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    Thomas stretched a little as he tried to adjust himself so that he wouldn't end up dropping his phone on his face like he normally did when lying on his back and watching videos. His parents had been gone for hours, or at least it felt like hours. The boredom was starting to set in now, he hated that. He'd done everything he thought possible to keep himself amused but to a 12-year-old, entertainment doesn't last long when the overhanging feeling of loneliness rears its ugly face. Thomas wished that face was real so he could throw something at it, cheer himself up. From downstairs he could hear the door opening and then slamming shut, he looked up from his bed, his heart skipping a beat.

    "Thomas, we're home~!" he heard his mother say. He smiled.

    "Hey mom," he said happily, laying his head back down, "Where were you guys? You were gone for hours."

    "Just taking care of a few things," she said. Thomas could hear his dad talking to someone, probably on his phone for business stuff as he normally did. The sound of footsteps followed, one of them sounded as if they were struggling. Were his parents carrying something upstairs?

    Thomas was about to ask if they needed help when he heard a loud thud and a cry of pain.

    "Owwwww, what was that?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

    "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't see that there," Thomas's dad said apologetically.

    "It's okay. I'm just not used to walking on crutches is all," the unknown person replied, sounding content and happy. "So, these are the bedrooms then?"

    "Yes, your room will be right here if that's okay. Ours is just down the hall, and this," his father was saying as the door was slowly pushed open, "Is Thomas's."

    Standing next to his father was a teenager. Ashen hair, green eyes, a few bandages on his face. He was wearing a well-worn gray hoodie with black sleeves, dark blue jeans and gray sneakers. However, his right leg had a cast covering it and under his arms were crutches.

    "And this is our son, Thomas," Thomas's dad said, "Thomas, this is Alistar."

    Thomas was now sitting up in the corner of his bed, totally confused as to what was happening.

    "Uh...hi..." Thomas said slowly. Alistair waved happily.

    "Hey there, I can understand your hesitation and confusion, but rest assured all this will be explained later...when these meds wear off," Alistar said, Thomas's dad chuckling a little as he helped Alistair into the room across the hallway. Thomas rubbed the back of his head and then back to his phone.

    "Well...this is weird..."

    The next morning, sunlight blazed past Thomas's blinds making the boy grunt, rolling over onto his side he sighed. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, yawning and tossing the covers off him. His vision focused on the digital clock by his bedside, the face reading ten minutes past nine, saturday. He slid off his bed and adjusted his nightshirt which had slid down over his shoulder again. He rubbed his head as he thought about the weird dream he had last night about some teenager named Alistar was now living with him and his parents. He recalled, his mind in a still sleepy haze, on how he first met Alistar and how badly beaten up he looked, later before going to sleep, peeking into the spare room where he was staying and seeing the teenager with what looked like a phone that he had and was staring at it, seemingly confused. Thomas shook his head to clear his mind before he descended downstairs, smelling something cooking as he did so.

    He slowly walked into the kitchen, the unmistakable smell of cooking sausages, eggs and bacon filling his nose. He couldn't help but smile, seeing his mother standing at the cooker humming happily as she cooked, the morning sun radiating off her.

    "Hey mom," Thomas said happily as he went to the table and sat down.

    "Good morning Thomas," his mother said, "Did you sleep well?"

    "Yeah, had a weird dream last night but that's it."

    "Oh, what was your dream about?" his mother asked, not stopping her cooking. Thomas opened his mouth to speak when he heard voices drifting from the living room.

    "So this here was when I was vacationing in Yosemite Park in California," he heard someone say. Thomas was struck silent, there was no mistaking that joyful and upbeat tone. It was Alistar.

    "My word, that's beautiful," his father was heard, "That's quite the view you got there."

    "Yeah but it's nothing compared to watching the sun set while you're there. Peaceful and serine."

    Thomas couldn't help himself, he slowly slid off the chair and slowly creeped into the living room, unheard on the hardwood floor since he was barefoot. Looking past the threshold he saw his dad and Alistar sitting on the couch, Alistar with his broken leg propped up as he was showing Thomas's dad his phone, obviously the photo collection that was stored on it. But the names of the places that Alistar had been to, sounded totally foreign. Thomas listened to each one of the names: London, Paris, Stuttguard, Toronto, New York City, Philadelphia, Liverpool, Cardiff. Where were these places? Thomas wasn't very good at geography, but he's never heard of those places.

