Hate, Envy, Loss, Love Chapter 10: Eight Hours, a falling skies fanfic

Thank the Lord! This is the last chapter of Season One of H.E.L.L. guys!:O Time went by so fast!:OOO Never fear though; H.E.L.L. is only just begun! We've only seen half of the title, so don't panic;D Alyssa and I are so so so so freaking excited to start writing the second season and to write the middle part that we never saw!:D So yay! BTW, there is quite a bit of fluff in this chapter for Parker...I'M SORRY I COULDN'T HELP MYSELF!-Parker

And since Alyssa refused to reply to my spamming of 33 texts messages, she does not get to have an author's note. ;3

okay I'm here now! I was showering, but I'm here! ENJOY THE CHAPTER. So just a note we are going to do a few more chapter in between this one and Season 2. Just so you know, it 'sour version of what happened! oh and PLEASE REVIEW WE LOVE REVIEWS. For the person who reviewed last time and asked for pictures, check out our facebook page, Alyssa Carter and Kaylee Parker. There are pictures! so yeah I hope you like it! I am gonna go hunt down a juice box now!

Chapter 10-Eight Hours

Kaylee's POV

The hardest part of the protecting the civilians duty I had committed to was the waiting process. Nothing had been happening the past four hours, and I was bored out of my mind. All I was doing was sitting out in the front of the school behind the barricade, waiting. For Weaver to get back, for something to entertain me to come, for some alien activity so I could use my gun, hell I'd be excited if a fucking butterfly flew by us. I'm probably the most impatient person in the world, and to be bored for four hours is not a good thing. Pretty soon I'm going to go insane if I have to wait longer.

What bothered me was that everyone was mellow. The remaining fighters were completely cool with laying low and just relaxing for a bit, while as I couldn't stand it. I wanted to be in battle, see some combat. But I was blessed with the glorious job of sitting on my ass waiting for something interesting to happen. Hal was so damn lucky. I'd give anything to be with that group right now. I know I should be appreciative of Weaver wanting me to stay safe and to be here for the civilians, but I don't care about being safe. I was young and I was reckless, and I didn't care if I came back or not from battle. As long as I die serving what's left of my world, I'd be fine with doing so.

"He's trying to warn the skitters! Don't let him get away!"

I snapped up from the ground and saw Rick running as fast as he could from a chasing Ben. Finally, something interesting. There was no way I could catch up to Rick, because of his improved stamina with the harness, but I was going to try and catch up to Ben to see what had happened. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the asshole who called Ben a razorback run after Ben, gun in hand. Oh my God, do I have to save everybody's ass on a regular basis? I jumped onto a flipped car and slid off it easily and charged after the man.

"Damn coat racks are gonna give us up!" he shouted, taking his aim at Ben's back. I grabbed his gun and pointed it towards the sky right as the bullet escaped from the barrel. If I had been a few seconds late, Ben could be dead right now. The ass of a man tried taking his gun back, but I only tightened my hold on it, giving him the darkest look my pale eyes could muster. It must've worked, since he looked about ready to shit himself.

"Don't you ever raise a gun to my son!" Tom yelled at him and ripped the gun out of his hands. Tom ran after a now escaping Rick and towards Ben who was staying at the corner, turned around in case someone tried to shoot at him again.

"Aliens figure out we're here, we're dead!" he exclaimed at me, hating that I saved my friend's life.

"Why don't you save your ammo for them and not these kids?" I spat at him. I'd love nothing more than to put a bullet through his brain, but we needed our fighters alive in case something happens and we have to protect our civilians. So I walked away from my anger and went to Tom to see what our new plan was.

"You going after Rick?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'll try to bring him back," Tom looked over his shoulder, then back at me. "You got this?" he asked, giving me the man's rifle.

I took it. "Just make sure you come back." Tom nodded and turned back to run after Rick, and I turned back to the fighters all watching me. I needed to find Ben to see what just went down, and if Rick really was going to warn the skitters about where we were and our plans. At least something interesting happened I guess. I bursted through the doors of the school, scanning my eyes over all the people in the halls. Ben wasn't here, and I had no idea where he would be. But it gave me something to do before I shot myself out of boredom.

"Kaylee I thought you were with Hal and Weaver!" Matt was looking up at me, confused at my presence.

"I was supposed to be but there was a change of plans. Have you seen your brother?" I tried to ebb the distress in my voice, but I could still hear it loud and clear.

"He's in Dr. Glass's."

"Thanks, Matt," I ruffled his hair and then ran down the halls and skidded into a person running the opposite direction. I always seem to be at the wrong place doing the wrong thing. My feet stumbled in the failed attempt to try and stop before running into the person, but of course I'm not nearly that lucky. I crashed into him with my arms eye level to soften the pain and then we collided. That threw us into an awkward position where his arms were around me so neither of us would fall and my arms were crushed against his chest. And to top it all off, I had collided into Ben Mason.

So, so damn awkward.

I pulled away from him the same time he released me. Just so I didn't die of the awkwardness choking the situation, I cut straight to my question and ignored what just went on. "Ben what happened out there?"

His cheeks were flushed with embarrassment. "I don't want to talk about it." Trying to use one of my classic excuses.

"Considering I just saved your life, I think I deserve an explanation at the least. A 'thanks' might be cool too."

Ben sighed, knowing I was right. Man, I love that feeling. "Rick was trying to get me to go with him, to go back to the skitters. He told me he wanted the harness back and expected me to feel the same way, but I never want to be apart of that life again. So he stole Uncle Scott's radio transmitter to stop us from jamming their frequencies and took off."

"And that's when I saw you two running outside," I finished. "You think he'll come back?"

"I doubt it. He was pretty set on returning and I couldn't convince him to stay."

At that precise moment, I had a total duh moment. "We gotta get the civilians evacuated. Rick's going to tell the skitters everything and the first place they'll come is here." Shit, why didn't this process in my head earlier?

"Hold on," Ben grabbed my hoodie sleeve just as I was about to go get Alyssa to tell her we had to get a head start on evacuating the civilians. "We don't know if he'll make it to them anyways, since my dad went after him. We're just going to have to wait."
"Ugh!" I groaned. "Wait" was seriously becoming a venomous word I hated hearing. "That's all we've been fucking doing today!"

