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“Dammit what the absolute universe did I do,” bellowed Christopher through the slur of his baby pink braces. He looked into the sky and saw the thousands of people who floated above him.

He watched as the seemly departed bodies only blinked. But soon his gaze was forced on something else. He heard the running of a young child, the foot falls became faster and heavier with each passing second. Christopher looked into every direction looking for anything that could be making the noise. He looked up once more to see the bodies start to blink faster as their lights begin to dim. He shivered in the darkening city as he seen a body begin to float down. It was the body of a child no older than seven.

Even though Christopher was at least twice this young child’s age, he knew it was best for him to sprint. He refused to take the chance he be killed. He ran in the first direction that would take him, the only way Chris knew he was moving forward was seeing contrasting bodies illuminate the sky. The only things he heard was the heaviness of his breathing, a second set of footsteps, and a muffled yelling in a high octave voice. But Christopher ran until he couldn’t anymore. Stopping to lean against a green brick wall, Chris believed he was safe. Until he heard the voice of the young child right behind him.

“Dad!” yelled this young child, “Daddy, please stop running, I need your help!”

“Kid, I’m not your dad,” contested Christopher “I’m fourteen!” Christopher was finally able to straighten out his back against the wall, regaining his breathing, but remained with his knee slightly bent just in case he had to continue running.

“ You are my dad. Your name is Christopher Spencer Montgomery. You father’s name was Spencer. You never knew your mother, and your dad never said her name. You were born June 11th, 1993. You married my mom, Pamela on August 18th, 2024. And you became a dad, March 3rd 2027 to me, dad. I’m Spencer,” cried this young boy as the redness of his face started to diminished as he started to catch his breath. As his face began to calm you could see each freckle appear as if from magic, but could also see each individual tear fall from the child’s green eyes. “Dad, I’m Spencer”

“ Okay, okay Spencer don’t cry. Please don’t cry. I’m only fourteen, while that’s my name and my birthday, I’m not your dad. I can’t be, I haven’t even lived those dates that you named. 10 minutes ago I was in 2007. I’m not your dad,” begged Christopher as he final unbent his knees and removed his back from the wall. He began to take a step closer to Spencer. He still didn’t know if this was the best decision, but he felt to bad for this child who was confused. He slowly cripped toward Spencer, who looked like he couldn’t stand anymore.

“ It’s me daddy. Please remember me. Mommy need you to find her,” Screamed Spencer with every he had left to offer, as he fell to his knees he let out an ear shattering whimper. The bodies of light seemed to be attracted to him as Spencer was the brightest thing with the city. Each beam of light bouncing off of his head, showing the beauty that lies within each strain of hair,  his hair was a reminder of the burnt orange sunset over Camra Bay, it was warm and it tumbled over his shoulders like rusty water. Camra Bay was where Christopher and his father would have a ice cold cider while they would walk along the bay. It was one of Christopher favorite memories of his father.

With each step closer Christopher expected this child who claimed to be his son to turn into this carnivorous monster. How do I have a kid? I can’t. I’m fourteen. What if this is all just one bad dream? It can’t be, I was in the basement when the room went black and I ended up here. Where am I? How many steps to I take before this thing tries to attack me? “Spencer, are you okay?”

Tears had seemed to engulf spencer. He could barely hold his head up must less complete a sentence. He just sat there, with the lights continuing to beam on his head he seemed have a hallo. Spencer didn’t resemble a monster. He looked as if he was being chased by one. As if his nightmares had finally came to life. But even with in all of this he was still able to lift up his head enough to shake it no. He was hurt. He was scared.

“It’s going to be okay,” pledge Christopher, “ I promise.” He took his final step towards Spencer. He stood no more than six inches from Spencer, while still shaken with fear Christopher crouched down to Spencer height. He began to lift his arms to place them onto Spencer’s shoulders. Seeing Christopher no more than six inches in front of him Spencer decide it was his time to caper into Christopher arms. Spencer had hoped this would bring back his father memories of him. It would make him remember all the times he picked him up. The nights he would carry him to his bed after watching a movie together. All the times he carried him in to the house to place a plaster on his knee or his elbows. The many of times he picked him up when he cried. But it didn’t bring back his memories. All it did was frighten Christopher. Christopher picked Spencer off of him to place him onto the ground where he once sat. Christopher slowly back up to the wall he once leaned on. Trembling he looked above him to the bodies as their blinking slowed down and the wailing cries of a child got louder.

“Dad, please remember me!” shouted Spencer through muffled cries.