    He slowly walked back into the kitchen and sat back down, nervously drumming his fingers on the table. He bit his lip and turned to his mother who was handing him a plate of freshly cooked sausages, bacon and toast.

    "Mom...um..." he started then faltered.

    "Yes Thomas, what is it?" his mother asked, unaware of Thomas's nervousness.

    "That guy...um...what was his name again, Alistar? You and dad didn't tell me where he came from, or why he's here."

    "Ah, yes. We're sorry about that, Thomas. We were going to talk with him together, but he was so tired from all the medication he was given we thought best to leave him alone and let him sleep for the night. We'll learn more about him today if that's alright."

    Thomas started to eat, slowly as he processed what was to come. "Okay then," he said, slowly chewing on half a sausage. He heard footsteps behind him as his father and Alistar entered the kitchen.

    "Heyyyy, something smells good," Alistar said happily, "What're you cooking Mrs. Archway?"

    Thomas's mother chuckled sweetly. "Please Alistar, call me Hailey."

    "Sorry Mrs. Archway-I mean Hailey," Alistar said as he adjusted the crutches under his arms, he was still smiling, "I'm too used to formalities."

    "That's perfectly fine, Alistar. I understand." Hailey said as she set down another plate of food for Alistar, "You can sit next to Thomas if you'd like."

    Thomas looked up at Alistar as he sat down.

    "Bet ya thought I was just a dream," Alistar said, giggling a little.

    "Well, kinda...yeah," Thomas said, sounding unsure if he really was awake.

    "Don't worry, I'm not here to mooch off your family or take over," Alistar said, "I'm just forever grateful that your parents not only saved my life but were willing to let me stay here."

    "Until you recover, or your family can come get you?" Thomas asked curiously.

    "Well, probably the first one since my family's sorta unable to reach me."

    "Why's that?"

    "Simply put, they're nothing more than radioactive dust."

    Thomas stopped eating, staring in disbelief at what Alistar had said. He couldn't help but stare as Alistar ate, smiling and nodded.

    "Oh wow this is good," he said, "Amazing work Mrs-I mean Hailey."

    "You're welcome, Alistar," she said happily. Thomas found his voice again.

    "Whoa whoa, what? What do you mean they're radioactive dust?" he asked. Alistar stopped eating and then took a large gulp of the milk he had.

    "Should've told you my story from the start," he said, leaning back in his seat to face Thomas.

    Thomas listened as Alistar gave him a slightly shorter version of the story of what events transpired to him winding up at the Archway residence. He made sure to focus on the part when Alistar told him of how he was caught in the blast of one of the nuclear missiles that were dropping all around him and then wound up on the island, crashing his car and then being saved by Thomas's parents and then staying in the hospital for the last two weeks before being brought here since he had no family, friends or anyone to turn to since his arrival. When all was said and done Thomas leaned back in his chair, breakfast forgotten as he thought deeply about what he had heard. None of it sounded believeable, nothing about it made any sense, but the way Alistar told the story with a genuine tone and an unbroken expression made it all the more truthful.

    "I...I don't know what to say..." Thomas said, "Am I going crazy?"

    "Far from it, after all I got blasted by a nuke, if anything this could be my form of an afterlife and none of this is real. But if so, this bacon is delicious," Alistar said, "And I'm not complaining."

    "You should see the pictures that he has, Thomas," Thomas's father said, "Very interesting places he's been to."

    "I'll show you more stuff when we get back to my car and I get the rest of my stuff out of it," Alistar said.

    "I think the police took it to the scrapyard, Alistar. We'll go there when your leg is better. For now I can call them and make sure it's not been crushed yet."

    "Hope not, my laptop's in the trunk and my teachers won't accept late work. Even if they're now mutated skeletons," Alistar said, Thomas's parents chuckling a little. Even Thomas smiled weakly, despite Alistar's utterly bizarre story and that he hadn't even finished his breakfast, he had a feeling that this was going to be the start of something interesting.

