Sequel to
After the Cave
Author: Domino
Disclaimer:
Not mine...
Rating: PG
Author's Note: This
is set in the future
with flashbacks to
the past explaining
events.
Part one
2008,
August 21st
The battlefield
was littered. All around
were bodies, some dead
some injured beyond
movement. Both human and
alien. It wasn't much
to say that the humans
lying on the
ground outnumbered the
aliens, not when alien
bodies disintegrated into
dust upon death. Still the fighting continued. Humans were all born
with one thing
that made them
totally unique - the will
to survive despite all
odds. And more importantly
the will to fight
to survive. It was
it their history, repeated over and over - the fight
for freedom from
oppression.
Yet this
time the odds
were great. Besides the
aliens being infinitely
more powerful, they now
after hours of
fighting a losing
battle contained a greater
number of warriors
and infantry. This battle
was a lost cause. It was
time for a
retreat. Michael exchanged a
look with Maria. She
nodded to the
question in his
eyes.
"Retreat.
Retreat. Everyone move back," Michael yelled. Maria moved away from
him and began
to yell to
the other side. In
one massive wave, the
army fighting followed
orders and began
to move back, including Tess, Kyle, Max, Liz, Alex
and Isabel. Shooting right
till the end, Michael and Maria were
the last to
leave. They raced to
the armored trucks
and jumped in
seconds before they
moved away. All around
them explosions were
heard as the
area the battle
took place blew
up. Whether it was
the fleeing humans
throwing grenades behind
them as they
escaped or the
aliens using explosives
in one last ditch effort
to destroy them - all
of that was
irrelevant in the
aftermath of the
battle.
What once
was a thriving city now
lay in ruins - the result of
battle fought long
and hard - a result
of a battle lost. It wasn't
the first battle
they had fought
against their alien
enemies or the
first that the
humans had lost
and it probably wouldn't be
the last. Just like
it wasn't the
first war that
had been fought
for freedom and
independence.
The first
war fought in
America had been
to gain independence from the British. The second one was
for freedom and
equality. This one was
for all three. It
was more important
than any of the
others. It was for
Earth's independence. It
was a long war, 2 years
and ongoing. Guns, lasers,
knives and anything they could
get their hands
on served as
weapons. The only thing
that prevented the
use of nuclear bombs was
that this war
was fought on
American soil.
Two years
in, after Kivar's first
attack on Earth, over
half the North
American continent belonged
to the skins and was
in their control, including Washington DC. The remainder
was land fought
for, and reclaimed as
human territory under
the control of
the Royal Four
and their partners. There was no president
left. He was killed
at the end of Year
One when he
finally wised up
and refused for
the first time
to follow and
give into Kivar's
demands. He along with
the Capital Building, the White House were
blown up taking
with it the
former most powerful
government in the
world and leaving
what was left
of America and
its people in
a state of
a losing war.
The rest
of the world watched , not daring
to interfere. Not after
seeing the UK
and France being
bombed by nuclear
weapons formally belonging
to the United States, that had
fallen into the
hands of Kivar. The UK
and France were
still recovering from
the blow and
the result was
a once powerfully allied nation
left to fight
a war for Earth alone, and
in the hands of 8
young adults, just kids
who didn't and
shouldn't have any
experience leading a
war.
Part two
It was
hard to believe
that the leaders
of the resistance, the ones that
they called Humanities
Hope, the Royal Four
that became the
Royal Eight were
all only in
their mid-twenties. The
men and women
who followed their
orders had a difficult time initially
adjusting to obeying
what to them
were only kids, especially since they were
a nation ruled
by those who
were older, more experienced. But these were difficult
times. And age was
irrelevant. What was relevant
was winning the
war and the
Royal Eight were
the only ones that
stood a chance
of doing that.
It had
only taken one
battle to convince them
that the Royal
Ones were the
ones that they
should follow. The 8 of them, years
of fighting skins
worked together like
a well-oiled machine. They were a unit
and the first
reclamation of human
territory gave those
that doubted their abilities a new faith
and hope, resulting in
the nickname - Humanities Hope.
There were
a number of
factors that made
them both an excellent military and strategic
unit as well
as crisis management
team. First and foremost
they were friends
who trusted each other
implicitly. This was essential
for any team - whatever the situation you
needed to trust
your partner with
your life. The second
essential rule was
that each person
in the group had a
fully defined role, the
role they played
in the group, a role that
together made the
group successful.
