Chapter 1

“I still can’t believe this”, I said, laughing.

“Is this about that chupacabra video you uploaded two weeks ago?” This was my bespectacled female friend Chris asking. We were at our usual corner in the cafeteria, hanging out, doing our own thing with our phones while waiting for our next class. “Aren’t you tired of that already?”

“I mean, people are still talking about it in the comments. Some threads from day one are still active today. Usually, stuff on the internet only remains popular for a day or two, but, even after its peak, I’m still getting thousands of views and hundreds of comments per day. How can I be tired of it?”

“I’m pretty sure those comments are just pointless back-and-forths on whether the creature in your video is real or not”, she said with a tinge of annoyance. “Besides, that’s all you’ve ever been talking about lately and I’m tired of you talking about it.”

“Hmm? Sounds like somebody’s jealous”, I coyly replied.

“Why would I be jealous?” she asked defensively.

“You’ve been streaming games for a year now and I know you haven’t gotten more than a few hundred views.”

“So what? At least I have a consistent viewership unlike you…”

“Who has more than a million views from one video alone”, I interjected.

Chris stared at me for a moment with furrowed brows.

“That’s right”, she said. “Just one video. Come back to me when your other videos are watched by other people beside your parents.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I plan to make a career out of this.”

“What? Making hoax videos about cryptids?”

“Tsk tsk tsk”, I cheekily clicked my tongue as I waved my pointing finger. “Au contraire, it’s making documentaries about cryptids.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Well, hoax videos are just short clips of alleged sightings. What I’m doing is giving the cryptid a personality, presenting its life, and passing it as real!”

“So, a hoax.”

There was nothing I could say after that. Deep down, I knew what she was saying was true.

“Well, it doesn’t really matter. All that matters is that they give me views.”

“Trash”, she said, accompanied with a glare that says the same thing. “Anyway, how are you planning to do your trashy thing? Didn’t you just happen to film a sick and deformed dog then passed it off as a chupacabra? I doubt you can find something resembling Bigfoot or Nessie and do the same.”

“You’re right, which is why I’m thinking of using CG this time.”

“You don’t even know the first thing about editing videos and you’re suddenly thinking of dabbing into CG? Are you out of your mind?”

“No, for I have a plan”, I confidently stated.

“And? What is it?”

“I want you to do it. We can split the profits.”

She didn’t answer immediately. There was tension in the air as I waited for her answer.

“No”, she bluntly said. “Just because I helped you add voice overs to your video doesn’t mean I can do CG.”

Not expecting rejection, my tone quickly shifted from confident to pleading.

“Please, I don’t know who else to ask!”

She grabbed her bag and placed her phone inside. Then, she told me as she stood from her seat, “Then you better start learning.”

As she turned, I reached across the table to try and grab her hand or bag, but I somehow missed both. The momentum then led me to touch her backside accidentally. That caused her to jump forward, turn back to me, and give me a huge slap in the face.

Then, silently, she left without even hearing an excuse from me. Only the throbbing pain on my cheek from the slap, and a tingling sensation on my hand from touching her soft cheek through denim remained.

After classes, I waited for Chris. I wanted to apologize for the incident. She was a good friend and I didn’t want to make our relationship weird because of it.

We had different classes in the afternoon so we were let out at different times. I wasn’t sure when her last class was, but I waited by the gate where she usually exits until sundown regardless.

I listlessly looked up at the sky which was already showing a few lights, probably satellites. At least, I think they are until I thought I saw one move erratically.

It moved vertically, then diagonally, then horizontally, then diagonally again. It changed directions multiple times.

I rubbed my eyes to see if I wasn’t just my vision playing tricks on me. But, as soon as I opened my eyes, I noticed a bright light shining down upon me. I wasn’t standing under a lamplight and there didn’t seem to be anything above me, which was weird.

Then, the next thing I knew, my surroundings changed from the campus gate to some sort of enclosed space. A room, perhaps, with white walls. Although, I wasn’t sure if it was its actual color or if it was the blinding light that’s making it appear white.

A door then slid open on the wall I was facing, revealing a person wearing an astronaut suit, complete from the helmet to the boots. It was, to my confusion, colored in gold from top to bottom as well.

“Hello?” I nervously greeted this person.

But, they just approached me silently. The sound of their footsteps echoed throughout the room.

They stopped when we were only a few steps apart, which made me feel a bit silly for getting intimidated by their approach. This person was one head smaller than me, an average-sized male.

As I sized this space suit person up, they spoke for the first time.

“Greetings… Earthling.”