But I’m not his dad! Would it make him happier if I claimed to be? I just want to be back home! Back in my bed, back in to my normal life. I rather be at the mall with my sister as she tries on a million different outfits than be here! I’d even let her choose a few out for me to try on just to be out of here.

Just as Spencer’s words broke through his cries a body fell from the sky. A woman no older than forty.  She didn't fall with the same graces that Spencer floated down with she was thrown like a fallen angel, her halo was removed when she hit the concrete ground below her. She also didn’t seem frightened. She looked as if this had happened to her before. That this life had been her usual. She peeled her body from the ground and began shouting names. “ Alex, Jordan, Lizzie!”  Four eyes blinked as to assure her that they were still floating above. And one set was missing. “ Jordan!” she called again. But the skies remained calm. No eyes moved.

What is going on? Why is she shouting his name. Who is she? Damn how often do people just fall out of the sky? I have to be dreaming. How did I get here?

“ Spencer please calm down,” said Christopher.

Spencer who had managed himself into fetal position whimpering sat up slowly to the horror in Christopher voice.

“Wha..at’s the matter, Christopher?”

“ There’s a woman. She screaming names. Why is she doing that? Are those her kids up there? How did you guys get up there?

“ This all happen because of you!”

“ What do you mean?” Replied Christopher.

“ You created this world. You thought you were creating a solution but you made a problem.” Spencer had finally gain back his will and stood up. No longer being forced on to the ground by is own sadness. His eyes seemed to darken from their bright green to a hazel. He stood at three inches taller than before. He no longer looked like a sad seven year old but a angry eleven year old.

“What do you mean I created this world, I’m one person I couldn’t do this much damage on my own.”, said Christopher as he looked at his hands and seen the dirt that sat stiff underneath his fingernails, he questioned all of the little events in his life, that could affect the future.

“ You wanted a world of love, something you were basically incapable of, now and then. Dad, I mean Christopher, you once loved me, or you will one day love me, but that how I was able to come down,” said Spencer. “ you loved me enough to bring me down, but only the person with the most capability for love in each family is able to stay down here, but they can bring people down with their love, but sometimes the person with the most love for their family will change. And sometimes that person has a hard time proving they love the other person enough to bring them down. They can die of loneliness down here.”

“ Jordan!” said this woman who not even ten minutes ago fell from the sky, but now she was over her knees with tears as hot as fire rolling down her face waiting for a noise to come from the small thing that sat in front of her. Thirty-seven inches in length, forty-one pounds in weigh the body in front of her did not release a single sound, it didn't move a single inch, it just sat as if it has stared into the eyes of medusa. The soul was missing from the body. The child was gone!

“Jordan! Ale..ex, Lizz..ie! He’s gone!” she cried into the sky, before she fell to the child’s chest waiting for a single breath to find its way out. The world seemed calm once again, the only noise was the soft tears that continued to stream. Her breathing stayed steady through all of her tears like she had experienced this all before. As the tears continued the eyes to began to blink once again. Allowing down two girls, with beautiful hair streaked with warm reddish hues and butterscotch. Their eyes stained of the color of hot chocolate on a cold winter night. They looked like the kindest angels as they floated down with arms intertwined and tears drenching their clothing. They looked as if this world had hurt them to many times.

“Mom! Mom..my! Why? Why daddy and now Jordan? Mom!”, said the youngest of the girls as they landed softly onto the floor. The took small steps over to their mother, never removing the lock between their arms. As the approached their brother came closer they seemed to lose the strength that once resided in their legs. They collapse where they stood.

“Come on we have to make sure that they are okay,” said Christopher. For once he didn’t seem scared but concerned. He wanted to truly make sure that they were okay.

“Now you want to make sure she’s okay! You didn’t care four years ago when Alex got sick. You sat in the basement and continued working on your project! Don’t act all high and mighty now.” Said Spencer with as much attitude as he could physically allow out of him. He never broke eye contact with Christopher.

Christopher gave back a confused stare. Not knowing how to even respond. He let out a sigh, looked at the cold ground that he stood on and walked over to the woman. “ Ma’am are you okay? I mean of course your not okay but is there anything I do to help you.”

“ Get the hell out of here, Chris, this is a family matter. And you made it clear that we weren’t family a long time ago!”  She no longer was only filled with tears but with hatred. Her face went from a pale pink to a red like the most beautiful rose around. Her tears seem to crawl back in to her eyes as to force herself not to cry in front of him. He wasn’t worthy of her tears.

