The Last Invasion
Don't Talk To The Neighbor
The sun had barely peeked over the horizon when Casey, plus his parents, stumbled into the car, packed tightly with suitcases. His mother, Jill, looked on the verge of tears as she realized she wouldn't be seeing her son (or home) for months. As Greg began the drive to his brother's house, Jill twisted in her seat to give her son some last instructions and tips.
"Remember that your uncle Matt is a bit scatterbrained, so remind him of things. Oh, and do your homework before you do anything else."
"I know Mom, you've been over this stuff a million times!"
"You'll have to do your own laundry, don't forget to separate the darks from the lights!"
"Jill, dear, he'll be fine. Stop worrying so much," Greg said, placing a comforting hand upon his wife's arm. She turned to face him, the concern evident on her face as they exchanged a look. Casey sighed inwardly, easily able to guess all that the look meant, the worry his parents felt about leaving him alone, especially with his talk of aliens.
He watched out the car window at the streets passing by, nearly void of life, unsurprisingly. Most of the town's occupants were still in bed on a Saturday morning, resting from the pervious night's football game. When he glanced at the two adults in front, they were both silent, staring out of the windshield, lost in their unspoken worries. Maybe a few months from his parents would be good, for all three of them.
Greg maneuvered the car onto the street where Matt Conner resided, and with a jolt, Casey realized it was the same street Zeke lived on, about fives houses down. He could see the totaled GTO parked in the driveway, nearly useless after it's run in with a school bus.
"Well, here we are," Greg announced half-heartedly, clambering from the car to help Casey lug his suitcases out of the vehicle. A tall, dark strawberry blonde haired man appeared in the doorway, looking like a cross between Casey and Greg, grinning as he ran out to the two. "Casey! Hey, great to see you, you alien terminator!" Matt said, slamming a hand onto the boy's shoulder, nearly knocking him over. Casey coughed, forced a grin, even as he felt his cheeks grow red at his uncle's nickname for him; his father simply continued to pull his luggage along with a somber expression.
"Oh, right, let me help you with that." Matt grabbed the bag from Casey, waved to Jill who was climbing from the car, and hauled it into his house. The boy sighed loudly, turning to look at his mother with the still forced grin on his face. She smiled encouragingly, wrapping him in a tight hug even as she fought back the tears that sprang to her eyes. Greg and Matt joined them as they pulled from the hug, Jill sniffing and Casey struggling to keep the smile on his face. His father placed a hand on his shoulder; bending down and pointing a finger in his face, "Remember what we talked about last night, Case." He reached into his back pocket, pulling out his wallet and stuffing a card into his son's hand, "I know you don't think we don't trust you, but we do. Don't make us regret it. It's a debit card, and it does have a max you can spend, so use it wisely. No more new stories about aliens when we get back, right?"
Casey nodded slowly, sticking the debit card in his pocket and giving a genuine grin, "Of course not, Dad."
Greg looked at his son warily before smiling and patting him on the back, "Good, see you in a few months then. We'll keep in touch." He straightened as Jill raced forward to hug her son one more time. "Be good while we're gone," she whispered in his ear, kissing his cheek and pulling away. Matt stepped forward, draped an arm around Casey and laughed, "Stop worrying you two. Casey and I are going to have a great time. Heck, maybe this time he'll let me do some alien fighting." Greg shot a look at his younger brother that stopped his laughing immediately, only causing Casey's discomfort to grow.
Greg and Jill slid into their car, waving as they pulled away, not to be seen again for a few months time. Casey and Matt stood on the driveway, also waving and not entering the house until they had watched the bumper disappear around a corner. "Ready to have a great time, Case?"
"Uh, yeah, couldn't be more excited Uncle Matt."
"Think we'll get to fight off any aliens and save the world?"
"I really hope not."
Casey kicked a crushed, empty cola can out of his way as he lugged his last bag up the stairs. It was about the twentieth so far; his uncle wasn't a very sanitary person he thought in disgust. At least this time his bed had fresh sheets, without any stains or holes, compared to the last time he had visited. Plus, his uncle had added a computer to the room with cable modem; Casey was sure his parents wouldn't approve which brought a twinge of a smile to his face.
He dropped the suitcase on the bed, beside his other ones, and unzipped it, beginning the long process of unpacking and organizing his things. Time flew by, even though he wasn't exactly having fun, and hours had passed, the town finally coming alive. The boy headed downstairs, eager for a break, finding his uncle intently watching the coverage from the previous night's game. "I thought you went to the game," Casey said, dropping on the couch, "Why are you watching it again?"
