I DO NOT OWN FALLING SKIES! Thanks and enjoy!
We finally exited the forest by night fall. Stars were starting to show up in the sky and the full moon lit up everything in sight, illuminating the Earth. Crickets chirped near by reminding me of the years when I was still young and innocent and the very same chirping of the crickets would sound me to bed every single night. Ever since the invasion I had to learn to fall asleep to the sound of gun fire and explosions. Whether I was laying on the smelly, damp, moldy cot of one of the Berserkers or sleeping in content in Hal's arms I'd always managed to fall asleep but in the pit of my stomach I felt that after tonight I might never be able to sleep the same way again.
"Where to now Hal?" Ben asked.
Hal scanned the surrounding area with his eyes, probably looking for any sign of the overlords that Ben and I assumed he has been secretly communicating with this whole time.
"I don't actually know... It seems like the trail ends here." Hal replied.
I heard a few twigs snap back in the forest and my hand grasped my gun in default. Ben did the same and we immediately turned our attention to the noise coming from the forest. We stood there for what seemed like hours, just waiting for the over lords and skitters to appear. But they never showed. The noises stopped all together.
"What the hell?" I murmured looking out of the corner of my eye to see Ben's reaction. His head was turned upwards looking at the top of the trees and to my horror his spikes began to light up.
A tall, slim figure was crouched over on one of the branches. A short, slick pony tail was just long enough to hang over her shoulder and you could just make out what looked like a harness attached to her back.
"Stay close Hal." I said. And then I pulled out my gun and shot for dear life.
"Go to hell Karen!" I screamed over the noise of the ammo being shot.
It got to the point where I couldn't even see where or what I was shooting at, I just prayed that some where in the mix I had hit Karen with at least 1 bullet. Just the satisfaction of knowing that I'd put a scratch on her would put more drive in me.
"Please, Maggie, poor, innocent, little Maggie with a heart of gold. If anyone is going to hell it will be you."
That was Karen's voice but where was she? I looked around, squinting trying to make out anything in the dead of night but I couldn't see anything.
"You know Maggie, I was on the honor roll in High School, I was actually going to be speaker of my class at graduation before the invasion happened. What were you? Hmm? Oh that's right."
Her voice grew louder, she had to he getting closer. She was right behind me I felt her and more importantly I felt her cold knife against the skin on my neck.
"Mrs. Pregnant junkie. Looks like poor, innocent Maggie with a heart of gold isn't so innocent after all," Karen teased right in my ear.
"How... How did you-"
"Know?" Karen interrupted. "Oh silly Maggie, have you really not picked up anything? Did you even realize that Hal is different? While he was with the 2nd mass I was using a little friend of mine to communicate through him. I could listen to every little thing the 2nd mass was talking about."
"You- so you kno-"
"Know that you're in Charleston? That's right!" Karen said with a sneer. "Once I've finished you off I'll be able to meet up with my masters who are already on their way there and we'll take you all out. Well not all of you, we'll save some of you for harnessing of course. Like the youngest Mason boy, the one with the curly hair, and the doctor girl who Hal so cleverly knocked out."
"You bitch!" I screamed. "You won't touch them!" I picked my foot up off the ground and digged the heel of my boot into her stomach, knocking her back wards. It wasn't enough though. She quickly grabbed a hold of me and twisted my arm, practically dislocating my shoulder.
"Ahhh!" I screamed. "Ben help me! Do something!" I turned my head as far as I could until it became to painful and I was able to see Ben standing there. He was staring off into space doing absolutely nothing, his spikes were glowing the brightest I'd ever seen them. "Ben!" I screamed again even louder.
"He can't hear you, he's being controlled by the army of skitters that's near by, awaiting to take you all off to harnessing facilities." Karen snickered.
"Hal!?" I screamed, just wanting a response from someone I knew.
"Oh that reminds me!" Karen whispered. She put her lips together and whistled.
"Arghhh! Ahh!" Hal screamed. He put his hands over his ears, trying to block out the sound, he crashed towards the ground only sitting on his lees.
"Make it stop!" He pleaded but Karen kept going.
