The brisk wind nestles around Skylar as she feverishly applauses. Her sparkling cerulean blue eyes are fixed on Ryan as he is managing to ride his bike better than his previous attempts, "You're doin' great, Ryan!"
She turns to Grace with a wide smile on her face and laughs, then turning her gaze to Ryan with budding happiness, blowing a strand of her dirty blond hair out of her sight.
"You're doing it, mate!" Graham heartens.
Crash!
Skylar darts to Ryan after seeing him lose his balance and fall off.
"Nearly, Ryan, you nearly got it," Skylar helps Ryan up and pats his shoulder, "just a few more times and you'll surely get there!"
"No. Not nearly!" Ryan spits out with frustration. "I'm sick of coming up here, I'm sick of falling."
Skylar quickly takes the bike of the ground and backs away, knowing Ryan is going to take it and throw it off the edge, "If you are going to throw this bike over no matter what, you have to bring it back up and try again."
Ryan looks at her annoyed for a few moments. He sighs and reaches out his hand for his bike, "I'll bring it back up."
"There ya go!" Skylar pushes it to him with a smile before looking at Graham and gives him a thumbs up as Ryan rushes to the edge with the bike in his hands.
"Ryan Sinclair, don't you dare!"
Skylar blinks innocently and slowly turns around to face Grace after hearing the bike land off the edge. She nuzzles her nose deeper into her coat and lifts her shoulders to lessen her presence.
Skylar smiles wrly seeing Grace's sharp gaze fix on her and slowly sidesteps to Ryan who regrets taking the bike from Skylar before being irritated again.
Skylar sits near the edge, next to Ryan, and shuffles along to make space for Grace to sit in between her and Ryan.
"Mate, you had it for one second." Graham voices as Ryan dangles his legs over the edge. Skylar perks her ears and rubs her red nose.
"Can you stop calling me mate?" Ryan responds with irritation laced in his tone.
"Call him grandso-" Skylar turns her head to Graham and opens her mouth to speak in an attempt to bring them together, stifled over their frustrating relationship.
"Sky." Ryan interrupted and looks at her, "A second's not enough."
"You'll do it, if you keep on trying." Grace says.
"I just want to make you proud," Ryan says softly.
"You make me proud everyday."
Skylar smiles at their interaction and snorts when she hears what Graham says next as a sudden thought entered her head.
"Anyway, you're on your own, getting that bike cos our train leaves in 20 minutes."
"What's so funny?" Graham looks at her.
"This is what's funny, Graham," Skylar says poking Ryan's cheek and laughs at his reaction when he stares at her like she is a little kid, "I'll come with you to get your bike, Ryan, don't worry, you won't be alone."
Skylar muffles her laugher as she pats her jeans to remove most of the dirt, "Let's go, Ryan."
"Yeah, let's get going." Ryan swings his legs over and pushes himself up before smiling at Sky's inability to contain her melodic laughter.
"Come on, love." Graham says to Grace, getting up to leave as Ryan and Skylar left.
"Saving up my holidays this year was a proper great idea, ha ha! Boss was so annoyed when I told her last month," Skylar told Ryan as they walk down.
"Yeah, yeah. Great boss you have, Miss. Genius." Ryan rolls his eyes picking up his speed.
"Hey! Slow down, would ya?!" Skylar exclaims.
"No way, slowpoke." Ryan grins at her and stops for Skylar to catch up.
"I'm not slow at all!" Skylar raises her brow and smirks when walks faster than Ryan, prompting a race.
"You're on." Ryan says and notices the playfulness in her eyes.
Skylar narrows her eyes as she inspects the floating orange-y diamond rings. Her feet inch closer, slowly and warily.
She tilts her head in confusion and soon curls her toes as the cold seeped deeper and sighs.
"M'just goin' to touch it." Skylar mumbles and lifts her finger, prepares herself for something miraculous to occur.
"Why not?" Ryan shrugs, "I would touch it too."
"Then here I go. 3... 1!" Skylar skips two and pokes the circle in the centre of rings, quickly retreating behind Ryan and peeks at the sight of the rings glowing. She looks around dumbfounded when nothing appears as a meerkat.
Ryan stares at the unusual object that suddenly materialised with a gobsmacked expression.
"I'll take the pictures, you report this to the police, c'mon!" Skylar urges Ryan after a few moments of awkward silence. She takes out her phone and begins to take pictures with a few videos of it from far away or close by with ever-growing curiousity and takes her time.
Once Skylar counts more than twenty pictures, she looks at Ryan who had just reported to the police. She looked at him awaiting an answer and he gave her the answer she wanted.
"They're sending someone to check it out."
"Great!" Skylar smiles before glancing at the blue seed-like object, "should I touch it?"
"Why not?" Ryan shrugs his shoulders, "I would do the same."
Skylar rubs her hands immaturely and slowly pokes it, retracting it upon seeing the cold mist produced.
"It's like bloody ice!" Skylar exclaimed.
"Ryan..." She suddenly turns to him with a serious look, "what if we... right now... started some kind of alien invasion?"
"That is impossible, right?" Ryan replies with a dry stare, he alternates his gaze from the seed-like shell to Skylar a few times before staring at her as she looks at him nervously.
"Well, maybe we should hide nearby, y'know... just in case we have..." Skylar mutters and drags Ryan behind a bush before she peers at the object, waiting for the police's arrival.
Skylar stares the creature she terms as the 'zap zap spaghetti' with narrowed eyes through the door and keeps Ryan and Yasmin behind her, taking soft steps.
"You stay here, Ryan." Skylar whispers, taking a glimpse at Ryan's worried face before turning to Yasmin, "and stay behind me."
