The Missing: A Falling Skies Fanfiction
Disclaimer: I do not own Robert Rodat's 'Falling Skies'. If I did, I think I would have introduced a few other Alien races or at least a sub-species of Humans; a legitimate sub-species from another planet.
NOTE: This is a little AU. You'll definitely notice that I haven't followed the main plot and there are facts and scenarios that I've blatantly disregarded and changed. Welcome to Fanfiction.
There weren't many places that one could settle down in the new World. In fact, many would argue the possibility of any form of stability. Blake was one of those that had accepted that, no matter how hard one tried, no matter how many people believed, the World would never be the way that it had been beforehand. In this day and age, you had to survive and if you managed to do that, you might just be able to live.
She had watched the skies as the ships appeared out of seemingly nowhere; had run at the first sign of another life form.
"Nothing good can come of this." She had said aloud, trying to encourage those around her to leave; to find someplace to hide before whatever was on those ships decided to introduce themselves to humankind.
"Are you seeing what I'm seeing Blake?" Trevor questioned, his words said in a breathless voice. "I knew we weren't alone." Blake grabbed his wrist, intent on leading them inside the parking lot of the local shopping centre.
"We need to go, Trev." The boy shook his head.
"No, we need to see what they want. We need to find out why they're here." By the time the sentence had left his mouth, the first shot of a beam of light jetted out of one the ships. That was when the initial hysteria began. It was nothing short of chaotic. Blake led Trevor to what she hoped would be a relatively safe place for the moment. It wasn't long after that Trevor had ventured out to see, with his own eyes, the beings that had invaded the Earth.
"Don't do it Trev. Listen to me. This isn't one of your comic books; this isn't an invasion of Earth by peaceful beings interested in our species. This is an extermination."
"Maybe they're just misunderstood." The boy defended.
"There are dead bodies littering the streets, Trev. Who the hell knows what's happening to your family right now. This isn't a game."
"I'll come back. No worries."
Blake watched on from the ventilation system of the large shopping complex as Trevor, her most treasured friend, wandered outside like the naïve idiot he always was. She saw the odd crab like creature turn its gaze upon his form and witnessed the moment it placed something along his spine and Trevor walked away, following the alien being as the, the, the thing on his back glowed.
She'd gone straight for his house after that. Whatever that thing did, Trevor was obviously not all there. She walked straight into the Kent's home, found old Ben lying face down on the floor before heading to the basement and finding the surviving two Kent's hiding in the panic room.
"I'm sorry Mrs. K." She held the woman in her arms as the mother mourned her husband and son; held onto little Jason as he tried to stop the tears.
"What am I going to do?" Mrs Kent, known as Georgina, asked in a whisper.
"We survive, Mrs K; we live."
''
Three months had passed since Earth was invaded. Two months had passed since little Jason became an orphan. Blake did her best. She stepped up and took on the role of guardian; of protector, and did her best to ensure that Jason was content, well fed and safe.
"What are we doing today Lake?" The ten-year-old questioned.
"I don't know Buddy. Would you like to have a free day?" The boy grinned, happy to know that he wouldn't have to learn anything new today and even happier that he wouldn't be hiding alone while he waited for Blake to return from a run. "Come on, I found this." She pulled out a large, plastic-wrapped package containing a net, two rackets and a shuttlecock. "Let's play Badminton. You're going down, Buddy-boy." A carefree laugh pervaded the air.
"You wish old Lady! I'm taking you down."
''
That was how he found them: A teenaged girl and a younger boy playing Badminton in the park. The two abruptly stopped their game; the long haired female immediately pulling the younger boy behind her as she pulled two guns on the man who had approached them.
"I'm not going to hurt you." The man said, his hands up in a sign of peace. "Not going to hurt you." He repeated as he walked closer to them.
"What's your name?" Blake asked the man, halting him in his tracks. The man nodded.
"Tom Mason." He replied without any hesitation. She eyed him warily, her head tilting to the side as she took in in his form. She nodded back to him and placed one of the guns back in its holster; her other arm dropping to her side.
"Nice to meet you Mr. Mason. What are you doing here Sir?"
"I'm on a supply run. Got some people I need to feed a little back that way."
