AN: I know, I know, it's late! I'm sure you were all panicking. I was just trying to scare you all, though. There is an update today, and here it is. Read, and enjoy. Also, it's a little longer!
VIII.
It took almost two hours for Weaver to sort out who would go with the first group into the Capital. There was a lot of chaos, and discontent with the decisions. Some people weren't interested in going first, not until they were absolutely certain it wasn't a trap, while a lot of others were eager for the comfort promised by that burgeoning city in the valley.
When it came out that Ben would be going with the first group, there was a minor uproar. People thought it would send the wrong idea about the 2nd Mass, and could ruin all chances of a successful integration. Ben stood away from the meeting, leaned against a tree trunk. He watched Wade and the other men from the Capital, monitored them for signs of eavesdropping, but his attentions were on the 2nd Mass.
Weaver handled the argument easily, "They already know about Ben back at town. It's a show of good faith sending him first. Let them check him out, ease their concerns. Show them we've got nothing to hide."
"Do we have nothing to hide?" a civilian man in the middle of the crowd called out. Ben didn't like the tone in that man's voice; it sent a shiver running his spine and turned his stomach. He turned his head to watch what unfolded out of the corner of his eye.
"What do you mean?" Weaver said, as he tipped his hat down over his features, placed a hand on his hip.
"Just that...if we want to show good faith, are we planning on telling them everything," the man persisted.
Tom stood beside Weaver, arms folded across his chest. He darted a nervous glance to Ben, and Ben looked away, set his jaw firm.
"We have told them everything," Weaver replied evenly.
Ben felt a rush of heat to his face. He focused on the Capital men again, but they were looking interestedly at the 2nd Mass's meeting now.
"What about Jimmy?" the man boldly said.
A hush fell over the group. Ben's heart raced, panicked, in his chest. He pushed from the tree and stalked away several feet, tried to make it look like a natural, lazy gait; tried to regain control of his breath, his thoughts and emotions spiraling haphazardly around his head. Weaver stood silent, let the name sink in. When he spoke again, his agitation was clear.
"Whatever there is to tell about Jimmy is Ben's private business. I'm sure these people will know that Ben, like everyone else in the world, is shouldering some grief from this war, and I've no intention to discuss the people you've lost with these men, why the hell would I discuss the one's Ben has?"
"Because we can't know," the man started, "We can't know what really..."
"You're not going to want to finish that sentence, son," Weaver cut in with sharp warning, "You're just going to want to stand there, quiet like, and pretend that you weren't about ready to slander a fighter that's laid his life on the line for this unit more times than most everyone in this group, most certainly more times than I know you have, and that you aren't planning to traipse all over the memory of one of the best damn fighters to give his life for this unit. You aren't about to do that, especially not in front of me, not to me, because you know better. Isn't that right?"
The man fell back into the crowd, and people were silent, wary, a moment. For Ben, Weaver's vote of confidence wasn't the relief that old man probably intended. The more he stood by Ben, the more people lost faith in their captain. And when that happened, who was left for them to rely on? They couldn't turn to the second-in-command, not only Ben's father, but a man who had willingly walked aboard an enemy spaceship by invitation and then walked back off. 2nd Mass was splitting at its seams, it was only a matter of time before it all came apart, and when it happened it would be Ben's fault entirely.
Once the first group was finalized, people readied to move, grabbing what belongings they needed and saying their good-byes and until-we-meet-again's. It was decided that Matt would stay back with Dr. Glass, while Tom took Hal and Ben into the Capital. Matt pitched a predictable fit.
"It's not fair," he whined, "Hal and Ben get to do everything!"
"It's only temporary, Matt, you'll come in with the next group. I just want to be sure that everything is alright in there," Tom said, trying to keep his voice low for the sake of other anxious 2nd Mass members within hearing distance.
"So why do Hal and Ben get to go?" Matt demanded.
"Because I need their help," Tom explained, which did nothing to soothe Matt.
"I can help too," he argued, "You just never give me a chance."
"You are helping. I need you to stay here and help Dr. Glass and Lourdes out," Tom said.
"That's bullshit and you know it," Matt snapped, and Tom reeled back, anger flashing across his face only to be quickly replaced with confusion and sadness.
"It's been decided. You're staying here. I don't want to hear any more about it," Tom said firmly.
Matt stamped his foot, and turned, storming into the medic van.
