Archive - TV Show - Revolution (2012, NBC)
Characters - Charlotte 'Charlie' Matheson, 'Nate'
Summary: You don't just randomly decide to tag-along with a complete stranger you're suppose to be tracking without feeling some kind of connection first.
Notes: Naturally, some details in the story will be probably debunked by later episodes due to lack of information on Nate and I may also take liberty with smaller details. Expands on some things in the show. I feel like Charlie and Nate's reactions to each other were genuine in the first episode but I also feel like we MISSED an important scene at the waterfall!
Posted: September 28, 2012
Stranger at the Waterfall
Maybe it was a little naïve to expect that there was no one else out there but Charlie honestly didn't expect to run into anyone else unless they were Militia. So, she was startled upon reaching the waterfall they had spotted the day before to find that someone was there, someone had set up camp there even. They hadn't because they didn't want to be discovered by any passersby looking for water. She backed up quickly, ducking behind the wall. The owner of the campsite was awake, studying a recurve bow.
Charlie peeked out behind the remains of the wall cautiously, watching the stranger carefully. He was definitely a fighter - around her age, his late teens, early twenties or so. There was a pack laying near a dying fire at his feet. He had short dark hair, lightly tanned skin, wearing a blue shirt that looked too small and a pair of black jeans that fitted but showed off his physique very nicely. The stranger paused in the middle of testing the string of his bow, sighed and turned in her direction.
"You know, most people just say 'good morning',"
Charlie jumped, ashamed at being caught and stepped out. "I was just -" She held up the bottles helplessly and stopped. "Good morning,"
"Morning," he greeted. He placed one end of his bow in the dirt, grabbing the end of it with both hands. "I'm Nate,"
"Charlie,"
"Where are you headed, Charlie?"
Charlie just looked at him, suspicious of his casual attitude. "None of your business, Nate,"
Nate sniggered, a smile on his lips before looking up at her again, squinting against the light of the sun. "That's true,"
"I'm gonna get some water," Charlie said, gesturing with the bottles again before going to do just that. Nate followed her with his eyes; Charlie glanced over her shoulder at him and quickly hid her gaze in her hair.
"How do you know that water is safe to drink?" Nate interrupted after a few moments of the clack of firewood from his campsite. Charlie closed her eyes for patience and didn't look at him as she stood with her bottles of water.
"It doesn't have worms it,"
"But you could get water poisoning. I've seen people get sick from unclean water,"
"It's fine,"
"How do you know that?" he pressed. "Are those even the best containers?"
"Are you going to stand there and pretended you know everything?" Charlie demanded, glaring across the clearing at him. She frowned upon realizing he was actually standing somewhere between his campfire and where she was standing by the water. She hadn't even heard him move. He had stoked his fire and moved his things further away from it.
"Just tryin' to help. Want me to show you a trick?"
Charlie raised an eyebrow. His bow was sitting by his backpack and he was holding an assortment of strange materials in his hands. "Look," he said coming closer and kneeling by her side. "Even back when they had electricity, plastic was bad," Charlie watched curiously as Nate placed an old wine bottle on a flat rock.
"Charcoal," he said, pulling a pouch of crushed charcoal from his waist. "It's fresh - made it just yesterday. You need to have charcoal that was recently burned but cooled off. I've already crushed this,"
Charlie nodded. "We just got our water from a spring back home,"
"That's good but not if you're traveling, naturally," Nate smiled. "I use a glass bottle I scavenged for this," he went on, holding up the old wine bottle. "But you could make a cone out of bark too. So you put the cloth - or grass if you have no cloth - in the neck of the bottle firmly so the charcoal doesn't get into the water." He spoke as he went through the motions and handed her the glass bottle. "Now put in the charcoal and pack it tight so the water filters through slowly. Fill it halfway,"
The charcoal powder quickly blackened her hands as she frowned in concentration pouring it into the glass bottle and pressed it down with the tips of her fingers.
"How did you learn this?"
"From my guardians," he said after a few moments. "Now over the charcoal we put packed down grass or sand or -" He pulled another piece of cloth from his belt pouch. "Another cloth,"
"You're very prepared,"
"Better to be prepared and not needed it," he said. "After we filter it, we have to boil it. I heat up rocks to put around the pot and you should run it through two or three times before it comes out clear and you can put a piece of charcoal to enhance the flavor of the water,"
"How long does this take?" Charlie frowned.
"Awhile. Why, you have somewhere to be?"
Charlie averted her eyes; he was really sitting way too close to her. If she said she had companions and he was one of those bandits she had heard about, he could kill her (or try) and then look for Maggie and Aaron. But, he could see it as more trouble, taking out one person and then have two others hunting him down...
"Yes, I do," she said, washing her hands free of charcoal dust in the water. "And I'd like to get there sooner than later," She shook water droplets from her hands and stood.
"Must be important if you won't even stop for decent water," Nate said, standing up and snagging one of her bottles from her hands.
"Hey!" she protested, grabbing for it.
"I have filtered water; I'll give you mine. I have plenty." He chuckled at her look. "Don't be so suspicious."
"I've heard too many stories not to be,"
"Stories could be lies,"
"They could be truth too; I've no way of knowing."
Nate shrugged. "That's true," he said, tucking the filter bottle under one arm and unscrewing the cap of the plastic bottle. "These are no good anymore," he said, holding up the plastic container as he walked back to the fire. "If they ever were. They've had contaminated water in them." He pulled a small pot from his pack and set up the filter to drip. "Can I have your other bottle?"
Charlie reluctantly handed it over. "Why are you so trusting?"
"Not everyone can be monsters," he said. "And besides, it's rare to meet charming strangers,"
Charlie rolled her eyes. "Charming?"
"Charming, friendly. You know, not out to kill you,"
Charlie nodded slowly, rubbing her hands on her pants and not really looking at Nate. "You have an interesting definition of charming,"
"I'm an interesting guy," he said without modesty. "Here," He handed her two green bottles filled to the brim with water.
"Wait, I can't take this,"
"Yes, you can. I have time to make more." he said insistingly. Charlie took the bottles which were both wrapped with leather cords for carrying. She would have to get water for one more person but she held her tongue. If Aaron or Maggie asked where the bottles came from she could always her house or she found them. The 'I found them' was probably more plausible because she could also say she had been boiling water to clean the bottles with if they asked.
"Thank you," she said. "You've been very...friendly."
"You're welcome," Nate said with a smile tucked in the corner of his lips. He smiled a lot.
"I'm...gonna go now," said Charlie ducking her head and walking off.
"Good luck!" he called after her.
Charlie glanced over her shoulder. "Excuse me?"
"Good luck with whatever you're doing," he said, giving a little wave.
Charlie smiled just a little. "Thanks, you too,"
This will be a three-shot expanding on scenes in the show between Nate and Charlie. I feel the interaction between the two is down pat but we haven't seen how they get there! I'm going to blame network time constraints.
*The water filtration methods described here was actually information taken from practical primitive . com
