The base of his foot slammed against the door—once, twice and another time. He kicked until his calf went numb, the electric strikes of pain surging up his leg with every blow. The door flew off its hinges with the twelfth kick, and he scrambled to grab ahold of the door frame with both palms. With all his strength, he pulled himself out of the enclosed space into the blinding light which awaited him.

A flash of white light welcomed him before his vision became more coherent, the natural hues dimming and blending into his retinas as the terrain revealed itself all around him.

He looked around the immediate area, quickly shifting his eyesight, and turning his head left and right. He searched below for any harmful creatures lurking on the ground. When he deduced it was safe, he stepped over the high railing and onto the ground, his straight umber boots imprinting into the soil.

The terrain was familiar.

Kyungsoo woke with a start.

His body flew up into a sitting position, his chest rising and dropping with haggard puffs of wind scattering from his lips. The adrenaline pumping through Kyungsoo's veins pulsated and throbbed along to the rhythmic thump of his heart. His hands trembled violently and his body twitched from the vivid dream. So pragmatic, so realistic, so candid that he couldn't shake the belief of it only being a dream. It had to be more.

"Nightmare?"

Kyungsoo whipped his head in the direction to see Jongin sitting there eating a portion of the wheat substance. “What is that called?”

“Bread.” Jongin said as he took another bite.

Kyungsoo nodded. "Yes, it was..." He wiped at the sweat on his forehead with the back of his palm. "Something like that..." He sighed.

"What was it about?" Jongin asked, and Kyungsoo was taken aback.

"N-nothing really." He couldn't tell Jongin. Not until he confirmed whether his dream was true or not. "I'm going to go out and get some air, I'll be right back." He shuffled to his feet and Jongin watched him closely with squinted eyes. However, he didn’t pursue the topic further and Kyungsoo was beyond grateful for that.

His nerves ricocheted inside his body, still causing his fingers to tremble. He needed to be sure; to be certain that his dream wasn't merely that.

Kyungsoo set off in the direction he came from, his memory guiding his footsteps forward. The path was formidable and he stayed on alert from any narobots near.

The terrain was similar to his dream in every way, like he'd been here before. The high mountain to his right and the stream of water further off to his left. What manifested in his dream became a reality the further he walked into the forest.

With his focus on the terrain, he failed to notice something trailing behind him. Every step weighed heavier than the last, as he came closer to what he felt would be the answer to all of his questions. The one thing that could solve his identity.

The groves of trees ended, leading into an even patch of grass and Kyungsoo took off running, his legs falling in accordance to his will. He ran like his life depended on it and it very well could have.

What stood before him was something out of his wildest imagination.

There, mere yards away, was a medium sized circular alien spacecraft. The side of the ship dug into the soil with a broken door lying haphazardly on the ground a few feet away. The three hinged landing legs that were attached to the lower part of the structure hadn’t been used at all.

All the strength from his body left, and he wobbled on shaken legs when he attempted to take step. But he followed his desires to know more, and walked closer to the familiar shuttle.

Brushing his palm along the platinum surface, he felt the cool and glossy outer layer under his pores. It reflected the light from the atmosphere, refracting like a mirror with a glass-like finish.

When he arrived to the opening where the door used to be, he dipped his head to look inside the spacecraft.

"Hello?" He whispered. His voice echoed for a moment as the wind drifted between the glaring silence which faced him. "Anyone there?" He tried again, and still no one would reply.

Yet, when it seemed all hope was lost, a voice responded.

"So this is your true purpose." The voice said. Oddly, Kyungsoo knew that voice. He flinched hard, almost hitting his head on the doorframe.

He quickly turned around. "I-it's not w-what it looks like." He stammered to explain.

"It’s not what it looks like?" A few seconds later, the barrel of Jongin's gun was pointed toward him for the fourth time. "Then explain how you knew it was here and knew exactly how to find it!" Jongin's fingers jerked, hot on the trigger.

Kyungsoo had to choose his words carefully.

"I don't know how I knew, but somehow I knew that it was here. My memories are hazy. I don't remember everything. I don't even know who I am. You have to believe me."

"Why should I?! You're nothing but a bag of mysteries. You don't look like any Simradians I’ve seen with your black hair and green eyes. You aren't from here, so why should I believe in anything you have to say?" Jongin walked closer, his gun aimed and ready to take his life.

Kyungsoo pushed out both hands to surrender. "No. Jongin. Listen to me," He spoke with a sense of urgency. "Look me in the eyes, I'm not lying. I really don't know why I’m here or who I am. I don't understand any of this. I'm just trying to remember. If I wanted to kill you already I could have done it while you were asleep."

