Season Three: Episode Six (Be Silent and Come Out)

Ericka walked briskly down the street with Maggie. "This is crazy. Tom wants to run off after them, he's going to get his sons killed." Ericka spoke disapprovingly. She wanted to go look for Anne and Lexi like everyone else, but they had to be smart about it. Maggie gave her a strange look. "He loved Anne and Lexi, you would do the same." she stated. Maggie made it sound like Ericka didn't understand what was at stake, like she didn't care about either of them. "No, I wouldn't. He's being rash, he isn't thinking this through. Colonel Weaver said it when we were out on the search last time; if Anne or Alexis were dead, we would've found them. That means Karen has them for a reason. Last time they threatened Tom with Ben, this time they'll do it through Anne and the baby. They aren't prisoners, they're bargaining chips." Ericka explained her thoughts. She sighed and stopped Maggie by putting a hand on her arm. Her blue eyes my Maggie's brown ones. "I love Tom like he's my dad and I respect him. But, I won't let him get himself killed. I want to look for them too. I just think we should be smart about it." she finished. Maggie nodded, but spotted Hal and jogged away. Ericka saw Ben and Colonel Weaver, she headed over to them. "Anything from scouts?" Weaver questioned. She shook her head. "Nothing useful." Ericka replied.

There was a moment of silence. "What do you think of this, Ericka?" Colonel Weaver asked. She raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean?" she questioned in return. "About Anne and Alexis, why do you think that we haven't found them? What do you think is going on?" he explained. "Honestly, I think it's a trap. Tom's powerful, they want Tom. Karen knows how to get to him, the aliens know. By taking Anne and Alexis, they're hoping to draw out Tom." Ericka stated. He nodded in agreement. The three of them were walking around, scoping things out. After she had spoken, no one really said anything. There was a crash and Colonel Weaver left them. "So, you think it's a trap?" Ben repeated. She nodded and looked at him. "Do you think I could talk to the Rebel Leader?" she questioned suddenly. He raised an eyebrow at her suspiciously. Ericka was occasionally freaked out when the Skitters talked through Ben. Multiple times she tried to focus on him, but couldn't. His voice was so technical, so robotic. He was being controlled and she didn't like that. But she had to ask a question that had been bothering her. "Uh...sure."

He took her to see the Rebel Leader. Ben's spikes glowed blue and his eyes looked distant. No one else was in the room. "I've got a question that's been running through my mind. You know that President Mason's daughter is a hybrid, half-alien and half-human. My question is that is it possible that the Espheni manipulate President Masons DNA while he was their captive?"

Ben spoke in his robotic tone, "That is a good question, though I am unsure of how to answer it. If you like, I can get some information."

She opened her mouth to reply, but the door opened. Ben was released from the hold of the Rebel Leader. At the door was Maggie, she looked panicked. "What's going on?" Ben and Ericka inquired at the same time. "Come with me, I'll explain on the way." she said in a rushed tone.

...

"Wait a minute; you're saying the mole we've been looking for is Hal?" Marina whispered in shock. Maggie looked ashamed that she had been keeping such a big secret. "I should've told you sooner." she replied with regret. Something didn't feel right about Hal being the mole. Having an implant was one thing, but could he have really done that? Ericka concentrated on her thoughts. Pope started getting into an argument with Maggie and Colonel Weaver. Then Ben joined in. When Pope made another comment that angered Ben, he punched him. Colonel Weaver had to pull Ben off of him. All she could do was sit there next to Matt and think. Her eyes followed Colonel as he went out to talk to Hal. Looking over at Matt, she could see he was afraid. The aliens killed his mom, took Anne and Alexis, and now Hal was possessed by them. She leaned over and whispered to him. "If anyone asks, I'm with the second group securing the back."

He didn't ask questions, but Maggie did. "Wait, where are you going?"

Then she lied, straight to her face. "To help secure the back." Ericka stated. She needed to find a way into the building. She jogged away, looking for any other way into the building. Every way she turned, it was covered. There had to be a way in. "Dammit Hal!" she muttered, glaring at the door. It took her another ten minutes, but she found a way. Now all she had to do was get Maggie. Colonel Weaver was right about it being a risk, but they had to try. Maggie was their best shot to talk down Hal. She was right too, she could get through to him. Ericka saw Matt, Maggie, and Ben coming her way. A smile formed upon her lips. "This way." she said, nodding with her head. Ben quickly checked inside, up the stairs. He waited for everyone else to go in first. "Helping to secure the perimeter my ass." Maggie said smirking. "I wanted to find a way in. If anyone can talk Hal down, it's you or Tom, Maggie." replied Ericka.

