The Land Before Us

Chapter 1 – Never think simple

The empty streets and abandoned warehouses play amplifier to the two mens fast paced shoes slapping against the slick wet ground as the old worn out baseball field quickly fades behind them. Preston and Damien both know the side streets around this area are used for shady activities and both know not to trail too far down them, but knowing these things only makes their fear for emotional unstable younger kid flourish.

Damien's hold on the wooden bat has not softened as the slight corner of the abandoned two story building slides past his left, "Matt!"

The two men are brought to an abrupt sliding halt as they spot the smaller dark haired boy standing with his jacket covered back towards them, Matt has the clay caked dripping ball in his right hand but he has frozen his head up to the sky and has not turned to his older brother's voice.

Damien again calls out to his kid brother as his face scrunches up in a little bit of anger at not hearing his younger brother call out earlier, "Matt!"

"Shh!" Matt shifts his head a little brings his right ear towards the empty sky as he calls back behind him, "Did you guys hear that?"

Preston and Damien both give each other an annoyed look, "Did we hear that?" Damien shakes his head as he loosens his grip on the bat with each step he takes closer to his brother, "We thought you were shot or something!"

Matt again hushes his brother as he walks closer, "It's aliens."

"Ya ya ya, its aliens alright...you know what aliens do to your ass if they get it?" Preston holds his sarcastic comment as he traces his eyes over the broken windows of the abandoned warehouses that litter the street.

"Lets get back to the field Matt." Damien nudges his arm with the tip of the bat as he starts to turn back.

But his brother doesn't follow as he tosses the baseball back to his walk, "Hold on I want to go see something."

Damien fumbles a little as he catches the ball in his free hand, "Wait!"

"Just one minute." Matt puffs his jacket out a little trying to show some ounce of toughness but the slick back black haired boy's short stature plays contrast to his actions. His motion is fast as he breaks to a slow run down the street.

"Great..." Preston and Damien follow suit after him as they swing their heads back to the street behind them to make sure no ones following them.

Matt's light run picks up as he shifts his head to an open area between two buildings.

"Oh oh cramp cramp." Preston grabs at his right side as he slows his pace down, "Ahhhh yep...ow."

Damien gives a slight laugh as he shows himself to his blond haired friend, "Really dude that's like two blocks?"
Preston flips some hair from his eyes as he talks in a slight out of breath fashion, "So? I don't run like you."

Damien gives a sarcastic roll of the eyes as he slaps his bat wielding arm to him, "Told you that you shou..." His voice is slightly cut off the loud banging sound rings through the streets around them. Damien ‘s sarcastic face is shed as he tries to locate the sound, the two men bring their heads up as they look over the drastically changing cloud cover above them. The taller dark haired Damien holds his gaze as he starts to the corner of the building, "Alright Matt lets get out of here before it rains again."

As he brings himself to the round about Matt stumbles back and falls to his back holding a wide eyed gaze with his left arm extended to something still shielded by the wall, "S-see aliens dude..."

Preston squints at the young mans serious face as he starts himself to his friend's side, "Theres no such things as aliens Matt, you've seen too many movies."

"Preston...look at this thing..."

It took the blond haired guy a moment to shift his gaze to Damien, his face is fixated with squinting eyes to the same thing Matt seems to be pointing to. As Preston moves himself to his frozen friends side he too joints in the astonishment as the three men stare at a large gold glowing orb floating in the adjacent empty grassy lot of the warehouse.

Matt is the first to speak as he brings himself to his feet and pushes himself through the two bigger men, "Let me see, let me see!" He may be seventeen but his voice takes on more of a pre-teen child as he brings his short body too his brother and friend's side.

Preston's voice is low as he looks at the gold orb that floats just above the grassy dirt ground, "W-hat is that?"

"Let me see this..." Matt takes the baseball from Damien's clenched hand as he talks. His brother's hand only releases the ball as his deep voice calls down to the slick haired boy, "Wait what are you..." Before his voice stops Matt cocks his arm back and throws the ball at the light.

As the ball makes contact with the orb a ear shattering ringing is sent billowing off the walls of the buildings around it. The glass that has remained unbroken even after years of lacked maintenance now shatters to this abnormal sound. Damien and Preston both grab at their ears in pain as they let out a light yell. Matt though seems unaffected by the sound, instead his eyes are still widely fixated on the now wobbling light.

Another loud sound echos from the orb but the strange noise is now a high pitched chiming.

Damien and Preston back away at the sight but Matt is moving close towards it, "Matt come here!" His brother's call goes unfollowed as the young guy gives a light laugh, "We found an alien spacecraft!"

"Ya thats fucking great bu....don't touch it!" Preston's voice now spikes in a yell as Matt continues to walk ever closer to the orb. "Matt!"

As the short kid walks himself to only a few steps from the ball of chiming light he reaches his hands out, Preston and Damien both stare unwilling to move but still trying desperately to call him back.

Matt's voice is low and carries a naive joy as he reaches his hand to the ball, "Guys it feels really warm..." He gives a light hearted laugh as he moves his hand through the ball of light, with each passing a few wispy trails of gold run traced around the edges of his hand and fingers. The wispy light that traces off of the orb and into the air around him doesn't settle to the ground but begins to just levitate where his motion stops.

He follows through the motion a few more times as his arms tingle a little, "You guys have to feel this its so c...-" Matt's voice is cut from existence as the short dark haired teen is vanished with a loud resonating chime.

"MATT!" Damien stares in shock to the empty spot his younger brother once stood. Preston is speechless for a moment as he pulls his hands through his hair, "Oh fuck! Oh fuck! What was that! What WAS that!"

The light surrounding the still suspended ball begins to grow a little lighter as the clouds above give a thundering crack.

Damien clutches his bat as he tightens his gaze to the orb, "Oh no you don't!" In a quick motion the star batter for NYU has charged to the chiming light and vanished.

"OH god!" Preston rubs at his hair a little more intensely as he starts up in a shifty walk, he gives a little whine to himself as he turns back to the gold shine starting to fade to the graffiti covered wall behind it. With one more pull at his now rat nest looking hair he charges to the orb.

Preston's adrenaline pumped charge and yells are soaked up as the orb closes with him around it. The blond haired man closes his eyes tightly not wanting to see the cause of the noise around him. His mind is telling him that he's not moving but the rushing air being thrown past his head and the flipping stomach in his body is telling him that he is not only moving, but that he is now being carried somewhere with the same whipping weightlessness of a high speed roller coaster. The loud chiming around him is the only thing other than the howling air dwarf his voice as he manages to call out through his sporadic fear driven breathing, "Shiittt!”

End of chapter 1