A/N: Second chapter's up! Ok. So, I have nothing much to say except thanks for those who reviewed the last chapter. Oh and I love you guise. Ok.

Disclaimer: I do not own Falling Skies or the characters involved in it (well, except for a few other people I'll be adding in the upcoming chapters)

"Almost there" I thought to myself in encouragement "We're almost there"

It had been a long walk from the school to the meeting point. All of us were exhausted especially when the sun is sending off hot rays but we didn't choose to sit back and rest for a while. We had to keep going. We were walking on the rough gravel floor of the road. The guides were in front of us, they were shouting for us to follow them and to walk faster. I didn't know why they thought we can be any faster. We had been walking for a day and the only time we rested was everytime the sun sets and we had to stay in the woods for the meantime. It was odd how we hadn't come across any Skitter or mech. Maybe Tom and Hal and the others had already destroyed the structure and along with the Skitters in there too. I had to keep my mind in the positive side. There was a tug on my arm

"Lourdes, do you think dad and Hal are okay?" Matt asked, his hand gripping on the sleeve of my jacket

I smiled "I think they're okay. They're probably off to see us by now"

Matt gleamed "You really think so?"

I nodded once "They're strong, aren't they?"

Matt smiled then he rested his cheek on my sleeve. I heard him sigh "I'm tired"

"I am too" I stroked his messy blonde hair "But, we have to keep going. Don't worry, we're almost there"

Suddenly, the group of people in front me stopped. I looked over at the guides who had their hand up as if trying to signal us to keep quiet. There wasn't anything I can hear except for the low whistle of the wind. As the seconds went by there was a shriek. The sound wasn't human; it was like the loud shrieking of a door. The sound came closer and beside me, I felt Matt grip on my sleeve tighter. There were numerous human figures that appeared in front of us. They were kids about my age and even younger than me. Their eyes were focused on us; all of them were holding guns. A pair of Skitters appeared behind the row of children, they were harnessed. The guides held their guns up ready to shoot. They were going to shoot them; they were going to shoot those children

"Follow me, now!" A female guide yelled, she ran behind us trying to push us forward while frantically looking for somewhere to hide. There was no place we could hide, there were a few houses but we could easily get trapped. Any instinct of survival turned down on me and all I could think of was too save Matt and to run as fast as I could. All I had to do was run. There were sounds of gunshots coming from behind us. I don't dare turn around and look if the guides were the one who opened fire or if it were the kids. Suddenly, I heard a low groan from behind me. It was our guide. I stopped on my tracks then looked over at her injured chest. She was shot and it was bleeding uncontrollably. Her eyes looked at me with grief then she spoke "You have to go, you have to run"

I shook my head, I ran my hand over her bloody wound. "I can't leave you behind"

"You have to" She whispered, then that's when I knew she was losing too much blood "You need to save the kid. You have to go now!"

But, I was frozen. Then, I felt Matt's hands on me. The guide looked at me her hand reaching for mine. I didn't know her but still it was so hard to look at someone like this, someone who can see death in the corner of her eye. "You have to run. Go before they catch you, I want you to lead the others back to safety"

I nodded. I should go, I need to save Matt. I closed my eyes, did the sign of the cross then whispered a prayer. When I opened my eyes, the guide had no more sign of life on her. She was gone. I stood up then carried Matt on my back "Hold on tight"

There were several more gunshots. The other civilians were still running. I can still see them but all I saw were their dark shadows. I ran faster so I can catch up with them. There were gunshots again, I felt my adrenaline rise

"Run, Lourdes" I whispered to myself "Run faster"

Before I knew it, I was already behind the others. Then, there was another gunshot but this time it didn't come from behind us. It came from in front of us. There were a group of men in front of us who were shooting at the unearthly figures behind us. There was a familiar man who shouted for us to run inside. I shifted my gaze away from the man and into what looked like a huge Victorian house. We ran towards it and inside. Once we reached the house, we all crashed on the wooden floor. We were all panting and sweaty and scared. I heard a low cry coming from behind me, it was Matt. I gently let him slid off of me. He was standing in front of me as I knelt. His eyes were red from crying and I heard his heart beat fast. "Hey Matt" I whispered, stroking his messy golden hair "Everything's okay"

Matt was still sobbing then he looked at me but he didn't speak. "Everything is fine" I pulled him gently to me, letting his head rest on my shoulder. I stroked his back in a comforting manner "Are you okay? Did you get hit?"

