“And the recent disappearances of the survivors of the invasion of the town of Harmony from over a year ago has drawn concern…”

“Alice, are you reading the news again?”

She looked up from her phone and blinked as David Lovelace stood there with a cup of coffee in his hand. “Uhhh…”

He sighed. “I saw it from your face. Look Alice, we’ve got to keep our minds off of it. You know that we are being protected right now. Nothing can get close to us without our government seeing and stepping in.”

“But Dad! The survivors are still going missing! If they’re so protected then how is this still happening?”

“I’ve been asking the same questions Alice, and you heard their answers. Those people refused protection and put themselves at risk…”

*Bang*

Alice slammed her hand on the kitchen table. “You trust them? You believe that crap? After everything happened? After they kept me trapped for months without seeing you?”

Alice looked at her hands. They were shaking. Dad sighed again and sat down.

“Look, worrying so much isn’t doing you any good. You’re shaking again. I can see how tired you are, I heard you pacing around last night.”

“I… I…”

Dad held up a hand to stop her.

“No… No, I get it. What you had to go through last year, no wonder you're nervous. But just focus on what you can control. Focus on school, grades. Make some more friends at school. It’s only the start of your senior year, let yourself enjoy it. Let the adults handle this. You saw the news. Everyone knows about the problem now and no way they’ll let anything happen to us, even if it's only to preserve their public image. People here know who we are even if not what you’ve been through.”

Alice muttered under her breath,

“Friends…” All her real friends were dead. Consumed by the alien monsters. Last year was lonely. Every time she drew close to someone all she could see were their dead faces again. Slack jawed as they were infested with the parasite.

“Can you do that for me Alice?” She looked up to see Dad’s concerned face staring at her from across the table. She looked away to the side

“Okay,” she muttered quietly, “I can do that.”

“Good! Good. Now, time for school. Don’t want to be late again.”

“Ugh, fine. I hate Mondays.”

Her dad laughed, “Ah, don’t we all Alice. Now git! And remember to brush your teeth this time.”

“C’mon dad, it was only one time!”

“I’m doing you a favor. I can see on your face you were going to forget again.”

“No….?”

Slightly embarrassed, Alice quickly went to brush quickly and went into her room and quickly threw her books and papers into her bag and slung it over her shoulder. She had to always go to school so early so Dad could take her before he went to work.

She hadn’t been ready to be so close to people again when she got back, and both of them had just gotten in the habit of leaving early to drop her off at school. Her first time on the bus she had twitched at every little movement and sound. Apparently the ADF liked it too, so they could protect her and her dad more easily. They were out there watching them from the shadows. Whether she wanted them there or not.

— — — O — o — O — — —

Alice sat in class, listening to her history teacher talking about the effects of guns on warfare in Europe. It should have been an interesting topic, but somehow the man’s voice went in one ear and out the other. She glanced across the room and saw that Josh was asleep at his desk. Again. She started paying attention again and glanced back between Mr. Williams and Josh. Yep, the man was just going to ignore it. Whate… She made eye contact with Mr. Williams. “Ah, Alice. A question?”

Everyone looked at her as she froze. “Uhm. No Mr. Williams. No… No question.”

“Alright then. Moving onwards, the French had a particular type of naval fort known as…”

Alice zoned out again as the monotone voice returned. She couldn’t wait for this class to be over.

“And class dismissed. Don’t forget the homework due tomorrow.” Everyone got to their feet and shuffled out, blinking and releasing their yawns now the first period was finally over.

“Ah, Alice. I’d like to speak with you for a minute.”

The others whispered and looked at her, but after a moment the room was empty besides just the two of them, with the door wedged open to the bustling hallway. Mr. Williams took out a bundle of stapled papers and held it out to Alice. She took it and her heart sank as she saw it was her test from last week. Sixty five percent. She looked up as Mr. Williams began to speak.

“Look, I’m not sure of your personal situation this year. I can tell you’ve been distracted ever since you got back from summer break. And I know this is not your best based on your last year’s grades. But bad grades in your last year can impact your college applications in January. Make sure you study next time, and ask for help if you need it. For both studying and personal issues.”

