And the Earth Opened Up…

Dr. Stanley Crispin jumped up off his couch with outstretched eyes. Living
in Irondale, Alabama all his life, he knew what those rumblings were.
Surface waves.

Surface waves are responsible for most of the damage associated with
earthquakes, because they cause the most intense vibrations.

Dr. Crispin got his degree in seismology -- the study of earthquakes, 15

years ago from the University of Alabama. He loved residing in Jefferson
County. He knew about all the major quakes that hit there, including the
biggest earthquake ever to occur in Irondale that took place in 1916. It had
a Richter scale reading of 5.10. If you are in a car, it may rock. Glasses and
dishes may rattle. Windows may break. The quake of 1916 was not seven
or above, but some mild damage was done.

As Dr. Crispin arose from his couch, he felt the ground shake again. He
could hear the earth splitting outside. It let out a loud, peeling moan.
Maintaining his balance, he ran into his bedroom and got under his bed until
the rumblings subsided. When it was over, he went outside to see things
firsthand. People were beginning to stand outside of their doors in the
suburban middle class community. The road split at least one hundred yards
and counting. It was if the rows of houses apart from each other were taking
sides. The split was about four feet across. Dr. Crispin and some of his
neighbors walked towards that crack in the earth. Old man Simmons walked
beside him and he knew what Crispin did for a living. He asked the doctor
what he thought about this. Some of them turned their attention towards Dr.
Crispin to hear his response. Others were checking their homes and cars for
any signs of damage. Some of the windows were cracked or shattered in
most homes and quite a few cars. He saw that the house beside Simmons
suffered severe damaged. The owner, Ted Stockford was holding his head
in disbelief. His wife and two children stood with him, also looking at the

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damage. Stockford lived across the street from old man Simmons.
Simmons lived to the right of Dr. Crispin.

"Well, Dr. Crispin began; I am a seismologist and the basic theory is that the
surface layer of the earth -- the lithosphere -- is comprised of many plates
that slide over the lubricating athenosphere layer."

Everyone listening looked at him with confused expressions.

"At the boundaries between these huge plates of soil and rock, plates can
move apart - If two plates are moving apart from each other, hot, molten
rock flows up from the layers of mantle below the lithosphere. The magma
that comes out on the surface is called lava.

"Are you saying, lava is going to start trickling out of there boy?” Old man
Simmons asked. Simmons’ wife nudged him.

"From what I can tell, it seems highly unlikely. Where these plates meet,
you will find faults -- breaks in the earth's crust where the blocks of rock on
each side are moving in different directions. Earthquakes are much more
common along fault lines than they are anywhere else on the planet."

"Major earthquakes generally register at seven or above. The Richter scale is

used to rate the magnitude of an earthquake -- the amount of energy it
released. This felt like a six to a six point five. So far what we have
experienced does not seem to be life threatening.”

“Everyone, Dr. Crispin asked cautiously; please go back into your homes
until I can give you some definite answers. Inspect your damage and make
sure none of our neighbors is in need of medical assistance. I have
equipment in my home that allows me to call an earthquake center. I need
time to talk with a few colleagues then I will get back with you.”

He started walking home. He wanted as little alarm as necessary. The

people were already nervous. He walked through his house until he reached
his bedroom. Dr. Crispin’s’ system tracks earthquake data in remote

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locations along fault zones. A private company located in Lamar County
created the equipment and enlisted the university to help them conduct
pioneering research in the area of earthquake forecasting. Lamar was east of
Jefferson County. The company has a network of ground sensors, which
measure Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) magnetic fluctuations observed
prior to earthquakes, and uses satellite Internet service to transmit these
measurements back to its data center. The goal is to save lives by
researching global forecasts of seismic activity in order to provide
communities with early warnings of potentially destructive earthquakes.

Dr. Crispin transmitted the measurements. He paused a few minutes then

phoned the data center. The Director of Operations Mr. Wahl answered. He
informed Dr. Crispin that the data had a Richter scale reading of 7.0 and
asked what damage had occurred.

“Well, began Crispin, the road has cracked northward and from what I can
see it I would guess about 100 yards or more. The crack itself seems to have
split about 4 feet deep looking into the earth. There is mild damage to a few
homes and cars. I”-he stopped. The ground began to tremble again, this
time with more force. The house took a backwards descent into the earth.
His bed slid up against the wall and the foot of it began to tilt upward. Dr.
Crispin held onto it trying to maintain the fear building up inside of him.

“My God”! Wahl yelled in the phone. “What’s happening?”

“I don’t know, Said the doctor. His face looked dry. The rumblings scared
the hell out of him. The noise coming from the ground increased, and Dr.
Crispin felt his house moving again. He knew there was people still outside.

