The Alien's Prey

Chapter Four - What Did You Do With My REAL Brother?

Chapter 4

6:07 am

<Kenai's POV>

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"Hey, I'm getting fairly hungry. Do we have any food left?" I nudge Damian in the arm, hoping he would satisfy my eyes with the glorious sight of tin cans stuffed with meat.

Damian and I had decided to take a breather after lolly-gagging for a majority of the night. Boys need their rest... And their food.

We had decided to sit by a long-forgotten, intoxicated stream and watch the sun rise from the east as we reminisced in the eerie silence of dawn.

"Nah, man. My bag is completely empty." Damian shuffles around a little in his duffle bag, but stops short, knowing there was no point in searching for something that obviously wasn't there.

"It's way past due to start looting again, brother. Where should we start?" Damian lays back, neatly folding his hands across his chest. Promptly, I lie beside him.

"I don't want to continue searching in the same drug store as we always do. I want new flavors, and maybe we could find somewhere less... Populated with rats..." I cringe at the thought of rats helping themselves to heaps of food that we had left unattended.

"Well, where do you suppose we loot, hm?" Damian turns to face me.

"We've only ever visited that shop by the old school. I've never seen any other area where the food hadn't been disintegrated by the Seekers. And what rat WOULDN'T take the chance of eating world-class, 2 star, raw ground beef straight from the can?" We chuckle in unison as I punch him playfully.

"I dunno! It was just a suggestion. Geez!" I sit back up and stare blankly at the sky that was now blooming in fresh, bluish-pink light.

"Now, now, I didn't say it was a bad idea, little brother. I was just asking where we would start to search? Maybe we could use some change..." Damian shuffles back into position in which he laid on his back, arms crossed on top of him.

"Hm... I've often thought about the other side of this stream. Remember when we came across some clean water bottles near that tree over there a couple months ago?" I point across the water to a tree which looked to be about 7 feet away from the deadly, oily, waste-filled stream we sat in front of.

"Ah, yes. I remember, but how peculiar that tree is. How is it still thriving when it lies so close to this terrible stream?" Damian sits upright to gaze at the other side quizzically.

"Huh... I never thought about that. Weird." We continue our silent stare at the tree for a few more seconds until I regain my train of thought.

"Ahem, uh... Well, I believe that side carries a lot of potential for more water, and possibly food. What do you say? Should we give it a try?" I search my brothers face for any sign of disapproval, but Damian seemed utterly convinced.

"Alright, Kenai. You can go check it out on your own. I'll gather from this side while you search the other. We will meet back here after an hour. Agreed?" Damian leapt to his feet and brushed off his pants.

I stared him down, with mouth wide open in shock. I was completely awestruck. This can't be the real Damian.

I jump to my feet as well and turn him around to look him straight in the eyes.

I place the back of my hand to his forehead.

"Dude... Are you feeling alright? Are you out of your mind?" I say, concerned with his condition.

"The Damian I know would never let me go out alone. Who are you, and what have you done with my REAL brother?!" I push him away, not believing what I was hearing.

"Woah, there! Calm down, you little nugget! It's definitely me; Damian Nakajima, in the flesh. It's true. I trust you enough to let you out on your own." Damian shruged off my shove with a chuckle.

"T-trust me?! HA! You've finally gone insane!" I laugh heartily, wiping fake tears from my eyes.

"I knew you'd go insane eventually! I, Damian, trust Kenai enough to let him explore the world on his own!" I mimic his tone mockingly, leading to hysterical giggles after.

Damian twirled me around and poked me in the rib so forcefully, he could have shattered it.

"Listen here, Kenai. I wasn't lying when I said that I trusted you. I believe you to be a ready, and responsible young adult... Well, maybe not THAT responsible. But you're almost there! Remember its only about 2 weeks before your 16th birthday!" Damian genuinely smiles from ear to ear.

"Does he really mean that?" I think hard to myself.

"Oh... Uh, yeah I remember." I shove my hands into my pockets and glance at my shuffling feet.

I've never really liked birthdays.

I've always thought of them as one giant step closer to death.

And now, Damian thinks that this birthday would be my final transition from childhood to manhood.

But I wasn't even sure if I believed I was responsible enough to fend for myself, even if just for an hour.

"Oh, come on brother. It won't be so bad. It was even your suggestion! Ok, how 'bout... 30 minutes, and we meet back here? It sounds like you're a bit too scared to take on an hour yet..." Damian cheekily rolls his eyes and starts heading in the opposite direction.

"I-I'm not scared!" My voice had squeaked.

Damian turned abruptly with a smirk on his face.

"So... You ready to go? I have complete faith in you." He smiles and walks back towards me.

"I guess... I guess I'm ready." I shudder.

"Alright! Let's get this show on the road, my man!" Damian hugs me tightly.

Of course, I hug him back.

I wasn't ready at all for what I was about to find.

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Hey there, readers!

DamselOfDesire here!

The writers of this story would like to apologize from the very bottom of our hearts for taking the absolute LONGEST TIME to create this chapter!

We just couldn't find the time, and we are truly sorry for possibly leaving you in SUSPENSE.

School has been mega-rough on us.

So sorry, once again, and we promise not to let that happen again.

We'll try to stay active. 💕👑

Thank you for reading! 😂💩

(And, if you are one of our past readers, I think it would be best for you to reread from our past chapters. We've gone back and have done a lot of editing, so it would be recommended to reread, but you don't have to aha) 💘

Maker of this chapter: @DamselOfDesire