Chapter 1

My name is AJ Mason. I'm fifteen years old. My brothers and I are part of the Second Massachusetts, part of the resistance fighting the aliens that invaded our planet months ago. My dad, Tom, was also in the resistance with us, but three months ago, he left to board a mother-ship, when Ben (my twin) and I were threatened. You see, the aliens kidnap children and place harnesses on their backs. Eventually, under the influence of a harness, children turn into Skitters. They battle on the front lines and command the Mechs, giant robots which can wipe out whole groups of people in less than five minutes if they want. Ben and I were harnessed, but we were rescued. That doesn't always stop the effects of the harness. The aliens threatened to call us back. Dad went in exchange. Now, my brothers and I fend for ourselves, just me, Ben, Hal (my older brother by two years) and Matt (my younger brother by six years). However, I do have a friend, Logan, who patrols with me. We watch each other's backs. He's one of the best friends I've ever had. We met the day my dad vanished, and when he returned from the assault on the alien structure over Boston, we talked for hours.

Now, my story continues three months after my dad's disappearance. And things are about to get even hairier than before …

Falling Skies

Ben, Hal and I are watching from the windows of an old derelict building, armed with guns, waiting for Weaver's signal to shoot. Maggie and Jimmy are here too. I watch as two Mechs, and twice as many Skitters appear, chasing after Pope and two other fighters on motorcycles. There's a sudden explosion and then Weaver's yell of, "Open fire!"

But we wait. Wait until Hal tells us to shoot.

"Where the hell is that back-up?!" Weaver bellows. Maggie fires one of the shells from the RPG into the back of the Mech's head. It falls to the ground with a loud thud.

"Keep your heads down, make every shot count!" Hal orders.

We start firing at the Skitters, determined to bring them down. Even after Weaver orders us to cease fire, Ben continues shooting.

Hal roars, "Cease fire!" After firing a couple more rounds, my twin finally stops. We all stare at him in stunned silence, before - "Captain! We look good down here!"

"Get the hell outta there! We've got … eight minutes tops before those Beamers respond!"

I sling my weapon over the shoulder. Maggie ushers Jimmy out of the door, Hal and I are following closely until we notice that Ben is standing still.

I order, "Ben, come on, we're moving out."

He strains to see into the darkness outside. "We've got one still moving," he calls. "I can't get a shot."

"Well, leave it!" Hal insists.

Ignoring him, Ben jumps out of the window. I jump through after him. "Ben! Stop, let's just leave it!" I beg, running over and grabbing his arm. He shakes me off, before marching up to the Skitter and stabbing it, driving his knife into its brain.

"Ben, what the hell are you doing?" my older brother demands.

Ben turns with a grin on his face, which quickly slides off as a gunshot sounds behind him. "There's another one, I can feel it," he mutters, pulling out his gun and sneaking towards it.

The Skitter rounds the corner suddenly. I draw my weapon, ready to have Ben's back if I need to. But I don't, as he fires at the thing until it drops to the ground, revealing a man standing behind it.

My jaw drops. "Dad?" I murmur. It's him. It's really him! "Dad!" I sprint towards him. We all reach him as he hits the ground. There's blood seeping from a bullet wound in his abdomen. One left my Ben's gun, no doubt.

"Ben, Hal, AJ, you're alive," Dad rasps.

"We need to get him to the trucks," I say firmly. "Come on."

With difficulty, we all pull him to his feet. Ben and Hal drag him between them, while I run ahead to Weaver. "Don't leave!" I shout. "Weaver, we – we found him."

He frowns. "Who?" he demands.

"Dad. We found our dad," I pant. Just then, Ben and Hal appear with him. We all load him into the truck, and then head back to camp.

Falling Skies

Ben and I watch helplessly as Dad is carried from the truck.

"Doctor Glass!" Hal screams. "Doctor Glass!" She runs over and gapes as she spots Dad.

"Tom? What happened?" she asks.

Weaver mutters, "He was shot."

She looks shocked. "Was it a Mech?"

"Tell Ben it wasn't his fault," I hear Dad mumble.

"It was an accident. Friendly fire," Weaver says, talking more to Ben than to Anne.

Ben grabs Anne's arm as she enters the bus. "I didn't mean to. It was dark," he pants.

She pries her arm out of his grip. "Ben, I've gotta go," she tells him.

We climb into the bus via the other entrance and watch as Dad's laid on the table.

"Dad! Dad!" Matt shouts as he runs in. Hal grabs him quickly. "What happened to him?!"