Ben laughed for reasons unknown to me. Most likely due to the fact of how easily bored I get. Whatever the case, it made me want to sock him in the gut.

"So after saving your ass for the third time now, I still don't get a 'thank you'?"

"It has not been three times," Ben frowned, thinking I was over exaggerating.

"Uh, yeah it has. Our first scouting with Karen, when you were in line for food and almost got your ass kicked, and now today. Damn Ben, you're worse than Alyssa," I remarked.

Ben rolled his eyes. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"Saving my life."

"How many times?" I asked like I didn't know.

Ben playfully shoved me. "Shut up. Thank you for saving my life three times. Happy?"

"Damn right."

Rick must not have gone far, because Tom came around the corner with him right then. It had maybe been ten or fifteen minutes since he ran off to get him. By the look on Tom's face, Rick had told them about us, and we were going to have to move out the civilians in order to protect them. Tom told us that there was going to be a meeting in Weaver's office now, and we followed after him. Jimmy was in the front of the room so Ben and I went to stand next to him. It really surprised me how the two of them were becoming pretty good friends, and it also made me happy that both of them had a guy friend around their own age to talk to.

"Okay, we don't have a lot of time so I'm just gonna lay it out. The skitters know where we are, and there's a good chance they're gonna attack," Tom informed the small amount of fighters that were still here. There were probably fifteen or twenty of us left, not a number that made me comfortable when there was probably going to be an attack. "We all hoped we could make it 'til the strike team came back; that's too risky now. So I decided to evacuate the civilians. We're gonna walk them out through the tunnel behind the auditorium. Once through, they'll move west away from the city."

"The skitters have the scent they'll be crawling all over this area. It's not gonna be easy to get around them," my best friend spoke up. Alyssa's cheeks were slightly red, which meant she was pissed, embarrassed, or thinking about Hal and by the stiffness of her body, she was mad about something.

Tom nodded. "That's why I'm going to stay behind with a small group of volunteers." Oh hell yeah. I know I made a promise to take care of the civilians to myself, but this was protecting them. I was going to be fighting for them to buy them time to escape safely, hopefully with Jimmy and Alyssa at my side. Ben was going to be with Scott to jam the skitter communications, otherwise I wouldn't have minded having him fight with us too.

"If the aliens attack, we'll draw their fire, keep them focused on us, maybe open up a window for the civilians to escape."

"But how are we gonna hold off the skitters and mechs? Our best soldiers are with Weaver," Jimmy said softly. It was true; the people with the most fighting experience and wisdom had gone with Weaver to attack the structure, and we were kind of the bottom of the fighter chain, as much as I hate to admit it. I still had a lot to learn about combat and battle, but bravery and weaponry knowledge I had down.

"I know how it sounds," Tom said understandingly. "But I want you to think about where we are. Battles of Lexington and Concord were fought not too far from here. Small force of colonists against the entire might of the British Empire. Nobody gave them much of a change either. Patrick Henry called it, 'the battle is not for the strong alone. It is to the vigilant, the active, and the brave.' A small disciplined militia cannot only hold out against a larger force, but drive it back. Because they're fighting for what rightfully belongs to them. This is our home, our world. So remember that if the come." Despite Tom's lesson in history he gave us (like so many other times he has done), it gave me a little hope. Something I hadn't had during this war. I didn't think we could pull out of this war before and the only thing fueling me was my anger and my hate. But after hearing that, a little burst of hope flowed throughout me, and I was ready to take on these aliens.

"So let's do this," Tom's tone full of confidence and of hope, something we needed now more than ever.

All fifteen or so of us gathered to the barricade, adding what other little things we could find on top of it and picking our battle positions. Jimmy and I were next to each other, and Dai was on my left. Alyssa was somewhere inside, possibly escorting the civilians or something. I don't know if she was going to come out here, since it was going to be a shootout and not a physical contact fight, but wherever she was, I hoped my best friend was safe. Jimmy saw how tense I was, and he took my hand so I'd look at him.

"She'll be fine. She's honestly more safe inside then she is out, so don't worry about her."

I smiled. "How do you always know what I'm thinking?"

Jimmy smiled back and tapped right below his eye. Of course, his eye reading ability. How could I forget?

"This should be a cake walk after taking on a skitter," I told him, grinning slightly.

"Yeah, and if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here right now," Jimmy pointed out.

"Then let's make a pact. You watch my back, I'll watch yours. Deal?"

"Deal." We were told that a scout had seen mechs outside within a mile of where we were at, so Jimmy and I crouched right after that. I slid out of my hoodie and tied it around my waist so I could move my arms more freely. This was my first official and intentional attack, so I wanted to be sure that my aim was absolutely spot on.

"Alright! When they come, nobody shoot until I give the order! You got thirty rounds of mech ammunition each. Let's make every shot count," Tom yelled out to all of us. "Hopefully our families have made it through the tunnel by now."
The iron footsteps grew louder and louder and the voice of what was probably the scout shouted out: "MECH! IT'S COMING!" Well no shit. I loaded my Colt M4A1 Carbine with my mech rounds and braced myself. This was going to get chaotic.

"Everybody down!" Tom yelled and all of the fighters crouched lower.

Jimmy seemed really nervous about this, all of us were, but as far as I knew, this was also his first intentional attack. "There guns spin up before they shoot," I whispered to him. "Like taking a breath. Listen for it."

Jimmy nodded, appreciating the helpful tip. "Okay."

Those next few moments were the most anticipating moments I'd ever been in my fourteen years. Just waiting for that mech to come and get close enough to shoot it was aggravating. I wanted to shoot the damn thing to pieces, but of course I wanted to save my ammo as much as possible. Then I saw Ben in the window next to us, watching the mech. Was the jamming idea not working? I knew we could easily take this one out, but what if more came? Thirty rounds were not going to cut it.

"Easy!" Tom called. "Wait 'til it gets closer!"
The mech stopped, maybe four yards away from us. Tom deemed that close enough, and shouted "Load up and fire!"

So we all stood up and shot the hunk of metal. I kept shooting one after the other at the head of the mech, and ducked when it started firing back. Some damn idiot put packages of garden soil above the school's sign, and dirt was flying everywhere. My hair was probably full of it and I'm positive a ton of it went in my sneakers. And then, the mech shot one of its exploding missiles in the middle of the barricade, and set the grass on fire momentarily. All of us were fine, and we kept blasting at the thing until it fell over, covered with holes.

