Hey, all. Falling Skies Fanfiction is just terrible! Too few stories, and none that are long... To fight this blasphemy, I sat down and wrote a relatively long story to, hopefully, inspire people to write more. The story is named what it is because I often listened to Still Worth Fighting For by My Darkest Days while writing it =)
Please read, review, and enjoy!
Emphasis on that review part, cause I love reviews =P
Disclaimer: I do not own Falling Skies, nor any of its characters.
Running used to be something I did for fun. I would run track, and soccer was my favorite sport. I remember that my coach taught a class of children under ten at a park beside my high school. Every day, I'd go there after school and help him teach them. I was so good with them, and liked them all so much, that we would all stay after the lesson every day so that I could help them with school.
As I leapt over a fallen tree, I recalled fondly that those were the happiest days of my life. "Lissy!" The girl on my back cried out in alarm, making me push myself even faster. My feet pounded on the cement, and I saw a fence up ahead, blocking me from the other side of the road.
"Shit!" I cursed, but didn't slow my speed. I could hear the steps behind me and knew that I couldn't slow for even a second. "Hold on, Ci!" I shouted, feeling the girl's arms tighten around my neck and her legs grip my waist even tighter. I felt like she was a centimeter from cutting off my air supply, but I didn't complain, knowing it was necessary. I raced towards the fence, grabbing the top of it and swinging over it sideways without hesitation, Cecilia shrieking on my back.
My feet hit the ground before I had a chance to regain my balance, and I stumbled forward. A fatal mistake on my part, as an instant later, something collided with me, knocking me to the ground. Cecilia screamed in terror as she was flung from my back, and I saw the eight year old rolling across the pavement. "Run, Ci!" I shouted as I rolled onto my back, facing my attacker just as a clawed foot landed on my chest.
The three claws dug into my chest slightly, enough to barely draw blood, and I cried out at the pain and fear the action brought me. I heard Cecilia scramble to her feet and her shoes hitting the ground as she fled, the monster pinning me down immediately snapping its eyes to her. I felt a bit of slack due to the momentary distraction and instantly reacted, kicking at the monster as hard as I could.
The thing immediately hissed at me, shoving me into the ground. I gasped out a strangled, pained noise as the claws dug further into my chest, and the monster raised a claw in preparation to strike. "Get away from her!" A male voice shouted, making both me and the monster snap our heads towards the sound. An older teenager was running towards us, a gun in his hand. He slowed to a stop, gun raised, and shot without hesitation. I flinched at the sound, pressing my head to the ground, but it wasn't worth it because the bullet hit the monster right in the head.
I yelped as the monster was shoved off me by the force of the blow, yanking the claws out in the process, and landed a few inches away, unmoving. "Are you okay?" The teenager asked as he raced to my side, crouching down beside me. I tore my wide eyes off of the now-dead monster and looked at him, able to tell from the shorter distance that he was probably the same age as me.
"Y-yeah…" I stammered, struggling to sit up. He put a hand on my shoulder, helping me sit and keep my balance. "Where's… Where's Cecilia?" I asked, looking around and struggling to stand.
"Whoa, hold still. You're bleeding… If you mean the little kid, my dad has her. He'll be here any second." The boy tried to assure me, but it only made me look at him suspiciously.
"Who are you?" I demanded sharply, and he looked somewhat annoyed by my rudeness. It's not every day you save someone who turns around and treats you with hostility, I suppose.
"My name is Hal Mason. My dad, Tom Mason, and I are members of the 2nd Mass." He explained and my brows pulled together in confusion.
"The resistance?" I asked and he nodded, opening his mouth to speak when a shout interrupted him.
"Lissy!" I looked over my shoulder to see Cecilia running towards me, a middle-aged man walking behind her, looking around warily. I shook Hal's hand off my shoulder and turned so I was sitting facing the direction Cecilia was coming from. She leapt into my offered arms, hugging herself tightly to me as sobs shook her. I wrapped my arms around her, sighing softly.
"It's okay, Ci. I'm alright. It's just a few scratches, I promise." I murmured comfortingly, ignoring the two men until the adult spoke up.
"We can't stay here. Do you want to come with us back to our base?" The man offered and I blinked at him, having momentarily forgotten about the two men and our location.
"Oh, um…" I glanced around uncertainly. "If I go with you, I can leave at any time, right?"