"Not sure why he thinks acting like a three year old is going to get him treated like an adult," Hal muttered.
Tom sent Hal a warning look, and then went to speak to Dr. Glass, a good-bye riddled with looks and smiles and obvious desires neither would act on. Ben opted to put distance between himself and the scene. He couldn't stand the betrayal to his mother playing out in shy, awkward, slow motion and he couldn't bear the heartache as he thought of how cruel the world could be, always taking things away.
When they were ready to move, Tom made sure to keep his sons close to him. Dai walked towards the front near Wade and his men. He'd already been inside once; it would look suspicious if he didn't return with that first group. Also, he'd met with people inside and got a lay of the land. He could help Tom navigate.
Maggie trailed near the rear. She'd argued against being sent in with the first group, she'd said something about there being people more deserving, and mentioned wanting to help guard the 2nd Mass members that would be left behind, but Weaver had made up his mind. They didn't want to send too many obvious fighters in with that first group, give the impression they were storming the castle or didn't trust their would-be saviors – not that they'd been given much reason to trust just yet. Maggie was a young woman, with a sweet face that belied her true nature. She was unassuming, and that meant they would underestimate her. She was also one of the more resourceful fighters. If push came to shove, Weaver needed her on the inside to help get their people out.
It was a couple miles walk to the town from where they'd left the 2nd Mass to set up camp. As Dai had promised, there was a barbed wire fence perimeter that buzzed with electricity. Men, armed to the teeth, walked alongside, watching the approaching group. Wade led them to a gate, and he greeted the man guarding it. They exchanged a few whispered words and then the man unlocked the gate, let them in.
"High security," Hal noted, "Just like Dai said."
"Most of them are military in their behavior, dress, stance," Tom noticed, "Either they were trained after the invasion by army men, or they were soldiers before."
"I don't like this setup, dad, once we walk through that door it's up to them when we can walk back out again," Hal said.
Tom placed a hand on Hal's shoulder as they came up to the gate. They each smiled at the man on guard while walking through, he barely glanced at them.
"I don't like it either," Tom whispered, pausing to watch as Ben made his way through the gate, the guard and many of the sentries along the fence had their eyes locked on him, maybe just curious, but Ben felt hostility in them. He kept his eyes focused forward, expression blank, strode onward without missing a beat.
They continued their march into town. The outer area was dedicated to fortification, any buildings near the fence served as barracks, likely armament or other supply stores, vehicle hold, a meeting ground. Wade brought them to a large building that looked to serve as a command center.
"Wait here," he told them, and disappeared inside. After several minutes, he reappeared and called for Tom. Dai accompanied them into the building. People waited in silence at first, then slowly broke into small conversations.
"Hey Ben, listen, there's not really taking back what those men saw you do in the city, but while we're here, you need to downplay your power," Hal said, drawing Ben close by the elbow as he spoke.
"What good will that do? They're suspicious of me, hiding what they already know is just going to make it worse," Ben replied, jerking his arm out of his brother's grasp.
Hal sighed, "They don't know everything, and we need that advantage over them."
"And what makes you think we can really keep everything from them," Ben said, sweeping a glare over their small group, "There aren't a lot of people here that are thinking of me as some secret weapon in their arsenal. They'll burn me first chance they get. Wade and his men heard that guyduring the meeting, they're going to ask what was meant by it, how many do you think are really going to lie to protect me?"
"It wouldn't be a lie, Ben," Hal said, concern passing over his features, "What that jerk said about Jimmy, he doesn't know what he's talking about."
"That's the problem, no one does," Ben said, looking away to hide the tears suddenly springing to his eyes. He cleared his throat and blinked them away, "No one knows what happened. I don't know what happened."
"I do. I know you wouldn't have hurt Jimmy," Hal insisted, turning Ben back towards him by the shoulder, "And if you really look inside yourself, you know that too."
Ben grit his teeth, glared at the ground. If his brother only knew the truth; that he very well could, and countless times had, hurt Jimmy.
The door opened, Tom and Dai with Wade following behind walked out.
"Alright, everyone, they'll be taking us to quarantine where the doctor they have here will give us all checkups and interviews. They'll want to know your skillsets so they better place you in a job around town," Tom announced, "We'll be having lunch there, and once we're all cleared, we'll be assigned sleeping quarters and you'll be given time to settle in. Tomorrow, they'll do an introduction; give us a tour of the town, then they'll start giving everyone their assignments. I'm told most of you will likely be sent to food production, you'll be helping out with the farmlands and livestock."