The fighters cheered. I think this was the ultimate test to see if my bullets really did work on mechs, not just mech pieces. I was thrilled that I had passed, but our moment of happiness ended when the clattering of mech footsteps rang out. By the sound of it, there were at least over five headed our way. Oh, fuck.

"EVERYBODY GET DOWN!" Tom ordered. Jimmy and I ducked. My stomach was turning with nervousness. We had all wasted our bullets on that one mech, and I only had enough extra ammo to kill maybe three of the nine mechs.

"Call out your ammo!" Tom shouted.

"I got two!" Jimmy yelled.

"Three shots left!" I called.

"Four," Dai said to him.

"We're just gonna have to draw fire until we're out of ammo," Tom said.

The churning in my stomach got worse as the seconds flew by. My heart beat grew a little faster, and my mind was giving me thoughts that didn't belong in my head at the moment. Like how if I was going to die, I didn't even say goodbye to Alyssa or give her a hug or something. That I never really got to live out my purpose. How my life really was too short. That I wanted more time to figure things out with Jimmy. I would never know if Weaver's mission was successful. I'd never see Hal, Matt, or even Ben again. I'd never get to play piano again, or any of the instruments I played. And I'd never get to live out the life I wanted.

"You scared too?" Jimmy asked me.

I took a breath. I didn't want him to know that I was considering the fact I might be scared for once, but I really just wanted to get the waiting over with. If I was going to die, I was going to die. And if I was going to live, I was going to live. That's all I wanted to find out. "Stay down until I give you the word. Watch my back."

The window was opened and I heard the groans from Ben. He was carrying some kind of clip while running to the flag pole, and cringing every step he took. That radio must seriously be hurting his head right now. What he was doing now though was going to mess up his head for life; he was practically headed straight into the open.

"Ben! What are you doing?! Get back!" his dad yelled at him.

"Dad, we have a signal, we just have to make it stronger!" Ben replied to his father who was now by his side. How the hell were the mechs not shooting at them? I had to have jinxed that, because as soon as the thought ran across my brain, they began closing in on the Masons.

I closed my eyes and let out a soft sigh. Do it for what's left of this world.

As crazy as I felt, I stood up and fired at the mechs, distracting them from Tom and Ben. Everyone followed after me, and we took out two of them. I was going to reach for the bullets around my belt to try and take out some more, but Tom hooked the clip to the flag pole and the signal spread out through the air. My hand froze when my eyes fully understood what they were seeing.

"Hey, Jimmy," he looked at me, "wanna see something beautiful?" I smiled.

He returned it, and I reached my hand down from the box I was standing on to help him get on top of it too.
All of those mechs were retreating. Retreatingfrom us.

"The mechs are running away from us?!"

"That's right!" Tom shouted. "And this is just the start! WE BEAT 'EM ONCE WE CAN BEAT 'EM AGAIN!"

"YEAH!" The entire group of us shouted, Jimmy and me the loudest. We beat them, we actually beat them. I put my arm around Jimmy, whom I've never seen more excited than now, and we cheered together. Hey, it's not every day two fourteen-year-olds kick ass in a fight and live to tell about it. Now after I really processed death, I wanted to live every second I'm here as if it were my last.

Alyssa's POV

Waiting is possibly the hardest thing on the fucking planet, and that is coming from a person who fights aliens for a living. I had NOTHING to do and it was driving me insane. I hate waiting. I absolutely positively fucking hate it. I am the most impatient person ever.

I was sitting in an old room I found that was a supply closet at one time. In the closet was a window where I could perfectly see the front of the school. I was sitting on an old box labeled 'Mrs. Peters 201' and watching absolutely nothing. Kaylee was sitting at the front of the school, just as bored as me. I was thinking about the attack. Where were they? Was everything okay? Was he okay? Did they see any aliens? Is Weaver doing alright? Did everything go as planned? I couldn't help myself; I was worried. What if they didn't come back?

"He's trying to warn the skitters! Don't let him get away! Damn coat racks are gonna give us up!" I looked up and saw Rick running from Ben and a man chasing Ben with a gun. What the hell?

Kaylee grabbed the man's gun and pointed it to the sky just as he pulled the trigger. "Don't you ever raise a gun to my son!" Tom yelled. That did not just happen.

I got up and sprinted outside to see what was happening. As I ran outside I passed by Ben, who was quickly followed by Kaylee. They were both so focused I don't think either one noticed me. That fucking jackass was going to hear it from me, that's for sure. Who the hell points a gun at a fourteen-year-old? I don't care what the fuck is happening, you just don't do that. When I got outside, I realized this was the ass hole that pitched a fit about not wanting to let their kids go to the Sanctuary and made a scene about not wanting to wait in line for food with Ben because he had spikes.

"HEY YOU!" I yelled and he turned around.

"Who me?"

"Yes you! Who the fuck else?" I said. We were the only two people out here.

"Listen little girl-"

"No you shut the fuck up and listen to me! Why the hell did you point a gun at a fourteen-year-old?"

"He was gonna tell the aliens about us!"

"NO HE WASN'T! I don't give a fuck what is happening on our planet. You don't point a gun at a kid! GOT THAT?"

"He was going to-"

"NO HE WAS NOT! HE WAS TRYING TO STOP THE OTHER KID! BEN IS ON OUR SIDE! BEN WOULD NEVER EVER DO THAT! HE HATES THE ALIENS MORE THAN ANYTHING! HE HATES WHAT THEY DID TO HIM AND HE WANTS THEM GONE! OKAY?! BEN IS LOYAL TO THE SECOND MASS! DO YOU EVEN KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HIM? NO YOU DO NOT! SO NEXT TIME BEFORE YOU GO AND BE A FUCKING JACK ASS AND MAKE SUCH A DRASTIC DECISION, LEARN THE WHOLE STORY! YOU ARE AN ADULT! ISN'T IT SUPOSSED TO BE THE OTHER WAY AROUND?! YOU TELLING THE KIDS THE PROPER WAY TO ACT! NEVER THOUGHT I'D LIVE TO SEE THEY DAY WHEN A FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD HAD TO TEACH A FUCKING ADULT HOW TO ACT! YOU'RE NOT EVEN A FIGHTER! YOU SHOULDN'T EVEN HAVE A GUN! YOU HAVE A KID RIGHT? PUT YOUR SELF IN THAT SITUATION!"