"Of course." The man agreed with a nod and I nodded in turn.
"Alright… We don't exactly have anywhere else to go at the moment." I said, wrapping one arm under Cecilia's rear while keeping the other around her back and standing, holding her to my painfully wounded chest. The man nodded and began to walk away, and I hesitantly followed, Hal walking alongside me.
"My name is Tom Mason, and that's my son, Hal." The man introduced himself and I nodded, Hal having told me that already, but then realized that I hadn't introduced myself of Cecilia.
"Oh. My name is Alyssa Snow. This is Cecilia Hunter." I explained, motioning to the girl who was quietly crying against my chest, and Tom nodded.
"Pleasure to meet you, Alyssa."
"Pleasure to meet you both, especially since you guys saved my ass." I responded with a light grin.
"This is where you guys are setting up shop?" I asked in surprise as I looked at the high school before me.
"Yeah. We're here until we get found again." Hal said with a shrug.
"Nice… Plenty of space, I imagine… Hear that, Ci?" I looked over my shoulder at the girl who was now situated on my back, arms wrapped lightly around my neck. I laughed softly when I saw that her eyes were closed and she was sound asleep. "Guess not." I said and Hal snickered beside me. "So what do you guys eat and sleep on?" I asked him curiously.
"Food and cots." He replied with a grin and I rolled my eyes.
"Thanks for being specific there. Is the food going to make me want to eat my own stomach instead of suffering through such agony?" I inquired and he choked on a laugh, trying to keep it quiet.
"Only when it's oatmeal day. Unless you like oatmeal?" He added, raising an eyebrow at me, looking amused at my grimace of disgust.
"Hell to the no." I quipped and he snickered. "Oatmeal is way too bland and… mushy." My nose scrunched up in disgust and he once more smothered a laugh. "Laugh it up, jerk. Let's see how much you'd like it if you had to eat it every morning for five years." I growled with a light grin that he returned.
"I did, but it was for three years." He said and I tilted my head to the side questioningly. "Lacrosse since I was thirteen." He explained. "I was on the team in my junior year when the attack happened." Hal said and I grinned at him.
"Of course. And I suppose you're also a genius on top of being an athlete?" I teased and he grinned.
"Depends on who's asking." He playfully winked and I laughed softly.
"So he's your dad?" I asked him curiously, subtly moving closer so we could talk quieter.
"Yeah. My baby brother, Matt, is here also." Hal added and I nodded, a soft smile tugging at my lips.
"You're lucky." I mused and this time he nodded, though his was solemn.
"Yeah. I know." He murmured. "So, Cecilia?" Hal questioned vaguely, but I caught what he was asking.
"Nope. She's not family, but she's the closest thing I have left to it, and me to her." I said, grinning despite now depressing the words were. "So how does this whole resistance thing work exactly?" I asked him curiously as we slowly approached the school.
"Well, the Massachusetts Resistance is split into twelve groups, each consisting of two hundred civilians and a hundred fighters. Though, at the moment, we've got a hundred and eleven fighters." He explained.
"You included?" I asked and he shrugged.
"Yes, but fighting isn't my primary duty. See, fighters are split into two. The first and primary are the ones who go into battle guns-a-blazing." He explained and I nodded, showing that I was keeping up. "Then there are the scouts. The scouts are the eyes and ears, and scouts search ahead, map out areas, and find supplies. All of us are teenagers since we're the quickest and most nimble."
"Especially athletes." I guessed and he nodded with a grin.
"See? You're catching on." He said and I mock glared at him.
"Thanks, Mr. Condescending." I growled.
"Actually, it's Mason, but close enough." Hal said with a shrug and I rolled my eyes, sticking my tongue out at him and making him chuckle. "Come on. I'll show you somewhere you can let her sleep in peace." He said as they entered the building, Tom splitting off up ahead. I looked questioningly at Hal and he pointed towards the door Tom just went through. "That's the command post. Our regiment leader, Weaver, is in there. He's probably informing him of your arrival."
"Oh…" I murmured, frowning when I saw several people in the halls of the school were watching us walk by warily and untrustingly. "Is my being here going to be a problem?"
