Episode 1 - The Real Nightmare Begins (Part 2)

(Later That Afternoon…)

Joseph took in a huge breath and let it back out slowly. Why couldn't his brother behave for once? Now he had to do the one thing he hated doing more than anything else…

Talking to Cadet Scamooch!

He absolutely, without a doubt, hated the guy! And it wasn't even the fact that he was an Irken that he hated! Okay, so maybe it was a factor, but it wasn't the greatest one! No, the thing Joseph hated the most about Cadet Scamooch was the fact that he was so full of himself. It was sickening to listen to him go on and on about how amazing he was!

'Get a hold of yourself!' Joseph swallowed his nerves. He had been putting off talking to Cadet Scamooch all day. Now it was seconds before the final bell, and he knew it was now or never. It wasn't that he didn't want to stick his neck out for his brother. No, he'd die for him, a thousand times over if that's what it took. No, it wasn't his brother that was the problem here; it was Cadet Scamooch. Ever since day one, the Irken Cadet had took an interest in the Campbell family.

Why?

The answer was simple.

Cadet Scamooch, being the self-absorb individual he was, believed that he out of all Cadets should have a human slave to do his bidding. He wanted a minion, but he didn't want just any human… no. He had to have the best human…

So naturally, he wanted Joseph…

'It's your own fault.' Joseph sighed as he remembered his brother's words. 'If you had just kept your mouth shut, you would have stayed invisible; but no! You had to speak your mind!' He rolled his eyes as the memory began to wash over him like one great big tidal wave.

(Westville High school: 9 months ago)

"I hate the first day of school!" Joshua groaned in pure frustration. "Look at this line! We're going to be late for sure!"

Joseph rolled his eyes; he was tired and annoyed, and his brother's whiny voice wasn't helping one bit. "Josh please-" he stopped as someone pushed him to the ground.

"Out of my way, filth!" An Irken Cadet pushed past him.

"Joey! Are you okay?" Josh bent down to help him up.

"Jerk," Joseph growled as he got to his feet and brushed himself off.

A gasped filled the air and the Cadet turned around.

"What did you just say?"

Joseph heard his brother gulp as the Cadet walked over to them slowly, stopping only inches from Joseph's face.

"Do you have any idea who I am?" the Cadet hissed "I am Cadet Scamooch and I demand your respect me, filth!"

"Respect? As if!" Joseph snapped. "You want my respect, but you treat me like trash?" The entire hall filled with more gasps.

"How dare you!" Cadet Scamooch was obviously shocked. No one would have the guts to speak this way to him.

"No. How dare you!" Joseph snapped. "I have had it up to here with you Irkens!" Joseph shouted. He had spent all day bending head-over-heels for his new Irken boss, only to get half the rations that he was promised. Not to mention the customers at the store treated him like garbage! He had spent the whole morning taking verbal blow after blow, and he had done what he was supposed to. He bit his tongue and obeyed them blindly. And how was he repaid? He wasn't repaid with anything; unless abuse was some sort of payment in the Irken world! Which he highly doubted…

"You think you're so much better than us? Well, you're wrong! The truth is, you're annoying, short, ugly, and green! You're a huge pain in the neck and nobody likes you!"

The hall went dead silent.

Josh 's mouth had dropped open to an unimaginable size.

Cadet Scamooch blinked once, then twice. 'Was this human serious? Had he really just blew up in his face like that? Didn't he know the consequences?' "You know, I could have you arrested for verbal assault!" He warned.

"Oh, please do. You would be doing me a favor!" Joseph yelled. He didn't know what had set him off, but once he got started he couldn't stop.

"Scamooch, sir, are you going to let him get away with this?!" Another cadet spoke out.

"He obviously has forgotten his place!" Cadet Scamooch agreed.

"No, you have!" Joseph hissed. "This is our planet, not yours!" He put a finger on Cadet Scamooch's chest and pressed down hard as his anger boiled over. "It is you who is not in your rightful place! Can't you see no one wants you here?!"

'Did he just touch me?!' Cadet Scamooch's eyes narrowed with anger. 'How dare he?!' He was about to slap the insolent human when he heard a snicker. He looked around and suddenly realized a group of cadets had crowded around them to watch the scene; just seeing the other cadets made his own blood boil. He hated every single one of them and for a good reason; they were all fakes!

They only respected him because of who he was to become, not for who he was. They wanted to get close to him to gain face so they could work their way up the Irken social ladder. They were all suck-ups, pure and simple. They always lied to him and told him what they thought he wanted to hear. No one was really honest with him, but this human was.

Cadet Scamooch looked at Joseph more closely. His brown hair was brushed back off of his face and gelled in place. He wore his school uniform with a sense of pride. His shoulders were rolled back in the perfect form of posture, but perhaps the most astounding thing about the human was his stare. The boy held his gaze, his blue eyes piercing through him. No human was supposed to meet his gaze, or the gaze of any Irken, for that matter, but this one dared to defy him.

