The Alien Mystery in My House

 Hi, I’m Ellie, and up until last week, I thought my life was totally normal. You know, homework, soccer practice, and sneaking extra snacks before dinner. But then, weird things started happening at my house. And by "weird," I mean alien-level weird.

It started with the basement. For the last few weeks, every night at exactly 9:00 PM, a low, buzzing hum vibrated through the house. It wasn’t loud, but it was the kind of sound that makes the hairs on your arms stand up. I asked my mom about it once, and she said, “Oh, it’s just the pipes settling.” Pipes don’t hum like spaceships.

Then there was my dad. Last Friday, he spilled a glass of water on his arm, and instead of grabbing a towel like a normal person, he just stared at it. The water rolled off his skin like it was plastic.

The strangest thing of all? They were acting too normal. My parents have always been a little quirky—Mom sings made-up songs while she cooks, and Dad loves cheesy puns. But lately, they were acting like… actors, almost. Like they were pretending to be normal parents, but something wasn’t quite right.

I couldn’t keep this to myself anymore. I needed to tell Ruby, my best friend and official partner-in-mystery-solving. She lives right across the street, so I ran over Saturday morning and spilled everything.

“Ruby,” I said, pacing her room, “I think my parents are aliens.”

She blinked at me, then burst out laughing. “Aliens? Ellie, that’s nuts.”

“I’m serious!” I said, grabbing her arm. “There’s this weird hum in the basement every night, and my dad’s skin—it repelled water! Like, who does that? And they’ve been acting so… fake.”

Ruby tilted her head, her laughter fading. “Okay, let’s say they are aliens. What do we do? Call the government? Set traps?”

“No traps,” I said quickly. “But I need proof. I was thinking… we could sneak into the basement tonight and record the hum.”

Ruby hesitated. “Sneak into the basement? That’s… risky.”

“I’ll do it alone if I have to,” I said.

Ruby sighed and grabbed her flashlight. “Fine. Meet me in your backyard at 8:45.”

That night, we crept toward the house. The backyard was dark except for the faint glow of the basement window. The hum hadn’t started yet, but I could feel it coming, like the air was holding its breath.

“Ready?” I whispered.

Ruby nodded, and we crouched by the basement window. Suddenly, the hum started—soft at first, then growing louder. My phone’s camera shook in my hands as I tried to record it.

“Ellie,” Ruby whispered, “it sounds like… a machine.”

I peeked inside. The basement light flickered, and I saw shadows moving—strange, tall shapes that didn’t look like people. My heart raced. Were my parents building something?

Before I could get a closer look, the light snapped off, and the hum stopped. The backyard felt too quiet, like the world had frozen.

Ruby grabbed my arm. “We need to go. Now.”

We ran back to her yard, breathless. “Ellie,” she said, her voice shaking, “I don’t think you should go back down there. What if they know we’re watching?”

Her words sent a shiver down my spine, but something in her voice felt off, too—like she wasn’t just scared.

The next day, I noticed something strange about Ruby. She kept scratching her arm, and when I caught a glimpse, her skin looked… shimmery, like it was reflecting light in tiny, metallic waves.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, it’s just a rash,” she said quickly, pulling her sleeve down.

But I couldn’t stop thinking about it. And then I noticed other things—how Ruby never ate at lunch anymore, how her eyes seemed to glow faintly in the dark when we had sleepovers.

That night, I called her out. “Ruby, I think you’re the alien.”

She froze, her face pale. “Ellie, don’t be ridiculous.”

“I’m not! The shimmer on your arm, the glowing eyes… it’s you, isn’t it?”

Ruby’s shoulders slumped. “Okay, fine. But you can’t tell anyone! My family and I are just… visiting. We’re studying humans. That’s all!”

I didn’t know what to say. My best friend was an alien?! And all this time, I thought my parents were the strange ones.

Then Ruby leaned closer. “But Ellie, you’re asking too many questions. If anyone finds out… my family will have to make sure you don’t tell. Ever.”

Her voice was calm, but her words sent a chill through me. I backed away, my heart pounding.

“Ruby,” I whispered, “you wouldn’t hurt me… right?”

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Of course not. As long as you keep our secret.”

And that’s when I realized: the real danger wasn’t in my basement. It was standing right in front of me.

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