I stole some dialouge from the series, so once again all credit goes to the Falling Skies writing team and TNT.
Chapter 7 Tensions Only Rise, Never Drop
"I'm sorry Matt." I said, holding my hands to my temples, "Could you repeat that?"
"That would be the second time! Can't you pay better attention?" Matt complained. Hal put his hand on his brother's shoulder.
"Chill out Matt. I think we should stop talking for a little bit, give Michael some quiet."
I laughed a little, "If you were going for quiet originally then we shouldn't have come to the lunch room when it just opened." Hal nodded in agreement, not really offended by my comment. "Besides I do want to hear this story Matt. My heads just on fire!"
"Trust us Michael, you don't want to hear it." Ben said. I nodded and scooped up the last of my food. To be honest I had no idea what Matt was talking about but all I know was that it had something to do with an experience before the invasion. Dr. Glass had let me out of the infirmary this afternoon and Hal thought it would be a good idea for us to get something good to eat in celebration.
Luckily Hal was able to get us first in line which meant getting some good food. In fact it was the best lunch I've had in a long time, any of us had probably. We got some jealous stares from some other people, but most of them were moderately horrified by my wounds.
This morning in front of the whole Mason family Dr. Glass cleaned my wounds again and checked on the stitches in my left arm and forehead. I wasn't feeling too good when she started messing around with the stitches in my head.
"Sorry about that Michael, the pain will come in waves for the next few weeks so you'll have to get regular visits so I can check on you." Dr. Glass explained.
"Regular?" I asked. "Aren't stitches like put them in and then come back a month later? Not every few days?"
"If we had modern medical technology then yes, but disease is high and I don't want you to get infected with anything." Dr. Glass said, pulling out some bandages and cotton. "I want you to stop by every two days for a checkup and a refill on the drugs I'm going to give you."
"Can I continue being a fighter?" I asked. Dr. Glass thought about it while wrapping up my left arm. "Yes, but you can't go commando, alright? Only sentry duty until the stitches come out, which will help keep you blood level down."
"You mean like my last sentry duty?" I said, pointing to my injuries. Dr. Glass smiled, "I still can't believe that you took down that Mech Mr. Mason." I said turning towards Mr. Mason.
"Neither can I, and Uncle Scott is glad of it. Weavers got him studying the Mech suit which will hopefully help give us an edge over them." Mr. Mason said proudly. "Matt's going to be helping him out."
"Well I hope- Ow!" I said, wincing in pain when Dr. Glass pressed too hard near the stitches in my head.
So a couple hours later I was now sitting down in the loudest part of the school, my head throbbing with pain, and everybody shooting me glances. I felt a new kinship with Ben right now and really understood what he went through on a daily basis. I wouldn't tell him that though for fear about sounding sentimental, but I think he understood.
I missed the last part of the conversation between the Mason boys and began to zone out. Hal got up and walked away and so did Matt, running off to join his other friends. It was now just Ben and I at the table, who was smiling at me.
"What?" I asked.
"You look like crap." Ben said, taking another bit of his sandwich. I laughed a little, looking at my empty plate.
"And I'm hungry." I began to get up but I leaned the wrong way and my arm began to burn. Ben dropped his sandwich and began to sit me down.
"Why don't you wait here Michael, I'll get you something." Ben said.
"You don't have too." I began, but Ben forced me back into my seat.
"I insist." Ben said. I only nodded and Ben walked off to get me some food. I was surprised, seriously surprised with Ben. With my good arm I grabbed the shoulder Ben pushed down on and felt some discomfort there.
'I had no idea Ben was that strong!' I thought to myself as I began to massage my shoulder. I looked towards the line to find Ben moving rather quickly through the line, but then I noticed why. Everybody was moving out of his way by either rushing through the line or simply taking a step back to allow Ben to move through and then moving back in line.
'Jackasses.' I thought bitterly. Ben stopped when he got to the candy bars, looking over them probably to pick one out for himself. Some guy was eyeing Ben weird and I thought he looked familiar. I then realized that he was one of Uncle James's friends and I knew that things would be going downhill very soon.
Although I was still hurting I got up and began moving over Ben to try and move him away from Uncle James's 'friend'. Unfortunately I was too late and the guy had already pushed Ben lightly and drawn the attention of several people around him. I started moving faster when I heard the guy call out 'Razor back'.
"Hey Ben!" I said when I reached my friend, grabbing his shoulder. "I'm not really hungry anymore, let's get going alright?"
"Who's this? Your keeper, razor back?" the man said mockingly. Ben stiffened and looked angry, trying to shrink away from the crowd. But the crowd was growing around the three of us, eager to see if this man would attack the 2nd in commands son and his already battered friend.
Before things escalated further that girl Margaret appeared and stepped in between us, followed by a visibly pissed off Hal. He pushed the man back and puffed his chest out, trying to look intimidating. His age kind of ruined the effect, but the gun at his side helped him.
