"Tom, put the gun down," said Miles slowly.

"Now Miles," Tom replied, "Why the hell would I do that?" Tom raised the gun so it was pointed at Aaron's head. Aaron flinched, waiting for the oncoming bullet. A shot rang out. But it wasn't Miles or Tom. It was Jason.

He stood at the opening of the door with the gun aimed at his father who was now lying on the ground grasping his chest. A pool of blood formed around the wound. Miles turned towards Jason, "Didn't I tell you to stay with Charlie?" Jason was silent and looked away until Miles spoke again, "But nice shot." A smile grew on both of their faces. Tom let out a groan and turned over still holding the wound.

Jason walked past Miles and Rachel and bent down over his father. "Sorry, I was aiming for the heart. I was only off by an inch or two," he said as he pressed near the wound making his father cringe.

"I thought it was a pretty good shot from where you were standing. Especially when you had to go in between Rachel and me," Miles said with grin on his face. A death glare was given from Tom. "Alright, we have to get moving."

They all exited leaving Miles and Tom in the room. Miles headed for the door just as Tom said, "So you're just going to leave me here?"

Miles replied with a smirk, "Yep, pretty much." And with that, he closed the door.

…

They got Charlie moving after the medicine had kicked in. She could stand and walk, but she had a small limp. So they started for the elevator with Jason by her side in case she fell. The elevator was splattered with blood. A stench of death reeked throughout. Finally reaching the ground level, they all piled out.

They knew it was very likely that troops were still out there, but the main door was the only known way to get out. It was night time, so they may pass unnoticed crawling under the door. One by one, each one of them went under and appeared out into the night. All the men from the troops were yards away inside the tents. As Charlie went under, her leg brushed up against the edge of the door that had something poking out. She let out a cry of pain that she tried to keep under control, but it was too late.

Three men appeared from the nearest tent and were headed in the direction of the Tower door. Miles lead the way near to the forest as the rest followed; Charlie and Jason trailing behind. The three men reached the Tower but saw movements within the trees lining the forest. They headed that way, swords wielded, only to be met by Miles and Jason taking out all three. Unfortunately, it attracted attention as the last of the three let out a scream. "Shit," said Miles, "Let's go." Men were starting to open tent flaps and peer out into the night.

"Miles we'll never make it if we start running." Aaron said. Just then Rachel recognized three army trucks just 20 yards away. Miles, following her gaze, saw them too.

"Alright, our only hope is those trucks. Jason, take Charlie and get into the one closest to us. Aaron, you take the next one. And Rachel and I will take the last one." Miles said as men were already starting to walk towards the forest.

"Why am I the one alone? Can't I take one with you? And since when does Jason know how to drive?" asked Aaron.

"First of all, it was always part of Militia training to know the basics of driving even if you couldn't physically drive a car at the time. And second, no you can't come with us, because that leaves a truck for them. See what I'm getting at?" Miles responded.

"I still don't see why I'm the one alone."

"Just go!" Miles said at a whisper volume. The troops had just spotted them in the woods and were headed this way. They all ran, even Charlie, whose leg killed at the moment. Jason opened the side door and helped Charlie up. He ran around to the other side just as the others were getting in their trucks. He found the keys in the ignition and started it up.

Troops were already a few feet from the passenger side as Jason hit the gas pedal and soared forward. Miles and Aaron were driving along beside him as the troops started firing at them. Trees blurred by as they kept going, but they had to slow down to go through ditches and other obstacles, allowing the men on foot to gain some advantage. Just then a small creek appeared and made each truck come to a halt. Men were already gaining on Jason and Charlie, leaving Jason to decide to go around and find a smaller part of the stream. Miles trailed behind as Aaron worked on backing up to direct himself in Jason and Miles' direction. As Jason gained speed, a bomb went off behind them.

Smoke filled behind Jason and Charlie as Charlie tried to make out if Miles was following behind them. "Jason, I don't see them," she said as she felt her throat tighten. Jason slowed down waiting for Miles to appear in the side mirror. But it didn't happen. He watched as Charlie kept her gaze straight behind in hopes that her uncle would come. "Jason, we have to go back," she said.

"Charlie, we can't go back. We will get ourselves killed," Jason replied. She turned to him looking him in the eye as a serious tone spread across her face.

"Jason, I'm not leaving him."

"Charlie, I can't take you back."

"Jason, please," she said as she started to tear up, "I can't leave him…please?"

