Thank you so much for all your reviews. You guys are awesome! Here's Chapter 2. Enjoy and happy readings!

Chapter 2: The Last Supper

Charlie dreaded going downstairs and having to be reminded once again of the previous night's happenings. She tossed and turned in her bed, grunting like a teenager not wanting to get up for school. The early morning sun was peeking its way into the bedroom, warming up her bedsheets and soaking the heat onto her skin. She sat upright, her hair a mess and falling over her face as she recounted her conversation with Bass. The asshole actually had the audacity to blame Miles' betrayal in an attempt to justify his actions. Just thinking about it made Charlie furious, but her brain couldn't seem to let go of another thing he'd also said. Now you know what it felt like to see you and my son naked in the middle of that field. What had he meant by that? Her stomach twisted in response. Charlie knew—or at least had a very good idea—what he was trying to say. However, believing Sebastian Monroe had any kind of feelings for her only complicated things further and she wasn't even close to being prepared to tread those waters. Until then, she refused to believe that he even so much as cared about her.

As she walked downstairs, the sound of his voice made her breathing hitch. There was nothing more annoying to Charlie than her body acting stupid when she was around him, but lately she'd been finding it harder and harder to control. She continued her trajectory to the kitchen, where the rest of the group was gathered, eating a concoction of what seemed like canned potatoes and some type of meat for breakfast. The moment she entered, the room grew quiet and she raised her eyebrows, wondering why they were being so secretive. She locked eyes with Bass and his features softened gently at the sight of her. He had a feeling that the hate she'd felt for him had probably returned with a vengeance after last night. Even so, he couldn't help looking at her like she was a rarity to behold.

Judging by Miles' actions, they must have been looking at each other for longer than either realized. He waved a hand in front of Bass' face, breaking his concentration. "Let's get back to business, shall we?"

Charlie directed her attention to Aaron, looking straight past Rachel. "What is that?" Her eyes were fixed on a small metal box sitting on the table. It was shiny and had a plethora of wires connecting in different places. She paced closer to it, her curiosity peaked. It was then when she noticed the unlikely visitor in the corner of the room. Grace. "Okay, is someone gonna tell me what the hell is going on?"

Aaron took a deep breath, seemingly nervous and unsure of what he was about to relay. "This," he said, taking a hold of the box, "Is kind of like an amplifier. But for nanos." Out of the corner of her eye, Charlie could see Bass smirking. "Grace brought it to us last night, along with this." He held up the familiar pendant. It had been a while since Charlie had see one of those but not long enough for her to forget the kind of dangerous weapon it could become.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?"

Bass was quick to answer. "Because you were too busy throwing temper tantrums." Charlie looked at him with dagger eyes and Miles noticed something was definitely off between them—more than the usual, that is.

Rachel finally cleared her throat to speak. "Grace has been working on a code that could possibly reverse all of this." Bass couldn't help it anymore. A chuckle escaped his throat, drawing the gaze of everyone in the room. Rachel crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes, visibly annoyed by him. He hardened his expression, looking at the rest of them apologetically, knowing he was being a grade-A douche. Rachel continued her explanation. "By garnering enough nanos and inputing the code into the pendant-powered computer, it's possible Aaron could somehow reach another point in time and stop the blackout from happening."

Charlie arched her eyebrows as high as they would go, her lips curving into a minuscule smirk. Her skepticism was clear and at this point she was finding it hard not to agree with Bass. Heck, if they'd been on good terms she'd probably be laughing right along with him. She looked over at him, noticing how hard he was trying to keep a serious demeanor. Charlie's lips quivered, making the smile on her face a little wider.

"It's a theory of relativity that's difficult to grasp but we've managed to made it work once already." Rachel finished.

No one said anything for a few minutes. Charlie wasn't sure if this was all some sort of joke or if they really believed that traveling back in time was the answer to all their problems. As far as she knew, it was impossible for a human being to do such a thing but maybe the nanos—having the rare ability to create power out of nothing—made that a possibility after all.

"We were testing it out last night in the basement. That's why you saw all those flickering lights and bursts of lightning." Aaron chimed in.

Grace finally spoke. "And that's why you didn't see me at the time." She looked at Rachel before finishing her statement. "I was stuck in 2021 for almost the entire night until I found a way to bring myself back." She lifted up a different pendant, very similar in composition to the box but in a smaller scale and not nearly as bulky. "There was an error in calculations when inputing the code but we've been working on it and if everything goes as planned, we should be able to send Aaron back to 2012 before the day ends."

Error in calculations. Stuck in 2021. Back to 2012. Charlie felt like she was living in one of those Back to the Future movies Aaron always talked about. Nothing about this conversation made sense and she wondered if she was still somehow asleep and dreaming the whole thing. She nodded, not quite sure what to say.

Her eyes roamed the compound, everyone seemed to be in compliance. The look on their faces were almost those of resignation. "And everyone's on board with this?"

"We have no other plan." Gene replied, a defeated look on his face.

