Beyond

By Victoria Spear

 

Prologue: The Discovery 

 

Stars.

 A fixed luminous point in the night sky, which is a large, remote incandescent body like the sun.  

The night calms the state of mind for many people, others it’s a nice time to bask in the lonely feeling of solitude. Not that having no friends is a bad thing like many people portray , in the end it’s better to have none than for them to leave you or stab you in the back. A teen in all black traveled down the street of envy. 

 

The city was much nicer than this, but to the teen boy it was his safe haven. The restaurants felt like home, the stores of clothes and gifts lined up reminded him of his grandmother in a way. The currents of the sea roared, begging him to jump into it and escape all his problems, to wash away the sins and burdens that scared him to the core. 

 

The streets were filled nonetheless, a huff came from the male teens nose, the hot air visible as he blew out into the cold night. The strip mall was popular due to it being close to the docs and Orion’s Cliff , the hot spot as many people would say for teens and young adults to hang out and go on dates during the summer and winter. His dark green eyes reflected the lights within stores couples and friends walked out of, his dark hair and dyed brown tips tapping-smacking 

his face gently as he walked down the crowded sidewalk. His nostrils were filled with a nice bitter aroma of seafood and overused perfume and cologne. 

 

Two girls looked at him and giggled, their clothes and phones flaunted their wealth along with the twelve shopping bags they were carrying. 

 

One waved at him, clearly recognizing who he was, he showed no response and kept walking. The girl glared back in response claiming she wasn’t even interested, no doubt trying to regain pride and fill her ego. 

 

The lights illuminated the side of his face, his sneakers were worn down and dirty, unlike the rest of his branded sweats that were fresh out the wash this morning.  Although it was a bit chilly outside he stuck to his regular clothing choice, even if he had goosebumps underneath his hoodie. Turning the corner he took a glance at the building titled ‘Force Waves’ a bloody shark taking a sharp bite out of the F in ‘Force’. The sign was freshly replaced to attract more attention from shoppers passing by, with the help of the boy’s donation, the restaurant has been gaining much more profit. 

 

The comforting smell of his favorite food being  grilled filled his nostrils as a smile slowly crept upon his face. With a familiar warmth welcoming him as he opened the door he felt his problems lift from his shoulders for a few minutes. 

 

“ERIN! My best customer! How’s life been treatin’ ya these days?” , a bellowed laugh and grin erased any frown and left on the teens face. Erin looked up at the father figure before him and gave a quick smile. The owner of Force Waves was no other than Mr. Ibis, he prided himself in keeping his family restaurant afloat along with the rest of his family. 

 

The restaurant was a building made out of five boxcars, an idea Erin brought to their attention when he was in seventh grade. Not only is it a modern way to catch attention , but it also was a great way of recycling and not letting the boxes rust away in landfills. The walls had a nice warm feel of a diner than a restaurant if he was completely honest, the fact that it was in a nice area gave it top props as well. Not only were the lights giving off a soft yellow, but they gave a nice contrast against the blue walls with printed lettering of sea folk tales he’d heard so many years ago.  

The reason he came and visited so much was due to the family and the food he couldn’t go a few days without even if he tried. 

 

Mr Ibis’ wife Astrid, most of the time is in the back handling the bills along with keeping up on the stock. Their son Jasper currently works with them on the weekends while away from college, where as their daughter Gaia was a senior like Erin attending Oryn High, from what he’s been hearing the past few days she’s been planning on going to culinary school off in the east to open up her own location to build up Force Waves name. 

 

“I’ve been doing alright, finishing the second semester has been a real pain,” Erin propped himself up against the front desk, he watched the man behind the grill eyeing the meat as it browned, “But hey, at least I have three more months left and I’ll be done with that hell hole.” His frown returned, he watched his mother’s family friend flip the fresh ground beef on the grill along with fresh battered shrimp swiftly thrown into the fry with a swish and flick. 