"Most of the town has been cleaned out. There's a food depot a little less than a half mile east of here but it's a trap." She said with a shrug. "If you think you're up to it then by all means go ahead and try but I wouldn't recommend it Sir. Not by your lonesome anyway."
"Thank you." He smiled at the girl. "You've saved my group and I a lot of pointless running around." She shrugged again.
"You seem like a decent enough man Mr. Mason." She looked as if she had been going to speak before she shut her mouth. Tom watched as the little boy pressed himself even closed to the girl, burying his face in her back. "Best get going Sir." She nodded her head towards the east. "There's a patrol headed this way. It was nice meeting you. Thank you for not killing us." With that, the two children had left and Tom remained standing where he was before he, too, made himself scarce as a small group of Skitters and Mechs made their way towards the main street of the small town.
''
"But you said that it was a trap." Jason said, his yes watering as he tried his hardest not to cry. "You said you wouldn't go there. Ever."
"I know Buddy, but I didn't promise that I wouldn't, now did I?" She bent down a little and lifted the boys chin staring him in the eyes. "We're going to save another life this afternoon. You ready Sweetie?" The boy nodded and cocked back the gun he held in his hands. She ruffled his hair. "Good kid. Now let's go. Remember, use only if you need to, got it?"
"I know, I know. You don't have to remind me every time Lake." She smirked at him and they made their way to the depot.
Upon their arrival, they set themselves up in the ventilation shafts, a favourite past-time of Blake's. They watched from their positions as a group, led by Tom, made their way around the depot, loading up a pick-up truck with supplies and just as she knew they would, Skitters made themselves known and began an assault on the humans. Blake looked across the way as the Skitters started to shoot, finally making eye contact with Jason and signalled for him to stay put and cover her. She jumped out of the ventilation shaft, landing with a soft thud, before making her way to where she last saw the Skitter. She didn't hesitate as she launched herself at the alien, plunging her knife through its head before partially decapitating the thing.
"Nice to see you again Mr. Mason." She said, cleaning her knife with her jacket sleeve, offering her left hand to the man on the ground.
"Dad!" Tom got to his feet as his eldest son rounded the corner, weapon raised and at the ready. He looked from his father to the girl that was beside him. "Who is she?"
"Hal, this is, well, this is the girl that saved my life." He said, looking towards Blake himself. "Where's the little one?" He asked her. His son watched on, interested in who this new comer was and how she knew his Dad. The girl didn't reply with words. She let out a high pitched whistle and Jason came bounding along, cautiously raising his gun every now and again as he made his way to his Guardian.
"I'm Blake by the way and this little Hero over here is Jason."
"Hello again Sir." Jason said. "Lake knew you'd come here even though she said not to." The boy said, a smile on his face. "Lake's always right."
"Well I'm grateful you decided to show up when you did. We need to get out of here." Tom said. "Are you coming with us? We've a whole group of people: men, women, children."
"Where are you guys headed to?"
"We're headed t-"
"Dad. A word please?" Tom looked to his son and gestured for the two to wait there.
"What is it Hal?"
"You can't just start telling everyone we meet what our plans are." Tom sighed.
"I understand what you're saying Hal, really I do, but Blake saved my life just now and she warned me of the patrols earlier today." Hal nodded. He was cautious to trust strangers, no matter their age. As much as he wanted to believe in the good of Humanity and the innocence of youth, you just couldn't be sure these days. However, he did trust his father's judgement.
"Okay Dad."
"Blake, Jason, you coming with us or not?" Tom shouted over to them. Blake turned to Jason.
"Want to give it a go Buddy?"
"I'd like to play Badminton with someone who can play." Blake laughed aloud as she ruffled his hair again.
"Well, I guess that's that then Buddy." They made their way over to Tom.
"On the condition that you allow me to properly pull mine and Jason's weight, I don't see why not Sir." Tom nodded to her.
"You'll have to speak with the Leader of our group though."
"Not a problem Sir."
"Good." Tom looked around the area. "Okay everybody: Load up and let's get the hell out of here!"
''
"My name is Blake, Sir. I am sixteen years old and was an orphan before the alien invasion. My best friend was harnessed, Sir, and now I look out for his little brother."
"That would be, uh, Jason, correct?"
"Yes Sir."
"Now then, Tom has informed me that you want to be able to pull your weight. I respect that, kid. But what can you bring to the table?"
