Paul, age 8

Since they’d left the cabin, Paul had adjusted to shock after shock. The people they’d joined were strange—they had tens of thousands of little strings on their heads and tiny ones all over, some barely visible. Instead of white, their bodies came in shades of brown, pale or dark, red and blue. They had these odd hard spots on their fingers and toes they needed to trim, and three times a day, they stopped everything to cram bizarre stuff in their mouths!

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

He’d heard about girls but never met one in person. He worried about whether he’d like them or if they’d like him. Except, when she approached him, it didn’t matter how alien she appeared—Lea was the prettiest thing he’d ever seen.

“Hey, don’t you wanna come play with us?”

“It’s Hide and Seek…” Paul didn’t know much about playing with others but felt his power would spoil things.

“So?”

“I’ll win!”

She shrugged. “Everybody has a game they’re good at. Nes can trip anybody at Jump-Rope, you can’t beat Kenta at Red Rover, Cassie doesn’t lose Telephone, Wendi can Juggle, and I always win Tag. Having kids with different talents is what makes games interesting. Don’t worry so much. Let’s just have fun!”

Paul smiled and followed the enthusiastic girl. How could he say no?