S1, E7 | Receipts

} The following events take place on 26th June, 2030, and the 18th of January, 2031 {

> 18th January, 2031 <

“Feel good to be back in the seat again?” Caden asks, returning to his place behind the camera while Sophie returns to the uncomfortable luxury of the spotlight seat. “As good as it can be in the situation provided” she replies, pulling her hair over her ears and tying it into a ponytail, Caden reading off the next question, intrigued by the open-endedness to it. “Speak about the months between leaving the bunker and learning the truth” Caden asks, watching Sophie’s head nod.

As she attempts to speak, Sophie finds herself interrupted by Andrew, who cuts into the dialogue with a question of his own, prompting a change in her approach. “Can we talk about the day we barely missed each other first?” Andrew questions, a spoken wonder that jolts Sophie into action. “Yes, we can” the girl remarks, walking to the corner of the room and pulling a chair up beside her own, returning to her seat whilst patting the unoccupied stool beside her.

“Come on, dad” Sophie calls out, her father’s hand waving at the gesture, appreciatively declining the offer, rescinding his request. “You’ve spoken it already, don’t back out on it now!” Sophie replies enthusiastically, showing a joy she had been slowly allowing to present itself throughout the day. Having made his bed, Andrew accepts the demand to lay within it, dragging himself into the cold interior of the bunker as the sun begins to set outside, joining his daughter in front of the camera.

Looking at her father with a small smile, Sophie mouths the words ‘thank you’ in his direction while he wraps his arm around her shoulder and pulls her close, the gentle embrace putting a smile on Caden’s visage.

= Generation Alpha is created by Zachary Serra, all rights to the series belong to Zachary Serra and the entity of Pacer1 Media from the start of Season 1 onwards =

> 26th June, 2030 | Andrew’s Perspective <

“I don’t know what I’d be thinking if I were in your position right now” George huffs, a statement Hugh laughs at from the backseat, both men following the same logic Andrew fails to grasp. “What do you mean?” Andrew inquires, Hugh quickly pointing out the odd circumstances behind his first interaction with his ex-wife in over a decade. “It’s not common to just show up unannounced all of a sudden like this” George explains, “that’s not including the ‘lost child’ component.”

“I haven’t been giving it much thought, truth be told” Andrew explains, sitting in the passenger’s seat, his elbow resting against the rim between the door and the window, his head laying against his hand. “You might wanna start thinking, we’re getting damn near close to the place” Hugh mutters from the backseat, “it’d be best to prepare for every kind of reaction.”

“I’m gonna keep it simple” Andrew remarks, his non-dominant hand pressing against his knee, “I’ll tell her about Sophie, ask if she knows anything, see what she says and figure out where to go from there.” Letting the man dictate where this encounter goes, Hugh and George resign themselves to the role of spectator, only interfering with the conversation if it takes a less approachable turn.

Sliding to a halt in the loose dirt, George’s car parks itself in what appears to be the driveway of a moderately well-off property, three doors opening to reveal the three aforementioned men. Taking the lead, Andrew approaches the front steps first, each foot pressing down on the loose wood, each plank squealing beneath the weight of his boots as George and Hugh follow closely behind.

Finally stood at the front door, Andrew lifts his hand into the air, fingers balled into a knuckle, hesitant to knock. From within, he hears a set of footsteps approach the door, his knuckles haven’t yet pressed upon the entrance. Confused, Andrew remains standing on the patio with his fist raised into the air, George quickly stepping in to finish the knock on his friend’s awestruck behalf.

Within seconds, Andrew is confronted with his past on completely new territory, his ex-wife, a decade older than when he last saw her, opening the front door to a surprised greeting. “Andrew?” Morgan exclaims, her voice muttering the man’s name, both perplexed and pleased to find him waiting for her answer, “how long has it been?”

“Twelve years, Morgan” Andrew replies, wrapping his arms around the woman as she walks into his chest, her arms wrapping around his waist. “Who are your friends?” Morgan wonders aloud, her hand waving toward Hugh and George, who quickly introduce themselves. “They’re trying to help me with something that I think you should know about” Andrew explains, looking toward the inside of the woman’s home, partially expecting her to welcome them in.

