Terrestrial Alien ✔

[ Part I ] Chapter 1: It came from space

      The memory of his mother telling him not to leave their cul-de-sac kills his glee for just a millisecond, but he pushes the nagging thought away quickly. This is just too much of an accomplishment for him to stop now! Joshua wouldn't stop for the world, much less a half-heard warning from his mother.

      Thus he continues to pedal vigorously and allows his bike to carry him past houses he'd only seen through the window of a car. He doesn't feel his strength being sapped by the exertion, his excitement is still too much to allow it. Rather, he lets out a loud energetic whoop as he veers out of the neighborhood's street and down the dirt path he'd heard all about from his friends at school. Maybe he could find them, they said they always ride their bikes and scooters here on the weekends.

     The path leads out past the cruddy backyards of the neighborhood and into the dirty, sandy Coloradoan desert beyond, filled with tumbleweeds, cacti, scorpions, and dangerous rattlesnakes-- or so Joshua likes to believe. It's actually just nothing but a sandy expanse that is basically unpopulated until one travels far enough to reach Windsor, which is much greener due to the lake it surrounds. The only signs of life in this stretch of land are the few paved roads sneaking through it, and a lone dusty gas station that's really only used for it's quick access to air conditioning and snacks.

     As he continues to ride, Joshua has to squint as sand whips up in his eyes from his bicycle's tires. He's finally starting to grow a little tired from the exertion, and for a second he allows his peddling to falter. That's all it takes for his bike to be victorious. With one alarmed cry, Joshua loses his control over the bike's momentum, allowing it to teeter to the side with him still on it. He tries to quickly get off, but he isn't quick enough to keep his ankle from getting caught under it. Tears spring from his eyes at the sharp pain, but the pain to his pride is sharper.

      Sniffling and stifling whines of aggravation, Joshua tries to right his bike and limp back on it. He isn't going to allow something like this to ruin his first real bike ride experience, this is just embarrassing. But, just as he lifts his leg to mount his bicycle again, his eyes catch on something in the distance. Blinking in surprise and confusion, Joshua pauses to stare at the object, its figure distorted by the rippling heat waves around it.

       Whatever it is sprawled out further along the dirt road, the lack of tracks behind it making it clear it'd already been here for a while. The outline of it almost seems... Human. Joshua lets out a squawk of surprise at this realization, and he quickly sets his bike down to rush over to them, despite his aching ankle. Close proximity reveals that they are in fact a person, but Joshua finds that as their features become more and more distinguishable, the less their appearance resembles a human, or at least a normal one anyway.

     Joshua's eyes are wide as saucers as he stares down at the other little boy curled up before him. The other boy looks practically dead, with his small form face down in the hot sand, and his naked body seeming almost broken. He's littered with dirt and pebbles, and covered in cuts, bruises, gashes, and burns. Even his short black hair is a mess, seared in random places and sticking up in every direction imaginable.

      But none of this is what interests Joshua, rather, he finds himself intrigued by the swirling black marks covering his body like tattoos. As far as he could see, the marks run over his entire body.

     "Hey, are you okay?" Joshua asks abruptly in a loud voice, only after realising his staring was rude.

      The strange boy remains still for a long stiff moment, before finally twitching like a corpse waking up after a prolonged death. Joshua's eyes widen further as the boy groggily sits up, seeming confused for a moment before he tilts his head up to search for the source of the question. As soon as he notices Joshua's presence, he tenses, and his eyes widen in fear.