*hides behind Ben* I'm sooooo sorry it took us this long to update!:o We've been busy with school and a project is coming up so we've been trying to write in every little spare moment we have. Seriously, Alyssa and I have been writing in our Spanish class just so we can update quicker! We're meeting up this weekend to discuss some stuff for the story and hopefully get a lot of writing done that way we can get the next chapter up ASAP. Thank you all for your support3 -Kaylee

Hey everyone! Hope you enjoy our chapter...something interesting happens 0.o-Alyssa

Chapter 5-Discoveries

Alyssa's POV

Kaylee and I walked in silence to the alleged "care center". "So this person can help me?" I asked, a little suspicious. What kind of help did she mean? Kaylee didn't think I was crazy, did she?

"Yeah, she's a doctor."

"What type of doctor?"

"Pediatrician."

"A what?"

"A kid's doctor," Kaylee explained.

"Oh, okay, got it."

"What did you think she was?"

"I don't know. I was just wondering." So she didn't think I was crazy. That's a relief. We came up to the makeshift "hospital." It was actually a chemistry lab, but it looked pretty hospitalish to me.

"Hi Kaylee!" exclaimed a little boy.

"Hey Matt," Kaylee smiled. The boy gave her a hug and she gave him one right back. I had no clue she liked little kids; that's probably why she got along so well with my little sister.

"You must be Alyssa, I'm Matt," the boy said. "My brothers told me about you."

"Your brothers?" I questioned him, fearing the answer.

"Hal and Ben," he smiled like he was proud to say he was related to them. "I'm only nine now, but soon I'm gonna be a fighter like them!" How many Mason children are there?!

"Hey Matt, where is Dr. Glass? I need to speak to her," Kaylee asked.

"Oh she isn't here but she'll be-"

"I heard my name." A women with long brown hair walked in. "Why, hello Kaylee." She looked at me, "you must be Alyssa."

"Does everyone here know me?" I asked.

"All the important people at least," she smiled. "What can I do for you guys?"

"Is Alyssa finally starting to realize she needs metal help? Hurray! We don't have the resources to help you here, maybe you should go. I'll even help you pack!" Hal turned the corner, Ben right behind him.

"Hal, Ben, I will be with you in a second. What did you need help with?" the doctor replied.

"You know the art therapy you were having the kids do this morning? I was wondering if you could help Alyssa with that." Kaylee motioned for me to explain my dreams.

"Ever since I was ten, I've had these nightmares. It's always the same one. It's nighttime and it's always at a gas station, focusing on a woman. But she dies before I can make out any detail or features. Sometimes I see a little girl in the car screaming, but last night I saw a man hidden in the shadows. But his gun is crystal clear. It's a brown hand gun with really intercut designs and a claw mark across the handle part." Dr. Glass nodded and was about to speak but Hal butted in, as usual.

"Miss Badass Alyssa isn't as tough as she pretends to be?" Hal taunted.

"You never know how strong you are until the only option you have is to be strong, and I've had to be pretty damn strong." I stood up and faced Hal. I was getting sick of him judging me before he knew what hell I had to live through.

"When people go through a traumatic experience, it helps to draw out what is in their head, so I want you to draw the gun." Dr. Glass said, trying to bring down the tension in the room.

The hell? "I am not an artist. AT ALL."

"When you are drawing things from memory, your picture will look more realistic than you think."

"No." There is NO WAY I'm doing this.

"Yes, you are. That is an order from the doctor regarding your health; therefore you must do it."

"Fine, whatever." I started to draw out the picture. It didn't look too bad. I drew a hand holding the gun, then a built shooting out of the gun. I didn't even realize it but I had drawn calluses on the hand. I realized that the man in my dream did in fact have rough spots on his hands.

"Those calluses are from consistently shooting a gun. Obviously this guy has been trained with them." Kaylee pointed out.

"You know a lot about guns," Ben said. Gee, no shit.

Kaylee extended her hand to show the many calluses on her fingers. "Everyone has their hobbies."

"Yeah, so what's yours Alyssa? Hanging out with Karen? I knew you two would get along great," Hal smirked.

"Aren't hobbies supposed to be fun?" That wiped that god-awful smirk of his face.

"Oh. Burrrn." Ben said. Everyone laughed, except Hal. He punched Ben.

"Don't fight the fights if you can't take a hit," Kaylee said. I started laughing. Kaylee always had the best come backs. She says everything so calm and collected. It's funny to watch her fight with someone because they get louder and louder and talk faster and faster as they get angrier and angrier. Kaylee sounds almost bored.

