The Invasion of Hawthorn Village

By Jamie Lobley

Shock and horror await our hero as he uncovers the mysteries of Hawthorn Village .

As the new resident of Hawthorn, Daniel's first order of business is meeting the neighbours. He plucks up the courage to speak to the peeper across the road, which drops him into the middle of a crazy conspiracy attempting to uncover extra-terrestrials in the village.

Buckle up; Daniel is in for the ride of his life, and you're in the passenger seat.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jamie Lobley
• Release date: Nov 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223731436

Book preview

1

The New Neighbour

Howdy, Neighbour!

Daniel, moving box in hand, swung his head over his shoulder. Oh, hey! I'm Daniel, I'm new here.

The man in front of him was wearing shorts, a football shirt and the biggest fake smile Daniel had ever seen. If he stared too long, Daniel was sure his soul would be devoured.

No way! I never would have guessed! Ahh'm just pulling your leg. I'm Mitchell Sullivan. He proclaimed firmly, clearly proud of his name. Y'see that hot piece over there? That's my wife Jennie. A real sweetheart so keep your hands off!

Daniel was startled. He briefly glanced over to Jennie who kindly waved from the doorstep. Oh! No- I- I’d never dream of it-

Haha! Got ya! Mitchell interrupted. I have a daughter too, you'd see her running around with the neighbour kids if she wasn't holed up in the bloody basement all day! Daniel could see why she was. Anyway, I'll leave you to it, if you need ANYthing at all, I'm right next door. See ya pal. Mitchell made sure to stress the any, and gave Daniel an abrasive slap on the back as he left, whistling for his wife's attention.

Just my luck, the first neighbour I meet is an arrogant prick. Daniel determined.

He placed the box down in his new living room. This house felt cold and empty, a far cry from the small, cosy, terraced house he grew up in. Although he somehow felt more at home here. Besides, it was all worth it for the quiet life, that's what he told himself. Daniel cut his family off when he won the lottery; they had too many secrets and he couldn't handle the drama, he felt like a background extra in a reality TV show. He chose to move to a small village in a nice big house in hopes to start over with some respectable neighbours. That's what he was hoping for... but he did just meet Mitchell Sullivan.

Daniel meandered over to the large window that laid his new street bare, showcasing his garden. Although he hadn’t even touched it yet, he was very proud of it. He zoned out for a moment, focusing on one spot on the grass. Just then, a freaky little creature breached his line of sight and puked a blinding green sludge on his fresh grass. He was no longer proud of his garden. He had deciphered that it was supposed to be a Dachshund, but even that much required some serious perception skills on Daniel's part. A quick tug at the lead around the oddities neck led to the most conflicting sight. He followed the lead with his eyes, they were blessed with the face of an angel.

Why does such a beautiful woman own such an ugly mutt? He pondered, until he realised he was staring. He zoned back into the real world, the lady was continuously mouthing 'sorry' to Daniel through the window until he responded with a dismissive hand wave, blushing with an awkward smile. The dog skittered along the street, up left from Daniel's house, and the lady followed suit. As his gaze moved away from his new crush, Daniel's focus shifted to the house across the street; he saw... a man peeping through his curtain?

What a creep! Ogling his neighbour like that. Daniel tutted. The neighbour across the street caught Daniel's eye and quickly closed the curtain.

After he had haphazardly made his house a home for the night, Daniel plucked up the courage to introduce himself to the peeper across the street. As he valiantly breached the footpath, the door creaked open. Daniel stopped dead in his tracks halfway to the door.

Uh- Hello? I'm Daniel, your new neighbour across the road, just wanted to introduce myse- He was cut off as a hand sprung from the door, clasped his shirt and yanked Daniel inside.

WHAT DID MITCHELL SAY TO YOU?! This man and his house both emitted a damp stench, he clearly hadn't made an effort to groom himself in a long time either. He shook Daniel by the shoulders, waiting for an answer. Well?!

Daniel spurted out I-I dunno he just introduced himself, gave me a creepy smile. Can you let me go, you freak? He let go and took a step back, but maintained the high energy.

