A day has passed and we barely made any changes from what happened. Their still digging a holes to put in the bodies of those who died. Dad is busy with all the meetings as to what is the best thing to do. The total number of casualties including aliens is over 200. Charleston is damaged right now and I can already feel an evacuation coming.
Karen will not stop unti she makes sure that we won't resist anymore. Matt decided to sleep in my room because he's scared to sleep on his own. I went out early to go back to the skitter camp and check on Deni , she's a strong person but sometimes even the strongest fall apart.
"Deni??" I called out to her while I'm outside her tent. "Benji?" I turned around and saw her carrying some long logs of wood, I helped her carry some.
"What are you gonna do with these?" I asked her.
"Well. Harry and Nick suggested that we should start rebuilding the camp .."
"That's good" I said while we're walking towards the side of the burned camp , past the place where they buried the skitters and deharnessed kids.
"It's just that .. they don't want to camp here anymore" she then said and looked at me. "Where are they going?" I asked her. She then pointed at the hill across the port. "To there" she said and looked at me.
"But they'll be too far"
"That's because they don't feel safe anymore Benji. But don't worry, I'll still be here . I won't leave" she then said and smiled at me.
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Jeanne's P.O.V
"Are you okay Baby bear?" Dad asked yesterday when I woke up my eyes. I said I'm okay and when he asked me who did to me , I said Lourdes. But he didn't believed me , he said Lourdes was in the clinic the whole night and other doctors can witness for her.
But he did mentioned that there's a clone roaming the streets of Charleston and that we have to make sure that the person we're talking to is the real one. I'm sitting in my bed looking at Lourdes , I'm sure that it was her.
Then she started to walk to me to check on my wound.
"How are you?" she asked and then looked at me.
"I'm good" I said to her.
"Next time , you should be careful. You shouldn't go in a storage room with a stranger" she then said , I looked at her. I don't remember her telling her what happened .. maybe Dad told her? or Professor Mason?.
"The cover still looks clean , I'll just come back later" she then said and smiled at me.
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Hal's P.O.V
"Did you hear the news?" I asked Maggie while we're helping clean and pick up debris on the outside grounds.
"No. What is it?" she then asked.
"Anthony is missing. And he's now one of the suspects"
"Since when he's missing?"
"The last time they saw him was 3 days ago. Maggie, I still have to say one more thing" I said and then came closer to her. "What is it?" she asked.
"Karen is using me again" I whispered.
"That can't be. You're with me the whole night"
"I know. But I can see her , I can hear her in my mind. We're still connected , I should turn myself in now before anyone gets hurt"
"I won't let you do that Hal. I thought I made it clear that we'll face Karen together. I can't do that without you by my side"
"Hundreds of residents have died already. I feel guilty Maggie" I said to her and looked her into the eyes.
"Fine. Just say it yourself" she then said and walked away from me. But before going far , she made a turn and walked back at me.
"i'm sorry. This always happen with all my other previous relationships. One thing happens and I bail. But I won't do that this time. If you feel like you need to , then I'm gonna support you all the way" she said and smiled at me. I smiled back and hugged her tight.
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Tom's P.O.V
"Tom" Dan said while knocking at the door of my office. "Come in" I told him and then he went inside.
"The holes are ready" he said and then sat at the couch. "Then we're gonna have to bury them now. Almost 200 bodies . Damn" I said. We're really damaged from the attack. The civilians are mad , I know they are and there's no one to blame but me.
"Mr. President. I just found out that the Liberty trees aren't damaged . Don't you think it's time to launch them?" Ms. Marina asked.
"You're right. We're going to launch it tonight" I said to her and then she stood up and left my office. "Tom, are you sure it's okay to do that?" Dan asked. "we have to commemorate the memories of those who died" i told him.
"You do know that we're going to make some damage to them as payback right?" he then asked. "Of course Dan , we're going on an all out war" I told him.
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"Harry!" I called out to him when we got to the new camp destination. "Hey Ben" he said while carrying some boulders on his shoulder.
"Why'd you choose this place?" I asked and then looked around. The new camp is located on an abandoned building in the middle of the forest. "It's hidden and far from the camp. Far from all the people that are eyeing us down" Nick then said when he walked by me,
"You're not going back to the camps?" I asked him.
"We're still gonna be there. But we need a safe place for the skitters" Harry then said and threw the boulder on the side. "Benji, please move that old truck out" Deni said and then pointed at that old destroyed truck.
"What am I gonna do with these logs?"
"Just put them on the side" she then said and went inside the building. "Lifting vehicles is an always good party trick" Nick then said and he helped me lift the truck out of the wired fence. "It is" I said to him.
"Remember before , we can't even push a convertible and now we're lifting trucks" he then added. "Yeah" I said to him.
Then suddenly , a burning plane flew by our heads , it's flying low towards the camp. I looked at Nick and he nodded. We ran out of the camp along with Harry to check on the burning plane which now crashed just before the port.
When we got there , we saw an army soldier dead. "Should we tell your Dad?" Harry asked. "I think we should" I said.
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Matt's P.O.V
It's late in the afternoon. I walked out to the grounds and saw that no one is smiling , the sadness is overwhelming. I saw Dad, Jeanne, Col. Weaver and Ms. Peralta standing in front of the liberty trees so I walked to them.
"You're gonna launch it?" I asked Dad.
"Yes" he replied.
"When?"
"Tonight Matt. Where's Anne?" he then asked.
"She's at your room" I said to him.
"Okay. Just take care Matt okay? 8:00 pm tonight , we're gonna light up the trees" he then said and I walked back to the building.
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Several hours have passed and all the deharnessed kids decided to go back to the camp for the unveiling of the liberty tree. I held Deni's hands while we're listening to Dad's speech. The other night was by far one of the worst memories I have.
We're like ants scattering .. dodging a giant's feet. We were caught off guard , that's why lots of people died. I looked around and saw many people crying. This paradise is destroyed , and that night will forever go down in the post-invasion history.
Several minutes have passed and Dad got off the stage and walked with Anne towards the tree. The choir started singing and the he wrote down Mom's name on a piece of metal leaf and then put it on the tree.
We all gathered in one line to write the names of our loved ones and put mementos up in that tree, the reminder that we have to fight , that we owe our lives to all those people who died already. I used three leaves and wrote "Jimmy", "John" and "Rick" in there , I'll fight for them.
The line seem to go on for forever. After Deni's done , we moved to the side. She looked at me and smiled , I put my arms around her and kissed her cheeks. "We're gonna be fine" I said to her.
"As long as you're by my side. I know we will" she then replied and kissed me. I looked and saw Dad, Anne and Matt together along with Col. Weaver and Jeanne. Matt walked to the tree to put Crazy Lee's necklace but changed his mind and decided to keep it. I really hope that we're gonna make it through this.
Suddenly 2 beamers flew by and explosions happened again. "Incoming!!" Col. Weaver shouted and we all scattered , I took Deni's hands and we ran to take some cover.
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