Someone walked through the door, staring curiously at them. Alice hastily stuffed her test back into her bag. Mr. Williams went to the whiteboard and began erasing his drawings. “Go ahead, your next class should be soon. Here’s the note.”

He scribbled an excused tardiness note quickly and handed it to Alice, and she left just as more and more people began to filter back in for the next class. She hurried to Chemistry class next. Another fun one.

— — — O — o — O — — —

Alice sat in the corner of the cafeteria, eating alone. You think in a month and a half of trying to be inconspicuous, people would begin to ignore her. Things were different now after the summer. There were all sorts of nasty rumors flying around about her. She hadn’t exactly been a social butterfly before, but now she was practically shunned by almost everyone. And they all still seemed to be looking at her, waiting for her to do something.

After she finished her food, she stood and put back her lunch tray and went to leave. In the hallway she opened her locker only to hear footsteps behind her. There walking towards her were Josh and his two lackies always following him around. Josh was a big football player, arrogant and so full of himself. There were a few others milling about between classes and they slowed down to watch what was about to happen.

Josh met Alice’s eyes for a moment and then smirked and continued his conversation with the other two louder than before as she stood there, as he pretended that Alice wasn’t there.

“I say it’s all a hoax! Everyone knows aliens aren’t real. The government just did it so they could create the ADF. They take people in the night, you know. No warrants, no warning. Just *Bam* and you're gone.”

Alice clenched her fists and tried to avoid gritting her teeth. This jerk was just doing it to provoke her. All three of them were watching her, as people around them stopped to watch, sensing the tension. He had been prodding her ever since the disappearances started right after they got back in school.

“Actually, I heard they were all paid actors. That’s what my dad said. All these disappearances are just them losing their jobs to work somewhere else. It was like the gig of a lifetime for them!”

“That’s not true.”

Josh raised an eyebrow at her, looking smug. Everyone in the crowd around them looked uncomfortable at his words, but no one else spoke up.

“And how would you know? It's not like you were there. Those people are fine, I’m telling you.”

Alice flushed and anger washed over her as she started hyperventilating.

“You! All of those people are dead! Killed by the Infected. All that suffering. All of them… How can you… Liar! ”

“Ms. Lovelace,” an older voice interrupted her.

Alice startled as she realized how loud her voice had gotten. She was practically shouting at the top of her lungs by the end. Josh looked surprised at her sudden outburst, usually she didn’t respond and tried to ignore him. But he had never been so obvious about it before either.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

He had been prodding and poking her specifically with snide comments for weeks now once he noticed her flinching at his words. The others just looked uncomfortable, but none of them had ever had as obvious reaction as her at his words. Josh was always there with that stupid smug smile. Always looking for a reaction. Mr. Williams glanced between her and Josh as the rest of the students quickly scattered and Alice slowly cooled down and gathered her emotions.

“What is happening here?”

Josh shifted posture as he turned to Mr. Williams.

“Oh, sorry Mr. Williams. We were just arguing about something and it got out of hand. You know how girls can get. Overly emotional.”

Mr. Williams face flashed with distaste briefly before his expression flattened again.

“I’d appreciate you not talking about other students that way, Mr. Taylor. No matter their gender,” He turned to look at Alice for a moment and his expression softened a little,

“And what was this argument about?”

Josh cut in, looking a little nervous now.

“Just something personal between us, Mr. Williams. Nothing really important.”

Josh turned back to her and glared daggers at her. To threaten her into silence. Alice thought back to all she had been through as she watched the guy’s personality shift again. What a coward, afraid of the consequences now a teacher was around. This was the guy she had dreaded meeting in the hallways? It all felt so ridiculous now.

“No.” She raised a finger at him.

“He said the invasion of Harmony wasn’t real! That they were paid actors that… None of them… were dead.” C’mon Alice, keep it together, she swallowed something in her throat.

“He…”

Mr. Williams held up his hand, and seemed to be working to stay calm. “Don’t worry, that’s enough Alice. You don’t have to say anything else. We’re going to the principal's office to sort this out.”

