Lizzy's POV
We had been walking in the caves for what felt like days. It was so cold, dark and damp, I had chills up and down my body constantly. We no longer had the gift of the sun to tell us when we should stop or how long it had been, and it honestly became a very confusing situation.
The guys kept in front, Kaylee and I followed, me being very last in order to make sure everyone ahead of me was safe and nothing was coming from behind. I blame it on me being the bravest of the group and my natural maternal instincts that I inherited from my own mother.
After a long while of walking, we finally came to a stop deciding we had gone far enough. Once we found a dry area in the darkness of the cave, we settled in for the night, or what felt like night to our internal clocks.
We probably should have thought of it beforehand, but we had left into the depths of the cave, not knowing where we would end up, without collecting extra food first. We had packed plenty of breakfast fiber bars and snacks, but we were honestly hungry as hell. One bar a meal was not enough for us to sustain on, especially not the boys.
"I'm fucking hungry. Can't we catch a bat or something?" John whined. Kaylee gave him a disgusted look. Cade, however, began to think and you could practically see the gears beginning to move in his head.
"You know, that may not be a bad idea, bro," Cade said.
"If we could make a fire to cook it, I'd definitely eat a bat!" Grayson chimed in.
"I suppose I'd try it too," I said as I shrugged before looking at Kaylee who was shaking her head in pure disgust.
"There is no way I will ever put a bat in my mouth!" she exclaimed.
There was a burst of laughter and the boys immediately stood up to start the search for bats. I suppose it is better to eat a bat than have no food and starve to death in an endless maze of cave tunnels.
Morgan's POV
Xenophon and the twins stayed with me as I continued my hike in search of the other caves. Zeek was boisterous, while his twin was reserved and rarely said anything that was not serious or important.
Xen kept himself close to me, ready to protect me at any moment from any danger that could be around the next corner. I definitely felt much safer now that he was not leaving me alone again and it was helpful to my nerves that Zeek and Zor were with us too. I can only be grateful that they were the aliens I had run into.
As we carried on, the sun began to creep down the sky as it did every day. The sky was a bit dreary today, suggesting a storm was going to arrive soon. I began to question how many days we had been out, but I soon stopped, realizing it did not matter anymore and only survival did.
Once the sun was just about to hide behind the horizon, we began to slow down. I yawned before rubbing my eyes as I walked. I suppose walking with my eyes closed isn't the smartest move to make, as I tripped over a rock embedded in the ground. I was lucky to have Xen there or else I would've fallen completely onto my face.
"You're tired, we should stop here for the night," Xen stated. I nodded before finding a decent place to lay out my blanket. I stopped to look at the boys who were all watching me.
"Um, do you guys sleep?" I asked shyly. They all immediately began to laugh at me as the question left my mouth and I felt awkward instantly.
"Well of course we sleep!" Zeek said in a duh tone. Even Zor was amused by this and laughed at me. I felt my cheeks begin to burn with embarrassment.
After a few minutes of them laughing at me, I went back to setting my sleeping area up before offering my blanket away. They all stared at me, confused.
"It's gonna get cold, I'm sure someone can use it, I have one blanket already," I said generously in an innocent voice
They began to laugh quietly and snicker to themselves as I looked at them confused. I rolled my eyes eventually tired of their little inside facts about their alien selves that I would never have known about.
"What?" I asked with an irritated and confused expression on my face.
"Morgan, we do not exactly get cold. We have an extremely hot core temperature making it extremely hard for us to get very cold," Zor spoke up.
I felt my cheeks blush with embarrassment, even though I really wouldn't have had any way of knowing this information. It did explain why Xen was so hot though, and no I don't mean his looks. Well, yes that too but that is beside the point.
I felt Xen touch my shoulder to comfort me in my embarrassed state. Zeek laughed like it was the funniest thing that had ever happened to him, while Xen simply smiled at me. Zor seemed less humored, but I could see in his eyes he was internally laughing hysterically.
Once they had finished laughing at me, I sat down and curled up with my blankets. The air began to cool by the minute, and the warm summer air was quickly vanishing. Zeek and Zor sat next to each other, bickering about something I didn't understand, while Xen quietly observed me.
"Could I ask you some questions?" Xen asks, breaking the silence and I nodded and smiled lightly in response.
"Do you have a family? I mean parents and siblings," he asks.
"Yes I do. Well," I pause. "I think I still do. I don't know. I haven't seen them since your kind came," I say, stating the last sentence a bit quieter. I look down, thinking of what to say next.
"I have a mother, father and a sister. My sister's name is Harper," I say with a light smile. He looks at me for a moment, most likely seeing the visible pain in my eyes.
"I'm sorry, I do not know of the state they're currently in," he says softly. "May I ask another question, possibly more?" he asks. Again, I nod and he continues.
"What do you do for activities here on Earth?" he says with pure curiosity in his eyes. I smile thinking of the fun I used to have with my friends and family.
"Well, if the weather is nice, in the summer we hike, swim, play outdoor games such as kickball or at night we play hide and seek or Slenderman," I say.
I begin to remember the days when Maddie and I used to hike out into the woods, placing papers onto trees while preparing for the game of Slenderman that would follow at nightfall. Once the night had consumed the area, my friends and I would send each other out to find the papers, while we gave them a head start before chasing into the woods. We would run, once in a while Maddie would trip and cause a laughing fit from the two of us. We would chase our friends down, tagging them if we could manage to stop laughing. Sometimes we would take a breather and look up at the stars which shined brightly through the treetops.
A voice brings me out of the wonderfully fun memories.
"What would you do in the other seasons as I believe you call them?" Xen spoke.
"We still hike in the spring and fall, it's just a bit more difficult in the spring because of the wetness, and in the fall it gets cold and some trails close. Winter is fun though, when we sled and go tubing. We make snow forts and have snowball fights. It's cold but it's so much fun. After we are too cold to be outside any longer, we go into one of our houses and make cocoa and coffee and have sweet baked goods. My friend Kaylee used to bake the most amazing cupcakes and cookies for us," I explain and find myself smiling at memories once more.
Xen opens his mouth to ask another question, but Zeek cuts him off.
"What are you guys talking about?" he asks excitedly. Xen and Zor both seem to roll their eyes before I answer.
"We were talking about what I used to do for fun here," I say smiling at Zeek. His eyes grow big and look like they're about to burst with excitement.
"Oh! I love to do fun things!" he says with a huge smile. His face looks so happy I couldn't help but smile and even laugh at him.
"Well Zeek, what do you do for fun?" I ask, still smiling at his happy puppy face.
"I love to go on adventures! On our planet there are lots of caves filled with so many things. Some have waterfalls and some have crystals and there are so many caves all over the place!" he says barely catching a breath. I laugh at him and I notice Xen smiling at my amusement.
"Oh! Morgan! Maybe you could come with us to our home!" he says. I look at Xen who looks shocked and as I look to Zor he has an equally surprised look on his face. I notice Xen's face change to one that looks very pensive.
"I would love to see your home someday, Zeek, but I don't really think that's a good idea seeing that your kind seems to not like humans. I mean, they are killing them as we speak," I say with a sad expression.
His face changes to disappointment, but Xen still looks to be lost in deep thought.
"No," Xen says out of the blue, startling me. "It isn't a good idea," he continues as Zeek's expression goes from disappointed to crushed.
"It's a great idea."