Falling Skies 1. Chapter 1

3 years ago (The beginning of the invasion)

Day 1

The driving hours from Raleigh seemed to last the whole eternity, and Lily started to think about making a brief stop at the nearest supermarket. Visiting a bathroom as well as doing some walking wouldn't hurt now, since she also promised to get some supplies for her uncle Roger. The young woman thought about the crowds of people in the supermarket this Friday afternoon and cringed, "Damn, why haven't I thought about leaving before now? Yes, Lily, like your first time driving to Unc! Oh well, he'll be working for some more hours anyways..."

The sun was already up in the sky, hot and bright, the suburban houses she was passing by looked peaceful and quiet, just like always. Lily was just glad she could enjoy the last warm days when the gloomy sky doesn't make her sleepy.

A Walmart greeted her with its logo, promising some time in the air conditioned room and pleasure to choose some fruit and candy. After taking a parking spot, Lily rushed to the long desired W\C. The reflection in the mirror only showed the tired face and eyes looking enormous because of the light with slight black circles. A good rest could fix that.

The store had quite a few people in it. Some mothers with kids, elderly, some young trashy guys stocking up with booze – the type of men she avoided most. She quickly threw some bags of chocolates and apples in the basket and decided to call her uncle. Like always, this absent-minded scientist hadn't given her any grocery list!  
"Hey Unc!"

"Silly Lily! You're just on time, kiddo! Are you on your way?"

"Yep, I am but your brain was so busy with the nuclear things that you forgot to say what groceries you need. I don't wanna run into the empty fridge when I arrive. Yogurt night, remember?"

"Sure! Crap, the list...Let me s..s.."

"Unc?! Are you there?"

There was no answer.

'Ah, goddamn connection is often horrible in supermarkets,' thought Lily.

She went back to the dairy and grabbed some yogurts and cheese. "Oh, yeah...bread, cheese...jelly...Oh, and peanut butter or my poor unkie will die!" She looked at her cell phone trying to see the new message from her uncle but there was nothing. The young woman shrugged and started to fill the basket with the stuff uncle Roger usually buys. After all, he was a father figure to her, one of the closest people in the family. Lily knew his habits and preferences all over.

The line at the cashier was huge, Lily could hear some folks grumbling. After five minutes of waiting, she lost her patience and addressed an old lady at the front:

"Hey ma'am, do you have any idea what is taking so long?"

"No idea, dear, looks like the damn system shut off. Let's see if they can fix it."

The tall shaggy man standing nearby looked at her, "Hon, don't you know the aliens arrived? Probably some satellite service got down, there is no cell phone network as well. I saw the news today, the ships were in the major cities. I went here to stock up with stuff, ya know..."

"Gosh, what kind of yellow press did you read?" Lily grinned skeptically. The alien appearance news was on like every week, and she has stopped to read them long ago.

"No, girlie, seriously, the whole thing stinks. I could agree with you if I only read a shitty newspaper or listened to my half-nuts neighbor but...I'm telling you, we all gotta move and hide! The governments don't seem to want do anything and stay idle, they probably think those ships are full of aliens who come in peace. Didn't ya check the news today? No radio in the car?"

"Yes," said the old lady, "I also heard something in the morning but I guess it was somebody's sick joke."

Lily rolled her eyes and looked at the shaggy man, "Oh, don't exaggerate! I think if it was for real they would have blew up the ships already."

Suddenly the power in the building went off. Then it was the sound like...an explosion? The sunlight from outside came through the glass doors of Walmart, it wasn't completely dark inside. In these dim surroundings, Lily saw the shaggy man's face went pale. He froze and whispered quietly, "It starting..."


	2. Chapter 2

Current time...

Waschak-Cha'ab called his son by name again but the younger Volm looked really distracted and meditative. ''Cochise!'' He used the nickname the humans gave to his son. It worked, his offspring turned his head. ''Sorry, father. I got distracted...What were you saying?''

Waschak-Cha'ab sighed and patiently repeated, ''We have to move the mothership, it might be dangerous to stay here any longer. We are already assigning the soldiers to the different areas of Earth. There are other planets we need to keep the Espheni from overtaking. Would you like to come with us?''

