Young Writers Society

Just so you know, I've already written plenty of chapters, and please don't mind if they get ultra long. I'm not a fan of this chapter, since my favorite part is only in the next chapter, but hopefully this explains some main concepts of the story. Existing places mentioned may not be described the same way as the real things - it's been over 200 years, they can change. Some names are also still under consideration. Once again, reviews appreciated, please be kind on me! :)

CHAPTER TWO

Cory Cattson could never forget the hug he received from the total stranger. He had often dreamed about it, and could almost feel the same warmth even as he lay in bed on particularly cold nights. Sometimes, he imagined that it could even be his mother who had hugged him – not that he had anything against his aunt.

Of course, he would never forget the incident of that one night, when aliens invaded his house, almost killed him, and then one died in front of him, leaving only marks behind on Cory’s right arm. How could he have forgotten that, when fear had managed to burn such memory into his mind? And he also remembered people, whom he found out to be his uncle’s superiors at his last workplace, and how his uncle resigned...

He would also never forget how it felt to have wind whipping against his face and through his dark hair, the breathless feeling in his lungs, and the exhilaration from quick beating of his heart against his chest, as he glided through the air in a speed of sixty miles per hour on his surfboard. The ends of his long-sleeved jacket, though too hot to be worn under the desert sun, flapped behind him. His gloved hand gripped the sail as he made a vertical 360-degree spin in the air, whooping in delight.

Nothing better than a surf to clear his mind of all worries.

After a short moment, he adjusted his goggles, squinting down the desert as a familiar speck came into view. “Oh!” A mischievous grin appeared on the sixteen-year-old’s face. He began slowing, and then twisted the bar by ninety degrees before letting go. The sail folded inward into the pole, which then contracted in length, and snapped into place against one side of the board. A quick kick with his free foot against the tail, and a motor was activated, triggering a propeller. Instantly, the board gained speed, and Cory was traveling close to two times the speed of before towards the lone house he had lived in for almost all his life.

“Uncle J!” he called over the wind as soon as he was a hundred yards away, waving his hands wildly.

A blonde head popped out from under the car hood. Uncle J smeared dirt across his face as he wiped some perspiration off with a black hand, but barely noticed it. He merely looked over his shoulder calmly, squinting slightly only when a gust of wind hit his face as Cory’s board came to a very sharp halt inches from his spine. “Welcome home, Cory,” he greeted, waving a wrench and returning to his work on the car engine. “How was school?”

“Awesome! They had a giant cake to celebrate the end of a school year, so everyone was too busy to notice and bully me! And then we had a food fight, but don’t worry, we were all wearing aprons from art class, and Pete was the only one who attacked me, so I’m very clean!” Cory turned and went in circles around the car.

“That’s great, though I wish to say the same for your grades,” Uncle J tossed a rusty nut that bounced off Cory’s board as he passed, almost causing him to lose his balance.

“You know I’m not that great with History and Literature,” Cory retorted, as his speed and height decreased to a complete stop. He pulled the board out of his foot and tucked it under his arm. “Anyway, they have nothing to do with where I’m going next term.”

“I’m not so sure about that.” Uncle J poked his head out once more to gaze at the blue sky, looking thoughtful. “I remember having to memorize a 300-page book on the history of the Sun...”

Horror was written on Cory’s face. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“How did you know?” Uncle J threw a grin at the sulking boy, shutting the hood. “We were supposed to, but if you were any brainy person, you would know to cheat during such circumstances.”

“That is nothing to be proud of, James.” The scolding tone belonged to Aunt Myra, who stood at the door in an apron with a spatula in one hand. Her wavy dark hair was pulled up to a high ponytail to keep it above her shoulders. She was not pleased. “If I were you in that school, I would probably have done so much better – ”

“Like to go with me to Trades Town, Cory? Gotta pick up groceries for the mean old lady there,” Uncle J interrupted brightly, already disappearing into the driver’s seat.

“Who are you calling old – ”

“Sorry, Aunt Myra, we’ll be back before dinner!” Cory called as he tossed his board in the back seat and climbed into the front passenger’s. As soon as he closed the door, Uncle J had already started up the engine, swerved the car around and drove down the dusty road in full speed.

“Uncle, Aunt Myra really isn’t as old as – ”

“Now, now, Cory, what did I say about discussing ages after thirty?”