"Sir, I know the layout of Boston better than anyone, living or dead. That's where you're headed to, right Sir? I'm also know how kill Skitters and defeat Mechs. I've been doing it since the start of this invasion. I want to be in on the action Sir." She stood straight and tall, looking up at the man that had been commanding the Second Mass.
"Why should I trust you?"
"You shouldn't Sir. We both have a common goal though, one that unites all of us survivors whether we're trustworthy or not: exterminate the outer space filth that has attempted to wipe us out." Dan Weaver smirked at the girl. She had spunk, and according to Tom, enough balls to throw herself at a Skitter and kill the bloody thing.
"Okay then girl, you'll be part of recon for the moment. You'll be sent out with the Scouts."
"Yes Sir. Thank you Sir."
"Tom said that you knew when those things were close by and patrolling. How much do you know?"
"I can give you a general schedule of patrols from seven miles out all the way into the heart of Boston itself Sir."
"How in the hell have you and that boy survived?" He asked her. She was a small, young woman who had been fending for not only herself but a growing boy.
"One day at a time Sir." She sent him a smile. "One day we'll gather 'round and I'll tell you my story. Or you can always ask Jason. He's up for a chat anytime of the day."
"I'll keep that in mind. Now tell me the patrol schedules and map them out for me."
"Sir, yes Sir."
''
"Lake!" Blake let out an 'oomph' as Jason ran straight into her, arms outstretched.
"Hey Buddy. What's going on?"
"I've made new friends already!" She smiled fondly down at the boy.
"That's wonderful Sweetie. Are you going to introduce me to them?" He nodded enthusiastically and dragged her through the camp by the hand.
"This is Matt and this is Lance and that is Moris and Louie and that girl there is Briana and next to her is Sophie and that's Max." He said all in one breath.
"It's nice to meet you all. Has Jason been behaving?" She asked, making a silly face at the children, earning her a laugh as she pretended to be unhappy with Jason. She took a step back and watched as Jason interacted with the other children and smiled as he acted his age for once, not having the burden of having to look over his shoulder or startle at every single sound around him.
"Matt's my youngest brother." She jumped and turned to find Hal. "He's nine years old but acts as if he's twenty."
"Kids are like that. Jason tends to turn into a thirty-year-old when he's not goofing off and being a kid. I think that's one of the saddest things about this World. Children can't be children; can't just sit around playing games or throwing tantrums."
"Missing the little things?"
"Enjoying them, more of."
"I'm Hal Mason. We didn't get to properly meet each other earlier."
"Nice to meet you Harold." She said with a smirk, shaking the boys hand. "I'm Blake."
"I'm going to insist that you call me Hal."
"And I'm going to pretend that you haven't said a word about it Harold."
"That name makes me sound old."
"With a bit of luck you'll live to be as old as the name sounds."
"Is Jason your brother?"
"He might as well be. I'm best friends with his brother." Hal immediately concluded that the brother had been either killed or harnessed. There was a pause in conversation. "Anyone else our age here?" She asked.
"Our age? How old are you? I'm sixteen."
"My guess was spot on then. I am too." Hal nodded his head.
"There's a fair few teens running about the camp. Most people that are around our age are in their early twenties. You'll meet Lourdes and Karen soon enough." He stopped then and turned to face her. "Weaver says you'll be joining us on our scouting routes."
"I most certainly will be."
"Thank you for giving us that information." She smiled at Hal and nodded.
"I sincerely hope that anyone else in my position would have done the same thing."
"Yeah. I suppose some would but the World's changed." She smirked at the boy. "What are you smirking at?" He asked.
"Nothing, nothing. So, who's Karen?" She said, wiggling her eyebrows. She'd caught the tone of voice in which he said the name and immediately concluded the two had something going on. Hal looked at her incredulously.
"How the hell did you do that?" He asked, slightly bewildered.
"I'm good at reading people. How long have you known her?"
"Since the beginning of this mess."
"So she's your girlfriend?" She said, exaggerating the last word and nudging him with her elbow.
"Yeah, she is. Now shove off!" He playfully pushed her away and the two laughed.
"You're an alright guy, Hal. I'll watch your back." Hal looked down at the girl who was smirking at him. He shook his head.