"Don't hurt him! Please! Karen stop! Leave him alone! Take me just don't hurt him or Ben!" I offered.
Karen just laughed at me and what to her was a pathetic request. I looked longingly at Hal. Tears stung the corners of my eyes and slowly fell down my red cheeks. I hated to see him in pain I just wanted him to be okay again, what had he done to deserve this? If anyone should be suffering it was me. After all the mistakes I'd made with my life, after every drug I'd over used, all the meaningless sex and booze, I deserved to suffer not him. Not the young man who was the star lacrosse player, who had a great girl friend on the dance team named Rita, who was always thinking of his father and doing everything in his power for his younger brothers that he loved with all his heart. If I could've traded places with him in that moment (Not that being dangled from Karen's grasp was much better) I would've. I would take all the pain he was in and inflict it on myself because I had his back and that's what partners do.
My train of thought was broken when I saw a small black speck on Hal's tan skin. It was moving, crawling across his face, out of his ear! It flew through the air and landed on Karen's face. It scurried around on her skin and then made its way down to her lips where it entered her mouth.
Of course! The kiss!
That night back at the weapon when Karen kissed Hal and Hal had fallen unconscious, that night when I had re entered Hell again for the first time after meeting Hal, that's when that parasite entered Hal! Why hasn't we thought of that? But why had it been in Hal's ear? It had accessed his brain? "How much would the aliens have gained from that?" I couldn't help but think.
My thoughts were interrupted when I heard Karen speak.
"It's so good to have my friend back, I've missed him!"
If the parasite wasn't inside Hal anymore would he be okay now?
"Hal?" I screamed turning my attention towards him. Hal laid face down on the Earth's surface, totally unconscious.
"What the hell did you do to him!?" I screamed, looking up at Karen.
"Oh don't worry, he's perfectly fine, though I won't be able to say the same once Diego is done with him!" Karen replied.
"Diego!" Karen called. I heard twigs snap coming from the forest again and i turned my head to find Diego (the same Diego that was with Weaver's daughter except now he was harnessed) emerge from the forest. He carried a single harness in his hands.
"That's it Diego! Come this way, over to your good friend Hal!" I watched, helplessly as Diego approached Hal. He picked Hal up by the collar of his shirt and lowered the squirming harness towards his skin.
"No! Diego! It's me! Maggie! I know where Jean is! Remember Jean? Please Diego don't!" I pleaded. At this point tears were pouring down my face. My vision grew blurry from the tears but I could still make out the harness growing closer to Hal's body with each passing second.
"Karen you loved Hal at one point!Don't you remember? You can't do this!" I screamed, trying to get her to command the Diego to stop.
"Please Maggie, that Karen is long dead and gone. She was innocent and weak but her body has served as a good host for the new and improved Karen!" She explained confidently.
"Ben! Hal! Help! Wake up!" I yelled. Trying to save Hal in what had to be his last seconds. I looked around at the 2 boys but both were oblivious to what was happening.
"No." I thought to myself. There was no way in hell I was giving up this easily. I was a survivor and survivors don't just give up. I sank my teeth deep into the skin on Karen's arm right as Diego dropped the harness onto Hal's back.
"Bitch!" Karen screamed letting go of my arm.
I stumbled over to Hal fighting off the constant tears so I could see where I was going. I reached towards Hal, just wanting to hold him in my arms like he had done to me so many times. I stopped dead in my tracks though because Hal looked up at me.
"Had Hal heard me?!" I asked myself. "Was he okay!?" I got my answer when I saw his eyes. They were dark, like black holes waiting to consume everything in sight. I'd seen those eyes before, on Ben and again on Diego just moments before, and On Karen so many countless times. They were the eyes of a harnessed victim.
So that's that! 2 chapters on one night! How's that? Haha I think I'll start the next one tonight too! So sorry to end in a cliff hanger but I just had to! :) so I really hoped you enjoyed! Please review and let me know what you think :) I love hearing what ya'll have to say! thanks! Xxx so glad you are all enjoying! I'll try to get the new chap up ASAP!