Taken aback Christopher took three heavy steps back. As he stared at this woman wonder how she knew his name and why she hated, he heard the faint words of Spencer behind him, “ Aunt Georgie it’s going to be okay. Lex, Liz it’s going to get better. Jordan loved you but he was only four he didn’t know how to show it. The world choose the wrong one of you to keep down here.”

Georgie!  It’s Georgie! Did I cause her to come down by thinking of her.

“ Georgie? Is it really you? Are these your children? What’s going on?” said Christopher as he waited to be thrown from this nightmare. He thought he must finally be waking up.  

“Spencer you’ve gotten so grown on me? What’s the matter with you’re idiot father this time?” Said Georgie through broken tears and an angry stricken voice.

Spencer leaned his body to be at his aunts ear level and whispered “ He’s not him of now. I used dads regeneration machine to bring a version of him down. I know it needs love to work so I thought of all of dads stories. I guess the strongest one was of him as a teenager.” Georgie through her body back against the wall, defeated she couldn’t understand how this world became the way it is. She looked at her younger brother for a shear reminder of what the world used to be.

“Christopher,” Said Georgie as she picked herself up from the ground she once sat on. As she began walking she said his name one more time waiting for the world to collapse in front of her, finally ending all of the misery she had faced throughout in the past few years. She became face to face with him she looked deeply into his eyes, she lifted her arms to his shoulders and placed her head onto his chest listen to each unsteady heartbeat it was like trying to skip rocks with an rough rock. She said the only thing she needed to say, “I loved you so much.” She left her knee and proceeded to kick Christopher as hard in the groin as she possibly could.

A faint chuckle leaves the lips of Spencer, he hunches his back forward making sure no one can she him laugh. A high pitch noise leaves the mouth of Spencer as he hunches over he places his hand over his mouth to avoid the embarrassment of the first crack in his voice. He's grown again, six more inches and about three more years. He looks to be about fourteen.

As he spiraled onto the ground he let out an exacerbated scream, “Dammit! What was that for Georgie?” he felt the throbbing as if he had a second heartbeat in his lower half this one was more steady. It was like the quick but perfect rounds of a ceiling fan on its highest setting.

“Christopher you were supposed to love me but you've couldn’t.  Christopher, seconds into the world you created I was thrown into the world of the unloved, just like any trash you thrown into the garbage. I was forced to illuminate the skies like all of those who really weren’t loved or weren't cared about Christopher. You were my little brother you were supposed to love me, cuz I loved you, and I guess I still do even if I don't want to. You had Spencer to love you, Even got Allie to love you by all the grace of God because no other woman would have loved you like she did. she was able to keep you down here for months but somehow you became the biggest heart and it sent her and spencer upward. All you cared about where your ideas for this future but so many people didn’t want this.” said Georgie. You could feel her heart sinking lower with word she spoke, the slowing of the beat like a drummer coming to the end of the song. You heard the exhausted like lied within her with each sucken breath. Like her heart could stop at any moment, as if she could lay there as cold and as dead as her son.

“Georgie, I love you. No matter how many times I didn't show it, I always loved you. No matter how many times you drag me out of the house when I don't want, I loved you and I still do love you, you're my older sister. And no I didn't have a choice in beginning but I grew up, and I realized how important you are to me. You are the mom that we never had. And while I don't remember this world I'm ready to start helping. And, Spencer I'm sorry I don't remember being your dad but it is time for me to step up and prove to you, that I can learn how to care. That a 14 I'd be more of a man then I am in this world.” said Christopher as he climbed his way back to a standing position. Hands still remaining close to his lower half to ease the pain that was caused only seconds prior. Once he stood he puffed his chest and stood up as straight as he could to show that he was serious. But a single rolls down his face like a frozen icicle refusing to fall from the frozen bridge.

“How do you expect to do all this you don't even remember mommy” said Spencer who had fought so hard to remain quiet throughout the exchange of father and aunt. He looked exactly like christopher in this moment, the only difference was that he was taller then christopher with and had lighter hair. He stood strong and still.

“The entire time I've been here I've just been scared. I don't know what was going on. This world was different from what I knew but I seen that I have to change it. And I must try, but I will need to change it now but in my own timeline as well. But first I will have to get to know the story of your mother and after I get to know her hopefully I fall in love with her. But I want to go back to 2007 and I want to fix everything that I am because this world is like this because the way I am or the way I become,” said Christopher. The bodies that lied over head seem to agree with this fact they began to blink brightening the city from it’s once dim lighted glow.