"I was hoping they'd show the fireworks, you should have seen them! Awesome, last night, awesome! The whole sky lit up, like some explosion or something." Matt replied, flailing his arms for emphasis. His nephew's smirked, "An explosion, you mean fireworks?"
"Oh shut up."
Casey chuckled, leaning back into the chair as the news reporter wrapped up his segment, not showing the spectacular fireworks display. Matt sighed, "I wish you could have see them, Case. You would have loved them." He stood and headed into the kitchen as the boy frowned, realizing he had seen them in his telescope. The teen looked out the window where he could clearly see the neighbor's house, a girl a few years older then Casey moving boxes into the house.
He leaned forward, peering harder, not remembering having seen a 'for sale' sign on the house, but not remember ever seeing it's occupant's either. "Hey Uncle Matt? Are you getting a new neighbor?"
Matt appeared in the doorway, sandwich in one hand, frowning as he squinted outside, "Huh. Looks like it. Funny, I don't remember it being on the market, but there was this girl that use to live there a few months ago. I haven't seen her in a long time, not sure what happened to her really. Maybe she moved," he shrugged, more interested in his lunch then the movement at the neighbor's house. Casey stood, somewhat intrigued, and not having much else to do, headed towards the front door. He called out to his caretaker as he walked out, "I'm going to go meet her, be back later."
The girl was on the taller side, well built with dark skin, as if she had been out tanning for far to long. At the moment, she was busy picking up a box, half-dragging it towards her house. "Uh, can I help you with that?" Casey asked as he came up beside her, steadying the box and taking most of the weight upon himself. His eyes bulged at the heaviness of the box as he managed to wheeze out, "What in the world do you have in there? Rocks?"
"Something like that, be careful! It's extremely valuable." The girl replied in a rush, taking the lead towards the front door. The two managed to haul the heavy box inside and set it gently down, panting to catch their breath. Casey glanced around as he breathed deeply, noting that most of house was already decorated and finished, though lacking a certain lived-in feeling. He straightened, about to introduce himself when he realized the girl was already outside, grabbing the next box. He hurried out beside her, bending down so they that his face was in front of hers.
"Uh, hi. I just noticed that you moved in, though it seems you already have your house set up. Anyway, I'm Casey- -"
"Casey?"
He frowned, leaning back as they both stood, eyeing one another. He noted one of her eyes had a deep aqua tint while the other was no real color, just a dull gray. He cleared his throat, "Yeah, Conner. Casey Conner, nice to meet- -"
She once again cut him off, roughly gripping his arm and dragging him into her house, slamming the door shut behind him. He felt a stab of panic take over as he immediately began to search for the nearest exit, but had no time to find one as the girl advanced on him. Casey took a step back uncertainly, but she took two forward, herding him so his back hit the wall. "Casey, Casey Conner . . . Yes, I've heard of you, the alien destroyer. Hero of Earth."
"Oh, so you've read the TIME magazine have you? T-t-that was awhile ago." His voiced trailed off in a stutter as he felt her hand pressing him against the wall. "So, what's your name?" He squeaked, eyes darting around for a weapon or escape. Her grip tightened as she stared at him with her odd eyes, her voice a cold whisper in his ear, "My name is Riva."
She began to move her face towards his, mouth opening unnaturally wide and Casey did the first thing that came to his mind: he stabbed a finger into her eye. The old Stooge trick worked for she released him with a painful howl, giving him the few seconds he needed to race from her house. He didn't turn around until he was in his uncle house, all the bolts securely fastened, and up in his locked bedroom. He glanced sideways at the mirror at his reflection, a gasping, pale, terrified boy.
There was a knock on the door; Casey nearly screamed but managed to weakly call, "Who-what?"
"It's me, Matt. You okay in there, Case? You came in here like a flash, and you locked the doors. What's wrong?"
"Nothing Uncle Matt, everything's fine. Just don't talk to the neighbor, okay?" There was a long pause on the other side of the door before he replied hesitantly, "Well, alright. You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah! Fine!" He collapsed on the edge of his bed as he heard his uncle's steps retreating away. Casey stared at the ceiling for several moments before muttering, "Looks like I lied to Dad, I'm going to have more alien stories when they get back."
A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! They're what keep my writing! And, of course, the disclaimer that I do not own The Faculty or The Three Stooges. Keep up the reviews, and enjoy!
