Extraterrestrial

Chapter 2: no more friends

I woke up disoriented with my head bleeding and my clothes coated in a sticky weird green slime. Eww. Struggling to get up, I look around trying to decipher my surroundings. Where are my friends? I started looking around for them as I stumbled to my feet. What was once an apartment car park is now just a pile of debris.

Half of it had collapsed on us.

I think there was a fire or an explosion from a crash. What looked like the tail of a helicopter lies in the midst of the wreckage.

The smoke is making everything blur. I was coughing and shaking violently, my body suffering in agony. I might've broken something somewhere. As the smoke subsided around me, I saw what no one should ever have to see.

This will haunt me for the rest of my life. The spot where Aaron and I were standing last was completely broken down to rubble. A similar green substance covered the surface. The fragments all fallen down below. Tears fell from my eyes in grief and shock, the threat of a mental breakdown befalling me. I see his limbs, part of him under it. The place where Jeff, Rina, and Trish were spray painting was completely destroyed. I squeezed my eyes shut. My breath now coming out in wheezes as I started to sob, losing it. "NOooo! noo..." 

I stumbled forward, towards Aaron. Frantically, trying to dig him out. Then, there was the sound of wind whooshing, as if someone just switched on a big fan. Glancing up, I saw helicopters approaching overhead. I could see men in military clothes in them.  Then there were the sirens. Black cars driving at an alarming speed. Even with the windows tinted to the max, I could somehow sense the heavily armed men in black suits. I can't be here. We weren't supposed to be here. We're trespassing on private property.

My legs started moving towards the stairs before my brain could fully comprehend the situation. I was in fight or flight mode. I ran down four flights of stairs as fast as I could. However, those men in suits were already coming up. "HEY! You! Stop right there!"

Cursing in my head, I went back up to the door I saw earlier on the way down to exit the stairway. Regardless of my injuries, I had never in my entire 24 years of my life moved so fast and agile. Wow, I guess that's one of the wonders of adrenaline. Makes you work fast. And forget the pain. That was when I heard the guns cock. Before I knew it bullets were ricocheting everywhere, chasing me down.

The loud shots are making my head pound. The throbs coming back ten times worse. My lungs heaved as I felt myself giving out to the exertion. I was already struggling to keep myself up as it is. The rush I had had faded from my system. With nowhere to run, the only way to get out of here was down. And so I jumped. Down to the ground floor.

I landed badly. My right ankle twisted awkwardly to the side. Biting down on my tongue, I used the last of my fading strength to haul myself over the fence. My vision was getting blurry, making my movements hasty. There was a man passing by on the sidewalk.

Black spots started appearing and I knew that my consciousness was slowly slipping away from me. I have to reach him. He will be able to help me.

"Hh...elp" That was the last thing out of my mouth before I blacked out. The last thing I saw was a man in a denim jacket and grey hoodie. His light brown hair flopping down as he looked down at me with his brown eyes. A striking green in his eyes glowing. The memory echoes in my mind's eye, falling forwards into the dark abyss.

***

*beep* *beep*

It's so bright and I haven't even opened my eyes yet. The brightness is really hurting my eyes. I groaned. Stretching my body, I slowly opened my eyes. Wincing at the brightness from the fluorescent lights. Where am I? I wonder as I look around my surroundings in confusion.

I'm in a ward of five patients, currently, only two occupied beds. I'm in a hospital. That explains the awful brightness and the beeping sounds from the machines in the room. I'm connected to a heart rate monitor and an IV drip. That needle in my left hand causing slight soreness. On the side of the room in a chair sat a familiar unconscious stranger. Have I seen him before? He's asleep in a very uncomfortable position. I stare at his clothes, his jacket, and hoodie.

Oh, I remember him! He must've been the one who brought me here.

Apart from the grogginess, I don't feel any pain. It only feels like I've been sleeping for a long time. I feel really good considering the situation I was in... glancing around for something to tell time... about three hours? That's surprising. I feel so refreshed. It's like I was completely reborn into a whole new being. But all the good feelings vanished soon as my attention was drawn to the tv hanging from the ceiling straight across the room. The news channel on the screen currently featuring, quote, "the biggest incident of the century" from earlier this morning.

"...was a fatal error in the helicopter causing it to lose all function. The authorities have successfully identified five victims who, unfortunately, did not survive..." Pictures of four familiar people and a middle-aged guy displayed on the screen, an unlucky day for the trespassers. 

Instantly, I was pushed right back into the reality of the situation. My friends. They're dead. Jeff, Rina, Trish, and Aaron. Tears leaked out of the corner of my eyes. Silent sobs wracking my body as I curl up and shrank into the bed. My heart hurts.

They were the people that mattered most to me in the world. Who am I without them? What am I going to do? I wished I could just disappear.

From the left corner of the room, the still form of the sleeping stranger straightened up from his slumped position.