 

Ibis saw his expression knowing that the past couple of months have been surely stressful, especially with his exams and plans to ditch the city of Oryn all together. It’s a routine for Erin to come in around dinner time, he’d always end up getting the usual; the number four combo shrimp hamburger, light onion rings, with a nice orange cream soda to swig it all down.

 

 Erin simply couldn’t let go of the simple comfort food his mother loved along with him. The Ibis family were all too familiar with the two and grew fond of them over the past years since he was five. The familiar ringing of the bell as Erin ran into the building in excitement greeting everyone he saw while his mother held a soft smile, unfortunately, those times weren’t cherished as they should’ve been. 

 

“Ah, but you and I both know you’re smarter than you let on,” The chef replied with a soft voice, “You have enough money saved up to buy your own home and start a whole another life altogether. It’s a shame that you haven’t been thinking about other things except escaping.” Erin let out a smack of the lips at his jab, reminding himself it was the only way to be free, to truly reach his goal. 

 

“Gaia has been helping us run the restaurant after school till seven or so and managed to meet a nice boy around your age,” He continued, he swiftly started adding grilled onions on the sandwich before drizzling his signature sauce and placed the bun on top, “I know how you feel about romance n’ all but it wouldn’t hurt to at least have a friend.” 

 

He glanced back over towards the teen boy, his shoulders slightly shaking, eyes placed on the floor. The chef let out a rough breath and wrapped the remainder of the sandwich before grabbing the orange soda from the fridge. Five years have passed and it only seems like the teen’s heart was going through endless turmoil. He wouldn’t be surprised if he never gave his father a letter goodbye. 

 

“Big I, we’ve been over this, my father would only ruin anything that comes into my life. Everything will have to wait until-” Erin was cut off with the adult’s sad stare, his sharp green orbs placed themselves back on the floor. 

 

The Chef placed the paper bag on the counter, grease from the fried onion rings showed on the bag right next to the restaurant’s logo. The air between the two grew tense, the teen already knew where this conversation was going, the reality was he didn’t want to hear it. He didn’t want to be reminded of the town he’d be leaving behind, the memories he made here with her and his old friend. The laughs, the smiles, the tears shed, the adventures, the promises, all wiped out once that diploma is placed in his hands. 

 

Yes, he was scared about the sad reality, if he leaves everything, his home of Oryn, …….who would he be exactly? 

 

His thoughts were interrupted by the chime of the eatery’s entry. Two teens walked in, a boy Erin’s height along with a girl a few inches shorter, her head matching up with his shoulder. The girl immediately  recognized him and flashed a signature Ibis family smile, “Hey Erin! How have you been? Ready for Mr. McCormick’s anatomy exam this friday? You have complained to him over and over again that studying the body is a bit uncomfortable for you!” She let out a loud laugh, slinging an arm around his shoulder a bit awkwardly before yanking off his hood. 

 

“Gaia! What have I told you about the hood?! People are going to notice-” Gaia yanked the hood back on his head before hitting him on the arm, her hazel eyes held mischief like her older brother, but her dyed blonde shoulder-length curly hair resembles her mother. She was still in her soccer uniform from practice, practically still dripping from sweat and mud and dirt-stained her uniform. Her tanned skin glowed with the light provided in the room, Erin will admit he saw her as his older sister, both of the Ibis siblings treated him as their younger brother much to his dismay, but he couldn’t shake the nice feeling he had at the thought of them referring to him as family. 

 

“Sorry lil bro! I forget sometimes you don’t like to spark attention since you get enough of it at school as is.” Gaia simply backed towards the boy still in the entryway, he eyed Erin with a look he couldn’t quite catch through the bangs in his eyes. The boy reminded him of a fellow classmate he used to do projects with in chemistry junior year. He held nice brown eyes, a narrow nose, as well as a fade that tampered up to his fro on top, he wore sweats like him, but they were also drenched in sweat. 

 

“Oh! This is a good time to introduce you two! Erin, this is Raeden Mitchell, we met a few months ago and have been dating since!” 

