The Price Of A Copper Coin

The War of the Candrin started in 3021. Aliens from Repotora had landed on earth with the intention of conquering it and declaring war against humans. The people did not back down. They fought back. A lot happened during the war, but eventually, under the command of Soloman Reese and other great leaders, humans defeated the Aliens.

It had been seven years since then.

The war was over and they had won, but a lot was lost. Cities were crushed, forests were set ablaze and the sky was so full of ash and smoke, it almost rained ink. Women, children, soldiers, civilians, allies, enemies, humans, aliens. Blood was spilt on both sides so much so the mud turned a sickly shade of crimson-brown. However, this was all labelled as collateral damage.

Athec Mayer was one of them. He was collateral damage. His parents had fallen ill because they had gotten caught up in an alien attack. Athec was at his grandparents’ when it happened. They had used gas to paralyse the civilians and soldiers in the area and planned to attack them when they couldn’t move. Fortunately, a leader had already predicted something like this due to previous similar attacks and had sent backup soldiers into the area to fight. Unfortunately, the gas was identified to be carrying a disease that slowly killed the victim over a span of ten years unless treated. The medicine was expensive and produced slowly because of the lack of resources to make it.

With no one to earn money and being a nine-year-old boy, money had trickled down over the years, not that they had owned much in the first place anyway. He relied on stealing and small errands to get by. The most common spot for his small heists was the Deplin market.

With his tattered clothes and unkempt hair, Athec was sure he stood out, but somehow he always managed to take away an apple or two without managing to get caught. Today was no different.

He turned to see if anyone thought he was suspicious. No one was. He looked ahead. There was a man who had looked at him, but Athec had a feeling that he was just staring into empty space. But something about the man felt off. Something didn’t feel right. Athec pictured the man’s face again. He was bald and wore a dark hat paired with an olive-green coat. His eyes were open wide … but also not quite. His wrinkled mouth was open too, as though he had seen a miracle. But it didn’t seem natural. Athec couldn’t pinpoint how the man looked. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to grasp the feeling. Something about his hollow mouth, or his skin… it came off as inhuman.

Athec’s feet rooted to the ground in horror. It couldn’t be! But what if?! After the war had ended, most of the aliens had been killed or captured, but it was rumoured that one was still on the loose. Could it be that the man was actually an alien in disguise? Athec looked back to see if what he had seen wasn’t just a trick of the eye. The man was heading into an old abandoned building, but that’s not what caught his eye. It was the sliver of blue skin peeking out from the coat’s collar that did.

Athec panicked. The man was walking away. If he didn’t report the alien, who knows if he would kill people?! He was in danger. He needed to call for help. He ran to the nearest connection portal. Why was the alien here? What was he planning to do? Why was he hiding himself amidst innocents? How many lives had he destroyed?

The portal wouldn’t open. Athec kicked it and slapped the glass case out of desperation before he realised that he hadn’t inserted a coin in the slot yet. He slapped his forehead. Stupid! Usually, to contact someone, a bronze coin was needed. To contact important people, a gold coin was required, but for emergencies, three copper coins had to be inserted into the slot. Athec searched his pockets. He had two copper coins. Disappointment clogged up in his throat. He was just one copper coin short of preventing disaster. Could he really do nothing about this? He stared at his hands. Something glinted at him from the ground. Athec crouched down to see what it was. It was probably some scrap or foil, but he dusted the mud off of it anyways… what did he have to lose?

Athec’s eyes lit up and The disappointment in his chest dissolved to pure disbelieving joy. It was a copper coin! Without any further ado, Athec rushed to the portal and pushed the three coins in. The glass slid open and Athec called the soldier report department.

“It’s going into an old building! I saw it! It’s in the Deplin market!”

“Are you sure kid?”

Athec nodded to the shocked leader on the glass screen. “I’m sure. It had blue skin under it’s coat. Please hurry and send someone here!”

A squad of soldiers was dispatched. There was a fight, but thankfully there were no casualties. Athec was brought to the leader he had talked to and was handsomely rewarded for preventing a disaster.

The award for capturing the alien was a truckful of gold. With it, Athec bought the medicine to cure his parents and lived comfortably with them. However, he made sure to help others whenever he could. It was surprising how a copper coin could change one’s life.