Brave is the Heart that Beats Beneath
The rebel leaders sat at the table in their command center, utterly astonished by the recent news. Undercover spies had come late last night to announce that the Generals were marching on their hidden location. Sebastian Monroe and Miles Matheson would be there by the end of the week with an army. Clearly, they were coming for the Matheson children.
"What are we supposed to do with them?"
"We made a promise to her mother but if they are going to be a threat to everyone here I vote we get rid of them."
"You would have the guts to kill a kid and a pregnant woman, Walter?"
"Unlike you, Lydia, I'm not a psychopath. Of course, I meant we should trade them."
"Against what?"
"Geez, I don't know, prisoners? Did you leave your brain at home today?"
The woman fell silent, sulking.
"I have another piece of information you may find interesting" Added the weary spy.
"More interesting than telling us we have only a few days to evacuate and leave everything behind?"
"We're not going to fight them, sir?"
"With their numbers? They would crush us and you know it."
"I believe you were about to say something" interjected the woman.
"Sebastian Monroe and Charlotte Matheson were together for a while before she came to us."
"Together?"
"I believe they were involved in a romantic relationship, ma'am" replied the spy uncomfortably.
"Oh, why am I not surprised? That pig! She's a baby" spat one of the men.
"Wait! Isn't she pregnant?"
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Monroe Republic is going to run us over because he wants his baby
and his baby mama back. Great, that is just great. I guess he just didn't have the right motivation before but he certainly does now."
The infuriated middle-aged man threw his hands up in frustration and walked out just as two women were coming in with refreshments. They came out five minutes later and quickly turned the corner before stopping to look at each other.
"Did you hear what I heard because if it's true…"
"They have destroyed our lives by coming here" one of the two spat venomously.
"I never liked her. She acts nice but I can just tell something about her is just off."
"I think everyone deserves to know why we have to leave our entire lives behind, don't you think?"
An angry mob is a truly frightening thing. Charlie and Dany were put in protective custody. A hard-breathing Dany was now sporting a few cuts and bruises and Charlie had managed to escape with nothing more than a bruised rib and a painful knee thanks to Jason who had shown up just in the nick of time.
"How can they attack a pregnant woman?" asked Dany angrily while pacing back and forth.
"I heard they think Charlie is carrying the President's child."
They had requested Jason stay with them to act as their guard and he had gladly obliged them.
"Charlie" Dany stared at her in astonishment "Is that true?"
"No"
"But something happened between the two of you, didn't it?"
"Dany, I really wish you would stop walking in circles like that. You're making me dizzy."
"Don't dodge the subject! Charlie, what the hell is going one? I can tell you've been lying to me."
If having her brother on her back harassing her wasn't enough, Jason had to start asking questions too. The lies Charlie had been telling all along were coming out in broad daylight. The young woman could no longer hide from them. Dany had been told one story and Jason another. She was so tired of running from her life, so weary of pretending to be something she wasn't. All she wanted was for people to stop stepping on her. Charlie knew she appeared weak. No, she knew she was weak. And she needed to stop running and tell the story as it had really happened.
She started from the day they had come to the family house to take everyone to Philadelphia. She didn't sugarcoat it or add any details that hadn't actually happen. Dany wanted the truth? Then, she was going to give it to him.
Some sugarcoating might have been a good idea though. Her tale triggered an asthma attack and Dany was taken away to Sickbay, heavily guarded.
"Well, now I feel bad." She felt like laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation.
"I still can't believe you had told him that crap about the explosion."
"Yeah, not my best."
"Not your best?" He stared at her like she had suddenly grown two heads.
"What? I agree it wasn't the best story I could have come up with."
"The best story? I'm starting to wonder if you've ever been frank with me at all. You obviously breathe out lies like nobody's business. And you don't even seem to feel bad about it!"
Jason was really starting to piss her off. Who the fuck did he think he was?
"No, I don't feel bad. Do you know why? Because I had no choice! I was on my own with the government looking for me! I had no one to rely on. No family, no friends who would agree to take me in once they found out I was part of the General's family. So, no, I don't feel bad. They are the reason I've managed to stay alive for so long."
