Summary: In this alternative universe fic, Michael meets Nasedo and Tess at a younger age.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot and original characters.
Part 1
Michael loved to run through the fields. He stretch both arms outwards and run through the corn crops as fast as he could with the wind in his hair. When he got tired he would rest, so that he could run again.
Meadowland was a small town. You had to make your own fun. The movie cinema was a luxury at the end of the week. Whole families would dress in their finest to see the Saturday matinee. After school kids would play ball or create their own games. Sometimes they would play chicken on the railroad tracks.
Michael looked at the sky. It was dusk and some stars could be seen. "I wonder which one's home?" he thought. He turned when he heard his name called.
"Michael, dinner's gonna be ready soon," Joe informed him. Michael lived with the Bowers. Mr. Bower was the sheriff. They took him in not long after he arrived in Meadowland. They were like his family. But he always knew his real family was out there. Lately he had been having dreams of strange symbols. Alien symbols.
"Okay," Michael responded. The two boys walked towards the house. Joe was 1 year younger than Michael. He had dark brown hair and eyes and was shorter than Michael.
"Michael, go clean up for dinner," Mrs. Bower told Michael when he entered the house. He was messy from being outside.
"Okay, ma'am," he said and headed upstairs.
Michael washed his hands in the bathroom. He looked at his reflection in mirror that was over the sink. His brown hair was cut in a bowl-shaped hairstyle. He contemplated cutting it shorter. His thoughts drifted to a recurring dream he had again last night. In the dream he was in the desert. He walked along the bare dirt ground. There were no trees, only rocks to take up space. He scaled up a huge boulder and made his way to a cliff. Below he saw a strange symbol arranged in some sort of blocks or characters. The symbol was egg-shaped and was a line that twisted around a few times. Then he looked up at the sky. He could see the stars in the night sky but it was daytime. The dreamed usually ended there but this time he looked back down below. The symbol was replaced with another. Four ovals arranged in a square. Each oval was connected to another by a diagonal line.
Michael dried his hands on the bathroom table went down stairs.
Michael setup the silverware and napkins and everyone sat down to eat. For dinner mash potatoes, corn, and chicken was served.
"Buddy might be visiting soon. He's saving up enough to come home," Mr. Bower announced. Buddy was the Bowers elder son who was attending college. He had a partial scholarship to the University of Nebraska. UN was all the way on the other side of the state so he wasn't able visit home often. Everyone perked up over the news.
"Oh, that's wonderful Charles," Mrs. Bower told her husband.
"So what how was your day Joe?" Mr. Bower asked after a few minutes.
"It was okay. They served chocolate milk with lunch today," he started.
"And we all know you love chocolate milk," Mrs. Bower commented and everyone smiled.
"Yeah. Also me and Eddie Gaines got a 'A+' on our agriculture report," Joe said.
"That's great," Mr. Bower said sincerely.
Michael thought about the symbols in his dreams again. He knew the new symbol was significant but what did it represent?
"How was your day Mikey?" Michael heard Mr. Bower say. He was jolted from his thoughts.
"It was fine. Mr. Sims gave me a dollar for helping him move around boxes at his store," he told them. He told them learning about stars in Science class and about symbolism in his English class.
Michael woke up in the middle of the nights from a restless sleep. He decided to go downstairs to get a glass of water. He walked quietly through the halls, careful not to wake anyone up. He opened the refrigerator then poured a glass of milk. He drank it slowly and looked at the night sky. The stars were so clear tonight. 'I wonder what secrets they hold,' he thought to himself.
He went outside to sit on the porch but instead he found himself in a cornfield. He thought of the egg-shaped symbol and knew what he had to do.
Michael slipped back to his room and climbed to bed. This time he fell asleep comfortably.