Greetings, Earthlings

"IT LOOKS like it."

Kyla drummed her fingers on the desk, her shoulders slumping with quiet resignation. She leaned back in her chair and slowly swiveled around to study the painting on the wall. Where she once admired graceful dancing figures, there now swirled vivid images of dancing humanoid animals encircling a bizarre, otherworldly beast.

"Is this like those manga you read?" Kiloil asked, peering over her shoulder.

Kyla exhaled sharply. "I don't read manga about beastmen," she replied, irritation lacing her tone. "I just happen to see them in ads when I'm trying to read something else."

Kiloil folded his arms. "So—how did we get here?"

She frowned, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "I don't know. Parallel Earth theory? Maybe we crossed over somehow, or our memories from another world bled into this one. I truly have no clue."

"And what about our life over there?" he pressed. "What do we do now?"

"Maybe we switched places with ourselves here," Kyla offered, though uncertainty tinged her words.

Kiloil's eyes widened. "So, what do we do?"

Kyla threw up her hands in exasperation. "I don't know, Koi!"

She ran a hand through her curly hair, then buried her face in her palms as she stared at the worn wooden floor. "Mom's alive—and if she's the same as she was ten years ago, that's going to be a huge problem. And Dad… he can speak now. There are faces in old photos we don't recognize. What can we do? We aren't gods. We don't have powers. What are we supposed to do?!"

Kiloil pursed his lips, fiddling with his phone and headphones. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "I know—what if we contact Gavin?"

Kyla straightened, her brow furrowing. "Gavin? Our first cousin? He might not even exist here, and if he does, his personality could be completely different. This is a different world, Kiloil. We can't risk exposing ourselves."

He shrugged, defiant. "But what are we really afraid of? This world is obviously more advanced than ours—look at those ads for hover cars and sky-high cities. What threat could our mere presence pose?"

Kyla shook her head. "You're half right. Our personalities here might be different, and if we act out of character, people will start asking questions—like Mom, whom we haven't seen in a decade."

"We could always say we did drugs," Kiloil joked. "That's why we're different."

"You're 14, Koi," Kyla snapped, rolling her eyes. "Let me handle the ideas."

"Ageism," he retorted playfully before flopping onto the carpet in a starfish pose, his arms and legs splayed out on the fluffy rug. After a moment, he looked up. "Maybe we could say we're just going through a phase? Still, I think we should call Gavin. If he's the same person we remember, he'll help us."

"Okay, text him," Kyla conceded, frowning as she sat up straighter. "I'm going to do some research—we need to know the basics."

Kiloil tapped away on his phone and then cradled it to his ear. The call connected immediately. "Vinny, your moves are crap and your game is lame."

"Can it, Koi," came the familiar voice through the speaker. "I'll destroy you in Thunders Riders."

"Vinnyyyyy," Kiloil stretched languidly, thumbs idly twiddling as he kept the phone on speaker. "Question—if you suddenly received memories from another world, what would you do?"

Kyla spun around, reaching for the phone, but Kiloil dodged her hand and continued.

 "Depends."

"Depends on what? What if it's from a parallel world?" Kiloil prodded.

"How advanced is it?"

"They're more backwards than us," Kiloil answered.

"I don't think that makes much of a difference," the voice mused.

"Yeah, well, it happened to us," Kiloil said, darting away from Kyla's reach. "And Vinny, we need your help. We're in trouble."

There was a pause on the other end. "Kiloil, I'll be there in ten minutes. Make sure Kyla's there too."

The call ended, and Kyla snatched the phone from his hand, lightly smacking his shoulder. "You've exposed us to unknown variables."

"Okay, smartypants, but I really think Vinny's the same," he replied.

Frustrated, Kyla tossed her hands in the air and stormed out of the room, passing their father who was balancing a tray of fruit and two steaming cups.

"Ky pie," her father called gently. "Are you okay?"

She paused at the familiar yet oddly distant voice, her throat tightening. "Sorry, Dad."

"Ky pie," he repeated softly, extending the tray toward her. "I made tea and fruit for you both. Lunch's in the oven."

She accepted the blue cup and small fruit platter with a weak smile. "Thanks, Dad."

"You're welcome, my love," he said, then ambled back toward the study where her brother waited.

Alone now, tears began to stream down Kyla's cheeks as she trudged to her room. She closed the door with a soft thud, sliding down until she was curled up on the floor, sobbing quietly. As she nibbled on a piece of fruit, her thoughts whirled: Dad could speak, her freaking mother was alive, and everything she thought she knew had unraveled. 

For the first time in five years, Kyla allowed herself to cry—really cry.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Hey, Uncs!" a voice called from outside of the house as a tall young man with long black tied hair waved at the middle-aged gentleman opening the front door, beads on his neck swaying with each movement.

"Gavin," the man said with raised eyebrows, "what are you doing here?"

Gavin scratched his head awkwardly before shrugging. "Kiloil needs help fixing his BBox. I promised I'd drop by."

"Don't you have work? Come in anyway," his uncle sighed, stepping aside. "Lunch should be ready in ten minutes—it's your and Kiloil's favorite."

Gavin laughed as he passed through the hallway. "Thanks, Uncs. I've got the day off. Can't wait for the food."

He stopped at Kiloil's door and knocked loudly. Moments later, Kiloil opened the door, headphones dangling around his neck.

"Vinny," he greeted warmly.

They exchanged a quick, familiar bro-hug before Gavin waltzed in and plopped down onto Kiloil's bean bag. "Where's Ky Ky?"

"She's in her room," Kiloil replied, settling into his red-striped gamer chair.

Gavin's expression shifted to one of concern. "Kiloil, be honest—have you been scammed again?"

Kiloil shook his head, troubled thoughts flickering across his face. "No, it's not that."

"Then what's happening?" Gavin asked.

Kiloil glanced out the window, his voice dropping. "Me and Kyla… we're not from here."

Gavin's eyebrows shot upward. "What do you mean?"

"We're from Earth," Kiloil explained. "There's no one like you beastmen—no Beastials—in our world."

Gavin paused, sniffing the air.

His gaze hardened as he stood up, stepping closer, gripping Kiloil's shoulders tightly—his nails shifting to sharp claws.

In a rough, urgent tone, he demanded, "Who are you—and what have you done with Koi?"