Season Two: Episode Nine (the Price of Greatness)

Ericka stood close to Captain Weaver and Tom; she could just barely overhear the conversation between the two men and Colonel Porter. The city of Charleston was actually beneath the destructed city. When they entered what appeared to be a large cafeteria bustling with people, the noises quieted. All eyes fell upon them. "What are they staring at?" Pope questioned gruffly. There were so many people. Ericka could smell the freshly cooked food. A slow clap erupted, turning into a roar of welcoming cheers. They were newbies, guests in someone else's home; but nevertheless they were welcomed. Hanna yanked on her arm excitedly.

A group of girls came up to Ericka and Hanna, appearing to be glamorous and bubbly. They looked like the type of girls Ericka would try ignore at school, the rich, popular, and snotty type. She liked to have genuine friends, people she could trust. There were three total; two blondes and a brunette. Aside from her position in the middle, the brunette seemed to be the obvious leader of the group. The girls' appearance wasn't like Ericka and Hanna's. They seemed to be leaving the good life here in Charleston. The three girls would probably never lift one of their manicured fingers. They were spoiled brats. Ericka noticed the blonde highlights in the brunette's hair. She just wished she had a haircut to get rid of her dead-ends. "Oh! Newbies!" the shorter blonde on the left cheered. "Yay!" the other said excitedly. The one in the middle with the light brown hair put her hand in the air, silencing them like a queen would do to peasants. The blondes silenced almost instantly. "Hi, I'm Kathleen. This is Linda and that's Jessie." she said, gesturing to the girl on her left and right.

Okaaaaay, so what do you want, Ericka mentally questioned. Hanna smiled at her possibly new-found friends. Ericka wasn't always around to talk to Hanna, though they were still friends. She needed someone who could be there when Ericka wasn't. "I'm Hanna Jackson and this is Ericka Preston." she introduced when Ericka remained silent. Kathleen's lips parted, almost as if she were shocked. Linda replied, "Seriously? That's Kathleen's last name too!"

Ericka wrote it off as a coincidence. 'Preston' was a common last name; or at least she thought it was. "Cool, where did you grow up?" Ericka questioned, forming the fakest smile. She couldn't stand the girl. "Right here in Charleston, South Carolina. What about you?" she questioned back, flashing the same smile. "Somerville, Massachusetts." She answered with a hint of pride. Somerville was a town just outside of Boston. It was a small community with neighbors that knew when to mind their own business, well, most of them. Kathleen gave a snort and eye roll, causing Ericka to fold her arms across her chest. "No kidding; my dad left my mom after having an affair with her and headed back to his family in Somerville." Kathleen explained. Ericka's nails dug into her arm, almost drawing blood. If it stung, she didn't feel it; she was far too angry. "Ericka, can I talk to you?" Hal interrupted, pulling her away from the group of girls. He noticed her a few minutes ago, talking to the trio with Hanna. Kathleen eyed Hal, checking him out as they left. When they were far enough away from the group, he stopped. Hal turned and looked at her seriously. "Yes?" she questioned, a bit annoyed that he pulled her away like that.

She knew he was only looking out for her, but she would've beaten that girl to the ground. A cocky grin grew on his face. "Nothing. You just looked like you wanted to bash her face into the ground." Hal told her with a matter-of-fact tone. "I didn't like girls like her before and I don't like them after." Ericka said, defending herself. All of a sudden they both started laughing. The trio stared at us as Hanna walked over. "Ok, I don't need new friends THAT bad." she said when she reached them. By the way Kathleen was gazing at Hal, Hanna and Ericka could tell she had a crush. "She is totally picturing you naked, Hal." Ericka commented, nodding over at Kathleen, who gritted her teeth. His eyes slightly widened and he gave a nervous laugh. She was around three years younger than him. In his opinion, she wasn't even that pretty; but it could be because the only woman he ever thought about now was Maggie. He was falling hard for her.

Ericka could tell that Kathleen was burning holes in her back as they walked back to the 2nd Mass. Ouch, that really hurts, she thought sarcastically. She didn't care about anything the girl said or did. They headed straight for the food line. She ravenously waited in line. Once she got her food, she sat down at a table with Hanna, Hal, Maggie, and Lourdes. They enjoyed the fresh food like they hadn't eaten in weeks. It was so delicious; even Lourdes, who was still quite depressed, was hungrily enjoying it. Everyone else seemed awestruck by the glorious city of Charleston. There was fresh food, running water, warm beds. It was a paradise; ten times better than it should've been. Someone tapped on Ericka's shoulder, so she turned around. What she wasn't expecting was Kathleen to be standing behind her next to a much older woman. She could see the family resemblance. They had the same color hair, she almond-shaped eyes. Truth be told, Kathleen appeared to be a much younger version than her mother. "That's her." Kathleen venomously spat. The table had gone silent, stopping the random chatter that was going on before the woman and her daughter arrived.

"Is your father by any chance, Mark Preston?" the woman questioned her nervously. Ericka nodded, even if her daughter was evil (which Ericka was 89% sure of) she wasn't going to be mean to this woman (unless, however, she deserved it) "Is he here?" she asked, her hazel eyes hopefully searching Ericka's blue ones. "No, he's dead." Ericka replied politely. She gulped, avoiding the woman's eyes.