Charlie looked at Bass. She was sure that he didn't care to take part in this insane experiment. He shook his head lightly as if answering her in silence. Her lips pressed into a straight line. "Good luck, then." She sounded unsure. "I'll be out hunting if you need me."

As she walked out the door, she could hear them murmuring. "It's too much to process, give her a break." Rachel's voice was hushed. Charlie huffed. Yeah, lately it seemed like everything was too much for her to process.

The rabbit ran off into an area with more vegetation and Charlie exhaled in exasperation as her arrow hit, just missing the tiny, furry animal. She placed her hand on the shaft, plucking it from the tree it had perforated and immediately focusing on finding the damn creature. It wasn't long before she came across it again. It breathed rapidly, its eyes wide and alert, visibly scared for its life. Charlie felt sorry for it at first, but then thought back to all the crap she and her family had gone through when they'd been starving and didn't think twice before killing it with a shot. She hung it from her sack, hooked on by a string, and it dripped bits of blood on the trail as she made her way back to the farmhouse.

Her feet dug into the muddy soil and the sound of running water caught her ear as she evaded the puddles on the ground. She'd been around these areas plenty of times to know there was a stream running through that led to a small waterhole. Charlie brought her arm up to her forehead, wiping off the sweat and dirt from her skin. She was hot and grimy and a dip in cool waters was starting to sound really good. As she set her sack down on the ground, she heard a splash in the distance. It sounded heavy and the thought of it being larger prey filled her with excitement. She quickly grabbed her crossbow and headed in that direction.

Her blue eyes widened as she looked on, watching as the naked silhouette made its way up to the surface of the water. His curly hair was damp and the water droplets ran down every inch of his exposed skin. "Shit." She mumbled, hiding behind a tree and taking a peek at the magnificent creature that was Sebastian Monroe. He dove into the water a few more times, running his hands through his hair and then wiping down his arms and chest as if he had soap in his hands. She bit her lower lip, her heart beating faster and the heat between her legs flaring up at the sight. Charlie couldn't tear her eyes away from him, she found herself lifting her head higher, as if a different angle would allow her to penetrate the water's surface and see underneath.

The water splashed and after a few moments, Bass' right hand began moving up and down in a uniform motion underneath the surface. "No..." She said under her breathe, a snicker escaping her throat. Charlie knew she shouldn't be looking but this was just too unreal for her to avert her eyes. He obviously thought he was alone and she was invading his private time by leering at him like a peeping Tom. But the sight of him pleasuring himself made her hormones run rampant and her hand inevitably found its way to her chest. She arched her back against the tree, keeping her eyes on him as her fingers came in contact with her skin. Charlie could somewhat make out his muffled noises and it only made her arousal worse.

She watched for what must have been a few minutes until he finally stopped, visibly reaching his climax and grunting in satisfaction. The whole thing was both arousing and very amusing to her. Charlie's stomach fluttered, her center pulsing with desire. She took a few deep breathes, watching as Bass climbed out of the sinkhole, his dick still semi-hard and his whole body dripping wet. Charlie reacted to his impressive size with an audible gasp, placing a hand over her mouth and temporarily closing her eyes for a second, afraid that he might have heard her. He pulled up his trousers—an indication to Charlie that it was time for her to walk away. But as her feet hit the ground in front of her, they broke the twigs under her boots and it resonated louder than she had anticipated.

Bass' eyes shot up in her direction in an instant, watching as she attempted to retreat. "Charlie!" He yelled out, acknowledging her presence. Charlie shut her eyes in panic, her back still to him. "There's no need to hide, I can see you."

Charlie turned around, staring at him speechless. He slipped a shirt over his head—something she lamented internally—and made his way up the slope. Bass was tempted to ask what she had seen but the thought of her spying on him made the whole thing more thrilling for him.

He stared at her pack, the rabbit hanging from the side. "I see you caught dinner." She nodded, looking at his deep blue eyes as she struggled to keep her breathing under check. This was the closest she'd gotten to him since the night before and Bass was afraid that saying anything stupid would make her run off.

He could tell she still wasn't in a talking mood, so he opted for walking in silence back to the house instead. Charlie made it a point to stay ahead of him, keeping what she considered a safe distance to avoid any awkward conversations. Bass wasn't one to complain, not while his eyes intermittently shifted from the road to her. It was difficult not to admire the alluring sway of her hips. As far as he was concerned, this was one of the best walks he'd been on in a while.

When they finally reached the house, he made another attempt to speak with her and quickly blocked her from climbing up the steps. "I need to know we're okay." He said, his eyebrows furrowing as he waited for a reply.

Charlie laughed mockingly. "If by okay, you mean that I still want nothing to do with you, then yes. We're definitely okay." She moved his arm out of the way and walked inside.

They all sat around the table, Miles had the brilliant idea to dub their dinner 'Aaron's last supper' and even made it a point to have him seated at the head of the table. It was like biblical times all over again, with the rest of the group looking at him like he was the God-appointed savior of humanity. They'd all been poured a glass of whiskey that Miles had been kind enough to share. Some—Bass—had already drank more than others.

