I jump when my door bangs open. I had been sitting by the window, staring out at the sky when the soldier came in. "Sir," she begins, "there has been an urgent announcement that requires all residents to report to the lobby immediately."

I did know about the announcement, I just chose to ignore it. But now the soldier's looking at me and I know she won't leave until I do. So I stand up-still leaning heavily on my cane-and follow her downstairs. She insists on helping me down despite my protests. But my legs don't feel as tired by the time I reach the lobby.

The room goes quiet when I enter, then the chatter picks up again. I try to find a seat away from people, but there's none. So I sit down next to a father and his chattering two year old. The whole room goes quiet again when the soldier who went to get me stood at the front of the room.

She clears her throat. "Today, we have gotten some very bad news. The fight with the Creatures has gotten close-far too close for our liking. We didn't have enough warning in advance to prepare. If we had, we would've moved you across the ocean.

"Some of you may have wondered why there were so many floors in this building, and so few people. This is because the Creatures can only fight on the ground. In the chance-like now-that they were to come close to here, we can move you all to the top floors and have plenty of room for you all and the supplies.

"I don't know how long you will be up there," she continues. "I don't know how long the supplies will last or what we'll do once this battle has past. I am open for any questions you would like answered."

Oh, there were questions, all right. Everyone begins talking at once, shouting out questions, "And what would you do if they invaded the building, huh? Can't they climb stairs? Why can't you take us across the ocean now? How long do you expect the supplies to last?"

It's overwhelming, and I have to bury my face in my hands. I can here more questions until the soldier yells, "Quiet, please!"

Everybody shuts up, and I look up. She's standing at the front again, her hands in the air. "One question at a time," she says breathlessly. "Creatures can climb stairs, yes. But they can't do heights. They can only go up so far. And we don't have the time-or the vehicles-to take you across. And again, I don't know how long the supplies will last-maybe about a month. That does depend on you."

"Is there going to be any soldiers with us?" Elf asks.

"There will be a few, at first," the soldier says. "But if we need more, we will pull them."

Elf sits back, her pale face even paler. Everyone's silent, then I ask, "And when are they arriving?"

The soldier hesitates, then says, "Tonight."

"Well," the elderly man from the bus huffs. "How could you miss that?"

The soldier looks away. "They broke away from the fight," she finally says. "No one knew that half of them were gone. We thought we were dominating the fight."

Nobody speaks after that. The soldier looks around asks if there any more questions. There are none. The soldier looks around, then says, "Very well. You are dismissed."

The chatter resumes as everyone stands up. But it's quiet chatter. Everyone's nervous. I push my way to the front of the room and grab the soldier by the arm. She turns around in surprise. "Yes, sir?" she asks.

"How long did you know?" I ask harshly. "We've been here a week and you just notice they're coming tonight? Last time I checked, they were in El Paso. There's been enough time to for you to realize they were gone. So how long did you know?"

The soldier gives me a long, hard look. "It's obvious they knew for a while," she finally says. "But they only thought it was fit to tell me when they were already here."

She shakes my hand off and walks away. I watch her leave, then I force my way to the stairs.

Once I'm upstairs, I throw everything I need into my small bag. I pick up the journal and look at it. I didn't know why I bought it. I had never used it before, but I need to get this load off my chest. I reach for a pen, scribble it a little on the paper to get the ink flowing, and just write.

I can't believe this. I just can't. This place was suppose to be safe, and now it turns out the Creatures are on us.

The scientists are to blame here. Their attempt to create the Ultimate Being failed, and we're now plagued with lab rats- the Creatures.

We're going to die here. I know it.