"I am so sorry. I know this may seem a bit sudden, but in March of 1997 your father had an affair with me." the woman started to explain. Ericka's jaw dropped in shock. Her father would never have ever done that. He wouldn't ever cheat on her mom, especially not after she was born only a few months before. "I realize that this may be hard for you to believe, but_" she cut Kathleen's mom off mid-sentence. "Please don't bother me ever again."

The woman nodded and grabbed her daughter's arm, marching away. She didn't know what to believe. Ericka always thought of her dad as a hero. Now, he was just a cheater and a liar. Turning back around to her friends, she frowned. Most of them gave her looks of shock or sympathy. She pushed the tray of food away, suddenly not so hungry. She didn't want to believe it was true, but something in the pit of her stomach said it was.

…

Ericka was far less than thrilled that they were trying to confiscate their weapons. She understood that this was their home and therefore their rules, but she wasn't happy. Most of their soldiers haven't even seen any alien action. Not to mention that most of the people in Charleston didn't even know how to defend themselves. Then there was the fact that the 2nd Mass was being spread around. She didn't like it at all. Regrettably, she handed her gun away.

…

She quickly came to the conclusion that she didn't like Charleston. The people here were set on doing things their way, which was different from how the 2nd Mass operated. Then there were the rumors. She didn't care what people thought, but she wasn't about to let them get away with thinking that they were cowards. She caught the stares and whispers as she passed through the halls.

We're better without them, she thought with the shake of her head. They should be fighting the aliens, not hiding below ground in some safety shelter. Ericka was listening to Jeanne give her speech on "open mike night". She knew that none of this was actually going to happen. It was just a vent for people to get out their emotions. She sat next to Matt. Arthur Manchester got up, introducing Tom to the people. Everyone in Charleston showed up to this event. She smiled proudly at him during his speech. He was absolutely right; they couldn't hide forever. Near the end of it, he was interrupted by a soldier running in and requesting General Bressler. She only caught fragments of their short conversation; "…found…deharnessed boy…message…Tom Mason…"

Her eyes widened, could it be? Had Ben finally returned to them? She turned to Hal, who seemed to be thinking the same thing.

Not even ten minutes later, she noticed a boy being lead to where they kept prisoners in Charleston. She frowned, knowing that no one listened to them. That's when she truly realized that the 2nd Mass didn't belong there. They had their own way of life, their own way of doing things. Most of the crowd cleared out by now, leaving very few people in the room. Ericka left in search of Tom. She wanted to know what the boy had told him, or if there was any news of Ben.

Her eyes flickered down the end of the hall, where an argument was taking place. It was Kathleen and her mom.

"You were a mistake! If I hadn't gotten pregnant, he never would have left. You ruined my life! You insignificant little brat!" her mother shouted angrily. Then she slapped Kathleen across the face. Her mother stomped off as she reached up to touch her burning, red cheek. Kathleen had wavy brown hair that reached all the way down to her waist. It was a light caramel color with blonde highlights. She looked fit for someone who seemed to barely lift a finger. There were freckles dotted her face across her nose and cheeks. Her teary hazel eyes darted over to meet Ericka's stormy blue ones. She may not have liked this girl, but didn't entirely hate her. After seeing what she just went through, she felt bad for the girl.

Walking over to her, she thought of what to say to her. Right off the back, Ericka and Kathleen disliked one another. Seeing that just proved that she didn't know exactly who her half-sister was. "I'm sorry…about your mom. I don't know you and I don't know her, but I know my dad. He wouldn't have left you like that. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think he really knew about you. Though we don't exactly get along, you'll always have a sister." Ericka told her. Though Kathleen was a few months younger, they were still the same age. Kathleen smiled and suddenly hugged her. She hugged her half-sister back. "Thanks." she whispered. Maybe they wouldn't be best friends, but they would be sisters. She knew that their time here in Charleston was growing short. Ericka wondered whether Kathleen would want to join her or not if the 2nd Mass decided to leave.

…

They were all ready to leave, loading up their guns. Suddenly, the door across from them was kicked in. "Drop your weapons and stand back!" Tector shouted. They scattered, taking defensive position. Ericka was kneeling on the ground beside Hal. More men came from down the stairs. They were severely outnumbered. Tom, General Porter, General Bressler, and Captain Weaver argued back and forth. They were arrested under the orders of Arthur Manchester. One of the soldiers cuffed her hands behind her back. The 2nd Mass was all rounded up like cattle. They were kneeling on the floor while others held guns up as guards.

She really didn't like this place now.

…

"Open the cells; let them out, all of them." General Bressler ordered. Ericka couldn't help but grin while the others remained confused. "Get your hands off of me." Arthur said, being shoved into one of the cages they were just released from. He argued about how he built this community and how 'they couldn't do this'. The city of Charleston was now being run by the military, which wasn't what Tom wanted. Now was their chance to meet with the Rebel Skitters and they had to take it, whether Tom liked it or not.

"Nice work boys, looks like you dropped us all in the middle of an old-fashioned coup." Pope said, looking between the general and Tom.