Falling Down - A Falling Skies Fan Fiction

Conflicting Motives - Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER!: I do not own the characters listed other than Tara and Mik. The plot for this is based off of TNT's Sci-Fi TV show, Falling Skies. Make sure to check out the author's note at the end!

~For my friend Alice, the inspiration and creator of the character Mikeyla <3

The Mason Family was yet again on a mission. While Tom didn't prefer his family ever come with him on such dangerous endeavors, they were becoming grown men. And if they wanted to fight for their country, then so be it. Tom was in no position to tell them otherwise as a History teacher. But some may call him a philospher, leader, preacher. America made boys as young as 8 years old yield a sword and shield. Hal and Ben were no exception. This was a war, their war, and lately it seemed they needed everyone they could get their hands on to help fight it.

"Dad.." Ben whispered as they crouched below the wheels of an old van.

"Yeah Ben?" Tom replied, glancing over at his son quickly before looking back to his right to verify their safety.

"There's a girl chained up to that car over there...she's harnessed." The alien boy sent a motion over to Hal and Maggie to move over to their location. 

"What?" Tom sputtered, scooting up the side of the car to peer through the window. "What the hell?"

"What? What is it?" Hal spoke urgently coming up in front of Tom and Ben. 

"Harnessed girl chained up to a car over there." Ben told the duo, jerking his head to the left as if to tell them her location.

Maggie peeped over the side and furrowed her eyebrows. The girl was clad in a pair of tattered boots, and ripped clothing to match. Her braid was less than adequate as half of it had fallen out and the braid itself was probably so grimy it stuck together. "That's really odd...Does she like...belong to someone?" She asked, trying to formulate a logical reason in her mind as to why a harnessed teenager would be chained up against an old car.

"Well the skitters certainly didn't do it." Tom muttered with a sigh sinking back down to converse with his soldiers.

Hal turned back to them, adjusting his position to kneel. "Torture maybe? There are some pretty messed up people around here.." The oldest Mason's face lit up at the idea, positive that it could be a rational explanation.

"What if they're trying to deharness her? Or it's a loved one, like someone's protecting her?" Ben piped, licking his lips in thought.

Maggie sighed, crossing her legs into a sitting position. "Well whatever the reason, we should stick around just in case."

The group nodded in agreement and sat in their huddled formations. Hal offered up his shoulder for Maggie to nap on, which she was reluctant to accept, but before long the only two that were awake were Tom and his second oldest son, Ben.   

"I don't get it." Ben whispered, more to himself than anyone.

"Don't get what?" Tom sighed, crossing his legs and pulling his coat tighter against the Winter's unforgiving air.

"Why who ever it is that strung her up there isn't back? Maybe we're blowing this whole thing out of proportion. It dosn't really matter if we bring her back or not. Maybe whoever tied her there just did it for the sake of doing it. There may not be anyone." Ben's voice was frustrated, angry even. To Tom, it was all about doing the right thing. Their didn't need to be a reason why she was there. What mattered was the reason they were there, and what it could mean for hummanity. And that reason was you would be saving someone of their alien binds, and possibly saving their loved ones as well. Releasing an american from this unjustice that was so clearly controlling them. To Tom, it was so much more than just picking up a lost stragler.