It had been 15 years since the lights went out. One moment, everything was fine, and the next, the world was plunged into unprecedented darkness. Governments collapsed, militaries closed up shop, supply lines stalled, and people were left stranded with no hope for normalcy. Only a handful of people knew the lights would go out; Rachel and Ben Matheson were amongst this elite group. In the moments before the blackout, Ben Matheson considers calling his brother, Miles, but thinks better of it. His marriage was tenuis, the stress of creating the nanites, a sick child, and the fact that his wife loved his brother made Ben's head throb. If he had to find a silver lining about the impending apocalypse, it was that Miles and Rachel would forever be separated. He sat his phone down, opened the freezer, and asked, "who wants ice cream for dinner?" His ears were greeted by the sound of tiny feet.

The survivors of the first few years found a new rhythm to life. The impact of the lights going out was devastating; disease, starvation, and violence ruled. But one-day shining ships with bellowing sails and impressive masts sailed up the eastern seaboard. The Patriots had arrived. Aside from resistance from small war clans, they settled in quickly; they had an overwhelming manpower, a stockpile of medical supplies, and impressive firepower, and perhaps the most powerful tool was foreknowledge. Life was finally reaching some new warped normalcy; most people were willing to take what was given to them, and the outliers were pushed to the central regions of the US. Areas deemed too cold and barren for the Patriot's attention.

Charlie is perched in her favorite tree, a place all to herself in a world where she is given very little room to breathe. Closing her eyes, she thinks back through her reel of favorite memories. She remembers the taste of ice cream, Christmas tree lights, her uncle visiting, finding their new home in Massachusetts, reading her first history textbook, and finding her tree. All of these moments flashed behind her eyelids. "Charlie, mom is looking for you!" Charlie looked down to see her little brother staring up at her; sighing, she started climbing down. "What does she want?" she asked, knowing fully well she wouldn't like the answer. Danny shrugged and mumbled something about cooking lessons. Charlie rolled her eyes, that meant she would spend the next hour being ridiculed about how much salt she added or how she didn't slice the vegetables evenly enough. She slung her arm around Danny as they walked back to their house.

It took the small Matheson family two years to find their charming brownstone in Boston. The Patriots had set up in Washington, DC, then expanded throughout the coast. Boston had become a haven for the once "wealthy" and intellectual. Ben and Rachel taught at New Harvard, where Charlie was also enrolled. By blackout standards, Charlie and Danny lived a charmed life. Danny didn't even remember a world with power, and Charlie only had a few bad memories that kept her up at night after a stressful day. "Kids, is that you?" Rachel shouted from the kitchen. It was an ample and warm space that didn't reflect the family tension that hung in the air in recent years. Charlie pasted on a smile and said, "yup, here to chip in with dinner."

Dinner was quiet, forks clanking against china, and the clock ticking on the wall filled the dining room. "How was your World History class, Charlie?" Ben asked. Charlie finished the bite she had taken "it was good; we have been covering the impact of World War II on US and European relations." Charlie loved history; learning about a world so far removed from her own was strange. As she spoke, Rachel sighed; Charlie knew what was coming. "You should really try and challenge yourself, Charlie; you're so smart, you could be studying science or medicine." The room somehow became even quieter – almost like Rachel had stopped time. Charlie looked at her mother "I feel perfectly challenged, mom" she then got up from the table without asking to be excused.

Later that night, she heard the shouting start while sitting on her bed. Ben and Rachel fought at least once a week; it had been getting worse and worse over the years. "You could let her breathe, Rachel; she's an adult! You can't control her; if you keep going this way, you'll push her away!" Charlie closed her book; her parents rarely fought about her, at least not when she was in the house. "She is capable of more; she is MY daughter; I know she can do more!" Charlie opened her door a crack to hear better; Danny was already out on the landing, listening intently. She heard a hand slam on the table, "That's subtle, Rachel; I love Charlie without question, and you know that" Charlie frowned, wondering where this argument was going. Several doors slammed, and Ben shouted again, "I have overlooked everything for years! The stolen looks, putting all your energy into saving Danny, and the constant pressure you put on Charlie, she can never do enough for you." Danny moved closer to her; they were now standing at the top of the stairs. They could hear Rachel crying, "Oh, knock it off, Rachel, you're not the victim here, and we both know it" the crying stopped, and their bedroom door opened below Charlie and Danny. "You didn't overlook things, Ben; you willingly went along for the ride. You can make me the bad guy, but you were in the room with me when we decided to help end the world." And with that, Rachel left the house, letting the heavy wooden front door slam behind her.

Charlie went down the stairs and walked up to the door; peering into her parent's room, she saw an exhausted Ben sitting by the fireplace. "Dad? What did you mean about ending the world?" Ben looked up and smiled at her "come here kid; I think it's time I clear things up for you." Charlie sat in the chair across from him and waited for him to start. Over the next couple of hours, Ben explained how he and Rachel had created a nanite technology to save Danny from a heart defect, how the Department of Defense approached them, the plan to develop their own Noah's Arch kind of cleansing, and that they went along with everything. Charlie sat, soaking everything up and asking the occasional question. When Ben finished, Charlie just had one question left. Looking at her Dad, how tired he looked, in her heart already knew the answer, but she needed to hear him say it "are you my Dad? Biologically, I mean?" she asked. Ben raised a hand to his face and then leaned forward, taking her hands in his "I will always be your dad, but no, my brother Miles is your biological father." Charlie squeezed his hands and said, "I love you, Dad," Then she stood up and walked back into her room.

After tossing and turning for a few hours, she lit her nightstand table lamp and pulled out her backpack. It was late summer, so she started by packing her winter clothing at the bottom of the pack. She grabs her journal, a map from her summer travels, the knife she had been gifted on her 18th birthday, and the small amount of gold and diamonds she had saved. Dressing in light layers, she wrote a quick note to Danny and her Dad.

Dear Dad and Danny,

By the time you read this, I will already be gone. I need time to come to terms with knowing my parents helped end the world. I promise to be careful, and once I can, I will write you an update. I love you both and don't mean to hurt you with this choice.

Yours,

Charlie

Placing the letter on the hallway table, she walked out into the night, heading West, hoping to find the answers and possibly Miles Matheson.