The quarantine looked like it used to be an old school, grades first through twelve according to the sign out front. They were put in the large multipurpose room. Cots were set up, and privacy curtains. Several people were waiting for them there, and started breaking people up into groups, taking names and information, jotting it down on papers attached to clipboards.
The doctor arrived later. He was an older man, white hair and thick wrinkles cascading around his eyes and mouth. He didn't speak much, gave no introduction, simply moving through the room, taking vitals and asking short questions about medical history. He spent less than five minutes with each person until he came to Ben.
"You're the boy that was taken by the aliens," he said.
Ben didn't answer, standing with his arms held tense at his sides, waiting for the doctor to complete his check-up, but the old man didn't seem in a hurry to start.
"How long did they have you?"
"Does it matter?" Ben returned. The doctor's brow lifted momentarily.
"How did they remove it? Your people? How did they take off that thing on your back?" he asked.
"I don't know. I didn't perform the surgery," Ben said, shifting his weight, trying to stifle his irritation, "I woke up me again, I wasn't keen on the details of how or why, I wasn't interested in learning them either."
"Do they hurt? The rods in your spine?" the doctor persisted.
"Is there a reason you're interrogating my son?" Tom asked, suddenly coming upon them. He'd been speaking with one of the clipboard people earlier, giving information on Hal, Ben, and himself, only to finally notice the doctor's interest in Ben.
"He's a different medical case than the others. Unprecedented, really," the doctor responded, clearing his throat, "I'm just trying to figure out where to start."
"I think our camp physician is better equipped than Ben to answer those kinds of questions. She assisted in his harness removal, knows the procedure well enough to perform on her own, and has been monitoring Ben since his rescue. If you don't know where to start with my son, maybe you shouldn't waste your time until you've consulted with her," Tom said, taking Ben by the shoulder and leading him away from the doctor.
The doctor moved on, and Tom halted Ben near an isolated corner of the room. Hal stood nearby, watching their surroundings, keeping guard.
"Hal, myself, and the other fighters are going to stay on this side of the Capital. We'll help with the defenses. As far as I can gather, they don't coordinate attacks on the aliens, unless aliens come in close to the city," Tom said.
"Why do I get the feeling I'm not included in 'the other fighters'," Ben replied.
Tom sighed, "They'll be sending everyone else to the civilian side. Their commander here isn't comfortable with the idea of putting you on their defenses, besides, they don't have boys younger than eighteen out there, it took convincing to get Hal out there. He wants you on the civilian side. Most of the boys here in your age group care for the lifestock, maintain equipment and battle armaments. You'll be with them."
"Great," Ben scoffed.
"If it hadn't been his decision, Ben, it would've been mine," Tom said sternly, his mouth twitching into a tight frown, "You've been reckless lately."
"I told you dad, I had no other choice. Those people would've died, your units wouldn't have gotten there on time, and we wouldn't be here now," Ben returned hotly.
"You don't know that," Tom said, shook his head, "That doesn't matter now. I need you on the civilian side."
"No, I need to be on the battlefield, how many times do we have to have this argument?"
"Just the one more time. I get it, Ben, you're capable of things no one else is," Tom said, dropping his voice low and terse, "And that's why I need you on the civilian side. They don't know how well you can hear, how well you can see, or how quietly you can move. We don't know anything about these people, and we can't afford to not look a gift horse in the mouth. You'll have more freedom to move around and listen in."
"You want me to spy," Ben summated.
"Yes," Tom murmured. He cleared his throat, glanced over his shoulder to Hal still keeping an eye out, "You've wanted to prove to me what you can contribute; this is your chance. Prove to me you can follow orders and prioritize the needs of the group over your own need to be a hero. Maggie is going over to the civilian side with you. She'll be your backup. We'll see each other at night, we'll be bunked together, they say they'll keep families together, but if something comes up that can't wait, we'll need to figure out a signal."
Ben lowered his eyes to study the floor, thinking over his father's words. Anger shook through him, his father could be such a self-righteous ass, but it didn't mean he wasn't right that this job was important. Ben wished he could at least say he was thrilled Maggie would be there, but they hadn't spoken since Jimmy, and there was something about her distance, her silence, and knowing how close she'd been with Jimmy that made the thought of working with her too painful for words.
