[Year 19 of Exile]

[Kris]

“Are you certain, Luhan?”

The second eldest nodded curtly, as his eyes drifted over to the entrance. Uneasiness was in the air of our tentage for we were having a discussion with regards to Luhan’s nightmare. In an unusual decision, Xiumin instructed Sehun to bring Jen out and away from our camp.

“Keep her safe, you understand?” He thumped the back of the youngest. Sehun nodded and he walked over to her with a patronising smile plastered on his face. She was lacing up her shoes as Chanyeol watched over her with concern written all over his face.

“Time to go, Jen.” He extended a hand to her which she grabbed onto and he pulled her up. With a small grin, she latched onto his arm much to the displeasure of the giant. But Chanyeol’s expression remained indifferent and with a wave of his hand, he sent them off. The two of them left the camp and soon they disappeared beyond the dense greenery.

We then converged into my tent and the dreaded discussion began.

“It felt so real, even though it never happened.” Pulling his knees up to his chest, the boy rested his chin on them.

“So you’re saying that you were running away from flying fireballs?” Baekhyun gaped, disbelief written all over his face. “Are you kidding me?”

“Baekhyun…” Yixing tugged at the younger’s shirt. “That’s no way to talk to your hyung.”

“Even though I was there when we discovered the spaceship, even though I was there when you touched the spac–”

“W-Wait, what?” I stood up, my large hands in the air. “Luhan touched the spaceship!?”

Baekhyun’s face pinked and he buried it in his hands. I glanced at Luhan, his face blank and eyes staring at nothing in particular. His state reminded me of him and my eyes unconsciously flitted over to the second youngest and relief washed over me when I noticed him gazing at Luhan with utmost concern.

“Luhan…” I growled as I trudged over to him and snapped my fingers in front of his face. He blinked, a sign that he was choosing to remain indifferent to the situation instead of facing it. “Why didn’t you tell us that little detail…?”

He remained silent and the atmosphere in the tentage darkened. Everyone’s eyes were on the remaining boys of the first grocery trip — Luhan and Baekhyun; Sehun was out with Jen while Suho…

“B-Because S-” Baekhyun’s stutter broke the silence, and his name was at the edge of the boy’s lips. “S-Suho-hyung told him, told us, not to tell you guys anything. He didn’t want anyone to worry…”

“Well we’re worried about it now.” Jongdae scoffed, an icy look on his face. “And what difference does it make? If you had told us sooner, the cabin might not have bur–”

“It still would have been ravaged by fire!” Baekhyun got up, his face the epitome of fury as he glared menacingly at his same-aged friend. “We didn’t meet the fireballs in real life, Sehun didn’t become a human torch, and we wouldn’t have known that the cabin would be torched!”

“But it would have saved us if we knew you had been followed.”

A single whisper echoed eerily within the tentage and every pair of eyes darted to him. His heart-shaped lips had been pulled into a tight line.

“F-Followed?” Chanyeol’s eyes widened, his ears a dark shade of pink. “Wh-What you do mean by t-that?”

“Luhan-hyung,” Kyungsoo pointedly ignored the giant as he addressed the boy in question. “You touched the ship, yes?”

Luhan stayed silent but Baekhyun gave a reluctant nod.

“And did anything happen when you touched it…?” He probed, his large eyes staring at his hyung.

His question lapsed into silence as Luhan kept his mouth shut while Baekhyun had his head in his hands again.

Annoyance flitted across the small boy’s face as he flopped onto his bed and laid on his side, his back facing us. “Tell me when Luhan-hyung wishes to answer our questions.”

Looks like Kyungsoo the brat decided to make his appearance.

My eyes gazed at the boy’s back when a voice rasped.

“I got stuck.”

My eyes snapped to him as he straightened his legs slowly, with visible looks of pain forming on his face. A soft snicker came from Zitao as his eyes followed his hyung’s movements.  

“Kyungsoo...?” Luhan called out and the said boy flipped over, propping his elbow on his pillow and nestled his cheek in his palm. “Finally. I was beginning to think that you’ve fallen asleep, hyung.”

A cheeky smile appeared and the atmosphere in the tentage lightened when Luhan laughed. It feels so long since I’ve heard him laugh.

And the second eldest began to explain what exactly happened during the time they encountered the spaceship, with Baekhyun interrupting occasionally to provide little details that the older missed out.

And with each detail that the two boys provided, the words that Kyungsoo spoke kept swimming around my mind, striking out at me when I least expected it. Could it really be then?

That they followed the boys back because Luhan touched their ship and did something that he doesn’t know he did.

“Could it really be them then?” Jongdae piped up, his brows furrowed and I knew that his mind was whirring. “Aliens?”

“Since Luhan-hyung offered this possibility, and the dream specifically haunted him at this time so the nightmare could be an insight into what actually set our cabin on fire.” Kai clutched at his hair, an uncertain expression on his face. “And it actually could be fireballs.”

“Special fireballs.” Zitao muttered, a deep scowl on his face. “I probably never mentioned this but my time control ing failed when I tried to stop time.”

My eyes widened as Jongdae buried his head in his hands. “Ugh! Why do you people keep forgetting to provide details such as these!”

“It didn’t seem so important at that time…” Zitao crossed his arms and puffed out his cheeks. “But yeah, I failed; the fire continued to rage even