The tiny TV in the corner of the classroom crackled as the newscaster’s voice came through. Miss Wilkins shushed her class of 1st to 5th graders. News of another alien sighting, this time in Edmonton, Canada. A farmer reported he met with three grays, a purple, and a blue. They were peaceful and just wanted to take some of his crops with them.

“Peaceful, my butt!” shouted the 9-year-old Jeremiah. He shook his thin arms about. “They’re all violent!”

“Yeah, our dad would still be alive if it weren’t for them!” the chunky, 6-year-old Reggie added.

10-year-old Glenn piped up. “It’s just the yellows you got to watch out for. They treat yellows like slaves so they’re angry and sometimes they snap.”

Travel light.

“Travel light.” Reggie repeated the echoey voice.

“What the hell! The weirdo is doing it again!” Glenn shouted.

“Glenn, language!” Miss Wilkins said half-heartedly as she watched the news.

* * *

Reggie ate his roll and Jeremiah pushed his peas around on his plate. He eyed Reggie’s worsening complexion while Reggie watched the news. Mom watched silently while she sipped wine.

Another alien sighting. Seattle. “Two blues and a gray,” the newscaster said. “Searching one of our mines. Correction, two blues, a gray, and a yellow…”

Reggie blinked hard when Mom abruptly turned the TV off, but then he went back to his meal.

* * *

The kids screamed and giggled out on the playground. Reggie watched Jeremiah play handball with his friends by the brick wall. Glenn marched over with two of his buddies. He grabbed the ball out of Jeremiah’s hand and shoved him.

“What the hell, Glenn! Give it back!”

“Didn’t you hear what the freak said last week? Travel light!” Glenn and his buddies burst out with laughter.

Jeremiah swung at Glenn, but Glenn dodged, grabbed his arm, and threw him on the ground. “Learn those moves from your dad? He sure could’ve used your skills when the aliens came!”

“If I was there, I would’ve fought the aliens with my dad!” Jeremiah shouted, pulling himself up. “But I was at my grandparents.”

“Me too!” Reggie yelled.

“You weren’t born yet.” Jeremiah reminded him. “You came a year later. Anyway, it was only two blues and two yellows. If I was there, my dad and I could’ve taken them!”

“Yeah right! You were two!” Glenn scoffed.

In the water.

“In the water.” Reggie repeated the echoey words.

“The freak is at it again!” Glenn laughed.

“You guys don’t hear that?” Reggie looked around confused.

Glenn wound up and heaved the ball at Reggie. It bashed into his eye and he screamed out in pain. Jeremiah attacked Glenn again, but Glenn kneed him in the gut. Glenn and his friends walked off, leaving Jeremiah in a crumpled heap.

* * *

All day, Reggie was getting looks. Teasing words were flung about. Whispers of “is he sick?” And “is it because he hears voices?” And “is that jaundice?”

In addition to the black eye that hadn’t quite faded from Reggie’s face, his skin had become increasingly more sickly looking. More so than usual. Jeremiah stayed close to him all day. He tried to distract Reggie from the murmurs. He talked to him about the recent alien sighting in Arizona. A yellow and two purples chased off a farm.

Glenn inevitably bumped into them in the halls and told Reggie, due to his chubby and golden exterior, he looked like a walking Twinkie.

“That’s it! I’ve had it with you!” Jeremiah erupted. “We are settling this with a fight after school. No more cheap shots!”

“Fine. Where?” Glenn said smugly.

By the bridge.

“By the bridge.” Reggie repeated.

“What bridge?”

“By Foster River.”

* * *

Many kids showed up to watch the fight. Glenn and his buddies were there. Glenn’s full size was apparent, he towered over Jeremiah. Reggie stood quietly by his side.

“I’m gonna shove his head underwater.” Jeremiah grumbled.

“Don’t go near the water.” Reggie said. His eyes were wide and he didn’t blink. Jeremiah simply nodded.

The fight began… several feet from the edge of the river. Jeremiah purposely stayed away from the water. Glenn was getting shot after shot on Jeremiah. Laying his knuckles into Jeremiah’s bones. Jeremiah finally landed his fist on Glenn’s chin. Hard. The crowd roared. Glenn flew into a fury and kicked Jeremiah between the legs. Jeremiah fell to the ground with a groan almost as loud as the one from the crowd.

“Leave my brother alone!” Reggie screamed as he ran at Glenn.

The chubby kid extended his plump, yellow arms and slammed them into Glenn’s stomach. Glenn was flung backwards several feet and landed at the edge of the river. Gasps from the crowd. Glenn’s buddies ran to his aid, their feet sloshing in the river.

Three massive yellow bodies burst up from the deep end of the river. Their sinewy arms flailed about. Their black coal eyes darted around. They leapt at Glenn and his friends and grabbed them from behind. Glenn shrieked with terror as the clawed hands of the yellow aliens dug into him and his friends and pulled them closer to the bridge. A beam of light extended from high in the sky. Above, a ship, ready to pull them in.

One of the yellow aliens, a rotund one, made eye contact with Reggie. He stared and slowly lifted one hand up in a sort of wave… and then they were yanked into the sky in the blink of an eye… and the ship was gone. The trees rustled briefly. The sun shone down on Reggie, his skin a glistening yellow, slick with sweat. Jeremiah pulled himself to his feet and staggered towards his brother.

“So, we only watch out for the yellow ones?”