"Take old people's advice because they know what they are talking about."
That was the worst car ride that Lisa had ever experienced. It hurt as she saw him cringe away from her, pushing himself as far away from her as possible. She wondered for a moment in what way she could get him back the quickest, so they could look upon this moment in time as frivolous memories. Lisa pushed herself away from him, forcing herself to not get close to him at all, or even look at him for that matter. Lisa went through each and every thing she had learned about how to get a boy to like you. If she chased him, he would run. Lisa remembered a time when Tyler had chased her, and the game they played. Well, at least she thought it was a game, for a little while. Lisa pushed the thought away and went on to other ideas. If she flirted with him, he wouldn't flirt back. If she made him jealous... Well, that could work. But then he would most likely try to make her jealous as well, resulting in a love square, which Lisa wanted to avoid if possible. She could let Tyler come to her. Lisa could ignore him, not speak to him, and act like he didn't exist. It would be the harder of the other three, but probably have the most satisfying of results.
Lisa thought of this as they walked down into the Aires Project base. Then she heard a door open and close behind her. Lisa whirled around and realized that Tyler wasn't there. She wondered what he was running from then she saw Father Jack walking towards them. Lisa tried to hide the smile forming on her lips. Erica turned around to see where Tyler went.
"Where did he go?" Erica whispered harshly.
"Out the door." Lisa whispered back.
Father Jack, who had seen Tyler run, walked over and told Erica that he'd handle it. Erica nodded as he brushed past them and Lisa stifled a laugh and wished she could see Tyler's face right now.
Tyler would definitely have to put today as one of his best. First his mom gets pissed at him and spazzed worse than Brandon when he saw a squirrel. Secondly, he had the worst car experience ever. Now thirdly, he saw a priest who was Fifth Column and might not have even killed his friends after Tyler had vandalized his office. What else could happen? He asked.
Tyler looked up at the ship as he stood outside the entrance to the underground bunker which was the Aires Project. The mothership, which had only a few days ago seemed like his home away from home, now seemed to be a warning of what was to come.
"It's funny how the most beautiful things can be the most deadly." said a voice behind him. Tyler looked down as he felt a warm wave of embarrassment wash over him. He vaguely knew the voice. Tyler looked ahead as he spoke.
"You didn't kill them did you?"
"No. The V's did."
"I... I'm so sorry for... everything. I don't want you to forgive me for what I did. I don't deserve it."
"Only God can grant forgiveness."
"He'd strike me by lightning before I got on my knees to pray."
"Well, he didn't when you vandalized my office."
Tyler ignored the pang of guilt in his chest.
"Yeah, I guess that's true," Tyler said, then turned to look at Father Jack. "I don't believe in God."
Tyler waited for Father Jack to start yelling and preaching to him about how if you didn't believe in God, you'd go to Hell, or ask him how he didn't believe in God and all that. But instead, Father Jack asked him something.
"And what makes you think that way?"
"I don't know... He hasn't really given me the best of things. My family life's screwed up, my girlfriend's a lizard who has a mom that's trying to conquer the world. After my motorcycle crash, I felt broken. Like He abandoned me. Nothing good happened after it. I feel like an asshole."
"Most people your age are. They don't mean to be, but they are. You kids think we don't understand you, but you don't give us enough time to figure you out. You think that we can understand you in a split second, but we don't. If you talk to people and give them enough time, eventually you can understand each other. You have to find something to relate to first, though. Then you blame your parents when it's your own fault. But, everyone blames other people because they don't want to admit that they did wrong. It's better to accept what you did than to blame someone else for it."
"I feel kinda bad about running from Lisa,but... not really. There wasn't much else to do."
"Everyone handles things differently."
"That's what I said."
"Yeah. Do you feel like you've treated Lisa well?"
"No. No, I am an asshole and treat people like shit when I take out my anger on them. Then I ignore them. If you just saw her eyes when I looked at her today... It was so creepy. It seemed like there were a million things going through her head. Like she couldn't decide something important mixed with a shocked expression. I'll admit that I'm scared of her. She really does scare me, but I don't know if I'm not supposed to be afraid of her or what. I can't be around her anymore without freaking out and feeling like I'm gonna be sick."
"I don't think it's bad that you're afraid of her, but... Well, it's like this. If she was burned in a fire and didn't look the same, if she was disfigured and scarred and was on life support, what would you do?"
"Psh, take her off it! She wouldn't want to live like that!"
"You know what I mean. If she was disfigured and burned, what would you do?"
"I can't just leave her, and I still love her, but... There'd always be that... rift. Maybe one day I can get over her being a lizard, but I- I don't know if I should break up with her or stay together. But she deserves better than me."
"That's interesting what you're doing there."
