The day the space ship crashed just a few miles away from your home on Earth was also the day that your life changed. You had read books for years about so-called “aliens,” and others in your colony would tell stories of these extraterrestrial beings. Most of the time it was to warn the young children. But you couldn’t help but be fascinated by the idea of people living in the sky.

When the ship crashed, there was a buzz about it for months. You constantly begged to be let out of the property and go see the ship and the aliens that crashed down with it. Nobody would let you, and you couldn’t yet figure out a way to sneak off properly.

A lot of deaths happened shortly after the crash; thankfully not many of them were in your colony. But the rumors were that the “sky people,” as the others called them, were killing all of the “ground people” in a bloody war for territory. You never believed it. And finally, when you had the time and the chance during a traditional festival, you ran off to go find the alien settlement.

The first alien that you came across was quick to overtake you, as you had never really learned how to fight. He held you steadfastly to the ground, and was cussing you out for sneaking up on him. It was clear he thought you were one of the people from his camp. But after he subdued you with one hand and used the other to grab his flashlight, he realized you were not from his settlement at all.

And you realized that he was not an ugly, green, short creature. In fact, he was quite handsome. Handsome enough that you momentarily forgot how to speak for yourself when he demanded to know what the hell you were doing. You were surprised to learn he spoke English — an ancient Earth language your family had taught you.

“I ought to kill you right now,” the alien boy snarls. “A grounder, sneaking up on me, trying to take me out. You’re all the same, you filthy fucking monsters. Do you have a posse? Huh? Are there others?” He holds his flashlight up to the bushes and surveys the area.