Falling Skies
Lion
She woke up in his arms and although it should have felt awkward, it didn't. Poison was still asleep, probably unaware that he was even holding her close. It didn't even feel like a romantic gesture, but simply like it was meant to be that way. Not that she would have been able to tell the difference for sure, there had never been any boy in her life as far as she could remember and 'love' was as foreign to her as the idea of freedom. It just didn't exist in this world anymore and there was no room for it either.
Light began to rise on the horizon and Poison woke, removing his arm from around her waist and sat up, as alert as always. Sky could tell that he had probably only gotten a few hours of sleep but he was used to it.
'We should go back to the lookout, see what Jet is up to. But you should eat something first.' he opened his bag, pulling out a nutrition box. She knew they were hard to come by.
'I've brought food.' she pointed out but he handed her the box anyway.
'You're in training. You need the good stuff. Plus, we might get some new supplies anyway if we're lucky today.' he smiled and got up, leaving her to eat while he left to look around.
The food in the nutrition box wasn't actually good. It tasted like shit just like everything else but it was designed to give the exact amount of nutrients one needed to get through the day without feeling malnourished. Poison was right, she needed it more than him but she decided to still only eat half of it.
About 30 minutes later they had taken their position on the tree again and she could hear his stomach growling. He seemed to ignore it, watching Jet closely through his binoculars. Without a word, Sky placed the box with the remaining food in his lap and took the binoculars from him.
'Don't even think about arguing with me.' she whispered and he smiled.
She focused on Jet, who had just gotten up and was now climbing up the hill to find a good spot to overlook the valley. They could still see him up there but not what he was seeing.
'Shouldn't we move?' she asked Poison.
'Nah. Not yet. We wait til the sun's higher and we can take advantage of the shadow that's gonna be over there.' he replied with a full mouth, pointing over to the slope.
She couldn't help but snort. Of course he had planned it all out right down to the very last detail. Of course he knew exactly where the sun would be and where the shadow would be in a couple of hours. She was such an amateur.
*
Like he had predicted, the shadow hit the slope just a few hours later. Jet hadn't moved from his position at all but now Poison decided it was time for them to find a new spot. There were a couple of bushes on the slope, closer to Jet.
'I'm gonna make sure it's safe first, so wait here.' he handed her the binoculars, jumped off the tree and made his way over to their new position.
After about ten minutes he waved to her and she immediately started following him. Even though they were only stalking Jet, he could tell how seriously she took it, how it made her more focused and careful. Her footsteps had become quiet now, just like his, her movements seemed more fluid. As she cowered down next to him, he gave her an impressed nod and smiled. They were dangerously close to Jet now and Poison put his finger to his lips. No more talking.
Another two hours passed before they could see Jet change position again and again they followed him, now overlooking the valley. In the distance, they could see a trail of dust, moving. A vehicle, coming closer but still too far away to identify. Poison knew what it was. A BLI truck, full of cargo. He smiled, knowing what was about to happen. Sky gave him a confused look and he just nodded and motioned her to cover her ears. Not long now.
He looked over to Jet just as he took out his remote control. The explosion was deafening and he could feel Sky jumping as it took her by surprise. By the sound of it he could tell that it had hit the target and Jet was already on his way down to check on the haul.
'He's gonna need help.' Sky pointed out and Poison nodded.
'We're gonna wait for his call. He has to secure everything first. Otherwise we might blow our cover for nothing.'
Sure enough, a few minutes later, they received Jet's radio call.
'Jet Star to base. Mission successful. One scarecrow, two dracs - dusted. Plenty of supplies. Sector clear and safe. You can move in.'
Poison grabbed Sky by the hand and pulled her up.
*
'How did you two get here so fast? And without the Trans Am?' Jet asked but became aware of what was going on as soon as he saw their backpacks.
'You little shits.' he shook his head while Poison beamed at Sky, who grinned back at him.