In the
war, like in life
they led together, worked together and each
controlled what was
necessary to win. It
was a democracy, one where they
made decisions together
but at the same time
followed decisions. Max was
the figurehead of
the group and
the one that
dealt with strategy. He also
organized the medical
resources of their
troops and the
humans they protected. Liz was in charge
of science, alien technology
and weaponry. She researched
and worked on
ways to counteract
the alien powers.
Tess ran
the intelligence department, her initial introduction into
their lives over
8 years ago
made her well
suited to this
job. Kyle's college and
school life, his jock
career made him
the perfect person
to run the training and
recruitment section. On the
other side was
Isabel. She represented the
Royal Eight and
the humans they
led as the ambassador and was
the person who
dealt with the
political side of
a war. Her other
half led the
Technology and Research
department, his computer and
surveillance expertise holding
him in good stead. Alex often
worked in conjunction
with Liz's Science
Department.
Lastly the
most important arm
in their war against
the skins - the military, the infantry was placed
in the capable hands of
Michael and Maria. They
dealt with the everyday running of troops, daily skirmishes, and led the
large battles that
were fought to
defend and reclaim
land that once
belonged to the
humans. The two
of them worked
as a team and you
rarely saw one
far from the
other, the belief that
their presence protected
the other.
It was
a far step from their
college years, but at
the same time
whatever they learned
always played a
huge part in
whatever they did. It
was more evident in
some of them than others of
course but it
was always there. Just
two years ago the
8 of them had their
lives as college
students and young
working adults cut
short with the
attack. Studies were forced
to be discarded as their destiny finally came through - they had to save
their world, only this
time it was
earth that they
were required to
save.
Max's medical
degree was interrupted
as was Liz's dream of
molecular biology. Today he
repaired injured soldiers
and healed the
hurt and she
used her science
to develop methods
to kill the
enemy. It wasn't what
they wanted but
it was necessary. Tess degree in
psychology also while
incomplete also proved
useful in the line
of intelligence as
did Kyle's degree
in the combined majors of
law and psychology
for recruitment and
training. Isabel and Alex
also made good
use of their studies,
Isabel having based her degree
on political science
and the law
and Alex not
totally unexpectedly spending
his college life
studying Information Technology.
Michael and
Maria didn't use
their degrees as
much. Michael had been
studying architecture,
painting on the side. He didn't
have time to
paint anymore and
the only time
he used his
architecture was his
knowledge of the
engineering of a
building to blow
it up or read the
blueprints to enter
a skin lair. Maria used
hers even less. Her
studies involved a
combined geology, jewelry design
and business major. There wasn't much use
for that in
the middle of
the war although
she was the
only one of
the lot that could
read a budget.
In two
years there lives
had changed immensely. From being carefree college
students they went
to living underground
in a military compound, the leaders
of thousands who
fought for them, died
for them and
would follow their
orders without a
question.
Part three
2003, June
it was
the second week
of their first
summer vacation as
college students. One year
of college had
passed. A difficult year
where for the
first time since
the secret had
been revealed, the 8
of them had
been separated. The first
experience with the
skins in high
school had made
them all but
joined at the
hip for the two
years. They did everything
together until that
final moment after
their graduation when
they all spread
their college wings
in different directions. The couples fought to
at the very least stay
together but living
in 4 different cities made
it difficult to
keep up. They hated
it.
Liz and
Maria missed each
other like crazy
and Max and
Michael, although they would
never admit it missed
each other. Max missed
his sister and
Maria who he
had grown really
close with. Kyle, Maria
and Tess had
a hard time being separate
especially after living
together for a
year when the
Sheriff and Amy
finally tied the
knot. By the time it
happened everyone was
for it. Kyle already
treated Maria as
a sister and
Tess and Maria
had such similar
temperaments they got
along really well. Alex
hated being away
from Maria and
Liz and they
weren't too happy
about it either. Isabel missed her brothers and having girls
to talk to. From
a support system
of 7 people they all
dropped to 1
person. They were all
miserable.
What made
it worst was
the occasional small
skirmish with skins, so
named because of
their peeling skins. Nothing huge and organized
like their first
experience but every
once in a
while a small
group of skins
would try their
luck. They never succeeded
but they were not
always easy wins
not when they
were only two
people to fight
them of. Being separate
was probably a
factor in the
size of the
attacks. The vacation was
looked forward to
by all.