"Charlie, I can't."

"Why not?!" she screamed.

"Because I promised!" he said as Charlie grew quiet. "I promised Miles when you were lying, unconscious, in that hospital bed, that if anything happened to him as we were leaving the Tower that I take you with me and don't look back." He grew quiet as she stared at him in disbelief.

"Please," she finally said. He looked at her saddened face, which was so close to crying.

"I'm sorry. I can't." And with that he pressed the gas pedal and went forward into the night.

…

She was quiet the rest of the ride, tears slowly rolling down her cheek. They drove for another half hour when they saw lights in the distance. Jason came to a stop as they saw a ranch house 100 yards out; its main floor lights the only ones on. Jason got out and walked around to the passenger's side and opened the door for Charlie. Her arms were crossed as she stared straight ahead. "Please get out," he said to her.

"No," she replied, still looking ahead.

"Really Charlie? You're seriously going to sit here while I check out the house alone?" No answer. "Charlie, I'm not leaving you."

"What did you promise that to Miles too?" She said finally looking at him, but giving him a mean glare.

"Dammit Charlie!" Jason said as he walked a few feet away then turned back to her. "Are you really going to stay in here?" No answer. Jason was frustrated and finally said, "Fine. Stay here. I'm going to go check out the house." She watched as he stormed towards the house. She rolled her eyes as a faint smile came over her face.

Jason entered the house to find that even though the lights were on, no one was home. Dust only covered a few surfaces, indicating whoever lived here before had only left recently. He checked the two bedrooms and bathrooms on the main floor, and then headed into the dining room that connected with the living room. The kitchen was spotless, to his surprise. He turned off most of the lights in the house, so not many people would notice it from the woods, and headed downstairs.

Empty, just as he had thought. He was headed up the stairs back onto the main floor of the ranch house when he heard a scream from the distance. Charlie.

He sprinted out the door and ran towards the truck to find Charlie on the ground with two creepy-looking men hovered over her. They were drunken nomads traveling along the way. Unfortunately, they had come across Charlie. "What's wrong sweetheart?" one said as he bent down and pushed some of her hair back. "We just want some fun, that's all." Charlie kept inching back to get close to the gun that had fallen out of her pocket when they whipped her out of the truck. She was almost there when they each fell to the ground dead.

Charlie looked up to see Jason with his gun drawn. She remembered he did this same thing for her back on the abandoned plane. He ran up to her and pulled her close. What just occurred still hadn't really registered in Charlie's mind yet, leaving her in shock. She held onto him, not sure if she was going to cry or not. "I'm so sorry," Jason said, "I never should've left you."

Charlie looked up at his eyes and stared at him for a little while. A tear rolled down her cheek as she looked away trying to hide it. After a few moments Jason helped her back up into the truck and drove up to the house to park. He went around and helped her down, practically carrying her into the house. Her leg had become more painful due to all the moving, and she took a hard fall when the two drunks had whipped her out of the truck. Jason laid her down in one of the closer bedrooms and went back outside to conceal the truck in the woods. On his way back to the house he took his knife and removed a small amount of bark from the bottom of the trees leading up to the house. It was an old trick from the Militia to let other officers know where you were. He was hoping that way Miles would find his way.

Jason made the long trudge back to the house.

…

Miles was driving like a maniac trying to get away from the Militia still firing at the truck. It was a miracle he didn't get shot trying to save Aaron's ass from the bomb. Speaking of Aaron, he now laid in the backseat, moaning about the pain in his right arm. The bomb had flipped Aaron's truck over twice and left him with a broken arm. Luckily, Miles somehow got to him in time and brought him into his own truck, all while shooting randomly at Militia soldiers moving in.

Miles could now hear the faint noise of gunshots go off as he made his way further and further from them. Eventually it stopped and everything was quiet. That is until Aaron let out another moan from the backseat. "Aaron," Rachel said, "it could be worse. You could be dead."

"That's not worse," Miles began to mutter, "I'm pretty sure that's better." Rachel punched him in the arm as Miles just laughed it off. The ride continued for a while like that; Aaron complaining about his arm and Miles making some smartass comments. They had driven for thirty minutes and still hadn't come across any sign of Charlie and Jason. Miles began to worry that he may never see his niece again.

Just then one of the trucks' headlights shined over a tree with bark cut out from it. Miles stopped the truck abruptly, causing Aaron to complain yet again about the pain in his arm. "Miles?" Rachel said with a confused tone.