"The only reason the kid is here is because his dad messed up on a mission. Lost all control and took him as well so-"

"His dad's name was Mike. THE ONLY REASON YOUR KID, AND ALL THE OTHERS WHO WENT TO THE SANCTUARY, ARE ALIVE IS BECAUSE HE GAVE UP HIS LIFE FOR THEM GOD DAMN IT! SO NEXT TIME THINK BEFORE YOU FUCKING ACT! Now go inside, sit down and don't do shit. And don't think this won't get back to Weaver."

"Whatever," he said and started to walk away. It took every ounce of strength in me not to turn around and beat that mother fucker to a pulp.

"Oh and if you think my reaction was bad. Just wait until Bens older brother finds out about this. You're in trouble now, but you deserve it you sick bastard!" Just as he walked away, Tom and Rick came walking up. Tom looked part worried part frustrated and Rick looked just plain pissed.

"Thank you, Alyssa, for sticking up for Ben," Tom said.

"Anytime," I replied and walked back to the school. I was heading back to my little closet to do more waiting. Fun. I notice Ben, Kaylee, Tom, Dai, Jimmy and a few other fighters walking to Weaver's office, so I followed them.

"Okay, we don't have a lot of time so I'm just gonna lay it out. The skitters know where we are, and there's a good chance they're gonna attack. We all hoped we could make it 'til the strike team came back; that's too risky now. So I decided to evacuate the civilians. We're gonna walk them out through the tunnel behind the auditorium. Once through, they'll move west away from the city."

"The skitters have the scent they'll be crawling all over this area. It's not gonna be easy to get around them," I said.

"That's why I'm going to stay behind with a small group of volunteers." I want to fight, but I don't. I was in a serious dilemma. It was the second fight I was missing today, but guns weren't really my thing and there are more risks than benefits to put me in a shootout.

"If the aliens attack, we'll draw their fire, keep them focused on us, maybe open up a window for the civilians to escape."

"But how are we gonna hold off the skitters and mechs? Our best soldiers are with Weaver." True.

"I know how it sounds," Tom said knowingly. "But I want you to think about where we are. Battles of Lexington and Concord were fought not too far from here. Small force of colonists against the entire might of the British Empire. Nobody gave them much of a change either. Patrick Henry called it, 'the battle is not for the strong alone. It is to the vigilant, the active, and the brave.' A small disciplined militia cannot only hold out against a larger force, but drive it back. Because they're fighting for what rightfully belongs to them. This is our home, our world. So remember that if the come." Another history lesson. "So let's do this," Tom said with confidence. I decided to help the citizens evacuate. I was heading to go find Dr. Glass and talk to her.

"Alyssa." I turned around to see Tom, Anne and Lourdes standing there. Well that was easy.

"Yes?"

"I'm going to put you three in charge of evacuating the citizens. Go through the tunnel under the auditorium and head west. I have the other fighters getting ready for the attack. Head about a mile and wait and in about an hour send Alyssa back to see what happened. Alyssa," he turned to face me "If you can't find anyone when you get back, or we don't make it, you are to go directly back to the civilians and continue heading west until you find somewhere safe. That's an order."

"Yes sir," I said. Tom turned around and ran back to the front of the school to help the fighters. "OKAY LISTEN UP! WE NEED TO EVACUATE! EVERYONE GO GET THE CARS, EVERYTHING! WE ARE LEAVING THROUGH THE TUNNEL UNDER THE ADITORIUM!" I screamed. All the civilians started rushing around getting ready. Ten minutes later we were under the tunnel, heading west. After about a mile, we stopped. And we waited and waited and waited. It took us about thirty minutes to get out here; with some people driving food trucks and stuff, others sitting in back of cars. Some on bikes like me, and some walking. We had to drive slowly, very slowly. I still had a half hour to wait before I could head back. Soon we could hear the sound of mechs attacking, and our fighter fighting back. After about twenty minutes we heard an ear splitting scream, it was a happy scream. It was the scream of our fighters, victorious in the battle against the mechs. "Anne! I'm gonna go back!" I hoped on my bike and drove as fast as physically possible. Soon I was at the school and I started looking for Kaylee. I ran to our room. She wasn't there but her stuff was. She still wasn't packed, typical of my fourteen-year-old best friend. I was in the room for all of about five seconds when she walked in.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey. Where were you?" she asked, shoving stuff in her black backpack.

"I helped escort the civilians and I came back to pack up. How'd it go?"

"Pretty fun, little mind opening too."

Weirdo. "You seriously haven't changed a bit."

"Neither have you. Except maybe you're more klutzy than you were before."

"No, I'm pretty sure I've always been this klutzy," I smiled.

"Do you want to go hangout here for a bit? Just until the fighters are all ready to go. We haven't had a good conversation in a really long time."

"I'd really like that." I really wanna talk to Kaylee. We haven't talked in a while. "I can't believe I'm actually gonna miss this place." I never thought I'd say that about here of all places.

"It was our home away from home. But I guess it's time we found a new home, a better one." Yeah I guess she was right, like usual.

We walked over to the shooting ranges. We were just gonna talk about stuff. Anything we wanted to talk about. Hang out just the two of us, like before the attack.

"Alyssa, what if we never came to the 2nd Mass? What if we didn't go back with Hal and Ben?" she wondered.

"I can't even picture what our lives would be like. We've met so many great people that we've bonded with so fast and I wouldn't give that up for the world." It was probably one of the stupidest things I have ever done, but it was completely worth it.

"I'm so damn glad I made you come." I hated Hal at the time. Amazing how some things change.

"Shut the fuck up," I said, though I was glad too and Kaylee knew it.

"Come on, you know you love me for it. And it looks like you found your prince charming or whatever the hell you were talking about before they came." I shoved her and she fell into the grass.

"What are you two doing?" a voice called.

"Speaking of," she whispered and I slapped her.

Hal and Ben had walked to where we were sitting and looked down at us. "We were just talking about what our lives would've been like if we hadn't came here with you guys," Kaylee said.

Hal sat down with us as did Ben. "Well, I'm glad you guys did. You've seriously brightened a ton of people here at the 2nd Mass. Weaver, our dad, us, Anne, Matt, Lourdes, and dozens of the civilians."