"No need to do that. But I'll be watching your back as well." She smiled at him, a wide, happy grin before holding her hand out. They shook hands. "This is going to be the start of a beautiful relationship." He then said.
"It most certainly is, Harold." She laughed aloud and the two stood side by side, watching the children play.
''
"Hey, Lake! Get your ass over here now Goddammit!"
"Sh!" Was Hal's only reply. He squinted, hoping to see her in the darkness but was unable to spot her.
"Shit." He swore aloud as the beams from Skitters blew apart the face of building to his right. That was when he saw him. Hal jumped to his feet, forgetting where he was and the danger he was putting himself in as he rushed towards his brother. "Ben!"
"Hal!" The boy fell to the floor. Blake straddled him, catching his flailing arms and trying her best to stop him from getting back to his feet.
"No, let me go! That's my brother! That's Ben! Ben! Ben!" He was cut off when Blake pressed her hand to his mouth.
"Shut up and calm down! We'll get him Hal but not right now. We can't get him now. You'll die; We'll die. Understand?" After a few more attempts at escaping, and after another few stern words from Blake, Hal calmed down. Hal met the concerned gaze of Blake. "You good? 'Cause I could do this all day Harold." She stood up, hand out as she stood above him. He took her hand, breathing heavily and tried his best not to give her a filthy look.
"I'm sure you could." He said, rubbing at his face in frustration and looking towards the direction that the Skitters had disappeared to. She gave him a sardonic smile before punching him in the arm.
"Do anything like that again and you'll be begging for a Mech to come and save your sorry ass, got it?"
"What if that was Jason?" He snapped at her. "What would you have done?"
"I wouldn't have done anything." Hal gave her a look, clearly disbelieving her. "I wouldn't have done anything because I'd have to be dead for them to get anywhere near that boy." She said evenly. "Oh, and I am so telling your Dad."
"What?!"
"You put yourself in danger and nearly got blasted by an alien crab. Like I'm going to keep that from Tom."
"You're not telling him." He said, towering over her short form. She simply shook her head and walked off, picking up the various supplies that littered the ground.
"Move it Mason, we haven't got all night." She shook her head, ridding herself of the strange high-pitched sound that she'd heard. She rubbed at the side of her head. She could feel a migraine coming on.
''
"General Weaver, Sir, he is right though. We'll scope out the area; learn the new patrol route. It'll be a simple extraction. What are the aliens going to do? They're not likely to go after a missing child. They've got enough already. It won't upset numbers."
Dan Weaver slowly nodded his consent, hesitant at the proposal. He couldn't fault the boy for his determination and he knew the girl was able to look after herself. He looked towards the History Scholar.
"You'll be leading them Tom." Tom nodded his head. He would have gone whether or not Weaver allowed it. "I'll inform the General when he gets back. Dismissed."
''
"Where are you going?"
"I'm bringing my brother back."
"You're going out there again? There's been increased activity Hal."
"I know Karen but I have to do this. This is Ben we're talking about." Blake approached the couple, knowing if they were going to do this, they needed to do it now.
"I hate to break up the lovebirds but we got to go now Harold." Hal turned to her and nodded. She smirked at the glare that Karen was sending in her direction. The blonde girl never liked the brunette; hadn't liked her since Hal came back with her two months beforehand. Hal turned to Karen, giving her a brief kiss on the lips before he headed over towards Blake, swinging an arm around the brunette's shoulder. He turned back, winking at the blonde.
"I'll be back soon baby." He shouted behind him and then the two had disappeared.
''
They were crouched down behind the remnants of a brick wall, weapons clutched to their chests and listening intently to where the Skitters had gone.
"Shit. I thought you said you weren't injured." Hal said, his hands now cupping her face as he tilted her head to the side. He swiped at the blood that was trailing from her ears. "Are you alright?" She nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I didn't even know I was bleeding." Hal eyed her critically. He didn't want her lying about her health. He watched her for a moment longer.
"Alright then. But the second you feel even a little bit off, you tell me and we go."
"Not without getting Benjamin, Harold." As much as he wanted to save his little brother, he had grown attached to the girl who saved his father and knew he wouldn't be able to just continue on, especially knowing that she was injured. "Seriously Harold: I'm feeling fine. I didn't notice it until you pointed it out; it doesn't even hurt." He believed her. They went back to sitting in silence before they co-ordinated an attack on two Skitters.
