I'm so sorry for the wait! I kinda wrote myself into a corner with the last chapter…Thanks for being so patient (and for all the amazing reviews!) I do still intend on finishing this thing!
Who else is extremely excited for season three?
One last thing – I started writing this chapter at 1.30 AM so I hope it makes sense lol. And it's kinda short… sorry! TIMESKIP AHEAD
Chapter 8 - No Answers, Just More Questions...
A few months later...
The explosion ripped through the abandoned industrial sector like a fighter jet hitting supersonic speeds. Flames billowed from the originating point, red, hot and deadly. Smaller explosions rippled outwards from the crumbling building, igniting decaying and destructive materials that had been abandoned long before when the aliens had arrived.
The low moans of Mechs followed the initial eruption, the sound and resulting shockwave drawing the machines out of hiding. Their heavy footfalls crushed the rubble beneath them, leaving distinct marks and making it very easy for the hidden team of resistance fighters to follow their tracks.
"Go, go, go!" Came the hushed command from Tom Mason, flicking his hand out to signal the others to start moving. Bracing his weapon against his chest, the father of three (soon to be four) watched as two of his sons and several other fighters emerged from the darkness of the shadows and into the street. They quickly made their way across the debris covered ground before reaching the safety of the other side.
Locking eyes with his eldest son, Tom nodded and held up his hand, which was pulled into a fist. He stole a glance to the left where the Mechs were slowly ambling towards the flames that were reaching higher than anyone thought possible. Taking a deep breath, he raised one finger to symbolize the number '1', before adding a second and then a third finger, counting to three. He then gave the universal 'okay' symbol by sticking his thumb up, while curling his fingers back into a fist.
The operation was a go.
Across the street, Hal nodded as he saw his dad give the go ahead. He glanced at the four others gathered beside him and nodded. "Let's do it people," he whispered.
Immediately the group scattered. Hal stayed where he was, keeping an eye on the five others positioned directly across the street and the Mechs.
Ben scampered over to a ladder and began climbing the unsteady structure to get to the roof where he would be positioned with one of the recently-acquired new sniper rifles.
Pope and another Berserker darted into the street and raced up before hiding in the next street. Their counterparts on the opposite side would be positioned in the same place.
And finally, Maggie, after placing a quick kiss on Hal's cheek, ambled out into the middle of the road, a grenade clutched tight in her palm. She stopped right in the middle and stood there, waiting. When nothing happened, she grinned and pulled the pin of the grenade before hurling it as far as she could towards the Mechs.
The grenade bounced once before exploding in a fiery shower of shrapnel. Immediately the Mechs turned towards the closer sound and started towards it. Maggie dropped the grenade pin and picked up the assault rifle lying slack against her chest. "Let's do this."
Ben lay on his stomach on the roof, the sniper rifle at the ready and pointing towards the zone where he was to shoot the Mechs. His right eye was pressed up against the scope, surveying the area. So far, they hadn't made it to the spot.
As the first Mech made it into the ambush zone, Ben tightened his finger on the trigger, letting his instincts take over. He inhaled deeply, ready to take the shot. Everyone was counting on him to get this first shot right. But as he was about to pull the trigger, a white hot barb of pain lanced its way down his back and he let out a strangled yelp, and his finger reflexively tightened, sending the bullet hurtling towards the Mech prematurely. His left hand immediately reached up to grapple at the remaining spikes in his back as the pain rippled through his body.
"Ben!" The shout came from below, but Ben was too busy trying not to scream to answer. The pain had been a frequent visitor to him since the harness had first started dying (or whatever it was that it was doing…), but it had never been this painful or lasted this long.
And then it was over.
Lying on the rooftop, gasping for breath and his body shaking with the aftereffects of the pain, the sandy-haired teenager could now hear the sounds of the battle raging below him. Gunfire was ricocheting off buildings and the Mechs, his father was yelling commands to those down there fighting and there was the occasional whirr of a Mech powering up its laser guns.
"Ben!"
Then Hal was leaning over him, concern tightening his features. Hal reached over and placed a hand behind Ben's neck, helping him sit up.
"What the hell was that?" he snapped.
The middle of the Mason boys didn't answer as he thought back to when the pains first started…
Ben slowly pulled himself into a sitting position, wincing as the crusty and healing skin on his back pulled and strained with the movement. It had been three weeks since he'd first emerged from the fever-induced what-ever-it-was that he had been in. He couldn't remember much about that time at all, just fragments. Flashes of faces – Hal, Dad, Matt, Anne… Snippets of voices – Weaver, Hal, Dad… And then there were the pieces of both, stemming from the extremely vivid nightmares that had plagued him over those weeks.
The de-harnessed teen could remember them very clearly. They always started with the harnessing facility and morphed from there and never ending the same way; every time he would wake up, gasping and in agony, having wrenched his back twisting and turning.
In his brief periods of consciousness, Ben would find that someone was always by his side. If it was his father, Tom would sit there and hold his hand, speaking of times before the invasion – the times when they didn't have to fight for their lives every waking moment, times when their mother was still alive.
