Chapter 1

People have always talked about aliens and UFOs with a sense of wonder that I always adored. How exhilarating it would be to see one of them. Getting to see their ship. Marvel at their uniqueness. Even with the possibility of being abducted and probed, everyone and their mother would not hesitate at the chance to see one in person.

I was the same. Even as a young boy, I would spend countless hours reading stories, discussing and joking around with friends and spending way too much time than I'd like to admit day-dreaming about one day meeting these green men in spacesuits. It was a life goal of mine as cheesy as to say. Something that I could check off on my bucket list of dreams.

The facade all broke down when I met one of these so called 'aliens' for the first time.

Day 1: Friday, September, 4th, 2026.

It was the dead of night when I was woken up by the sound of my dog, Buffy, barking. I would say it was unusual, but for a German Sheppard that was young and boisterous (part wolf, part shepherd), it was practically second nature to howl and scream. My parents had left the task of putting him in his crate to me, since by their stupid words, "You wanted it, so you take care of it." so I always had to do the routine myself.

Unfortunately, it was a school day, and since I had spent too much time doom scrolling to finish up my homework, I slept late and forgot to crate him. It wasn't my fault entirely though. Mr. Roberts always gave us impossible to do questions and expected us to complete them without any 'external help'. After getting stuck on the first question, I got fed up and decided to hop on TikTok instead. Totally not my fault I swear.

Either way, it was my responsibility to go down and put Buffy to sleep so I decided to do it as quickly as possible. I hobbled out bed and headed down towards where he was barking.

As I went down the stairs, I noticed a strange blue glow coming out from the living room, from where the barks were originating from.

I first thought it was moonlight leaking onto the wooden floor, since our glass backdoors were always left uncovered, but the more I observed the pattern of light, the more I realized it was a color I'd never seen before. Almost like a mix between rainbow and pearly white. Mesmerizing to look at.

Put off by the weirdness, I hesitantly walked down the flight of stairs and slowly peaked my head towards the living room. That was when I saw Buffy, raised tail, angrily barking at the backdoor glass. When I stepped closer and looked behind him, I saw what he was barking at.

A tall and thin figure stood right behind the door, pressed flat against the glass window, ogling into the living room.

Immediately, my body froze. Who the hell was that? Was that a robber? I wanted so badly to scream, but strangely for some reason I couldn't. It was like a deep-seated fear–almost ancient in nature–took over my vocal chords, gripping me at my throat.

The glass doors slowly crept open and the strange white light flowed into the living room, bringing with it the monster. Its green figure was abnormally thin, its skin sticking to its bones like plastic wrap and ribs piercing out of its body. Its wide saucer-like eyes cut through its stature to further accentuate its strangeness.

This thing wasn't human.

What the hell do I do? Countless thoughts rushed into my mind, with each one blurring the idea on how to survive. Out of all them, there was only one that I could attempt. Something that would let my hopeless, paralyzed body move.

A single word crept out of me as I tried my best not to cry.

"Buffy, a-attack."

The dog didn't stand a chance.

The figure waved its hand and the animal began to float up into the air before being rapidly spun around and contorting into itself like a dimensional anomaly. Twisting and turning as all of its bones were splintered into a million pieces. Fresh, hot blood leaked out of every orifice and spilled onto the wooden floor with the animal being wrung out like some sort of meat towel.

The figure then released its 'grip' and Buffy fell onto the ground, splashing against its own puddle of blood and piss.

W-what? No. This is not real. Please.

"I'm sorry about that, little one."

The figure stepped over the corpse and made its way closer to me. Its voice was imperceptibly soothing, pulling at my heart strings like a corrosive nail. But, all I had in my heart was disgust. Building up into a burning hatred. Why did this thing do that? What did it want?

Tears streamed down my face.

"I do not hurt anyone who do not wish to hurt me. I hope you understand."

I wanted to lash out and attack, but I knew If I did so, I would meet the same fate as Buffy. My only option was to try to plead with this thing. Hope that it will leave me alone. I spoke up, with an inch of confidence left in my voice.

"W-what do you want from me?"

The figure smiled.

Rows of white, serrated teeth pricked out of its impossibly wide mouth, grinning with an expression that was revolting to look at.

"Please, let's go upstairs. I want to see what type of place a human child lives in."

A thought rushed into my mind. Mom. Dad. They were sleeping upstairs. If this thing got close to them, they were for-sure going to get killed. I was only spared because Buffy had taken my place. There was no way that Mom and Dad were not going to try "hurt" this thing the moment they see it. It was a parent's nature to protect their child of-course and I was literally in the jaws of alien stranger. I couldn't let them die. Just for my sake.

I had to do something quick.

"W-we can go upstairs, but can you please tell me what you want? Do you want money? There's some in the family safe. You can take it all. Dad left some jewelry in there too."

The monster laughed. "I do not want your money, little one. I just want to sit down and have a chat. Learn a couple things about you before I be on my merry way."

I hesitantly agreed, wiping away my snot and tears. If that's all it wanted, then I had to do it what it asked. As long as I could keep everyone else safe, I had to do what was necessary.

I turned around and headed up the stairs–getting a final glance at Buffy's corpse–before we made it back into my room. As the monster entered, I closed the door shut behind it and I quickly sat down, my back pressing against the door. My fleeting thought was that in case this thing launched an attack on me, I could try to run out the door. But, as brilliant (or stupid) as my plan was, I knew I was at the mercy of this thing. It was an actual monster, after all.

While I was butt-clenchingly nervous, waiting for what it was going to say next, the monster calmly looked around the room, moving its wide saucer-like eyes back and forth at my collectibles, toys and posters. It seemed to be observing or taking pictures with its large black eyes, trying to analyze and memorize what I, a human child, holds dear.

