Charlotte stared into the darkness of the room. She lay on the ground with a floppy, under stuffed pillow underneath her head. Listening for the rhythmic breathing of her companions, not knowing if they were awake or not or even in the building with her, Charlotte tried to close her eyes. [i]I can't keep having the same nightmare forever, can I?[i] But as soon as her lids sealed closed she was not alone. Greeted by the ghoulish faces of those infected, mixed with the kind eyes of the ones she loved. Her empty mind echoed with the shrieks of her parents, the gunshots, and piercing of skin. Running, running, as fast as she could, but seemingly never fast enough to escape the memories that plague her past. Tree branches whistle by her ears as she runs. Jumping over logs and slipping through the trees. Charlotte hears the voice of her father, loving and kind, the remnants of his English heritage bleeding through his accent, [i]You've got a gift Lotte, never in my whole life have I seen any little girl as agile as you my darling. One day you'll be a champion for runnin', just watch my darling, just watch.[i] There is a gunshot, and the dream ends.
Charlotte sits upright as quickly as she can open her eyes. She breaths fast as if she had actually been running. Her body aches from previous days of smuggling, it was a hard job no doubt, but she loved it as nothing else could give her so much sense of purpose and adventure. The irreplaceable feeling of adrenaline coursing through her veins. With a sigh Charlotte realized that her dream ending gunshot wasn't a gunshot after all, but instead the lookout from below was now breaking open the door to the apartment.
"Wake up! Tetra speaks again." He said a few more words before disappearing back out the door. Not knowing if anyone else was even there Charlotte stood quickly, having already been dressed in case of some sort of emergency. Throwing her hair into a messy bun while walking into her worn down shoes and jacket, then turning out the door. The safe house is where everyone meets, its a place trusted by most everyone in the smuggling business, the place where the smugglers themselves received their valuables that were worth the risk of losing a life just to deliver. Gravel crunched beneath her feet, setting the rhythmic tune of her pace. Long steps, long strides, longer distance, less time. Ahead on the road Charlotte became aware of over a dozen men from the military. Don't be obvious. Don't be suspicious.
"G'morning miss, where are you headed off to so early?" One man asked as she approached.
Hesitantly Charlotte froze in her steps and peeled her eyes off the dirt beneath her feet to make eye contact with a soldier. Her spine stiffened but relaxed before anyone could know that something was off. "Just on my morning walk, just circling around the lake about a mile down and on the left." She smiled innocently and batted her big eyes.
"Well, have a nice walk then." He replied and returned a smile to Charlotte.
Nodding and continuing on the trail Charlotte wondered what and where they would be going today. She kept her eyes down until she came to the barely noticeable fork that led to the safe house. Walking inside she tried to find her group and figure out what was going on.