Alice wiped her sleeve over her face and it came back wet. As they walked down the stairs, Josh turned to her and made an exaggerated scrunched face at her. Mocking her for crying. Alice almost lost it and jumped forward to throttle him, but the man that Francis had shot flashed in her vision. His dead face on the concrete floor in the Ranch, staring blankly into the ceiling.

It had been to protect her, but she still couldn’t get the image out of her head. And it was like a bucket of water had been dumped over her and suppressed her violent urge. After a few shaky breaths she reached inside herself and felt the big orb of glowing Potential within her.

She couldn’t use it for anything really without the weapons Francis gifted her last year, but it was comforting to just feel it spin within her. A comforting presence, always there no matter what happened. They arrived in the principal’s office and were brought inside with Mr. Williams, who gave his basic version of events. The principal met Alice’s eyes for a moment, and gave her a tiny nod. He knew she had been in Harmony. Maybe the only one in the whole school who had been told by the ADF.

“Alright, one by one. You first Ms. Lovelace.”

Alice summarized what had happened as calmly as she could. After she was done, the principal looked at Josh, “And you say this has been building for weeks?”

Josh looked angry, and fearful for a moment before his face cleared. “It’s not true! She’s just saying all of that to make herself look better. I was just trying to have a conversation, she’s the one that started yelling about it.”

The principal sat back, steepling his fingers. “So it was a totally innocent conversation then?”

Josh seemed a little put off by the principal's nonchalance, but stammered back. “Ye… yeah. That’s right. I did nothing wrong. She doesn’t get to yell at me just because she has a different opinion.”

The principal sighed and rubbed his temples, “Well this is going to be a mess. I can feel it already. Let’s see who else was there to hear what happened.”

— — — O — o — O — — —

Alice was sitting outside the office, trying to ignore Josh’s glare as she sat reading the news again on her phone. No more disappearances since this morning of any more survivors of Harmony. At least not ones that got in the news. Other students that had been in the crowd had filtered in and out. Mr. Williams had left twenty minutes ago to go teach his class. The secretary walked over to them and Alice looked up.

“Both your parents have been called. You will be sent back to class, and there will be a meeting after school to discuss with your parents present.”

By the end of the school day, everyone was talking about what had happened. Surprisingly, some of the girls came up to Alice and tried to cheer her up. Just making quick conversation before moving on. It seems like other people disliked Josh just as much as Alice did. She cheered up a little at the encouragement, maybe once this mess was over at least she wouldn’t have to deal with Josh targeting her anymore. Maybe he was the one behind the rumors. Was he was why everyone had been avoiding her this year?

— — — O — o — O — — —

“How dare you! Is this what you’ve been telling your son? You’ve seen the same videos we all have. How can you deny all that suffering of…” Alice’s dad’s face was red and he was incensed as he argued with Josh's father. Apparently he was some kind of bigshot lawyer, arriving in a full suit and tie. What a contrast with his beliefs.

“Yes, very good television. But not real. Isn’t it just convenient that aliens arrive right at the end of President Harrow’s term in office? He only won that election because of his nice little speeches about dealing with the “crisis”. It’s a conspiracy I tell…”

“Enough!” The principal yelled loudly over the argument and both men went silent. “Let’s keep it civil, this is about your children not you.”

Both men grumbled, but went silent. The principal looked between Josh and Alice.

“Now as you see this is a…” He glanced at Mr. Taylor. “...Heated issue. But your bullying of Alice here is not acceptable Josh. I have heard from the other students of the other instances where you spread rumors or otherwise provoked Alice here. This was only the last straw in a long string of provocations.”

Josh spluttered as his father turned, his brows furrowed. “I… I… Who said that? They are just saying that to get on her good side. They just don’t like that me and my dad have a different view than everyone else!”

