Disclaimer: I don't own Falling Skies or any of its characters. I only own my OCs.
A/N: The story takes place parallel to the first episode of the show. Isabelle and her gang are all OCs characters, some regulars, others recurring. I apologize in advance if I've portrayed Boston wrongly. I'm not from Boston, I'm not from the States period. It's a Hal and OC story.
Read, enjoy, review. Constructive criticism would be much appreciated.
Entry 3,
The wait is killing me. They have been gone for at least three hours. Or is it four? I can't tell. There's no way to tell time anymore. I don't think sending Shane and Danny was the best idea. One of them is trigger-happy and the other is a coward. Bo will have his hands full.
We're planning on getting out of Boston very soon. As soon as we secure enough supplies to last us for a while. The cockroaches and their robots are crawling in this city. They even set up base here.
I used to live here. It's hard to see the city completely destroyed and corpses littering the ground.
Today we searched and destroyed only two of them. We had to retreat when two mechs surrounded us. Danny had been more than happy to be done with it. It was his turn to play bait.
It's another house again. This one is dilapidated, tucked away in a dead street. From the looks of it, the neighborhood had probably been bombed during the initial invasion. I wonder who used to live here? Where they alive? Or like the majority of the people, dead?
Sasha and Chaz are playing cards by the candle light. They I asked me if I wanted to join them but I declined. I'm too worried, too anxious to concentrate. And no one can beat Chaz at cards, not even Bo. So I'm writing, to keep my wits about me. We can't afford a mental breakdown now. I don't even know why I'm doing this. Hopefully, if we're able to survive this, and humans don't go extinct, maybe someone will pick it up. You never know, I could become the Anne Frank of this generation.
Isabelle stopped writing, ball point hovering over the page as she chewed her lower lip. The enormity of the situation hit her full force. During the course of six months, they haven't met any other survivors. Except the two friends in New Jersey but they were gunned down by the mechs. It was only the six of them in the world for all they knew. Maybe documenting their lives was important, historical even.
Taking a deep breath, she put the pen back on the notebook.
It's a little over six months after the invasion. It doesn't seem like the aliens are going to leave any time soon. We're not even sure what they want. Colonization? Imperialism? Danny has a theory that the aliens are here to obliterate the entire human species. Any other time I'd agree with him, but the cockroaches didn't kill children. They captured them and put some sort of harness on their backs, having complete access to their brains. The word slavery comes to mind. But why only children?
The distant purring of motor engines drifted into the dark house. Everyone paused in their actions, ears perking at the sound. Chaz got to his feet swiftly, grabbing his shot gun in the process. Isabelle closed the journal and placed it on her back bag.
"Finally," Sasha whispered. "Took them long enough."
Isabelle nodded at the older, tougher woman. Chaz had moved to the front of the house, peeking through the cracks of the door. The purring got louder and louder until it abruptly stopped outside the house.
He swore loud enough for the two girls to hear. "Shane is hurt." He ripped the door open and Isabelle moved out of the way, nails digging into her palm.
Please, not tonight. No deaths tonight.
Bo and Danny were both carrying the injured man, their faces red from exertion. Shane was moaning in pain, his left leg soaked in crimson. Isabelle averted her gaze and dashed into the living room, swiping the small table clean of an assortment things, sending them cascading to the floor. The dust settled in her nose and irritated her eyes.
"What the hell happened?" Chaz wanted to know. Sasha re-entered the room and handed Isabelle one end of a relatively clean looking bed sheet and together they covered the dirty table.
"Shane happened," Danny replied in an irritated voice. "He fired on a reptilian bastard and alerted the mechs."
They placed the whimpering man on the table and stepped back as his sister assessed the damage. Isabelle shone the flash light on the wound, swallowing back the bile that rose in her throat.
In hopes of distracting herself, she looked to the ex-bouncer and their designated leader, Bo. "What took you so long?"
Bo was busy taking inventory of his weapons. "Every store from here to Allston were picked clean. We had to go to Jamaica Plains."
Her eyes widened. "You went to Jamaica Plains? Are you insane? I thought the plan was to raid only in the west."
"It was," Danny told her, arms flailing as he expressed his displeasure. "But when we figured that there was little to no supplies to salvage, these idiots thought taking a joy ride like couple of teens on motorbikes through south Boston was worth the risk. Well, it wasn't. It was an ambush. And now, there," He jabbed his thumb to Shane's direction. "Won't probably last another day. I told them. But no one listens to me."
"Actually, he will." They all turned to the Sasha. "The bullet's lodged in his femuris muscle. It's not a through and through so he'll be alright once I get it out." She let out a shaky breath, resting her head against her older brother's shoulder. Shane patted her back awkwardly.
Chaz cleared his throat and asked,"Did you manage to bring anything back?"
"Does our lives count?" Danny questioned bitterly.
Bo shook his head. "Nothing."
"Well, tomorrow's a whole new day," Isabelle began but bit her tongue when she noticed the look Danny was sending her.
"We've to move out tomorrow," Bo declared, his voice reverberating all over the house. "When Shane's stable we leave, head south. This place is crawling with them and I don't think we can go unnoticed anymore."
Isabelle caught Chaz's eye and he nodded his assent. They were staying with the group. Again.
Sasha had shot up her brother with a strong dose of morphine, knocking him out. She started ripping the denim around the wound. There was a huge, gaping hole in his thigh, blood bubbling and freely flowing out of it. Isabelle's hands shook. Sasha gave her a knowing look.
"Chaz, replace her," she ordered. Feeling pathetic, she slapped the flash light in the blond's open palm. He grabbed her elbow when she passed him.
"You gotta get over it," he whispered, eyes sharp and tone harsh.
