This Is War

three

I stared at him skeptically, "The what?"

"2nd Mass. An organization that fights against skitters and mechs and their overlord."

"The what?"

He sighed, "Skitters are these strange aliens that came and attacked Earth less then a year ago."

Now this, I knew.

"Aliens?! I know them! Or, know OF them. Don't personally know them. . . Glad not to. They killed my mom. And my dad. . . Took Leven. Took Conrad. . ."

I fought tears, the sight of actual people besides Ky brought back painful memories. The peoples' faces softened in sympathy. I hardened up, blocking out any emotions. I don't need sympathy. I lived through the past nine months because I was smart and could supply for our needs, I didn't live off of pity. Besides, I never opened up to people before the invasion, now is even more reason now.

Anyway, I had more questions.

"How many of you are there?"

"About. . . Little less than three hundred, I'd say." Hal estimated.

Tom nodded.

I got off the cot I'd been lying on, "Okay. I can take on that many," I buffed. "You," I jabbed a finger at Hal, "Take me to Ky. Then you can show me around your little camp and answer some more of my questions."

The doctor came forward and tried to gently push me back on the cot, "You need rest, you've lost blood and need to recover."

"DON'T TOUCH ME." I glared at them all. "I wouldn't be here if you klutzes had been more careful! I was perfectly happy being with just Ky. Scavenging for food in broken down grocery stores and abandoned homes. The aliens weren't able to find us, we were perfectly safe!"

I took Hal's shoulders tightly. He was a good whole head taller than me, but thirteen-year-old girls can be extremely hazardous. Especially when they're carrying around a broken heart. I had a life before the attack. Loving parents, annoying brothers, amazing best friends, horrible tests, frustrating crushes, a normal teenage life. Now all I had was Ky and my backpack. My backpack!

"Where's my pack?" I released Hal and spun around quickly. The little boy, Matt, I recall, handed me my worn green pack.

"Thanks," then I turned to Hal again, checking the pack for all my possessions. "Take me to Ky. Now."

He bowed sarcastically, "As you wish, your majesty." Then stepped outside the tent.

I hustled to keep up with the brunette and his long legs. We passed other tents, all the same ugly khaki color as the one I was in. Camouflaged buses and trucks covered in some kind of pink stuff surrounded us. Motorcycles parked randomly here and there. Grungy survivors were either sitting around joking or walking around carrying things. Each and every person had a gun of some sort, even the little kid, Matt, now that I thought about it.

"Sooo. . ." I tried to think of something to break the silence. We passed a blonde girl, who waved at Hal. He smiled back and when I looked at her, she half glared at me.

"Is that your girlfriend?" I asked.

"Maggie? Ummm, yeah."

"Oh."

"Here we are. Your Ky is right in there," He pointed to a tent with both its flaps closed. My eyes narrowed and I gestured to the entrance, "After you."

Hal gave another exasperated sigh and went inside, me on his heels. The air was stuffy and the light was dim. Four little children laying across cots, sleeping. A young woman with dark hair was sitting in a chair, watching the kids. When we entered, she looked up and grinned at me, "Hi, I'm Lourdes. And you are?" She stuck out her hand.

I ignored her hand, placed my hands on my hips, looked her straight in the eye and replied shortly, "Dion."

Lourdes lowered her hand, and still smiling, "The new little boy here must be your brother."

It was going to get annoying explaining this to people.

"No. Found him. Both his parents died. I took him on. I was alone, too."

Her grin faltered a bit, "Oh. I'm so sor-"

"Yeah, whatever. Life's not fair, huh?"

I scooped up Ky, still lightly snoring and stepped outside again. Hal followed and I turned to him.

"Well, now you gotta show me around. Not staying somewhere I'm not comfortable with."

"You're staying?"

"What do you expect me to do?"

"Oh, uh, nothing." He kept staring at me weirdly.

Finally I raised an eyebrow exasperatedly, "Well?"

"Right! Sure thing."

An hour later, we were back in a tent. It was me, Hal, Ky, Tom, and a man I've never seen before. The man stared at me a while. Then looked at Tom, then back to me.

"I'm Scott Weaver. Commander of the 2nd Mass. If you are to stay here, you follow my orders, and mine only. Understood?"

He looked very fearsome with the military uniform and the rifle slung across his shoulder, but no way was I gonna follow anybody's orders.

"Yeah, no. The only bosses of me are my mom and dad. And they're dead. So now I'm the boss of me. Understood?" I mimicked his last word.

We stood like that for a long time, him staring at me, sizing me up. Then he started to chuckle. The chuckle turned to laughter and he cracked up for a good long minute. Then he regained his dignity and smiling, he looked at me.

"I thank you. I haven't laughed like that for a long time."

"Wasn't being funny."

Back with my regular life, I was actually quite the comedian. Not around my family, but with my friends, I was a little of everything. Comedian, dare-devil, brave, dorky, etc..

Now all I was was an abandoned teen with a little kid and a set of books. Not much to live up to.