Season Three: Episode Seven (the Pickett Line)

Ericka stared at the bottle of pills in her hands. She hadn't taken any since that one night in Charleston. She didn't know why she brought them. Stuffing them back inside her pack, she sighed. Knowing that once they got back Anne and Alexis they probably wouldn't be going home, she thought about where they would be going next. With Alexis being half alien, they couldn't go back to Charleston. But could she leave with them? Could Ericka leave everything and everyone back in Charleston for a hybrid baby? The Masons were family to her, but she had other family too. There was Hanna, her best friend; and Kathleen, her sister. Ericka didn't know what to do. Hal and Matt were sitting by the campfire, eating breakfast. She wasn't really hungry though. Snapping her out of her thoughts, Ben and Tom rode up on their horses. "Come on, boys! We've gotta get going." Tom told them. "Skitters and Mechs on their way!" Ben added. Ericka quickly helped them pack up all of their things. Her hair kept getting in the way, so she tied it into a messy bun.

...

They were riding along when a truck emerged from the woods. Four men with guns followed. Hal and Tom managed to pull their guns out, but there were far too many. The horses neighed in fear; they were startled by the sudden movement. "Shit." Ericka muttered. There was no way they could take on this four in their current position. All of a sudden Ben jumped off the horse and took one of the men's guns. But the Masons and Ericka were caught off guard and had a weapon pointed at them, ready to fire if need be. The man in charge ordered for them to get off of our horses and lay down their weapons. They did as he said, and were ushered to the truck. Her eyes focused on the man searching her pack. He was digging through it, looking for anything valuable. She knew he was going to find the pills; she couldn't let him find it. She stepped forward, fists curled. "Hey dickwad, hands off my stuff!" The man chatting with Tom suddenly turned to her, pointing the end of the barrel in her face. She gulped, but didn't back away. Ericka stood her ground. "Ericka, stop!" Tom shouted. Hal grabbed her shoulder, but she shook him off. Ericka snarled, backing up to the truck. The other men finished what they were doing. Once all of them got on their horses and left, Matt spoke up, "What do we do now?" He sounded worried, almost afraid.

"We go after them, we get our stuff back." Hal answered. Tom nodded in agreement, "We gotta be smart about it; we gotta be fast. We have to get to Anne and Lexi."

She zipped up her jacket as a breeze passed by, shoving her hands in her pockets. When she looked up, they were staring at her. "What the hell was that about?" questioned Tom.

"I got mad, it was stupid and I should've bit my tongue. I'm sorry. Shouldn't we get going? Every minute counts." Ericka replied quickly, hoping they wouldn't ask too many questions. She knew that the reply was rushed. She felt like this bottle of pills was her dirty little secret. Tom and Ben didn't question it as they headed for the woods. Hal stopped her. "What's in your pack, Ericka?" he interrogated her. She shook her head and brushed past him. "Nothing Hal." was her barely audible response.

...

Their plan was simple; go in, take their stuff back, and leave. All was working out well until Matt shot one of the farmers. It all went down too fast. She was grinning at Ben for taking down the boys so fast when a shot rang out. Turning her head, she saw Matt with the smoking gun. Killing Skitters was one thing, it was something different to shoot a person. Ericka never even shot at a person. She wondered how Matt was doing. He must have been feeling guilty it.

They brought him into the house. Ben speedily took charge. She watched him work over the man. Gill, she thought was his name, twisted in pain. Speeding down the stairs, she heard Tom order Matt to go check on the stuff. Ericka started to go with him, but was stopped. "No, Ericka, stay in here." he said firmly. He knew something was up with her, but he didn't know what it was she was hiding. Tom almost started to regret asking her to come along. That and he wanted to make sure that the family wouldn't overtake them.

"I'll go instead of Matt. I think I have something that could help him." It was clear he didn't like it, but Tom nodded anyways, allowing her to go check on their stuff.

When she returned, she saw Ben talking to the oldest son. They both glanced up as she headed over. Ericka tossed the bottle of pills in her hand to the boy. "They're pain killers. Give him three and with all the blood he lost, he'll be out." she explained. He nodded and muttered a 'thank you'. Ericka nodded, heading back downstairs.

