Today is Nick's birthday , he would've been 17 by now. If the aliens didn't came , we would be now on the 3rd year of High School .. we would have been juniors. But dreaming of what things could have been is bad for all of us after everything that happened, it only gives us pain and makes us regret that we didn't lived our lives to the fullest when we had the chance. Now we're living in a messed up world, and the chances to make life work the way it was before is slim to none.
I was out on the grounds early in the morning, just taking a walk I guess. I saw Jeanne's project , one tree is almost done but there's still 2 other trees to make. It seems like a storm is coming because the skies are pretty dark and it's really windy.
"Hey dork" I turned around and saw Deni standing behind me.
"You're up early" she said and then tossed me a piece of bread. "Just thinking about lots of stuffs" I said and then we continued walking.
"So, last night was a shocker" she said
"Yeah. The skitters have a spy of their army and they also have one on ours. Wonder who it is" I said.
"About the attack. When do you think it will happen?" she asked.
"I don't know , but if they've diverted to take revenge on a Volm planet, then it doesn't matter when they're going to attack. We should prepare and expect the worst"
"When that happens Ben , promise me that we'll face them together" she said , looking very worried.
"I promise" I said and then smiled at her.
"This is going to sound crazy, but I think we're still undergoing a transformation. Like a mild mutation , I can't explain it very well but I've been feeling something weird lately" she said.
"I think so too. Just look at my eyes, they've been red for over a week now"
"Yeah ..."
"I might just have to embrace it" I said and then she laughed.
"I'm going to the cafeteria , you want something?" I asked.
"More bread. Oh wait, I have to get something, I'll just meet you there" she said and then started to run towards the Skitter camp.
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Tom's P.O.V
It was early in the morning , I looked at the clock and saw that it's only 7:00 am. I wasn't able to sleep properly after seeing the list of possible suspects for the murder. There were at least 70 people in there , some are really suspicious but some just don't make sense. I saw Ms. Peralta's name in there , she could be really pushy sometimes but I don't think she'll be capable of murdering someone. Even Capt. Weaver is included in the list, as much as I'd want to tell Dr. Manchester and Gen. Bressler than the list they game don't make sense in general but that's the only thing we have now. Someone killed Col. Porter, we have a traitor in Charleston.
I looked beside me and saw Anne is still sleeping. I felt her growing womb, my first baby girl is in there. "Looks like someone didn't get a good sleep" Anne said suddenly.
"Yeah. I can't get the fact that we have a murderer among us out of my head"
"Who could it be?"
"I don't know yet" I said and then got up and looked outside. I saw Ben talking to Deni ... and he's smiling , that must be good. Then they parted ways , I don't know what's going on with him but at least he got someone to talk to.
"Do you want some coffee?" Anne asked.
"Sure" I said and then she got up to prepare some.
"How's Ben?" she asked.
"He's doing better" I said and then went to her and kissed her.
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Hal's P.O.V
After the incident in the woods last night , we were not able to sleep at all. We just stayed there in the bed, talking about stuffs.
"I think I should tell Dad" I said.
"No you're not going to do that" Maggie said and then looked at me.
"Karen controls me Maggie. I might be the who killed Col. Porter and I don't even know about it"
"Look at me Hal." she said
After I looked at her, she added "Do you have any idea what's the punishment for murder? You could be locked up for months or you could be exiled. Your father will not be able to save you".
"God knows what Karen will make me do then Maggie. I am the President's son , I've been to every single meeting since Dad was elected. I know things that can destroy us all" I said to her.
"I know. But I'll never leave you okay??!!, if I have to tie you to my body I would do that. You're stronger than this Hal. I know you are" she said and then got up.
"I also accidentally told Karen than Jordan's with us" I said and then she looked at me, really mad.
"Why'd you do that?"
"I was hoping to stir up some emotions. Underneath that crazy half alien bitch that she is right now, I can still feel her humanity."
"The Karen you know is gone Hal. You already put Jordan's life in danger because of what you did"
"Maggie, when she heard that we got Jordan. She wants me to bring him to her, she still recognizes her brother"
"God knows what she's gonna do to him?. Hal, Karen's our enemy don't you dare forget that" she said and then stormed out of the room.
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I was on my way to the cafeteria when I literally bumped into Matt. "Hey, you're up early" I said. "I'm gonna go meet Skipper and Riley today" he said and then started to run away from me.
"But don't you have school?" I asked
"Later!!" she shouted and then disappeared from the hallway.