“Then about driving – ”

“Not until you’re seventeen, you know the rules.”

As they continued arguing on various subjects for the next hour, the atmosphere grew damper, and more greenery appeared around them. Grass first came into sight, and then bushes, and finally some trees, before buildings were in view as well – they had arrived at Sterling City.

But that was not their destination.

Uncle J drove through the city, often changing directions to avoid the evening traffic jam, until they finally arrived at the general hospital. They rounded into the parking lot next to it, which was still packed with cars, except for a lone spot at the most corner deep within, with a ‘RESERVED’ sign placed right in front of it. One would notice that there was never a car that parked in that spot, and perhaps not know that it was not reserved for a car, but for a special teleportation device – a wormhole.

Back to what was mentioned earlier – there was no teleportation to the other side of the world within seconds. Well, apparently not to regular people. In fact, it probably wasn’t a wormhole as explained in high school Physics lesson. Try alien technology.

“How does it feel to go through a wormhole without a car?”

“Trust me, you wouldn’t want to know.”

And that was the last question answered before Uncle J aimed the car and floored the pedal. They sped towards the signboard, and though knowing that they would never crash into it but rather be disappearing into thin air, Cory could not help shutting his eyes for a moment as darkness enveloped them for a second. He only dared himself to open them again when light filled his eyes once more.

They were no longer in the parking lot of Sterling City’s general hospital, nor were they lying on the other side of it. The dusky feeling had disappeared, as if the Earth had spun backwards by an hour or two.

Their car was now speeding down an entirely different street, surrounded by buildings that were probably no different to Sterling City. The difference was the living beings that roamed the streets – creatures, from outer space, some that were like fishes with legs swimming along gracefully, and others were like humans except with green skin. Even their modern bright blue car seemed to stand out on the road, for there existed ancient cars from the 1800s, chariots pulled by strange species of horses, and even boats that ran on wheels.

This was not all unusual to Cory. He had been coming to Trades Town, which was located on a remote, undiscovered island off the state of Maryland, since he began living with his relatives, most often to purchase special items, like Aunt Myra’s cooking ingredients. All the same, he was fascinated to find new creatures every now and then – the number was endless.

After parking in an eighty-storey parking complex, they proceeded to Trades Street, which was in the town center. This was where all merchants, local and foreign, set up their valuable shops, whether in quaint stores with flashy signs that filled up three floors on either side, or on a carriage in the middle of the street. As Cory grasped Uncle J’s shirt so as not to lose him in the crowd, his eyes did not leave the window of a pet store, where a beautiful red bird perched on its stand, pecking under its wing.

“You sure you won’t get me a – ”

“The eagles would be angry to have a phoenix in the territory, no.”

They finally came to a grocery store, which took up a whole block of building in the middle of the street. Uncle J took out his PDA, in which he searched for their shopping list. “This will take a while. Why don’t you go over to the post office and see if we’ve got any mail? I reckon your acceptance letter should be arriving around this time – they always do as soon as the school year is over. I’ll tap you when I’m done.”

So they separated, Cory wandering further down the street. He passed a boutique, which clothes did not seem to match a human’s; a bookshop, which had storybooks that displayed movies in hologram; a toy store, which included an indoor theme park... Then he arrived at the post office.

It was a long building, comprising of separate individual booths where one would stand and either read E-mails from screens or collect packages. It was less crowded by then, so Cory could find an empty booth to use. He put their residence ID card into the slot below the screen, and a list of mails appeared.

“Bill...bill...robot rental, Aunt Myra won’t like this...bill...Uncle’s client... Creatures and Universe – ”

He paused, eyes growing wider every time he reread the title. A shaky finger jabbed at the mail while his other hand reached in his pocket for his communicator. It took another minute for him to get the right contact and press the call button. He practically screamed once his uncle answered: “I got it, I got it, I got it...!”

Creatures and Universe Protection Agency, or better known as CUPA, was a universal organization created to protect creatures residing on a foreign planet, much like the embassy of a country. Every planet that agreed to take part in the protection program had a branch of their own, and its position in the regular society was higher than that of the president of the world. Anyone who knew about the existence of aliens on Earth dreamed of working at such place, including Cory, who knew that his deceased parents as well as his Uncle J used to work there.