'Aww just admit you're impressed.' Sky said and he started laughing.
'Look at you, showing off. You're gonna be just as cocky as this motherfucker here.' he gave Poison a slap on the shoulder, raising an eyebrow at her.
She had learned a lot in the last 24 hours and she was proud of herself. Not only had they stayed undetected, she had proven that she was physically and mentally ready for challenges like this one. It had been fun too, being out here with Poison, watching him. His confidence gave her confidence.
The others arrived about an hour later, by that time the dead bodies had been bagged and the supplies had been made ready for transport. No one would even look for the BLI agents, the truck or the cargo. Not this far out here. It was simply considered collateral damage and new supplies would be ordered. Everything was replaceable, everything deposable, while they depended on it in order to survive.
Ghoul was responsible for the supplies. He also savaged what undamaged technical equipment was left in the truck and took it back to the diner. Overall, everyone was happy with what they had taken. There was plenty of food and water, even some alcohol that the dracs had smuggled, first aid kits, including antitoxin, clothes, toiletries and some weapons. Poison had decided that for now, everything would go into storage since there was no shortage yet. Jet would look for other rebels on his next patrol to see if maybe someone was in need of something they could spare.
'Thought you might need this.' Poison was standing in the door, a bottle in his hand. The guys had started celebrating while Sky had taken a cold shower to clean the desert dirt off of her.
A hairbrush.
'You look like a lion.' he pointed out, sitting next to her, pulling on one of her sand-colored curls.
He was right. At this point, her hair had gotten so out of control, a razor might have been the better tool.
'I think I need to get drunk before I attempt this.' she laughed and he handed her the bottle.
*
None of them were really used to alcohol and they had gotten drunk pretty quickly. It wasn't even midnight yet and Jet had taken on Sky's hair since he had 'experience with curls'. Soon enough, everyone was laughing at the sight of them while Sky was yelping at each stroke of the brush as Jet cursed, trying to detangle the nest of hair.
'Shut UP!' Sky yelled and tried to kick Poison, who caught her leg instead.
'Don't kick your leader!'
'Suck my dick.' she replied and he almost choked on the swig of whiskey he had just taken.
'Language, young lady. You are among gentlemen.' Ghoul snorted and she rolled her eyes at him.
'Yeah right. Gimme that.' she grabbed the bottle from Poison and gulped down some of the fiery liquid. It was disgusting but she liked the way it made her head feel all light while a comfortable warmth spread through her body.
'If I had to guess I'd say she is your leader, brother.' Kobra teased and snatched the whiskey from her again.
Poison looked at her with a smirk and she held his gaze, his hazel eyes brighter than ever. She would never want to be a leader, especially with someone as capable as him doing the job instead. Not only did she admire him, she respected him, even though it was obvious that he dealt gently with her.
'All done.' Jet said and gave her back the brush and got up from behind her.
'Thanks.' she answered, still looking into Poison's eyes.
'I'm gonna get some air.' he said, finally dropping his gaze and stepping outside the diner.
Sky took the bottle from Kobra and followed him.
'What's the matter?' she asked. He had lit a cigarette and was looking into the darkness.
'Nothing.' he answered, obviously lying.
She didn't want to call him out on it. If he didn't want to talk about it, she didn't want to make him. Instead, she just handed him the bottle.
'Have you looked for my necklace yet?' she changed the topic.
'I looked in the car and around the diner but nothing. Sorry. Was it that important?'
Sky sighed. 'Yes. Yes it was. I looked in your room but couldn't find it either. Must have lost it at the shack...the night you found me.'
'Hmm.' he took a swig of whiskey and another drag of his cigarette.
'We should go back. We should really try to find it again.' she suggested and could immediately tell he wasn't happy with that idea.
'You're not ready yet. It's too dangerous. Plus, we probably won't even find it.'
She knew there was no point in arguing with him. Without her necklace she felt naked but it was stupid to even try and explain it to Poison. He wouldn't understand.