It was obvious by the way he kept looking at Charlie like she was the dinner. She knew it should've made her feel uncomfortable but she actually found it was having the opposite effect on her, and she hated herself for it. Charlie's icy blue eyes were fixed on him. His hair was still wet and his skin looked clean and refreshed. Thoughts of their earlier encounter floated through her mind. It was as if he knew what she was thinking. He cocked an eyebrow and smirked. The egotistical bastard. When she'd finally had enough of his arrogance, she kicked his leg underneath the table, causing him to flinch in pain. A grin split across her face as she took a sip of the bitter drink in her glass.

"So what happens if you manage to stop the blackout from happening?" Charlie was curious about the repercussions. "Are we all just gonna disappear into oblivion?" A shudder ran down her back at the thought. Had everyone given enough thought to this?

Gene came from outside, cooked rabbit impaled on a stake, and laid it on the table atop a large ceramic plate. He took a seat next to Rachel and began poking the roasted meat with a knife. Everyone was acting like it wasn't a big deal and it was driving Charlie insane.

Aaron finally answered her question. "Well, if the blackout is stopped then this timeline will be altered. Obviously." He took a sip of whiskey from his glass, making a face as the liquor hit his tongue. "But it will all be for the better. Who knows, maybe next time I see you, you'll be a college graduate." He smiled.

Charlie didn't find the whole idea of a redo very appealing but the thought of possibly having her father and brother back tugged at her heartstrings. "Charlie." Rachel began, as if reading her mind. "This doesn't necessarily mean that those who are gone won't remain gone." There was a certain sadness to her voice.

"Then what's the point?" Charlie shot back.

Miles offered his input, "Putting a stop to the nano's evolution? We have no chance against an enemy that can't be seen. This is our best shot." Charlie couldn't bring herself to argue with him.

Gene had been awfully quiet since this whole thing had started, he proceeded to serve everyone food and they all ate without saying another word. Charlie devoured every last bit of her rabbit, drinking the rest of her whiskey as if it were water and excusing herself from the table when she had finished. After dinner, the rest of the group headed down to the basement and began their preparations, Aaron getting increasingly more nervous with each passing second. Charlie stood under the doorway, staring out into the horizon as the sun made its descent into the faraway hills. It wasn't long before she sensed his presence next to her.

"You do realize this could possibly be the last time we get to talk." Bass' voice was low. That was something Charlie hadn't given much thought to. She turned to him, giving him one last lingering look. Every fiber of her being wanted to hate him for what he'd done but something was preventing her from doing just that. "Look, Charlotte. I'm not one to ask for forgiveness or to even care for that sort of thing." She noticed how his Adam's apple bobbed in his throat. "But for some reason, you being angry at me is rubbing me the wrong way."

Charlie was too proud to admit defeat and wasn't feeling kind enough to put him out of his misery just yet. "Maybe it's a good thing we'll have a redo then. We won't ever have to worry about crossing paths again or being forced to put up with each other." Her words, although not entirely truthful, still stung. "Sounds like a win-win don't you think?"

Bass' mouth parted to speak but Aaron's loud screams were the only thing that came through. Charlie's eyes widened and her body shifted, running down to the basement as the lights of the house began flickering out of control. The rumbling of thunder filled the sky and the lighting once again made an appearance in the sky.

She reached the enclosed space where Grace was frantically typing something into the old computer she'd brought with her. Bass came up right behind Charlie, bumping into her during a moment of complete darkness. Aaron was seated next to Grace with the box in his hands. Charlie could see the green flares of electricity traveling from the wires in the box into his hands and arms. They looked like tiny ants burrowing into his skin.

He was screaming in pain, making Charlie believe there was something horribly wrong. "You have to stop this! You're hurting him!" She shouted at Rachel, urging her to put a stop to everything. But she and the rest of the group seemed to ignore her pleas. Rachel assured her everything was okay and went to occupy herself with something Aaron had written in his journal. It was a bunch of letters and numbers—equations Charlie had never seen before.

Charlie wasn't buying it, she tried to go to Aaron but Bass' hand clamped on to her arm like so many times before. "You wanted a redo didn't you?" He reminded her, pulling her in close.

"And you? Are you willing to give up everything? To give up Connor?" She tugged away from him, "This isn't right! It's obviously not working!" Charlie's arm flung free and she ran straight to Aaron, removing the box from his grasp with great force in an attempt to toss it aside.

It was as if her hands were glued to it. She felt a large surge of electromagnetic energy entering her body, her eyes catching sight of the green ant-like specks running up her arm.

Everything happened in an instance. There was chaos and commotion all around. Rachel yelling at Grace to stop, Miles and Bass attempting to reach Charlie in time, and everyone else frozen in shock as Grace tried desperately to reverse what was already in full effect. The box lit up an incandescent green, as if encompassed by radiation. The last thing Charlie saw was a blinding light. The screams became mere echoes in her ears and then everything went pitch black.

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