Chapter 1: "She called him Bass?"
Charlie felt herself slowly coming to consciousness. Her head felt like it had been hit with a hammer and a strange taste of something sour was in her mouth. She felt so tired, weak and heavy. Had she been dreaming? No she'd been on a long journey to rescue her brother from the militia with her uncle Miles, Nora and Aaron and they had made it to Philly by the skin of their teeth. But last night they had been taken from that apartment that they were sleeping in while Miles was out scouting. Captain Neville had found them. Charlie gingerly touched her left temple. Now she knew the reason she felt like she just got in a fight with Bobby McPherson from back home. And … oh yea, they drugged her. Then she got hit in the head when she tried to fight back.
She was slowly remembering the past twenty four hours now. They were a little blurry though. Wait! ..Mom! … Mom was alive! …Danny, and General Monroe, crap. There was talk about a machine that could make jets fly and tanks kill thousands of people, and mom would be the one to make it happen.. crap again. That's when that man with a gun came into view and pointed it right at us. Mom had begged for our lives. "No!" Charlie shot up only to be rewarded with the pain of a knife to her temple. She quickly shut her eyes and slowly opened them again to see her surroundings. She was on the cold floor of a cell, of sorts. There was a metal table and a metal bed with a thin mattress and right now Danny was sleeping peacefully on it. How is it that Danny can sleep like that anywhere at any given time? She quickly crawled to the bed even though it hurt every muscle to move. "Danny, she said voice cracking. "Danny, are you alright"? Dannys eyes opened and he turned. His face was as swollen as it was the night before dried blood on the corner of his mouth and a large cut above his right eye but he smiled, turned and embraced her. It felt good to finally have him back. After all those days and miles, after everything she had gone through she finally held her little brother in her arms again, but what about her mom? Why was she here and when they thought for all these years that she was dead? And the biggest question of all was what did kidnapping Danny have to do with General Monroe or the militia? What was going on?
"I'm alright Charlie." Danny said, knocking Charlie back to reality. "I can't believe you came for me. I just can't believe it." Charlie pushed his hair back from his eyes and took a look at some of his cuts. "Well, I did little brother. I'll always find you. Now we need to find a way out of here and a way to get mom out too. Uncle Miles and Aaron helped me get here so I know they're working on a plan to break us out." Danny looked a little shocked. "Uncle Miles and Aaron… Aaron from home?", he asked. "yes, Aaron from home and uncle Miles. Miles was in Chicago and before dad…. dad died".. "Charlie could barely get the words out". ".. he told me to go get uncle Miles to rescue you. So now I've got myself caught and now I'm in here with you. I've just made the rescue that much harder." "It's alright", Danny whispered as he took her hand in his. "We'll find a way."
Charlie stood up and surveyed their cell. It must have been converted from a basement bedroom from pre-blackout times. What little light they had came from a small window that was about two feet by one foot wide and it was almost next to the ceiling, it also has bars on it. So there no crawling out that window. There was an air vent under the table but it looked like it was fused shut somehow. "You know", Danny said. Last night after they drugged and carried you off to this cell they made me stay for a little while." This got Charlie's attention. "They what, they drugged me?" Danny stood up from the bed and walked over and sat with one hip on the table. "Yea, after mom said she'd finish their machine they stuck a needle in your neck and carried you away. Mom was crying and yelling at General Monroe but he just threatened to kill us if she didn't start on the machine right away. I felt hopeless Charlie, I couldn't do a thing," Danny cried.
Charlie embraced her brother trying to comfort him as best as she could. His next words came out like venom while his face was against her shoulder. "Then he started touching mom, right in front of me. And I know he was doing it on purpose too. I could have killed him." Charlie instantly drew away and stared at him. "What, who touched mom?" She spat. "That General Monroe is who."Danny said, "First he just started to stare at mom and walk around her like a caged animal. Then he went up behind her and put his hand on the small of her back. She jumped when he did that." Charlie didn't like where this was going. Her mom has been a prisoner of General Monroe for years she didn't want to even think what mom might have gone through. She'd heard of what Monroe does to his prisoners. Isn't that why she was in such a hurry to get Danny out of his clutches? She'd seen the scars on the backs of men, what would he do to women, especially a beautiful one like mom? "Then he was whispering in her ear and touching her shoulder and then her hip. And he looked right at me" Danny was talking again but Charlie's heart was pounding and all she could think about was what Monroe was doing to her mom right now. "…..and Mom said, Bass please stop." Charlie snapped her head up. "What? Mom called him Bass?"
Before anything more could be said between the two siblings the metal door was unlocked and swung opened with a bang. Three guards rushed in, one pushed Danny against the wall and the other two grabbed Charlie by the arms and handcuffed her behind her back. The large gruff guard with a tattoo on his neck whispered in Charlie's ear," well Blondie it's your turn to shine. If you go quietly we won't have a problem." Charlie turned her head and spit in his face. The guard took his fist and hit her in the back right in the kidneys. "Well," He said. "I guess we have a problem then, Blondie." As they half carried half dragged her down the hallway.