Cochise looked at his father with surprise. How could he possibly ask such things if the answer was definite and obvious? "Of course, I will stay here on Earth. I am familiar with the humans, the climate and the surroundings are suitable for our race. I would prefer this region, father. I think if I run into the humans I know I would not have to establish the connection again. I only hope their hot heads did not get them in trouble."

''But it is not the only thing on your mind, is it?''

''No..."' Cochise hesitated. He did not know how to explain his feelings, even though the reason was quite simple. Nor was he sure Waschak-Cha'ab really needs to know his emotions.

''Then you can start picking the soldiers for your team, my son." The Volm commander seemed to ignore his son's mood. ''We will leave in two Earth days, so be ready. You might need to change your uniform, for it will be too notable to the Espheni. We do not have many people to risk their lives, so please, wait with attacks and direct actions. The scouts are reporting the Espheni are going to use new weapons and bioware. For now, you only need to be scouting and investigating. You and your team can have the pods to relocate to the area you choose.'' ''Of course." Cochise nodded, ''With your permission, Father." He said and left the quarters.

He often felt lonely but tried hard not to show it to anyone. The rest of the Volm cut off from the families must be experiencing the same, if not worse, he thought. The humans mostly tolerated him, as the Volm were a significant help in battling the enemy. He would always notice looks of distrust and even disdain from the humans, even though he tried to be respectful and kind to then. Once a little child approached him and asked naively what planet he was from. Cochise was ready to open his mouth and answer to the curious boy but some adult humans ran and dragged the kid away from him. He could only hear, ''Don't talk to the damned aliens, didn't I tell you?!'' Yes, Tom Mason was friendly but Cochise sometimes questioned himself if it was a genuine interest or if it was the duty they had to carry on together. Besides, Tom was always busy and had his family.

Cochise has wondered about many things about the humans and their planet but there was no one to answer. He had to ask only the things that made his curiosity over the top and the facts necessary for the war. He hated to impose.

Two days later Cochise's recon team landed not so far from the woods located relatively close to Charleston. The Volm suddenly felt annoyed and tired with all the war, loneliness and constant danger. He looked at the forest and decided to have a walk. Somebody has to check the area, after all. He met a questioning look of his second-in-command, Shak-Chic. ''No worries, I will be back soon. Going to check for signs of the Espheni.'' Shak-Chic gave him an indifferent look but handed Cochise a gun. ''Do not forget about your safety."

The forest was all quiet, and Cochise did not notice any sign of the human activity he used to see nearby Charleston and Boston. No car parts or undefined debris. He started to enjoy the view of Earth nature, the fresh air and specific tree smells made his annoyance go away. Cochise forgot to track the time as he walked through the forest, gazing at plants with admiration and listening to those weird-looking creatures the human called birds. Suddenly he heard something, like a crack of dry leaves or a stick. Without hesitation, he grabbed his huge gun that was able to destroy a so-called beamer and abruptly turned to the side the sound came from. He expected to see a Skitter but instead it was a young human female. She was looking at him with fear and shock in the eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

The invasion. Day 1

The Walmart store was full of screams now. ''Terrorists!'', someone shouted. The second bomb went right at the plaza, some cars blew up in the air. Lily felt cold somewhere near the stomach. ''Can it be this man was right?'', she thought and rushed outside but got grabbed by the sweatshirt hood. It was that tall man. ''Wanna go outside?! Are you insane?!'', he screamed as several more explosions were heard closer. People were running all around, someone grabbing more goods and trying to leave, someone got on the floor. The shaggy man grabbed Lily and the old lady by the sleeves and started pulling them inside the store. Lily hit him on the arm, trying to break out. ''You're nuts! Let me go, I need to run!''

''Me too, girlie, I have a family waiting for me! Do you wanna get your ass fried in there?! We need to hide for a while!", the tall dude kept on carrying the women inside the aisles. The old woman seemed so shocked she didn't even try to resist. Finally they ran into the kitchen or the preparation area, whatever it was. The man looked around and ran to the huge metal tables. He started opening the doors, probably checking if there was enough room inside. Lily still had her basket in her hands. The man looked at it and suddenly opened his eyes really wide, as if realizing something. ''You ladies go inside those tables, I'll be right back!'', he exclaimed and ran out.