“May we come in?” Andrew asks, assuming the offer wasn’t going to come unless suggested. “Um, now’s not really that great of a time” Morgan remarks, both Hugh and George nodding to each other, suspicious of the woman before they can even be introduced with more than a word. “Morgan, please… it’s something I think we should talk about someplace other than your front step” Andrew explains, the woman nervously glancing back at the home multiple times before giving in.

“Sure, as long as it’s not for too long” Morgan replies, stepping to the side to allow the three men into her home, closing the door shut behind her. A distance away from the house, a second car slowly creeps up to the parked vehicle in the presumed driveway, a single arm dangling out of the driver’s window. Glancing at the home from a distance, Izzy squints toward the sights she’s watched unfold, an eerie feeling sinking in as she reaches for her phone.

Looking at the top of her screen, a slight smirk comes across Izzy’s face, the connection completely dead. Shaking her head, Izzy looks around for a nearby cell tower, coming up short in her efforts, unable to prove the cause to be anything more than coincidental. Recalling a supermarket on her way into town, Izzy pulls her vehicle around and returns to the open road, her sights set on the closest place with a signal.

> 26th June, 2030 | Sophie’s Perspective <

Slamming the door shut, a newly red-haired Sophie approaches the front entrance of the nearby storefront, her hands outstretched, reaching for the closest trolly. A distance away from the small collection of parked vehicles, Izzy’s car patrols the lot, the phone in her hand until the red-haired woman comes into her sights, curiosity settling in. Tossing her phone into the passenger’s seat, Izzy swings her car into a parking spot, emerging from her vehicle with eyes set on the redhead.

Locking her doors, Izzy approaches the market, her eyes following the woman roughly thirty feet behind, eyes narrowed, the familiar frame of the lady making her suspicious. Carrying herself through the front doors, Izzy listens to the chime of the entrance go off, her hispanic skin tone prompting a few eyes to glance in her direction.

Looking off at a random passerby staring at her through the corner of their eyes, Izzy shrugs and continues on her walk, the redhead disappearing behind the shelves. “Ma’am?” a random employee calls out, catching Izzy by surprise, her presence called into question by the local staff. “Are you following that woman?” a man asks, the woman looking him up and down, asking why he would be asking.

“Why?” Izzy remarks, each response coming with her own personal brand of rebelliousness. “Because, if you are, I have reason to fear for that woman’s well being” the man replies, leaving his designated station to approach the teenage girl, her posture stiffening, Izzy unwilling to give up her ground. “Fair enough” Izzy remarks, noticing the importance of picking and choosing her battles while backing away with her hands in the air.

“I was suspicious of her parking in the lot and wanted to make sure she wasn’t intoxicated” Izzy replies, backing away from the man with her signal of surrender, “I’ll lay off, though.” Returning the way she came, Izzy looks over her shoulder to find the man retreating, his eyes still traveling with her, only stopped when she rounds the nearest shelves, expecting to end up opposite the young redhead she’d been following.

Much to Izzy’s surprise, the aisle she enters remains largely vacant aside from an abandoned cart, its interior overfilled with contents. Nodding to herself, Izzy ventures down the aisle, keeping her distance from curious eyes before looking around the corner at the end, her eyes darting toward every bright-red object she stumbles across.

Turning toward the less-ventured side of the store, Izzy glances down each aisle, finding a lack of the person she hopes to discover with each glance, just another empty aisle following another. Growing impatient, Izzy wanders down one aisle, traversing the empty walkway whilst staring into the next aisle over, glancing through the small openings in the shelves toward those occupying the other side.

Shaking her head, Izzy takes a second glance through the opening, the flowing red locks of a woman on the other side finally falling into view, her eyes widening upon the reflective sight. Like a predator finally having caught a reasonable view of her feast, Izzy follows the figure down the opposite way, walking at an equal pace to the woman on the other side of the divide, their stroll taking them directly toward the same end of the lane.

Quickly hurrying her walk, Izzy turns the corner and awaits the woman’s reveal on the other side, her hopes lowering the moment the redhead finally appears. Not familiar with her appearance, Izzy considers the search a failure, her mind playing tricks on her, wishful thinking outsmarting her again. “Sorry” Izzy mutters aloud, stepping aside to allow the stranger an unimpeded return to her shopping.

