Chapter 5

Monday came in fast. The amount of snow stuck on the streets had grown thicker and thicker as hours passed. The news of the country experiencing wintery weather had expanded over the world. Even other countries in the Southern Hemisphere were under the outlandish phenomenon, Africa and Southeast Asia in particular. According to the websites Liam had visited, Western countries had been doing frequent lockdowns because of the severity of temperature drops experienced there. Riots were still in the news worldwide and only after some hours of the snowfall event, Liam had heard that there had been scattered public violence taking place in Central Luzon and the northeastern part of Mindanao. He felt like the world was spinning the other way around. The odd events had made almost everything lose its natural course.

After a hot shower, Liam donned two long-sleeved shirts under a thick jacket. He went downstairs and grabbed his backpack. He saw his father sitting on a stool while watching kids sprawling in the snow through the window. Lesley made seldom smirks and chuckles. After the last time he, Liam thought, hurt him, both in physical and emotional manners, they had never fought. They were avoiding contact, but that was way better than experiencing violence.

"Dad," Liam said, making his father turn to him. "I'm going to school now. You stay safe here, alright?"

Lesley nodded, then opened his mouth. "Take care, son."

His words made Liam smile. Liam knew he was still in pain. The accident was tragic and traumatic. Liam also got nightmares on some nights, but he always approached otherwise the next days. It was clear that Lesley had not done that these past weeks and Liam understood where his sudden behavioral changes were coming from. Liam wondered when his father would go back to his company. He was not doing sideline jobs to support finances but for a readier future. He wanted knowledge of different workplaces. He just hoped his father's mental health would be stable and prepared someday, so he could be back to his former social, cheerful self.

He opened the door and the cold blast of air hit his frame. He shut the door close and walked along the rows of piles of snow in their front yard. Kids were playing in the snowcapped yards on the other side of the road. They threw snowballs at each other, chuckles echoing all through the streets. Liam started pedaling and took off to school.

After some minutes, he went through the school gates and parked his bicycle in a lot reserved for light vehicles. He looked for a vacant area and set the bicycle locked there. He walked across the now white school field and everyone, even some teachers, was taking photos. Liam did not want to be rude, but he did not like very much how other people treat the weirdness of nature right now. He wondered if they even noticed how the gray skies cried an increasing amount of snow. He guessed the government was not taking Mother Earth's off-the-wall novel behaviors in sincerity.

He hurried off the field when the school bell rang and went to his first class. There, he met Tahir and Ken. He sat by Ken who was staring outside the window. The subject teacher buttoned up his coat, then started speaking.

"Weird, right?" Ken said in suddenness.

Liam turned to him, his brows raised. "I know, right?"

"What's right?" Tahir let out.

"He means the snow," Liam responded. "Our country isn't supposed to experience this."

"Have you seen the news? Seas are freezing," Tahir added. "Aliens may be messing with us."

Liam rolled his eyes at him, then looked at the unstoppable snowfall outside. A long sigh escaped his lungs and as he exhaled it, a quick sharp pain smote the inside of his nose it felt like it was on the verge of bleeding. He scrunched his nose and started rubbing his palms.

"It's disturbing, the snow," Ken said. "Why aren't classes suspended yet? We're in a crisis, Liam, aren't we?"

Ken was a curious guy and the youngest in their circle. He always found random questions about whatever he saw intriguing. He was a sweet man as well, talking about how he was an active volunteer in charities, tree plantings in particular. He was social and shy at the same time. Everyone seemed to get along with him with such ease.

"I don't know, Ken," Liam talked back. "But you may be right though. We're— Anyway, pay attention to the lesson, you two."

"Have you guys heard about the killer of the truck driver?" Tahir asked.

The girl in front of us, Lila, threw a glare at each of us. "Who?"

"Excuse me?" Tahir said.

Lila rolled her eyes. "I was also in the café, guys. Liam literally served our table. Who killed the poor man?"

Liam shrugged. "Maybe a coworker of his? I have no idea actually."

"There's an interesting—" Lila clicked her tongue. "Never mind."

The first class ended and the boys went to their respective next classes. Liam noticed that he had been beyond silent through the following hours. He did not know what had gotten into his stomach, but he felt like his guts were upset. He could not remember if he had eaten something.

He stood and raised his hand. "May I go to the res——"

"Yes, you may," the subject teacher cut in.

Liam then left the room and walked through the hallway. He went into the restroom and took a quick look at himself in the mirror. Dark circles were evident under his eyes and his face was all oily. His lips were pale and he was hearing a ringing sound although he knew it was just in his head. He washed his face and dried it with his thick towel. He put his hands on the sink, then sighed.

"You alright?"

He glanced to his right — Lukas.

He smirked. "Guess so."

"You look under the weather." Lukas stood by him. "Does your father have something to do—"

"No, Liam. I mean, Lukas. Dad and I are fine."

"Maybe you've eaten something you're allergic to."

"I don't get allergies, Lukas."

"Let's get you to the nurse's office."

"No, dude." Liam freed himself from his friend's grip. "I'm fine for real."

"Okay then," Lukas said before entering a cubicle.

"I'm off back to class, Lukas."

"Um, sure. See you later, brother."