Okay but how is it my fault that they glow? How do they change their brightness? Mood lights up in here.

“ Mommy would have loved to hear you say that,” said Spencer through tearful eyes that held forests between them. They grew brighter just like the bodies continued to do. He spoke as if this was a scripted piece for him to speak. He seem to sink back into the seven year old who was searching for his father and missing his mother. His height seem to diminished, his voice no longer cracked, he was just a boy who loved his mother. “ Mommy this amazing woman who loved you more than you would ever know. She spent nights watching you sleep, just because she couldn't believe how lucky she was, to love a man like you. She was so grateful to have married a you. Every time you rang the phone ,mom would continue to stand by it even minutes after you hung up. She said it was it was because she was replaying the conversation so that she never forget your voice. She loved you through all of you hurts and pains. Her name was Allison but when you were seventeen you started calling her Allie because you knew how much she hated it. But she fell in love with the name because you were the one saying it. She fell in love with you because you were kind, caring and loving. And that was all you wanted in the world was for people to love each other. You and her knew the happiness you brought each other.” Spencer seem to know this story like it was the back of his hand, as if it was recited at the dinner table as the prayer. And he was so proud to repeat it back. With his chest puffed and hands on hips this was his favorite song to sing.

“Christopher, you created this invention to show people a love like yours. You never thought that people couldn’t open up like Allie. You believed that no one would spend more than five minutes in the sky because everyone has someone who loved them. Originally that was the case but couples got into arguments, parents and their children stopped talking, and the world became a grave place. When you seen this you neglect Allie when she needed you most. And she was forced to float above you, because she shut her heart so much she forgot how to love.” said Georgie with her back against the war, her poster slouched. Her heart finally raising from her stomach to her chest.

“She sounds amazing, and I sure I didn’t ever mean for this to happen. Guy’s I’m so sorry,” Christopher raised from having to puff his chest to be full to having to a full chest. He was no longer a small fourteen year old boy, but a forty year old man. “ She sound beautiful I’m so happy to know one day I’ll get so lucky.”

“ Why not know that you’re lucky now?” said a small voice as it floated down to the city that was filled with lights from each passing body. Allie was a small woman, but as beautiful as could be. Rose tattoo peeking through the edge of her tee shirt, walnut shell colored hair that fell perfectly at her collar bone. Eyes that told many stories through their green rays. But as she float a foot from the ground, Christopher was thrown back into the reality he once knew as 2007. To meet her in a different rode.

Definition of Emotion: “a natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one's circumstances, mood, or relationships with others.” A key word in that definition is natural.

For those living on Deimos, a moon of what humans call “Mars”, emotions aren’t natural. For billions of years, my kind has lived in what I call “emotional neutrality” without one instance of deviation. However, that would soon change.

✧✧✧✧✧

I awoke to the sound of the monotonous doorbell tone and three hollow knocks on the metal front door. I opened the door to my bedroom and looked down to the first floor. To my surprise, standing in the doorway were three odd looking beings wearing white suits with black spheres encasing what must have been their heads. Small green bumps began to grow on every inch of my body as the miniscule hairs on my arms became straight as pins. My eyes widened and I frantically rubbed the skin on my arms trying to smooth over the green bumps. I ran back into my room, slamming the door behind me and effectively knocking down my portable Auto-Wash stall.

What was happening to me? My face suddenly felt scorching hot as an unfamiliar moistness began to replace the green bumps. My very reality was melting at its seems. However, this episode would only intensify when I heard a sudden blood curdling blend of screeching followed by dead silence coming from the first floor. I burst through my bedroom door to see my parents lifeless blue bodies being dragged through the door by the white suited beings. I stumbled down the stairs and out of the house. As the door swung shut, I was blinded by a bright white light coming from a silver cone-shaped ship. Seconds later, I passed out with the last image ingrained in my brain being a sticker with “USA” plastered boldly under a rectangle that sported red and white stripes and a blue square with several five pronged shapes sitting inside it.

I woke up to the flat tone that emitted from my EWALL system every morning at 07:05. I looked around. Nothing about my room looked any different from last night. My Auto-Wash was back upright and my bed was neatly made over my body. I ripped the sheets off my body, threw on one of my seven grey matching shirt/pant/sock clothing packages and rushed downstairs to my older brother and sister sitting at the black Onyx table that we had breakfast at before school. My plate contained the usual gelatinous cube of Evol along with a glass of water.

“What are you guys doing? Ima and Abba are gone!”

“They are at work, ퟦퟦힺ,” my brother responded with eyes devoid of care.

