Petals For Brains | Number Five Book II

CHAPTER 3: Alien Magnet

Without so much as a plan in sight, Five decided to venture back to the alleyway he arrived in, in order to think. He was clueless and desperate for any clues and a simple scan around the area got him just that, there it was on top of one of the buildings, staring him right at him. He examined the camera perched perfectly on the rooftop, the angle perfect enough for him to think that it's existence was completely intentional. Five wasted no time in entering the building. One quick flash and he was met with the gloomy and sad interior. Surprisingly unlike the outside of the building, the inside seemed to be perfectly clean. Although, the light did make the atmosphere more obscure than it needed to be.

Five, with his long lanky legs, stepped up, two at a time until he reached the second landing. The boy was now in front of two doors, adjacent to one another, and as he stood there pondering his next move, Five fixed his jacket before raising a hand to knock at one of the doors.

To his utter surprise, the door he decided to leave out opened, revealing a disheveled-looking man. His hair looked messy and greasy as if he had a bad habit of running his fingers through it, eyes widened giving off a creepy and unsettling vibe. "What do you want?" The man questioned, glancing down the stairs frequently as he did so. Five knowing exactly what to do stepped closer.

"Hi, I'm selling encyclopedias for my youth group." With his statement and a final look down the stairs, the unnamed man slammed the door in the boy's face, much to Five's chagrin. A new plan brewed in his mind, the flurry of blue following not far behind, bringing him inside the room, his appearance understandably prodding the man to let out a scream in fright.

Five, now amused by his reaction smirked while a fork was pointed at him in a threatening manner. The older man was shaking like a leaf, holding his armed arm up as he felt his body turn to jelly, but he could never deny the curiosity beginning to consume him. "How'd you do that?" He asked, posture stiffening even more, still carefully eyeing the boy in case he made any questionable moves. His fork was now lifted up higher in hope of being more threatening.

The boy deciding to play along, held his hands up. "I don't really have time to explain." A shrug, before he scanned the room walking around with modest steps. The kitchen was definitely quaint, the entire place drowning in a glorious summery glow.

"You from the pentagon?" was his next question, truly not planning on backing down.

"Definitely not." The boy scoffed, eyes still wandering. 

"CIA? FBI? KGB?" Certainly getting annoyed at the situation, Five didn't even bother paying attention to the rambling. His eyes continues scanning the room once again, only for him to lock onto the pot of coffee on the table. One blink of blue later and he was pouring himself a cup of coffee. The aroma, deep, rich and alluring calmed Five's nerves and the smooth bitter taste was a pleasant surprise, especially after the shit show he was just in.

Meanwhile, the other man in the room was still pretty much shaking in his stead, knees threatening to collapse underneath him. He watched as the boy sipped more of the coffee, loosening up when he made no move to hurt him.

"Is this Columbian?"

He nodded, finding himself looking for the words to answer him. "It's my own blend." He squeezes out, wary eyes watched as the boy walked into what seemed to be the living room.

There was much more to see there. The same orange tint filled the room, and colored the plethora of newspaper clippings taped on the wall messily. The headlines were certainly 'out there' teetering on ridiculous. He looked around more to see the radios, receivers, stacks upon stacks of paper and boxes and the immense amount of random clutter, were enough to prove his theory. With eyes still looking through the room, he began a little skit, hoping to fool the man.