"He's been hurt pretty bad, buddy," Hal murmurs.

I grip Ben's hand tightly in mine. "It's okay, Ben," I whisper. "It's all right."

"He's gonna be okay, right?" Matt demands, his eyes wide with fear.

Lourdes calls, "Guys, I know how much you wanna be here, but ..." Her voice trails away.

Weaver makes his way over. "She's right. Let's give 'em some room," he orders softly as we're ushered away.

Swiftly, I break past and run to Dad's side, gripping his hand. "You'll be okay," I assure him, before pressing my trembling lips to his forehead. "I love you, Dad."

Weaver pulls me out of the bus then.

Falling Skies

I'm sitting outside, shaking uncontrollably as the tears stream down my cheeks.

"AJ?"

I look up. "Logan," I croak.

He puts an arm round my shoulder, his blue eyes locking onto my brown ones. "Are you okay?" he asks.

"My dad is alive," I whisper. "He's alive, and he's in that bus and I can't see him."

"Hey, I know. But he got shot, AJ. They're working to save him, and I'm pretty sure you don't wanna see his insides, do you?" he says.

I give a small chuckle. "Not really," I reply. "You know, you make a valid point sometimes."

He smirks. "Oh, I always make a valid point," he tells me smugly.

I roll my eyes. "Always the modest one," I joke.

"Oh, you know it," he replies. I rest my head on his shoulder.

"You are the best friend I have ever had," I declare.

"Well, duh!"

Falling Skies

I sit in the bus beside Dad while he sleeps. My fingers are locked with his and I keep staring at him, hoping he'll wake up.

"Uh, hey, Dad," I mutter. "It's me, AJ, but, uh, you probably already guessed as much. So, I don't know, I'm hoping if I talk you that you'll wake up. Hey, remember the guy I was checking out, the day you vanished? Probably not, but he's now my best friend. Well, I say that, but Ben, Hal and Matt are my best friends still. Logan comes in at a close second though, you know?"

I sigh and lay my forehead on the mattress. "I missed you … I missed you so much. I thought – I though that I'd lost you. I love you so much, Daddy."

"He knows that."

My head snaps up and I whirl round to find Hal in the entrance of the bus. "I was just -"

He chuckles. "Yeah, I know. I heard," he says, stepping in. He places a hand on my shoulder. "Come on. I need your help finding Ben and Matt."

I stand up and kiss Dad on the cheek gently, before following Hal. When we find Ben and Matt, my little brother is clutching a rifle.

"Hey, Ben!" Hal calls. "What's Matt doing with a gun?"

"Ben's teaching me how to shoot," Matt says.

Ben regards Hal coldly. "I figured it was time. He needs to learn how to defend himself," he remarks.

Hal demands, "So you just gave him a rifle without asking me?"

"I might have to follow your orders on missions, but not here," he replies.

Hal snatches the rifle up and pulls out the magazine before ordering, "Back to camp, Matt." Matt shuffles his feet awkwardly. "Go back to camp."

He strops off. Hal hands the gun to Maggie. "We both know Dad didn't want that for him," he says, before turning to leave.

Ben's call of, "Three months ago," stops him in his tracks. "How do you know he'd say that now?"

"I don't know what he'd say now, and neither do you," Hal tells him. "Okay? So how about we let Dad make that decision when he wakes up?"

"Only way we win this war is to kill every Skitter we see. If Matt's load enough to load a gun, he's old enough to shoot it."

"After what happened with Dad, you think you're the best one to be giving lessons?"

I gape. "Hal -" I begin.

Ben cuts me off. "I just don't want him to be taken away the way they took me and AJ," he says. Hal begins to leave, but once again, Ben stops him. "Or your girlfriend, Karen."

That's when Hal snaps. He runs at Ben, swinging his arms. But they're caught in my twin's grip as he forces Hal to his knees. "I'm not the Math geek you used to push around. Deal with it." He lets go suddenly before walking off. I help Hal to his feet quickly before running after Ben.

"Stop!" I call. I grab his shoulder and whirl him round. "Ben, I don't understand."

"No," he agrees, "you don't."

"Then help me. Make me understand what is going on with you," I beg. "Please! Don't shut me out. Don't push me away. I'm worried about you. You're my brother and I'm scared for you."

His gaze softens a little. "AJ, you don't have to be scared," he promises me, cupping my face in his hands.

I let a couple of tears loose. "Well, I am scared," I mumble, throwing my arms around him and burying my face in his chest.

"Yeah, I know."