Description
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    Thomas stretched a little as he tried to adjust himself so that he wouldn't end up dropping his phone on his face like he normally did when lying on his back and watching videos. His parents had been gone for hours, or at least it felt like hours. The boredom was starting to set in now, he hated that. He'd done everything he thought possible to keep himself amused but to a 12-year-old, entertainment doesn't last long when the overhanging feeling of loneliness rears its ugly face. Thomas wished that face was real so he could throw something at it, cheer himself up. From downstairs he could hear the door opening and then slamming shut, he looked up from his bed, his heart skipping a beat.

    "Thomas, we're home~!" he heard his mother say. He smiled.

    "Hey mom," he said happily, laying his head back down, "Where were you guys? You were gone for hours."

    "Just taking care of a few things," she said. Thomas could hear his dad talking to someone, probably on his phone for business stuff as he normally did. The sound of footsteps followed, one of them sounded as if they were struggling. Were his parents carrying something upstairs?

    Thomas was about to ask if they needed help when he heard a loud thud and a cry of pain.

    "Owwwww, what was that?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

    "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't see that there," Thomas's dad said apologetically.

    "It's okay. I'm just not used to walking on crutches is all," the unknown person replied, sounding content and happy. "So, these are the bedrooms then?"

    "Yes, your room will be right here if that's okay. Ours is just down the hall, and this," his father was saying as the door was slowly pushed open, "Is Thomas's."

    Standing next to his father was a teenager. Ashen hair, green eyes, a few bandages on his face. He was wearing a well-worn gray hoodie with black sleeves, dark blue jeans and gray sneakers. However, his right leg had a cast covering it and under his arms were crutches.

    "And this is our son, Thomas," Thomas's dad said, "Thomas, this is Alistar."

    Thomas was now sitting up in the corner of his bed, totally confused as to what was happening.

    "Uh...hi..." Thomas said slowly. Alistair waved happily.

    "Hey there, I can understand your hesitation and confusion, but rest assured all this will be explained later...when these meds wear off," Alistar said, Thomas's dad chuckling a little as he helped Alistair into the room across the hallway. Thomas rubbed the back of his head and then back to his phone.

    "Well...this is weird..."

    The next morning, sunlight blazed past Thomas's blinds making the boy grunt, rolling over onto his side he sighed. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, yawning and tossing the covers off him. His vision focused on the digital clock by his bedside, the face reading ten minutes past nine, saturday. He slid off his bed and adjusted his nightshirt which had slid down over his shoulder again. He rubbed his head as he thought about the weird dream he had last night about some teenager named Alistar was now living with him and his parents. He recalled, his mind in a still sleepy haze, on how he first met Alistar and how badly beaten up he looked, later before going to sleep, peeking into the spare room where he was staying and seeing the teenager with what looked like a phone that he had and was staring at it, seemingly confused. Thomas shook his head to clear his mind before he descended downstairs, smelling something cooking as he did so.

    He slowly walked into the kitchen, the unmistakable smell of cooking sausages, eggs and bacon filling his nose. He couldn't help but smile, seeing his mother standing at the cooker humming happily as she cooked, the morning sun radiating off her.

    "Hey mom," Thomas said happily as he went to the table and sat down.

    "Good morning Thomas," his mother said, "Did you sleep well?"

    "Yeah, had a weird dream last night but that's it."

    "Oh, what was your dream about?" his mother asked, not stopping her cooking. Thomas opened his mouth to speak when he heard voices drifting from the living room.

    "So this here was when I was vacationing in Yosemite Park in California," he heard someone say. Thomas was struck silent, there was no mistaking that joyful and upbeat tone. It was Alistar.

    "My word, that's beautiful," his father was heard, "That's quite the view you got there."

    "Yeah but it's nothing compared to watching the sun set while you're there. Peaceful and serine."

    Thomas couldn't help himself, he slowly slid off the chair and slowly creeped into the living room, unheard on the hardwood floor since he was barefoot. Looking past the threshold he saw his dad and Alistar sitting on the couch, Alistar with his broken leg propped up as he was showing Thomas's dad his phone, obviously the photo collection that was stored on it. But the names of the places that Alistar had been to, sounded totally foreign. Thomas listened to each one of the names: London, Paris, Stuttguard, Toronto, New York City, Philadelphia, Liverpool, Cardiff. Where were these places? Thomas wasn't very good at geography, but he's never heard of those places.