Jongin repositioned his finger on the gun, preparing to shoot. Kyungsoo gulped. The tension sweltering within the air was nearly palpable. Sweat trickled down the side of Kyungsoo’s face, his heart pushing against his ribcage at an frightening pace. Kyungsoo’s words hadn't registered at all and Jongin still labeled him as a threat.

"Look, I'm being serious. I can't even remember my own home. I don't know why I'm here, what race I belong to. All I have is you." His eyes brimmed with tears, “All I have are the clothes on my body, and this space ship, and you. I don't have anything more than that. B-but I want to know more. I want to know who I am. And with your help, I will be able to do that. Just please...please, believe me.” The desperate tears rolled down his cheek as he closed his eyes.

After a moment of heavy silence, Jongin slowly lowered his weapon before dropping his arms to his side.

"I'll help you." He said and a flood of relief overtook Kyungsoo's senses. "But you better not betray the little trust I have in you. No matter who you turn out to be, let it be known that I can and will kill you."

Kyungsoo nodded furiously. "I'm certain that I'm not here to threaten you. I’d bet my life on it."

Jongin did the signature swing of his weapon over his shoulder. "So let’s have a look inside."

Inside were various buttons positioned on the brushed gray and white control panel decorated with unique symbols carved into them. Kyungsoo read them fluently, his mind instinctively remembered the calligraphy with little to no effort. Further inside the ship were others things; such as a sleeping chamber, and lining the walls, different control features that catered to other aspects of the ship. The ship wasn't huge by any means, merely large enough to fit a small unit of men to journey through space. It appeared to be a simple vehicle that departed from one place to another, but at two times that of light speed.

"Looks like I crash landed."

"No ." Jongin said, and Kyungsoo glared.

"But how? What could have happened, and why here?"

"Maybe you can check the log for coordinates...See where you wanted to go."

"Good idea.”

The control panel was highly damaged and when Kyungsoo tinkered with a few buttons and gadgets, it sparked and flickered before a cloud of smoke fused into the atmosphere from the panel. Coughing, he and Jongin shared a glance toward each other.

"Bad idea." Jongin said, and Kyungsoo agreed with a nod.

"Well, we know it's here now, if I remember something else we can always come back to it."

"Plausible,” He said while reading the symbols on the buttons, "You know this language? I've never seen anything like it before." He asked as his fingers brushed the letters.

"Yes, I'm guessing it's not the same here."

"No, our letters don't appear this way. So how do you know two languages?"

Kyungsoo shrugged. "I don't know. I don't know anything, remember?"

Jongin glanced at him with a skeptical look. "It’s strange, don’t you think? That you crash land here and you speak our language before your own."

Indeed, it was strange. Kyungsoo didn't spend much time dwelling on communicating with Jongin and how easy he could decipher his words. Let alone, understand them to such a degree that he could respond.

"Maybe I was taught from a young age. In any case, that's not what’s important." Kyungsoo stated, "I need to know why I crashed and why I'm here. Just who am I?" He asked rhetorically while looking out the front window of the ship.

Who am I?

Those three words echoed in his dreams as he twisted and his makeshift cot. Sleep badgered him until he could no longer put it off. His mind drifted to the fantasy realm, forcing him into a space he'd rather not be.

His dreams weren't just dreams, he came to notice with time. They were memories—his memories. Every time he slept, more of his memories filed into his mind until he could no longer distinguish between what was real and what wasn’t.

The next morning he woke placidly but still fatigued, the bright suns casted marigold over the tent. He woke up to the sound of Jongin’s snoring which he’d rapidly grew accustomed to over the full week he stayed with him.

Much too groggy to move, he rested on his back for a moment to collect his thoughts and what knowledge he did pertain.

He was not from this planet. Compared to Jongin's appearance alone, since he was the only Simradian Kyungsoo had ever seen, he knew he was different.

With pale effervescent skin, jet black hair and green eyes, Kyungsoo knew that his appearance far contrasted with the tanned skin and eyes of marigold that Jongin possessed. Sometimes those yellow eyes shimmered with a hunger for something that Kyungsoo couldn't explain and didn't want to. They were terrifying on his worst days, but eased his worries on better ones.

The moment he sat up to stand, Jongin began to stir awake. He greeted the nomad with a 'good morning' and received a typical grunt in reply. It was almost comical at how predictable Jongin was.

"So today, do you think we could go back to the ship?” Kyungsoo asked as he stretched his arms to the sky. Jongin prepared himself, wrapping his scarf around his shoulder and over his head.