"I worry about you so much, Ben," I whisper.

He gives a dry laugh. "I realise. But you don't have to. I'm a big boy, I can look after myself," he reminds me.

I crack a smile. "I realise."

Falling Skies

As we're packing up the trucks, getting ready to move out, I hear Hal yelling as he and Maggie run towards us. "Captain, we've got a Mech convoy about a mile away," he informs Weaver. "They're straight east. They're coming this way."

"If we move the medbus now, Tom's not gonna make it," Weaver comments. "Convoy goes. Medical stays with Dr Glass until she can stabilise Tom. I need four volunteers to stay with the bus in case those Mechs turn up." Maggie, Hal, Ben and I offer to stay behind. "Get all the ammo you can grab. AJ's got the map, we'll wait for you twenty miles out. Stay safe." He walks away. "We're moving out, people! Five minutes!"

Falling Skies

We wait in the silent bus while Anne and Lourdes work on helping Dad. Suddenly we hear the Mechs.

"All right, guys, we've got incoming," Hal announces. "We're gonna go dark." He switches off all the lights on the bus and heads outside. I stay crouching with Ben. "All right, guys, we're gonna lay low and hope the Mechs pass us by. Nobody shoots unless I give the order." He looks at Ben. "Hey! All right?" Ben nods.

We stay as quiet as possible while the Mechs pass. I feel Ben's free hand lock around mine as they thud past us. When they're gone, we all grin and climb back onto the bus, before driving on to meet Weaver and the rest of the group.

Falling Skies

"Logan!" I yell as I jump into his awaiting arms. He stumbles back.

"Whoa!" he says. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you missed me a little."

I pull back a bit. "Oh, I missed you a lot," I reply, before leaning in slowly and pressing my lips to his gently.

He breaks the kiss. "I can tell."

"AJ!" Hal barks, storming over. He scowls at Logan for a moment until I'm lowered to the ground, and then he smiles, holding out his hand. "Break her heart, and I'll break your face."

"I expect nothing less from you," Logan says, shaking the proffered hand.

Hal looks at me. "And you, if he breaks your heart, tell me straight away."

I nod. "Aye, aye, cap'n," I joke.

Logan drapes his arm round my shoulders as Hal takes off. "Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to kiss you?" he asks.

"Less than three months?"

"Yup."

Falling Skies

Ben, Hal, Matt and I slept in the medbus last night, in case anything changed with Dad. I'm woken from my dream of walking into Nando's naked and ordering period period chicken by the sound of the curtain being moved.

I sit up and open my eyes slowly, only to see my dad awake and talking to Ben. "All that matters now is that we're together," he's saying.

That's when Matt wakes up and lets out a cry of, "Dad!" before running to him.

"Daddy!" I sob, as I run to his side. He places a hand on my cheek and smiles warmly.

"Look what the cat dragged in," Hal comments as he joins us. "I missed you, old man."

"I missed you too," Dad says. "I missed all of you."

I clutch his hand like a lifeline, not wanting to let go for fear I'll wake up and this will have been a cruel dream.

Carefully, we help him up and aid him in walking to the entrance of the bus, where a crowd has gathered to see him.

I hear people calling, "It's Tom!" and "Tom Mason!"

Weaver comes over and shakes his hand. "How are you feeling?" he asks.

"Better now," he answers. "We should talk."

"Plenty of time for that. You just get better first," he commands. "A lot of people will be glad to see ya."

He steps back and one by one, people come to shake Dad's hand. Dai. Anthony. Maggie. Jimmy. Then Logan.

I smile. "Dad, this is Logan," I state. "He's, um, he's my boyfriend now."

Dad stares for a moment before beaming at him. "Welcome to the family, son," he says.

"Uh, Dad, little early for that, don't you think?" I ask. "We've only been together for a few hours. Literally."

He chuckles. "Sorry, I am getting ahead of myself, aren't I?"

"Just a little. But I love you for it." I hug him gently. "I love you so much."

"I love you too. All of you. So much."

D'awwwwww! Well, my little girl's all grown up and she has a boyfriend now! And Tom's alive! Am I the only one who teared up a bit when Tom was talking to the boys at the end of that episode? Damn Daddy issues, man. I wish I had a dad like Tom, but unfortunately, I don't. Excuse me while I go bang my head on a wall about that fact. I hope you enjoyed. Review! Tell me what you think! I wanna know! As for the dream, it's an inside joke with me and my friends. I meant to say period period chicken.

Beth xxxxxxxxxxxxx