“No they’re not! They were taken last night! Something took them!” My eyes lit up but then focused back on my carefree siblings. It occured to me how odd it was that my Auto-Wash was back upright in my room and that I awoke in my bed.

“ퟦퟦힺ, they go to work every day at 06:24,” my sister mumbled equally as detached as my brother. Her head tilted robotically to the right,”Why were you outside last night?”

“Because Ima and Abba were taken! I was trying to rescue them...wait, did you bring me back inside?”

“Yes. My EWALL said that you left your bed,” she replied, unwavered by my uncharacteristic behavior.

“And none of that seemed even remotely odd to you?”

“No,” she responded flatly, “You tend to sleepwalk so I brought you back inside.”

But it felt so real? Was I dreaming? I stormed out of the house. I began to try and assess what had happened when something caught my attention. There was a checkered mark on the ground next to the house. I put my index finger on the mark and raised it slowly to regenerate it. To my surprise, the scuff marks had come  from the ship with the strange sticker. I knew then that something awful had happened. As I climbed into the ship, the sensation I’d felt the night before washed over me. The ship was equipped with a plethora of screens, dials and thousands of wires and miscellaneous devices strewn everywhere. Before I knew it, the door slammed shut. I frantically looked around for some way out when suddenly, the screens illuminated the dark cavern of the ship and an automated female voice began to speak.

“PASSENGERS OF THE KRONOS 187, PLEASE FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS. TAKEOFF WILL BEGIN IN T MINUS 20 SECONDS.” One screen turned pitch black. Green letters slowly began to unfold on it.

ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL TO EARTH: 4 MINUTES

LANDING POINT: 44.310624, -69.779490

I crawled hastily to the door trying to yank it open with all of my strength. But before long, the automated woman’s voice came back on.

“TAKEOFF SEQUENCE INITIATED. HAVE A GOOD FLIGHT MR. WOODS, MR. LAWRENCE AND MR. MARRKANAN.”

The ship lurched upward, throwing my body against the floor. I could feel my insides pressing against my rib cage and back. After 30 seconds of being nearly flattened, the ship went into orbit and finally relaxed. I floated sideways into a seat. I took a deep breath and tried to gulp down the nonexistent saliva on my tongue. Before I knew it, the automated voice came back on.

“ LANDING SEQUENCE COMPLETE. PLEASE EXIT THE VEHICLE,” the voice exclaimed.

I ripped open the door and was immediately met by the brightest light I’d ever seen. Heat seared my back as the orange beams glanced off the ship making smaller white lights. I shielded myself from the light and looked around. I was surrounded by the most violent mix of color I’d ever seen. Two my right and left, dark brown structures held out trothes of small green needles. Directly in front of me stood a building that had to be at least four or five thousand feet tall with a huge sign with the letters “NASA” stuck near the top of it. But before I could figure out how to get into the building, several beings came out of the building wearing the white suits without the head compartments.

As absurdly small as their heads looked in their clunky suits, they were still quite intimidating. One of the being’s head tilted to the side as its miniscule eyes peered out at me. As if a switch had been turned on in their heads, all of the beings began to furiously charge at me. My legs turned rock solid and refused to move as my eyes widened, nearly filling my face. The white suited beings were now within ten feet of me, all of them now brandishing long black sticks with blue electricity weaving in and out of them. I finally regained control of my legs and sprinted as fast as I could as my wiry toes buried themselves in the ground. The beings slowly began to get further and further from me until they disappeared behind the hundreds of brown structures. I slowed to a stop.

Between a several brown structures, I could see a long grey path way with yellow dashes dividing the path in two sections. On the other side of the path there was a small blue sign that read “WELCOME TO AUGUSTA, MAINE’S CAPITAL CITY”. I stopped dead in my tracks. I had just found a new planet. I was the first being from Deimos to find the planet of Augusta Maine’s Capital City!

The corners of my mouth began to climb upwards towards my eyes. I tried to move my mouth back down but it continued to climb up my face until my mouth made a “U” shape. I walked onto the path and over to the yellow line. I put one foot over one line then the next foot onto the next one. I slowly got the hang of it and within minutes I was rhythmically bouncing from one yellow line to the next. My mouth opened and excreted a shrill shriek as my body buckled and shivered. However, my episode of shrieks were interrupted by the shrill cry of an odd ship. The red vehicle sported six rectangular windows, two bright eyes, and four thick disks that the the ship seemed to be moving on. I looked inside the vehicle to see who was controlling it.