"Not now, we have to get food."

"And...how do you suppose we do that?"

"There is a thing called fishing where you're from, right?" He said before leaving the tent. Kyungsoo sighed, following behind him.

Their fishing expedition was an experience, Kyungsoo would attest. He fell in the water not only once, but three times. Jongin got a nice chuckle out of his clumsiness, and here Kyungsoo thought the man didn't possess a funny bone in his body.

Learning how to catch the wild vertebrates was something he never did before. He hadn't needed to hunt, or at least to his knowledge, he hadn't done so in the past.

Jongin was surprisingly patient with his teaching. How to grab the fish at the correct time and toss it in the sack he brought along. Not only was he patient, but he had a firm grasp on the task and knew exactly how to teach it. Not many people possessed that kind of fortitude, and a sense of admiration overcame Kyungsoo. His opinion of the cold-blooded man began to change.

"Not too bad for your first time..." Jongin said as he walked out of the stream, his pants rolled up to his knees. He left his bare legs to air dry, which would happen soon given the heat from the suns that beat down against their skin.

"I think it's nothing too difficult." Kyungsoo said.

"You're a fast learner." Jongin added, though in his voice was a hint at something else.

"Yeah, I think so too." Kyungsoo ignored the feeling in his gut and remained calm. He brought his gaze upon the placid ripples running away from him inside the water. His swaying reflection staring back at him revealing the tattered and worn clothing from the days spent on Simradia. He frowned a little, these clothes were the only connection he had with his past self, yet he couldn’t continue to wear them in this state. His attention moved to watch Jongin as he lifted a container of water to his lips and took a few gulps. Kyungsoo’s eyes lingered on the trail of water that passed his jaw and slowly cascaded down to his neck. He hurried to change his line of sight to look at the stream once again.

To say that Jongin was attractive would be an understatement. He was the most beautiful specimen Kyungsoo had ever seen. However, it wasn’t a fair statement since he was the only specimen he could remember.

The ash gray hair of his was shoulder length, and he decided to wear it down that day. It swayed in the wind, the wavy strands dancing along the breeze and giving him an elegant aura. His eyes flickered with a glistening gold hue that Kyungsoo found himself drowning in more often than he would like to admit.

He chalked up his short bout of infatuation to the uncanny attachment he had toward the male. Him being the first person he had contact with influenced Kyungsoo's mind into favoring him more than he should. He liked to think that, but in reality, he knew there was something more to Jongin than he let on.

"This war..." Kyungsoo said, "Have your people tried to stop it?"

"They aren't my people," Jongin said. Despite his nonchalant stance, the bitterness in his tone was quite evident.

"Then, where are your people?" He asked as he expectantly glanced at Jongin, but was met with silence. "Won't you tell me?" He dared to pry even further.

The intense curiosity surfaced without warrant, and Kyungsoo didn't understand what came over him in this very instant, but he longed to know who this person was who stood on the edge of the creek glaring at him now.

Jongin turned his head, looking wistfully at the water before his eyes softened and his shoulders fell slow and easy.

“I'm the last of my kind.” He said in a small voice, much smaller than Kyungsoo anticipated. It was almost inaudible, as though he didn't want to admit it aloud. "They have all perished and I remain. So you see, I know what it's like to be alone." He took another sip from the container. "And it’s not a good place to be." He ended his statement, and allowed the subtle whirring and splatters of water rushing over the rocks to fill the air surrounding them.

It all began to click inside Kyungsoo’s mind, why Jongin lived in the midst of a dangerous forest alone. He was an outcast, someone who didn't belong. The result of a discriminatory society took its toll on a man who now had no one by his side. Kyungsoo wanted to be there for Jongin. He wanted to be that pillar of support he needed. And maybe the flowers of a beautiful friendship would grow from his seeds of care and optimism.

“Well, I’m here now.” Kyungsoo smiled warmly. Jongin stared at him for a moment before the corner of his lips twitched upward. It made Kyungsoo snicker at how hard he tried not to smile.Typical Jongin, he thought. “So what’s next?” He asked as he stepped out the water and unraveled his pants.

“We head back, the narobots will be coming soon.” Jongin gathered the fish so they could leave the stream behind. Kyungsoo didn't object, and they traveled back to the tent.

He became well acquainted with the snoring of Jongin. It woke him on most mornings while his head throbbed and ached from the dream. His thoughts were an assortment of hazy memories, some more vivid than others. It continued this way as he lived day by day alongside Jongin who, by all unknown purposes, was a reserved individual.