Exactly! The creepy smile! Strange, right? Almost... inhuman? He turned his head and raised his eyebrow. Daniel squinted at him, worried about being his neighbour for the coming future, however long that may be.

What do you mean inhuman? Why did you grab me like that!? Daniel questioned, utterly confused at the sudden intensity of the situation.

The man took a breath and slowed down. Hi Raphael, I'm Thomas. I like to keep an eye on my neighbours because well... can I tell you a secret?... It's TOP secret information so I NEED to know I can trust you. Daniel wondered what he had gotten himself into. He'd only been living in his new house for three hours.

Daniel reluctantly gave his honest opinion. Y'know what Thomas? I'm not sure it's wise, we've only just met! And you got my name wrong, by the way. It's Daniel. Thomas seemed eager, Daniel had just been ragged around by a crazy person, but he wasn’t fond of letting people down. He gave in with a sigh. Fine, go on then.

Well, here goes... A long pause of indecision from Thomas... This is it, are you ready? Okay. Okay. He took a deep breath and set his motor mouth running. There are aliens in our village! I have photos, a-and videos! I can show you! There's an invasion under EVERYone's noses - no one would believe me though, so I'm telling you in full trust and confidence. Anyone in the village could be an alien! In fact, I have a HEAVY suspicion that that THING over there calling himself MITCHELL is actually not a HUMAN AT ALL! He caught his breath as he waited for Daniel to take in the magnitude of what he had just revealed.

Daniel gave Thomas a blank stare for a moment, turned around and grabbed the door handle. Thomas hit the button on his remote locking mechanism.

What is it? You don't believe me? Thomas, deflated, had never told anyone outside of his conspiracy forums this information and he hoped this unassuming new neighbour, the first person to check in on him in years, would believe him.

Of course I bloody don't, you lunatic! Let me leave! Daniel tugged the door handle, he'd had enough. Moving house was already exhausting, and both people he had met on his first day were out of their minds. Could the day get any worse for him?

Thomas took a second to think "Wait a minute, YOU could be an alien! It is suspicious, you moving in next door to an alien, and then coming here to question me. Hmmm." He ran to the wall where he kept his display katana and dislodged it from it's position. He approached Daniel with haste as Daniel continued to heave at the door handle.

I'm not a bloody alien! Daniel let go of the door, spun around and gut-punched Thomas, the katana soaring and breaking on impact with the carpet. Thomas collapsed into the fetal position, winded.

In his pain, he managed to groan out Fiiiine, you can gooo, but- add me on social mediaaa, or something. He fumbled his hand in his pocket and unlocked the door.

Daniel rushed outside without a word, but popped his head back through the door a moment later.

What's your surname?

2

The Peculiar Pet

Daniel barely slept during his first night. He had already met two neighbours he couldn't stand; at least Jennie seemed nice. Although he didn't have to get up for work anymore, he still awoke at 5 a.m. His body-clock wasn't used to unemployment yet. He considered his lottery winnings to be enough to carry him through his whole life, so his plan was to retire and relax for the rest of his days. Daniel decided to go on a walk to get a lay of the land early before anybody else was awake; he had briefly been around the village when viewing the house, but since he was in such a rush to move away, he didn't get a thorough viewing.

As he walked, he scanned the houses down his street, wondering if anyone else was a weirdo, and who he could go down to the pub with. Daniel was content with getting to know his neighbours, but he didn't expect to make any friends. He was never very good at it growing up, and just never made the effort to develop the skill. He didn't mind much, he just wanted the quiet life.

Daniel crossed a few blocks before coming up on the local park. There was a small playground to the left, and the rest was a rich green field. As he approached, coming into view, out of a tall bush, was a familiar face. It was the striking beauty he had seen the day before, walking her... unidentified life-form. When she noticed Daniel, she smiled and waved enthusiastically.

Daniel was suddenly struck with a wave of nausia, he wasn’t expecting to see anyone this early. And of course, she was walking in his direction. His new residency was nothing but distress. He wiped his clammy hands on his trousers and gulped the frog in his throat down.