However, it was required that potential agents were to prove their qualification by undergoing courses under the organization – simply like college, but completed during high school years. It was to prepare them to meet various creatures and also for missions in outer space, an extremely tedious task but something that Cory looked forward to very much. He would like to know why shaking hands with an ape-like creature was the rudest thing to do (for he received a slap in the face after an attempt).

Uncle J was so overjoyed with the news that he arrived with only half of the groceries, insisting that Aunt Myra could do without the rest, and took his nephew to a newly-opened café called Double Syrup next to the shuttle station.

“It’s a famous café that started in Europe,” said Uncle J, still in an overly-happy mood as they sat at the counter and ordered juices with croissants to go with. “It’s supposed to have the best desserts in the galaxy. Perhaps we’ll buy a cake later to celebrate... Ah, Captain Winter, is that you?”

Uncle J had spied someone walking by behind them, turning around to greet him. Cory turned too, to meet a smiling man in his forties. Captain Winter peered above his glasses at Uncle J. “Well, if it isn’t James Johnson! It has been almost ten years, hasn’t it? You’ve certainly grown older,” he spoke in an Irish accent.

“Not as many wrinkles as you have though, Captain,” Uncle J teased.

Captain Winter laughed heartily. “Of course, of course! By the way, I’m not a Captain anymore – well, in fact, I’m not working at CUPA anymore. My wife needs some help with the business, since it’s starting to grow rapidly.” He gestured around him proudly.

“That’s a pity then. My nephew here could use someone he knows in CUPA.” Uncle J nodded towards Cory, and it was the first time Captain Winter took notice of him.

“Hello there! So you are James’s nephew!” He took Cory’s hand and shook it. “Henry Winter, ex-captain at CUPA. I’ve heard a great deal about you, and I’m very glad that James has been looking after you very well. You are a very handsome young man, just like your uncle!”

“T-thanks,” Cory sputtered, while Uncle J grinned in pleasure.

“Don’t you worry about not being able to fit in. A few of my sons are already interns there, just graduated.” Captain Winter looked proud as he straightened his tie. “I have another son who’s about your age too, he’ll be a recruit like you. His name is Niles, and I reckon you’ll meet him, since they don’t recruit too many at a time.”

“Just one, Captain? How about his twin?” asked Uncle J.

“No, no, he’s an odd one out. Have I not told you about him? We were quite surprised too, but the doctor said that it wasn’t a vanishing twin case or the sort. That’s okay though – the triplets are already a handful anyway.”

Cory became intrigued at the mention of triplets. He had never met any before, considering the small number of them existing in the whole world. He now looked forward to his next school year more than ever.

“Captain Winter was an amazing superior of mine, no doubt his son will be excellent too,” Uncle J noted as he and Cory, who had a box of cake in one hand, made their way back where they had come from. “Oh, hold on for a bit, that’s a client of mine there...”

As Uncle J left to speak to an old lady who was standing near a lamppost, Cory distracted himself through the window of a bookshop. Each book had two copies displayed, one standing to show the title, and the other lying open to reveal holograms of their content in movie form. Cory’s eyes simply travelled from one to another, being no fan of books, until one caught his attention.

It was the hologram of a particular alien in full body, rotating slowly. It was tall, dressed in black, with a big head that had veins protruding from it. Cory thought it was familiar – no, he knew it was familiar. So familiar that he could feel his heart skipping into his throat as blood-thirsty eyes met his.

Then his right arm began aching. He grasped it with his other hand, eyes transfixed on the image though his brain screamed at him to look away. His feet began shuffling backward and away from the window, until he tripped over a stone.

“Oof!” He had fallen into someone, who caught him firmly by the elbows. He glanced around him to see who it was, and found himself staring up at the grim face of a man. His eyes widened a little – he knew him too.

“Are you going to get up or not?” the man suddenly spoke, sounding annoyed.

“Oh – er – sorry,” Cory apologized hastily as he pushed himself off and stood up on both feet, rubbing his arm. It no longer ached. He peered shyly at the man, who was looking around Cory to the bookshop.

“Hmph, 1001 Creatures of the Universe. There really is more than that if you ask me,” he mumbled incoherently under his breath. Then his black eyes shifted to Cory, looking him over. “What is it? Your scars hurting?”

