Chapter I: The World Is Full Of Assholes
Charlie grew up in a small village with her dad, mom, and brother. Since the blackout, the world was in a constant state of disarray, scarred by the endless wars and shifting political powers. Growing up in the Monroe Republic was certainly no piece of cake. The abusive and all powerful militia overtaxed and terrorized the population. The girl had only a few pre-blackout memories: her birthday, visiting her new born brother in the hospital, ice cream, and her uncles.
As a child he hadn't known that the blond man at her Uncle Miles' side wasn't actually his brother. She had always thought he was part of the family. She vaguely remembered them coming over for the holidays and for barbecues in the summer. Of course, the memories were all clipped and blurry. She could find no pictures of them in the house and her parents never spoke about them. Asking about them was a bit of a taboo within the family. Rachel explained to her daughter that it was because they had both died during the early years of the blackout, which obviously brought tremendous pain to her father Ben, but also because the head of the militia happened to have the same name as her Uncle Miles. "Naturally, we wouldn't want other people to think we are associated with the Monroe government in any way", explained Rachel to her children. Young Charlie thought it made sense, but, as she grew up, she started questioning her mother's words. Erasing her uncle altogether seemed quite an extreme thing to do, even if the Militia general bore the same name as her uncle. The fact that there were no pictures of him disturbed her the most.
Nonetheless, Charlie and Danny both grew up quite happily in their sheltered community. They split their time between the village school that Aaron, a family friend and former millionaire (whatever that entailed), ran and exploring the area surrounding their village. Charlie was a great shot with a crossbow and often went hunting for animals and pre-blackout items. Going too far from the community was much too dangerous but Charlie kept saying she would leave to see the world one day. Danny, weakened by his asthma attacks, was much more demure by nature. Nothing could have prepared Charlie for the truth.
When she was 14 years old, Militia officers came to Sylvania Estates looking for Ben and Rachel Matheson. Although the community was very tight knit and refused to give them away, finding out where they lived took almost no time. When they came Charlie was hunting. She saw them from afar, hiding in the woods nearby her house. There was nothing she could do against so many men. She heard the officer loudly announce that President Monroe and General Matheson had been looking for the rest of the General's family for years: their services were required in Philadelphia. In order to spare Charlie, her parents lied and said she had died of disease a few years back. Fortunately, the men didn't think to look upstairs where Charlie's room, filled with her personal belongings, clearly told another story.
The soldiers left with her entire family but the young girl didn't dare go back to her house by fear that they would come back or that the villagers, who had just found out the seemingly nice Matheson family was related to the dictatorship in power, would turn her in. Naturally, finding out the horrible truth had been a terrible shock to Charlie. At first there was too much information to actually process any of it. But during the first night she spent in the forest, the memories of anything related to her uncle came back to her. She felt horror at learning that the nice uncle that she believed was dead had become a feared General. She didn't remember the name of the blond curly haired man she vaguely remembered coming to their house. All her attention was focused on the devastating piece of news that had shattered her entire life: Her uncle was a terrible man who had just kidnapped her entire family. She was all alone and powerless to do anything.
After wandering in the forest for a few weeks, Charlie had the misfortune of being taken prisoner by recruiters. They were gangs who captured children and teenagers in order to sell them into slavery. She could have ended up slaving away in plantations, servicing clients in a whorehouse, or fighting in the militia. At age 14, Charlie was quite small and thin; she hadn't developed any womanly attributes yet and she didn't seem like she would be any good working away in the fields. She was feisty though, a fact that didn't escape her captors. She kicked and screaming and tried to escape several times.
"Since you like fighting we'll send you somewhere where you can fight. A feisty bitch like you will fit right in at the Militia training camp. They'll have a great time beating you into submission" laughed one of the men.
That's how Charlie ended up entering the militia against her will. She gave them a fake name and hoped to find the right time to leave one day. Getting branded was the worst thing. It hurt like hell and she felt like an animal: branded and owned by a man who cared nothing for his soldiers. Nevertheless, she bid her time and trained hard with the other soldiers, hoping to stay inconspicuous. She managed to stay hidden in the shadows for 2 years.
At age 16, things changed quite a bit for her. First of all, her garrison was ordered to go to Philadelphia to provide additional security to the government. Secondly, she was no longer a scrawny little girl. Granted, she was still very thin thanks to the intense training and the frequent food shortage people had to endure. She had grown into her facial features and she was now considered to be very attractive. She had big blue eyes and wavy dark blond hair. Her body was very fit and her small but defined curves made her look womanly. She could no longer fit in and hope to be forgotten. Everywhere she went, men slowly started to take notice. Her life became more dangerous as she fought off unwanted advances. Saying no to superiors was an especially dangerous thing to do. They could make your life a living hell. Charlie fought as long as she possibly could. But at one point she was forced to give in.