Getting Jongin to open up about anything was an arduous task which Kyungsoo failed many times over. He didn’t possess enough energy to probe the deep fissures of Jongin’s mind. Instead, he settled on focusing on himself and what he could do to jog his memories back.

Everyday, they scoured for food and sometimes encountered a narobot lurking within the jungle. Often times, Jongin showcased his miraculous skill, killing the beast before Kyungsoo could even blink. He was like a dangerous animal himself, his instincts only a hair different from theirs.

Kyungsoo hoped one day he could be well equipped to handle them, which raised a fairly good question of when.

As they walked through the forest one day, a particularly hot morning in comparison to the rest, Kyungsoo looked up noticing that the suns were moving closer to the horizon of the planet. He squinted his eyes, hand covering the tip of his forehead to shield his face from the blinding suns.

The binary star system made the days unbearably hot and the nights chillingly cold. But Jongin never mentioned his discomfort about the unnatural weather, and for a moment, Kyungsoo wondered why that was. Here he was, his pants rolled up and his t-shirt sticking to him like a second layer of skin.

“Hey!” Jongin called suddenly, instantly seizing Kyungsoo’s attention. “Come on and look around. Some narobots could be closing in.” Jongin pulled his weapon from his shoulder and leveled the device with his eyes. “I thought I heard something.” The whine of the gun powered up as Jongin’s gaze shifted, searching around the area.

Kyungsoo gulped, following in the cautious footsteps of the other. He looked for any predators near and when the sound of a twig snapping caught his ears, he swiveled on his toes. Turning around, he prepared to face an enemy but there was nothing there.

“Keep your eyes open.” Jongin whispered as he took one silent step after the other, his effortless grace and knowledge displayed by the distinct placement of his feet. He made sure not to step on a single dried leaf or patch of noisy terrain.

The walk was nearly silent aside from the heavy breathing courtesy of Kyungsoo.

Suddenly, Jongin blasted his weapon.

“Get down!” He yelled, dashing into the nearest bulk of bushes. Kyungsoo followed close behind, diving into the shrubbery and crouching down. He couldn’t believe the huge monster before his eyes. It was unlike any of the narobots they encountered before.

An arachnid class robotic animal towered over the tips of the trees, its eight legs nearly the size of the trunks. The appendages out front were padipals; sharp jaws grasping and clawing forward. A long, sleek and powerful tail meandered behind at all times, searching and calculating—like a scorpion waiting to strike. With one fell swoop of the chrome embroidered tail, a bone could be slashed in half with ease. Against a skull, the lethal weight and power would be enough to render a man dead.

“Stay down.” Jongin whispered, his tone leveled and void of any traces of fear. He didn’t need to say it again with the way Kyungsoo almost kissed the floor, his body splayed against the ground to disguise himself.

He trained his eyes on the narobot as it stalked forward snapping its claws to clear a path. When he looked to his left, Jongin was no longer there. Dammit.

Kyungsoo crawled back, inching further from the narobot. When he was a substantial amount of distance, he crawled on all fours to the nearest tree and stood behind the trunk. He searched around for Jongin, his shaky gaze switching from tree to tree.

Moments later, to his right, the immediate area flashed a bleached blue hue and there was no question—Jongin was over there. He ran in that direction, hiding behind the trees along the way. While doing so, he was able to catch parts of the battle as Jongin engaged the enormous foe.

The scorpion’s segmented tail jabbed down at the ground, and Jongin maneuvered out of the way in the nick of time, rolling on his side and ending on one knee. He powered and shot his weapon quick, the recoil from his gun pushing his position back by a few centimeters.

The tail struck down again, piercing into the dirt and raising the soil with it when it attempted to make another blow. Jongin continuously avoided the attacks and turned every move into a counter. There was no time to think as he fired consecutively, one after the other, every blast with precision to the eyes and head of the scorpion.

His maneuverability with the cannon was impressive. The stamina, skill and accuracy posed a great question of how long had Jongin fought these monsters, and still why he fought them alone.

The heated combat continued and Kyungsoo felt an urgent need to assist Jongin in defeating the robot. But what could he do? He had no weapon and any fighting experience he might have had has all been forgotten. Except for his bouts of spontaneous displays of combat skills, he had nothing to offer in aid, which only frustrated him.

The battle drew closer to where he stood behind the trunk of what appeared as a large oak tree. Jongin retreated a bit to recollect his thoughts and approach. While doing so, Kyungsoo quickly looked for a weapon, anything he could use in the forest that would suffice.

There was nothing, and when he focused his attention on the robot once again, the scorpion was much closer than before. He needed to move. Now.