Vigorously clutching a round black disk attached to the front of the vehicle’s interior was an odd looking creature. It had an unhealthy amount of hair on its ridiculously small head along with small dashes of hair above its multicolored eyes. It had a triangular structure protruding out of the center of its face along with hair sandwiched in between the structure and its mouth. Its pink lips hid two rows of ovular teeth along with a small tongue. The being stopped its vehicle and sat glued in its seat. It stared at me, mouth agape.

I looked around nervously to figure out what to do when a gigantic sign caught my eye. The fading brown sign read “FIX YOUR TEETH WITH DOCTOR KEITH” along with a picture of being that looked like it was the same species as the odd thing in the vehicle. The being had long brown hair and wore an odd expression. Its red lips seemed to be yanked as far apart as possible revealing two rows of ridiculously white teeth. As odd as the expression was, the being seemed to experiencing enjoyment. I looked back at the being in the car who was still frozen. I pushed my upper and lower lips apart as much as I could and widened my eyes as much as I could. I figured it was common courtesy on this planet to do so. Not the case. The being passed out cold.

I skipped over to the yellow line and started to walk on it when I realized the vehicle could easily move faster than walking. I put the being into the seat next to the seat with the disc in front of it. I sat down in the disk and tried to figure out how to operate it. I moved the disc to the left and write, but the vehicle would only shift slightly. I started to press random buttons, most of which turned various lights and temperatures on in the vehicle. I looked under the disk to find two petals. I slid my foot on top of the left petal and pressed hard with my foot. The vehicle lurched forward throwing my body against the seat. I jerked my foot off of the petal and the vehicle began to slow down until it was barely moving.

Catching my breath, I moved the disk to the right a couple inches. The vehicle followed. I centered the disk back to where it was and the vehicle followed. I pressed my foot on the petal again and moved the disk accordingly. Soon enough I was moving steadily down the grey path in my brand new land ship. As I steered the ship, the monstrous bright light that had bullied me when I landed seemed to be moving downwards creating a orange glow that spread all along the gargantuan dark green and blue mountains. I pressed the right petal and the vehicle jerked to a stop. My eyes were glued to the light that slowly descended behind the mountains. My chin stayed glued to my lap as time seemed to slow to a crawl. It was the most beautiful melting pot of color I’d ever seen. Harsh yellows and oranges fought for attention from the deep blues and greyish blacks that had started to invade the sky. These wars created elegant purples and reds whose sleek waves fluttered across the sky, sliding on top of both dark and light sides this epic. Slowly but surely, the darker colors covered the sky with animalistic tendrils that made sure to secure every corner of the sky. Before long, the entire sky was pitch black but bore tons of white lights that looked like they’d been poked into it.

I needed to find somewhere to sleep. I shook the being awake that had been knocked out stone cold next to me for the past couple hours. Its eyes slowly blinked awake.

“Honey, it’s the weekend,” it mumbled. “I told you not to w-”. The beings eyes were now wide open and it began to shake. “You...you’re an...a-alien,” it said.

“What? No, you’re an alien. How does that even make-,” I stopped, realizing that this must be the first time it had ever seen anything like me. “Look, I need somewhere to sleep. Where can I go?” I clenched my teeth as my foot began to tap rapidly against the vehicle’s floor.

“But...but how do you know-,” its tongue seemed to stumble every time it tried to speak. These beings were clearly idiots. I cut him off.

“Ugh, I don’t have time for this!” I pressed my finger in between his eyes and he immediately feel back asleep. I shrugged.

“Huh, never did that before,” I wondered aloud.

I turned the vehicle back on and steered it for at least an hour until I saw a lonely, poorly constructed house made with an odd red rock looking material. It loosely held three windows in place, barely held its roof up, and had a door that looked like it had been sitting under a ship for decades. The house looked primitive at best, but it would have to do for tonight. I stopped the car, got out and was immediately berated by an awful smell that was alien to me. Brown glass bottles littered the outside of the house all sharing the same stench that emanated out of the house. As I approached the house, I could hear screaming in the house along with the loud groans of the barely stable house moving with every scream.

“Shamus please! Calm down, you’re scaring him,” a female voice sobbed from the inside of the house.

“The kiz fucking retarded! He dzn eev know w scared is!” A man with a hoarse voice bellowed, slurring his words in the process.

“Don’t call him retarded! He’s just as capable as you and me!” The woman responded, barely being able to speak clearly.

Just then, a small being sprinted out of the door waving its hands over its head frantically. I stared as it burst through the door of a dilapidated square structure that seemed to be made out of the same material as the brown structures I’d seen at the NASA building.