Taking a closer at this monster under better light, I realized that this thing looked eerily similar to the aliens on my posters. Kind of like the beady-eyed face of a Gray with a thin slender body of a Tall-white, just with a dark-green skin.

The realization then hit me. "Are you…an alien?"

The figure immediately shifted its eyes and stared at me, bringing back the weird smile. It then voiced out, "If that's what you call us, then yes."

I shifted in my seat. An actual alien. The feeling was ever-so bitter sweet. It was my dream to meet one of these things, but I couldn't've imagined what the consequence of that was. Did I bring this upon myself? Was I the cause of Buffy's death.

My heart ached.

The alien spoke again, "I'll tell you what I came here for. It's quite simple honestly."

It straightened its posture and leaned closer towards me.

"All I need is for you to do complete three of my tasks, then I'll be done with my research." It wiggled its long, thin fingers excitedly, before it continued. "You can ask me any question. I'll teach you any subject. As long as you complete each of my tasks in an orderly time."

I was both scared and a little bit thrilled at the same time. If that's all this thing wanted, then I could do it. I could complete these 'tasks' and I'd be set free. My parents and I will be safe. I had to do this to ensure our safety. Though, I still had to make sure that's what it meant.

"Can I ask a question?"

"Yes," the alien responded, without hesitating.

"What will happen If I choose not to do the tasks?"

The alien's smile crept away. "I'm sorry, but we have chosen you. Only you can complete the research requirements."

I paused. "So, if I finish all your tasks, will my parents and I be free after this? Will you leave us alone?"

The smile came rushing back. "Yes. We will leave Earth, once you're done what's required."

I understood.

I was stuck. If this alien didn't bat an eye at killing Buffy, then it sure wouldn't skip an eyelash at killing me or my parents. It only chose me out of convenience. If I didn't do what it said, then it was clear what the consequences were, even if the alien didn't say it outright. I was under this 'task' contract, all until I finished it or until I found a way to escape it. Those were my only two options.

"Alright," I responded. My heart beating out of my chest. "What do I need to do."

Day 4: Monday, September, 7th, 2026.

Its been three days since I met the alien.

It was impossibly difficult to sleep with the thing staring at me the entire time, but after an hour or so I was gone into deep slumber. When I woke up, the alien was nowhere to be seen. I initially thought I had a very bad dream and I made up the entire thing in my mind–that would've honest-to-god been the best case scenario–but I was unfortunately wrong.

Mom and Dad found Buffy's corpse in the living room.

It, fortunately, wasn't the splattered, mashed-up pile of meat that I saw before. It was more so a peaceful corpse like the dog had somehow died in its sleep. I didn't know how the alien did it, but, considering how it seemed to have psychic powers, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility.

I cried again when I saw my dad bury Buffy in the backyard. I didn't know why I was crying, since I'd already seen him die the night before, but my heart still burned whenever I thought of my fond memories. All the fun times we had running around, playing, exploring. That was all taken away by this alien.

It only brought me anger as to why I was chosen. Why me? Why not any other snob kid in my class? What did I do to deserve this?

Right after the funeral, I ran around the house trying to find the alien. But, to no one's surprise, it wasn't there. It was almost like it left us entirely, but a sinking feeling in my heart, told me I was wrong. That entire day I spent going through the web, trying to find all the topics and reddit threads on what these 'tasks' could be, but even after skipping breakfast and my high-level soccer practice, I was left with no answers. Not even a crumb as to what this alien wanted.

Even my online alien enthusiasts who I spent years discussing this topic with, didn't have a clue as to what I was saying. They might've been under the presumption that I was just making something up to be interesting, but even showing picture proof of my dog's death didn't help me convince them. Most of them just left me on read.

The alien didn't show up until Sunday night. One night before school.

I tried asking where it went and why it didn't show up, but it was adamant on me completing my first task before it was able to answer my questions. We went back and forth arguing on the logistics of me completing the task if it was going to disappear every single time, but there was just a circular loop of 'no's' left to quench my curiosity. Perhaps it

The only thing the alien was clear on was what exactly my first task was going to be.

That was where my conversation ended and why I was now on the school bus, tapping my feet nervously, waiting to get dropped off.

"Yo Sam, where were you all weekend?" A kid with blond hair sat beside me. "Jack and I were texting you but you didn't respond. Did something happen?"

Daniel was my sort-of best friend. He considers me my best friend, but I honestly don't reciprocate. It's not that he's not a fun guy to be around, trust me we get to some seriously funny shit during break, but I prefer to think of myself as a lone wolf. Alien work is serious work and most people, even Jack, don't take my hobby serious as they consider it to be 'childish'.

If he didn't care about aliens then, what makes you think I was going to tell him about the alien in my house. Who in their right mind would believe that?

"Nah dude, I was sick all at weekend. My throat's been killing me so I had to take some Tylenol and Halls to help me get better. I couldn't even go to soccer practice."

Daniel snickered. "Ayo, pause. What you mean your throat's been killing you? What you been doing?"

I ignored his antics.

There was far more important matters to deal with. My first task was already a difficult one so complicating it with a buffoon like Daniel was only going to make it harder to complete it. I also had to figure out some questions to ask the alien after I finished the task so I had to keep my mind crystal clear.

My life and my parents lives were at stake here. I couldn't mess this up.

When we arrived at school, I put away my stuff in my locker and took off my backpack. While everyone else cleared away with the school bell ringing out, I made sure no one was around when I quickly pulled out the item I packed earlier in the morning. Hiding it within my sleeve.

An 8-inch kitchen knife.

The first task the alien gave me was painfully simple.

"Kill the classroom hamster."