“Send me the measurements doc! Wahl screamed in the phone. Send them
now”! Dr. Crispin transmitted the readings. The earth wailed and outside he
started to hear screams. Wahl returned to the phone with a shriek in his
voice. “The Richter scale reading is a 9.0.! The potential for complete
destruction and large-scale loss of life is imminent! This is terrible, get out
of there! Evacuate! Tell as many people as you can and you get the hell out
of there! Dr. Crispin, do you hear me”?

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Then old man Simmon’s body came crashing through Dr. Crispin’s bedroom
window. Simmons’ body leaned over the broken window and shards of
glass. He looked like a giant earthworm, but instead of covered with dirt, he
was soaked with blood. His eyes pleaded with Crispin to help him as he was
violently pulled back through the window with a strength and force that was
beyond human. Pieces of his flesh slid down on what remained of it.
Nervous feet guided Crispin to the window and he looked out.

The earth had opened up. The street split itself wide more than 75 feet
across. What he saw dragging old man Simmons’ body down into it caused
his body to shake uncontrollably. Spittle flew from his open mouth. Crispin
let out a high pitched shrieked as the creature pulled Simmons into the
ground with him. Dr. Crispin ran for the front door as fast as he could. He
faintly heard Wahl calling his name…..”Crispin! Crispin! Dr. Crispin”!

The ground shifted and the house tilted forward, hurling Crispin through the
open door. As he stumbled and slid across his porch, he dropped the cell
phone. His head met the ground with a sudden thud. Raising his head off
the ground, he watched as Mrs. Simmons tried to fight one of the creatures
off her. Her frail arms were useless against the strength of the abomination
as she lay on her back, her voice hoarse with panic. Dr. Crispin turned his
head away as the creature ripped her open, tearing away her insides.

Sharp claws climbed out of that split, creatures searching for prey.
Abominations…one behind another. There were thousands of them standing
six feet tall or more, moving around on all fours. Their muscular bodies
vibrated and pulsed. Reaching the edge of the opening, a few of them pulled
themselves to the surface and sprung into the air landing on horrified
victims.

The creatures were void of eyes. The area where the eyes should have been
was smooth and flat. Two downward slits served as their noses. They relied
on their sense of smell, tracking and dragging the people of Irondale down
into the dark earth.

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One opened its mouth and cawed, and Dr. Crispin counted four rows of
sharp razor teeth. Saliva ran off the tip of those teeth as it ripped out the
throat of Stockford’s youngest son, Gage. It leaped on him as the family ran
for their home. Then it picked him up and held the ten-year-old over its head
as blood dripped from his lifeless body into its mouth. Satisfied, it cawed
again and began to descend back into the earth with the dead corpse.

Some of the creatures took their prey down with them alive, their screams
echoing through the still air. Stockford and the rest of his family were
amongst them.

Dr. Crispin could hear sirens in the distance. As he looked in that direction
one of the creatures crawled towards him. Their sense of smell was
extraordinary. It had picked up Crispin’s.

He could still hear Wahl calling his name.

Crispin saw the phone on the ground and reached for it, picking it up
slowly.

The creature stood revealing its true height. He was the tallest of them all,
standing about eight feet tall. He let out a shrilling caw that stopped the
others instantly. They returned his cawed in unison.

Dr. Crispin realized that he was the only one standing on the street left
untouched. They were waiting for the creature to capture its prey. He talked
in the phone quick and with urgency.

“Wahl, it is an invasion of some sorts. We mistook it for an earthquake.

They came out of the ground, returning to it with all the people here. The
world as we know it is about to change. The residents of Jefferson County
are just the beginning".

The creature goes back down on all fours making its way to Crispin. He
hears screams descending down in the earth. Crispin's voice goes
completely hysterical. He speaks even faster.

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"Everyone here will die. Call the National Guard. Alert everyone that you
can. One is coming for me….Oh God no, Oh God NOOOOO!!!!!!”

The phone gives one last static filled hum before the connection goes dead.
Wahl continues to call his name. Crispin does not respond.

The terror caused Wahl to drop to the floor. He still held the phone to his
ear, staring wildly at them.

Crispin had said the residents of Jefferson County were just the beginning…

Wahl looks at his coworkers, six in all here tonight. They attack him with
questions; what did Dr. Crispin say? What were those sounds?

“An invasion”, Wahl half whispers. “Crispin said we are all going to
die…..”

They stare at Wahl bewildered as the ground starts to give off a slow
vibration and tremble under them, letting out a loud, glut tonal moan.

Looking around the headquarters seeing panic in the eyes of his co-workers,
Wahl stumbles to the windows, looking outside. His coworkers follow him
holding on to one another. The ground shifted and the building tilted
forward. Pushed up against the window with an unexpected force, Wahl and
the others look out of it with a rising fear. The earth was splitting itself,
opening up. It shook the building violently and people outside started
running for cover as best as they could. Some were falling down and not
able to get up. Hands with sharp claws were emerging from the broken earth
by the thousands.

The first of what will become many screams escaped Wahl’s throat.

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