(Charlie)
I wasn't born to be a soldier, or any kind of a hero. I never had it in me to save the world. In fact, I even gave up on basic things like saving my marriage and my sanity a long time ago and the only thing that still kept me going was William's well-being. He was a light in my darkness, my rock in hard times, my heir, my everything.
I lost everything when I lost him. I hoped against all hope that the sweet innocent boy is still trapped in there, but in the end Spender's genes prevailed and there wasn't any Scully left in him.
I realized my defeat yesterday, when his team finally managed to reach the heart of their damn pyramid and all hell broke loose on our little town. There was an earthquake, a weird, loud noise that sounded out of this world, and a beam of light appeared on the top of the pyramid hill, reaching into the sky for as far as the eye could see and probably much, much farther.
The UFOs arrived shortly after that. They are now gathered over the pyramid, as if waiting for something. People are frightened, but they are eagerly raising their smart phones towards the sky as if they are competing who gets the better video of the dooms day. It's not a cool thing to die without a few selfies with a space ship stored in your phone. Apparently.
"This is the biggest pyramid," William informed me the last time I saw him, which was days ago, though it felt like months. "This is their base, the energy station. When they reach us, nothing will be able to stop them."
He offered to take me with him, but he wasn't disappointed when I refused. It didn't seem to matter to him, either way. I gave up everything, literary everything for him, and he left me behind without a second thought.
"If you drink my blood, you'll become like us," he offered politely. I had no idea who 'us' referred to and I really, really didn't want to find out. I just shook my head and watched my nephew go to join whatever forces set out to destroy our world.
His virgin blood! That's how he called it, with a proud face. Jesus!
I found myself something else to drink, all right. I didn't even know what it was, something unlabeled and homemade that I paid a fortune for, since alcohol wasn't easy to find in the times of apocalypse. The stores were closed and robbed, so everything was scarce and unavailable, though I couldn't care less. All I wanted was a bottle of something strong, I got something close enough and it worked. After years and years of abstinence, it worked like a miracle!
I may not have a selfie with creatures who stole my nephew and turned him against me, but at least I won't die sober. That's got to count for something, right?
What a crazy world we are losing! What a terrible, wonderful place!
I didn't want my last thought to be of William. Anybody but that traitor! My children, I should think about them. My sisters, my brothers. Even my damn blood father!
Anybody but William!
Of course, all I could think about was William.
I needed more alcohol. I took a huge sip, coughed, and begged Missy for help.
Shortly after, she came.
"Charlie?" I heard a familiar voice. Even after all these years, I still recognized her voice.
It wasn't Missy, though.
I raised my head and looked at her. "I was expecting Missy," I informed her.
"Charlie," her voice was breaking, her hair was a mess and she looked damn old and desperate. Not as I remembered ever seeing her, but damn beautiful just as well. "Missy is dead."
She looked at me from a safe distance and, since I was sitting on the kitchen floor, from above. My tiny, skinny sister looked damn huge from my drunk perspective. She looked so real, so alive.
"I know," I nodded, taking a sip of my last drink, the only sort of last dinner I fancied. "And so are you."
"No," she shook her head, not taking her eyes off of me, but not approaching me either. "I'm not dead, Charlie, I'm here!"
"Well, if you weren't dead, you wouldn't be here," I calculated. "You would never find me."
"Charlie…"
"Don't worry, Starbuck. Half of the world is probably dead already. The other half will follow soon. You won't be lonely."
"Charlie, listen to me!" she cut me off, incredibly impatient for a deceased person. Missy taught me time doesn't exist for the dead, but Dana apparently hadn't noticed that. She seemed to be in a rush. Not that she ever listened to Missy, anyway. "I need to find William. Is he okay?"
"Define okay," I shrugged, trying to drink faster. I didn't want to die before emptying the bottle.
"Where is he?" for a woman who gave him up and never asked about him afterwards, she was surprisingly persistent.
"He could be in Klingon, as far as I know," I answered bitterly. I didn't want to talk about her son. I wanted to get drunk, die, and reunite with my childhood hamster. And I wanted Missy to be my guide on the other side, not Dana with her never-ending questions, her skepticism, her science, her father-issues…
"I've missed you," I admitted.
"I've missed you, too… And him…" she sobbed. "You have to tell me where he is!"
"I'm not dead yet," I shrugged. "You figure it out. Do the ghost thing or whatever you did to find me."
"Skinner told me."
"Right. I figured he died as well."
"Damn it, Charlie!" Dana screamed at me. "Would you listen to me at once?! I am not dead and neither is Skinner, but he will be soon if I don't find William!"
"Your virgin boy," I nodded with understanding. "Did you know he's still a virgin?"
"I don't care!" she kept yelling. "JUST TELL ME WHERE HE IS!"
"He's just like you, isn't he?" I chuckled. "I remember you talking about saving yourself for marriage when you where his age, before you met-"
My speech was cut short by a loud gun shot, close to my right ear. I froze in shock for a second, then slowly turned my head and stared at the bullet in the wall.
"Can ghosts do that?" Dana asked me, dead calm this time. I switched my gaze to her, completely sober in an instance.
"Do you need more proof?" she spread her arms, as if offering herself. "Do you want to touch me? Exorcise me? I'm alive Charlie, against all odds but I'm alive, I'm here and I need your help."
"Dana…" I managed to mumble, jumping to my feet.
"It's me," she gently smiled through tears and for a moment everything was all right with my world. My big little bad-ass sister was standing right in front of me, and I didn't have to be strong anymore.
The next moment I remembered the apocalypse and my failure as an undercover uncle and I wasn't so happy to see her anymore. I didn't need witnesses for my laughable defeat, especially not in the form of the ambitious, overachieving sister.
"It can't be," I whispered, shaking my head. I carefully approached her and slowly raised my hand to her cheek, retrieving it quickly after feeling it's solid warmth. She really was there, in flesh and blood. "Is it really you?"
"Is it really you?" she repeated my question. I nodded, lowering my head so that she could check my neck and make sure that I wasn't a super-soldier or whatever. But instead of checking anything, she pulled me into an embrace and I inhaled her smell, a smell of sweat and home and family…
"I haven't been showering lately," I remembered, trying to pull away from her, but she wouldn't let go. "I didn't have a reason to…"
"I don't care," she sobbed, holding me tighter, and I reluctantly wrapped my arms around her. Our bodies shook in silent, but violent sobs. "Thank you, Charlie. Thank you for everything…"
"I couldn't stop him," I admitted to her hair. "I think he has a chip, just like you. It turned him into something… inhuman."
"My chip is turned off," she sounded determinant. "And we'll find a way to turn off his as well. I'll cut it out of him if I have to!"
"It's too late, Dana… I'm sorry."
"No, it's not. The world didn't end yet," she pulled away from me and stared at me with such intent that it scared me. Her fierce gaze pierced right through my soul, in a strange way giving me strength, courage and, most needed, hope.
"But we don't have much time," she concluded. "You have to take me to him. Now!"
I nodded, and without another word, or any equipment or idea about the next step, I left the apartment, with my sister right behind me. I had no idea how to find William, but there was only one place to start that made any sense at all.
The pyramid.