Charlie raised her chin and stared back at the stunned expressions her fellow cell mates gave her.

"Miles Matheson!" Jake exclaimed. "Miles Matheson is your father?"

Charlie nodded.

"He's still alive?"

Again Charlie nodded.

"He was a traitor." Andrew piped up. "Hell six months ago we had orders to kill him."

"And yet none of you ever could." Charlie shot back.

"And he started a resistance?" Jake asked, ignoring Andrew.

"I believe that's what I said." Charlie replied.

"How many men does he have?"

"It's a small group right now. Me, Miles, and a few good fighters." Charlie hedged. She wasn't ready to tell them about Bass's involvement.

"Just a handful of you are going up against the whole Patriot army? That's crazy." Andrew drawled.

"So is just sitting here waiting to die." Charlie shot back.

"Enough, both of you." Jake shouted. Then he turned to Charlie. "If you really are Miles' daughter then he'll come for you right? If anyone can get us out of here it's that crazy so of a bitch."

"He does have his talents." Charlie said as she started walking around the cell. She knew Miles would come for her, he always did. Just like she would always come for him. She also knew he wouldn't be alone. Bass would be with him. At least she hoped he would. But she had no idea how long it would take them to find her. She knew her time was limited and she couldn't wait around forever. And if her father had taught her anything it was the art of getting out of a tough situation, she just needed to find some inspiration.

"When are the Patriots due back?" She asked Jake.

"Tomorrow or the next day." He answered.

"That doesn't give us much time, we'll need to get started."

"Doing what?" Jake asked.

Charlie knelt down at the back corner or the cell and touched the dirt on the floor. "Finding a way out of here."

"You must be Miles' daughter, you are just as crazy as he is." Jake laughed.

"Yeah I'm a chip off the old block. One thing I've learned from him is there is always a way out."

"Don't you think we haven't tried to escape?" Andrew hissed. "These cages are open on all sides, there are no blind spots and they have constant patrols. You do not want to know what they did to the last man who tried to escape from here."

Charlie looked to Jake with question in her eyes.

Jake lowered his voice "It was Andrew's brother. He almost made it, but they caught him. His death wasn't quick or easy, and they made us all watch."

Charlie turned to Andrew and put her hands on his shoulders. "I know what it's like to watch your brother die right in front of you and not being able to do a damn thing to stop it. I'm sorry Andrew. I really am."

"So you know it's only a matter of time till you and everyone you care about is dead. So why the hell should we even fight it. We're only delaying the inevitable."

It was only a few days ago that she had said those same words to Bass. She had believed in them then, and to some degree still believed in them now. But now she had something she didn't have a few days ago, hope, and it was all because of Bass. Charlie couldn't pinpoint the exact moment she started feeling hope again. But she was grateful for it. It was that hope, and the thought of seeing Bass again that made her want to get out of here. She knew she needed to give Andrew and the rest of the men in the cages with her a little hope as well. At least give them a reason to fight and not accept the horrible fate that waited for them. "Death has been my shadow for over a year. It seems like all I've been doing is fighting. That there will be no end to the pain or the death. But I made a promise to someone I care about very much that I would fight to my last breath and that's what I'm going to do. I don't care what you think of Miles, or even me, and I make no promises to you now. I'm not going to lie to you. It's bad out there. We are outnumbered and out gunned. These Patriots are devious and brutal. But if I don't stand up to them, if we don't stand up to them then who will? Then everyone we've ever lost would have died for nothing. We could all die tomorrow, but I will never stop fighting and I will try with everything in me to get out of here, to get all of us out of here. And if I'm going to die, well then I'll be damn sure to take as many of those bastards with me as possible."

"So do you have a plan little one?" Jake asked, the admiration plain in his voice.

"Not yet, but I'm working on it."

"Yeah well when you figure it out let us know." Andrew quipped.

"I'll do that. Just be ready. You guys still remember how to fight?" Charlie challenged.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that little one." Jake growled, clenching his fists.

"Just checking." Charlie smiled as she dug into the ground a little. It was softer here than anywhere else.

