Wesley could just barely make out the slim shape of a motorcycle, and its rider, who wore a bandana. The vehicle had the soil’s red dust trailing behind it, but it was nowhere near the size of the disturbance the building’s collapse has just caused. He thought the person was coming because of the commotion and he feared what would happen if he tried to escape. The best decision that he could think of was to just stay in the pod and hope they wouldn’t come any closer. He dropped down from the doorway of the pod and crawled over to the very right of it, which was its bottom. He sat as still as he could manage, but his body betrayed him, he was still shivering uncontrollably. The tears and sniffles couldn’t stop either, despite his best attempts to stifle them.

The sound of motorcycle’s engine was growing nearer, it would arrive in mere seconds at this point. Wesley began to shiver and shake even more violently. His sister disappeared with the rest of the building, and he had no idea why she had screamed moments before the collapse. He was worried he was all alone now.

The entire area fell with silence as the roaring engine was cut silent in a moment’s notice. Wesley realized he hadn’t even been paying attention to how close it was. It was dead quiet, until the sound of rubber scraping against rubble was heard. “They’re getting off,” Wesley thought.

“Damn. What could have caused this?” Said a soft-spoken voice.

Wesley nearly jumped up. It was clearly a man’s voice, though not an adult. The sound of footsteps came closer and closer and stopped just outside of the pod. Wesley could make out the sound of someone rummaging around in the debris outside. Rocks were pushed across the floor, along with the clanging of metal. The man must have been some kind of scavenger on this desolate planet, looking for scraps to keep himself going.

“Whoa! There’s a facility down here? I’ve got to see what it’s got before Jag and his crew gets here.” The stranger said.

The footsteps got quieter as they went closer to the hole in the ground. Wesley thought this was as good a time as any to get a look at the person. He slowly crawled his way back over to the door, keeping low to the ground. He was directly underneath the doorway and he slowly peeped his head over the threshold. Wesley scanned the man from bottom to top. He was wearing black running shoes, which looked very worn down, some dark grey jeans covered in the red dust, and a black basic t-shirt, with some tears scattered across the fabric. His hair was black and shaggy, only flowing from the top of his head. The rest was shaved down in an attempt at a fade. A red bandana was wrapped around his face but looked like it could only cover his mouth.

The stranger turned his head to look behind him and Wesley could barely make out some goggles on his face before ducking straight back down. The man outside knew he saw the top of something, dark brown in color, dash down as soon as he turned. He reached down with his right hand and quickly drew a gun out from his leather holster. It looked very similar to that of a revolver, although the barrel was rectangular. With caution, he put the gun in front of him to lead and he made his way to the pod.

Wesley was inside the pod and his brain began scrambling for something to do. He was sure he saw something that looked like his dad’s laser pistol and he knew what it was capable of. Though he was only a child, he understood his life was in danger. The only thing he could really do was crawl back away to his previous hiding spot and try to make himself look smaller. He slid back over to position, but in the process, he created even more noise, alerting the man outside that there was definitely someone or something inside. The man began to move faster, as his suspicion grew. Wesley moved quicker as well and made it to the very corner of the pod. He pulled the sweater over his head and pulled his arms inside. The only thing visible now were his legs, which were shaking violently.

The stranger finally made it to the pod, and pointing his gun inside first, leaned forward in a flash. He scanned the inside and noted a backpack. He turned his head to the left and saw something moving. The barrel of the gun was pointed at the vibrating shape and his finger was a hair’s breadth away from pulling the trigger. But something peculiar caught his attention and he eased his finger from taking the shot. A small pair of legs were jutting out from the shape, leading him to believe it was a person.

“What the… Hey, can you hear me?” The stranger asked.

He could make out the faint shape of a head nodding inside the shaking lump.

“Go ahead and pop your head out, now.” He commanded.