The old lady looked at Lily, ''Do you think we should listen to him?''. Lily turned to her, about to reply when they heard that sound. It was not similar to anything else. It gave them the goose bumps. The women looked at each other and rushed to the table. The old lady gave quite an agile jump on the left and got inside of one table. Lily got the right one, spacious enough to fit two or three people. She suddenly thought they might spend some time there and dragged the basket inside with her. A minute later, the shaggy man ran into and closed the door. He had some bottled water and bread in his arms. Without saying anything, ran to the old lady's hideout, handed her some water and bread and shut the table door close. Meanwhile, Lily discovered a crack between the table and its door and started to observe. The man got inside her table,

''Move over, girlie, I gotta save my ass,too. I got us some water, hell knows how long we'll be hanging out in here''. He sat in front of her, bending his long legs so they nearly touch his chin. Than he saw Lily trying to call on the cell phone and pulled it from her, ''What if there is still some connection and they hear the ringtone?!'' Lily bit on her lower lip, ''Sorry, you got a point. I was just gonna try to call my mom and uncle''. The young woman turned the phone off. The man did the same.

''Hon, everyone got a family, now we have to sit and wait a little''. He was also scared, Lily could hear his teeth chattering. She pointed at the crack and whispered, ''Wanna see, too?'' Suddenly the kitchen entrance door opened, and a screaming man ran inside. Then Lily and the man saw the creature of six legs, a bit shorter as an average human, its yellowish skin looking rough. The creature quickly jumped on the man and hit him, slitting the throat. Lily was about to scream but her hideout neighbor shut her mouth with his palm. His eyes were full of tears. They could hear the old woman screaming. Lily's heart froze when the creature crawled to the table, chirred and opened the hideout door. The old lady shrieked, and the shriek suddenly stopped. Lily nearly jumped but the man grabbed her by the shoulders, still holding her mouth. Both of them had tears streaming down faces but they had to realize that making a sound equals death.

Meanwhile the creature passed by the table trying to catch more sound. Lily only hoped they cannot hear their hearts rushing, as it seemed as loud as canon shots to her. The alien chirred and left the kitchen. There still were explosions and screams outside, and the man gave Lily the ''hush'' signal. Right, she thought, they might still be there. She thought of her mom probably hiding at home or in a supermarket now, and of her uncle still locked inside the university building. Suddenly she remembered one day when uncle Roger brought a telescope he borrowed from a coworker.

...She was about six years old but her uncle told her the basic things about the Solar system and stars. Little Lily ran to the box with the telescope and asked, ''Are we going to see the aliens, unkie?'' Roger laughed, he had to explain to his niece that it was hard to see many things with a regular telescope, so if there were the aliens, they would be too far away. Lily gave out a sad look, ''well, I hope if they visit us I can ask them many things! Like... if they also have families or they don't even know whose child is where like with some animals you've told me about.'' Lily's mother Kate looked at her brother in rage, ''Roger! Aren't there enough things to tell the children about?!'' The young scientist grinned, ''well, yes, things like how to choose a proper boyfriend so he doesn't leave you pregnant, right?''...

The new explosion returned Lily to reality. The man in front of her probably had his legs sleeping, as he tried to move them. Lily pulled his sleeve and whispered, ''We gotta get out soon, we cannot sit here forever''. The man wiped some sweat from his face and nodded. ''I got a cabin for my family not far from Charleston. Come with us if ya wanna". She looked at him as if he said he just arrived from Mars. ''It's more than 150 miles away I guess. How are we gonna cover the road?!''. The man shrugged, ''Any other option? I got there many things for survival, like small stove, water filter, fishing roads and guns to hunt. Better than nothin', huh?''. He stretched his hand for shake, ''I'm Russel by the way. Russel Donovan''. ''Lilith Kadar, just Lily'', she replied and waited for the reaction to her full name many people have been showed over years. Russel chuckled and shook his head, ''Damnit, girlie, like the demon, right? Who was so smart to name you that?'' Lily just sighed, ''will tell you later if we survive''. Russel nodded and got quiet for a while thinking about something. He looked at her, ''If my son survives all this shit he's gonna meet us there at the cabin, there is enough of room for three or four people. He's 19, just like you maybe''. ''I'm 25'', shrugged Lily and got one more surprised chuckle.