C’mon Daniel, pull yourself together He took a deep, shaky breath as she got close. Ho-uh hey! I’m new here, name’s Daniel. He tried to pass off as a cool dude, but his face was red and his hands were shaking, though the lady didn’t seem to mind.

Ho uh hey to you too! She responded with a smile. Daniel chortled. He’d never chortled before.

She gave him a confused look and moved on. Uhhh yeah, I live just round the corner from here, I’m Delilah. Oh! You’re the man in the window, right? I'm so sorry about my dog yesterday! Speaking of, this little cutie pie is Dilo, he was just feeling a bit sick. Say hi, Dilo!

Dilo screeched a sound Daniel hadn’t fathomed possible.

That’s when Daniel made a far-fetched connection. Thomas seemed crazy when he was yapping on about aliens in the village, but maybe he was onto something.

Daniel squeezed out an Awww, he’s adorable. He desperately tried to keep his mouth from curling down at either side in disgust.

Delilah excitedly responded Isn’t he!? We’re quite new here too, so you’re not alone. I take Dilo to this park every day, wanna walk around with me? Or do you have somewhere to be at this hour?

Daniel leapt at the opportunity. Oh no I’m not busy! I was just on a walk myself in fact! I’d love- uh, yeah I can join you, sure.

They conversed until the sun came up, lapping the park a few times. They seemed to have a lot in common, and despite Daniel being incredibly awkward, Delilah didn’t notice. She seemed to have an interesting life, she was vague, but from her tales, it came across as if she was ex-special forces of some sort. The topic of food seemed like a common one to Daniel, but Delilah was weaving round it every time he got close to the subject. He just assumed she was picky and left the subject alone.

After a good while, cars were whizzing past and people had started to crawling out of the woodwork. It felt like the right time to leave. Their conversation came to a close on talk of family.

Delilah stayed vague, but answered Daniel earnestly. My family are... different. My relationship with them feels more like a job, a duty. Less like an actual loving family, I suppose.

Daniel returned "Hey, that sounds somewhat respectful at least. My family barely took any notice of me until- well, until I decided to move away." Daniel looked down with a furrowed brow.

Delilah seemed concerned, but decided not to press further. Well! Dilo and I best be off home. It was so nice getting to know you, I'm sure I'll see you again, Daniel. Bye!

Daniel's heart was pounding out of his chest, he muttered Uhhh, maybe I can uh get your number? maybe? But he was too quiet and high-pitched, his voice blended in with the morning breeze. He took a minute to process what just happened; she wasn't just a normal neighbour, she was an extraordinary one.

As Delilah neared the park exit, Daniel caught a glimpse of Dilo spewing out a neon green puddle again. It looked like it was glowing, even from a distance. Daniel decided to go to Thomas and tell him about Dilo, but he remembered, Thomas wanted them to speak exclusively through social media. He took a photo of the sludge and headed home.

Okay, now what do I do? He had downloaded an app on his phone that Thomas recommended, but he couldn't figure out how to add friends. It didn’t seem like a social media site, more of a shady private messaging service. Daniel went over to Thomas’ house and knocked on the door for some help.

Thomaaas, it’s Daniel. I don’t understand the app you suggested. Daniel shouted with all the enthusiasm of a fast-food employee.

He heard several thuds before the door cracked ajar. What do you mean you don’t understand it? Thomas couldn’t grasp the problem.

Daniel retorted Can’t you just give me your number? Or we can just use Facelog.

Thomas re-retorted NO! I don’t have a number anymore, they might be able to track sim cards through radio waves! I also don't use my Facelog account for anything of this nature, the tracking is off the charts and I just can't risk it. I actually think you might be dumber than I had initially thought. Unless of course- you are an alien after all.

Daniel snapped back Shut up, man. Look at this. He shoved his phone in Thomas’ face with the photo he took of the strange glowing vomit displayed on his screen. This is throw-up from Delilah’s dog. I had suspicions about it already, but then you mentioned the-