When I got there, most of the people looked at me like I was an alien. It definitely feels like 2nd Mass all over again. But thankfully, Jeanne was already there to serve breakfast. "Hey Ben" she said and then smiled.
"What do we have for today?" I asked.
"Some baked beans , rice , bacon's and eggs" she said.
"No pancakes?"
"We ran out of pancakes. To be honest Ben, we're running out of supply in general" She said to me. Jeanne's right, it's been weeks since the last time we gathered food. I think it's time it's time to search outside the city of Charleston.
"That sucks. So how's Diego?" I asked.
"He's feeling better" she said. The voices and the whispering of all the other cooks in the cafeteria is getting hard to ignore. "Just ignore them" she added and then smiled to me.
"Yeah. I wish tehy'd realized that what they're doing will not help any of us"
"Why don't you try showing them your cool red eyes?"
"They'd probably run away" I said and then she laughed a bit.
"So what do you want for breakfast?"
"I'll have baked beans and 2 eggs please" I said
After I got to my table and started eating, I realized that Deni is still not in here. What could've taken her so long?. Then after a few more minutes, someone approached me. I thought it was gonna be Deni so I said "Hey" and then looked up only to see a different girl. She has long ginger hair, really pretty blue eyes and a great smile.
"Hey" she said.
"Umm. Hi"
"I'm Taylor by the way" she said and then smiled to me.
"Ben" I said.
"Would you mind if I sit with you?" she asked.
I looked to my side and said "Yeah of course".
"You know, I've never had the chance to say thank you for rescuing me from the skitters last month. If you guys didn't came, I don't know if I'd still be alive"
"It's okay. Part of our mission" I said.
She suddenly sat closer to me. "How do I put this? I think you're really cute" she said and then looked straight to me.
I was kind of shocked to hear that , I've been only called cute once, and it was when I was 8. "Y-You think I was cute?" I asked.
"Yeah. And please don't think that I'm scared of your spikes or your eyes or the fact that you can communicate with the aliens 'cause I'm not. I think you're a really good person" she said.
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Deni's P.O.V
I went back to the camp to show Ben a picture of South Beach. He told me before that he never went there, he doesn't even know how it looks like. So I decided to show him that one picture that I've been holding to for dear life. I grew up in Miami , and South Beach is literally my neighbor. I've had tons of good memories in there, if only I could go there and spend a day then reminisce all the good things, I'll go right at this moment.
But when I got to the entrance in the cafeteria, I saw him talking to one of the teens that we rescued before. He seems really happy with her. I got this weird feeling in my stomach, is it the feeling they called jealousy? . I'm jealous??, I can't be. Ben's been like a brother to me since I came to Charleston.
I don't know how long I've been standing there just looking at them when suddenly Lourdes came and snapped me out of my thoughts. "Looks like someone is a bit jealous?" she asked and then smiled to me.
"Me? Jealous? Ugh." I said disgustingly.
"You don't have to be offensive you know" she said.
"I'm not being offensive"
"Fine. Whatever you say" she said and then walked in. I suddenly lost the appetite to eat, and just decided to go back to the camp. So, I just turned around and walked away.
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Tom's P.O.V
It's past 9 in the morning and most of the residents in here have already started their day. I was walking towards the other building to check if it's suitable for renovation when I bumped into Dr. Manchester along the way.
"Good Morning Tom" he said.
"Good Morning Arthur" I said.
"About the list. We've already started to narrow it down to at least 20 suspects. For the moment, I suggest that we cancel incoming missions" he told me
"Why?"
"There's a big chance that whoever did this to Col. Porter is working for the enemy. The chances of the missions being compromised or ambushed is high and also people are getting upset that there's a murderer and we still haven't captured it yet"
"So what shall we do?" I asked.
"As soon as I see Gen. Bressler. I'll ask him to work with me on narrowing it down right away" he said. I suddenly remembered that Anthony used to worked as a Boston cop before the invasion so I told Dr. Manchester to involve Anthony on their investigation.
"Okay then. I'll see you tonight right?" he asked.
"Of course" I said and then asked where Ms. Marina Peralta is.
"She's still sleeping. I think " he said and then walked away.
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Anne's P.O.V
"Hey Lourdes" I said to her when I got to the cafeteria to eat breakfast. "Hi, did you get a good sleep last night?" she asked.
"Yeah. I did. What's for breakfast?"
"They have baked beans and bacon's and I think they also got eggs and rice" she said.
"I have to ask you something" I said.
"What is it?"
"Does Diego seem different to you?"
"I think so. The other night, I just saw him staring at a wall"
"We should observe him more" I said and then I got up to get food.
