Season Three: Episode Five (Search and Recovery)

Ericka and Hanna were walking down the halls. The girls were bored and had nothing better to do than play Truth or Dare. "Ok, Ericka. Truth or dare?" Hanna questioned her, giving a creepy stare. She chuckled at her friend. It had been a while since she could just hang out with her. "Um...dare. No one ever picks dare anymore." she stated thoughtfully. Part of her hoped that Hanna wouldn't come up with anything too insane, another part of her wanted a thrill. The younger girl thought to herself. Her face had a concentrated look on it. "I dare you to..." An evil smile appeared in her face. She whispered something into Ericka's ear. Ericka gasped, peering at her in shock. "No way!" she refused loudly. "Oh come on, stop playing innocent. You've mentioned some of the things you did before the invasion. This isn't as bad." Hanna rationalized. Just as Ericka was about to reply, Matt ran up to her in a panic. Her eyes softened at the sight of the boy. "What's going on, Matty?"

"Anne and Alexis are gone." he gasped to her, trying to catch his breath. Her first thought was why? Why would Anne leave? Where they taken? She was confused, so all she could do was follow him as she racked her brain for anything. Anne didn't seem unusual. Nothing seemed wrong when she babysat before. But, there was something wrong; something that made her leave. Or maybe she was taken? That's possible too. Who would want to take her?

...

They all looked to Ericka when Dan and Marina left the room. She quirked an eyebrow. "What?" she asked innocently. "You have nothing to say?" Ben questioned in surprise. She shrugged, "I was listening."

"Yeah, but you've been a lot quieter in the past seven months." commented Maggie. "My mouth gets me into certain situations I would like to avoid." she stated. Something didn't make sense to Ericka. Even if Anne did leave, where would she go? Anne was smart and she knew that she couldn't protect that child outside of Charleston by herself. So, where would she go?

...

Ben held out a hand for Ericka. She tried not to smirk as he pulled her up on the horse with him. Her arms wrapped securely around his chest. She could practically feel him smirk. He was enjoying this. "Try not to enjoy this too much." she said, causing him to laugh. "I think you're enjoying this more than I am." he replied, gently pulling the reigns to make the horse move. She blew a strand of hair that had come out of her side-braid aside. A light drizzle began to fall from the sky. Groaning, she yanked the hood of her jacket I've her head.

Great, just what we need, she thought.

...

Ericka stayed by the horses. She scoped out the area, looking for any signs of aliens. Something didn't seem right to her. Then she heard the commotion. Glancing over to them, she saw Dan and Ben lean over. From her view on the ground, she couldn't see. "It isn't Anne!" Colonel Weaver called out. A part of her was relieved. She noticed a building nearby that her instincts told her to check out. Usually, it was something she would never do, but something was urging her to go. "Weaver? I'm going to check something out." she told him. Ericka let her gun sling on her shoulder as she pivoted on her heel. She untied the horses reigns and climbed on. Before anyone could protest, she was off. Hal seemed to be the only one to notice. He watched her as she took off on the horse. She wasn't galloping through the wind or anything too dramatic, just a simple, steady speed. The others were more concerned about burying the woman.

It took her exactly four and half minutes to get there. She had even counted each second. A part of her criticized herself for going alone. The building wasn't as tall as the others, but it could still be spotted. It was a small pharmacy. She climbed off the horse carefully. The last thing she needed was to slip and hurt herself. She tied the reigns to a flagpole. Holding up her gun, Ericka went inside keeping an open eye. Ericka tried to focus on all of her surroundings. She checked out the entire place. It was clear; no aliens or bodies of any kind. Most of the shelves were cleaned out.

Wondering if there were any left, she searched the shelves for sleeping pills. Lourdes hadn't been able to get her any. And she longed for a good night's sleep. Ericka hadn't found any sleeping pills, but she did find pain killers. She pocketed the container and left.

