In Search Of Home - One-Shots

Zach

It was like this, wary and afraid, that Zach was shoved unceremoniously into a godforsaken spaceship with hundreds of other people.

"What kinda government propaganda is this?!" someone shouted.

"Shut up! I saw aliens! They've come to take us for food!"

"Those government are all lizards theorists were right."

"We're gonna die!"

Amidst the crying, screaming, and insults hurled at everyone and no one in particular, Zach barely noticed the floor trembling underneath them. There were no windows in this ship, so it was quite a surprise when the ship lurched forward suddenly and sent everyone to the floor in a heap. Somehow, the chaos only got louder.

A headache was brewing in Zach's skull, and he had the feeling it wouldn't get better any time soon.

After what felt like days of sitting in a cramped position on the world's hardest floor next to some lady who wouldn't stop sobbing and crying out for her kids, the doors finally opened.

Immediately, people started pushing toward the exit, uncaring of what was on the other side. Zach couldn't blame them - several people over, a guy had thrown up and it was only his steel stomach that didn't have him quickly following. Regardless, even if he wanted to take it slow and think before acting, he was shoved out of the ship by the hundreds of other people behind him.

"Watch it, fucker," Zach growled at the person behind him with their entire elbow digging into his back.

"It's not me!" they sobbed. Irritation flooded him at the state of some of these people. Sure, he was scared and confused, too, but you didn't see him blubbering like a kid about it!

As soon as he was able, he tried to distance himself when he stepped outside. The sky was yellow, the air was thin, and he had no idea where on Earth they were, but Zach didn't take much notice of that. He's seen mosh pits go bad, and he had no desire to be right in the middle of one.

Pushing his way through the thick crowd of confused, terrified people - they were screaming, shrieking for answers, but he had the feeling no one would have them -, Zach made it toward the edge of what seemed to be the biggest fence he's ever seen.

Thick claws grabbed the back of his shirt, and no amount of cursing and writhing loosened its grip. Pain laced through his shoulder as he was tossed into a small container and loaded up into the back of a truck like a crate of supplies.

"What the fuck," he hissed through his teeth. At least it was quiet here.

Another crate quickly filled his vision, and the thumping, scrambling, and cursing clued him into the fact that another person had been taken in the same way he had.

"Jesus!" she hollered, slamming her fist onto the side of the crate.

"Watch it," he bit out when the action rattled his own crate. So much for peace and quiet.

"Hey, who's there?" she asked. "Do you know what's going on?"

"Does it look like I know what's going on?" he snapped, peeved. He was definitely late for work.

She didn't get the chance to respond as yet another crate was shoved into the back. And another one. And then another one. By the time the crates stopped coming in and the car they were in started moving, Zach had counted six.

There were brief and hurried introductions - Zach swore he heard the voice of a kid - before the aliens in front shouted at them and they fell warily quiet.

As it turned out, there was a kid. He and the six other humans were thrown unceremoniously into animal-like cages - Zach was starting to get real, real worried about all this; there was no way he'd be able to get to work behind a set of bars - and immediately started trying to find a way out.