"After the first day, we should know the routine around here, be able to come up with an emergency signal then," Ben suggested after seconds had passed. He waited for his father to shoot the idea down.
"Good," Tom said, and Ben quirked a brow, "Let's hope we're wrong about these people."
"Yeah," Ben agreed. His father gave him a small smile, and he glanced away, "How much longer are these checkups going to take?"
"Shouldn't be much longer. They brought some food in a few minutes ago. You should go grab something," Tom said.
"I'm not hungry," Ben replied, stalking away.
It took several more hours before the checkups were completed. Another man showed up, slender with the face of a weasel. He told them his name was Cranston, and that he was in charge of the room assignments. They followed him farther into the town. Once they'd moved past the quarantine building, there was another gate. They were let through and beyond found a cluster of trailer sized buildings lined up in rows that ran a couple miles in each direction, enough to house almost five hundred people. The buildings were crudely put together, likely recent constructs, made from raw materials and hand tools. Ben noted several guards were on patrol, weaving through the buildings with guns strapped across their chests. He glanced at Tom, the crease in Tom's forehead suggested he'd seen them too.
"These are the resident dorms," Cranston explained, "All the civilians sleep here."
"What about your fighters?" Hal asked.
"They sleep in barracks set up along the perimeter," Cranston said, pushed the thick rimmed glasses up on his nose, "That way they're close to where they need to be in case something happens."
"How many fighters do you have?" Tom wondered.
"I'm not really sure," Cranston carefully answered, pausing and inspecting one of the dorm doors.
"I'm just curious. You have a lot of guards in this area, I thought it was nice you guys had enough to spare from the frontlines. I don't think we've ever had that luxury in the 2nd Mass," Tom said. Cranston smiled thinly at him, nodded, and continued walking.
"I've assigned each of you four to a dorm. As you might understand, we separate men from women. Doors have no locks on them," Cranston said, "I'll just call off names and numbers…"
"I was told families would be kept together," Tom interrupted. Cranston faltered momentarily, flipped through his paperwork.
"Ah…you were?" Cranston mumbled, brow drawn together as he reviewed his own writing, "I wasn't aware. I guess, well, we've never really had families, so it never much came up before. We bunk by age group and gender, for obvious precautionary reasons."
"That won't work for us," Tom said, "It was told to me, by Silo Reynolds, back in your command office near the front gate, I assumed he was in charge, that we would be kept together and bunked with our families."
There were low murmurs in the group of 2nd Mass members. Some were concerned, had they been lied to or was it really a misunderstanding, while others were frustrated, they thought Tom's attitude would lose them this opportunity. Lunch had been delicious, fresh cuts of meat and crisp, raw vegetables, and the taste was still on their minds and tongues.
"I see. No, Silo isn't in charge of town, he schedules patrols and keeps the men in line. He isn't authorized to make that kind of decision. I would love to do what you ask, really, but try to understand. This is our system. Some of our people might not feel comfortable that strangers are being given preferential treatment. Some of the women might get anxious about unfamiliar men near their dorms, or your women might feel anxious for the same reasons," Cranston said, "It's better for workflow too. People bunked together work together, they wake at the same time and head out to the fields together."
"I guess that would make sense," Tom replied, frowning as he looked over his shoulder at the rest of the people, a sea of mixed emotions, "It's just not what we were told."
"You're people don't plan on staying, though, right? It's what I'd heard, from some of the men," Cranston said, pointing out, "It's only temporary then. Just until you leave. Besides, families will see each other throughout the day, and during meals they can eat together, when work is over they can spend time together until curfew. It's only at bedtime that they'll be apart, and they'll be sleeping, it won't matter."
Tom sighed, obviously deciding it wasn't worth pressing the issue, "Alright. I understand. Later tonight, tomorrow morning at the latest, l'd like to speak to the person in charge."
"Of course, I'll see what I can do," Cranston said. He cleared his throat, started calling off names, followed by numbers.
Ben's was the first to be called. Tom clapped a hand to Ben's shoulder, gave him a look that likely meant 'follow rules, stay in line, remember their talk in the quarantine building'. Ben rolled his eyes, pulled away. He hefted his duffle of belongings over his shoulder. Each dorm building had a large number painted crudely in white on the door. He kept his eye on the numbers that passed by, looking for the "38" Cranston had assigned him. At his back, he heard his father whispering to Dai.