"What did you guys even do those months before we came?" Ben asked.

Kaylee and I looked each other, and it's like we shared a whole conversation, just through that look. Tons of memories came back to us.

"Generally, we just scouted for food and weapon materials. Occasionally we'd go to my old house or to random places and do stupid things," Kaylee smiled at the memories.

"You don't want to know," I said before Hal could ask us the kind of things we did. Some things are better unsaid. "What did you guys do?"

"We were alone for a month or so, and then that's when Porter found us and recruited us all to the Massachusetts Militia Regiments. And a few months later, we were put into the 2nd Mass. My dad and I spent most of our time trying to find Ben, and after we did, we found you guys," Hal spoke.

"Where is your dad?" she asked.

Hal sighed. "He went to the structure to go help Weaver."

Wait what? "Why'd Weaver send you back?" Kaylee asked what we were both thinking.

"The 4th and 5th never came in, and I think he knew there was a slim chance of us making it back, so he sent me to the school. That's when I told my dad about them being alone." Oh no. that's not good

"I hope they make it back alright."

"They will. They always do," Hal pointed out. Our fighters were on a stupid, dangerous, suicidal mission. But then again stupid, dangerous, suicidal missions are what the 2nd Mass does best. For a while later we just asked each other questions about themselves.

"First time you ever kissed a guy," Hal asked me.

"Ummm…I think it was in like fourth grade and some guy dared me to kiss him and I don't back down from dares. First time you failed a test," I looked at Ben.

"Never."

"I don't find that hard to believe," I laughed.

"First time you made a gun," Ben looked at Kaylee.

"Six."

"Six?!" Hal and Ben said at the same time.

"I learned to make and load one at six, learned to shoot one at seven."

"That's pretty damn young," Hal murmured.

"I built my first bomb when I was nine," she shrugged nonchalantly. Their faces were priceless.

"First fight you've been in," Kaylee asked Hal.

"Why do you assume that I've been in fights?" he asked, pretending to be offended.

"'Cause you act like a douche sometimes," I said. Kaylee and Ben nodded.

Hal rolled his eyes. "I'm feeling the love guys. But I got into a fight with this guy who was picking on a nerdy girl with no friends and I got suspended for a week." That's so sweet!

"We're going guys." A fighter ran up to us and said. Time to head back. The four of us got up and started walking back to the school. We hopped on our bikes and headed out to where the rest of the 2nd Mass was waiting.

Kaylee's POV

The group of us spent the rest of the sunlit day congratulating each other and cheering over our success. I still hadn't seen Alyssa, but I really hoped she hadn't gone with the civilians. I hoped she was still inside someplace so we could hangout and talk because I haven't really gotten to spend time with her the way we used to since we came here to the 2nd Mass. We had a ton of catching up to do.

"Did you see them turn and run?!" Jimmy asked excitedly as we walked down the dimly lit halls of the school. "Maybe we don't have to leave now!"

"The mechs didn't know what hit them," I said, "but they'll be back. You did great out there today," I smiled.

"Thanks," Jimmy said, "so did you. I can't believe you just got up and started firing. That took guts."

"I blame adrenaline. It was a little hard to stand up but I just did it."

I stopped walking when I saw my second commanding officer. "Everyone's just about out," I informed. "How's Ben?"
"As long as Scott's jamming the transmission, he's hurting but he's hanging in there. Thanks for what you did today," Tom patted my shoulder gratefully and started down the hall to go talk to Anne.

Jimmy and I continued down the hall in silence until he asked me a question.

"Were you actually scared today?"

"Not so much scared," I walked slowly, "more like 'if I die now, what am I going to regret not doing and what are the things I'm never gonna see or do again?'"

"Like what?" He glanced at my eyes and then looked forward again.

"I had never said goodbye to Alyssa, I would never play piano again, I wouldn't know if Weaver came back, and I wouldn't be able to figure out how I feel about you." Oh fucking hell, did that just come out of my mouth right now? Remind me to stab myself in the throat later.

Jimmy's mouth spread into a shyish smile. "Feel about me?"

I smiled softly and pushed him lightly. "You know I like you. I'm just not sure how. I've never had a boyfriend-"

"Never?"

"I wasn't exactly the likeable type," I chuckled.

Jimmy stopped walking and stared at me. "Did you ever try and let people in, instead of pushing them away?"

"I always had a difficulty with that. That's something that keeps me from figuring this out. Jimmy, I've lost everything and everyone I've ever cared about, and I don't think I can lose someone like you, too. It's a weakness that I can't afford to have in this war, and if something were to happen to you-"

Jimmy pulled me into one of his famous hugs, wrapping his arms tightly around my shoulders. "I'm not going anywhere," he whispered. "I'm staying here, and nothing's going to happen to me, I promise. And when you figure it all out, I'll be waiting." My insides got all warm again, like they do when he hugs me like this, and he gently kissed my head. What the hell does that mean?! Ah, fuck it, I'll just ask Alyssa or something. I'm pretty sure I was blushing slightly as well. Fantastic.

"I'm going to go take a victory bath."

"What? Kaylee Parker go and do something girly? God forbid!" Jimmy gasped. He was such a fucking dork sometimes, I swear.

I shook my head. "Not girly. I'm just a fan of hygiene." I pointed at the gardening dirt in my hair and saluted him cheesily. "Catch you later."

"See you, Parker."

Holy shit I had a lot to think about on the way to the girls' locker room. I had no idea what I was feeling. I was fourteen for crying out loud; how the hell was I supposed to know if I liked someone? I never had crushes back at school, and no matter how many times Alyssa introduced me to people, I never wanted anything to do with them. I guess that's the thing about this kind of thing: you can't really expect it to happen or force it; it just comes when it comes. What could possibly be my first crush just happened to come seven months after aliens invaded the planet. Fanfuckingtastic. As if I don't have a ton of things on my mind lately, I have another thing added to the list. Ugh, all I wanted was to be a fighter, now I'm stuck with the possibility of being a lover. That word alone made me cringe inside. Love. Love had destroyed my life as a kid, tore my heart out and sewn it sloppily back together, and left scars up and down. What was my heart was a tattered thing that didn't have the strength to love, and I didn't know if I could ever muster enough strength to do it again.

