Less than 10 seconds had even passed so far, but that was enough time for the realization of what was happening to kick in everyone's heads. Drake helped his parents away from the windows and falling objects.
While everyone else instinctively remembered what to do during an earthquake and started to head to a safe place.
Everyone deep down was terrified by what was happening, but they did not let that stop them from moving to safety. They knew there was no time to be afraid.
The shaking intensified until it was impossible to stay upright. They gripped the table legs, which were "walking" across the shifting floor.
It was a cacophony of snapping wood, the "pop-pop-pop" of nails being pulled from studs, and the terrifying, deep-earth growl that seemed to vibrate inside their very chests.
They watched the bookshelf tip. It seemed to happen in slow motion—books fluttering out like wounded birds before the entire heavy unit slammed face-down.
Then, as abruptly as it had begun, the violence subsided. The roar faded into a series of smaller, rhythmic shudders—aftershocks—and then a silence so profound it felt heavy.
Once it stopped, Malisa immediately pulled out her phone and proceeded to try to get in contact with her family, afraid of the worst. She couldn't help feeling that the aliens that were supposed to arrive today had caused it.
Everyone else walked back to the living room to see what was on the TV. There wasn't anyone at the desk, and you could see a lot of things that had fallen over.
Drake looked away from the TV and noticed his wife's panicking face as she kept on calling her family. He had feared for the worst for a brief moment before remembering something.
"They are probably fine; it wasn't too bad of an earthquake. The phone lines could have gotten damaged, so don't start thinking of the worst-case scenario," he said in hopes of easing her worries a little.
"I know, but I can't help but still worry about them," she replied uneasily.
Everyone started assessing the damage while they waited for an announcement of what had happened. The house seemed structurally sound, but they did discover quite a bit of damage.
And by "seem structurally sound," they were just guessing by how it looked surface level.
Drake looked at his parents, who didn't seem the least bit worried about any of what was going on and were calmly sitting on the couch. He couldn't help but think how none of this phased them.
Everyone started to clean up a little and pick up the broken things that fell. Even Drake's sister's boyfriend was helping, so it didn't take too long for the house to look decent again.
Everyone stopped what they were doing when they heard Drake's mom saying the president was back on screen.
They all walked back into the living room to watch.
"The 'Visitor' rests now on the ocean floor, probably miles deep," President Grant continued, his expression hardening."But its arrival has shaken the foundations of our home. Avalanches have buried cities in the Alps; landslides have reshaped the topography of Southeast Asia. "We are facing a global emergency that transcends borders."
He leaned forward, his hands clasped on the Resolute Desk.
"I have spoken with leaders from every nation. We are grounded in a single mission: survival."
"As for the craft itself," his voice dropping an octave, "there has been no communication. No signals have been emitted from the crash site. We do not know if this was an accident or an arrival. But we do know this: humanity is no longer alone, and we have never been more reliant on one another."
The feed cut to a wide shot of the President, a small figure against the backdrop of a world in chaos.
"Stay in your homes. Reach out to your neighbors. We will weather this storm. May God, or whatever power you hold dear, be with us all."
The red light on the camera flickered off. President Grant slumped back, the silence of the room heavier than the speech. Through the window, the ground gave a low, ominous groan—another tremor.
...
The Lowells family had just finished watching the live announcement.
"I thought they were intelligent life forms. How did they manage to crash into something as big as Earth?" Ryan said, breaking the silence.
"Yeah, luckily for them, Earth is mostly water and not land," Drake's sister said as she got up from her seat.
Her name is Zahra Lowells. She has brown skin, just like Drake, and is 27 years old. She is wearing casual clothes, with thin, metallic-looking glasses, and has her long black hair tied back in a ponytail. Her glasses give off a vibe that she is intelligent and professional, but she actually has a more untamed personality.
"Where are you going?" Drake asked as he saw her picking up her keys.
"I want to drive around a little and see the damage that occurred from all this. There's nothing better to do if I stay sitting here," Zahra responded as her boyfriend Marcus got up to follow.
"I want to come too," Ryan said as he went after her.
Daymon got up and left too, leaving everyone else there.
Drake wanted to stop them, but he felt like it wouldn't be a bad idea to get an idea of how much damage the earthquake did.
"Don't look so worried. It was just an earthquake. My first time in my life experiencing one, but it wasn't too bad. I didn't know earthquakes could get this bad in Ohio," said Drake's mom.
Drake just looked at her and didn't respond. Only now did he realize why she was so calm with everything. If it were a simple earthquake, he wouldn't be this worried either.
They don't truly understand what is happening, and he has no intention of explaining it to them. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.