"Everything in here reeks of a trap. You'd think they'd be less obvious about it," Tom said.
"Why? Not much we can do. They've got us surrounded with guns now. You'd think they'd be more obvious about it," Dai returned, "We should stay alert though. Something isn't right here."
The dorm buildings changed color the farther down the line Ben traveled, swapping from sedated beige to crisp reddish brown. He was close to another fence, one overlooking a span of cropland with giant green stalks reaching towards the sky in neat rows. On the other side of the fence, a group of boys about Ben's age stood smoking cigarettes. Two with darker skin and Latin features, one had peach colored hair and pink tinged skin, one was taller and looked as though he'd recently lost a great deal of weight, and the last boy had a sharp cut to his face and shaggy blond hair held loosely bag in a bob at the base of his neck. They were all wearing the same dull gray outfits, smudged with a bit of dirt. They'd paused in their conversation to watch Ben approach. He held their gazes for a short time, recalled an image from one of his father's history books from a Nazi internment camp, lowered his eyes and climbed the steps to his dorm.
Something was definitely not right in the Capital.
.
.
.
AN: I don't really like the name of the town. "the Capital". To be honest, I didn't know what to call it, and that's the best I could come up with at the last minute. I suck.
Oh well, let me know what you thought of the chapter. Thanks!
Reviewers: TyphoonBoom, hehehe, yes, it's back, and so are you! Yay! cubelixa1, thank you for the review! Yeah, Jimmy's trying his best, he wants him and Ben back together badly too. Carl, really? Hm...interesting, I guess I can see that...maybe if I watched more recent episodes of Walking Dead I'd see it more. NOxONE, my 'to do's' suffer a little, to be honest. I should have more time and less 'to do's' soon though, I got a new job and it will be out in the middle of nowhere (but this time with internet access!). Guess what I'll be doing during most of my downtime (theoretically). I definitely agree with you about the message their sending in Falling Skies, and yeah, I agree if they want to be more like GoT or Walking Dead, they need to ditch that idea and realize everyone should be free game. Personally, I think Matt would pack the best emotional punch. He should've died instead of Jimmy...anything to save Jimmy I guess. And Walking Dead was sold off as a zombie apocalypse show, all shows should have character development, that's part of telling a good story, being a scifi alien show is no excuse. And how crazy is it that when I was writing those scenes for Jimmy, the entire time I was totally picturing the scene where Ellie hits the rabbit with her arrow and sees the deer and goes hunting it? Yeah, we're on the same wavelength right now. Freaky. Everto Tenshi, don't apologize or feel bad for ranting in the review! I liked reading it, it reminds me that my readers are human and not faceless trolls telling me to update! Just so long as the rant doesn't become the entire review, we're fine. I'm glad you really liked the way Jimmy handled the rabbit killing, and also that Cass is one of your favorite characters from my stories because I love her too, but i'm a little biased. I love your perspective on the bullet, it does very much represent a conflict of promises for Jimmy. He wants to live for Ben, but die for his sister. Yes, he probably would sock you for the hug. Only Ben gets away with cuddles, and sometimes Maggie. I hope you're having a better time with school, and did you catch the glimpse of Ryan? LuckyDreamer91, I'm so happy to hear that you'll be sticking around until the end of time...or this story, whichever comes first. Yeah, I've heard a few things about the series and where it's going, and I completely feel you on that, though I'm sorry to hear it. Bows are not easy to learn, no, I'm not even entirely sure a beginner using a recurve could really take down a deer. But Jimmy did, because he's Jimmy, and I said so. :) Dee, I'm happy you got your review in before the update! I know life is getting hectic for you, and I'm asking for a lot lately. Definitely liked what you had to say about the journals. I might add my two cents on a few thoughts, and change that wording of "weaker side", and say instead of digging into himself to find strength to overcome those "weaknesses", he needs to stop seeing them as weakness, trying to bury them away, and see that they may be his greatest strengths. Yes, Jimmy is going to be a very different person when he encounters Ben, and the 2nd Mass again. You might get a glimpse into Jimmy's journals in coming chapters, we'll also get a little background on his time in Dorchester, but we'll see where the story takes me.
Thanks for the reviews, you guys! I'll see you all soon.
