Everyone froze.
Watching.
Waiting.
A second passed.
Then another.
Emily stood there.
Breathing.
Nothing happened.
She was fine.
One by one, everyone removed their helmets.
Nothing happened.
No chocking. No burning lungs. No collapse.
Luna was the last one to take hers off. She hesitated for a second longer than the others... the slowly pulled it away.
Still nothing.
A strange kind of relief settled over them—but it wasn't comforting, it's unsettling.
Asher broke down the silence first.
"Now what?"
Emily didn't even turn to him.
"We head toward a civilized area."
Annie's steps quickens as she followed.
"But what if the aliens are... I don't know... green? Or hostile? What if they capture us?"
Emily kept walking.
"That's exactly why we're going."
There was something in her tone—cold, certain—that shut down further argument.
They began decending carefully.
"Hey, Captain?" Annie called out, trying to keep up. "How do we even get back?"
Emily stopped abruptly.
Annie nearly crashed into her, but Asher caught her arm just in time.
"We'll find the parts here." Emily said, still not looking at anyone.
Noah frowned slightly.
"But what if this planet is... Empty?"
Kai lets out a short laugh.
"Then we'll build our own civilization."
No one laughed with him.
The silence that followed wasn't awkward anymore.
It was heavy.
As they continued walking into the unknown.
They were already being watched.
They moved further down the slope—and then they heard it.
Voices.
Bustling.
Movement.
They froze.
Below them, a settlement stretched out—crowded, alive, people walked, argued, bargained... just like humans.
But something felt off.
"I guess they're normal," Annie mumured. Her voice barely above a whisper.
"No," Luna said quietly.
Everyone turned to her.
"Look at their wrists."
They followed her gaze.
Every single person had a red mark etched onto their wrist.
Not painted.
Not drawn.
Something... embedded.
Emily's eyes narrowed.
"We need to blend in... that means we copy the mark... and dress like them."
Kai frowned.
"And how exactly do we do that?"
A pause.
Then—
"I think I know," Asher said.
He pointed—
"Annie's pen."
Annie blinked.
"What?"
"That ridiculous multi-purpose pen kit," Asher continued calmly. "If it can fake a makeup, it can fake a mark."
Annie's eyes widened.
"You're calling it ridiculous and still using it?!"
Noah, meanwhile, scanning the area.
"I saw a clothing store down there... we could take just... some."
Annie turned to him slowly.
"Isn't it like sending a panda to steal wine?"
Kai scoffed.
"Oh, Hush, I'm with Noah."
Annie crossed her arms.
"Great. Two donkeys with zero survival instinct."
Emily didn't even look at them.
"Then go."
Silence.
Kai blinked.
"Are you serious?"
Emily finally turned.
"You wanted a plan. That's a plan."
The air shifted.
This wasn't just blending in anymore.
This was their first risk.