She yanked her arm back and he let go. "I'm trying my best."
"Try harder."
"Chaz, I need light."
With a parting glare, he turned to the table and held the flash light over his head. Isabelle went over to the spot she had occupied earlier and picked up the journal. She could hear Danny's ranting and Sasha soft voice but they were just back-ground noise. Her mind was occupied else where. On her own short-comings. Chaz was right. He was always right. He was the type of person who lays down cold facts on the table and if you were too thick or blind to see it, he'd beat you with it and shove them down your throat until you understood.
She relied on him to kick her ass into gear.
Sighing, Isabelle grabbed her bag and stuffed the journal inside. She approached Bo who was cleaning his gun. "So we're moving out tomorrow, huh?"
He made a noncommittal noise at the back of his throat that she took as a yes. The man spoke as little as possible.
"But we're dangerously low on food," Danny pointed out.
"I guess a few of us have to go back and scavenge," Bo muttered.
Danny ran his hand through his unruly hair. "Now? In the dark?"
"I'll do it."
Both men stared at Isabelle with raised eyebrows and surprised expressions. Isabelle was sure her face mirrored theirs. She had no idea what possessed her to say that, but she had already done it and well, she couldn't take it back.
Danny let out a bark of laughter. "Are you kidding me?"
"Yeah, I'm kidding you Daniel," she retorted sarcastically. " That's me, Miss. Kidder."
"Don't get your panties in a bunch, babe. All I'm sayin' is that it's a mad world out there and if you think the place is creepy in daylight, you will shit your pants when the sun goes down. Now these guys," He gestured to Bo and Chaz and an unconscious Shane "they might be gung-ho and all but you and I are the sane ones. Don't let there stupidity rub off on you."
Opening her mouth to explain to the short Wall-street accountant her reasons, Bo beat her to it. "Are you sure about this, Isabelle?"
She thought about it for a few seconds. "No," she answered him honestly. "But I want to. I mean, someone's gotta do it. And I know what's it's like outside, and I know that there's a high chance I might not make it back alive every time I set a foot outside the door but, sooner or later, death's gonna come a'knocking." The last part was a dig directed at Danny. He narrowed her eyes at her but said nothing.
Bo understood. "Fine."
"Count me in," Chaz spoke from across the room, jaw stuck out in determination. He offered Isabelle a small smile. Chaz rarely smiled.
"Alright." Bo rubbed his hands together. "Chaz, Isabelle and I will get going. We'll try north and east of downtown. We'll probably get lucky in Charlestown." He glanced at Shane. "How's it going over there?"
"So far so good," Sasha reassured them. "I got the bullet out and the bleeding has stopped."
"Great. And Daniel, you are staying."
"You make it sound as if it's a punishment."
"If we don't make it by daylight" Bo carried on, ignoring his earlier statement. "Gear up, take the truck and supplies and leave. We'll rendezvous at the other side of Longfellow bridge."
Isabelle felt her heart contract painfully at the thought of going to Cambridge. Her home before moving to Seattle. Did anyone she know survive the invasion? The image of dark hair, hazel eyes and devilish grin sprung from her memories causing a familiar burn behind her eyes. She cleared her throat, blinked the tears furiously away and glanced at Danny.
She studied the older man nervously as he went through five different emotions in three seconds flat. In the end he settled for reluctant acceptance. He nodded curtly, for once not speaking what really was on his mind.
"Bo, maybe you should sit this one out," Sasha suggested, her back towards them. "You've been at it for the past two days. At the rate you're going, you might snooze on the bike and kill yourself."
"She's right," Isabelle agreed. "You should really rest. Chaz, Danny and I can manage."
"Wait-what? Why does he get to rest while I get thrown to front lines?"
"Maybe because while you're snoring your ass off, Bo's always on the look-out." Sasha faced Danny, a few strands of her dark curls matted against her forehead from the sweat. "And no offense, but personally I'll feel a helluva lot safer knowing that Bo's here, should any of those bastards decide to attack us."
Chaz agreed. "She's got a point."
"We need someone strong to hold down the forte," Isabelle pressed on.
The man ran a hand over his haggard face, weighing the pros and cons of the situation. Finally he agreed and much to Danny's dismay. He was constantly giving Isabelle the stink eye. Bo replaced Chaz at the table and started barking off orders to the three of them.
Isabelle picked her bag and rummaged through, take an inventory of all her necessities. Pocket knife. Check. Flash light and extra batteries. Check. Binoculars. Check. 9mm semi-automatic. Check.
"Take two grenades," Bo informed Chaz. "Leave the light fifty."
Isabelle could tell from the hardened edges of Chaz's mouth that he wasn't thrilled to let go of the sniper rifle. Sighing, he dropped the case on the floor with a loud thud before walking out of the room. Danny grumpily set about strapping himself up again.
Isabelle laughed to herself. Even though she was the youngest, somehow she was way more mature than him. She got ready, donning her jacket and gloves. She pulled her auburn hair in a tight pony tail and grabbed her bag.
Sasha grinned. "Lookin' kick-ass, princess." Then immediately sobered up. "Stay safe, okay."
Isabelle glanced around the house she had slept in for the past week and the people she grew to care about. Four months ago, she was hesitant to trust, to give in to them. She remembers the various long conversations she had Chaz and how he's do his best to convince her that this was the best option if they wanted to stay alive. And here she was, facing danger head on for them.
"Yeah, I'll do that. Take care of him," she said, gesturing with her head at Shane.
"You're ready to get blown to smithereens by alien robots?"
Isabelle spun on her heels, rolling her eyes at Danny in exasperation.
He scoffed. "Yeah. Thought so. Stupidity really is contagious."
A/N: So, whatcha think? Remember, honesty is the best policy.