They have spent some time sitting quietly and trying not to move. Lily was all shaking of fear. The explosions were heard further now, no screams were heard. As if reading her mind, Russel looked at her, ''ready to check the way out?''


	4. Chapter 4

Current time...

The female was looking at him without blinking, probably seeing no point of escaping. Any gun is faster than a human runner. Cochise put the gun down, ''Do not be afraid, I am not going to hurt you''. The human's big eyes got even wider, ''You...TALK!''

Suddenly he heard a soft sound as if it was a smoothly working tiny engine...Purrr...The Volm looked down and saw an animal he has not encountered before; it was small, had gray fur with dark stripes, quite a long tail and yellow eyes resembling his own a little. The human female startled and hushed at the animal, ''Lizzie! Run!''. The animal, however, ignored her and rubbed its head over the human ankle. Then sat and looked at Cochise.

''Please don't touch her, she is harmless'', whispered the young female. Cochise looked at her more attentively. A young one, at least looks about as young as the fighter named Maggie. About medium human female height, light brown hair – nothing special. The eyes are huge though, almost as big as his and as brown as Tom Mason's. That thing some humans wear on the eyes, glasses. The face and clothing seem cleaner than what those humans from Charleston had. The female frowned,

''If you're gonna kill me do it fast and don't say you're not going to!''

''Oh, believe me, if I was going to kill you I would not hesitate. My race is here to fight the Espheni, not the humans", Cochise tried to keep his voice smooth and calm.

''Esp...What in the world are you talking about?! Do you mean those six-legged aliens?''

'' No, those creatures are just victims themselves, they were enslaved using the device called harness what you have probably seen on human children's backs". The female nodded in agreement and kept on looking at him with her mouth half-opened. The Volm kept on speaking, "The real masterminds of the invasion and the war is the race called the Espheni. They barely go out, they usually use their slaves to do the job. And those mechs are also controlled by the masters". The human looked at him, "Do you mean those robots that make the scary sound?"

"Correct. And the Espheni also attack my home planet in the past. The rest of my race, the Volm, took the mothership and left to seek the Espheni. As it turned out, there were other planets they enslaved. So my people help whenever it is possible. The aggression needs to be stopped". He looked at the shocked woman who was obviously trying to put the new information into her head. "There is a settlement nearby Charleston, I guess it has about several thousands of people. I first arrived there about a year ago when my people landed on Earth..."

"Several thousands...I had no idea how many people have survived", Lily looked around and saw a huge rock and sat. The shock of meeting a new race and the things this alien has told her was enormous. She looked at him, "I've been here all alone with Lizzie for almost 3 years".

Several drops of rain fell on them. Lily frowned, "We better hurry up or this rain will get us right here. But...I have so many questions I don't even know where to start". She stood up. "I am Lilith but better call me Lily". The Volm hesitated before introducing himself. " The humans gave me the nickname, Cochise, they could not pronounce my full name. It is Chichauk Il'sichninch Cha'tichol.". The human looked at him and repeated the full name what sort of impressed Cochise.

"So far you are the only human who could say it".

"Did the others even try?", asked she looking right into his eyes. Cochise shook his head. She was right. They did not really try. Lily shrugged, "I used to study German, one of the other languages spoken on Earth. It has words longer than your name...Anyways...Would you like to go and talk at my place? I really don't feel like getting all wet in the rain and then catch a cold."

Cochise idled for a moment. He hoped this human was not an Espheni agent and her place would not turn out a trap. He remembered the damage caused by another young female, Lourdes. The vivid memories of the event and pain from losing so many people of his own was still bothering him. ''If it is a trap'', he decided, ''they might kill only me but I need to send a signal to my team''.

The Volm nodded and his new human acquaintance picked her gray animal from the ground. Cochise notice Lily's eyes expression, like she was eager to ask something but did not dare.