...

Matt entered the room and Hal moved his gun to point at him. He was gasping and sweating. "You can do this, Hal. You can fight it." he told his older brother. Ericka stood beside Matt, ready to push him away if Hal pulled the trigger. He screamed and pointed at Tom. Cocking the weapon, he turned and moved over to Matt. Ericka grabbed his hand, pulling him slightly behind her. "No, you're not going to hurt him. You're not going to hurt your family!" Tom called out to his son. As Ericka looked into his eyes, she could tell he was struggling to fight it. "Hal!" he shouted, "Give me the gun." Hal started to back away. He was doing it, he was fighting it. Then he turned the gun on himself. Hal was threatening to pull the trigger. They pleaded with him not to do it. He muttered a sorry. Suddenly, Ben rushed him from behind while Maggie and Tom did it from the front. A shot went off. Ericka didn't stop Matt as he ran to his family. She watched them with tears brimming her eyes. She didn't want anyone to get hurt. Heading for the window, Ericka shouted down to Weaver. "Colonel Weaver, Hal's down, get in here!"

Dan gave the orders and soldiers came charging in. "He's alive." Tom stated. She rubbed her eyes. Ericka left to guide the men up.

...

She was in the waiting room. Ericka listened carefully to what Lourdes said. Tom and Maggie voiced their concerns. She just hoped Hal was going to be alright. When Ben suggested talking to the Rebels, she tagged along with him and Tom.

...

After the Rebel Leader finished explaining how it worked, Tom left. Ericka was just about to follow when Ben started speaking again. "Ericka, wait." His voice was still monotonous. It held no emotion and even though it was her boyfriend's voice, it still didn't sound like him. She paused and nodded for him to continue. "About that question you asked earlier. We've concluded that with Espheni technology and knowledge that it's very likely that it is possible to alter human DNA." he said. Her heart sunk and her head started pounding. She gave a false smile. Muttering a quick 'thank you', she turned and walked away.

Ericka headed down the hall to her room. Once inside with the door shut, she slid down against it until her butt hit the floor. Her head was throbbing. The information she just found out was terrible. This could mean that Tom wasn't quite human either, though that didn't seem likely. She put her head in her hands. Ericka was angry; angry at the aliens, this was their entire fault. Why did they ever come here?

...

She spent hours in her room, just thinking. Someone had come and told her that Hal was alright. The procedure worked and they got the bug out. She was just sitting in silence, staring at the ceiling. Earlier she took a few of the painkillers she found, hoping she would find some sleep. Sure enough, she did. There was a knock on her door. Ericka sat up and told whoever it was to come in. Tom entered the room with a bag over his shoulder. She raised an eyebrow up at him. "We have Anne's location. Only the boys and I are going. Do you want to come?" he asked her with a slight smile. This seemed like a Mason-only field trip, so it meant a lot to her that he would ask her to come. "I would love too. It'll take me like five minutes to pack. I'll meet you guys out there." responded Ericka. He nodded and shut her door behind him.

...

"Let's mount up!" Tom ordered. She climbed up on the horse, getting ready to go. All Ericka could think about were the painkillers in her bag. "Hey Lyle! Remind me to pull the old eye bug defense when someone tried to lock me up." he joked aloud. Hal looked at him, then looked away in shame. "Don't let it get to you." Ben told Hal. Ben and Hal's horses trotted away, not replying. Ericka was growing sick and tired of Pope. "After being thrown in jail repeatedly, the same excuse is going to get old Pope." she retorted, passing him. He didn't glare or throw back another comment, but he grinned. That was the first insult she had said in a while. Maggie and the Masons weren't the only ones who noticed the change in Ericka over the past seven months or so. The fire in her seemed to go out after Karen electrocuted her with a glorified alien walking stick. Maybe the fire wasn't gone after all. They headed out, beginning their search for Anne.

AN: I am NOT saying Tom is an alien. Though I sort of believe the aliens corrupted his DNA, I'm not saying it's true. And Ericka is unsure. She doesn't know what to believe. Painkillers can make people fall asleep if you take enough. Please review and tell me what you think. Is anyone else sad that there are four episodes left in this season? And who else thinks that Marina is the mole!?