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People started coming into the cafeteria that's why I decided to leave. Taylor said she has to do something else and parted ways with me. Deni never came to the cafeteria, why?. I looked for her outside but there's no sign of her so I went to the skitter camp to see if she stayed there.
"Deni?" I called to her outside her tent.
"Come in" she said.
"You never showed up" I said.
"Yeah. My stomach suddenly hurt and I lost my appetite to eat" she said while lying down on her bed. I sat on one of the chairs when I saw a picture on her nightstand. "Is this you?" I asked.
She smiled a but and then looked to me and said "Yeah. That happened 4 years ago."
"You look so .... young" I said and then started to chuckle a bit.
"You!" she said and then we both started to laugh.
"That's South Beach by the way" she added.
"Ohh. So this is what it looks like. It looks great"
"It is. Wonder how it looks now"
"Probably filled with metals and other debris and skitters and fish heads and those creepy metal-eating crawlies" I said and then she said "Probably".
"You know what would be a good idea?" I asked.
"What?"
"How about one of these days. We'll go there" I said and then she looked at me as If I've gone full retard.
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Matt's P.O.V
Me, Skipper and Riley were out in the badlands after lunchtime to test some explosives that we made. "You sure we'll not get in trouble?" Riley asked.
"Yeah they're like 500 meters away. If they heard it, we could all run in the other way and they will never find us" I said and then went to one of the building that still has a window attached to it.
"What do you guys think?" I asked.
"That's a good spot"
Then I started to tape the explosive into the window and then moved back. Riley started counting down. "3.... 2....1. Boom!" he said and then I pushed the button and there was a very loud explosion. Louder and much bigger than everything that we did before.
"That is awesome!!" we all said once we got out of the smoke.
But then we suddenly heard vehicles and footsteps coming towards us so we ran as fast as we could. But as we turned to a curb, we are cornered by Anthony's group once again.
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Anne's P.O.V
I was in the middle of my daily check up on the patients when Anthony called me outside and told me that Matt was responsible for the loud bang that we heard.
"Why the hell are you doing this Matt?" I asked him.
"I don't know" he sighed and then sat at one of the chairs and said "Bored I guess"
"Do you have any idea how many people you scared? We all thought we are under attack" I ssaid to him.
"No" that's all he said to me.
"Is that also the reason why you're not going to school?. Mr. Cain came to me this morning and said that you haven't been to any of your classes for the past 2 weeks"
"So?" he grunted.
"So? That's all you got to say? You are behind on your assignments. You're gonna do them right now"
"This is not the first time he did this. The last time he just begged me not to tell you or Professor Mason"
"Really? Not the first time? Matt you're in a lot of trouble. Go to your room and do your assignments now"
"You can't tell me what to do you're not my mother!!" he shouted, his eyes are glaring.
Me and Anthony were both shocked by what he just did. I tried my best not to tear up even though it hurts me. "Yes Matt, I may not be your mother. But as a concerned citizen. I have to ask Anthony to escort you back to school"
"School ended more than an hour ago!!"
"Mr. Cain will be there. Now go back or I'll put you into 1 month detention"
"No!"
"Matt. Get up your feet now!" I raised my voice a bit to show him that he's not right.
He looked at me, obviously pissed. I looked at Anthony and then back at Matt. Thankfully, he got up and walked to the School room.
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Tom's P.O.V
I was reading some papers and articles that afternoon when Ms. Peralta came in. "Someone woke up late" I said.
"I'm sorry Mr. Preident. It's just that I've been having a really bad case of headache and body pains" she said and then sat at the chair in front of me.
"Have you went to the clinic?" I asked.
"I intend to do that Sir after I remind you that Citizen Hearing or the Public forum will be 4 days from now. I advise you to practice"
"Really? 4 days? Okay I will" I said and then she got up and went out of the office to go to the clinic when she suddenly came back, but this time she's with Dan.
"Mr. President. Captain Weaver would like to say something to you"
"What is it Dan?"
"It's Gen. Bressler and Dr. Manchester." he said and then gave me a kind of look that tells me that something bad happened.
"Why?? What happened to them?" I asked.
"They are found dead on Dr. Manchester's office. Same way that Porter died. The murderer used a gun modified by the Volms" he said and then I went out of my office as fast as I could.
"Marina, call a public meeting. NOW" I told her while we're walking towards Arthur's office.
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This is Chapter 7 people :). Sorry if it's not really good, my mind's not working as usual ... writer's block -.- . I'll update tomorrow if it's gone or on sunday :)
P.S
"Just One Summer" will be updated tomorrow :)