Hal would also sit there and hold his hand, but would inform him of the goings-on in the Second Mass. All the gossip that was floating round and also kept him up to date of the strategic plans of the militia group. Although, Ben found himself forgetting most of that.
Now, he was still struggling with the harness and the effects. Anne had explained a few days ago that the harness was either dying, or his body was rejecting it. Ben had seen one of the spikes that had come free from his spine, and it was blackened at the roots. To him, it looked like they had been burned.
No one was sure what was going to happen to him if the harness was completely removed from his body. Would he go back to being a normal human, with no special abilities? Was it doing more harm than what it did when he was originally harnessed?
"Ben? What are you doing!?"
The sandy-haired teen turned and bit back a wince as the skin on his back pulled again. His eyes locked with his brother's.
"Uh, I'm sitting up?" he remarked, raising his eyebrows at his brother's question. What did it look like he was doing?
"Jeezus, Ben! Lay down. You'll pull or rip something and I'm pretty sure Anne didn't spend all this time trying to get you fixed up just for you to screw it all up again."
Ben sighed heavily before complying and flopped back against the rather hard pillows. He let out a low moan as the spikes in his back came into contact with the mattress. "Owwww…"
Hal rolled his eyes at Ben's antics. "Moron," he said, smirking at the same time as he saw the rather pathetic glare shot his way. "Look, I know you're getting restless Ben, but you've gotta give yourself time to heal. They don't know what the harness is doing to your body-"
"I know, Hal!" Ben interjected, his eyes darkening as he glared at his brother. "But how long do you expect me to stay like this? I've been pretty much confined to this bed for three weeks! I get one hour, maybe two, a day to wander round and keep up my strength, but that's it! There's only a few spikes left in my back and honestly, I feel fine."
It was true. He was feeling better than he had in a long time. Ben was anxious to get out of bed and actually do something again. He wanted to know what exactly he was capable of, more than anything. Did he still have the enhanced abilities that the harness gave him? Or had they disappeared as the spikes slowly rotted from his body? Only time would tell.
"You may feel fine now, Ben, but that's now, when you're lying down and resting! We're in unchartered waters here…"
Ben glared. "For crying out loud, Hal. We've been in 'uncharted waters' since these bloody aliens first invaded!"
"Hey! What the hell is going on here you two?"
Both Hal and Ben snapped their gazes away from each other at the newcomer's voice.
"Dad…"
Tom Mason stood in the doorway of the med bus, Anne right behind him.
"We can hear you yelling from out here guys… You mind toning it down?" When no one responded, Tom sighed. "What's going on?"
Ben said nothing, instead choosing to shift position against the pillows propped up against his back. It was getting kinda uncomfortable.
"Ben's just getting s little restless that's all," Hal spoke up.
"That true, Ben?"
Ben mumbled a 'yes' in response.
"Give it a few more days, okay? Then we'll talk and see where you're at and where we need to go from here."
Looking up from where he was twisting his fingers together in his lap, Ben met his father's gaze and nodded. But just because he agreed didn't mean he had to like it.
"It's late. Get some rest kiddo." And with that his dad, Hal and Anne left. It was good timing too as just as Hal disappeared through the door, the pain that had been building in his spine burst forth in a white hot blaze and Ben had to bite his lip hard enough to break the skin not to cry out.
Coming back to his senses, Ben sucked in a shaky breath. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it Hal," he added trying to appear nonchalant.
"What?! That was not nothing Ben! What the hell is going on with you?" Hal lifted his hand from behind his bother's neck and gripped his biceps, shaking him slightly.
"It's nothing!" Ben insisted. "And if you hadn't noticed, we're kinda in the middle of a major screw-up here!" He ripped one of his arms out of Hal's grip and motioned to the continued gunfire and explosions happening below them. "If you won't let this go, I guess we'll have to discuss it later."
With that final statement, Ben stood – on albeit somewhat shaky legs – and grabbed the sniper rifle and moving it to a better position so he could work on taking out some of the damn Mechs causing so much chaos.
He peered into the scope and readied himself, moving the barrel of the rifle to align up with one of the Mechs. He was about to pull the trigger when something caught his eye.
"What the hell?" he whispered as he adjusted the magnification on the lens to get a closer look.
"What?" Hal asked, attempting to peer through the smoke and flames to see what Ben was looking at.
"Here," Ben motioned for Hal to come closer. "Have a look."
Standing back, Ben couldn't believe what he'd seen.
Several harnessed people.
Several harnessed adults.
They'd always wondered why the aliens had only ever taken children to harness. Many had thought it had something to do with the difference in growth hormones (or something else Ben didn't understand) of children and fully grown adults.
But now…
Why were they harnessing adults? And why were they here, now?
A startling revelation hit Ben like a freight train.
He leaned over the side of the building and screamed.
"Dad! RUN!"
Eeeep. Cliffhanger...
Okay so it's short… but I hope you like it all the same :) I have renewed inspiration of where I'm going to take this now, and yes it will obviously go AU once season 3 starts in a couple of days. This hasn't been beta'd either, so any mistakes are my own.
Please review!