 

Raeden walked up and held out a hand to shake, he towered a bit over him, but nonetheless, Erin tried his best not to show too much social anxiety in front of everyone. A laugh erupted from behind startling him, Astrid emerged from the office, her carefree sound bounced off the walls and into his ears, he relaxed and shook the other teen’s hand. 

 

“Raeden is the quiet type, but he’s more open when you get to know him. You two both have a lot in common, plus he’s in your english class, I’m surprised you look like you two didn’t know each other.” Gaia hugged her boyfriend’s side, Raeden’s face relaxed and fell into an expression of adoration. 

 

‘They fit perfectly’ was the first thing that popped up in his mind, the two in front of him were currently chatting with Astrid. He seemed to zone out for a while thinking about leaving them, but it’s not like they won’t have anyone else not coming into their lives, they’ll move on while he’s away. 

 

“We won’t forget about you if that’s what your thinking,” Mr. Ibis stood right beside him, paper bag and orange soda in hand, “You’re an essential member of our family, things won’t feel the same when you leave, just promise us one thing-” He placed his large hand on top of the boys hooded head, the other handing him the food and beverage, “That you’ll visit us as much as you can and never forget to remember your home.” 

 

He simply nodded, digging his hand in his pocket pulled out a twenty and placed it in the chef’s hand, “I promise, and I promise everyone worldwide will know about Force Waves.” Erin placed a small smile on his lips before leaving his family and friends with a wave, but as he left the restaurant and rounded the corner, it fell, along with a single tear before roughly wiping it away. 

 

~*~

 

The waves roared against the distant shore, the rocks looked almost like crystals if you looked hard enough, the moon shone on them brightly causing an illusion of obsidian. 

 

Erin downed the rest of his orange soda with a sigh, in two hours he’ll have to go home before his father notices he isn’t there. Not that his father notices when he’s out late nowadays , but he always decides it’s better safe than sorry. He stared up at the night sky, the stars shined like bright lights, angels watching every move and action we make. 

 

‘Just two more months, just two more, and I’ll finally be able to live on my own accord. To finally find my purpose.” Erin smiled at the thought, he’s been writing non-stop in his journal. Adding up the money, days, gas , sweat and tears it would take for him to be as far away from his hometown as possible. 

 

Two stars shone brightly in the black sparkled sky, one shot in the direction towards the east of Oryn, Erin peared closely towards the second star. A bright yellow and orange hue reflected slightly, the size growing tremendously with each passing second. 

 

The teenage boy’s eyes widened at the sight of the incoming bright flash of light, his feet moving before he could activate his reaction towards the reality of the big mass about to crash where he was currently standing. His breathing grew ragged as he scrambled to climb the rocks he once sat upon every afternoon around this time of weather, letting out a shout at the incoming heat he took cover behind a rock like wall covered in sand and moss. 

 

The impact from the crash sent sand and debris shooting out in every direction, Erin held his head down on his knees to prevent anything flowing into his face by mistake. With each wave that rolled onto shore the heat slowly diminished , he lifted his head to be met with the smell of glass and burnt wood. The air felt foreign in comparison to the salty dense air he’d grown accustomed to each afternoon. Pieces of wood were scattered in front , causing Erin to wonder if the landing caused damage to a part of the dock as well.

 

“The hell?” He looked around at the void area, which usually remained clean from trash and litter from foot traffic, only to find a sparkle of heated sand turned to glass. ‘ The Commission always has their pilots land in the water for a safer landing. Did something go wrong? ’

 

Gaining his bearings, Erin dusted off his sweatpants and hoodie trying to get rid of any sand laying waste on him. A mello high gasp caused him to still, a struggling breath cut through the silence once more along with a painful groan. 

 

Erin cautiously peeked out from behind one of the boulders blocking his view, the scene that was provided was breathtaking to say the least, there was a gray line between good and bad on how he saw the sight before him. After all, you don’t see alien girls crashing in escape pods every day.