> 26th June, 2030 | Andrew’s Perspective <

“How’s Daria and the kids?” Morgan asks, leading the trio into the home, her hand gesturing for them to take a seat in the living room. “Well, there’s a few layers to that” Andrew remarks, his voice fading as he considers how to answer. “Olivia’s doing well” Andrew begins, his youngest daughter’s whereabouts being the easiest to speak on, “her specialists say she’ll be able to start regular school after next year.”

“Oh wow, that’s great!” Morgan replies, a smile on her face as she takes a seat on the couch, “I bet Daria’s rubbed in how wrong I was for the last few years?” With a light chuckle, Morgan sinks into her seat, Andrew’s head hung as his hat presses into his hand, the tone taking a somber approach. “Daria didn’t make it past the birth” Andrew remarks, watching Morgan’s swell expression switch to empathy, “she just wanted to make sure I gave ‘Liv a good life.”

“Oh, Andy- I’m so sorry” Morgan replies, watching her ex-husband take the seat opposite her, a convincing condolence offered to the man.

“What about Sophia? How’s she doing?” Morgan asks, stumbling upon the true nature of the man’s visit, though, already having secretly assumed that the moment she answered the door. “So- that’s actually why I’m here” Andrew remarks, the woman’s face growing cold, the worry beginning to present itself.

“Sophie’s missing” Andrew blurts out, no lead up to the declaration, nothing offered before to soften the blow, just the brunt force of the statement being voiced aloud left to serve its purpose. “Wh… What?” Morgan asks, a smile coming over her face accompanied by a weak chuckle, playing it off as a joke, “you’re kidding, right?”

His head still held forward, Andrew’s eyes drift to the top of his head, the woman looking toward him with her smile slowly fading, the amusement beginning to dissipate from one moment to the next. “Andrew, you’re joking” Morgan replies, her question sounding more like a warning, though her ex-husband refuses to go back on what he’d said. “Missing like she was taken away? Missing like she ran away?” Morgan continues, offering options before concluding, “missing how?”

“She was taken from school three months ago” Andrew remarks, the widened eyes of Morgan shooting a fear down his spine the way it used to when they were married. “Three fucking months ago!?” Morgan shouts, her mouth agape as she stands out of her chair, the man returning to his feet with arms out. “No, don’t touch me!” Morgan shouts, swatting his thick fingers away from her arms, “why are you only telling me this now!?”

“I only just found out where you were yesterday!” Andrew replies, the woman immediately calling his bluff. “I’ve been on the radar since the day I was born, Andrew!” Morgan shouts, pulling away from the man as Hugh and George hold him back, fearing for his safety, “did you not find me until yesterday, or did you not try to find me until yesterday?”

Opening his mouth, Andrew fails to come up with an answer, the man’s mind racing with a reply that he doesn’t want to say aloud, but soon forces himself to. “I didn’t try until yesterday” Andrew remarks, the woman’s angry posture turning into a stoic disassociation, her eyes looking upon Andrew like he were a failure. “Get out” Morgan suddenly says, refusing to share her home with the man any longer than she already has.

“Morgan, please” Andrew replies, failing to find common ground with the woman, her refusal to hear him out roughing the last remaining path Andrew had to walk along. “Get out, Andrew!” Morgan shouts, her finger lifted toward the door, pointing him in the direction of the exit, “never come back!”

With a sigh, Andrew hangs his head and turns away, both George and Hugh trying to talk him into staying. “She’s not going to talk now- forget it” Andrew remarks, admitting his failure to the pair of men, both of which look at the woman with a curious glance, uncertain over what emotions were genuine and which were not. Giving into the request, George and Hugh accompany him through the front door, the locking of the divider behind them not sitting well with the unconvinced pair.

> 18th January, 2031 <

“That was the first day I started questioning exactly what Morgan had been telling me” Sophie explains, looking into thin air with her head shaking, “it was the first time I caught her in a lie.” One finger raised, Caden asks the woman to explain her stance, how she couldn’t have had proof of Morgan’s many lies until that day. “Well, even that day, I had gotten lucky” Sophie clarifies, “I had whatever freedoms I wanted now… She trusted me. That store was the start of the end.”

“Did you know Izzy was looking for you?” Andrew asks, looking at his daughter beside him, the girl locking eyes with him and nodding. “I knew after I was leaving the store, and when I was sitting in the van” Sophie replies, recalling the moments she saw the woman, who it took a moment to recognize, returning to her vehicle. “I was confused, because I didn’t know why I’d be running into Izzy in the middle of Gentry of all places’ Sophie explains, “so it took me a second to think.”

