Falling Skies Invasion Alone

Gun Talk

"It's not much but-" Ben said sheepishly as he gestured to sit at one of the tables.

"No, honestly. I've not had anything hot for months." I insisted, following him with my tub of soup.

As soon as I had been led back to the 2nd Mass campsite, I was taken to their leader, a Colonel Weaver. He was probably in his fifties, rough shaven with a small ponytail tucked under his cap. He had an air about him which made me almost positive that he wasn't just a leader in the group, but a military leader, even before the invasion. He was busy, and so said he would find us later, and just ordered Hal and Maggie to keep an eye on me. Then, Pope had practically marched me to go and checked out by their resident doctor, Anne Glass. She was mobbed, and I'm sure my presence did nothing to ease her stress, but she checked me over quickly and said she would catch up with me later. Everyone was very busy. I hadn't been busy in a year.

Pope and Tector swiftly ditched us and we headed towards the mess tent, apparently, and they insisted that I ate whilst we waited for both Weaver and Dr Glass. From what I could tell, Maggie and Hal were together, and Ben was Hal's little brother. Apparently, the 'professor' that Pope had been bashing whilst I was dead, was the boys' father.

"So, where are you from?" Maggie asked as she sipped some water.

I swallowed the hot soup and wiped the corner of my mouth. "Well, originally, Manchester in New Hampshire, we lived there until I was, like, thirteen, and then we moved to London. I went to school there and I went to Royal Veterinary College in London. We were actually only over here for my aunts wedding when the invasion hit. We couldn't get back." I twirled my spoon in my soup and sighed.

"Who's we? Do you have brothers and sisters?" Ben looked at me. He was sitting next to me, it was so cold I was almost pressed up close against him to get some heat.

"I did. They're...all gone." I looked down at my soup, avoiding their eyes. "I was the oldest of four. So there was six of us when the invasion hit. My parents and one of my brothers, Lucas, died about a month after. And then it was just me and the two little ones. Maya was nine and Adam was seven."

"So you were looking after the two of them on your own for almost a year?" Hal asked.

"Not quite. They died, like, three months ago." I explained. "I know. I'm a bundle of joy."

"I'm sorry." Maggie said.

I shook my head. "Its not like I'm the only one that's lost people. What about you guys? How are your families?"

They filled me in, briefly. The two Mason's looked proud of their father, but equally wracked the worry of sons, ultimately, without a father.

"Jesus." I yawned.

"Do you want to go to bed?" Ben questioned. I laughed, as if he was asking me to go with him. He realised as Hal sniggered that he didn't sound just how he thought he did and his cheeks flushed pink. "I meant, we could find you somewhere to sleep."

I patted his arm and smiled. "Thank you, Ben, but I think I should stay and wait for Colonel Weaver. I don't want to, like, burrow my way in before I'm invited."

Just at that, Weaver came marching into the tent, followed by Dr Glass. Weaver scanned the room and let his eyes settle on our table. As they headed over, I suddenly felt nervous, as if they were going to find me out and cast me away.

"Hal, Ben, Maggie. And new girl." He planted himself down at our table, clasping his hands, examining me. "Apologies for the wait, busy times."

"Honestly, no problem." I nodded. "I'm just grateful for being welcomed, so warmly."