"Gotta problem?" Hal asked roughly.
"No problem." The man replied cockily, smiling at Hal as if amused that somebody would stand up for Ben. "Just glad we're not bringing more of those razorbacks back to the 2nd Mass."
"Nobodies stopping anything. Soon as we get the drugs Dr. Glass needs we're going to rescue as many of them as we can."
"Your just inviting a skitter attack! Just like the one last night!" The man protested, a hint of fear in his voice.
"Well the skitters should know by now," Hal said, stepping closer to the man "Anybody messes with our families gets their asses kicked. By me." There were only inches between the two of them now and I could swear they were about to start kicking each other's asses.
But the man stood down, holding up his hands in mock surrender. He walked away and people began to move apart, disappointed that no fight would ensue.
I turned to Ben only to find that he was walking quickly out of the cafeteria. "Somebody's going to have to talk to him." Margaret said, making it sound like more of a statement instead of an offer.
"I'll do it." I said, moving as quickly as I could out of the cafeteria. I saw Ben moving around a corner and I moved as quickly as I could after him. I turned the corner to see Ben trembling. He formed his hand into a fist and yelled as he slammed it into a nearby locker. Instead of his hand bouncing of the locker harmlessly it went into the locker, creating a major dent and breaking the locker off its hinges.
I jumped back, shocked by what my friend just did. Ben continued to yell as he grabbed the locker with both hands and threw it across the hallway. I stood there stunned beyond words, unable to think properly.
"I am so sick and tired of everybody here!" Ben yelled, "I'm so sick of being looked down upon! I'm sick of all the glares! I'm sick of everything!" Ben was about to smash his fist into another locker but I stopped him before he could be grabbing his hand. He almost threw me around with the amount of force he was putting into those blows.
I looked at his hand, expecting it to be mingled and bloodied, but instead it looked… fine. No redness or anything. I looked at Ben, still unsure of what to say. I should of just let Hal deal with this.
"Let's… Let's go in here Ben, al… alright?" I said pointing to a nearby empty classroom. I was angry at the stutter in my voice but Ben didn't seem to notice, instead laughing mockingly.
"As my 'keeper' commands! Razor back keeper, how does that make you feel Michael? Do you feel special?"
"Inside Ben!" I said more aggressively. Ben relented which was good because I'm sure if he tried to fight back he could knock me out. We went inside and I locked the door behind me, drawing the shade on the door's window so nobody would see what was going on inside. Ben was already pacing across the classroom.
"'Not going to stand in line with a razor back'," Ben said in a deep voice, mimicking Uncle James's friend. "Who the hell does he think he is? I'm a person god damn it! A human being! Not a skitter!" Ben pushed a desk aside and angrily yelling out again. He turned to me with an almost pleading look, "Aren't you going to say something?"
"No." I responded, regaining some of my composure. "It's good that you're getting your anger out."
"Oooh!" Ben said laughing again, "I have plenty of that! I am not like Rick ok! I am not!"
"Of course you're not." I said.
"I have emotions, and I don't want that harness back on me! I want to help the 2nd Mass and kill every last skitter!" Ben yelled as I looked behind me to see if anybody was trying to get in the room. "They think that just because I have some pins in my back they can beat me up and make fun of me!"
"Wait, what?" I asked confused, "Who's beating you up?"
"It doesn't matter! But they are!" Ben shouted, he pulled up his shirt and around his mid section there was a purple bruise. My eyes opened in shock, but Ben wasn't done showing me. He pulled off his shirt and turned around, revealing bruising all on his back. All of them were away from the razors in his back, and there were a lot of them.
"Why are they like this? Why?" Ben said pleadingly.
"I… I don't know." I said honestly. "They're just scared and confu-"
"Don't give me that crap!" Ben shouted, putting his shirt back on. "That's for my dad to say, not my friend! You are my friend right? Because I've heard stuff! I socialize with other people then you you know! Lauren, one of the other 'razor backs', said that you were just using me! Are you?"
"No!" I shouted, angry at being accused of such a thing even though he was right. "I am your friend Ben, and don't let anybody tell you otherwise!"
Ben began to nod, happy that he had somebody on his side. He moved away from me some more and turned to look out the window. "What are you think about?" I asked.
"I know what I have to do." Ben said to himself. He turned around and walked past me, slamming the door behind him as he left. As soon as he did I had to sit down.
I was shaking myself, but not from anger but from… fear. Fear of- of Ben! That was a whole new person I just saw, somebody who could seriously hurt somebody if he wanted too. The locker, the no bruising on his knuckles, his bubbling and boiling rage. I felt a fear running through my body, just like those people who whisper behind Ben's back about the dangers of razor backs. Ben was…
Different.
I had to sit down and think about things, and try and convince myself that Ben really was my friend and not a razor back to be feared.