I creeped over to the structure, opened the door, and slid inside. Inside the structure, visible only by a small light strung from the low ceiling, was a small being with its legs crossed still making the panicky waving motion with its hands. Its back was bent forcing its head to awkwardly hover over its feet. Its brown matted hair stuck to its head covering the top part of its murky brown eyes. One eye was the color of the night sky. I tilted my head to one side. What was wrong with this thing?

I closed the door behind me and sat down across from him with my legs crossed. I put my hand on his small shoulder, my long fingers easily wrapping over it. Slowly, it began to stop waving its hands over its head and looked up. Stained with some sort of liquid substance, he blinked twice and gave me a hollow stare that never quite caught my eye.

“Are you going to pass out?” I asked, remembering how odd the being who operated the vehicle had reacted to me.

“No,” it sniffled. “Why would I?”

“Because when I was on a grey pathway, there was a being that passed out when it saw me. It called me an alien.”

It wiped its eyes. “Your eyes are big and black. Your head is big. Your body is thin. You’re different. I like you,” it said with almost robotic inflection. “My name is Sam Hutchins. Do you have a name?”

“ퟦퟦힺ,” I responded.

Its mouth curved upwards slightly. “That was funny. How did you do that.”

“Its...my...name.” There was something really off about this small being that was also strangely familiar.

“Well, I can’t pronounce that. Can I call you something else?” He asked surprisingly lacking a condescending tone. He looked at a metallic object with a plastic handle that rested on a battered shelf. “How about Finn?”

“Uh,” I shrugged. “Sure.”

“Ok.”

“Hey, why were you waving your hands over your head when I came in?”

“My dad’s drunk again,” he responded matter-of-factly. “I have autism so I’m not very good at dealing with stressful situations and when my dad gets violent, I come in here so I’ll be safe.”

“W-wha-,” I was utterly lost. “Three questions. What’s a dad, what’s a drunk, and what’s an autism?”

“You’re not very smart, are you,” he stated.

My face got hot. “I discovered a planet with inferior life on it! And I figured out how to operate a land vehicle within less than an hour!”

“A car?”

“W-Yeah, a car,” I tried desperately to make it sound like I knew what I was talking about.

“I’ll answer your questions only if you answer mine afterwards. I like to research so acquiring as much information as possible is ideal.”

“Deal,” I smirked.

“A dad is a male human who is the father of another human,” it responded. ”Him being my father would make me his son. A drunk is an asshole like my dad who consumes too much alcohol on the regular to be a good father, and according to Autism Speaks.org, autism is a disorder that impairs your ability to have social interactions, pick up on social queues, understand others emotions, among other things.”

“What’s an emotion?”

“An emotion is the natural reaction the body makes to certain situations, people, or moods”

“So that’s what’s been happening!” My eyes lit up, I finally figured out the reaction that had forced my body to awall. “I’ve been feeling hotness in my head, liquid all over my body, and these weird green bumps! See?!”

I held my arm up to reveal the surplus of green bumps that had covered my arms. The son started with his mouth ajar.

“Alien goosebumps,” he sounded out every syllable. “Ok, I have some questions for you. Where are you from? What’s it like being an alien? Do you have any special powers? Why are you here? Are you gonna suck my brain out of my ear? Do you like lobster? Maine has some excellent lobster. I caught one one time with an old lobster trap grandpa Rod gave me and mom cooked it for me and it was amazing. Are you here to annihilate the planet? If so, can I rule the world with you? Oh and-”

“Sloooooow dowwwwn,” I put my hands up defensively. “Give me some time to answer.”

“Ok,” the son pulled a rectangular device out of the shelf and opened it. It made his entire face glow with a dim light.

“I’m from Deimos, a moon of-”

“Mars. I know.”

“What? Oh, that’s what humans call it. Ok, um I don’t really know how to answer that question because I’ve never not been an ‘alien’ and the only ‘superpower’ that I know of would be that I can make humans fall asleep with my finger. I’m not here to kill anyone or rule your planet and I have no idea why anyone would want to eat a brain. I can’t imagine that they’d be healthy. I’m here because my parents were taken by some humans with white suits. And I have no idea what a lobster is.

The son finished clacking on the keys of the rectangular device and looked up.

“With white suits?”

“Yes. They had huge white suits on with rectangular packs strapped to their backs.”

The son’s eyes widened. “Astronauts.”

“What?”

“Astronauts. According to Wikipedia, Astronauts are people who are ‘trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft.’”

