway and looked down at the gas tank. It was a quarter full so she shouldn’t have any problem getting into town and back. Even still, if she could find some gas somewhere, it would be better to fill the tank.

She turned on the radio and listened to the news reports. Draconian ground forces where wiping out the remaining Mulgor who had landed on Earth, liberating human cities from the grip of the invasion. It made her feel safer to know that they were being driven off the planet and the Draconians were protecting humanity.

Forty-five minutes later she came upon a small town. The streets were eerily empty as if the world had become a ghost town overnight. She drove into the parking lot of a grocery store and grabbed the bags to carry supplies.

When she came to the front door, she noticed that it was dark inside. The sliding doors didn’t slide open. The hours posted on the window indicated that the store should’ve been open, but it wasn’t.

Damn.

This was her worst fear. She would have to break in and steal the food. There was no other choice unless she tried to drive to the next town. She looked around, squinting into the sunlight. Snow had fallen a few days ago and it still covered the streets. People must be staying indoors, out of sight. But others would be running out of supplies soon, too.

She wouldn’t have enough gas to get to the next town over and all the way back to the cabin. Indigo had to make a decision. The last thing she wanted to do was break into a store to steal food. It went against all of her principles. But so did letting her family starve.

She heaved a heavy sigh and walked around the side of the building. Maybe there was a side door that would be easier to break. Around the back of the store was a regular wooden door with a deadbolt above the knob. It was the kind of thing that would break open if she shot it.

Great. Just great.

The Mulgor were making her a criminal, something she’d vowed never to become growing up on the bad side of town as a kid. Her parents had raised her right, and she had standards.

What was she supposed to do? She wondered what her father would do in this situation. Weighing the options again, she made up her mind. Indigo lifted the gun out of her waistband and aimed it at the deadbolt.

Two shots and the bolt fell forward. She pushed at the door and it swung open. Stepping forward, she peered inside. It was dark and smelled like rotten vegetables. That wasn’t a very good sign either.

She stepped through the door and progressed down the hallway into the storage area of the grocery store. There were some boxes piled up and a card table for employee breaks. There was no sign of anyone inside.

In fact, it looked as if no one had been there in a while. Probably since the invasion. And she had to be the asshole who shot a hole in some poor shop owner’s door. It couldn’t be helped. She kept telling herself it was the only way, trying to make herself feel better about it.

Indigo stepped into the main shop space and looked around. Everything was in its place, as if it had just closed one day and never reopened.

She opened up her plastic bag, grabbed a cart, and started moving. She found as many nonperishable items as she could. There was no refrigerator at the cabin, so she’d have to take canned goods and boxes for the most part.

After she’d filled bags in her cart with as much stuff as they could carry, she hurried back out the open door.

As she pushed her cart to the SUV, she heard the click of a rifle being cocked. Slowly, Indigo turned her head and looked in the direction of the noise.

“What do you think you’re doing?” the voice of an angry old man growled.

Indigo turned toward him, letting go of the cart. It rolled forward a few feet and stopped against the parking curb behind her.

“My family is hungry,” she said, hoping to appeal to his humanity.

“I have money. I can pay.” She reached for her backpack to show him the credit card.

“Not so fast,” he said pointing his rifle more aggressively.

“I’m getting my credit card.”

“No use for credit cards.”

“What do you want then? The food?”

“Maybe. Maybe I should take you down to the jail house.”

“Are you a cop?”

“Maybe I am,” the old man said. He was wearing a ratty plaid jacket and a dusty old baseball cap. He was clearly not a cop.

“I don’t think you are.” Indigo was starting to feel nervous. This guy could be a loose cannon. Who knew what he wanted or why he was holding her up like this.

“What makes you say that?” he asked angrily.

“You just don’t give off that cop vibe.”

“Vibe? What kind of vibe do I give off then?”

She stopped and thought for a moment. She couldn’t tell him what she actually thought, which was homeless, old loser. That probably wouldn’t go off well.

