"You are very resilient for one so young".
Alex could only stare at Captain Neville as he entered the cell she had been dragged to and from for the past 2 days. She hadn't been given any food and only a small amount of water. Her injuries hadn't had a chance to heal properly thanks to Neville and his tactics. She was determined not to give him anything but the pain he'd inflicted had been almost unbearable. Then to top it off, he'd had their doctors fix her up. Not pleasant.
She turned her attention back to the Captain as he again sat across from her as she leant against the wall. His gaze was steady and piercing.
"Who are they to you? Hmmm? What do those traitors of the Republic mean to you"?
Alex sighed. "I don't know what you're talking about. I can't tell you what I don't know. How many times do I have to say it"?
She stared at Neville and after a moment he sat back in his chair.
"Perhaps you really don't know about them. Maybe you are just someone in the wrong place at the wrong time". Sighing again, he threw the chair into the corner and called for the two soldiers outside the cell. "Take her upstairs as you were instructed before".
Alex groaned as they dragged her from the bed. She should have been used to it by now. These two didn't seem overly interested in being gentle with her. They dragged her through halls and up more flights of stairs that she had trouble keeping everything straight. When they finally stopped at an ornately decorated door, Alex thought they had brought her back to the Generals office but when the guard opened it, she saw a room with a desk, lounge, chairs and a bed. The furniture was ornate, much like the generals office but instead of a cold, evil man occupying it, a woman and a teenage boy stared at her from the window.
Alex was thrown to the floor by the soldiers, tears pricking her eyes as she got more bruises to add to her ever expanding collection. The men smiled as they left the room and she had an overwhelming urge top throw something at them. Fortunately for them she didn't have the strength to do much more than lay where they had thrown her. As soon as the door clicked shut, she heard scuttling on the floorboards and two faces appeared in front of her.
"Hey, are you ok", the woman asked, her face full of worry. Alex shook her head and was glad when the two strangers helped her to the couch.
"Thanks", she managed to whisper. It was then that Alex realised who the strangers were.
"Danny, get some clean cloths. She's bleeding". "Ok mom".
Alex watched the young man scuttle off then looked down to where the woman was checking. Her shotgun wounds had re-opened again and were bleeding through the shirt.
"Don't worry about it. Those fools will only make em' bleed again anyway".
She sat back, trying to breathe evenly. Before she knew it, the boy Danny was back, handing his mother the cloths and water.
"What did they do to you", he asked as he looked her up and down.
She smiled. "Not as much as they would have liked to do". She groaned as they tried to clean the wounds and stop the bleeding. "I thought moms were supposed to be gentle".
The woman smiled. "Well, since I'm not your mom…".
Alex grimaced again as the stabbing pain turned into a dull ache. "No, you're Charlie's mom".
Both of them stopped instantly and the woman stared at her hopefully. "You know Charlie"?
Alex nodded and the boy Danny became just as intense. "Is she ok? Where is she"?
"Let me finish this Danny", his mom interrupted. "Then she can tell us about Charlie".
Alex shook her head. "That's what Neville and Monroe wanted to know. They've probably got someone listening to us now". She sat up gingerly as they finished fixing her wounds. "Thank you both. You are just as kind as they are. I'm Alex by the way".
The woman smiled. "I'm Rachael and this is my son Danny. Alex huh? That wouldn't be short for Alexandra"? Rachael stared knowingly at her and she nodded. Another small and very motherly smile crossed Rachael's face. "You look just like your mother".
Alex felt a tear slide down her face. "And Charlie and Danny look just like you". Both of them smiled at her.
"So", Danny started, sitting in a chair. "Why did they beat you? Did they want information"? Alex nodded. "On what"?
She stared at them, pain creeping into her face. "Miles Matheson and how to get the power back on".
"Are you sure there's no other way to get into the city unseen"?
Miles, Aaron, Charlie and Nora were crouching behind some trees that were directly across from the most unprotected part of the cities edge. Right below the guard tower was a nearly invisible grate.
"That is what's left of the old sewer entrance", Miles answered, pointing. "It's completely overgrown and it comes out behind some old storage buildings. If we go at night, we can get in without being noticed".
Nora groaned, rubbing her head. "Even at night, the guards could see us and how do you know they don't know this is here"?
Miles shook his head. "Because I was the only one who knew about it and by the looks of all the growth, no one has used it in years".
Miles smiled as Nora rolled her eyes. "Things would have changed since you left you know".
"Probably, but this is still our best chance".
He moved quickly away, the others following.
"Maybe we shouldn't all go", Aaron piped up as he stumbled behind them. "If they do know about it, we could all get caught".
Miles grinned. "Well, well, you're finally making a good point".
"We should split up", Charlie interrupted energetically. "That was, if whoever uses the tunnel gets caught, the others are still able to rescue them".
Miles found himself laughing. "A rescue! Have you noticed how badly our previous rescues have gone? Not well".
He watched as Charlie put on her stubborn child look with her hands on her hips. "That doesn't mean we won't try".
"Awe kid, you're still so naive. If this doesn't work, that'll be it. No more rescues, nothing. The two that are left will have to disappear. No arguments"!
All three were silent and he knew that was all he was going to get out of them. He threw his gear to the ground and began sorting through it.
When he was checking Alex's bag for anything useful, the pendant she had given him, fell out along with the journal. He sighed, picking them both up carefully and noticed Aaron's uneasiness at the sight of them.
"Would you tell me what your problem is", he snapped as he stood. "You're acting all weird and it's really starting to annoy me".
Aaron gulped. "I can't….it's just, that pendant…."? He began fidgeting, touching his jacket pocket.
"Aaron", Charlie started curiously. "What's wrong".
He stared at her for a moment then reached into his pocket and pulled out an identical pendant to the one Miles was holding.
"Where did you get that", Charlie asked, her eyes darting back and forth between her uncle and her friend. Aaron shifted nervously.
"Your dad. He said it was vital that the Militia not get their hands on it".
He stared at Miles, waiting to be scolded. Instead Miles simply nodded, finished packing, looked around and pushed Alex's gear along with her pendant into the hollow of a log, making sure to cover it with branches and leaves. He then stalked over to Aaron, snatched the pendant, ignoring the protests of the others and disappeared into the trees, returning a moment later empty handed.
"Charlie, you and Nora stay outside the city. Aaron and I will go in. if we don't come back in two days, you guys must run and not look back. Ok"?
Three heads nodded simultaneously and in silence, they waited for the sun to go down.
Let me know what you all think!