"Okay, children," Dr. Glass said, "Hal and Ben out. Kaylee, there will be some kids coming in soon. Would you like to go help them?" As she said that six kids walked in. "Alyssa, we are going to discuss this gun."

"Alright." I was getting really interested in the gun.

"Have you ever had a traumatic experience?"

"My mom died when I was ten," I said quietly.

"Isn't that when you said the dreams started?" she questioned.

"Yeah it was." I felt really awkward in here; it was deathly quiet and Kaylee had left with Matt.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did she die?"

"She was shot and killed."

"Oh, when you were ten?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know what happened that night?"

"Yes, actually I do. My mom and I were at a gas station late at night. I was sitting in the car when a man came up behind my mom with a gun. He cleared his throat and my mom turned around. As soon as she saw the man, she was terrified. The man clicked his trigger in place. I realized what was about to happen and plugged my ears. After a couple seconds when the gun didn't go off, I looked up and noticed he was talking to her, and then he shot her. I screamed and the man looked at me. He told me not to make the mistake my mother did, and disappeared. I sat in the car and cried all night, until someone found me in the morning." I winced. I hadn't told that story in a long, long time, and it was painful to relive.

Dr. Glass laid a hand on my shoulder. "That couldn't have been easy for a ten-year-old. You're probably having the dream over and over again because your subconscious hasn't managed to get through it. Could these dreams be a reminder of what happened that night?"

"I guess they could, I mean I did start having the dreams a couple months after it happened."

"Now the gun you are seeing is probably what stuck out in your mind. When a nightmare happens, a person tends to remember on specific detail and the rest seems fuzzy."

"So my mind's only remembering the gun, and that's why the dream is never really clear?"

"Exactly. Now try drawing the man as best you can."

My head was pounding from how much this was frustrating me. I knew I had seen this gun somewhere; it was too damn familiar. The man too. I began drawing the outline of the man at the gas station. He was shrouded in the shadows, but his gun was clear. The memory was tugging and tugging on my head, to the point where I just wanted to scream and throw the colored pencils at the wall. Where had I seen this picture? It was like I was hitting a wall trying to break it down, but it was impossible.

Oh. My. God.

The pencil in my hand dropped and rolled off the table. My eyes were glued to my paper; everything was crystal clear now. I stood up and sprinted out the door. I didn't know where I was going, but I didn't have to. I just needed to get out of that room, away from the picture, away from my past, and away from reality.

Hal's POV

"Does everyone here know me?" I heard the all too familiar voice of the ever so annoying Alyssa Carter.

"All the important people at least," Dr. Glass said, "what can I do for you guys?"

I took this opportunity to mess with Alyssa. "Is Alyssa finally starting to realize she needs metal help? Hurray! Well we don't have the resources to help you here, maybe you should go. I'll even help you pack." I came into view, Ben following me, staring at Kaylee. The guy needs to learn to be less obvious.

"Hal, Ben, I will be with you in a second. What did you need help with?" she said.

"You know the art therapy you were having the kids do this morning? I was wondering if you could help Alyssa with that," Kaylee said in a soft tone.

"Ever since I was ten, I've had these nightmares. It's always the same one. It's nighttime and it's always at a gas station, focusing on a woman. But she dies before I can make out any detail or features. Sometimes I see a little girl in the car screaming, but last night I saw a man hidden in the shadows. But his gun is crystal clear. It's a brown hand gun with really intercut designs and a claw mark across the handle part."

"Miss Badass Alyssa isn't as tough as she appears is she?" I asked her. Wimp.

"You never know how strong you are until the only option you have is to be strong, and I've had to be pretty damn strong." She said, not trying to be a smartass. She stood up and gave me a terrifying look.

"When people go through a traumatic experience, it helps to draw out what is in their head, so I want you to draw the gun," Dr. Glass said.

"I am not an artist. AT ALL.'"

"When people go through a traumatic experience, it helps to draw out what's going on in their mind, so I want you to draw the gun." Dr. Glass stated.

"When you are drawing things from memory, your picture will look more realistic than you think."

"No." Did she really just say no to Dr. Glass?

"Yes, you are. That is an order from the doctor regarding your health, therefore you must do it." Oh, pulling the 'head doctor, you listen to me' act on Alyssa. It will be good for her to learn some respect for authority.

"Fine, whatever." She started to draw.

"Those calluses are from consistently shooting a gun. Obviously this guy has been trained with them," Kaylee pointed out.

"You know a lot about guns," Ben said. He always acts stupid in front of girls he thinks are cute, and I can tell that he thinks she's cute.