But what if it's different than how I remember it? What if it's something that could heal the holes and erase the scars? Love is what has kept everyone going in this war right, or so they say? Is that why everyone has had more hope than I could ever think of? I can't believe I'm thinking about all of this right now. I need to bang my head on something hard to make these thoughts go away.

Once I entered the girls' locker room, someone had left a bucket of water on the side of the showers. I've never been happier in my life. I took off my gloves and hoodie, dunked my hair into the bucket, and washed my hair out with the shampoo lying around. It felt so great to get all that dirt out of it and for it to feel so clean. I washed my face and the dirt off of my arms and I felt so much better. Regular showers were a close second to things I missed in the world, but music would always come first. Always.

After somewhat drying my hair with a towel, I shook out my hair and walked out of the room. I had to pack up my stuff in Alyssa and I's room; we were leaving in a bit, so I wanted to get everything together and spend dome time with her before we go. Four hours to pack and I didn't even bother. Oh well.

"Hey," Alyssa said once I walked inside.

"Hey," I stopped in the doorframe. "Where were you?"

"I helped escort the civilians and I came back to pack up. How'd it go?"

I moved to my cot and started folding some of my clothes and putting them in my backpack along with my weapons. "Pretty fun, little mind opening too."

Alyssa smiled and shook her head. "You seriously haven't changed a bit."

I crossed my arms. "Neither have you. Except maybe you're more klutzy than you were before."

"No, I'm pretty sure I've always been this klutzy."

I laughed, slinging my backpack over my shoulder. "Do you want to go hangout here for a bit? Just until the fighters are all ready to go. We haven't had a good conversation in a really long time."

She nodded. "I'd really like that." She then turned to look at our room, now as bare as ever. "I can't believe I'm actually gonna miss this place."

"It was our home away from home," I added, looking around the English class we had lived in for the past month. Time sure flew by, and I couldn't imagine living in a better with place with better people. "But I guess it's time we found a new home, a better one."

With one last look at Room 903, Alyssa and I left for the outdoors. We planned to catch up at the shooting ranges, sitting and talking, and that way we would be in plain sight for the people moving the vehicles to come and get us. It was crazy to me that just seven months ago, this school used to be a dreaded place no one ever wanted to go to, and now it was a refuge that survivors appreciated more than anything. Sure I didn't really want to move, but I was glad we'd get a change of scene. We'd be safer and hopefully we'd see more combat (you never heard that from me). The two of us sat down and stared up at the starry night above us. It was beautiful and always had been, and it was something the aliens could never destroy.

"Alyssa, what if we never came to the 2nd Mass? What if we didn't go back with Hal and Ben?" I asked, looking at her for her answer.

"I can't even picture what our lives would be like. We've met so many great people that we've bonded with so fast and I wouldn't give that up for the world."

"I'm so damn glad I made you come," I laughed at the memory. Alyssa despised Hal with all her heart then, and now she liked him. And I hated Ben, but now we were friends. It was so weird how things change so quickly. Alyssa and I were on our own for six months, and then we simply got on our bikes and rode into "civilization" with two people we couldn't stand. Now we were fighters in a resistance force and we had made friends with them.

"Shut the fuck up."

I smiled. "Come on, you know you love me for it. And it looks like you found your prince charming or whatever the hell you were talking about before they came." Alyssa shoved me and I fell onto my back on the grass. I laughed at how she didn't deny that.

"What are you two doing?" a voice called, humor filled in the tone.

"Speaking of," I whispered to her. That remark earned me another slap to my collection of abuse from Alyssa.

Hal and Ben had walked to where we were sitting and looked down at us. "We were just talking about what our lives would've been like if we hadn't came here with you guys," I told them.

"What did you guys even do those months before we came?" Ben wondered.

Alyssa and I looked at each other, throwing flashbacks into one another's eyes. I hadn't thought about it in the longest time. It never was entirely that interesting, but it brought us even closer together than I could imagine.

"Generally, we just scouted for food and weapon materials. Occasionally we'd go to my old house or to random places and do stupid things," I grinned at my best friend.

"You don't want to know," Alyssa said before Hal could ask us the kind of things we did. "What did you guys do?"

"Where is your dad?" I asked.

Hal sighed. He looked like he didn't want to repeat something awful. "He went to the structure to go help Weaver."

My eyebrows rose. "Why'd Weaver send you back?"

"The 4th and 5th never came in, and I think he knew there was a slim chance of us making it back, so he sent me to the school. That's when I told my dad about them being alone."

"I hope they make it back alright."

"They will. They always do," Hal pointed out. The mission our fighters were on was completely reckless, and maybe a little stupid, so I really hoped that all of them were being safe. Hal, Ben, and Matt need a father, especially now of all times. And I knew how damn hard it was growing up with out parents to guide you or be there for you, and I prayed that none of them would go through what I had. It left me emotionless, full of anger and hatred, and dark. I couldn't even begin to describe what hell my parents' death put me in. I wouldn't want that for anyone.

So the four of us sat under the stars for thirty minutes of more, talking about life. We shared stories about our old lives (well, most of us), crazy things we've done, best food we've ever tasted, and first time doing specific things.

"First time you ever kissed a guy," Hal shot at Alyssa. Oh God.

"Ummm…I think it was in like fourth grade and some guy dared me to kiss him and I don't back down from dares. First time you failed a test," Alyssa directed toward Ben.

Hal scoffed as Ben answered, "Never."

"I don't find that hard to believe," Alyssa laughed.

"First time you made a gun," Ben looked at me.

I bit my lip and frowned, trying to think. It was such a long time ago; I had to have been at least six? Seven? Six, yeah I remember it now. "Six."

"Six?!" Hal and Ben chorused. It was really weird how they always do that.

"I learned to make and load one at six, learned to shoot one at seven."

"That's pretty damn young," Hal muttered.

"I built my first bomb when I was nine," I shrugged. Alyssa and I started laughing when we saw the looks on their faces. So freaking hilarious.

Since I knew everything about Alyssa, I went to Hal. "First fight you've been in."

"Why do you assume that I've been in fights?"

"'Cause you act like a douche sometimes," Alyssa stated. I nodded in agreement and I'm pretty sure I saw Ben nodding too.

Hal rolled his eyes. "I'm feeling the love guys. But I got into a fight with this guy who was picking on a nerdy girl with no friends and I got suspended for a week."

Alyssa was about to continue talking when a group of fighters came to get us. "We're going guys."

