The Tilt of the Earth - Chapter 1

It was the morning after.  Dust and debris filled the air and muted the rising sun.  Who were the creatures who descended in the middle of the night?  Was there safety to be found?  Miranda stood on her dock that reached out into the canal.  Her mask was on, covering her nose and mouth.  She wore goggles just to be sure.   Her dog, Hunter, was by her side.  Dogs weren't affected by whatever lingered in the air but it made Miranda's throat close up like she was in anaphylactic shock.  Allergic to the invasion.  She thought as she nervously smiled beneath the gas mask.  This was the fourth time it had happened in a year.  It seemed to coincide with the changing of the season.  That tilt of the earth that marks changing seasons.  Last night was December 21 and this is what she woke up to.  She was bundled up in black boots, black tights and a light grey army jacket.  December in Florida can be chilly.  It was a Monday morning on the shortest day of the year and the beginning of the astronomical winter.  The Winter Solstice.  She knew a week's worth of bad air was coming.  When would the government in charge figure out what happened every three months?  Why did everybody on Earth have to wear masks and goggles until the air cleared? She knew her father might have the answer.  After all it was a six-star general of the All World Army.   She adjusted her coat as a gentle wind blew.  Her blonde curly hair was starting to frizz in the moist air.  "Come."  She commanded Hunter, her loyal Anatolian Shepard.  At one hundred fifty pounds Hunter was an intimidating guard dog even though he'd rather harass predators than kill them.  But maybe some killing needed to happen.  The world could no longer function with these periodic lights out events.  Miranda and Hunter headed back up the hill from the dock to her cottage, nestled safely in the back of the property.  She determined to give her dad a call.  "What can I do?'  she asked Hunder who stood at attention.  All thirty-one inches of him was a sight.  Miranda was a twenty-seven year old first lieutenant.  A North American platoon leader commanding two-hundred and three soldiers.  A mix of humans and robots.  Her phone rang.  She laid her hand on the pad that was glowing on the wall.  A video the size of the wall came into focus.  "Hey honey.  It's dad."  She laughed at how in sync she and dad had always been.   A moment later Hunter started barking. She heard a loud bang on her back door.