"What?"
"You're using humbleness to get away from your problems. You think you're doing a good thing by saying that when in fact you want to get away from her."
"No! I don't mean forever, just until..."
"When? She runs off with some V?"
Tyler was silent for a minute.
"Why don't you try it sometime? Try falling hard for an amazing girl... then find out she's a V," Tyler said. "Oh wait, you're a priest so I guess-"
"Not anymore."
"What?"
"I just... stood up for the Fifth Column and got my collar taken away."
"Must suck for you. Do you miss it?"
"Not as much as I thought I would."
"That's good, I guess."
"Yeah. So, do you need any more advice on anything?"
"Yeah. My mom spazzed at me today when I came home and I began to see that I haven't really treated her as well as I should be."
"Yeah you should have. You've made her pretty upset these past few weeks."
Tyler's heart sank slowly. He felt like a puppy that did something bad.
"Ya."
"But, there's always a chance to start again."
"No there's not. Not really, because you can't undo things. You can only cover them up."
"I didn't say that you were able to undo it, just that you are able to get a second chance. Most people don't get second chances, but when you do, you put it to good use."
"Do V's have time machines? Because if they did, we could all go back and do things over."
"I don't think time travel's the best option for changing things. When you do, you always end up screwing up the future."
"Oh, I didn't think about that... I can't just apologize to my mom because she won't forgive me."
"Then prove it to her. Help out more around the house or something."
"Maybe, but my mom tends to hold grudges."
"I know, I still think she's mad at Ryan. But you're her son, she'll forgive you easier."
"Do I want to know what Ryan did to her?"
"Oh, he didn't do anything to her, but he just disrupted a mission that could have made life a lot easier for us."
"Oh... Have I ever done that?"
"In a different way, yeah you have."
"Sorry."
"You can make up for it by joining us. There is no neutral position in this war."
"I don't know what to believe. I'm leaning towards your side, but then I start thinking what if it's all a trap."
"That's the devil in you."
"I'm an Atheist, I don't believe in devils or Gods or holy water or anything like that."
"No you're not. You don't believe in God, but you're not an Atheist."
"How do you know?"
"I can tell. A non believer would let you speak your mind about God, an Atheist doesn't want to hear it."
Tyler nodded then asked,"Why... would God send them? The V's, I mean. Is it, according to your Bible, the end of the world?"
"Well, I don't know what to tell you, Tyler. But, I think God sent The V's to remind us who we are as humans. We have become so blinded by the politics, and Hollywood, and the greed of the world. We need to remember who we really are, and what we stand for. Go back to our core values. Bond together, not stand alone. But I think that he put you and Lisa together for a reason. Maybe it's because you're deeper than most people."
"Ha ha ha... That's a good one. Deeper than most people? You kidding me? You saw the way I vandalized your office! I... I feel like there's too much anger in my soul. If I even deserve to have one. I just wish that the anger could stop. I feel so out of control and...lost."
"We all feel lost at times, Tyler. And of course you have a soul."
"It sometimes doesn't feel like it. God abandoned me. He's done nothing to prove to me that He's real."
"You can't even think of one?"
"No, not really. How do you even know that there's a God? How do you know? You all preach about Jesus this and Jesus that... But where's the proof?"
"Do you really think that Lisa fell for you just by chance? That she accidentally is the High Commander's daughter?"
"That's not God, that's fate."
"And who controls that?"
Tyler restrained himself from rolling his eyes. Dammit, he's got me cornered. Tyler didn't answer.
"Think about it, why would something like that happen? If she didn't meet you, would she be Fifth Column? And if she wasn't Fifth Column, wouldn't we all be dead?"
"I guess... maybe."
"What I'm trying to say is... How can these scientists explain that the whole world was made out of a random explosion? How everything can be made of formulas of atoms. It just doesn't make sense to me. I don't see how there can be nothing after this life. We can't live then die and go nowhere after death because why would we be put on this earth without having a meaning? How can we just live then die and there not be a reason afterwards? All of the choices you've made and everything you've done in your life has to add up to something. It can't just boil down to nothing."
Something stirred in Tyler. Something he hadn't felt in a long time. It could be true, maybe. No it wasn't. God didn't exist. He never did, He never will. God was just like the fantasy land that you lived in as a kid, not real.
"Thanks for the confession, Father." Tyler said.
"What do you mean? No. You have to be in a confessional and a baptized member of the Church before I can give it to you. I didn't give you Confession." Father Jack stated.
"Yes you did." Tyler said as he began to walk towards the entrance to the Aires Project bunker. He felt more calm, probably because he was beginning to clear things up after leaving them in the dirt. Maybe Father Jack was right, he was getting a second chance.