Not once, but twice now, and he spoke to him the cold hard truth.

"Well aren't you gonna do something Scamooch?" another cadet spoke all snobby like.

Cadet Scamooch smiled, and it was in that moment that Joseph knew he would regret this day for the rest of his life.

"You; walk with me. Now," Cadet Scamooch ordered, dropping his books into Joseph's arms.

He spent the rest of the day following Cadet Scamooch around and carrying his things. Finally, after a long first day of getting the silent treatment, the Irken cadet addressed him.

"You know, you're lucky that I've decided not to press any charges against you," he said, leaning against a locker.

Joseph gulped. He had been dreading what the cadet might say to him all day. What had he been thinking? Screaming like that to someone as greatly admired as Cadet Scamooch was a highly dangerous offense!

"I have been looking for an eligible minion for some time," Cadet Scamooch went on, "and I've decided that I want it to be you."

"Why?" It was the only word Joseph could get out of his mouth. He knew that he should be getting at least 3 years of confinement, but instead Cadet Scamooch was offering him a place by his side.

"Why?" The Irken repeated the question, as if thinking it over, and then said "Because I deal with lying wannabes all day, and even though what you said was uncalled for, it was true. You were honest with me, and I realized that's all I've ever wanted. Do you know how annoying it is to have people only tell you what you want to hear? It's infuriating and frustrating!"

"Listen, I am really sorry about all of this, but if you want honesty," Joseph said, "Then here's some honesty for you; I'd rather die than become your minion."

He had expected to be carried away in chains, but instead, Cadet Scamooch took his books from him and nodded in understanding.

"Very well, I can respect that, but know this…" he stopped and narrowed his eyes mischievously… "I always get what I want, Campbell. So if I were you, I'd watch my back, because one day you will mess up; and then you'll be wishing you had taken me up on my offer."

(Present Day…)

And ever since that day, Joseph's life had been one headache after another. It didn't take long for Cadet Scamooch to figure out that his weakness was his brother who, unlike Joseph, was easily annoyed and was highly short-tempered. He was easy to get to, and Cadet Scamooch had soon made a chore out of getting Josh into trouble. He knew sooner or later he'd get his brother in so much trouble that the only way to keep him out of jail was for Joseph to become his minion, and he had almost done it. If Josh had landed just one punch, he'd be force to give in.

Joseph took another deep breath as the final bell sounded. He got up from his table and made a B-line for Cadet Scamooch's locker. He was not surprised to see that Cadet Scamooch was already waiting for him.

"Ah, Joseph! Just the human filth I wanted to see; hold this would you?" He dropped his books into his arms without even waiting for an answer.

"Scamooch Sir, I was hoping that you could drop the charges," Joseph said, getting right to the point of the matter.

"Oh, I would love to drop the charges, I would, but what do I get out of it?" Cadet Scamooch smiled knowingly.

"Blackmailing me into becoming your minion is not going to work," Joseph tried his best not to lose his temper.

"Fine, be stubborn, but don't be surprise if you find you no longer have a job this afternoon."

Joseph flinched at the words, but he refused to give in. "I'll get another one," he growled.

"For your sake, I sure hope so," Cadet Scamooch jeered as he took his books from him. "Enjoy the rest of your day, worm."

Joseph watched Cadet Scamooch walk away. So he'd just lost his job? 'Well fine! I hated that job anyway!' He said to himself as he ran to go catch the bus before it left him behind.

Josh flinched as he saw his brother get on the bus; he never rode the bus. This could only mean one thing…

'He lost his job because of me.' Josh bowed his head in shame.

Joseph held his head up high as he walked the walk of shame towards his brother at the back of the bus. All eyes were on him; he ignored them all as he sat down.

"I'll get another one," he assured his brother as he took his seat.

"How can you be so sure?" It wasn't Josh who asked, but the boy who sat behind them.

"Because I am a hard worker, Mark," Joseph said addressing the boy with a scowl. "And I am willing to do any job."

"This is all my fault!" Josh moaned. "If I had just ignored him…"

"Oh, come on; everyone knows he does it on purpose!" The girl next to Mark assured him.

"Rachel's right," Joseph agreed. "Cadet Scamooch only wants me to become his minion."

"Did he succeed?" Mark's cousin, James, asked.

"No, but that only means he'll try again," Joseph sighed.

"So did he actually say you were fired?" Mark asked.

"No, but he hinted at it, and last time he did that I got fired on the same day, so I decided; why bother going to work if you're going to get fired anyway? I mean, it would only be a waste of a good subway token."

"Yeah, and we only get so few a month," Rachel pointed out.

The bus stopped and the doors opened.

"Well here's our stop," Joseph got up as he spoke. "See you guys later. Let's go bro," he said to his brother as he walked down the aisle.

"See yah!" Rachel called out.

Josh followed his brother off the bus in silence, a look of shame clouding his face. The bus driver closed the doors behind them and began to drive away.