She wanted to scream at the whole world. They had made her into a liar.
"Charlie, I just don't know who you are!"
"Yes, you do! You've just described me perfectly! I'm a professional liar. That's all I am because my life has been nothing but survival for the last three years. I become who I need to be in order to survive."
"To me you were a nice, strong, positive, beautiful girl."
"Well, you're wrong. I'm not nice and I'm definitely not strong."
"I still think you are."
"You've just said so yourself! You don't know me. So cut the crap and get out!"
Jason got up, his face closed off.
"I'm going to check on Dany. There are guards outside your door."
She wanted to yell at him not to bother coming back but she ground her teeth and turned away from him. Needing him to get them out of this mess was a very strong possibility.
Bass and Miles were on their way to get them back. The rebels would trade them in a heartbeat now that they were persuaded Bass was her baby's father. All she felt was apprehension at the thought of meeting him again. Reuniting with her uncle was something she could not even think about properly. The reunion should be interesting at least.
As the days passed, the mood inside the cell got tenser and tenser. The high-scale evacuation had begun. In the end, Dany, Jason and herself would be the only ones remaining underground.
Early one morning, Charlie and Dany were dragged out of bed and taken outside for the first time in a long while. The morning light blinded their eyes but the fresh air awakened every cell in her body. They were standing in a battlefield. Two armies had clearly been fighting all night. The mangled bodies of rebels lay on the ground all around them. Vultures were flying in circles above their heads. They had obviously been caught unprepared at the arrival of the Militia.
Lydia, a high ranking leader of the rebellion, had been taken prisoner by the Generals. Dany and Charlie were there to be exchanged against her. Jason insisted he would be coming as well but a man Charlie had never seen before restrained him.
Bass and Miles had led their army into battle. As expected, the militia had won without much
difficulty. Now, they would trade that exasperating woman against Charlie and her brother. Miles felt nervous because he couldn't see them yet. Right now all they cared about was getting them back safely.
Finally, they came into view. Bass's stomach knotted but he paid no mind to it. She stood only a few hundred yards away. They both seemed alright; a bit pale, but seemingly healthy. From the distance it was hard to tell but Bass could have sworn Charlie still appeared pregnant. The General let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
"Who's the guy with them?" asked Miles
"That would be the second in command. I guess Walter didn't want to risk his own skin."
"Who are we sending with Lydia?"
"I know you want to go, Miles. But I think Strausser will keep a cooler head than either of us. We cannot fuck this up."
He nodded at Strausser to go ahead. They were finally going to be reunited. When they returned to Philly, they could at last try to fix things.
They saw what happened from afar, powerless to do anything except run towards them. As the hostages walked alone to the middle of the field, Lydia viciously attacked Charlie with a tiny knife she must have stolen after they last checked her for weapons. The young woman struggled to protect her stomach, blocking the knife attacks with her arms. The older woman bellowed that Bass's heir would never see the light of day. Desperately, Dany tried to protect his sister.
Turning her attention to the young boy, Lydia shoved Charlie to the ground. The poor girl landed heavily on her stomach, distressingly crying out for her brother. She winced in pain and attempted to get up but the pain coursing through her body proved to be too much. Her bloody arms would not support her weight and her legs felt like rubber.
The whole ordeal happened in a few seconds. Strausser rushed to their position and seized Lydia. Quickly slitting her throat from behind, he immediately went after the remaining party of rebels. Finally something fun to do!
"Dany!" She stumbled to her brother, yelling his name in a desperate voice.
She held his face between her hands, watching the life going out of his blue eyes. Lydia's knife had found an artery in his neck.
He looked up at her, his fleeting attention focusing entirely on his sister. When Charlie felt Dany's body relax, his now empty gaze looking up at the sky, she let out a single heart-wrenching sob before the pain and blood loss took over.
When the two men reached the unconscious siblings, Miles went to Dany and shook him, but to no avail. They both knew the boy was dead. Bass lifted Charlie and ran back to their side of the field.