"Only until you decide what you're going to do." He said. "Go or stay as a fighter, scout, or civilian." He explained as an afterthought and I nodded with a small 'oh' of realization. "Here." He opened a door and slid inside, and I blinked in surprise at the many cots in the small room. "My family, the doc, and Jimmy all sleep in here. Jimmy is a thirteen year old fighter, so he'll stick out like a sore thumb. Matt is the little blonde runt with an attitude problem." Hal added that last part with a playful grin. "This cot here is free, and so is the one over there." He pointed out two cots and I nodded with a small frown.
"Um… This sounds weird, but is there any way we can combine two of the cots?" I asked. "Cecilia can't sleep without someone with her." I explained and he nodded in understanding, his eyes softening slightly.
"Yeah, sure." He moved forward and lifted one of the light cots up with ease, moving it over to the other one and putting them side-by-side. "Will this work?" He asked and I nodded.
"Perfectly. Thank you." I smiled gratefully at him and he nodded, helping me move Cecilia from my back and onto one of the cots. I kept her hand in mine and sat on the other cot so I was facing her. "So you were an athlete?" I asked and he grinned, sitting down on the edge of the cot opposite of Cecilia's so he was facing me.
"Yeah. I got into lacrosse when I was just ten, and have played ever since. Well, until this, anyways." He motioned around him and I nodded. "What about you?" He asked, eyeing my toned arms and I smirked lightly.
"Are you checking me out, Mr. Mason?" I teased and he laughed loudly.
"In your dreams." He teased but it was good naturedly, so I just laughed in response.
"Soccer and track." I said and he raised an eyebrow at me. "Don't give me that look! I may be shorter than average, but I'm damn quick on my feet."
"Clearly. You did nearly outrun a skitter." He said and I blinked at him owlishly.
"Skitter?"
"Yeah." He raised his eyebrows at me, as though surprised I didn't know what that was. "You know, six-legged freaks from outer space?"
"Oh!" I frowned slightly. "Never thought of a name for them, though that fits."
"So what've you called them all this time, then?" Hal asked incredulously.
"Monsters." I stated simply and Hal snorted.
"How creative and imaginative." He mocked and I rolled my eyes.
"Who needs creative and imaginative names for creatures clearly thought up by the devil?" I retorted and he grinned impishly at me.
"Touché." He raised a hand to tilt an imaginary hat at me, making me laugh softly.
"I see you two are getting along." Hal and I both looked to the doorway to see Tom and an older looking man with an unhappy expression.
"Dad." Hal greeted, motioning towards the sleeping Cecilia.
"Miss Snow, this is Daniel Weaver, the leader of the 2nd Mass." Tom explained, motioning towards the man. "Weaver, this is Alyssa Snow, and the girl is Cecilia Hunter."
"Just Alyssa, please." I said with a greeting bow of the head to the man.
"Well, Miss Snow," Weaver said, ignoring my words. "I hear you were trying to race a skitter?" He inquired and Hal smirked.
"And was winning for a while there." He added and I rolled my eyes.
"Until I ran into a fence." I growled unhappily.
"You mean until you leapt over a fence." Hal corrected and I glowered at him.
"Just how long were you watching me before you decided to, oh, I don't know, save my life?" I snapped at him, but he just smirked calmly.
"Long enough to know you're fast as hell." He said.
"Ahem." Weaver interrupted with an annoyed expression and I looked at him again.
"Sorry." I murmured apologetically.
"Do you have any intention to stay here?" Weaver asked and I glanced at Cecilia.
"For the moment, we don't have anywhere else to go… I'd say that there's a high probability of us remaining here, if permitted." I replied after a moment, and Weaver eyed me carefully, and I could tell he was sizing me up. After several moments, he spoke.
"We have too many citizens already, and too few fighters and scouts." He said, but I cut in before he could go further.
"I'll do what it takes to stay here if it means Cecilia is safer. I'm quick on my feet, and track taught me to be light on my feet as well." I said quickly. "If it means Cecilia can stay here, then so long as it's safer for her to, I'll become a fighter or a scout, or whatever I need to be."
"We are low on scouts. It's just me and Dai." Hal added thoughtfully. Weaver was silent for several minutes, eying Hal, Cecilia and I all before finally speaking.
"Okay." Weaver said. "In that case, Professor…" Weaver turned to Tom. "Take her with you when you go to find Ben. Consider it a test run." He said and Tom nodded.
"Yes sir." He agreed and I looked at Hal curiously, wondering who this 'Ben' was.
Well? What do you guys think? Review!