“And what did you think about?” Caden asks, interrupting the dialogue, presenting Sophie with questions to answer on both fronts, the answer to the most recent question intriguing the boy with the clipboard. “I thought about going up to her and saying something along the lines of the truth,” Sophie remarks, looking to the floor on her right, a moment of silence dawning over her, “but then I realized that I hadn’t actually figured out what day it was.”

Recalling the bare interior of her mother’s home, Sophie explains that there was no television, a lack of electronics entirely, and a paper calendar set in the year 2031 months prior. “If there was anything that could have told me the time of day, Morgan got rid of it as soon as she spotted it” Sophie remembers, a smile coming over her face when she recalls reading the receipt for her items in the parking lot, the date of 26th June, 2030 prompting her eyes to widen.

“And that was it?” Caden interjects once more, “the moment you saw the date, you knew your mother was lying about everything?” Looking toward her friend, a disappointed Sophie shakes her head in refusal, clarifying his discovery. “I knew she had lied about some things” Sophie explains, her reason for deciding to stay with her mother not having been due to the time passed since she was introduced to captivity, “I needed to prove she wasn’t sick.”

“You could’ve come home” Andrew replies, his daughter looking at him, a somber feeling of guilt for having allowed this suffering to continue building within Sophie’s core, “why did you choose to stay?” Still not convinced his daughter had a good reason, Andrew remains persistent about discovering the truth, wishing to make sense of his daughter’s choice. With a shake of her head, Sophie admits that she didn’t have a reason that makes up for the search she let continue.

“I looked down at the receipt, and Izzy’s car was gone by the time I looked up” Sophie recalls, a weight pressing down on her chest in that moment just as it had in the parking lot, “I just decided to move on.” Shaking his head, Andrew presses his back against the chair before standing from his seat and returning it to the corner, the climbing mood of the room they began with plummeting back down to its somber tone, Sophie left to her own as Andrew returns to the doorway.

“Let’s get back to the questions” Caden exclaims, the conversation derailing too greatly for him to be okay with, eyes reading the next line before his mouth can speak it. “What was it like when you went home, Sophie?” Caden asks, forced to specify the name, Andrew’s lack of a presence in front of the camera any longer making it necessary.

> 26th June, 2030 | Sophie’s Perspective <

“Hi honey!” Morgan exclaims, racing out of the living room to meet her daughter in the kitchen, the entry from the garage slamming shut behind a returning Sophie. “How was-?” Morgan begins, interrupted by her daughter looking at a receipt, a question as to what’s happening prompting Sophie to read the date again. “26th June, 2030” Sophie repeats, her mother beginning to realize the error of her ways, “it hasn’t been a year- it’s been three fucking months.”

“Honey, I can explain” Morgan calmly tells her daughter, Sophie left having none of it, the possibility of an explanation being shot down as quickly as it was offered. “I don’t want the excuses… you’ve been lying to me about how long it’s been since the day you took me!” Sophie shouts, her mother quickly trying to explain herself anyway. “You wouldn’ have stayed if you knew how long it’d been!” Morgan shouts, both hands outstretched toward her offspring, who begins walking after her.

Tilting her head, Sophie dulls out her mother’s explanation, not hearing a word of it, instead choosing to inspect her mind, recalling every detail she’s given her and reading further into it than she once did. In a moment of clarity, Sophie’s stoic expression brings a silence over her mother, worry beginning to creep into Morgan’s head that the situation has become too big for her to control.

Backed against her counter, Morgan slides her hand into a drawer and reaches her fingers around the handle of a knife, her daughter continuing to advance upon her, silently staring at her with a deranged look. “Honey, please calm down!” Morgan shouts, the four words being the first Sophie's heard since going into her trance, ears perking up to her mother’s words, the young girl finally realizing that she’d backed her kidnapper into a corner.

“I would’ve stayed because you’re my mom” Sophie suddenly mutters, Morgan’s eyes widening with surprise, confused and appreciative of the gesture. “I chose to stay, and you chose to keep lying to me” Sophie explains, pointing out her mother’s pleased reaction to see her come back when she never had to, an open road for her to explore without ever having to turn back.