We got up and started walking to the parking lot with our bikes. I revved up my engine and got on, taking a last look at John F. Kennedy High School. I was gonna miss this place, more than I would admit. But I was gonna have to get used to moving around a lot and to not get to comfortable in a new place. Once food stores around where we were staying at got low or if the aliens found us, we would have to move. I've always wanted to travel, and traveling while fighting has got to be the best way to do it.

Alyssa, Hal, Ben, and I took up the back of the civilians as they walked. I still had no idea how far we were going out, except that we were going west and away from Boston. I think that Anne was leading everyone out, or maybe it was a fighter who knew of a good place to move the 2nd Mass until Weaver got back with the other group. I was pretty bored on my bike, since we were going at like five miles an hour behind the civilians, and I didn't really feel like talking. Everything around me was a blur at the moment, and I just started thinking about random things that came to mind.

It had been a long time since I genuinely let the thoughts in my head flow freely. For some reason, I kept thinking about the life I could've had if the aliens hadn't invaded. I had made a personal decision to get a GED during sophomore year in school and when I turned seventeen, I was going to enlist in the U.S. Army. Personally, I saw no future ahead of me, so I decided that I should actually so something good in my life and serve my country. My uncle had even signed for permission to join when I was thirteen, and I've had that paper in my pocket every since. Come to think of it, the paper was in my backpack at the moment. I have no idea why I kept it, but I guess it's just something of my past that I could hold on to with ease.

My uncle could go on for hours about why he joined the army and why he loved it so much. I used to listen to his stories all the time and I never getting tired of hearing them, even if he told me the same story three times before. My mom thought her brother was crazy for telling an eleven-year-old about killing and weapons and stuff like that, but I didn't care. I was not your Barbie doll playing, pigtail-wearing, pink-loving kid. I was the girl who grew up playing Halo and Legos with her older brother. I was the girl who always wore jeans and a t shirt. I was the girl who was into the rock bands and into the screamo, even at the youngest of ages. I was still that girl, except I was no longer the somewhat happy person I used to be.

After both of my parents passed away, something inside of me broke. I don't know what it was, but since then, feelings began to fade away. Noises began to sound less loud. Everything became less noticeable to my eyes. My clothes changed from normal tomboy colors to pure black. I started having uncontrollable nightmares and occasional hallucinations. I got in fights, and Alyssa constantly tried to pull me out of them. I was suspended numerous times and thrown in detention everyday. I never spoke, not even if I was called on in class. And then the day before I had to go to the principal's office for a "serious" discussion about my behavior (he finally had the smarts to expel me), aliens invaded.

So you can imagine how much I hoped Tom would come back. I could not stand to see the sight of any of the Mason boys turn into me, a broken soul. And I would do everything I could to prevent that process from happening, and if I couldn't, I would be there for them to talk to about it. Tom had to come back. He needed to come back. It was going to burn all of their hope to ashes if Tom didn't make it. I don't even want to think about how Matt's face is going to look if he knows his only parent left died.

This is also why I'm afraid of liking Jimmy. Because no one is guaranteed safety in this world. If I had admitted to liking him and he died, I would revert right back to that phase. It's been seven months since I've done something drastic, like shoving a kid who was mocking me into some lockers, and I want to keep it that way. But our life spans were decreasing rapidly, so I know I would regret it if I never confessed that I did like him. My God, this was too confusing to think about. But it was also nagging me in the back of my brain, because once there's a problem in my life, I can't stop thinking about it until it's figured it out. Which I absolutely hate. But I appreciated Jimmy's patience and how he wouldn't push the subject until I brought it up. That made this whole thing a lot more bearable.

Remember how I told him that I wasn't the likeable type? It wasn't exactly a lie, and it wasn't entirely the truth. Around school, people saw me as the badass who couldn't wait to get the fuck out of high school. For whatever reason, that attracted a few guys who tried and failed to talk to me. Eventually an over persistent guy got his ass kicked (Detention Number 32) by me and that caused everyone to lie off of me. Alyssa was extremely proud to say in the least.

"Just another mile and we're gonna park for the night!" A fighter yelled out to all of the 2ndMass. How long had we been riding? Must've been zoning out again…

That mile went by fast and soon enough we had pulled over to a park to station us for the night. A group of us worked on camouflaging some of our vehicles under the billions of trees, others set up tents I didn't know we had, and a lot of us just anxiously waited around for the group that was at the structure to return.

I didn't know we had, and a lot of us just anxiously waited around for the group that was at the structure to return.

A few agonizing hours passed before we saw the headlights of a truck flash into the park, along with the fighters who had stayed behind. Pope had stumbled out of the vehicle along with an unconscious Anthony, who was wounded fairly badly. Some of the physically stronger fighters came to take Anthony to Dr. Glass's tent and I ambushed Pope. His eye was swollen and he had a few minor cuts here and there, but he was in good shape.

"What happened?" I asked.

"The Cooties came and wiped us out. The Professor sent me back with Anthony; he's planning on blowing the structure still."

"What about Weaver?"

Pope shrugged. "Don't know what happened to him."

"Tom's gonna get himself killed," I shook my head. Things were looking worse and worse the more the night dragged on, and I don't think that Tom was going to make it back. I certainly hoped he would, but the chances were slimmer than they were an hour ago. I could tell it was driving the Mason boys insane. Hal was pacing, Ben was trying to distract himself by talking to Alyssa, and Matt kept asking if his dad was back.

"Kaylee," Matt looked up at me, "do you think they're gonna make it here?" His eyes looked hopeless, broken as my life. He didn't really care about my answer, he just needed to be distracted from the large possibility that his father might not come back home.

I crouched down to him, sighing in the process. "Truthfully, I don't know if they will. But I do know that your father loves you and your brothers more than anything in the world, and I know he'll stop at nothing to be with the three of you again. The only thing we can do right now is hope that they'll come back and have faith that they will."

Matt gave me a tight hug, and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. I knew he wanted to cry, but I think he was trying to be strong. Matt was an incredible boy who could brighten a room by simply smiling; he was the sweetest kid you'd ever meet. He deserved a future with a dad leading him down the right path, not a future full of guessing and wrong turns. Believe me, it's the most damn awful thing that could happen to a young kid. Matt was two years younger than I was when I lost my parents, and if it was absolutely hell for an eleven-year-old, I couldn't imagine what it would be like on a nine-year-old. I kissed Matt's curly hair and then ruffled it. I stood up again and then walked over to Jimmy, who was leaning on a tree waiting like the rest of us.

