 Welcome to Microterrorz. Scary stories for kids. Where it's always the spooky season. Full of chills. Thrills. And spine-tingling spooks. Microterrorz are family-friendly frights for those ages 8 and up. And while our stories are for younger years, we are still talking about things that go bump in the night. And some children may not be able to handle what others can. Parental consent is recommended. Now for tonight's Microterrorz. The Eyes by Scott Donnelly It was a snowy January evening when the eyes first arrived. Well, they didn't really arrive. A parasite did. One that lived within a meteorite that came from space. It had crash-landed somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, close to a fire lookout post. There was one man, one unlucky man, named Jose Roberto, who was working the post that night. He saw the meteorite burn through the heavy layer of clouds above, soar through the wintery night sky, and crash just over a nearby snowy ridge. Afraid it would cause a forest fire, he quickly radioed into his command center and reported the event. As the minutes passed by with no fire, the cause for alarm quickly faded. Jose's curiosity, however, didn't. Jose descended from his fire lookout post, hopped on a snowmobile, and rode through the frigid conditions. More snow was just beginning to fall as he made his journey. Within ten minutes he had arrived at the crash site. He located the impact zone, which was obvious by the smoldering hole in the ground in which white smoke plumed up from within. He radioed in once more to describe what he was seeing, and that was the last anyone ever heard from Jose. Knowing what we know now, twelve months later, he must have inspected the debris too closely. The remains of the meteorite were cracked open and oozing a sticky substance. Within the oozy matter, tiny parasites, translucent and smaller than the average earthworm, emerged and clung to Jose. They went for his eyes, which they were easily able to nestle into and killed all of the nerve endings. Jose's eyes fell from his head and his body fell into the snow, where it would not be recovered for several months. His eyes, however, now vessels controlled by the alien parasites, began to move on their own. Something within our planet's atmosphere interacted with their genetic makeup, causing them as well as the human eyes they now seized to grow in size. By the end of the first day, they were the size of baseballs. By the end of the first week, they were the size of basketballs. Within the eyes, the parasites multiplied, driving themselves out of the sclera whenever they crossed paths with another human. They'd command their eyes as well, detaching them from their bodies, taking their lives and taking their eyes. It was an unnatural, unstoppable and vicious cycle. The eyes had taken over Colorado and the surrounding states within two months of the first meteorite crashing. Within six months, the eyes had taken most of the country. Some of them had even grown to be the size of bounce houses, rolling through city streets, suburban neighborhoods, deserts and beach resorts. The military attempted several times to engage and fight back, but the natural toughness in which the eyes had now adapted made it nearly impossible. Some of the smaller ones were able to be wiped out, but anything larger than a beach ball was nearly impossible to injure, let alone annihilate. After the six-month mark, the eyes became smarter and developed a sort of skill or mental power over people. Those they chose not to infect for whatever reason, they would instead intimidate by landing an uncomfortable gaze upon them and emit a low-pitched droning thrum that would send a frightening warning rippling through their nervous system. It would force them to feel fear, force them to obey and accept that Earth now belonged to them and they had no intention of ever leaving. As a full 12 months since the initial meteorite crash has now come, there was a lot of information out there on the eyes. They may be a physical presence in the world, but as far as their technological skills go, they are less than primitive. That has allowed communication between humans who are still alive. Whether it be through phone calls, texts or internet exchanges, the eyes seem unaware of that angle of our way of life. Most humans have reduced to staying indoors these days, studying the eyes from out windows and from remote controlled drones. The invasion has spread worldwide, with Antarctica the only place allegedly not being touched by the eyes. Those are just rumors, though. Aside from quick missions and expeditions by scientists who have military escorts, leaving our homes is basically against the law at this point. Our survival depends on it. And even those scientific expeditions usually end with only a fraction of the team returning and more eyes ending up out in the world. There is no plan currently to rid our planet of the eyes. They have made that hope nearly impossible. We may very well be looking down the scope at the end of humanity as we know it, but with survivors around the world secretly working behind their backs within the digital world, passing ideas back and forth, desperately searching for weaknesses, the hope might one day be there. But until then, we need to stay vigilant and determined. We need to stay focused on survival and work together. We need to continue to operate within the shadows, within the digital realm, until we have the solution. Because if we show our hand too soon, or act too hastily, it could all backfire. The eyes learn quickly. They adapt. Within a year, they have grown to monstrous sizes and figured out how to dominate the human race with mental intimidation and an obscene physical presence. Who knows what another year could do for them? For now, though, we'll continue to study, research and plan for our survival. We just need to be as cautious as possible and do it all off their radar. Because they are always watching. Word searches, mysterious mazes and more. Microterrors.com is also where you can find us on your favorite social media, and even send in your own scary story for us to tell. Plus, you'll learn more about our author, Scott Donnelly, who has other horrors for both young and old. I hope you'll join me again soon for Microterrors, scary stories for kids.