[Year 19 of Exile]

[Luhan]

“Sehun, if you’re afraid then you should have stayed in the jeep!” Baekhyun hissed, as he wrenched his hand out of the youngest’s grasp. “You’re drastically hindering our progress!”

Sehun pouted, his puppy eyes making an appearance as he gazed at Suho and the latter raked a hand through his hair, nodding his head. The boy grinned almost immediately and I shook my head at how even Suho is at his beck and call.

The power of being the youngest. Tch.

Having parked the jeep at the side of the road, we clambered over the railings and stepped foot onto woods territory. Curious about how the tree came to be and why smoke wafted from the woods, we decided to satisfy ourselves.

“Stay low and quiet.” Suho ordered, as he led the way, his boots crushing all the dried leaves in his path. “We don’t want to alert whoever or whatever.”

We nodded and I glanced back, anxious to leave our jeep behind with the groceries. No one would want to steal melted ice cream, right?

Trailing Suho, we walked deeper and deeper into the woods; our heads occasionally looking up to gauge our direction by following the smoke in the air.

“We’re getting closer.” Baekhyun breathed, as he wrapped his jacket around himself.

Strangely, the temperature of the woods kept dropping as we ventured deeper within. Suho, who had his jacket tied around his waist, had now zipped it all the way up to his neck while Sehun had even wrapped his neck with a scarf that Jen packed for him because “you’ll never know when your neck will be cold”. I bet Sehun’s really glad that our princess has the common sense.

As for me, like Baekhyun, I cocooned myself in my jacket and buried my trembling hands within the warmness of it.

“It’s so ing cold!” Sehun swore, as my eyes widened when they saw air forming as he spoke. “See! I can even see the air!”

Up ahead, Suho shushed loudly as he put a finger to his lips. Baekhyun hurriedly zipped up his jacket, unable to keep it open and let the frost enter his body. We traipsed over to Suho, where he was leaning against a large tree that covered all of us.

“I found it.”

I’ve expected him to be excited, like a boy that found his long-lost toy car, but he wasn’t. Instead, fear and worry washed over him as I noticed his shaking hands and dilating pupils.

“It’s a spaceship.”

Oh. No wonder he’s afraid.

Sehun cringed when he heard his hyung’s words as I cautiously peered out of the tree to see a grey structure a short distance away.

“Luhan-hyung!” Baekhyun warned, his hands latching onto mine just as I was about to step out of the cover that the tree had given us. “What are you doing!?”

I bravely took another step and this time, the whole spaceship came into view.

“Wow.” I breathed, astounded by the alien structure. “I’d never thought I’d live to see a real spaceship.”

I felt warmth behind me and knew that curiosity got the better of the other three as they stood behind me, breaths warming my neck as they took in the view.

Like many of the sci-fi films that I’ve watched, the spaceship looked just like those on screen.

Shaped like a sunny side-up egg, the grey ship was half-buried in the ground. My eyes trailed upwards and realised that several trees had been snapped into halves and I knew we had found the culprit responsible for the one on the road.

I don’t know what came over me but I stepped forward, much to the shock and fear of my younger friends as I felt them pull me back.

“Luhan-hyung!” Baekhyun screeched, and Sehun smacked his arm which earned himself a glare from the victim. “Are you insane!?”

I think I could be. Not many people are able to see a real alien spaceship.

Our reactions are too tame.

Wrenching myself out of their grips, I walked towards the ship. My mind was blank, maybe that’s why I had the courage or stupidity to want to touch a foreign object without knowing the consequences of doing so.

A tingle of electricity ran in the air.

A scurry of footsteps behind me made me smile as Sehun arrived beside me. Glancing back, I realised that the two elder ones had chose to remain at the tree.

Gripping my arm, the youngest followed me as we continued to walk towards the structure. Now that we’re much closer, it was then did I realise just how enormous the spaceship really was.

We both tilted our heads up as the ship towered above us. It was easily larger than the cabin and probably about the same size as our houses back in the community; heck, maybe even taller.

“Hyung,” Sehun breathed and I heard the fear in his words. “W-We should l-leave. I have a very bad feeling about this.”

I nodded but my hand reached out towards the grey structure on its own. The material of the ship seemed to be metal as it looked like it and when my fingers made contact, an unusual coldness travelled through my body. It was as though the chill came from the ship itself.

“P-Please, let’s g-go. Hyung!” The boy begged, as he tugged at my arm. “Suho-hyung is calling for us!”

I heard him. But my legs wouldn’t move.

“Sehun, I’m stuck.” Fear crept into me as I continuously tried to move my body. I couldn’t. My fingers remained attached to the ship, and I froze in the exact same spot and position at the moment I touched the structure.

. Don’t tell me…

“The ship has froze me.”

Tears welled up in my eyes as Sehun pulled hard at my arm but it wouldn’t budge.

“Sehun!” Baekhyun’s voice came from behind me as wheezes and pants filled the silence. “Why can’t you drag him away!?”

“He’s stuck! Hyung, something happened to Luhan-hyung!” The boy was sobbing as he gradually realised that his actions were futile. “The ship did something to him!”

Suho appeared in