"How're you holding up?" Jimmy stared at my eyes.

"I just want this day to be over. It's been too damn stressful."

Jimmy opened his right arm, offering the warmth of his body heat (it had to be thirty degrees out right now) and the comfort of his heart. I gladly leaned my head on his shoulder and let him place his arm around me. How the fuck was he so warm?! It would probably snow soon since winter was approaching, and he was radiating like a heater.

"You're so cold," Jimmy chuckled quietly.

"No, you're just warmer than hell."

He laughed again, and rubbed my jacket covered arm to make it warmer. "It's just because I'm next to you right now."

I looked up at him then punched him in the arm. "Nice try."

"You're blushing, so I think it worked."

I punched him harder. "Shut up." I could feel my cheeks hot, so there was no point in denying it. I hated blushing; I also hated showing my emotions unless it was voluntary but this was the one thing I couldn't control. And it pissed me off.

"Did you ever have a girlfriend before the attack?" I asked randomly.

"I was thirteen when they attacked, which was a little young, but I was thinking about asking this one girl out. Then the aliens attacked and I never got the chance. But what sucks about this war is that my memories of the past are starting to slip away. I don't even remember her name or why I liked her in the first place…"

"I'm having a hard time remembering classmates and the names of my teachers. Or even what my house looked like. I hate that not only they're trying to take Earth from us, but now they're trying to take away my memories too. Sure I'd like to forget my past, but it's all the good things I'm forgetting, not the bad."

Jimmy skimmed his thumb back and forth on my shoulder, looking around the tented park. "We're just going to have to make new ones then. And being here with you, for however long we do survive, is a memory I'll never forget."

"We're going to make it through this Jimmy. And we're gonna be down in the history books."

He smiled down at me, and then looked around us again. Being here, right now in this moment was a memory within itself. Talking with Jimmy always made me feel calmer and less angry with the world. Something about his outlook on life and his personality makes me think of my future and forget the dark days behind me. I don't know; when I'm with him I feel…different. Less silent, less mad, and more of who I used to be.

So we stood there, me leaning on his shoulder with his arm wrapped around me, in the ice cold weather of Massachusetts for the longest time. We didn't move, didn't speak; we just stood while we watched a memory create in front of us. Eventually I fell asleep on his warm shoulder, but before I was fully sleeping I remember him pushing my bangs behind my ear and kissing the side of my head softly, making my body as warm as he was now.

My eyes opened to the sound of a truck engine rumbling and the headlights that shined like the moon above us. Jimmy and I were still against the tree, and I wondered how long I had been asleep on his shoulder.

"How long was I asleep?"

"About an hour and a half. Maybe two, I wasn't paying attention to time."

"You could've woken me up," I said feeling bad for having him stay in an uncomfortable position for so long.

"You were tired and I wanted you to sleep for a bit. I needed a little time to think anyways," Jimmy said, turning to look at who had come back.

The entire 2nd Mass had crowded around the beat up truck to see if we had any more survivors. I was praying that a few of them had at least made it back together, since we needed as many fighters as possible. We couldn't afford casualties now. This war had just begun, and if we lost fighters as early as we were now, things would be bad later.

My heart sank when only Weaver came out of the truck, alarmed and scared. And it sank even farther when I realized something:

Tom Mason was no where to be found.

Alyssa's POV

Hal, Ben, Kaylee, and I road to where we had evacuated the 2nd Mass. Tom, Weaver, and a few others still had not returned. We waited a little, and then Dai and a couple more fighters took the lead of the group of civilians and we started our journey west, away from the aliens and the structure over Boston. We were going away from Kaylee and I's home since birth. When I looked at her, she was frowning slightly, something she did when she was lost in thought. I was surprised that she didn't crash. Hal and Ben were on their bikes a bit ahead of us. Matt was sitting on the back of the food truck. We drove and drove until the work around us started to become totally unfamiliar. I had never been up this way in my life.

It had been close to an hour when I started to get worried. What if something really bad happened? What if they couldn't find us?

"Just another mile and we're gonna park for the night!" yelled a fighter. I looked up at the sky and realized how late it was. It took us about thirty minutes to make that last mile, but when we did, we stopped at a park. People started setting up tents and stuff. Kaylee was standing there watching everyone. Hal was pacing back and forth, and Ben was fidgeting as he stood next to me impatiently, and Matt didn't know what to do. He watched his brothers and could tell something was wrong. Then Matt and Kaylee started talking. He was talking to her because his older brothers weren't responding.

"Alyssa?"

I turned to Ben. "Hey, Ben." He was extremely worried.

"Where do you think they are?"

"I don't know. But they're going to come back. It could be three minutes or three hours, or it could be three weeks or three months. But I know that they will come back. Your dad would go travel to the ends of the earth to get back to you three."

"Us five," Ben smiled.

"What?"

"He considers you and Kaylee the two daughters he never had. He thinks of you guys as family; we all do."

"Thanks, Ben," I smiled back. "That means more than you'll ever know." I looked around at the people of the 2nd Mass. We were just two bitchy, loud (well only one of us is loud), smart ass teenage girls who walked up one day to these peoples' home. They let us become part of their family. And this whole family thing was a new feeling for Kaylee and me, since it had always been just us two. But it was something I could definitely get used to.

And this henceforth concludes Season One of Hate, Envy, Loss, Love guys! Alyssa and I are making Season Two the other half of H.E.L.L. and Season Three will be a new title!:D Thank you all for making it this far with us and that are going to continue on with us! I think we might take a shortish break, simply because we are having a Season One and Two marathon with a few of our friends who want to see it:D We have a lot of plans already for the next season, but we want to watch all the episodes together before we start writing it all down:D So don't freak if we're a little inactive for a bit, we're just making our story as great as it can be for you all! Until I see you next,

Keep The Resistance Strong, And Falling Skies On.

-Parker

What did you think of the little Carter/Ben brother sister moment there at the end? just wait until these next few chapters come up. We have AMAZING ideas, and those ideas may include a few birthday parties and some possible Ben/Kaylee bonding and more Alyssa/Hal stuff!

~Carter