“You seem more like someone who works with his hands,” she said, trying to keep the situation civil.

“What makes you say that?” he growled.

“Nothing. Just my first impression. You mind not pointing that at me?”

“What are you doing in our town?”

“I told you, I’m finding food for my family. If you know the store owner, I’ll gladly pay. I didn’t have a choice. This was the last thing I wanted to do. So, please, either find the store owner or leave me alone.”

“Come with me,” he barked in his throaty smoker’s voice.

“Why?”

“I’m taking you to the jail house.”

Fuck this.

“Okay,” she said, hoping to distract him. He turned his head slightly, and she made a mad dash for the car, grabbing one of the bags of food as she sprinted forward.

She flung it into the passenger seat as she jumped in the car and shoved the key in the ignition. Indigo started the car and threw it into gear, screeching out of the parking lot.

She could hear the old man scream from behind her. A shot rang out but it didn’t hit her car. In the rearview mirror, she could see him ranting in the parking lot.

Crap. That was a close one.

The alien apocalypse sure brought out the crazies. She wished she knew what had happened to everyone. The radio had urged people to stay indoors. That might be why the world seemed like a ghost town.

She’d only managed to get one bag of food and would use up most of the gas on the way back. They could always siphon the gas from Molly’s car to get back into town. Hopefully, society would start running like normal again and they could buy gas at a station soon.

Indigo sure as hell didn’t want to go back into town with people like that old man roaming around, thinking he was the law. She felt like crap for stealing, but at the same time, she felt pretty good about herself for how she’d handled the madman.

Her dad wouldn’t have been able to outrun him.

In silence, Indigo drove to the turnoff leading out to the cabin. When she pulled onto the narrow road, she saw a bright light shoot into the sky.

What the hell was that?

Apprehension gripped her belly. That was not the kind of thing you saw every day. Bright lights didn’t just shoot up from the forest into the sky at amazing speeds. It had to be alien.

Indigo bit her lip and furrowed her brow, speeding up the car. She made it to the driveway in record time and sped up to the front of the cabin. Something was wrong. She could feel it deep in her bones. Something was definitely wrong.

The cabin door was open and it was dark inside.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Indigo stepped slowly out of the SUV and moved to the front door. Everything was silent except for the call of a raven in the distance. She peered through the door and nearly vomited.

Blood was splattered across the floor and walls. Three bodies lay broken on the ground. No one moved. A scream ripped from Indigo’s throat. She didn’t even recognize it as her own.

She sank to her knees and felt her father’s throat for a pulse. His skin was slick with blood, and he was already growing cold. There was no pulse. When she drew away, her fingers came away bloody.

In a daze of torment, she checked everyone for signs of life. They were all dead. Her mother. Her father. Her best friend.

“No!” she screamed. She screamed it over and over until her voice went hoarse and she doubled over in pain on her knees.

Why had this happened? Why were the Mulgor at the cabin? Indigo pulled herself to her feet and stared down at the mess on the floor. She wanted to bury them. But what if the Mulgor came back? Fear coursed through her blood, and she backed out of the cabin, blood still on her hands and knees.

She climbed into the SUV and started driving, with no idea where to go. At the back of her mind, she kept telling herself she should have stayed to bury her family. But she didn’t stop and turn back.

Indigo had lived her life with high ethical standards. Today, she’d robbed a store and had left her family’s dead bodies to rot. She didn’t even know who she was anymore.

Tears streamed down her face through silent sobs. Everything was broken. Everything was wrong. She would never go back to who she was before. She slid her fingers over the handgun in the waist of her pants and thought about ending it all.

At that moment, her cellphone pinged inside her pocket. It had been so long since she’d had a phone call, a text, or even a Facebook notification, that it startled her so much she slammed on the breaks.

Indigo pulled the phone out of her pocket and flicked the screen.

Your Draconian mate has been located. Please report to the nearest Draconian consulate.