"Everyone has their hobbies," Kaylee said simply showing us the calluses on her hands. This girl is pretty cool.

"Yeah, so what's yours Alyssa? Hanging out with Karen? I knew you two would get along great." I knew they got in a fight last night. Karen told me all about it this morning

"Aren't hobbies supposed to be fun?" I glared at her.

"Oh. Burrrn." Ben said. Who's side was he on?

"Don't fight the fights if you can't take a hit." Kaylee stared at me straight faced while Ben and Alyssa laughed. I take back what I said about her being cool.

"Okay children," Dr. Glass said, "Hal and Ben out. Kaylee, there will be some kids coming in soon. Would you like to go help them?" Ben and I went to leave but I stayed back while Ben left. I wanted to hear what they were talking about. "Alyssa, we are going to discuss this gun."

"Alright." I wonder what kind of gun this is…

"So, Alyssa have you ever experienced a traumatic experience?"

"My mom died when I was ten," Alyssa said, in a voice I never heard her use. It was almost scared and innocent.

"Isn't that when you said the dreams started?" Dr. Glass asked.

"Yeah it was."

"If you don't mind me asking, how did she die?"

"She was shot and killed."

"Oh, when you were ten?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know what happened that night?"

"Yes actually I do. My mom and I were at a gas station late at night. I was sitting in the car when a man came up behind my mom with a gun. He cleared his throat and my mom turned around. As soon as she saw the man, she was terrified. The man clicked his trigger in place. I realized what was about to happen and plugged my ears. After a couple seconds when the gun didn't go off, I looked up and noticed he was talking to her, and then he shot her. I screamed and the man looked at me. He told me not to make the mistake my mother did, and disappeared. I sat in the car and cried all night, until someone found me in the morning."

Holy shit. You know how they say there are some things you can't unhear, no matter how much you want to? This is one of those things. I will never look at Alyssa the same way again. I left, suddenly feeling like I was hearing something I wasn't ever supposed to.

Kaylee's POV

I trusted Dr. Glass with Alyssa and her situation, and Matt had only come by to pick up some extra paper, so I left the chemistry lab. I had nearly forgotten that I had to go and train Ben to fight. Why the hell did I agree to this? I'm losing my sanity.

Just as I rounded the corner, I rammed into a tall body. The force of running into them was so strong, it knocked me off my feet. If I had fallen quicker, I would've cracked my gun, but luckily I pushed it out of the way in time.

"You look happy," the person who made me fall said. I rolled my eyes. Hal Mason. Surprisingly, he was a gentleman; he extended his hand towards me.

"Are you alright? That was a pretty hard fall."

I took his hand and hoisted myself up. "Honestly I'm more concerned about my gun."

Hal chuckled. "How'd you get started on that anyway?"

I shrugged. "Dark times were messing with my head. I needed a way to distract myself, so I figured weapons were the best way to go."

It was the truth; I had told Ben a much lighter version of it. My uncle did indeed get me hooked on it, but he began teaching me when my parents died. And despite the irony of it, it was extremely therapeutic.

"You don't seem like the kind of girl who's gone through hell."

"You'd be surprised," I stated and looked at his near black eyes. It was so weird how much he looked like his dad, but nothing like his brothers.

I turned to head out to the shooting range, but Hal followed. Once he fell into step with me, he asked, "So where are you going?"

Since when does he give a shit about where I'm going? I hadn't even known him for a full day and he was already taking an older brother figure over me. "To teach your brother how to properly use a gun."

Hal laughed again. "He does need some help with that."

"Some?" I frowned. He needs all the help in what's left of this world.

Hal grinned and shook his head. "I like you. You're pretty cool to talk to." He nudged me on my shoulder.

"Thanks," I smiled. He doesn't seem that bad after all. "I'll see you around. I better get going before Ben shoots himself in the face or something."

"No kidding. See you soon."

My hands shoved open the glass doors and grabbed hold of my spare Heckler and Koch gun. I can't even begin to tell you how much I don't want to do this.

"Hey Kaylee!"

Please fucking kill me.

"Here," I said tossing him the H&K. "We have a lot to start going over, so talking should be a minimal."

Ben slid the holster around his neck and put the gun in his hands. Even though I told him we shouldn't be talking that much, he asked another question. "You carve your initials on all of your guns?"

He was eyeing the 'KP' etched into the gun he was holding, and the one that was in my hands. "Yeah," I said. "It's like when artists sign the corner of a painting, only I carve my initials into the stock of a gun. And I know if someone steals one."

"That's smart."

"Okay. I want you to come towards me and try to shoot me."

The blond frowned. "Are you crazy?"