"Plant it now!" Blake shouted. Hal flung his backpack to the floor, unzipping it and throwing down a small parcel, running and taking cover behind some cars.
"It's gonna blow!" Hal screamed out, pressing the detonator. "Come on, let's go!" Hal stood up and took off after the harnessed children. Blake got up to follow but was brought to her knees, clutching at her head desperately. She let out a scream. Hal stopped, backtracking and making it to her side. "What's wrong? What's wrong?!" He yelled, grabbing her arms and preventing her from scratching at her face.
"Make it stop!" She begged. He couldn't understand what she was going on about, but looking at the blood that was now making its way from her eyes, ears and nose, he knew he had to try something, anything, to help her. "The noise!"
"There's no noi-" His words were cut short as a strange light pulsated through the area, knocking both of them to the floor and leaving them winded. Hal staggered to his feet, disorientated and feeling nauseous. He looked around him in a state of confusion and could make out a harnessed teenager. He blindly went to grab the boy, pulling out a needle that had been filled with a sedative, courtesy of Doctor Anne Glass, and pushed it into the arm of the kid. The boy went down like a sack of potatoes after a brief moment of trying to fight the drug that was in his system.
"Hal," he heard the muffled tone of Blake, "we need to…we need to get out of here." She managed to say, wiping at her mouth, trying to get rid of any remanence of blood. She looked towards her crimson stained hands and cursed. The high pitched noise had yet to stop and she was struggling to maintain any form of composure. She shook her head and went to the opposite side of the sedated boy, hefting his arm around her shoulder and the two made their way back to camp, carrying the young teenager between them.
''
"The harness seems to be effecting her. I have no idea why but she seems to be able to hear a high pitched frequency. I'm assuming that it's a form of communication between the harnessed children and the aliens." Anne explained.
"How long do you think it will last?" Tom asked.
"I don't know Tom." Anne looked back to the girl lying on a bed in the infirmary bus. "But if it continues, there will be severe consequences. She'll either go deaf or she'll haemorrhage."
"Does it affect her while she sleeps?"
"Not that I've monitored. I can't keep her in a perpetual state of sleep either Tom. That's not right. She'll wake in an hour."
"An hour? She's only been in here for five."
"Her body burns out the sleeping pills and sedatives fast. Do you know what her life was like before the aliens? She seems to have trained her body to filter through poisons and drugs at an increased rate; a significantly increased rate compared to any other human."
"She's told me a few things so I'm not all that surprised." Tom rubbed at his forehead. "I'll leave you to it Doc. Call me if she takes a turn for the worst." Anne nodded.
''
"You ever scare me like that again, I'm going to chain you to me."
"I'm not sure Karen would like that." Blake said with a laugh.
"Yeah, well, she'd have to deal with it. Now tell me the truth: how are you feeling?" Hal eyed her critically, looking for any signs of discomfort.
"Much better. The noise is like static now. The Doc says it has something to do with the harnesses. That's the closest I've ever been to the harnessed kids before; I avoided any form of contact with the captured ones. I was always afraid I'd find Trev and wouldn't be able to save him or that Jason would see them and follow along and never return."
"He's fine, by the way. Matt's been keeping him preoccupied until you woke your lazy ass up."
"Well excuse me, Harold. I didn't mean for anything to happen." Hal shook his head and moved closer to her, taking one of her hands in his own.
"I'm glad you're alright." He pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"I'm glad you are as well." The sweet moment between the two friends was interrupted as Blake's stomach growled. She laughed aloud, along with Hal, and the boy got up to bring her dinner; Jason tagging along behind him when he returned.
''
"And now I'm going to have to go with you so that you will okay." Jason summed up, telling Blake it exactly how things were going to be from now on.
"Whatever you say little boy." He made to move out of the way but was too slow and his hair was ruffled. He pouted.
"Lake! I'm a man, not a little boy."
"Okay then little man." Jason's smile faltered and he launched himself at the girl on the bed, tears springing from his eyes.
"Don't ever go near them again Lakey, even if it is my brother. I don't want you to get hurt." Blake held the child to her.
"Okay Sweetie, I won't."
''
Authors Note: Hope you liked it. Yes, it skipped around a little but that sort of works in this story seeing as the series itself does exactly the same thing. Thanks for reading.