Chapter 11:

In the days following Rebecca's death, there wasn't much time for grief. The remaining Masons were always on the move, trying to find a safe haven. For the most part people avoided one another, but occasionally they ran into someone willing to talk, to share what they had heard. One person said there was a group gathering at Hal and Ben's school, but by the time they got there all they found were bodies. Later, they heard that people had established a base at the mall, but they'd found it empty, the stores picked clean. Everywhere they went they saw the signs of destruction. There was no hiding from it.

There was one thing Tom noticed in particular. The dead bodies were almost all adults, disproportionately so. His mind went back to that night peering out of his window, watching the aliens carrying the sleeping children. He didn't want to think about why they were taking the children.

So they kept moving, stopping to take breaks and to look for supplies whenever they could, just in case. Tom kept himself mission focused, and his mission was to keep his boys alive. It was Hal and Ben who noticed Matt growing more withdrawn and quiet, and it was Hal and Ben who held his hand and carried him as often as they could. Tom would ruffle his hair and tell him to stay focused. He had to keep them all alive and he couldn't slow down, he couldn't let his guard slip.

One night they set themselves up in an empty shop, in the backroom. It had been a long day, and they were all exhausted. Tom made his way to the front, to keep watch, while his boys slept. He'd swap with Hal or Ben in a few hours, if he needed to. He also liked to sleep in a different room so he could let himself cry for a while, without worrying his boys. They had enough to deal with. At night, when he had nothing to do but to sit and be on the lookout, there wasn't much Tom could do to stop his mind from wandering into the painful subjects he was trying so hard to avoid.

After a little while, he heard the sound of Matt crying, and he eased himself up. He didn't want to lower his guard, but he knew Matt needed him. Maybe leaving them alone wasn't the best idea. However, as he walked up to the door he heard quiet voices, and slowed down so he could see into the room without being seen himself.

Hal was holding Matt while he cried, and Ben was sitting up next to them. They were talking, trying to make him laugh, talking about their mom, about how they wouldn't have to do homework again, and slowly, Matt stopped crying. Tom forgot all about his ideas of keeping watch as he listened to his sons talk. They were comforting each other, and Tom was worried that if he tried to join them they'd stop. Eventually Matt fell asleep, and Tom heard Ben start to cry, saying he didn't want Matt to see but he missed mom. Hal stayed awake with him and talked to him until they both fell asleep. Tom risked another glance into the room and saw them all asleep, Matt in Hal's arms, with Ben the other side. His heart filled with love and pride and he had to go and sit down to let himself cry; Rebecca should be here. Rebecca would be so proud. Rebecca wouldn't have left them to have to comfort each other.


Tom jerked awake to the sound of voices in the other room, cursing himself for falling asleep, he stood up slowly. It was only as he fully woke up that he realised the voices he could hear weren't the quiet voices of his sons. They were loud and angry. His heart leapt in fear.

"They're just kids Mike!" one voice said.

"We need the food, hand it over." Another sounded, harsher than the first.

Tom looked about anxiously for something he could use as a weapon, but he found nothing.

"It's ours, you can't have it!" It was Matt, defiant as a seven-year-old could be. His words were met by laughter, and Tom eased up to the door, peering through the slit. His sons were stood against the walls facing a group of four men, all armed with guns. Pointed at his sons. A back door that Tom had missed earlier was open.

Hal and Ben had tried to push Matt behind them, but Matt squeezed his way through, snatching up some food that one of the men had been about to take, protesting "It's not fair!" One of the men reached to grab hold of Matt, and Hal jumped forward to protect his brother, just as Ben grabbed Matt and forced him behind him. Before Tom could process what was happening, the man who had gone after Matt raised his gun and smacked Hal across the head with it. Hal went down hard and Tom burst into the room before he could stop himself. Two of the guns swung around to point at him

"Please don't hurt them!" he begged, his eyes darting from the guns to Ben and Matt, to Hal who was slowly sitting up, his hand to his face, which was now bleeding. Matt was crying again.

"Oh look boys, Daddy's here." The man who had hit Hal said. He was clearly the leader, "I thought you kids said you were alone."

"It doesn't matter Mike, we can just take the stuff and go." The man from before spoke again. He looked very unsure about the whole situation.

"Yes, yes take whatever you want." Tom nodded, gesturing to their supplies, "We won't fight you." He took a small step forward, then another. Until he was stood between the boys and the guns.

"You're right, we can take whatever we want." Mike agreed. Time seemed to stand still as the men took hold of all the supplies, stuffing their food and water into their bags. Mike even gestured for Matt to give back the food he'd taken, and after a nod from Tom he did as he was told, glaring at the men through his tears.

"Good boy." Mike jeered. Finally, they were done. Tom felt his heartbeat slowly start to slow as the men headed back out the door, until Mike called back with a laugh that made Tom's skin crawl, "You better watch those kids, wouldn't want the crawlies getting them." The man who'd seemed unsure hung back, before reaching into his bag and pulling out a bottle of water, and a small bag of food.

"For the little one." He muttered, before heading out the door. Tom rushed to it, bolting it shut and pushing an empty shelf against it. Ben and Matt went straight to Hal, who shrugged them off insisting he was fine. Tom pulled them all close. He could feel them shaking, just as much as he was.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." He whispered over and over. As his initial fear over what had just happened, and relief that they were all safe started to subside, a new fear started to take over. They'd taken almost all the food and water, and it was getting harder and harder to find. It was no doubt what had pushed those men over the edge. Society had well and truly crumbled.

Tom shuddered as he wondered how he and his boys would survive it on their own, with hardly any food.


The next few days were especially bleak. The meagre amount of food that they had left ran out quickly, and their days were spent in a desperate search for food. They weren't the only ones; it was chaos. Tom did his best to stay away from other people, feeling suspicious of anyone he saw, or anyone who looked twice at his boys. Hal's black eye was a constant reminder that no one was to be trusted in this new world.

It was two days after they were robbed that they finally learnt what the aliens were doing to the kids they snatched. And it was awful. The strange devices on their backs seemed to be controlling them, sucking out their personalities and free will and turning them into obedient little worker drones. Tom wasn't sure that dying wasn't a better alternative. Although surely there'd be a way to save the children. There had to be. All he knew for sure is that he'd die before he let one of his boys be captured.


Authors Note:

I decided to update on Fridays and Mondays! It means it'll be over sooner, but as it's all written I might as well! :)

There's a little foreshadowing in this chapter for what might be coming soon… It's not obvious at all….

OnlyMe: Thank you so much! I wrote it while crying haha! Writing is a real passion of mine, so what you said means a lot! Thank you!