Sky Corruption (Past Tense)

Chapter Five

Instinctively, North used the heel of his foot to kick the boy off China, who apparently remained on the floor, her eyes wide from shock and her lips made an "O" form as she also remained on the floor. North turned his rifle up at the wide-eyed boy, his eyes blazed with true fury and the instinct to kill.

The strange blonde-haired boy raised his trembling hand, trying to cover his face as if it would shield him. "W-wait!" He stammered only to gain a scary glare in response from North. The stranger scampered onto his feet, eyes wide.

China reeled her knees up to her chest and quickly sprung herself onto her feet, unbothered by the kind of interaction made. She used the palm of her hand to pat off the dust from her jacket collected from her fall. The boy quickly staggered away from the two young teens, backing himself into a corner.

North doesn't respond, instead, he tracked the stranger's very movements, locking his eyes on his target. Deep down, North knew how problematic it can be...to communicate with a possible threat. How deadly a "harmless" encounter could be.

Suddenly, China used her hand to push away the rifle away from North's target. "North...let me handle this." China softly spoke, a glimmer of hope entered the crevices of her eyes as North stared back in utter disbelief. The boy lowered himself down on the ground, seemingly paralyzed with fear.

China turned around, crouching down in front of the boy, so their eyes could make contact. "It's going to be okay," China reassured him. "We're not going to hurt you."

"The hell we aren't!" North snapped, his voice coated with annoyance. "China get away from it!"

"He's not one of them," China interjected, without turning to face North. The strange boy wrinkled his nose at her as she reached towards his face with her ever so gentle hands.

North raised a bushy eyebrow. "And what makes you so sure?" He asked with a hint of scorn in his tone. China gave the boy a gentle look, a warm grin that somehow told him to have faith in her. His face relaxed as her hand gently pushed away his long blonde bangs, revealing his hazel-green eyes.

"I believe in him," China responded, earning an annoyed scoff from North from behind. A look of disbelief waved over his face before it contorted back into an annoyed scowl. North's hands clenched themselves tighter around his rifle, whitening his knuckles in the process.

The stranger's eyes scanned the palm of her hand as she had offered it to him, doubtful of making any sort of contact with her.

"You can't just sit on the floor forever," China added jokingly as she left her open palm down toward him. The boy finally took her hand and they both rose to their feet.

The boy took another step closer to her, North quickly raised his rifle, his glare never left his face. "That's close enough." He warned, cutting his eyes toward China. The stranger froze in his tracks as he was wary of North's hostile reaction.

North gestured his head towards her backpack, "You should call Jay and Ty. Just because he isn't one of them doesn't mean that he still isn't a threat." He suggested, his eyes never leaving the confused boy.

China gave North a good-natured eye roll. "Don't mind North, he's a good one." China leaned closer, cupping her mouth with her hand and whispering. "He's a sore loser, he lost to me at thumb wars."

North snapped at the duo. "I heard that!" He made a pause, pinching the bridge of his nose. "And Christ! He's half-naked!" He jeered as he took notice of the boy only wearing boxer shorts and nothing else.

China ignored him, reaching towards her backpack and pulling out the two-way radio, stretching the antenna. "Jay, Ty, you guys should come, over." She whispered into the walky-talky.

"It's urgent!" North yelled, completely ignorant to how loud his voice had been.

China stuffed the device back into her bag, stepping in between North and the boy. She put her hands on her hips and shot North a smirk. "North, he's not going to hurt you, he's harmless. Like a little bug."

An odd choice of comparison. North thought to himself as he rolled his eyes, he slung his weapon along his shoulder and folded his arms across his chest and raised a bushy red eyebrow as his lips formed into a straight line. "The moment he gets out of line-"

"He won't." China interrupted, turning to the boy.

North let out an annoyed grunt before ascending back down the aisle, towards the door. China shot North another good-natured eye roll before turning to the boy who stared down at China with wide, frantic green eyes. "What makes you so confident that he's harmless?"

"I just know." China responded curtly.

"Easy now, nobody is going to hurt you while I'm around." China soothed with an energetic tone, outstretching her hand toward the stranger, introducing herself with a cute grin on her face. "Hi! I'm China, 'sup?"

The boy blinked, his pale pink lips still formed into a tight line. The more China stared, the more she noticed how traumatized the boy is, his fair skin had been decorated in dark bruises along his body. He was tall, slim but muscular at the same time, his wavy dirty blonde hair was tousled all around his head and thrown back into a low ponytail that had gone no further past the nape of his neck, shaved stubble...but the innocent look in his eyes gave away his youth. A small silver ring was pierced through his left nostril. If anyone could guess, he seemed like he was in his early twenties.

China raised her eyebrows, in response to his silence. "Hey, aren't you going to tell me your name? I don't bite."

The boy awkwardly scratched the back of his head, his eyes scanning back and forth within his peripheral. "I...I don't know." He stammered, his voice tuning in and out.

China retained her relaxed face as she tapped her chin with her index finger, tilting her head as confusion waved over her. "You...forgot your name?" She repeated, stepping a bit closer to get a better look at him.

The boy responded with a subtle nod and shuffled himself further away from her, uncomfortable with her sudden movement. "Everything is so blank...who even are you people?"

China bit the tip of her thumb, thinking of the best way of responding to that question. "We're the lucky ones who got to live to tell this tale." China chirped as if she expected the stranger to at least know what happened two years back.

The day the sky became like a door. China thought to herself.

"What happened? What tale?" The boy asked frantically, raising his dark eyebrows as he waited for an answer. China paused for a second, unsure what to say next and how to say it. The truth was unbelievable in itself: aliens were once a conspiracy theory, but now they're the reason behind the supposed apocalypse, anyone with a rational mind would say and think that this was just absolutely insane, ludicrous, unbelievable....that is if they hadn't witnessed the bloodshed and the destruction that had occurred because of these things the night they made themselves known.

China shifted her weight, "Do you remember anything? How you got here?" She asked, this time, being more direct.

The boy shook his head frantically, his face had been coated with panic and confusion. "I...I don't remember anything..." His panic-filled voice lowered, he clutched the side of his head as if it hurt him to even think.

"I don't even know who I am...."