"It won't work Charlie," Jake said softly. "We've tried digging out before, that's how Andrew's brother got killed. These cages are open on all sides and they have up to ten men on a roving patrol at all times."

Charlie nodded as she stood up, surveying the rest of the compound. There were no walls, just tents surrounding an open court yard. In that court yard was a wooden cross embedded in the ground, stained with blood.

"What's that?" Charlie asked.

"That's where they tied him up and beat him to death. It took two days for him to die."

Charlie noticed Mr. Boss Man and three others stalking toward the cage. "Looks like they still want to have that chat with me."

"Why do they want you so badly?" Jake asked.

"The Patriots put a price on my head. I kind of pissed off some of the big wigs and well, they want revenge."

"You are like you father." Jake huffed.

"You have no idea."

Mr. Boss Man opened the cage. Charlie braced herself for what was coming. But to her surprise they walked right past her and stood in front of Andrew.

"We need some entertainment, and big Eddie's feeling restless. Time for a fight Militia boy."

Immediately Charlie got an idea, it wasn't her best or even her brightest but it was all she had. She just hoped that Miles and Bass were on their way and would get to her in time. She grabbed Jake and quickly whispered in his ear.

"Dig, dig fast, get as many out as you can. Head south to a little abandoned town called Collinsville. Ask for Rachel Matheson or Conner Bennett. They'll know what to do."

"What the hell are talking about?" Jake growled at her.

"I'm going to give you the distraction you need. Trust me, no one will be watching the cages."

Before Jake could stop her she stepped between Andrew and the Boss. "Take me instead."

"What!?" several voices exclaimed at once.

"You heard me, take me instead. But let's make this interesting. If beat big Eddie then me and the rest of these men get to walk out of here. If I lose then I'll tell you exactly why the Patriots are after me and give you the location of someone they want even more."

The boss looked intrigued. "Alright girly, you've got a deal."

"Don't do it Charlie, Eddie will kill you." Jake yelled as Charlie was marched out of the cage.

Charlie stood in the middle of the courtyard looking up at a hulking mass of a man. Big Eddie was right. She just hoped some of the hand to hand fighting lessons Bass had given her would do the trick. She just needed to keep him busy enough for the rest of the men to get out. And once they did, she hoped like hell they would find Miles and join the fight. It would make the beating she was about to get worth it.

She and Eddie danced around each other, each trading blows. She had to give it to the guy, he had fists made of granite, the only reason she was still conscious was because he was slow as dirt. Charlie stayed on her feet, weaving in out, dancing around him, putting on as good of a show as she could. She noticed most of the men were watching the fight. She snuck a look at the cage and noticed a few men were hunkered down, digging. That one moment of lost concentration was all it took for Eddie to get the drop on her and land a hard punch to her mid-section. Charlie doubled over and lost her breath. Eddie loomed over her. Charlie glanced to the cage and saw Jake appear on the other side of the bars. No one else seemed to notice. It was working. Charlie swung her leg around knocking Eddie on his ass. Taking in what little breath she could Charlie stumbled up and kicked Eddie in the head. She was about to land another blow when a commotion near the cages caught everyone's attention.

Jake and Andrew were being dragged back by two guards. Charlie's shoulders slumped. They had failed.

"Looks like we've got an escape attempt boss." One of the guards called out.

The boss started to walk over to them. Charlie made a move to intercept but was held in place by two men with very large guns.

"I thought you would have learned your lesson from last time. You know what we do to those who try to escape."

As the men started to lead Jake and Andrew away Charlie yelled out, "Wait! It wasn't their idea, it was mine. If you are going to punish someone for trying escape, punish me."

"Shut up Charlie, you don't know what you're saying." Jake yelled back.

Charlie only stared at him. She would not be responsible for their deaths, not like this.

"I'm very sorry to hear that girly, I really am." Boss sneered at her. "Put them back, hopefully they'll make up for the loss of the girl." He looked at his men, "you know what to do."

They dragged her to the cross in the middle of the court yard and tied her up tight. She could here Jake and Andrew screaming their protests. She watched the Boss walk toward her and she swore she could see her death in his eyes. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and whispered quietly, "I'm sorry Bass, I tried, please forgive me." The next thing she felt was pain.