"They're nearby. See those," Miles said as he pointed to the bottom of a tree, "It's a marking taught to everyone in the Militia. It's discreet enough to not be recognized as a marking, unless you know about it. Let's go. There should be a trail." Miles exited the vehicle along with Rachel and a complaining Aaron.

They followed the markings for awhile until they found the ranch house in the distance. "Rachel stay here with Aaron while I check out the house," Miles said.

"Yeah right. I'm coming with," said Rachel as she brushed past Miles and headed for the house.

"Awesome," Miles said in an annoyed voice as he ran to catch up. They neared the house to see only the kitchen light on and nothing else. Miles tried the front door. Locked. He went around searching to see if any windows were open. The last window just right of the front door popped open easily and all three of them slid in silently.

Miles heard voices coming from what must have been a bedroom and headed towards the door with his gun ready. He rounded the corner only to be welcomed by Jason who had his gun pointed right at Miles' head. They both dropped their guns to their sides. "Charlie?" Miles asked in a concerned tone.

"In there," Jason pointed to the bedroom, "I think she finally fell asleep. She was a little shaken up. Some drunks passing through got a hold of her while I was checking out the house. Don't worry, they're dead now."

"You left her alone?" Miles said as his voice started to become angry.

"She wouldn't leave the truck," Jason explained, "She was mad at me for not going back to find you."

"God she's stubborn. Alright we'll let her sleep." Miles and Jason headed into the living room where Rachel and Aaron were sitting. They spent the next twenty minutes discussing where they would go the next morning and what towns they might be safe in. Rachel had first watch so she could help Aaron with his arm, then Miles would take over. As Miles headed for a spare bedroom he stopped Jason, who was on his way downstairs to the basement bedrooms.

"Jason," Miles said, "I want you to stay with Charlie. Normally I wouldn't let you, but you're the only one I know who will keep her safe." Jason nodded and made his way to where Charlie was sleeping.

…

Charlie heard the voices of Aaron, Miles, Jason, and her mother in the room outside her door. She lay in bed for awhile trying to fall asleep, but she couldn't get the image of the drunken man's face out of her mind. If Jason wasn't there to save her, she could be dead right now. She quickly got up, shaking the memory from her mind and went to the mirror to examine the damage they had done.

She hadn't told Jason that after they whipped her out of the truck, they had hit her on the back with some metal object. Her back throbbed and she could barely touch the spot where they had hit her without feeling immense pain.

She took off her jacket slowly trying to minimize the pain it caused and threw it on the bed. She turned around so that her back was to the mirror and lifted the back of her shirt up to examine the injury. The spot had already started forming a bruise which had a three inch cut across it. It was red around the edges and purple and blue blotches had begun to take shape. She brushed her fingers across the bruise and she immediately winced with pain. Just then the door opened and she quickly turned around to find Jason staring at her in disbelief. "Charlie? Are you okay?" Jason said as he moved to her side examining the spot on her back.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it," she responded.

"Charlie, did they do this to you? What did they hit you with?"

"I said I'm fine," Charlie snapped at him as she tried to walk back to the bed. She rolled her shirt back down, which rubbed against the bruise causing her to let out a cry of pain. She went to grab her back only to cause more pain to the spot. Jason emerged right next to her holding her up as she cringed from the throbbing pain. Charlie let a tear roll down her face as she turned to face Jason. He wiped away the tear as Charlie went in to hug him.

He held her gently being careful of the bruise. She pulled back slowly and said, "Jason, I'm really scared. What are we going to do now? What if your dad is still out there? What if they find us?"

"Charlie, the house is tucked away. We would have almost passed it if the lights hadn't been on. So don't worry about anyone coming tonight. We're gonna head out tomorrow morning for a town nearby. Look at me," Charlie gazed up at Jason, "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. I promise." She kissed him gently on the lips. As they pulled away a faint smile grew on Charlie's face. Jason could tell she was getting more tired by the minute and told her they should get some sleep.

Jason helped Charlie get into the bed with minimal pain. He went to the other side and got in too. She immediately made her way over to be right next to him. They fell asleep with his arm around her and her arm on his chest. She lay on her stomach to cause as little pain as possible to her back. And with that, they fell asleep.

…

Within a few hours the household was woken up by the sound of guns firing and windows shattering.