'You still look like a lion, by the way.' he smiled at her and ruffled her hair. He had successfully changed the topic again.
Light began to rise on the horizon and Poison woke, removing his arm from around her waist and sat up, as alert as always. Sky could tell that he had probably only gotten a few hours of sleep but he was used to it.
'We should go back to the lookout, see what Jet is up to. But you should eat something first.' he opened his bag, pulling out a nutrition box. She knew they were hard to come by.
'I've brought food.' she pointed out but he handed her the box anyway.
'You're in training. You need the good stuff. Plus, we might get some new supplies anyway if we're lucky today.' he smiled and got up, leaving her to eat while he left to look around.
The food in the nutrition box wasn't actually good. It tasted like shit just like everything else but it was designed to give the exact amount of nutrients one needed to get through the day without feeling malnourished. Poison was right, she needed it more than him but she decided to still only eat half of it.
About 30 minutes later they had taken their position on the tree again and she could hear his stomach growling. He seemed to ignore it, watching Jet closely through his binoculars. Without a word, Sky placed the box with the remaining food in his lap and took the binoculars from him.
'Don't even think about arguing with me.' she whispered and he smiled.
She focused on Jet, who had just gotten up and was now climbing up the hill to find a good spot to overlook the valley. They could still see him up there but not what he was seeing.
'Shouldn't we move?' she asked Poison.
'Nah. Not yet. We wait til the sun's higher and we can take advantage of the shadow that's gonna be over there.' he replied with a full mouth, pointing over to the slope.
She couldn't help but snort. Of course he had planned it all out right down to the very last detail. Of course he knew exactly where the sun would be and where the shadow would be in a couple of hours. She was such an amateur.
*
Like he had predicted, the shadow hit the slope just a few hours later. Jet hadn't moved from his position at all but now Poison decided it was time for them to find a new spot. There were a couple of bushes on the slope, closer to Jet.
'I'm gonna make sure it's safe first, so wait here.' he handed her the binoculars, jumped off the tree and made his way over to their new position.
After about ten minutes he waved to her and she immediately started following him. Even though they were only stalking Jet, he could tell how seriously she took it, how it made her more focused and careful. Her footsteps had become quiet now, just like his, her movements seemed more fluid. As she cowered down next to him, he gave her an impressed nod and smiled. They were dangerously close to Jet now and Poison put his finger to his lips. No more talking.
Another two hours passed before they could see Jet change position again and again they followed him, now overlooking the valley. In the distance, they could see a trail of dust, moving. A vehicle, coming closer but still too far away to identify. Poison knew what it was. A BLI truck, full of cargo. He smiled, knowing what was about to happen. Sky gave him a confused look and he just nodded and motioned her to cover her ears. Not long now.
He looked over to Jet just as he took out his remote control. The explosion was deafening and he could feel Sky jumping as it took her by surprise. By the sound of it he could tell that it had hit the target and Jet was already on his way down to check on the haul.
'He's gonna need help.' Sky pointed out and Poison nodded.
'We're gonna wait for his call. He has to secure everything first. Otherwise we might blow our cover for nothing.'
Sure enough, a few minutes later, they received Jet's radio call.
'Jet Star to base. Mission successful. One scarecrow, two dracs - dusted. Plenty of supplies. Sector clear and safe. You can move in.'
Poison grabbed Sky by the hand and pulled her up.
*
'How did you two get here so fast? And without the Trans Am?' Jet asked but became aware of what was going on as soon as he saw their backpacks.
'You little shits.' he shook his head while Poison beamed at Sky, who grinned back at him.
'Aww just admit you're impressed.' Sky said and he started laughing.
'Look at you, showing off. You're gonna be just as cocky as this motherfucker here.' he gave Poison a slap on the shoulder, raising an eyebrow at her.