Liam left the restroom and went back to his class. As all the morning classes ended, the boys gathered in the cafeteria and took lunch. The small television hanging on a post by the serving area flashed a news report, causing the students' heads to rise in synchrony. Liam stuck his eyes to the screen amid the unusual silence of the cafeteria.

" . . . was captured in the so-called Train Graveyard in Thailand. There are also cases of sightings of these odd-looking humanoids on the Amazon River and in the depths of eastern Indonesian forests. Are these creatures proofs that there are other human species out there we haven't met yet? We'll be back after a short break."

Liam looked around and witnessed the odd forbearance from the speech of everyone including the cafeteria staff. He pushed his tray forward and looked at Ken who seemed thinking in great depth. He was questioning things again. The casual noise of the surroundings grew back and Liam, who had lost the appetite, knew that he had been right--the course of nature had been altered. Mother Earth had new codes. Revelations of hidden treasures had just begun and it was creeping Liam out.

"The mattock that killed the driver yesterday is viral." Tahir showed Cedric his phone.

"There are things like this overseas as well," Cedric said. "Maybe it's a cult of pagans on their altar season."

"Altar season?" Ken uttered.

Cedric soughed. "Sacrifices."

Ken nodded.

"Maybe they're right," Liam said after tossing down the bottle of water. "That there are other human species out there."

"It's snowing here in our country." Tahir jounced his head. "Aliens indeed are coding the fate of Earth into their advanced technology.

"Here it is." Ken showed the others a picture on his phone screen.

It was an image taken in Thailand's Train Cemetery where a humanoid thing was trapped in an iron cage. Natives were around it, pointing their flashlights at the face of the captured creature. The face was pixelated, so Liam and the others knew nothing about its facial features.

Ken retrieved his phone and took a nearer look at it. "Now this is interesting. Do you guys think it's edited or something?"

"Impossible." Lukas moved closer to the table. "It's already in the national, I mean, worldwide television so."

"There's another human species?" Ron looked at his phone. "I don't know if this is just nonsense or what."

"What?" Cedric took Ron's phone and had his lips parted as investigated the screen.

Liam, Lukas, and Tahir got behind the other three boys and moved their heads closer to the phone. Liam stared at a famous article online, then tilted his head. He put his hands on Cedric's shoulder and together, they read the words posted. It was from a male user.

"The time has come, people. I guess I'm the only one who can explain what's happening on this very earth right now. I'm not talking about the freezing of the globe but these humanoids viral on the media. I don't even know if there's anybody who knows about this already, but I feel there is. I strongly do. I've always wanted to share this story, I mean the truth, but I didn't find the right one to confide it into."

Liam sat down between Cedric and Ron.

"I was Nicolas Galtier before legally changing my name for safety. I was an archaeologist from France and I won't waste any of your time. Let's get right into it. This will be wordy.

"Together with the team, we flew to Canada on September 12, 2057 to partake in a joint project along with some other foreign archaeologists. We dug someplace isolated in northern Labrador a couple of kilometers from the Torngats (You can search for The Missing Thirty-Four on the Internet to find out more about it). We were resting near an array of small caves when this group of tall people surrounded us. They were at least 5'8" tall if I remember it right. They had this weird look (big eyes, thin lips, flat noses, and pale complexion). They were all naked and we got more alarmed when they started raising their mattocks and impaled the other archaeologists. The remaining people, including myself, sprinted for our lives until another group of the same people met us at the cliffs. As the nearest town was tens of kilometers away, there was really no point exhausting ourselves. The gray people surrounded us until we ran out of space to escape through. That was when we really panicked and jumped off into the rocky water.

"I was traumatized since that day, but now I've been doing great in a Middle Eastern city. I've kept it secret until this anonymous revelation. If you're curious about it, yes, I'm one of The Missing Thirty-Four and I've had the slightest idea if the other archaeologists survived the fall, but the others? I suggest that the Canadian authority should now stop looking for them because, in the first place, there's nobody to be found already."

Liam heaved a long sigh and so did his friends later on. He rose from his seat and looked back at the television which is now flashing an advertisement. He had no idea why his heart was beating at such a fast pace.

"Guys, that was a prank," Tahir said with a cocky smile. "I'm sure of that. I mean, I feel like it's a prank becau——"

"Shut up." Cedric stood up and took his tray, then took off to the serving area.

Ron, together with Tahir, laughed while clapping. "The four look so serious."

Lukas just glared at the two. Ken went to the adjacent table and chatted with the other students. The lunch ended and everyone went to their respective classes. Liam and Lukas were in the same class and because it was vacant, they spent their time taking notes for their upcoming group presentation.

"How are you?" Lukas said amid the murmur of the class. "Is your fath——"

"We're good, Lukas." Liam flipped a book open. "Thanks for the concern."

Lukas nodded. "Sure."

Liam knew Lukas was just being thoughtful again, so he tried to ignore the awkward atmosphere. He and his father were in good condition right now. He and his friends were in great harmony. The only thing he was not agreeing with right now was nature's new nature. He was also curious about the tall gray people. Nicolas Galtier might be messing with the online world, Liam thought, but he knew the user was not lying. At least he felt like he was not.