Yesterday's Gone: Season One

asked.
    “Could be,” Ed said. “This is the first we’ve run into them all the way from Ohio, so I’m hoping they’re just here. Either way, we need to get out of here right now and find somewhere safer. Pack whatever you need. I’ve got the truck ready to go downstairs.”
    “Where are we gonna go?” Teagan asked, hands on her pregnant belly. “Is anywhere safe? We’ve got government agents in helicopters, hillbillies with guns, and now aliens! Where are we supposed to go?”
    “I’ve got a place in Florida all set up,” Ed said. “It’s solar powered, has a well for fresh water, and a saferoom to protect us in case the shit hits the fan. Well, if any more shit hits the proverbial fan.”
    “You were prepared for this?” Ken asked, with a huge grin.
    “Not this ; just prepared,” Ed said. Both Jade and Teagan were looking at him suspiciously.
    “What kinda job did you have?”
    Ed wasn’t sure if the kid knew and was just fucking with him or if Jade really had kept quiet.  
    “You didn’t tell him?” Ed asked, turning to Jade.
    “Your name didn’t come up much,” she said, a look in her eyes he didn’t want to see.
    “The less you know, the better, Ken,” he said. “Let’s just say it was my job to be prepared for any eventuality. And I was good at my job.”
    Ken smiled nervously before breaking eye contact. Ed didn’t think the kid was sleeping with his daughter. He seemed effeminate and looked like he’d fold like a lawn chair at the first sign of opposition. Not the kind of guy he’d want dating his Jade. But then again, girls tended to go out with exactly the kind of guys most likely to disappoint their absent fathers. And being an absent father, there wasn’t a whole damned lot you could do about it.
    As Ed watched Ken scramble to fill a grocery bag with items, he felt like someone was watching him. He turned to see Jade and Teagan both staring. Unlike Ken, Jade kept eye contact.
    “I’ll be right back,” Ken said, “I need to get something from next door.”
    The way Ken said the word something and exchanged glances with Jade, Ed figured it was some kind of drug. Hopefully it was only weed and not meth, cocaine, or any of the really dangerous shit. Otherwise, he’d have to play Strict Dad, a role he never felt comfortable in, especially given how little he was present in Jade’s life. However, that didn’t mean he would stand idly by if he thought she was endangering herself. Being a parent meant sometimes you had to be the Bad Guy — a role Ed was all too familiar with.
    “So, this place of yours in Florida,” Jade began, “How long have you had it? How do you know it’s still there?”
    Ed, confused by the line of questioning. “It’s still there. Trust me.”
    Suddenly, a scream came from the next apartment. Ken, followed by an unholy shriek and clicking, then the crash of furniture and someone hitting the wall.
    Well, there’s the missing alien.
    Ed grabbed his guns, raced into the hall and into the next apartment. Ken was on the ground balled up and screaming as the creature stood over him, swiping down. Fortunately, it was one of the aliens with stumps instead of clawed hands.  
    Ed raised his pistols, surprise on his side, and went for the shot. Something hammered Ed in the back, knocking the wind out of his lungs and sending him sprawling forward into a circular dining room table. He landed on top, and went tumbling over it, taking the table with him, as his head slammed into a chair and the gun in his right hand bounced away.
    To his right, the first creature, atop Ken, turned, eyes dialing in on a motionless Ed, who was lying on his back, the back of his head splitting in pain.
    The alien who had hit him from behind — and Ed was almost positive it was an alien now — stood fully and opened its mouth wide, releasing a shrill screech and clicking sound which bore deep into Ed’s skull. The one which had attacked him from behind, which did have claws, joined in the clicking. As both creatures approached, Ed fought to maintain consciousness, vision blurring at the edges as pain threatened to shut him down.
    Must fight it... Pain is an illusion. It’s how you respond to it that matters... Push it down, drive it down deep.
    He fought the pain, raising his left arm at the clawed creature, trying to aim for its head. But his vision was too blurred. He felt like he was looking through sheer wet cloth. He closed his eyes, then opened them again, as