Searching For A Home

Nubi

It was the middle of the night as a space-pod crash landed in a forest near a small town. The crash created a moderate crater. It was a decent distance away from civilization so it didn't disturb anyone in town. While the town might not be bothered with the new arrival on their planet, some animals weren't as reserved. The craft was still steaming but that didn't stop a certain group of raccoons from approaching.

The raccoons were curious as they stood over the small crater. They would circle it but not one would get any nearer than that. One of the raccoons managed to slip and slide on top of the spacepod. The others ran away as the one who fell, tried to climb out.

When nothing happened, the other raccoons returned. The raccoon in the crater was standing right on top of the pod and over a one sided glass window. Unknown to the raccoon, there was another creature observing it from the other side of the glass.

***

In the vastness of outer space, flew a spacecraft piloted by one man. He was galaxy police officer L'Labi. His legs were up on his dashboard while he laid back, fast asleep on the captain's chair. There was nothing breaking him out of his sleep until the ship's alarm went off, making him fall off his chair.

L'Labi rubbed the back of his head as his ship flashed red around him. He had an annoyed look on his face as he struggled to stand.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he said as he went over to the dash and pressed a button, shutting the alarm off. He sat back down as a piece of paper began to print from under the dash. He snatched the paper as he leaned back up on his chair, putting his leg back on top of the dash.

It took L'Labi a couple of seconds to read the contract before dropping it to the floor. He reluctantly sat straight and dialed something onto the dash. The spacecraft began to fire up and it got ready for its next trip, planet Earth in the Milkyway.

***

Samuel was a seven year old boy who just left the supermarket with a loaf of bread. He was walking alongside the forest as he made his usual trip home from school.

Sam was small for his age, making him a target for the other children. He wasn't popular and was quiet most of the time. He didn't like going to school, but his mother convinced him it was something he had to do.

Sam stopped when he heard familiar voices up ahead. They were the voices of the bullies.

Sam had to act quickly before they saw him. He ran inside the forest and didn't stop until he was a good distance away from the road. Sam would have kept running if he hadn't tired himself out.

Sam had to sit down and catch his breath. His chest was heaving up and down when he heard something nearby. His heart dropped at the thought of the bullies. He was frozen as he looked in the direction of the noise. Sam was relieved when he saw a raccoon come out of the forest.

The raccoon was curious but didn't go near Sam, only staring at him. He was specifically looking at the bread in his hands.

Sam realised. "Do you want some?" he asked. Sam broke off a piece of bread and tossed it over to the raccoon. The raccoon quickly grabbed it and ran off into the woods.

Sam relaxed as he started breaking the bread into little pieces and dropping them into his lap. After about a minute, the raccoon returned alongside another one. "Came back for more, and you brought a friend." Sam tossed two pieces towards them.

The raccoons took the pieces of bread and didn't bother running off like before. They ate the bread in front of him. More raccoons started coming out of the bushes and Sam stood up. All the crumbs on his lap fell to the ground as he took a couple of steps away. There were six raccoons in total but that's not what had Sam in awe. Five of the raccoons were gray with black stripes. The sixth was gray but with bright blue strips. Sam had never seen anything like it.

The six raccoons grabbed all of the bread crumbs that had fallen. Sam watched as they ate all of the crumbs from the ground. He was observing the blue raccoon when he realised he still had half of the bread left in his hands. Sam broke off a larger piece of bread and leaned down as he offered it to the blue raccoon. It didn't even hesitate to come and take it from Sam. The raccoon stood in front of Sam as it ate the bread.

Sam reached out and pet the raccoon. The raccoon sniffed Sam's hand and then continued to eat his bread. "You're a friendly little guy, aren't you," said Sam as he stroked the raccoon's body.

The raccoon finished eating the bread and enjoyed the attention he was receiving. Sam noticed the raccoon was staring at something. Sam looked down at what was left of the bread. "Do you want the rest?" asked Sam. "Shouldn't you share it with the rest of your friends?"

The raccoon looked back at its friends, but returned his attention to Sam. He put out his little hands.

"Alright," said Sam as he handed him the rest of the bread.

The raccoon took the bread and went over to his friends. He broke up a piece of the bread for every single raccoon among them. Sam was shocked at what he was witnessing. The blue raccoon shared the bread evenly among all of them. Sam sat down as he watched them finish their food.

There was a sudden movement from behind Sam, causing all of the raccoons to scatter into the forest. Sam looked behind and was frozen in fear when he found a large black bear. The bear was only a couple of feet away from Sam who couldn't find the strength to move. The bear got up on its two legs and roared. Sam cried as he didn't know what to do. The bear got back on all fours and took a step closer towards Sam.

The blue raccoon jumped in between Sam and the bear. He stood tall as if to protect Sam from the bear.

"What are you doing?" whispered Sam. "You can't take on the bear."

The blue raccoon ignored Sam as it stared down the bear. The bear stood on its two legs again and roared. The raccoon held its ground and then let out its own roar. His roar was much louder than the bear's. It caught everything in the forest off guard. The bear was so startled it fell on its back. The bear quickly recovered and ran off.

"No way," said Sam as the raccoon coughed.