When she strode up on the horse, her eyes found the freshly dug grave. Ben headed over to her and helped her down. "Where were you?" he asked. "I saw something and went to check it out." she replied.

(just after Ben tells Matt about the pink tennis shoes his mom had)

Ericka approached Ben, placing a hand on his back. She heard the story he told Matt. It was upsetting, but everyone had dad stories in this world. He forced a smile. The memory of his mom was still fresh in his brain. Talking to Matt brought question into his head. Did she die alone? Did someone see her body? He was thinking more about her now. It wasn't that he didn't love or miss his mom. And he didn't want to forget her either. Questions like these, should they even be asked? Did he even really want to know? His mom was in a better place. Maybe he needed to let it go.

...

"That story, about your mom..." Ericka dragged out. "What about it?" he questioned as the horse slows go a stop. The rain was starting to pick up again. They dismounted and searched the area for any signs of Anne. "I don't know. I want to say something, but I don't know what to say." she honestly answered. Her mind was drawn a complete blank. And it didn't help that she was carrying pills in her pocket. The small container felt like a giant weight. "You don't have to say anything." Ben responded. Most of the ride had been silent; she didn't like silence. Ben found a cloth on the road. It was drenched in rain water, dirt, and who knows what else. He offered a slight smile when he caught her staring at him. She smiled back, but went back to work looking for any evidence she could find. Something on the ground caught her eye. Ericka pointed past Ben to the ground. Looking down, he sighed. "Skitter tracks! Human ones too." he notified Weaver and the others.

Ericka felt for the pills in her pocket. There had never been a time where she even thought about taking drugs. When she got shot, they gave her pain killers after she got out of the hospital; getting shot hurts like hell. Maggie placed a hand on her shoulder. Something seemed off about Ericka lately. She seemed exhausted somehow. "You ok?" Maggie looked at her with concern. The younger girl's attention snapped up. She nodded and went to the horse. Ericka climbed on and this time, she was the one who offered Ben her hand. A smile framed his face. She loved his smile. The ride back was silent and this time, she didn't mind it.

...

A thought that crossed her mind often was death. Fighting in the Resistance risked her life every day. Death was bound to happen to everyone, but how? Did the thought of death scare her? Of course, it scared everyone. Ericka realized about seven or eight months ago that death was unavoidable. The only thing she could do was live every day like it was her last. The dare Hanna asked of her was for Ericka to a tattoo. Maybe she should do it. Just for fun. With Anne running away and death one everyone's mind after finding that woman, maybe her friends could use a little laugh.

...

Ericka came in with Ben holding his hand. Hal, Maggie, and Matt were with them. After hearing what happened to Tom and Pope, it was nice to know they were ok. And all of them were excited he was ok. Tom was greeted with warm welcomes.
"Dad!"
"Great to see you again, dad."
"Glad you made it."
He smiled up at his sons. "I'm glad I made it too." Tom replied. "This is why I prefer to drive instead of fly." Ericka commented, causing Tom to laugh light-heartedly. She was glad he wasn't dead. Tom had been a father to her during this chaotic invasion. Plus, the Mason boys didn't need to lose their dad too. Sighing, he looked around and noticed someone was missing. "Where's Anne? Where's Alexis?" he quizzically. Ericka gave him a sad look. No one wanted to answer that question, no one really knew how. Who should even be the one to tell him? The silence seemed to concern Tom. He kept calm, but looked to Dan. "Dan, where's Anne?" Tom repeated.

The colonel didn't seem like he wants to be the one to tell him that his wife and child were missing. "There's no easy way to say this, Tom, so I'm just going to say it. Anne and Alexis are missing. Gone."

Ericka waited for him to say something, but he didn't.

AN: Sorry for any mistakes, didn't get the chance to run spell check. I would like to thank the guest who reviewed as well as they two people who followed/favorited the story ( and FallingSkiesLuvr). This chapter is dedicated to the three of you. Please review! :)