Surprised, Cory quickly let go of his arm, a little scarlet in the face. “N-no, just...um...” But the other did not seem to be listening anymore, and instead had his attention on Uncle J, who came rushing over.

“Sorry about that – oh, Orn!” Uncle J was genuinely surprised. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s Counselor Orn now,” said Orn bluntly. “I was picking up some things from the post office.” He shifted a package that seemed to hold documents so that it fit comfortably under an arm. He gestured in Cory’s direction. “Watch over him, will you, Johnson? You never know what will happen if you leave him running around on his own, even at a place like this.”

Uncle J looked flustered as Orn walked past them, but stopped briefly to glance at Cory. “And congratulations, Cattson. I will look forward to your arrival.” Then he limped off, blending very quickly into the crowd.

“Doesn’t sound like he meant it,” remarked Cory, who instantly did not like the man.

“He’s always been like that, don’t mind him. We figured that he’s been grumpy because of his leg, whatever that had happened to it,” Uncle J said nonchalantly, putting a hand on Cory’s shoulder and turning him to the direction of the parking lot. “Anyway, you feeling all right? What else did Orn say to you?”

“Um, nothing. Just accidentally bumped into him,” Cory replied. He did not want to worry his uncle about his scars, but he did glance back one last time at the book in the window, which now had a different creature hovering over it, remembering the ordeal he just had. He had never gotten to know about that creature, he realized.

Since the attack nine years ago, he had been going out in long-sleeved shirts or jackets, just to hide three long scars left by the alien on his arm. It was bluish black till this day, almost like a bruise that never faded. Back during grade school, he was often bullied because of them, thus adding on to his childhood trauma.

Since then, not another soul knew about his scars, not even his Physical Education teacher, to whom he had to make a false medical report about skin rashes to let him stay in sleeves. However, that did not stop everyone else from calling him a wimp. Better than with the scars though, he thought.

“Uncle J,” Cory spoke up after a long silence as they were driving through the desert in the direction of their home, the radio playing some old country tunes, “you never told me anything about those aliens that attacked our house years ago.”

Uncle J took a sharp glimpse at Cory before training his gaze back on the road before him. “You never asked. We thought you were too traumatized to know anyway.”

“Oh.” Cory indeed had never asked before. He stared down at his hands, which fingers he kept wringing and unwringing. “Well, I like to know about them now.”

Uncle J took a while to answer, perhaps debating on whether to do so. After about ten minutes of awkward silence, he heaved a sigh. “Cory, it was a creature that no one likes speaking of, and not what I like to speak of either. If I have to mention anything that I don’t like about them, it’s the fact that they eat other creatures, literally. If they can’t eat anything else, well, they don’t mind eating their own kind either.” He laughed coldly, not noticing the shock Cory wore on his young face.

“They’re named one of the most wicked creatures to ever live, not just because of the cannibalistic nature, but also by the fact that they want to rule over the universe one day. Prefer having food served on fancy plates rather than having to salvage for them on their own, I’d say. Because of that, many evil creatures follow their footsteps, so they’ll have an army on their side. However, like all living beings, they have fears in certain creatures, which are said to be strong enough to wipe them out, but I heard that such creatures are endangered now too.”

The color had by then already drained from Cory’s face. He wasn’t sure whether the brief explanation was healthy to him, but Uncle J really looked like he was rushing through the topic on purpose out of abhorrence, which made him less keen in asking for further elaboration. “Then who’s going to get rid of them, if those strong creatures aren’t around to do it?” he asked weakly after a while.

“CUPA, of course. But not even the entire force of CUPA can defeat their entire army. You get a lucky kill once in a while, but...” Uncle J trailed off at this point, and did not speak for the next fifteen minutes, at which Cory could not help asking for the last time.

“What are those creatures called?”

Again, a hesitation.

“You will know soon.”

And that was the end of their conversation.

Aunt Myra’s temper disappeared the moment she received the news about Cory’s letter. She fussed with him all night, scolded them for not telling her earlier so that she could cook a better meal, and ranted on during dinner about how she never had the chance to go because she had never known a thing about aliens until she met Uncle J.

“I told you many times that you can still study and take the exams if you like,” Uncle J pointed out as he passed her a bowl of mashed potatoes.