Skylar peeks her head through the door, assessing the situation when she heard the lady's voice and walks further.
Her eyes dart past the creature as she notices a woman with blonde hair and green hazel eyes facing it.
"Oh, my god!" Yasmin exclaims much to Skylar's annoyance.
"Shush!" Skylar hisses as she pulls Yasmin away from the creature. It suddenly zaps all of them with a string of electricity on their necks and flees quite quickly.
Skylar pokes her neck as she sees the creature escape through a hole in the roof, she rubs her collar feeling strange before turning to Yasmin and softly nudges her in an attempt to comfort her, "It's ok."
"Do you know what was that thing looking for? It smashed the window and the conductor died of shock. Surely it's looking for something." Skylar asks the blonde as she furrows her brows. Her blue eyes was clouded with confusion.
"Ryan! It's safe now!" Skylar beckons when she sees Grace walk toward her with worry, soon hearing Ryan's rushed steps.
"Nan?"
"Ryan!" Grace exclaimed with relief.
"I don't know what it's looking for yet. You all relax but stay put. I'll go and check the rest of the train." The lady says when she regains Skylar's attention.
"Hey! Hold on there please, madam!" Yasmin calls out, following her as the lady leaves the train carriage with Skylar and Ryan right behind her.
"I need you to do as I say, this could be a potential crime scene."
"Why are you calling me madam?" The lady asks, turning around.
"Because you have a female body," Skylar answers quickly.
"Am I?! Does it suit me?"
"What?" Skylar blurts out.
"Oh, yeah! I remember." The lady exclaims, "Sorry, half an hour ago I was a white-haired Scotsman."
Skylar stares her with disbelief, unable to comprehend what she had just heard before turning to Yasmin, leaving what she heard to think about later, "Anyway, this is not a potential crime scene, this is a potential alien invasion, Yaz! They're lookin' for somethin', I know it!"
"That zap zap spaghetti came by smashing through the front and the conductor died of shock. It did not kill her. Why? Because it had no need to." Skylar says gravely to Yasmin who was simply listening, unable to rebut her conclusion.
"Every other passenger escaped but it did not chase them. It instead came and approached you and quite possibly implanted something in us when it left." Skylar pointed at the man, "It's trying to look for something and leave no witnesses."
"First of all, why zap zap spaghetti?" Graham asks after she finishes.
"Its sounds less dangerous than anything else like electric coil monster." Skylar smiles in a childlike manner.
"What did it implant in us?"
"Am I alien?" Skylar asks with a deadpan expression.
"No, of course not."
"Then why do I know it's possibly a bomb after figuring out it left something to silence us?" Skylar turns around to see the woman staring at her with interest.
"Did you just call me stupid?" Graham looks at her, exasperated.
"You're brilliant!" The lady exclaims, beaming a bright smile at Skylar, prodding her heart.
"Huh?" Skylar dumbly stares at her, frozen at the sudden thump in her heart when she saw that smile and turns to Yaz, ignoring Graham's question.
"You still need to report everything right?" Skylar kindly reminded in an attempt to distract herself from that feeling.
"Thanks, I'll get to it." Said Yasmin. She takes out her notepad and goes to the young man who the creature approached and proceeds to ask him questions.
"When's the next train due?" The lady asks Skylar, proceeding to check the train as she moves to the other end of the carriage.
"Last one." Skylar answers.
"We've already been through the whole train, nothing other than the way the conductor died is noteworthy." Adds Yasmin.
"Let's take a look then," the lady says rushing her footsteps, "and start the train and put the lights on while we're at it."
"What're your names?" She asks, looking if Skylar missed anything. Skylar only watches her expectantly and notes how her voice, to her, sounds pleasant, especially how, at the moment, she seems to behave so professionally. She then notices Yaz joined them after sending the young man away, surprised at her efficiency.
"PC Kha—"
"Name, not title, Yaz. As for my name, it's Skylar Bevan." Skylar introduces, "Just call me Sky."
"Yasmin Khan, Yaz to my friends. Can I have your name, please?"
"You mean may." Skylar points before pausing, "Sorry, it's one of my pet peeves, y'know?..."
"You can have my name when I remember it."
"You can't remember your own name?" Yasmin questions.
"'Course I know it. I just can't remember it. It's right there, on the tip of my..." the lady says and turns around, points to her tongue in frustration, "whats that?"
"Tongue?" Ryan says, spooking Skylar.
"Tongue! Smart boy. Biology. What did she call you? Ryan?" the lady asks as Skylar watches her attentively.
"Yeah, Ryan Sinclair."
"Good name. Are you a doctor, Ryan?"
"No." Ryan responds, slightly confused.
"Shame, I'm looking for a doctor."
Skylar really wanted to hug her that moment when she saw the disappointment in her eyes, but she didn't know the woman that well yet. In fact, the thought that she actually wanted to hug someone other than Ryan and his family surprised her.
The only few that she didn't fear touching her with her haphephobia were Ryan and his family as well as her parents. She had only recently allowed that too. It took a while to get comfortable with them after not seeing them for a long time.
Skylar did not notice she was in a daze, seeming to be in deep thought and only regains awareness when Ryan called her, realising Ryan let the lady and Yasmin to do their own thing because he knew her well.
"I just remembered that thing." Skylar explains in a quiet voice with her brows furrowed before looking at Ryan with shock.
"We started an alien invasion, haven't we?" Skylar whispers to Ryan and gently elbows him.
"Yeah..." Ryan looks at her worried.
"We have an alien on our side so things might not be that bad, y'know." Skylar murmurs before looking at the lady who finished checking the train. For some reason, Skylar thought the lady looks wonderful in a suit.
'Strange.' She thinks.