Will this War ever end? (Falling Skies/ Ben Mason Fanfic)

Amnesia (Chapter 16)

3rd POV

Hunter sat on the gurney in the tiny curtained cubicle, lazily following the tiny flashlight that Anne Glass waved in front of her eyes. She really didn’t understand the reasoning behind such a silly test.

Lourdes Delgado and Tom Mason stood hunched over the deceased Skitter. Lourdes removed the scalpel from its mouth, making blood squirt onto her white lab coat, resulting in her squealing with disgust. Tom ran his fingertips over the Skitters body, mentally noting the creatures’ most sensitive areas. Sighing in aggravation he stood up, hands on his hips. This Skitter was their last hope at discovering more about the extra-terrestrial beings, and now it was gone.

Maggie stood beside Hal Mason in the doorway, her hand gently gripping his. Hal nibbled his thumb as he watched Anne dealing with Hunter. He didn’t understand what could’ve happened. Maggie’s eyes had been on Ben all night. She was worried about him. She knew it couldn’t be easy having the person you love forget about you within a split second.

Ben sat on the windowsill, forehead resting against the cool glass. He hadn’t uttered a word to anyone. He couldn’t help but blame himself; seemed like he was blaming himself a lot lately. If only he had kept his mouth shut earlier than Hunter wouldn’t have gotten upset and she would still have her memories.

After hearing Hunters’ disturbing situation, Captain Weaver had fled to his office to down a bottle of Jack Daniels. He slammed the empty bottle down on his mahogany desk and wiped his mouth in his sleeve. Opening the top drawer of his desk, he removed a photograph that always brought a smile to his face. He stared at the photograph with a reminiscent smile upon his lips. The photograph showed a ten year old Hunter petting a deer, a huge smile on her little face. Linda stood beside her laughing, holding a seven year old Sophia in her arms.

~~Flashback~~

“Dan” Linda laughed as Weaver led her through the forest. “Where are you taking us?” She went to remove the blindfold that was wrapped firmly around her pale blue eyes, but Weaver grabbed her hands.

“No peeking, Linda” he chuckled “it’s a surprise.”

“Dan, you know I don’t like surprises” she smiled slightly.

“Oh, I think you’ll like this one” he smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist, keeping her stable as he guided her across the dirt path. “Come on, girls!” He yelled over his shoulder.

Hunter took one final whiff of the beautiful wildflowers before grabbing her little sisters’ hand and skipping after her parents.

The Weaver family made their way further into the forest, leaves crunching beneath their shoes. The air was cool, but comfortable. Sun filtered through the trees, creating a moving speckled pattern on the dirt path before them. Birds sung happily as they flew overhead. Tall trees lined both sides of the path. Some white with smooth bark, others are darker, with coarse, heavy bark. Hunter loved every minute of this. The fresh smell of pine trees made her giddy. She could faintly hear the sound of running water in the distance.

They began nearing the top of the mountain, the sound of the stream becoming louder, nearer. The path before the family curved up ahead, lit up by the sun streaming through the trees. As they round a corner the sound of water reaches all of their ears, and they see a clearing in the trees up ahead. A beautiful lookout point awaits. They walked towards the clearing and stopped at the edge of the stream. Weaver softly removed the blindfold from Linda’s eyes, letting it flutter to the ground. Linda rubbed her eyes and blinked as the sun hit her face. Before she could gawk at beauty surrounding her, Weaver had grabbed her hand and guided her across the stepping stones, treading carefully across the smooth stones and over the stream, towards the edge of the mountain. Hunter and Sophia squealed excitedly as they ran through the stream to the other side, instead of using the stone path provided.

Up ahead sat a large, smooth rock. Weaver sat on the rock, pulling Linda into his lap. He kissed the side of neck, making her giggle. The sun shone down on the blissful couple. Linda looked around to find mountains in the distance. Faint and blue. She looked down from their vantage point into a valley with trees and a brilliant sparkling blue lake. Across from them is another mountain.

The clearing around them is made up of rocks, soil, pine needles, moss, and grass. The grass and wildflowers blew gently in the breeze.

“So, what do you think?” Weaver asked and rested his chin on his wife’s’ shoulder.

“Oh Dan, it’s so beautiful here” she breathed. “I love it.”

“And I love you” Weaver whispered. Linda leant down and kissed him adoringly.

“Mum! Dad! Look!” Hunter squealed excitedly, pointing to the edge of the forest. A deer quietly emerged from the edge of the forest to graze in the clearing. The deer rose its’ head to look at the family, its’ nostrils moving to catch their scent. It stood their cautiously, Hunter slowly making her way over to the gentle creature. Weaver and Linda smiled at the sight of their daughters trying to get closer to the animal. Hunter held out her little hand, Sophia mimicking her movements. The deer’s ears twitched its head low. It took a cautious step forward, sensing the girls as little threat. It trotted over to them, close enough for Hunters fingers to brush against its fur. Hunter beamed as the deer snuggled into her hand.

“Oh my” Linda breathed, a wide grin on her face. “Dan, get the camera” she whispered eagerly, careful not to startle the poor thing.

“Alright. You go ahead and jump in with the girls” Weaver told her. She stood from his lap and looked down at him.

“Are you sure?” She asked.

Rummaging through his bag, he nodded and pulled out an old camera. He removed the lens cap and turned towards his family.

Hunter was too engrossed to notice what was happening around her. Linda had scooped up Sophia into her arms. Weaver smiled affectionately at his family before raising the camera and taking a photo of one of the most memorable moments of his life.

~~End flashback~~

Weaver smiled at the photo before placing it on the desk. He sunk into his chair and covered his face with his hand, a single tear sliding down his cheek.

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Dr Glass pocketed her mini flashlight with a heavy sigh. All attention was on her as she began to pace, absentmindedly tapping her lip with her index finger.

“And you’re saying you don’t remember anything?” Anne questioned for about the twelfth time that night.

Hunter rolled her blue eyes and slid from the gurney. “I’m sorry, but I don’t remember anything” she replied a little bit aggravated by being asked the same question over and over again.

Anne sighed and looked at the ground. “Besides the amnesia, you’re perfectly fine. There’s nothing else wrong with you.”

“So what are you saying, Doc?” Hal asked and walked further into the room, Maggie close behind.

Anne looked at Hal, slowly scanning over all the anxious faces in the room. Her shoulders slumped “I’m saying…there’s nothing I can do. I’m sorry.”

Hunter suddenly felt extremely tired. Her eyelids became heavy. She yawned, causing Tom to glance at her.

“It’s getting late, and it’s obvious that we’re not getting any answers tonight. Let’s all hit the sack and start fresh tomorrow morning. Maybe we’ll come back with fresh eyes” Tom said. Everyone reluctantly complied.

Hopefully things will be better in the morning.

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Chapter 16, yay! I enjoyed writing this chapter and I hoped you guys enjoyed reading it. Love to know what you guys thought :D

-Sarah