She had learned a lot in the last 24 hours and she was proud of herself. Not only had they stayed undetected, she had proven that she was physically and mentally ready for challenges like this one. It had been fun too, being out here with Poison, watching him. His confidence gave her confidence.
The others arrived about an hour later, by that time the dead bodies had been bagged and the supplies had been made ready for transport. No one would even look for the BLI agents, the truck or the cargo. Not this far out here. It was simply considered collateral damage and new supplies would be ordered. Everything was replaceable, everything deposable, while they depended on it in order to survive.
Ghoul was responsible for the supplies. He also savaged what undamaged technical equipment was left in the truck and took it back to the diner. Overall, everyone was happy with what they had taken. There was plenty of food and water, even some alcohol that the dracs had smuggled, first aid kits, including antitoxin, clothes, toiletries and some weapons. Poison had decided that for now, everything would go into storage since there was no shortage yet. Jet would look for other rebels on his next patrol to see if maybe someone was in need of something they could spare.
'Thought you might need this.' Poison was standing in the door, a bottle in his hand. The guys had started celebrating while Sky had taken a cold shower to clean the desert dirt off of her.
A hairbrush.
'You look like a lion.' he pointed out, sitting next to her, pulling on one of her sand-colored curls.
He was right. At this point, her hair had gotten so out of control, a razor might have been the better tool.
'I think I need to get drunk before I attempt this.' she laughed and he handed her the bottle.
*
None of them were really used to alcohol and they had gotten drunk pretty quickly. It wasn't even midnight yet and Jet had taken on Sky's hair since he had 'experience with curls'. Soon enough, everyone was laughing at the sight of them while Sky was yelping at each stroke of the brush as Jet cursed, trying to detangle the nest of hair.
'Shut UP!' Sky yelled and tried to kick Poison, who caught her leg instead.
'Don't kick your leader!'
'Suck my dick.' she replied and he almost choked on the swig of whiskey he had just taken.
'Language, young lady. You are among gentlemen.' Ghoul snorted and she rolled her eyes at him.
'Yeah right. Gimme that.' she grabbed the bottle from Poison and gulped down some of the fiery liquid. It was disgusting but she liked the way it made her head feel all light while a comfortable warmth spread through her body.
'If I had to guess I'd say she is your leader, brother.' Kobra teased and snatched the whiskey from her again.
Poison looked at her with a smirk and she held his gaze, his hazel eyes brighter than ever. She would never want to be a leader, especially with someone as capable as him doing the job instead. Not only did she admire him, she respected him, even though it was obvious that he dealt gently with her.
'All done.' Jet said and gave her back the brush and got up from behind her.
'Thanks.' she answered, still looking into Poison's eyes.
'I'm gonna get some air.' he said, finally dropping his gaze and stepping outside the diner.
Sky took the bottle from Kobra and followed him.
'What's the matter?' she asked. He had lit a cigarette and was looking into the darkness.
'Nothing.' he answered, obviously lying.
She didn't want to call him out on it. If he didn't want to talk about it, she didn't want to make him. Instead, she just handed him the bottle.
'Have you looked for my necklace yet?' she changed the topic.
'I looked in the car and around the diner but nothing. Sorry. Was it that important?'
Sky sighed. 'Yes. Yes it was. I looked in your room but couldn't find it either. Must have lost it at the shack...the night you found me.'
'Hmm.' he took a swig of whiskey and another drag of his cigarette.
'We should go back. We should really try to find it again.' she suggested and could immediately tell he wasn't happy with that idea.
'You're not ready yet. It's too dangerous. Plus, we probably won't even find it.'
She knew there was no point in arguing with him. Without her necklace she felt naked but it was stupid to even try and explain it to Poison. He wouldn't understand.
'You still look like a lion, by the way.' he smiled at her and ruffled her hair. He had successfully changed the topic again.
@carmen_mcr
Aww thank you - I'm glad you enjoyed it so much.
Maybe I will write a sequel. I want to!
9/29/13