Anne woke up to the sight of Seren and Marcus being gone, she panicked as she frantically searched for Seren. "I KNEW I COULDN'T TRUST HIM I'M SO DUMB!" She thought to herself, but as she ran outside, she saw Seren and Marcus watching the sunrise.
"Oh... there you are, I was worried." Anne said.
"Sorry, I was just looking at the sunrise." Seren apologized.
"What about the danger, did you forget to think about the danger? You cannot just leave me like that."
"I know, I'm sorry, I just couldn't sleep, and I didn't want to bother you." Seren replied.
"Well, you should have, I was worried about you." Anne said.
"Don't worry, we're safe. Those guys that were chasing us are long gone." Marcus reassured.
"How do you know that?" Anne asked.
"They never found us; once we made it to the building, they left." Anne smiled as she looked at the sun. "I guess this place could be satisfactory."
Seren furrowed his brow. "I still do not trust this place, I still think we should go somewhere else."
Before Marcus could respond, Anne cut him off. "Marcus, what was the planet like right before all of this happened?"
"The day before all this happened, there were signs that something was seriously wrong. The entire Earth felt shaky the entire time and as it was hit by "The Cataclysm" as I like to call it, a massive shockwave engulfed the entire planet and shattered everything in its path, killing over 3 billion people in the process from what I heard by the word of mouth." Marcus explained.
Anne was speechless, she had no idea that the planet had been hit that hard.
"Marcus, what was the rest of the planet like before this happened?"
Marcus went silent for a moment as he reflected on his words, he began to furrow his eyebrows.
"I remember that day, I was with..." He cut himself off. "I noticed the first signs that something was wrong, it started off small, but then it quickly escalated. At first, I thought it was just an earthquake, but then I realized it was something far more powerful. I'll never forget the feeling of the entire ground shaking beneath my feet as the shockwaves rippled through the air."
Anne and Seren were shocked, they had no idea that the planet had been hit that hard. They exchanged glances, both of them realizing that there was nothing they could do to stop it.
"Seren and I come from another planet called Elyndra, we are considered to be the "primary hub" of the entire constant. Our goal as scholars is to try and study other planets and their culture to learn more about them." Anne explained.
Marcus looked at the two of them. "Wow, that's really interesting. So, what brings you to this planet?" Marcus was seemingly disinterested with Anne and Seren.
Seren was the one that spoke first. "Our planet had a large data collection facility on this planet and when the cataclysm occurred, our lead scientist, the founder of NESU Dr. Solarys asked us to make the journey to Earth in order to find out why the planet was giving off unfathomable biodata."
Marcus raised his eyebrows. "Huh, that's interesting... I guess I don't really believe you considering the circumstances that we are in."
"Listen, I understand, it is a lot to take in, but you need to understand that we have no intention of hurting you. Our mission is purely scientific, not military. We are simply here to learn more about the planet and its people."
"That's good, I'm glad that you aren't trying to hurt me, it would be pretty bad for you two if you were trying to hurt me." Marcus joked.
Seren and Anne chuckled nervously. "We understand, we would not dream of it."
The three of them stared at the sky, the silence of the air causing the tension to grow.
Anne looked at Marcus. "So, do you have any friends on this planet?"
"They're all dead." Marcus replied coldly.
Anne and Seren were shocked, they couldn't believe what they were hearing.
"What happened to them?" Seren asked.
"I don't want to talk about it." Marcus said, his voice dripping with venom.
Anne and Seren decided to not ask him anymore questions, they were afraid of what the answer would be.
"I know we have been a bother ever since you saved us, but can you teach us some basic survival knowledge?"
Marcus chuckled. "It's fine, it's nice having someone to talk to."
"You said you were a war veteran, what exactly was your occupation within it?" Anne asked.
Marcus was caught off guard by the question. "I was part of the air force."
"What is that?"
"It was terrifying. You would fly fighter jets, and every day there were people dying by my hands… those poor people in Afghanistan." Marcus began to reflect.
"Were you the only pilot?"
"No, I was in a squadron, we had a group of pilots that were our brothers and sisters." Marcus replied.
"What happened to them?"
"They're dead."
"All of them?"
"Most of them. I'm not sure, I haven't seen the others in a while. We were attacked during an evacuation mission and things didn't go according to plan. I'm the only one that got out alive."
"I'm so sorry, that must have been hard." Anne replied.
"Yeah, it was... but it's not something you can dwell on forever. That's why I need to do what's right. I just so happened to watch you two receive all that firing, and I couldn't just stand and watch."
As the sun rose even more, Anne and Seren noticed their skin was beginning to burn. "I didn't realize that the sun would be so bright, we are not used to this." Anne commented.
"Oh yeah, you guys aren't from this planet, that makes sense. I'm assuming the ozone layer works differently on your planet. Maybe yours is thicker than ours?" Marcus suggested.
"Is there any extra clothing you can give to us?" Anne asked.
Marcus shook his head. "No, I'm sorry, all I have is this jacket."
"That's okay, it will have to suffice."
"Thanks again, Marcus, for saving us, I don't think we would have lasted much longer without your help, but I have one more big thing to ask you." Anne twiddled her thumbs.
"What is it?" Marcus asked.
"Can you teach us how to survive?"
"Survive?"
"Yes, you mentioned that you used to be a military pilot. You must be some type of expert in this field, right?" Marcus' demeanor changed.
"I suppose so, but to be honest, I don't trust you two."