Kyungsoo made a dash for it, running as fast as he could. However, it wasn’t fast enough.

With a swing of its tail, the narobot whacked Kyungsoo across his stomach, sending him soaring back in the air until his body slammed to the ground a few yards away.

It stung when he landed. His already aching head suffusing with a sensation of throbbing now, it made him feel uncontrollably dizzy. He attempted to sit up but the whirling was far too great and he collapsed back onto the turf.

“Kyungsoo!” The muffled and foggy call of his name was reminiscent of being under water. Distorted and unclear, his name echoed inside of his mind, growing louder with every second. The blaring headache caused his vision to blur and the entire terrain to spin in a counterclockwise motion.

The ruffling of leaves became prominent, the shuffle of feet over the ground growing steadily until he felt someone’s knees fall beside his body and a shadow loom over his figure blocking the sunlight.

“Kyungsoo? Kyungsoo, are you alright?” The frantic voice must be Jongin, there wasn’t anyone else who knew him. But why did he sound so concerned? For a moment, Kyungsoo thought it all was a dream. There was no way Jongin cared for him this much. “Can you hear me? Kyungsoo?”

A warm calloused palm came in contact with his cheek and it felt nice. Kyungsoo slowly turned his head into the palm saying something under his breath, any coherency of his words lost amidst his low mumbling.

“What? What are you trying to say?” Jongin asked, his eyebrows pressing in confusion.

“B-behi—” Kyungsoo whispered.

“Behind?” Jongin asked a moment too late. As he scrambled to grab his weapon, the claw of the scorpion snapped one of his arms, pulling him up by the appendage.

“Ah!” Jongin yelled as the animal raised him from the ground, his feet dangling in the air below.

As the scorpion lifted him further up, high above the dense brush, the area swelled with the crippling grunts and yells of indescribable pain. Jongin’s agony pierced through the air, his screams from the crushing of his arm were like daggers inside Kyungsoo’s ears. They sliced through his clouded thoughts and woke him from his hazy stupor.

He swiftly rolled over to his stomach, frantic hands reaching out for Jongin’s cannon which lied on the ground a few feet away. Red dust covered his palms which scraped against the minute filings of metal in the soil.

With the narobot occupied with Jongin, he had a short time window for one fatal blow.

Using much effort, he climbed to his knees and began to power up the weapon. After watching Jongin activate it countless times, he had an idea of how the device worked. It operated with sensory detection over the polished metal. When Jongin charged the cannon, his thumb brushed over the metal casing near the trigger.

Kyungsoo imitated the same motion, running his thumb along the barrel until it reached the trigger. The blue particle blasters darkened in color the longer he held his thumb over the trigger. The weight of the cannon was heavier than he anticipated but he couldn’t dwell on that at the moment. He aimed the device upward, the scorpion towering directly above his body.

No mistakes, no second chances—he only had one shot. The cannon’s light erratically flashed, its blue tint rampaging chaotically and bright, thermal energy ricocheting inside the blasters causing the barrel to shake uncontrollably.

Kyungsoo pulled back on the lever, finally activating the device. He screamed as the plasma erupted from the barrel in an enormous beam of light, its brightness nearly enough to blind him. His hair flew unyielding backwards and his body recoiled, being pushed into the ground as the stream of plasma continued to eject.

The blazing light reflected off of his face, smoldering heat from the energy clung to his skin, encasing him in a sheen of sweat. The muscles in his fingers grew numb from the stressing against the trigger. He didn’t relent on the lever until he was certain the monster had fallen.

Plasma beams penetrated straight through the robot, carving a wide and deep hole where its head had previously been. When Kyungsoo saw the massive trench, he stopped pressing down on the trigger.

Instantly, Jongin’s body fell to the ground in a loud oomph, and only silence followed after. The robot swayed on its legs with small particles and scraps of metal debris showering down before its body collapsed on its side, creating a rush of dust and air from the fallout.

Dirt sullied Kyungsoo’s face painting streaks of black on his cheeks, and the smoke suffusing within the atmosphere made it nearly impossible to breathe. He coughed roughly, his stinging eyes searching through the thick haze to find Jongin. However, as the adrenaline began to seep out of him, the relentless throbbing in his head pounded at indescribable levels.

Swaying on the verge of consciousness, he crawled on his palms and knees, threading his fingers through the soil in the direction he had last seen the nomad. The overwhelming flood of fatigue spreading throughout his limbs caused him to collapse onto the ground. He could no longer stay awake as an inescapable darkness consumed him.

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