The first
week was slightly
awkward while everyone
readjusted to being
back together but
they were all
so happy to
see each other
again it didn't
last long. It was
an attack by
a group of
6 skins their
first weekend home
that got them
talking. Maybe it was
an excuse to
remain together but
the 8 of them decided
it would be safer
for them to
remain together. Huge arguments and discussions than
erupted on which
one of the four cities they
all lived in
would be the
best for all
of them.
Eventually they
chose Boston, the city
Max and Liz
attended an Ivy
League College. It didn't
take much to
transfer to Boston
Colleges, just some paperwork. The parents seemed happy
with the change - keeping the kids together
was a good move in
their eyes. Everyone managed
to pull of
the transfers and
keep their respective
degrees. Once that had
occurred the kids
took off together and
drove up to
Boston. They were beginning
a search for
a home for all of
them.
They stayed
in a motel for three
days as they
saw house after
house. Because all of
them had to
agree - basically meaning the
girls had to
agree they had
to see quite a few
options. The irony was
that when the
girls finally chose
a house it
wasn't a perfect
house. In fact little
about the house
was perfect except
for the size
and the price. It
was a complete fixer upper. While the neighborhood was
ideal for their
needs, the house required
a lot of work before
it would be
totally livable.
It was
a big house with four
bedrooms, as kitchen in a really
bad state, a dining
room and two
living rooms. Attached to
the house was
a double garage
and a little studio apartment
with two rooms. The
kids all contributed
towards the house with a little
help from their
parents. Michael and Maria
used the money
they had been
saving for a
place of their
own while working
part time for
the past year. Still
most of the
money they eventually
used came from
the bank account
Nacedo left for
them upon his
death. It was to
be used for
living expenses while
on earth. Although the
8 of them were loathe
to use up some of
the money, after a
vote they decided
a house would
be a good investment for
their futures and
as base of
operations. They didn't know
how right they
would be.
The kids
all packed up
their sleeping bags
and moved in. The
summer was spent
fixing up the
place. By the end
of that summer
the house was
almost new. The 8
of them did
almost all of
the work themselves. Walls were torn down, carpets added. The floors
were sanded. Electricity was
rewired and phone
lines added. Huge paint
fights erupted during
the painting of
the house but
eventually the house
was complete. The end
result was a
beautifully restored home
with a practically state of
the art kitchen. One living room had
been converted into
an entertainment center with
all the necessary
requirements for one. It
was the guys
pride and joy. The
other living room
they turned into
a mass study. It contained bookshelves
filled with textbooks, study tables, lamps. One
of the computers was in
the study and
the other in
the living room - for
more recreational purposes.
They all
moved into the
rooms after the
beds had been
added. Furniture was shipped
from Roswell and
what they didn't
have they built
or bought. Every room
had two people. Initially Maria and Liz
took one with
Tess and Isabel
in another. The boys
split their bedrooms
between Michael and
Max sharing and
Kyle and Alex
in the last one. That plan
was eventually shelved
with Liz permanently
in Max's bedroom, Michael practically living in
Maria and Liz's
room. Alex spent all
his time in
Isabel's room and
Tess had more
stuff in Kyle's
room then in hers.
The rooms
above the garage
were , after many conversations discussing what they
should do with
them, changed into studios.
One became an
art room for
Michael (Maria's idea) and
the other, Isabel finally
decided, was to
be a music/band room for
Alex and Maria's
band, the Whits which
they were reviving
now that they
were back together. It was a plan
everyone was happy
with.
All in
all the house
was a pretty normal home
except for the
basement. The basement was
special. Because of its
total privacy it
was the room
that they chose
as their practice
room/gym. Even though by
the end of
the summer Michael
starting referring to
it as the "Danger Room." He was an X-Men
fan. It was filled
with gym equipment
on one side and space
for the aliens
to practice in
on the other.
When the summer ended and their second year of college began, for the first time ever in their lives all 8 of them felt secure and in control of their lives. They had created a home out of their very own hands (and a few alien powers) and just this once their lives were moving along uneventfully. It was a good time, a happy time. They had one rule they all followed. Every morning all of them had to eat breakfast together. The teens studied hard, worked