Falling Skies Invasion Alone

So Close

Twenty two days later

I could hear the pants of everyone behind me as we climbed the grass covered hill just outside of Charleston. It had taken us three weeks to get to the outskirts of the city, and hopefully it would take us only a few more hours to get back to the complex.

"Look, Cassie, look at me!" Lexi cartwheeled up the hill, Lourdes following her closely behind.

"I see you. Keep going." I laughed.

She hadn't grown that much in the three weeks we had travelled. And we didn't know why. I mean, socially, we had made waves in getting her accepted in the rest of the Second Mass.

"She's so excited all the time." Ben laughed, looking down at me as we climbed.

"I know." I took a breath, continuing up the hill. My eyes moved to Tom and Matt who were in front of us.

"I think Matt's lagging a little." Ben followed my gaze.

"I'll take your sister, you take your brother." I watched as Ben run forward and throw his brother of his shoulder, running like a soldier. I took a breath and started running up the hill, overtaking them all to catch up with Alexis and Lourdes. Lourdes had snapped back to normal. Well not, entirely normal, but pretty normal. She had become very attached to Alexis, less dedicated to her medical side. But there hadn't really been much need for the medical side since Karen was killed.

Lexi squealed and laughed as Lourdes and I chased her, threw her about, tickled her until we reached the peak of the hill. "Better wait for the slow coaches to catch up." I smoothed over Lexi's wild, soft, dark hair and nudged her to keep running with Lourdes.

I stared out, taking in the ruined cityscape below us on the other side of the hill we had conquered. It wasn't much but it was ours.

I heard Matt be set down on the ground a few feet away. Ben's arms enveloped me from behind and he planted a kiss on the side of my neck. "Home sweet home, huh?"

I smiled when I felt him move from my back to my side and take my hand. "We're so close. I'm looking forward to bed. Like, the actual mattress."

"Always about that bedroom." He laughed, shaking his head.

Anne and Tom came up the hill at our backs, followed by the rest of the group, panting at varying degrees of breathlessness.

"Here we are. It's like we never left." Tom grinned, clasping Anne's hand in his tightly as Lexi came tearing up towards her parents. Maggie and Hal, who were kind of acting a little strained since Karen was shot, joined us too. "What do you think of your new home, Lexi?" Tom asked his daughter.

I watched as her innocent smile faded and she opened her mouth to speak. "We don't all have to die here."

The hair on the back of my neck stood up and sweat broke out over my body. Frantically, I turned to Ben who looked just as horrified as I was.

Tom, confused, went to question his daughter but was cut off by Matt yelling.

"Incoming!"

I spun to look in the direction he was pointing to see beamers approaching. A lot of beamers. They came at us, hard and fast as we tried to set up defences. It was almost useless against an air strike. Yells and screams came flooding out of us as we ran, quickly and powerfully. Every time we ran one way, they would drop something, it was like posts of fences and they sent out electrical beams, separating all of us.

The Masons and I kept close together, knowing that whatever happened we didn't want to be separated. But it didn't work out like we hoped.

An explosion hit the grass in front of us, catching Anne's legs on fire. She stumbled backwards, sectioned off from the rest of us. Tom pushed Lexi into my arms, forcing us to run in the opposite direction.

"Mommy!" Lexi screamed, trying to wriggle out of my grip as I tried to take her away from the fire. I was about to try to calm her down, encourage her to keep running, reassure her it was okay. But I couldn't. Because I heard a shot. And then I felt it.

It pistoned straight into my stomach, making me fall from the impact of the excruciating pain. I clutched at my stomach, feeling the blood seep out of me, run into my hands.

"Cassidy!" Ben yelled out, starting to run towards me.

I couldn't breathe. But I couldn't let them suffer for it. I reached out and pushed a crying Lexi away from me and towards Ben. "Take her." I ordered Ben, wheezing deeply, trying to keep myself breathing.

"No!" Ben cried, clutching Lexi tightly.

"Go. I'll find you. Just go." I keeled over, collapsing onto the grass. With a moment's hesitation, Ben scooped up Alexis into his arms and started running back in the direction we had headed. I lay on my back on the grass, watching them drowsily. Maggie clocked that I wasn't going with him and she looked enraged. She yelled out for me, screamed my name, but Ben grabbed her by the arm, pulling her away.

I watched their depleting figures run out of my view as I kept struggling for breath. They disappeared into the trees. My eyes were watering, crying in pain.

I had been shot before.

I had been stabbed before.

I had been tortured before.

But this was a different kind of pain all together. Numbness started spreading, radiating from the bullet wound in my gut. I stared up at the sky, watching the beamers fly around, until I couldn't. the numbness spread to my arms and legs, I couldn't even move my head, I couldn't see if anyone else was alive. I couldn't feel myself heal.

As I struggled to fill my lung with air, a horrible though seeped into my brain.

Was I dying?