I felt Matt shake his head. There was a shriek of pain. I turned my head to the side where the others rested. Not even half of us made it, just us teens and the kids and a few adults. Some of them were injured; blood crawled from their arms and to the hardwood floor. Matt pulled away as I shook off my backpack. I rummaged my pack for the first-aid kit. Thankfully, I found it. I walked over to an injured little girl who I recognized as Abby. Her arm was bleeding and there was a cut but it wasn't anything serious. "We'll get you fixed up, okay?" I whispered

Abby stopped crying as I cleaned her wound then put a band-aid over it. She smiled down at her arm then she spoke "Thank you"

I nodded then proceeded to the other injured civilians. There were only a few of them who had actually serious cases. Most of them were just cuts and a few wound for tripping but there were two men who were shot. I had to let them lay down on the couch that rested in the living room. The real problem was I had to get the bullet out. I observed the wounds worrying about the bullets.

"Do you need any help?" A male voice said, he was probably in his mid-thirties and he was holding a towel. "I'm a doctor"

By the sound of him, I sighed. "Oh good, I thought I had to take out the bullets myself"

The doctor laughed "I'll take over; you can go take care of the others"

I nodded then made my way back to the civilians who were still sitting on the hall. I saw Sarah and her newborn child, Charlotte in the far corner of the hall, she smiled up at me and I did the same. The gunshots had stopped then a familiar man entered. I looked at him closely then that's when I figured out who he was. He was that girl, Tessa's father. I remembered them from the Seventh Mass, I shuddered

He looked at me then smiled "Hey, I know you"

I gulped "You're Mr. Greene from the Seventh Mass"

"Tessa!" He called out. In a blink of an eye, Tessa appeared. She was looking at me, her expression undecipherable. Then, she looked at her father "Dad?"

"Can you kindly take them to the dining room and prepare lunch?" Mr. Greene said

Tessa nodded then led the others away from the hall. Matt held my hand, not wanting to let go "You have to come with her, Matt"

Matt shook his head "Lourdes, they were the ones who were going to give us to the Skitters right?"

I pursed my lips "It's going to be okay, Matt. I'll be here"

Matt was still hesitant but still he dropped my hand then ran to the direction where the others disappeared.

"What's your name?" Mr. Greene asked

I tried my best not to look at him. I stared nervously at my worn-out sneakers not knowing where to look. "I'm Lourdes"

Mr. Greene made a sound of affirmation. "Yes, you were with Weaver's group, right?"

I simply nodded. Mr. Greene folded his arms then cleared his throat "I just wanted to say we're sorry for everything. For trying to give you up to the Skitters"

I chose not to say anything, what will I say? Apology accepted? I knew I should accept their sorry but I chose not to. I couldn't just forgive them, I want to but I can't. Not when I remember what happened to Mike. So, I didn't say anything

"You and the others can stay here" Mr. Greene said "It's safer here"

"We have to go back to the school" I managed to say "We can't stay here"

"Of course, you can" Mr. Greene sighed "I know you still don't trust us but you have to know that we're not under Clayton anymore. We have no communication with the Skitters whatsoever"

"We're going back to the school" I repeated

Mr. Greene shook his head "I figured that you were evacuated from the school because of an attack, right? Do you still think its safe there?"

"Well, I don't really think it's much safer here with people like you around" This time, I looked at him. He wasn't mad at all, he was calm actually

"We promise to keep you and the others safe" Mr. Greene said "Take this as our apology, besides, they need rest."

I stood silent for a minute. He did have a point, Clayton wasn't here anymore but it still didn't prove that Mr. Greene here is to be trusted. I was worried about the others though especially the children and Matt. They were tired and in need of shelter. We can't just go back to the school considering we're too far away. I have to think about the sake of the other civilians "This is only for their sake. This doesn't mean we trust you"

Mr. Greene nodded "Why don't you join them for lunch?"

I turned my back on him then scanned the house for the dining room. As I walked along the hall, I couldn't help but feel small. The walls were covered in beige wallpaper. There were picture frames and paintings everywhere. Some of those paintings I've seen in museums but some I've only seen on TV. I continued to walk along the hall then the sound of the children led me to the dining room. The dining room was big enough to hold us. A long glass table was standing in the middle of the room. The children sat on the wooden chairs, eating oblivious of my presence. Somehow, seeing the children smiling and eating some good food made me smile. I spotted Matt beside Rick who was finally eating his food. When Matt saw me, he jumped off his seat then he ran next to me. "Lourdes, we're having roasted beef for lunch!" Matt said, a smile spread across his face. He tugged me towards the empty seat to his right "It's delicious!"

I laughed. I settled down on the seat next to him. Matt took the fork that rested on my plate then used it to grab a whole piece of steak. He was smiling when he set it down on my plate "You have to taste it!"

He watched me as I used the knife to cut a small piece of the steak. Matt handed me back the fork then I used it to jab the steak. I took a glance at Matt who was still looking at me. I ate the steak then I smiled down at Matt "You're right Matt, this is pretty good"

Matt grinned then he continued on eating his food. As I ate, I made sure to look around the table. All of them looked so happy and relieved. In times like these, you rarely see anyone so happy

A/N: You've reached the end of chapter 2! Okay. STILL no Hal/Lourdes here but I PROMISE the next chapter would be filled with them, ok?