Commander Davidson had tried to get her to sleep with him for some time. At first, he attempted to ask nicely by doing her small favours, such as better food and gifts. Seeing that she wasn't about to give in he started ordering his men to torment her, even going so far as to withhold food from her. In his opinion, Commander Davidson really wasn't such a bad man by post-blackout standards. He really didn't want to resort to raping her but his obsession with the young woman made it impossible for him to accept defeat. One night, he sent his men to retrieve her and bring her to his quarters. As she stood there, still wearing her nightwear, he asked her if she had reconsidered his proposal. Once again, she refused. Waving his hand in false amusement, the commander ordered his men to bring in Charlie's only friend: Jason. Jason was the only one that didn't try to take advantage of her. He was just there for her, without expecting anything in return. She suspected that what she felt for him might go beyond simple friendship but this was no time to consider such matters. There was her friend, bound and gagged, staring at the commander with rage. The sight wracked her with guilt.
"You either do what I ask or I will make him scream in pain and agony. He will get no food and no rest from the pain I will inflict upon him. However, my dear, his fate ultimately rests in your hands." threatened Davidson.
Charlie had no choice but to submit to him. She couldn't stand for her friend to be tortured because of her. That is how Charlie found herself in a less than ideal situation to say the least. Commander Davidson basically ordered her to be his mistress, all her military duties forgone. She stopped living with the other soldiers to be kept inside the Commander's quarters at all times, day and night. During the day, she was "officially" assigned to his personal security and at night, she had to submit to his sexual whims. She didn't know how she ever got used to this life of shame and misery, being forced into intimacy with a cruel man who easily turned to violence.
Her first sexual experience had been nothing like she had imagined or hoped for. The commander knew she was a virgin and acknowledged it but it remained traumatic and painful. The moment she accepted to be his puppet to save Jason, the men took Jason away, silently begging and screaming at Charlie not to do it. Once only the commander and Charlie remained in the room he poured himself and Charlie a drink. She soon felt the effects of alcohol on her unaccustomed body. He poured himself a second glass. He then proceeded to disrobing her, groping her roughly at the same time. Pushing her on the bed, he kissed her and probed her body while whispering horrible and dirty things into her ear. Charlie's brain couldn't process the things that were happening to her. She was under the influence of alcohol and terror. Her mind was spinning out of control. She didn't want her first time to be with him but alcohol made struggling difficult; she had trouble even thinking straight. He kissed her to muffle any protests.
He smelled like Whiskey.
She always drove him mad with desire with the way she unknowingly swayed her hips while walking. She looked even better undressed than he had imagined. She tried to get away from him but he was holding her down. When he turned to the nightstand to take a sip of Whiskey she kicked him off of her and tried to get away, but he got a hold of her legs and dragged her back. She struggled to get free herself and he violently slapped her. Charlie fell on the bed, her hand holding the side of her face and wishing for the slight ringing sound in her ears to stop. She was used to pain but not like this, this was the kind of physical and mental pain that disoriented her completely.
This man must have been around 40 years old while she was only 16, his strength easily overpowering hers. His violent gesture left her in such shock that she stopped moving altogether. He spread her legs wide and went about his business. He pushed past her barrier with a grunt. Charlie had never thought it would be so incredibly humiliating. The pain was multiplied by the humiliation, shame, and anger she felt. She felt tears running down her face as the man thrusted into her rhythmically, filling the room with grunts and sighs of contentment. She simply wished it would stop. Fortunately, the commander didn't take too long to finish. With a satisfied groan, he rolled off of her. "Don't worry, the next time won't be as painful." smirked the Commander. His facial expression made her want to throw up in utter revulsion. Charlie cried silently until she fell asleep from sheer mental exhaustion.
Days and nights passed until the pain she felt was either only in her heart or when he voluntarily tried to hurt her. Every morning, the maids would silently help her bathe and clean up the rooms. A few months after she became his unwilling mistress, William Davidson got promoted. Part of his promotion package was being moved to new quarters within Independence Hall, right next to General Matheson and President Monroe. By then, Charlie spent a lot of her time drinking. It was the only way for her to escape from reality. She barely noticed the change of residence. She hardly ever left the room anyway.
William Davidson didn't exactly prohibit her from moving around as she pleased now that he felt reassured she would not try to flee but becoming a sex slave had snuffed the life out of the now almost 17 year old. She spent her days staring into nothingness. She never thought about the fact that her uncle's room was a corridor from hers. Running into his arms for protection was not even considered. Her old life was so far away. Besides, she had no idea what the President or General Matheson even looked like.
One day, Davidson stormed into the room with news. "There is going to be a ball for General Matheson's birthday. You will accompany as my guest" informed Colonel Davidson.
"Why? You've never taken me anywhere before."
"It will look better if I bring a date. We're going to put you in a pretty dress and you're going to be at my side for the ball, whether you like it or not."
She didn't even protest. She didn't really care as long as he didn't hit her. Her life had become a simple equation to keep her away from painful situations: pain or no pain. The choice was so simple after all. He usually only beat her when she resisted or when he was mad about something. Usually work. On the day of the ball, the maids helped her bathe and wash her hair. They brushed it until her blonde waves shone beautifully down her back. They dressed her with a beautiful floor-length deep blue dress with an empire waist and low neckline. She looked at herself in the mirror. Even she had to admit she looked beautiful, even with the vacant expression she wore.
Colonel William Davidson took a good look at her, unused to seeing his bed mate dressed up. She really was a beautiful young woman.