''What is it? You said you got so many questions''. The female timidly smiled, ''Yeah! But while we walk, do you mind telling me how you find this planet?''


	5. Chapter 5

Current time. Later.

Lily was aware of all the risks of inviting this tall alien with a huge gun to her place even though he seemed really tactful and polite. His humanoid looks surprised her, she was stealthily glancing at him from time to time. How would she know to what degree he was telling the truth about Charleston and the intergalactic war? Or maybe his species prefer to kill not right away but while torturing the victims? ''Maybe you're being too suspicious, Lily'', she thought to herself, ''but well, you might finally learn about some other aliens. Hasn't it been your dream since childhood?'' The long-term curiosity, however, outweighed the precaution. Fascinated, she kept on listening to Cochise's smooth deep voice.

Finally they approached a small house, or it could be even called a cabin, standing on the bank of some small river. There was some sort of shed near the cabin. They got inside just when it started to rain pretty bad. Cochise looked around the interior. There was only one room with two small windows in there. A table, two sofas, some chairs and shelves with different objects on. The alien noticed the things human called books like he saw in the room where he had meetings with Tom Mason and other generals. There was a metal thing in the corner looking like a barrel where the humans used to light up the fire for warming and cooking, it only had a door and a pipe going to the ceiling. The condition Lily lived in seemed much more descent than the fighters lived in when they were on the road. Not to mention she looked cleaner than the 2nd Mass members during the battle trips. Cochise turned to Lily,

''So is it the place you've been living all alone since the invasion?'

Lily picked Lizzie from the floor and Cochise saw a mournful expression in her eyes for a moment, ''Well, actually the cabin belonged to the man, Russell, who saved me on the invasion day. It took us some time to get to here. He...expected his son to join him in here but...he never did. Russell... died soon,too. They had built it before so they had a place to hunt or spend the vacations close to nature. As we figured out, it serves perfectly as a hideout place, since it's quite deep in forest.''

''But Lily...you realize no place can be entirely safe, don't you?''

''I guess so. I usually try to keep a low profile when scavenging and wear a camouflage jacket in the forest. I sometimes see those alien planes flying above. There are some settlements away from the forest or recreation areas, I haven't seen other people so far...fortunately.''

''Fortunately? I thought you would be glad to encounter some help and maybe comrades to survive together.''

Lily looked at him with a grin, then hesitated and sighed, ''You see Cochise, there are some types of people you should avoid in the situation like that. They can murder you over some food or ammo or just...do other things you won't be happy about. Sometimes it's better to be on your own, safer you know...''

She kept stroking her gray animal who was purring again, and Cochise could not help noticing,

''I've never seen this animal before. There were some other species in Charleston, they called them goats and those birds,...chickens. This one is not dangerous, is it?''

Lily smiled and rubbed her nose over Lizzie's head, ''Nope, she is a domestic cat. This planet has other animals similar to her, the felines, but they mostly live in the wild nature. Man got many animals domesticated during the evolution, they mostly served a purpose like guarding the place or giving milk or meat. The cats like Lizzie were supposed to catch rodents that can destroy your food. With the time, most of those animals turned into the pets, we humans have them just to be as a friend or a family member''. The young woman suddenly looked at the Volm and sighed, ''Sorry, it's so impolite of me! Please take a seat, you're probably all tired. Gosh, I think being on my own by myself for all that time ruined all my social skills that were poor enough! Do you...wanna anything to drink? Hot tea of coffee maybe? I've just run out of food but there are snacks''.

Cochise sat onto one of the sofa noticing it was pretty comfortable, especially after the conditions he has lived lately. ''Actually, I have never tried any of those things. I saw the other humans having it on cold days''.

The young woman slightly opened her mouth and froze, ''Wait-wait, do ya wanna say NO ONE has ever treated you with some goodies like that?! You said there were several thousands people in there and NO ONE...EVER?!''

''I ...I did not quite expect anyone to be really friendly, nor had I even my hopes high about the total mission''. He noticed some excitement in Lily, and she replied with a wide smile,

''Then we're totally having this tea party!''


End file.

Falling Skies, Friendship, Romance