Chapter Two
Eight months ago, if you had told Hal Mason, star lacrosse player, anything that was in his immediate future, he would have recommended that you see a shrink. He wouldn't believe that aliens would invade the earth or that they would kill his mother and steal Ben. He'd call you insane when you told him that he would meet the most amazing girl in the world, only to have her yanked away six months later. But now, if you told him of the all trials and tribulations yet to come, he would just nod and accept the truth. For here he sat, behind the school that had become a home to him, surrounded by darkness, with Ben asleep next to him.
Where was their dad? Tom should have returned from the attack hours ago. That was the plan. All the soldiers would return from the attack, and they would follow the civilians to safety. They couldn't stay here. Not when the skitters knew exactly where to find them. There was only a handful of them left here. He, Ben, Dai, Maggie, and a few others. Dr. Glass, Lourdes, Matt, and everyone else had left.
Matt. He was safe, Hal knew, but that didn't stop him from worrying. Matt. What if their dad didn't come back? How were they going to explain it to him? Their family couldn't take another hit. He couldn't take it. He was already so beaten, so broken. He'd already lost Rebecca, Karen and Ben. Sure, they had rescued Ben, but he wasn't all there. He was different. Not just physically. Before the invasion, he and Ben had never gotten along. They were just…different. Sure, they loved each other. And it wasn't that they disliked one another, they just…didn't click. But now, they got along. They could hang out. Sure, it was fun to have a brother so close to his age that he actually got on with. But at the same time, it was disconcerting. Weird.
"Whatcha thinking about?" Apparently, Ben had woken up.
"What else? Dad. Mom. Matt. Karen. And you." He said, yawning. He was exhausted, but he couldn't sleep. Not now.
"What about me?" Ben asked, looking surprised.
"You drool when you sleep. It's seriously nasty, dude." He said, laughing. Ben chuckled, too, before swatting his arm.
"No I don't, idiot. That's Matt. Kid needs to sleep with a sponge under his mouth or something," Ben replies. They smile, before Ben furrows his brow. "What were you really thinking about me?" What to tell him? The truth? Well, he might as well. Lying wouldn't do any good.
"You're different. Since we've gotten you back. And I don't just mean the obvious, like you having little bits of metal stuck to your spine or being able to jump rope for two hours. Your personality has been totally flipped."
"How so?" Ben asks, looking lost.
"Hello! We can actually be around each other without trying to kill one another! We can talk and hang out! You don't find that a little weird?" He exclaims.
"Well, yeah I've noticed that. But what makes you think it's me? My relationship with Dad and Matt hasn't changed. Maybe I'm not the one that my captivity changed. Maybe you're the one who's different. I mean, it makes sense. You've had to mature a lot in the last seven months. Hasn't your relationship with Dad and Matt changed some? Maybe it wasn't as drastic as the differences between us, but it's happening. Seven months ago, Dad would never have given you a gun and told you to ride off on a motorcycle with your girlfriend in the middle of the night to stand guard against the aliens. Seven months ago, we had a mom. We had a real home, not just a classroom in what used to be a school. And for five months, I was gone. You didn't know if I was dead or alive. So of course our relationship is different! We need each other. And it only took aliens invading the world and taking me hostage for months on end for us to realize it!" Ben looks serious and tired for most of his monologue, but his eyes twinkle as he finishes his rant.
Ben has a point. He has done a lot of growing up in the last seven months. Maybe he is the one who's changed. And when he thinks about it, his relationship with Matt and Tom has evolved, too. Matt used to be his little brother who was just…there. Sure, Matt idolized him. Hal was his other brother. But they didn't have a complex relationship. Now, his family's safety was his first though in the morning and his last at night. Apart from Karen, of course. And what about his dad? Before the invasion, he was closer with his mom than his dad. He and his mom were a lot alike, whereas Tom related more to Ben than to his oldest son. But now, Tom was the only parent he had left. They had more in common, too. Both were soldiers, both were trying to keep what was left of the family, hell, human civilization, together.
"Wow. If we ever get out of this, you should totally be a psychiatrist," He smirks, looking at Ben, who snorts and rolls his eyes. That was more like it.
"C'mon. We should probably head back inside. Get some rest, see what the plan is," Ben says, standing and offering him a hand up. He takes it, and the two brothers slip in the back doors of the school.