"You had pills?" Hal asked, a little shocked that she had hidden that from everyone. Ericka wasn't the type of girl that kept secrets, or at least that's what he thought. She ignored him, picking up a gun. Ericka took a seat on the ground near the girl and boy. For the most part, they were silent. She shook her head, gazing at the staircase. "We just wanted our stuff back. We didn't want this." she said, bowing her head. "This place...Charleston? Was your dad telling the truth about it?" the girl asked. She must have been listening to Tom and her own father talk. Ericka nodded and gave her a small smile. "It's great and it's safe. Everyone either fights or helps. Your father and brothers seem like good fighters. Charleston could use you guys. And it looks like you could use them." she said sincerely. The girl really smiled, and even the boy cracked a dreaming grin. Charleston would be on both of their minds.

...

Looking up, Ericka saw the red-haired boy rush down the stairs and grabbed her gun. She couldn't react, because Hal, Tom, Matt, and Ben came down afterwards with their hands behind their head. He ordered them to get up against the walls. Tom was shouting at him, trying to convince him not to shoot them. The girl she talked to begged her father not to shoot. She was crying. The girl didn't want to see anyone die, whether it was her family or the strangers she didn't truthfully know. "If you're going to shoot me, you better have the guts to look me in the eye when you do it!" Tom yelled at him. Ericka could see the fear on his sons faces. The man cocked the gun. In that moment, she was sure that they were going to die, Tom especially. Ericka didn't catch what the man said. Her eyes looked to the girl, silently pleading with her to do something. The girl pulled her dad back, sobbing. This gave Tom the opportunity to rush him for the gun. A shot went off as Tom grabbed the weapon, but it hit the wall behind him. Ben got the dark haired boy and now there was a stand-off. Luke, the red-head, still had his gun aimed at Tom. This wasn't going to go too well. If Luke shoots Tom, Hal shoots Luke and Ben shoots Wayne. None of this would've happened if the Picketts just left them alone. Ericka grabbed another gun, aiming at Luke. It took a few minutes, but they got Luke to give up the gun. The family huddled together. She was grateful that everyone was ok and that she no longer had the pills. They were no longer a burden to her. She wouldn't have to worry about whether or not to take one for a measly hour of sleep.

But she was faced with another problem, sleep. If she couldn't start sleeping, she would become a liability.

...

Two Mechs and about half a dozen Skitters were heading down to the Pickett's farm. Tom and his boys were debating on whether or not they should go back. He said it was something he had to do by himself, though even Ericka protested. Then he sent them to find Anne and Lexi. Tom didn't give them a choice, it was an order. They got back on their horses. "So, where did you find those pain killers?" Ben asked as the horses strode down another trail. She should've expected him to ask questions. "The first time we went looking for Anne and Lexi. When all of you were burying that woman, I was scoping out a suspicious looking pharmacy. I found the pills, pocketed them, and kept them since." she answered honestly. She didn't look at him, keeping her sight straight ahead on the path. Though she hadn't lied to him, she didn't exactly tell the truth either. "Why did you need them?" he prodded.

Ben wasn't going to give this up until he knew everything. The two of them often slept in the same bed or near each other when there wasn't a bed. He hadn't noticed that she would stay up most of the night. "I haven't been sleeping. I took a few pills the day we left so I could sleep." she answered. Ericka looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "Happy?" she questioned before focusing her sight back on the track ahead. She wasn't a drug addict and she only did it once. She didn't get why it was a big deal for her to have a bottle of pain killers in the first place. What she needed to really focus on now was helping them get back Anne and Lexi.

AN: I kept pushing myself all week to do the re-writes that I didn't do this chapter when I was supposed to. I was so exhausted from watching the episodes, then pausing and typing. Plus, I wasn't feeling too well. This got done like 2 am Saturday morning and I'm just now posting it, because I had to edit. I didn't have a computer at the time so I wrote it on my iPod. But it is finally done and I loved the episode, as well as the one that aired Sunday. Please review?

FallingSkiesLuvr: Well idk if I would've picked Weaver. I get why he picked Marina, but I wasn't happy with it. Then I found out it was Lourdes. When they showed all the eyebugs swimming in her face, I was more confused than shocked. I was like "when did this happen?" Darn seven month time skip. Thanks for your reviews by the way. :)