“Don’t be silly, James, at this age? Anyway, it’s a job too dangerous for me, which is why, Cory, you must take care of yourself while you’re there, and study real hard! If you have questions, don’t be shy to ask!”

“Aunt Myra, I have been in school for years, I know what to do,” Cory said, though he was not sure, since he had avoided almost everyone in class for the same period of time.

Just then, Cory’s communicator played a tune. He jumped up from his seat, wiping crumbs off his mouth. “Must be Pete! I’ll be right back!” he declared before rushing to the living room to answer the call in private. As he switched it on, his best friend appeared on the screen – a plump, cheerful, freckled black-haired boy around his age.

“Hey, Cory! How’s it going?”

“Hi, Pete! It’s been great! How about you?”

“I’m awesome! Just thought I’ll ask whether you’ll be joining me in high school next term – you said you had to check with this boarding school you’re applying, didn’t you?”

“Oh, right.” Cory had never told Pete about CUPA, which was supposed to be a secret to all who had no knowledge of the existence of extraterrestrials. He assumed that Pete had no idea about it, especially when he was excited to be going to high school soon.

“Well, I just got their acceptance letter today! That means I won’t be going to high school, I’m sorry.” Cory shrugged to show his disappointment.

“Aw, that’s alright. Boarding school can be fun too! But you sure you’ll be fine? Because of your scars, see.” Pete was also the only one who knew about Cory’s scars. Accidents happened once in a while – such as the time during soccer when he ripped his sleeve. Pete had been the only one who stood up for Cory, so Cory was loyal to him since then.

Cory shrugged in response. “I’ll be fine. Worst is only that they won’t be friends with me, which is okay too. I can better concentrate on school work that way. For my future!”

“I’ll drink to that! But still, try to make friends! I don’t want you to go emo while you’re there. Anyway, I’m going off to dinner. Mail me often, alright? I want to know what you do there!”

“No problem. I’ll see you later.”

After hanging up, Cory heaved a sigh. He would miss Pete, a friend who understood him and always stuck by him. However, he was determined to become more outgoing once he got to CUPA. He could not avoid people for his whole life.

He could hear his uncle and aunt conversing quietly as he headed back to the dining room. He was only seconds away from stepping in when he heard Aunt Myra saying, “I still don’t think we should be hiding this from Cory.”

Cory froze in his spot. Hiding what?

“This is Chief Mayer’s order, we don’t have a choice,” said Uncle J, sounding grim.

“But it’s almost time already!” Aunt Myra was exasperated. “What are they going to do, bring him in one day and kill him without a word? That’s unfair to him!”

Cory had to do everything to stop himself from yelling. What was his aunt talking about?

“Chief said that they will explain everything to him – ”

“But that is still wrong!” Aunt Myra must have realized that she had raised her voice, and immediately dropped to a whisper again, after which Cory had to strain his ears for more. “That boy has been carrying those deadly scars for the past nine years not knowing what they really are – ”

“If he knew it before, he’ll be even more traumatized and perhaps commit suicide, Chief warned us about that.”

There was a short pause as Aunt Myra controlled her breathing. “Yes, I know, it’s just...he’s so excited about going to CUPA, James...”

“I know...it still took me a bit to pretend. But for whatever reasons Chief wanted to keep him alive to go to CUPA, I’m very sure it’s for his good. I think. So don’t worry, okay?”

By then, the color had completely drained from Cory’s face. He had subconsciously touched his right arm, where he knew his scars were still visible on, as questions swam unanswered in his head. He was going to CUPA because the authorities wanted to kill him? Why? Just because he had the scars? What did the scars mean?

After a moment, seeing that their conversation was over, Cory slowly reentered the dining room. Both Uncle J and Aunt Myra looked up at him. “Hey, what’s with the look? Something happened?” Uncle J asked. He was acting as if they had never had a serious discussion behind Cory’s back.

“Er, yeah. Pete was sick with today’s cake and puked all over the communicator,” Cory laughed half-heartedly, slumping in his chair. “But he’s happy for me.”

“Oh, that’s horrible,” said Aunt Myra sympathetically. “Hope he’ll take care of himself. You’ll miss him lots, won’t you?”

“Yeah.” Cory paused momentarily, before echoing in a smaller, sadder voice, “Yeah...”