“How do you know all of this stuff?”

“Part of my condition is the acute attention I give to certain things that interest me. I have to know about my disorder and I like knowing about places other than my hometown, including outer space and all places in the United States.”

“So what you’re saying is...you could get me to my parents?”

“Maybe. You know where they are?”

“Well, when I was in the ship, the automated voice said that we landed at...uh...44.31..0624, -69.7...79...490. But I have no idea what that means.”

“They’re coordinates to the Augusta Space Station!”

“Well Sam, that’s my next destination,” I grinned at him. “Thank you, for everything.” I got up to leave when he tapped my heel.

“Finn…?”

“Yeah.”

“Can I come with you? I’ve never really been on an adventure and I’ve always wanted to leave this house,” he asked with a hopeful twang stitched into his tone. “I have a shotgun. It’s a weapon used to hurt the people who took your parents from you.”

“I need all the fire power I can get,” I said.

We both got up and walked out of the small structure and walked toward the car I’d steered to get to the house. By that time, the screaming had stopped and the bright light was rising into the black sky spraying rays of light against its colorless counterpart. The two of us, an autistic human child and a formerly emotionless alien, walked into the sunrise ready to conquer my parents white suited captors.

• The main reason for it because of the different processes that are involved in creating a print through printmaking. A lot of new and talented artists have found their niche in printmaking; it is also very important to know that all the graffiti and street are actually a form of printmaking using stencils

• Printmaking is the form and process of applying a work of art to another surface. In printmaking, more than one version of its unique techniques. There are different types of printmaking such as: intaglio, lithography, serigraphy and mono-printing

• Intaglio:

Intaglio printing is the opposite of relief printing, in that the printing is done from ink that is below the surface of the plate. The design is cut, scratched , or etched into the printing surface or plate, which can be copper, zinc, aluminum, magnesium, plastics, or even coated paper

• Lithography:

Lithography, planographic printing process that makes use of the immiscibility of grease and water. In the lithographic process, ink is applied to a grease-treated image on the flat printing surface; nonimage (blank) areas, which hold moisture, repel the lithographic ink

• Serigraphy:

Screen printing is a printing technique whereby a mesh is used to transfer ink onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. It is also known as silk-screen, screen, serigraphy, and serigraph printing

• Mono-printing:

Monoprinting is a form of printmaking that has lines or images that can only be made once, unlike most printmaking, there are multiple originals. Examples of standard printmaking techniques which can be used to make monoprints

My element is Mercury (Hg) and the atomic number is 80. Mercury is the only transition metal that is at a liquid state of matter in room temperature. Mercury was used for thermometers. When mercury was first discovered in Egyptian tombs in 1500 BC. Later on, mercury was used for ointments by the Greeks and the Romans used mercury for cosmetics. In the past, we used mercury for thermometers, but today we don’t use thermometers anymore because scientists found out that mercury is dangerous.

I got the design of the print I made from where mercury is found. It was found in Egyptian tombs so the theme I chose was ancient Egypt to symbolize where mercury was originally found. The two symbols in the middle of the print are hieroglyphics and they means the letters h and g, which are the atomic symbol of mercury (Hg). On the top and bottom of the print is an ancient Egyptian pattern. The process of making this print was interesting because we didn’t use any machines to print the design, instead we used a baren to put pressure on the print and transfer the design.

I first drew out three different designs of the print and afterwards I chose one design and used parchment paper to trace over it. We used a plate and formed the design on it. We used printmaking ink to transfer our design onto paper. Instead of cutting out our print, we ripped it. If I can do the print the second time, I would use different materials to form the plate so the print would have different textures. The part I enjoyed the most was transferring the design onto the paper and applying the printmaking ink onto the plate. I like it because I thought it was interesting and fun to see how it would come out.

My element is Bromine and the atomic number is 87. Bromine is known as one of the useful elements for fires. Bromine is liquid but is a strong retardant which makes it so useful.It is toxic. Bromine is used in many areas such as agricultural chemicals, dyestuffs, insecticides, pharmaceuticals and chemical intermediates. Some uses are being phased out for environmental reasons, but new uses continue to be found.Bromine compounds can be used as flame retardants.

Over the course of this project, I lost the foam paper two times and the third one I was kind of messed up from the scrubing thus resulting in the color distress in the print. I originally got the idea of fire for bromine because when I was researching Bromine I saw fire and learned it was a flame retardant. Overall I enjoyed the painting part of this project the most because it was fun and I interacted with some of my peers.