“Quala? Nhija junma hyapkun?”

My eyes fluttered open at the sound of the foreign voice speaking a language unknown to my ears. Someone was leaning over me; their face looking expectantly at mine. It was the profile of a young man who looked no older than 18, but gave off a leader vibe as if his looks were lying.

“Where am I?” I croaked. My parched lips craved the taste of cool water and my stomach grumbled for food.

“You speak English?” the boy asked, slightly relieved.

“Yes, and a little Korean too,” I spoke weakly.

“Our ancestors were Korean,” he said as he rung out a wet cloth and placed it over my forehead. “But we can speak English if it is easier for you. Our language here is called Exan.”

“Where is ‘here’?” I asked, trying to sit up.

“Careful yeoja,” he quickly placed an arm behind my back. “You are still very weak.”

“What happened to me?”

“You don’t remember?”

“Um, nooo…” I looked at him, unsure of what I was supposed to remember. Actually, now that I think of it, I can’t remember much of anything!

“We’re pretty sure you’re the only survivor,” he said bleakly.

“Survivor of what?”

Before he could respond, another man walked in through the door. This one looked older -maybe 23- with styled, blonde hair. He wore a serious expression and looked at me warily.

“You’re awake,” he stated looking down over me. “My name is Kris. This is Luhan,” he gestured to the younger looking boy. “What’s your name?”

“I… I don’t know. Where am I anyway?”

“Exo Planet,” Kris said straightly, as if that answered all my questions.

“Exo what?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Exo Planet; it’s our home,” Luhan spoke up. “You don’t know it?”

“So… I’m not on Earth?”

The name seemed to hit a sore spot for both boys. Luhan looked down at the ground solemnly while Kris’s face turned dark.

“What? Do you know Earth? Did something happen?” I prodded. “Please tell me!”

“Earth is gone. I am sorry,” Kris spoke with little sincerity before walking out of the room.

“What does he mean ‘Earth is gone?’ How is it ‘gone’?” I asked Luhan.

“Um, let’s get you cleaned up shall we? You’ve been unconscious for five Exo days; no telling how many before you were found,” he offered me his hand and helped me off the bed, succeeding in changing the subject.

-------------------------

“Better?” Luhan smiled from the chair he was sitting in when I came into the main room of the house. It was a dark room with black curtains and tired looking furniture. However, compared to the rest of the house it was the brightest with a dim light from outside peaking in through the three windows along the back wall.

“Yes, thank you,” I nodded, noticing Kris and another new face sitting in two of the eleven chairs that adjoined Luhan’s in a circle formation.

“Please sit down,” Kris motioned to one of the empty chairs and I took a seat. “This is Suho. He and I are the leaders of our clan. Luhan is my right hand man, and Kai is Suho’s.”

My eyes followed his to the doorway where I saw another dark haired boy. I could’ve sworn he hadn’t been there just a minute ago. He also wore a very serious look, and I was beginning to get the feeling that Luhan was the only friendly person on this planet.

“You said clan; what do you mean?” I asked Kris.

“Exo Planet used to be prosperous in many ways.” I was startled to hear a voice right next to me. When I turned to look, the boy named Kai was sitting in the chair next to me. How did he get here so fast…? “We had a major city, Exopil. Many people lived here with their families and friends. However, two years ago our planet was attacked.”

“Suho and I found each other quickly after the attack,” Kris took the story from there. “We soon found Kai and Luhan, and over the past two years our clan has grown. There are twelve of us now.”

“Wait, hold up. Who were you attacked by?” I had so many questions, so I wanted to choose which I asked wisely.

“Anonymous; the same group that attacked your home… Earth,” Suho explained. “We’re just lucky they didn’t disintegrate our planet as they did yours.”

My eyes widened and my head began to spin. Earth was gone; disintegrated? How did I get here then? How am I even alive?

“This is a lot to take in for her,” Luhan spoke up uncomfortably. “Maybe we should slow down.”

“She has to know,” Kris gave him a stern look then turned toward me. “Do you have any questions?”

“Uh… well, yeah! How did I survive all of this? How did I get here?”

“You were found in a crash landed space capsule. Our best guess is that you were captured by Anonymous and brought aboard their ship. We don’t know how you got into our orbit or broke free from them. Maybe it was a faulty capsule that became disengaged. Either way you are here now and, as far as we know, the only survivor of the attack.”

I got up from my chair and walked slowly to one of the windows. The land was barren and grey. In the distance it looked as if there was a desert. In the other direction I could just barely see the skyline of what I assumed was the abandoned city on the horizon. At least these people still have a home, even if it’s not much. I have nothing. I am the only one left of my kind. Wait a minute…

“You said you are descendants of the Korean race,” I turned to the four men. “How far back does that go? How did you get here?”

“We’re not just Korean, but Chinese as well,” Kris clarified. “Thousands of years ago a group of Orientals were abducted from Earth.”

“Abducted?” I asked in surprise. “That stuff was around that long ago?”

“And longer,” he nodded. “They were brought back to this planet and put into slavery. Eventually there was a revolt and our ancestors took over, renaming the planet Exo.”

“This is more than my history teacher ever taught me,” I sighed, putting a hand to my head.

Suddenly a gust of wind blew open the doors, bringing in another young Asian boy. However, I was surprised by the scene. It was almost as if he was riding the wind.

“It’th time for dinner,” he blushed as he stumbled over his words and I had to force myself not to giggle.

“Thank you Sehun,” Suho nodded. “We will be there shortly. Please make sure another place is set at the table for our guest.”

The Sehun guy glanced at me, then Luhan who smiled and gave a small wave. “I will make …make sure!” I was happy for him that he achieved the “s” sound he was searching for.

Suddenly a loud crack of lightning sounded outside. I shrieked in surprise, but it didn’t seem to faze any of the others.

“Ugh, will you please tell Chen to knock it off,” Suho sighed. “He’s going to scare… what is your name?” he turned to me.

“She doesn’t know,” Kris answered before I had a chance, which was slightly annoying. “For now she will be called Phoebe.”

“Hmmm Phoebe; I can get used to it!” I concluded.   

Kris only raised his eyebrow at me. “Luhan, please Phoebe to the dining room. We will see you there shortly.”

Suddenly Kai disappeared into thin air. When Suho walked through a ray of dim sunlight, there was almost a watery shimmer to him. What really made my mind ache was when Kris began to float. I ducked as he soared over our heads and out of the room.

“What the…”

“You’ll learn the Twelve Forces soon enough,” Luhan laughed. “Let’s just eat.”