Suddenly both boys froze in the middle of their front yard. They watched the bus as it slowly drove away and out of sight. The boys then began to look all around them, as if to check and see if anyone or anything was watching them.

"Do you see any drones?" Josh whispered.

Joseph shook his head "You?" He asked.

"No…"

Joseph looked around again, but there was nothing. Appearing happy with this, he made a run for the front door with Josh hot on his heels.

"We don't have much time," he warned as he began to check around the house franticly. "No drones?" He asked.

"No drones," Josh repeated as he set out his textbooks on the table.

Joseph looked around one more time to be sure. Once he was satisfied, he pressed a spot on the kitchen wall. The wall slid open to reveal two robot copies of himself and his brother.

"Androids; activate," Joseph ordered.

The robots opened their eyes and stepped forward. "Awaiting your command, sir," they spoke in unison.

"You! Do Josh's homework," Joseph ordered the robot copy of his brother.

"And you! Make dinner!" He said to the copy of himself.

The robots immediately moved to obey the orders.

Robot Josh sat down and began doing his homework while Robot Joseph took out some food to start on dinner. "You know Josh, you really need to start behaving at school," Robot Joseph said as he began the already previously downloaded lecturer of the day.

"It's not my fault, he always pushes my buttons!" Robot Josh complained.

Josh couldn't help but shiver at how realistic the robots were to their real disguises.

"We have to go," Joseph warned. "The house won't stay drone-free for long."

Josh nodded and followed his brother into the open passageway that the robot doubles had come from. The wall slid back in place just before a drone flew in from the open window.

(In a Control Room on Zec…)

"Awe, the Campbell family," an Irken soldier named Brok sighed as he watched the camera feed from the drone in Josh's and Joseph's home. It was his job to monitor and watch all the houses on the street, and he took great pride in it. It wasn't an exciting job, but he had a fix for that. He simply pretended he was watching a reality TV show. He used humans and their lives as a form of entertainment. During school hours his job was easy; all he had to do was patrol the street for undesirables. AKA; wanted criminals. But once school was over, it was his job to make sure all the families were in order and not causing trouble. After all, it was still five hours before curfew and the humans were free to go out and about until then. Brok's job during these hours was to watch out for signs of weather any of the humans on his street were members of the resistance or not.

The Irkens knew that the resistance existed, even though they tried to prevent the human populous from figuring this out, and for good reason: The Irkens knew little to no information about them. They only knew what little pieces of information they could gather from the drones. For example, they knew the resistance contained at least five members. They knew this because the spy drones at the Snack Factory on the resistance's initial attack showed five individuals sabotaging the machinery.

Unfortunately these rebels hide their identities behind black masks and dark clothes. However, it wasn't hard to tell that they were not adults, but teenagers. This is why it was Brok's job to monitor every child on his street and report to the Tallest directly if anything suspicious happened; even if a child was out a second past curfew he was to report it straight away. After all, anyone of them could be one of the rebels!

"I mean it Josh! This behavior has got to stop!"

Brok snickered as he watched the scene play out before him. When would the human learn that his brother was just holding him back?

"It's not my fault…" Josh whined.

"It was your fist that struck out at him! Yours! Are you telling me you can't control your own limbs?" Joseph snapped.

Brok shook his head. 'Some humans just never learn.'

(Back with the Twins…)

Josh and Joseph followed the long passageway as it led them under their house and into an abandon sewer system. As far as they knew, no Irken soldiers knew of this place, but just in case, they kept a look-out for drones.

Joseph led the way through the sewers, his senses on high alert. Tonight was a very important night, for tonight they would be raiding a shipment of food in order to feed the less fortunate. It wasn't a high-risk mission, but it was their first since the bombings at the factory, and they needed to be ready for anything.

Josh followed his brother quietly, trying not to inhale too much of the putrid smell that was all around them. He hated the sewers, but it was the only way to slip out of sight unnoticed. They couldn't risk being seen in broad daylight. The safety of the darkness ensured a hasty and easy escape; they had a better chance of losing any pursuing enemy in the darkness then they did during the day.

Joseph began to walk slower as they approached their exit; a large tunnel that led out of a cliff and over the ocean. He walked to the edge of the tunnel slowly and looked down at the water below. He knew no Irken would want to go near the water, but sometimes Irken soldiers would fly over it and take samples of the water in hopes to find out how to shield themselves from its stinging power. He of course already knew the answer to that question...

Josh watched as his brother took out a tube of glue and began to smother himself in it. "Did you see any soldiers?" He asked.

Joseph shook his head as he used up the last bit of his glue.

"I hope we have more down there," Josh whispered knowingly.

"I'll be fine; they're probably waiting for us just under the surface anyways," Joseph assured him. Then, with a little more self-doubt, he added "Hopefully..." With one last look around for the enemy, he and Josh took one last deep breath and jumped into the crashing waves below.

-To Be Continued