ALERT! 🚨
MYSTERY ENTITIES APPROACHING EARTH!
The atmosphere at the Government Strategic Research Center was taut. Red warning lights were flashing, reflecting off the huge radar screens.
"Professor, what is this? Is the machine broken?" Raven yelled above the siren, her eyes fixed on the display.
"The machine shouldn't be malfunctioning this soon, Raven. This signal is legitimate"
Professor Charlotte replied, her voice strained. She nervously wrung her hands, overwhelmed by the government's demands and now, this unidentified, mysterious presence.
Sweat slicked Charlotte's forehead. The object was moving at an impossible velocity, heading straight toward the city.
A worker approached. "Calm down, Professor. The object's speed isn't as high as the entity that hit our satellite last month. I don't think this is dangerous."
"Huh? Why do you say that?"
"It doesn't show an aggressive pattern. It's just..."
"Just what? It might attack us-"
Suddenly, the radar screen, which was filled with the object's velocity readings, went blank. The mysterious signal had completely vanished.
"Eh? What happened?"
"Target lost on radar, Prof! It disappeared within the atmosphere!"
Charlotte slammed her fist onto the desk. "Damn it! This object might carry a danger we don't understand! Listen up, everyone! I want you all to find that signal again, find the impact location! No one is going home until you find any information."
"Yes, Ma'am!"
Everyone returned to their workstations, except for a young man named Ash, who approached Charlotte with a look of guilt.
"Prof-"
"Yes, what is it, Ash?" Charlotte looked at the hesitant young man.
"Could I just call my little brother first? Just to let him know I'll be late"
"Oh, is that all! Of course. Now go on"
Ash quickly dialed his brother's number, saved as "Shorty and Tiny Mikey."
Mike answered promptly.
"Why are you calling, big brother? To cancelled the dinner again ?"
"Mikeyyyy...."
"What?!"
"Eh, don't be mad..."
"When have I ever been mad?"
"Don't be mad, okay. My little brother, actually, I won't be able to have our Chicken Chop dinner together tonight. Urgent work came up..."
Silence.
"Ah... Oh..."
"I'm so sorry, little bro..."
"Okay,I can expect that" Mike ended the call.
On the other end, Mike stared at his phone.
"Ugh, so this is how adults are.
They make a promise, then break it! My Chicken Chop!"
Mike stomped his way back home, his face set in a deep scowl.
He passed a large dumpster area.
"Look at that! Someone clearly didn't bother to sort their trash by category. Lazy!" Mike scoffed.
His bad mood over his brother canceling their plans made him sensitive to everything.
He bent down to pick up a plastic bag that had fallen out of the large bin.
BAMMM!
A heavy, metallic thud was heard from inside the dumpster in front of him, followed by a terrible scraping sound.
"EH? What was that?"
Mike froze. He was certain something had fallen from the sky and landed right in that dumpster.
Mike set down the plastic bag and slowly peered into the large bin.
WHOAHHHHHHHHH!
To Mike's utter shock, a young man was resting inside the pile of garbage, leaning against the side of the bin. He was dressed strangely-in worn clothes made of a material that looked oddly foreign.
"Whoa! Who are you?! And how did you end up here, huh?!?"
The man was startled. His dark eyes stared unblinking at Mike.
"Me... me?" the man's voice was hoarse. "How... how are you still alive?"
Mike narrowed his eyes. The man's tone and question were bizarre. "What do you mean 'still alive'? You want me dead or something? Huh?"
The man tried to stand, stumbling slightly in the trash. "But... shouldn't all humans... be dead by now?"
Mike became instantly suspicious. This was no ordinary person.
"Listen" Mike said, trying to stay calm "Get out of there first"
Mike extended his hand and helped the man climb out of the pile of refuse.
"Thank you," the man whispered.
"You're welcome. Now, can I ask you something?
Are you okay? Do you have amnesia?"
"Amnesia?"
"Yes, memory loss"
The man closed his eyes.
his head was throbbing.
Mike waited
The man looked up, his eyes seeming vacant.
"I don't know-"
And he collapsed, unconscious.
"EHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
Mike panicked. His heart hammered in his chest. He was now alone with an unconscious stranger, who claimed all of humanity should be gone, and who had just fallen from the sky into a dumpster.
TO BE CONTINUED