Young Writers Society

*This is part one of a series I’m making. Gacha Club character designs are on my wall. Enjoy!*

Alice and Bryon had their arms linked, walking together in Main Street of Merricksville. Alice’s friends, Rebecca and Muerte, followed by her little sister, Melissa, carrying three shopping bags in her left hand.

“Can we go to Jessica’s? I saw some really pretty clothes in there!”

“Melissa, I already bought you clothes to last you for five years! You don’t need anything new.” Alice said.

It was supposed to be a day out with her friends and boyfriend, but their parents just had to go out. They had to leave Alice to babysit Melissa.

All the money that was supposed to be spent going out was spent on Melissa, who wanted a closet full of bright clothes. It was the one thing that kept her entertained, besides watching videos on Alice’s phone, and even that didn’t entrance her for long.

Bryon let go of Alice’s arm and reached his hands out towards the sky, as if absorbing the sun. He did that sometimes. Alice asked him why once and Bryon just said that he needed to do it, that if he didn’t do it, he wouldn’t feel right.

So, she didn’t say anything more about it. Did people stare? Yes. Did her friends give Bryon weird looks? Yes.

But people did odd things, so why not just accept it instead of asking a plethora of questions?

“Why is he doing that?” Melissa asked, a note of annoyance in her voice.

Perhaps Melissa didn’t mean to sound annoyed, but nevertheless, it angered Alice within. Why would Melissa even ask in the first place? It was none of her business.

“I like doing it. That’s all.” Bryon said, releasing his hands.

“Are you an alien? Aliens-“

“Melissa!”

“What? I’m just asking.”

That was another thing. Melissa read too many sci-fi horror novels. Anytime someone did something out of the ordinary, she assumed that the person was an extraterrestrial.

Instead of seeming slightly upset, like most people were, Bryon turned around, facing Melissa, and smiled.

“You don’t have to worry. I’m not an alien.”

……………………………………………………

It had been a while since Melissa asked that question. Night was starting to fall and the group was heading back home, eager for some rest. They were no longer in Main Street, but in the convenience store-lined Iris Street, headed to Alice and Melissa’s house.

Bryon stopped in front of a dark alley, letting go of Alice’s arm.

“I…I just need to do something.” Bryon said, voice distant.

“Do something? What could you possibly need to do?” Rebecca asked. Muerte was in silence, but she too was beginning to really think about Bryon’s antics, about how he just stopped to touch the sun.

Bryon ran into the dark alley, as if in pursuit of the ice cream truck.

“He’s an alien.” Melissa whispered to Alice.

“He’s not and I’m going to prove it right now.” Alice said, walking into the alley.

Why did her friends have to judge her? Why did Melissa have to make that stupid comment?

What was their deal?

……………………………………………………

“Bryon? Bryon, where are you?” Alice asked. She hated how her footsteps echoed, as if she were in a typical horror movie. Sure, Bryon had his quirks, but that didn’t mean he was an alien, right?

Alice found Bryon hunched on the ground, except his hair wasn’t blond, it was bright, unnatural yellow.

As Alice got closer, she thought that she heard wild, animalistic chewing. But she couldn’t have, could she?

“Bryon?”

Bryon sharply turned around, yellow hair swishing with electric movement.

Alice rubbed her eyes, making sure that she wasn’t seeing things.

No, it was all real.

Bryon’s skin was lizard green. Black markings danced through his body. His eyes were snake eyes, orange in color.

His mouth was wide open, jagged teeth dripping with blood and raccoon fur. His clawed hands held the limp, defeated body of a raccoon.

“Alice…” Bryon trailed off. His voice was hazy, not quite present.

Alice tried backing away, but she couldn’t move. She was trapped in a state of stillness, staring at Bryon and his bloody mouth.

“Alice, you weren’t supposed to see that.”

Bryon got up from the ground, still holding the raccoon. His legs were slightly spread apart, his back was hunched. Did he always stand like that? Alice couldn’t recall. In all of those moments of his eccentricities, he never once thought to tell her the truth?

“I can’t have you come back home…not after…not after what you saw.”

She noticed that he was speaking slowly, carefully. Trying to sound human.

“So I’m taking you with me.”

A clap of the universal sky surrounded Alice, filled with stars, supernovas, and planets. The very Earth was gone, leaving only the beyond.