He glanced at his father for affirmation, but the man’s considering expression didn’t change and Josh’s expression faltered a little. The principal went to respond, speaking carefully,

“Josh. I think you know why people don’t like your words. And both you and your father know how they will be received by the school board when they hear them too. The more you protest and defend your statements the worse it will get for you…”

Mr. Taylor turned to the principal and interrupted him. “My son will take whatever punishment you hand out, and be assured I will correct his behavior as well. To think he would work to ruin both his and my reputation so thoroughly…”

The Principal paused and blinked, obviously expecting more pushback. Josh looked shocked and hurt at the proclamation. Mr. Taylor continued,

“And to you Alice, I apologize for… my son’s…… Have we met before?”

Alice blinked as the man studied her face intensely, feeling uncomfortable as his tone suddenly shifted as if trying to remember something. “In fact, don’t you look like…”

He pulled out his phone and typed on it for a moment before glancing between the screen and Alice’s face, his jaw dropping in shock. “You’re… You were in Harmony? The first one who escaped?”

“No! I mean, no that isn’t me. Uhhhhh.” Alice glanced between her dad and the principal who both looked stricken. She had thought the ADF had taken care of this thing at least. How did he even have a picture?

The ADF told them they scrubbed anything from the internet that would connect her or her dad to Harmony. She even had to memorize facts about her “old” school that they said she had come from originally. Alice’s dad spoke up, but both she and Mr. Taylor seemed to notice the sweat on his brow.

“That’s ridiculous! Everyone knows that woman was in her thirties. Alice is only nineteen.”

“There was a prominent source within the government that leaked the real truth behind what happened, and her image is right here. How do you explain THAT?”

Mr. Taylor held his phone out to Alice’s dad, and Alice watched as he nearly laughed as he saw the website it was on. “Patriot Battle Truth .info? Is this some kind of joke? You think THIS means anything? I thought you were a lawyer. You believe all this crap? Ha! That one says the president is a cannibal.”

Mr. Taylor’s neck flushed a little at the mockery and he rapidly pulled the phone back and his tone grew defensive.

“How do they have her image then? It is her, why are you so relieved then if none of it is true, huh? I think I don’t need the website anymore to believe it.”

The principal stepped in. “The both of you, this is clearly off topic again. Given the apparent… Complexity of the situation, punishment won’t be decided right now. But it will be coming.”

He turned to Josh and squinted. “And I don’t want to hear you spreading any more malicious rumors about Alice here either. No matter what your father believes.”

Josh opened his mouth, but closed it again as the principal glared at him.

“Yes, sir,” he said sullenly. With that, they stood and all left silently. Mr. Taylor's apology for Josh was apparently forgotten as the two left. Alice was just glad she wouldn’t have to listen to the man any more. The father was as bad as his son, if not worse. As they got in the car, Dad looked over at Alice and grinned a little,

“Imagine that man as your lawyer? That man couldn’t argue himself out of a parking ticket, let alone a criminal trial.”

Alice snorted, and after a moment they both began laughing as Dad started to drive away.

When they got home, Dad called the ADF about the leak and what had happened at school, and they said they would take care of it. And that was it.

— — — O — o — O — — —

Logging in… PatriotBattleTruth.info

Thread 1: The Government has been infiltrated by the Invaders!

Thread 2: President Harrow is secretly a cannibal traitor to humanity.

Open Thread 3: The Aliens were never real, it's a plot to use the ADF to silence dissent!

Unread posts: (1467 unread)

LwyrTruth33 typing: “The supposed first survivor lives in my town! She just goes to school and is still pretending that it was all real…”

Thread 4: The Aliens are friendly and here to free us from the tyrannical ADF!

Ted Taylor finished typing his comment and sent it. The others would understand what was really happening, unlike everyone else in this backwards town. He had to tell the world. He settled into bed, sighing at the empty space next to him. If only Diana hadn’t left him… How could she leave him with their son, useless as he was? To think he had been bullying someone who was so critical to blowing the whole conspiracy wide open. The boy had smeared Ted Taylor’s perfectly crafted reputation with his foolishness…

— — — O — o — O — — —

Thirty minutes later, the offending post had been found and deleted by the ADF. But it was too late, someone, or something had already seen it and had taken notice...