Food Source

Chapter 1: First Encounter

"Sir?"

Cameron slowed his pace to a halt and turned toward the voice calling for him. Being in the mall, it's fairly common to get stopped by random salesmen wanting to tell you about how amazing their mediocre phone cases are. Sometimes it's a 'brand new' face mask that isn't very special, but is still priced like it cures cancer. Cameron has never been one to be rude, so he has been frequently bombarded by such salespeople. He's just too nice to ignore them, even if he doesn't care in the slightest about what they're advertising. By now he's just accepted the act of being stopped, letting them infodump onto him, then politely saying no so he can continue shopping.

"Yes?" He responded.

"Oh!" The man almost seemed shocked that someone paid him any attention. "Uh, Good evening, sir. Can I just ask you a simple question? Would you like one million dollars?"

Well that was quite the question. Cameron was a bit taken back by the offer, but quickly regained composure upon remembering that there's always a catch to these things.

"Of course, but it depends on what I have to do to earn it," he inquired skeptically.

"Well, I'll tell you! My name is Phillip Ganderberg and I work at CRCAS, The Center for Research and Care of Alien Species. As you may have seen in recent news, our researchers have made an amazing discovery after the most recent meteorite crash."

"I did see that," Cameron replied. The news lately has been covered with reports of meteorite crashes across the globe. Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Russia, and dozens of other countries have had meteorites landing within their borders. Oddly enough, these basketball sized rocks have all held small, perfectly-preserved containers of seeds, likely sent to Earth by curious aliens. "I heard it was much bigger this time and there was some sort of humanoid animal inside."

"That would be correct. While we have been studying the plantlife grown from the fallen seeds, we recently have devoted a team to studying the animal and need volunteers to assist us. The idea of working with an alien animal can be very frightening for some, so we're looking for dedicated volunteers. Those who sign up will be rewarded with the aforementioned one million dollars at the end of the volunteer period."

Cameron wasn't usually one to care about random offers in a mall, but this seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Plus, he absolutely adored being around animals. He asked to pet nearly every dog he saw, he fed the stray cats around his apartment, he owned three parrots and two lizards; Being asked to work with an animal was all he needed to hear, alien or not.

"Where do I sign up?" Cameron excitedly asked.

"You already want to sign up before I've even explained the details of the volunteer work?" Ganderberg questioned.

"Well I don't have anything else to do. Honestly my life has been getting fairly repetitive. I think this is my opportunity to break that monotony, even if it's dangerous."

Hearing this put a smile on Ganderberg's face. "Well that's perfect! I can assure you this experience will most certainly be life-changing. You could be in the history books for what you do to help."

Ganderberg passed him a clipboard with a few papers titled "CRCAS Volunteer Form" and Cameron eagerly began filling out the details. While he filled out the form, Ganderberg gave him a rundown of what he'd be doing at the center. After a little while, he finished with the form and handed it back to the man.

"So when can I start?" Cameron asked.

"Well, you may begin at any moment, but you must remember that, as I explained while you filled out your volunteer form, once you enter the facility, we require you stay for the entire 3 week period. It is recommended you ensure all your things at home are taken care of for the next 3 weeks." Ganderberg explained.