Don't Talk To The Neighbor
The sun had barely peeked over the horizon when Casey, plus his parents, stumbled into the car, packed tightly with suitcases. His mother, Jill, looked on the verge of tears as she realized she wouldn't be seeing her son (or home) for months. As Greg began the drive to his brother's house, Jill twisted in her seat to give her son some last instructions and tips.
"Remember that your uncle Matt is a bit scatterbrained, so remind him of things. Oh, and do your homework before you do anything else."
"I know Mom, you've been over this stuff a million times!"
"You'll have to do your own laundry, don't forget to separate the darks from the lights!"
"Jill, dear, he'll be fine. Stop worrying so much," Greg said, placing a comforting hand upon his wife's arm. She turned to face him, the concern evident on her face as they exchanged a look. Casey sighed inwardly, easily able to guess all that the look meant, the worry his parents felt about leaving him alone, especially with his talk of aliens.
He watched out the car window at the streets passing by, nearly void of life, unsurprisingly. Most of the town's occupants were still in bed on a Saturday morning, resting from the pervious night's football game. When he glanced at the two adults in front, they were both silent, staring out of the windshield, lost in their unspoken worries. Maybe a few months from his parents would be good, for all three of them.
Greg maneuvered the car onto the street where Matt Conner resided, and with a jolt, Casey realized it was the same street Zeke lived on, about fives houses down. He could see the totaled GTO parked in the driveway, nearly useless after it's run in with a school bus.
"Well, here we are," Greg announced half-heartedly, clambering from the car to help Casey lug his suitcases out of the vehicle. A tall, dark strawberry blonde haired man appeared in the doorway, looking like a cross between Casey and Greg, grinning as he ran out to the two. "Casey! Hey, great to see you, you alien terminator!" Matt said, slamming a hand onto the boy's shoulder, nearly knocking him over. Casey coughed, forced a grin, even as he felt his cheeks grow red at his uncle's nickname for him; his father simply continued to pull his luggage along with a somber expression.
"Oh, right, let me help you with that." Matt grabbed the bag from Casey, waved to Jill who was climbing from the car, and hauled it into his house. The boy sighed loudly, turning to look at his mother with the still forced grin on his face. She smiled encouragingly, wrapping him in a tight hug even as she fought back the tears that sprang to her eyes. Greg and Matt joined them as they pulled from the hug, Jill sniffing and Casey struggling to keep the smile on his face. His father placed a hand on his shoulder; bending down and pointing a finger in his face, "Remember what we talked about last night, Case." He reached into his back pocket, pulling out his wallet and stuffing a card into his son's hand, "I know you don't think we don't trust you, but we do. Don't make us regret it. It's a debit card, and it does have a max you can spend, so use it wisely. No more new stories about aliens when we get back, right?"
Casey nodded slowly, sticking the debit card in his pocket and giving a genuine grin, "Of course not, Dad."
Greg looked at his son warily before smiling and patting him on the back, "Good, see you in a few months then. We'll keep in touch." He straightened as Jill raced forward to hug her son one more time. "Be good while we're gone," she whispered in his ear, kissing his cheek and pulling away. Matt stepped forward, draped an arm around Casey and laughed, "Stop worrying you two. Casey and I are going to have a great time. Heck, maybe this time he'll let me do some alien fighting." Greg shot a look at his younger brother that stopped his laughing immediately, only causing Casey's discomfort to grow.
Greg and Jill slid into their car, waving as they pulled away, not to be seen again for a few months time. Casey and Matt stood on the driveway, also waving and not entering the house until they had watched the bumper disappear around a corner. "Ready to have a great time, Case?"
"Uh, yeah, couldn't be more excited Uncle Matt."
"Think we'll get to fight off any aliens and save the world?"
"I really hope not."
Casey kicked a crushed, empty cola can out of his way as he lugged his last bag up the stairs. It was about the twentieth so far; his uncle wasn't a very sanitary person he thought in disgust. At least this time his bed had fresh sheets, without any stains or holes, compared to the last time he had visited. Plus, his uncle had added a computer to the room with cable modem; Casey was sure his parents wouldn't approve which brought a twinge of a smile to his face.
He dropped the suitcase on the bed, beside his other ones, and unzipped it, beginning the long process of unpacking and organizing his things. Time flew by, even though he wasn't exactly having fun, and hours had passed, the town finally coming alive. The boy headed downstairs, eager for a break, finding his uncle intently watching the coverage from the previous night's game. "I thought you went to the game," Casey said, dropping on the couch, "Why are you watching it again?"