"Just do it." I'm already losing my patience and it hasn't been a full minute. This was going to be just great.

Ben took the Heckler and Koch off safety (thank God he knew how to do that at least) and held it in both hands with a tight grip. Mistake number one. He slowly advanced to me, and I looked at his stance. Mistake number two. Ben ran at me but I simply took a step to the side and whirled around to him. We have a long way to go.

He tried again, this time adding a swing with the gun; however, I kicked the back of his knee and watched him tumble to the floor. The wind was knocked out of him, but he still tried to get up. I placed my sneaker on top of his chest and pointed my gun at his head.

Ben's hazel eyes were wide as they stared back at my pale ones. "How did I do?"

Is that even a valid question? "You gripped the gun too hard, your stance was poor, and you have no combat skills whatsoever. You need to spend some time with Alyssa before considering learning to fight from me."

"What do you mean?"

"I learned this from Alyssa," I motioned to my foot on his chest, "you need to develop decent combat skills before I'll teach you anything."

Politely, I lowered my hand to him and removed my sneaker off his stomach. He gladly took it and pulled himself up again. He held my hand closer to him as he looked at my gloves. Well this is going to become really awkward.

Ben's POV

I must be the weakest guy in the 2nd Mass. A girl just took me down without as much as a blink. That makes me feel really, really stupid.

As she helped me stand up from my brutal blow, I looked at her fingerless gloves. They were quality leather, that much I could tell, and they were solid black, like everything else she was wearing.

"U.S. Army?" I asked reading what the wrist of the gloves said.

"They were my uncle's," her soft blue eyes hardened a bit as she watched me examining her gloves.

"They're really cool," I remarked. What else am I supposed to say?

"Thanks," she said taking her hand out of mine and sliding it back into her hoodie pocket. "But seriously. You need to go and find Alyssa. You're worse than I thought you were."

I frowned at her bluntness. "Hey!"

"Would you rather me lie to you? Dude, you suck." She smirked at my facial expression and walked off.

"That's it then?" I called to her.

"Pretty much," she said back, not even turning back.

I sighed as I picked up Kaylee's Heckler and Koch that she gave me. It was identical to my old one, apart from her initials etched into it. Only this one was made by a fourteen-year-old girl who has passion for weapons. This war really has changed the lives of so many people.

I was about to open the doors of the school when Alyssa came bursting out of them. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were ablaze with anger.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked her.

"I'm fine," she replied sternly so I would stop asking questions.

"So Kaylee said I need to learn some fighting from you before she'll start teaching me. Can you help me out?"

"Are you really that bad?" Alyssa raised her eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes. "Will you help me or not?"

"Yeah, sure. Put down the gun and let's get started."

"Now?"

"No, when the aliens leave. Yes now!" I winced at her tone. It wasn't the sarcastic one she usually had, but a cold, hate filled one.

I set my gun down and faced her.

"Defense is key in combat. The more you block yourself, the less you're hit. The less you're hit, the less injured you are. Get it?"

I nodded. Alyssa raised her balled fists and blinked a few times. Something must've happened back at Dr. Glass's.

"This is a classic block. You want to keep your arms loose so you can move them to avoid hits and punches. I'm going to try to hit you, so block me."

Alyssa brought her arms towards my stomach, so I put my wrist in front of hers. She managed to fool me though, and struck my chest lightly. "Another thing. Don't underestimate the power of your opponent and always expect the unexpected."

Alyssa tried the same move on me, but I picked it up fast and shoved her fist out of my way. We practiced that for a little bit, but she didn't look happy. All she was doing was frowning and clenching her hands every now and then. Alyssa's eyes were not here where I was learning, but in a place much further from here.

"What's wrong?"

"I told you: I'm fine."

"You're not focusing. Your mind's on something else. Did something happen while you were with Dr. Glass?"

She angrily brushed her hair out of her face. "Yeah, something did."

"I know that you barely know me, but you can tell me anything. I'll never repeat it." And that's the first time I saw Alyssa Carter let down her walls.

"My mom was murdered when I was ten. The nightmares I've been having were about the night she was killed and I realized that the girl screaming was me. As I was drawing the man and his gun, I was trying to figure out where I had seen them before, besides the dream. Turns out, the man is here, in the 2nd Mass."

"What?"

Alyssa gritted her teeth. "My mother's killer is here, and I won't sleep until he's dead."

OHHHHHH snappppp!:o Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter we wrote in class when we were supposed to be doing work;] Just because we love you all:) Haha click that button and make this all worthwhile!:]

Peace, Love, Falling Skies.

-Parker and Carter