The Next Day
Mr. Mason surprised everybody yesterday afternoon with news that he was sending his sons with Clayton. Everybody thought that after getting his son back from the skitters he would never let him or any of his children out of his sight again. Of course, it's not like Mr. Mason to actually listen to the gossip in the 2nd Mass, so he kept doing his own thing.
With Mr. Mason endorsing the plan, many other parents felt more comfortable with Clayton's plan and agreed to send their kids off to this safe heaven. But as with any plan there were still hold outs.
"It will only be for a couple of days Miranda." I heard one man telling his wife I presume. "They will be back before they and we know it!"
"No Jay! The kids are staying! I'm not sending them off into the wilds with a man we don't even know to protect them from an attack that we don't even know is coming!"
"Miranda a Mech attacked us last night. A skitter was inside the school! They are coming and they will kill us and drag our children off to become harnessed kids! You cannot be this blind!" The man said angrily. "I say that if Mason endorsed it, it's good enough for us!"
"I don't care if God comes down from the heavens and endorses this plan Jay! I am not sending my children away with some stranger!"
I'm not sure who won that argument because I didn't wait around to find out, but I didn't see them around when I went out to the front of the school where the kids and their families were massing. Since Dr. Glass wasn't letting me leave the school because of my injuries, Weaver had me patrolling the area to make sure that the children left the school with minimal problems.
There were some teary goodbyes and overemotional farewells, but no parent was about to cause a riot. This entire process was not mandatory so only people who wanted to send their kids away where here.
I was shocked to see that my uncle and aunt were out here with Terry and Bethany, kissing them goodbye. I tried to stay out of sight but I'm pretty sure they saw me. I didn't really care because I found who I was looking for.
"Hey Ben, got a minute?" I asked. Ben turned around, holding a backpack in his hands awkwardly and nodded. I brought him a little farther away from the crowd so we could talk in privacy. Ben held up his backpack, shrugging.
"I can't put it on." Ben said embarrassed, "It's too uncomfortable."
"Maybe Hal can carry it. Isn't that what big brothers are for? Pack mules?" Ben laughed lightly and then looked at me sincerely.
"I'm sorry about yesterday. I freaked out and you didn't have to see that."
"Ben I'm your friend, don't worry about it. And seeing as how I'm such a good friend, I have a gift for you." Ben visibly perked up at the thought of a gift, and I reached towards my back pocket to pull it out. I handed it to him and Ben began to unwrap it.
"It's a knife." Ben said, pulling it out of its cover and looking intensely at the metal as it shined in the sun light.
"Standard equipment for the fighters here. Civilians aren't supposed to have these so try to keep it out of sight. I know it's not as glamorous as a new car, but I thought practicality would work for ya." I explained. Ben sheathed the knifed and put it into the back of his pants. He adjusted it so it wouldn't hurt him too much and looked up at me.
"Thanks." He said.
"No problem." It was awkward after that, neither of us sure what to say.
"Well," I said, clapping my hands together, "I hope you have fun on your camping trip."
"Ya, the last time I went camping I was bit by a thousand mosquito's. Not a fun family experience."
"Well then I wish you luck." I said smiling, "Oh, and um, try not to be killed by anything. You're the only person here that I like."
"Michael actually likes somebody other than himself!" Ben said jokingly, "I'm stunned beyond words."
"Well don't let it get around; I have a rep to keep up that says that I'm a bad ass. I'm trying to start a counter rumor that says that I was the one that actually took down the Mech."
"That ought to rub Jimmy the wrong way." Ben said.
"And another thing Ben, don't stab Jimmy when you're out alone in the forest. That wouldn't be good for morale." I said.
"Relax, I would just cut him softly." I looked at Ben and laughed. He laughed too and silently prayed that he was kidding.
We walked out to the main body and Clayton called for everybody to move out. The children said one final goodbye to their parents and then joined Clayton and the fighter escort. The parents who were keeping their children behind watched from a distance, and I could hear some kids actually pleading with their parents to let them go and be with their friends. Ben looked back to me one last time and I nodded encouragingly.
'I seriously hope he isn't killed.' I thought to myself as I walked back into the school.
Thanks to all my reviewers and people who alert!
In the episode Sanctuary I have a hard time believing that the kids who leave for the 'safe heaven' were all the kids in the 2nd Mass. All the episodes before that one, and even during that episode, made it sound like the 2nd Mass had a large child population, and then seeing only 15-20 kids leaving the school is a bit of a 'wait... what?' moment. I can only assume that because the order wasn't mandatory some people refused to send their kids with Clayton. So that's what I did in my story.
For those of you who wanted Michael to give some sagely advice to Ben, sorry to disappoint. One of my pet peeves is kids who give sagely advice to their peers or adults. They are kids! They don't have the knowledge or enough life experiences to be giving elderly advice to people!
And as always... REVIEW!
