… from around the globe. At this point, we are waiting for a response from the government.

“What are you doing?

“I just thought I’d watch some TV, if that’s okay with you.” She sighed and went back to her book, so he turned back to the television. There was shaky camera footage of people running through the street. It looked as though they were being chased by another crowd. Uninterested in whatever movie it was, he changed the channel.

News. He was about to change the channel again when they began showing similar footage as the last channel. Maybe it hadn’t been a movie. He turned up the sound.

… the nature of these attacks. I repeat, despite wild speculation about aliens or some sort of “zombie” virus, there has been no confirmation about the nature of these attacks. While there have been sketchy reports from every continent, no official has yet made any statement. There is evidence of military mobilization. Even without official word, our management is suggesting people stay indoors until more information is released.

“Are you seeing this?” he asked her.

“What?”

“This.” He pointed at the screen. “There is something going on. Maybe we should go somewhere?”

She watched for several seconds, worry growing on her face. Suddenly, her demeanor relaxed, and she let out a laugh. “This is probably just like that Orson Welles thing.”

“What thing?”

“You know, Welles did a fake radio broadcast about a Martian invasion on Halloween. A bunch of people believed it. Tom Cruise was in a movie version of it a few years ago.”

“Tom Cruise played Orson Welles?”

“No! Welles did a broadcast based on a book, The War of the Worlds, or something. They made the book into a movie a few years ago. But Welles’ broadcast was just fiction, a hoax. Scared a bunch of people, though.”

“So you’re saying this is just a hoax?”

“Well… What day is it?”

He thought for a moment, then it hit him. Embarrassment crept up his cheeks. “Oh. Crap. It’s April first, isn’t it?”

She just nodded, smug smile on her lips.

Hating that he had been duped, he turned off the television.

A shifting noise outside the front door caused her to look up again. “I think the mail’s here. Could you get it?”

He nodded and walked to the door. When he opened it, a hand reached out and grabbed him by the neck. He heard a scream just before the world went black.