“I could’ve driven back home and explained everything, but I chose not to and you noticed that” Sophie explains, “and what did I get for it in return? I get lied to. How is that supposed to sit well with me?” Letting go of the knife’s handle, Morgan places both hands out before her, illustrating the dissatisfaction she has with herself, apologizing profusely. “Honey, I’ll never lie to you again, I swear!” Morgan remarks, watching as her daughter slowly nods, pleased with this result.

“Okay” Sophie replies, nodding to the woman and slowly backing away, her feet carrying her toward the staircase that leads to her room. “Goodnight, mom” Sophie says, the entire conversation having been tense from start to finish, Morgan’s uncertainty over her daughter’s convincing white-washed by her pleasure to be on what appears to be the same page.

Turning toward the empty insides of her bedroom, Sophie’s back presses against the door as the perfectly-conditioned notebook waits for her on the comforter. With a smirk, Sophie climbs into bed with her eyes staring out through the curtains beside her window, the moonlight covering her face. No longer in a position to be lied to, Sophie puts on a concerned smile, satisfied with the new position she holds in the home, finally in the perfect position to obtain the truth.

> 18th January, 2031 <

“So that’s what it was about?” Andrew asks from the far corner of the room, shaking his head in disappointment, the girl knowing and accepting her father’s position, “leverage?” With a deep breath, Sophie admits part of her reasoning to have been for just that, the ability to question her mom with assurance that she’d receive the honest truth. “But there’s another side of me that couldn’t leave out of the blue like that” Sophie admits, that part never having been truly identified.

“She’s your mother” Caden interrupts, both Andrew and Sophie looking toward him immediately, an unpleasant, yet understanding tone reflecting in his voice. “That’s not why” Sophie remarks, adamant about this refusal in a way she had yet to be throughout the duration of their questioning in the bunker, this refusal more out of desire for it not to be true than desire for it being recognized as true.

“Isn’t it?” Caden replies, arguing his side whilst watching the girl’s face shrink up in realization of its many truths, a difficult opinion to argue against, despite her best wishes. “She didn’t choose to leave your life, she was kicked out of it- for better or for worse” Caden explains, Sophie’s eyes falling the more he continues speaking, “she gave birth to you, she’s related to you by blood, she nursed you into this world… She’s your mother, and you accepted that deep down.”

Parting her lips, Sophie attempts to speak before falling silent, her mouth held open despite the lack of words coming out, her father waiting for the rebuttal from afar. Slowly putting her lips back together, Sophie looks at the boy across from her, one lifted eyebrow and a shrug offered from his clipboard-occupying body. “It’s okay, Sophie” Caden mutters, the girl beginning to realize how correct he is, feeling a great deal of disappointment in herself for playing a part in this.

“Whether it was your mother or not, you’re a victim… And you were manipulated with every chance Morgan got- right?” Caden explains, a somewhat judgmental look in his face as his head shakes and teeth appear in an empathetic smile, “none of that changes the fact that she’s your mother.”

Hanging her head, Sophie accepts the conclusion as the truth she never wanted to admit, finally facing her reasons for staying, challenging them with enough strength to hold herself accountable. “She was going to die without ever getting to know me” Sophie remarks, looking up at Caden and her father, a pain hidden behind the consonant sounds leaving her lips, “how was I supposed to be okay with that?”

Finally facing her fears, Sophie admits her undeserved empathy toward her mother, feeling like abandoning Morgan in her final year would be like killing the woman herself. “I wouldn’t have been okay with that, right?” Sophie asks, looking to her friend for answers, Caden lifting himself out of his chair to kneel beside the girl, his hand resting upon her shoulder.

“You would’ve blamed yourself either way” Caden admits, speaking from his own personal experience, Andrew left watching over this encounter, disappointed in himself for understanding so easily. “It’s okay to admit that you stayed because she was your mom” Caden explains, acknowledging the future gain of leverage, admitting that the root reason doesn’t have to be one she spends her life running away from.

“Morgan didn’t deserve your care, but you gave it to her anyway” Caden says, pulling Sophie’s face toward his own, forcing her to look at him, “that doesn’t make you the bad guy here.” With a single tear, Sophie nods to the boy’s explanation, her head pulled into his shoulder for a hug as Andrew walks in soon after to join the embrace, barriers falling just in time for the most crucial pieces of the story to proceed.

== Generation Alpha ==