Fear struck Wesley’s heart even more as he heard the stranger speak directly to him, demanding his cooperation. Wesley thought it might be best to just listen, and he slowly pulled the sweater back down over his shoulders. The stranger watched as he saw a child’s face appear, shedding the sweater like a snake. His hair was the same dark brown he had just seen moments ago, and it reached down to his ears. He looked the kid straight in his brown eyes, through his goggles.

After the full realization that it was just a poor kid, looking no older than eight years old, he immediately pointed the gun away from him and pulled it back towards himself. He deposited it right back into the holster. He leaned in further and began to speak.

“Whoa, what are you doing here kid? I’m sorry for scaring you, I didn’t know whether you were a human or a Yarron. Who are you?” He said.

“My n-name is W-W-Wesley.” Wesley barely managed to choke out between sobs.

“I didn’t mean to scare you Wesley, I’m sorry for pointing my gun at you. Here, let me take this off so you can get a better look at me.” He replied.

Though he knew he was letting his guard down all too easily, but Wesley just looked like a scared little kid. The stranger reached up for his bandana and grabbed ahold of it. He slid it down to his neck just as he began to reach for his goggles. He pulled them from his head completely and hooked them to his belt. Wesley was still frightened but could sense a feeling of comfort in the stranger’s honey-brown eyes. His face wore a non-threatening smile as he looked at Wesley.

“My name is Nathan. Nice to meet you Wesley.” Said Nathan, reaching out to Wesley for a handshake.

Nathan’s calm and polite nature put Wesley’s feelings of fear at ease, and he slowly brought his small hand out to Nathan’s. When they met for the handshake, Wesley felt uncomfortable for a moment, Nathan’s skin was very rough. He couldn’t blame him though, the environment seemed so dry and coarse. Nathan brought his hand back over to himself and rested it on the threshold to support himself while he leaned in.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but maybe you’d like to come outside and talk? It feels pretty cramped in here.” He said softly.

Wesley nodded, and Nathan backed away from the doorway. Wesley pushed himself up on his feet and walked over to the doorway. He threw one leg over the threshold and lifted himself over the divide. After his foot touched the red ground, he brought the other leg out and over. Wesley was now standing in the sun, in front of this stranger he had just met.

“What happened kid? Where’d you come from? And why’re you alone?” Nathan asked.

“I was with my dad and sister on a space ship, and something blew up, and we had to leave. Only my sister and I got away, everyone else is… is…” Wesley’s eyes started to well up with tears before he could finish.

Nathan felt bad for him and he knelt beside him.

“Whoa, whoa, don’t worry kid. You don’t have to talk about it, I’m sorry that happened. Let’s focus on your sister, what happened to her?” Nathan said, in an attempt to stop him from crying again.

It seemed to work, as Wesley changed focus from the tragedy and back to his sister, wiping his tears away.

“We were in the building, and she left me alone. Then I heard her scream, and everything fell down.” Wesley said.

“He’s not very articulate. I’m not really getting a good idea of what happened here.” Nathan thought.

“Alright, well she could have fallen down the hole. You stay put and I’ll go check it out, alright? Don’t cry buddy, I’ll find your sister for you.” Nathan assured the little boy.

Wesley simply nodded his head in understanding. Nathan turned around to face the hole and began to walk towards it before hearing a massive groan from underneath. His eyes turned into dinner plates and he froze in fear. The ground began to tremble, and Nathan spread his legs out and tried to distribute his weight to keep balance. More rubble and debris began to fall back into the hole as the tremors continued. Nathan’s eyes shot over to the hole’s entrance and something massive seemed to be rising from it.

A massive head creeped out from the hole, with flowing golden blonde hair. Nathan watched in horror as it kept coming. His brain was hardly capable to process the visual information he was receiving. What looked like a girl’s face appeared next, her eyes shut, and her mouth closed. The light reflected off her olive skin as she continued to rise. She was wearing a dark blue piece of cloth around her, pieces were torn and slashed around it. The being stopped rising once their chest was level with the ground. Her eyes opened, revealing forest green eyes. Those very eyes scanned the area, searching for information.

Frozen with fear, Nathan watched as those very eyes locked right onto him.