"I was hoping they'd show the fireworks, you should have seen them! Awesome, last night, awesome! The whole sky lit up, like some explosion or something." Matt replied, flailing his arms for emphasis. His nephew's smirked, "An explosion, you mean fireworks?"
"Oh shut up."
Casey chuckled, leaning back into the chair as the news reporter wrapped up his segment, not showing the spectacular fireworks display. Matt sighed, "I wish you could have see them, Case. You would have loved them." He stood and headed into the kitchen as the boy frowned, realizing he had seen them in his telescope. The teen looked out the window where he could clearly see the neighbor's house, a girl a few years older then Casey moving boxes into the house.
He leaned forward, peering harder, not remembering having seen a 'for sale' sign on the house, but not remember ever seeing it's occupant's either. "Hey Uncle Matt? Are you getting a new neighbor?"
Matt appeared in the doorway, sandwich in one hand, frowning as he squinted outside, "Huh. Looks like it. Funny, I don't remember it being on the market, but there was this girl that use to live there a few months ago. I haven't seen her in a long time, not sure what happened to her really. Maybe she moved," he shrugged, more interested in his lunch then the movement at the neighbor's house. Casey stood, somewhat intrigued, and not having much else to do, headed towards the front door. He called out to his caretaker as he walked out, "I'm going to go meet her, be back later."
The girl was on the taller side, well built with dark skin, as if she had been out tanning for far to long. At the moment, she was busy picking up a box, half-dragging it towards her house. "Uh, can I help you with that?" Casey asked as he came up beside her, steadying the box and taking most of the weight upon himself. His eyes bulged at the heaviness of the box as he managed to wheeze out, "What in the world do you have in there? Rocks?"
"Something like that, be careful! It's extremely valuable." The girl replied in a rush, taking the lead towards the front door. The two managed to haul the heavy box inside and set it gently down, panting to catch their breath. Casey glanced around as he breathed deeply, noting that most of house was already decorated and finished, though lacking a certain lived-in feeling. He straightened, about to introduce himself when he realized the girl was already outside, grabbing the next box. He hurried out beside her, bending down so they that his face was in front of hers.
"Uh, hi. I just noticed that you moved in, though it seems you already have your house set up. Anyway, I'm Casey- -"
"Casey?"
He frowned, leaning back as they both stood, eyeing one another. He noted one of her eyes had a deep aqua tint while the other was no real color, just a dull gray. He cleared his throat, "Yeah, Conner. Casey Conner, nice to meet- -"
She once again cut him off, roughly gripping his arm and dragging him into her house, slamming the door shut behind him. He felt a stab of panic take over as he immediately began to search for the nearest exit, but had no time to find one as the girl advanced on him. Casey took a step back uncertainly, but she took two forward, herding him so his back hit the wall. "Casey, Casey Conner . . . Yes, I've heard of you, the alien destroyer. Hero of Earth."
"Oh, so you've read the TIME magazine have you? T-t-that was awhile ago." His voiced trailed off in a stutter as he felt her hand pressing him against the wall. "So, what's your name?" He squeaked, eyes darting around for a weapon or escape. Her grip tightened as she stared at him with her odd eyes, her voice a cold whisper in his ear, "My name is Riva."
She began to move her face towards his, mouth opening unnaturally wide and Casey did the first thing that came to his mind: he stabbed a finger into her eye. The old Stooge trick worked for she released him with a painful howl, giving him the few seconds he needed to race from her house. He didn't turn around until he was in his uncle house, all the bolts securely fastened, and up in his locked bedroom. He glanced sideways at the mirror at his reflection, a gasping, pale, terrified boy.
There was a knock on the door; Casey nearly screamed but managed to weakly call, "Who-what?"
"It's me, Matt. You okay in there, Case? You came in here like a flash, and you locked the doors. What's wrong?"
"Nothing Uncle Matt, everything's fine. Just don't talk to the neighbor, okay?" There was a long pause on the other side of the door before he replied hesitantly, "Well, alright. You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah! Fine!" He collapsed on the edge of his bed as he heard his uncle's steps retreating away. Casey stared at the ceiling for several moments before muttering, "Looks like I lied to Dad, I'm going to have more alien stories when they get back."
A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! They're what keep my writing! And, of course, the disclaimer that I do not own The Faculty or The Three Stooges. Keep up the reviews, and enjoy!