    He slowly walked back into the kitchen and sat back down, nervously drumming his fingers on the table. He bit his lip and turned to his mother who was handing him a plate of freshly cooked sausages, bacon and toast.

    "Mom...um..." he started then faltered.

    "Yes Thomas, what is it?" his mother asked, unaware of Thomas's nervousness.

    "That guy...um...what was his name again, Alistar? You and dad didn't tell me where he came from, or why he's here."

    "Ah, yes. We're sorry about that, Thomas. We were going to talk with him together, but he was so tired from all the medication he was given we thought best to leave him alone and let him sleep for the night. We'll learn more about him today if that's alright."

    Thomas started to eat, slowly as he processed what was to come. "Okay then," he said, slowly chewing on half a sausage. He heard footsteps behind him as his father and Alistar entered the kitchen.

    "Heyyyy, something smells good," Alistar said happily, "What're you cooking Mrs. Archway?"

    Thomas's mother chuckled sweetly. "Please Alistar, call me Hailey."

    "Sorry Mrs. Archway-I mean Hailey," Alistar said as he adjusted the crutches under his arms, he was still smiling, "I'm too used to formalities."

    "That's perfectly fine, Alistar. I understand." Hailey said as she set down another plate of food for Alistar, "You can sit next to Thomas if you'd like."

    Thomas looked up at Alistar as he sat down.

    "Bet ya thought I was just a dream," Alistar said, giggling a little.

    "Well, kinda...yeah," Thomas said, sounding unsure if he really was awake.

    "Don't worry, I'm not here to mooch off your family or take over," Alistar said, "I'm just forever grateful that your parents not only saved my life but were willing to let me stay here."

    "Until you recover, or your family can come get you?" Thomas asked curiously.

    "Well, probably the first one since my family's sorta unable to reach me."

    "Why's that?"

    "Simply put, they're nothing more than radioactive dust."

    Thomas stopped eating, staring in disbelief at what Alistar had said. He couldn't help but stare as Alistar ate, smiling and nodded.

    "Oh wow this is good," he said, "Amazing work Mrs-I mean Hailey."

    "You're welcome, Alistar," she said happily. Thomas found his voice again.

    "Whoa whoa, what? What do you mean they're radioactive dust?" he asked. Alistar stopped eating and then took a large gulp of the milk he had.

    "Should've told you my story from the start," he said, leaning back in his seat to face Thomas.

    Thomas listened as Alistar gave him a slightly shorter version of the story of what events transpired to him winding up at the Archway residence. He made sure to focus on the part when Alistar told him of how he was caught in the blast of one of the nuclear missiles that were dropping all around him and then wound up on the island, crashing his car and then being saved by Thomas's parents and then staying in the hospital for the last two weeks before being brought here since he had no family, friends or anyone to turn to since his arrival. When all was said and done Thomas leaned back in his chair, breakfast forgotten as he thought deeply about what he had heard. None of it sounded believeable, nothing about it made any sense, but the way Alistar told the story with a genuine tone and an unbroken expression made it all the more truthful.

    "I...I don't know what to say..." Thomas said, "Am I going crazy?"

    "Far from it, after all I got blasted by a nuke, if anything this could be my form of an afterlife and none of this is real. But if so, this bacon is delicious," Alistar said, "And I'm not complaining."

    "You should see the pictures that he has, Thomas," Thomas's father said, "Very interesting places he's been to."

    "I'll show you more stuff when we get back to my car and I get the rest of my stuff out of it," Alistar said.

    "I think the police took it to the scrapyard, Alistar. We'll go there when your leg is better. For now I can call them and make sure it's not been crushed yet."

    "Hope not, my laptop's in the trunk and my teachers won't accept late work. Even if they're now mutated skeletons," Alistar said, Thomas's parents chuckling a little. Even Thomas smiled weakly, despite Alistar's utterly bizarre story and that he hadn't even finished his breakfast, he had a feeling that this was going to be the start of something interesting.