text: [Themes: modern]
  
  You are Ben Higgins, a person of no consequence living in the town of Van Hove. The town was large but not big enough to be a city, not that it matted to you since your world is mainly your home and the small yard around it. For most of your life the idea of going out into the world made you uncomfortable, along with the idea of social interaction. Of course when the situation called for it, like getting food or mailing a letter at the post office, you could handle it no problem, but you found it joyless and were glad when it was over. In addition you rarely watched TV or even the news on the internet, unless it was happening on your property it didn't affect you or at least that's what you believe. As for money you work from home on your computer fixing problems on other people's computers via remote desktop connections. The company you work for pays enough so you have enough food and pay the bills. What is most important is that they leave you alone while you work.
  
  Your little sister Victoria says you do want to go out and do more, but you're afraid. Victoria is your main source of social interaction and the only person who have any real connection to. Several years ago, your parents died in a car crash and Victoria has been living with you ever since. The two of you get along for the most part, you have the same squabble that all siblings have but you genuinely care for each other. It's summer now and in the fall Victoria is leaving for college, which is going to leave you more alone than ever. Oh sure, she is going to visit and stay here between semesters, but you know this is the beginning of her going off to forge her own path and living her own life, something you never got around to doing.
  
  Alas you are happy for her and would never want to hold her back. Certainly you would not want her to live the same dull and somewhat depressing existence you have. You do wonder if she is right and you do want to go out in the world and make friends but the fear is simply more than you can handle, while giving up and crawling back into bed is just too easy. If Victoria is right then what exactly are you afraid of? Not being able to fit in, or perhaps it's the shear unpredictably of life. It doesn't make a difference as you have no plans on changing your lifestyle in the foreseeable future.
  
  You wake up late one morning, planning on spending the day working, you head into the narrow hallway and into the kitchen. The kitchen is cramped and needs to be cleaned soon, as you brush crumbs off the kitchen table you notice something is off. It's relatively quiet, normally when you get up Victoria is making noise doing one thing or another. She can't still be asleep, she was always an early bird, maybe she is feeling ill, you decided to check on her as you head back into the hallway and knock on her bedroom door.
  
  "Vic, you alright?" You call out while knocking.
  
  No response, you open the door just a tad to peek in and see her bed is empty. After this discovery you head back into your room and grab your cell phone off your dresser. There are no text messages or voicemail, Victoria always leaves one when she heads out. You send her text asking where she is. Several minutes pass and there is no reply. Victoria is glued to that phone and she always responds quickly, even though it's usual a text to stop bugging her. You begin to worry, but perhaps you're being overprotective. Your sister is an adult and unlike you has a life, although this is a big departure from her usual behavior. Her best friend is Moira Estacado, she owns the bar and restaurant "Moira's" located in the center of town. Maybe she would know where your sister is, or you could search Victoria's room, there might be something there you could find.
  
  > search Victoria's room
  Victoria would kill you if she saw you entering her room, but you own the damn house so that gives you permission to go in. You walk in and find it a mess, clothes are thrown everywhere, there is a plate with bread crumbs on her nightstand that is beginning to attract ants, but you're not bothered since her room is always like this. You look around but can't find anything that would give a clue as to where she went. In a corner is a desk with her laptop on it, you turn it on but find it's password protected. It was you who insisted that she set up a password, why did this have to be the one time she would actually listen to you? Next to the laptop you find a framed photo of you and her. She has a big grin on her face while you look miserable complete with frown and tilted eyebrows.
  
  The search has turned up nothing and you come to the conclusion you're simply overreacting, she's probably out having fun and enjoying life, something you should start doing someday. Her cell phone most likely has a dead battery or she lost it, hence the lack of response. She'll presumably be home in a few hours and that will be that. For now you head into your and sit at your desk to begin working on your computer. Your computer is your sanctuary, your escape from reality. Talking to people via online chat is far less stressful then dealing with them face to face. Not long after you log on to your company's website, you begin working on fixing someone's computer, most of the time the problem is a virus someone got while trying to download porn or a pirated movie. After a while your work is interrupted by the growling of your stomach which reminds you that you never had breakfast. You go into the kitchen and have breakfast which consists of stale cereal and milk that's only one day passed its expiration date. When you put the milk back in the fridge you spot a note that had fallen off the door and sailed underneath the refrigerator. Picking it up off the ground you read the message on it.
  
  Ben, since you don't ever bother to check your phone, I'm leaving this note to remind you to wake up early so you can get me to Jan's dance studio tomorrow 6/26 at 10 AM. I can't get anyone else to do it and yes I know I should have my license, please try to remember because I hate going into your room to wake you up since it smells like feet in there -Love Vic
  
  Victoria loved dance and wouldn't miss it for the world, the worry you had earlier comes back and is a bit more potent this time. You decide to call the police, it may be a bit extreme but you figure it is better to be safe than sorry and take out your cell phone.
  
  "911, what is your emergency?" The operator on the other end inquiries.
  
  "I'd like to report a missing person," You answer.
  
  "What's your name sir?"
  
  "Ben Higgins."
  
  "Who is it that's missing?"
  
  "My sister, Victoria Higgins."
  
  "How old is she?"
  
  "Twenty."
  
  "How long has she been missing?"
  
  "I woke up and she wasn't here and she hasn't been answering her cell phone."
  
  "I'm sorry sir, but the law states a person has to be missing for at least twenty four hours before we can investigate, in most cases the person comes back on their own, if she is still missing by tomorrow morning, call us back."
  
  "Thanks, I guess." You hang up the phone, unsure of what to do next, you could wait to see Victoria comes back by tomorrow and call the police if she hasn't. It's also still possible to go to Moira's and see if she knows anything.
  
  > go to Moria's
  Moira Estacado is Victoria's best friend and a mother figure to her since your mother died. She's a bit older then Victoria which made her instantly cool in your sister's eyes. The fact that she owned a bar and restaurant just increased the cool factor. Personally, you can't stand her, she's obnoxious, annoying and in general a pain. Vic tries to explain that Moira likes to tease and it's just harmless fun, but you aren't convinced. Still if there is someone who would know where sister is it's her. You leave your house and get into your car noticing that the rust on the hood is beginning to spread.
  
  A bit of drive later you arrive at Moira's, it's still early, but you know she will be there. Moira is very dedicated to the bar and restaurant, always making sure it is running smoothly and her workers aren't slacking off. She spends as much time there as you spend secluded in your house. There is plenty of parking as it's too soon for the lunch crowd. After parking your car near the front you head in and see the waiter and hostess talking to each other, not expecting a customer so soon after opening. They seem a bit puzzled by your presence and attempt to interact with you, but you're focused on asking to Moira about Victoria and ignore them. You spot her at the bar cleaning a glass, her shoulder length red hair makes her stand out easily. She notices you approaching and a mischievous smile appears on her face.
  
  "Well look who decided to crawl out from under a rock," Moira greeted. Her attitude was already getting under your skin, but you had to see if she knew about Victoria.
  
  Victoria would kill you if she saw you entering her room, but you own the damn house so that gives you permission to go in. You walk in and find it a mess, clothes are thrown everywhere, there is a plate with bread crumbs on her nightstand that is beginning to attract ants, but you're not bothered since her room is always like this. You look around but can't find anything that would give a clue as to where she went. In a corner is a desk with her laptop on it, you turn it on but find it's password protected. It was you who insisted that she set up a password, why did this have to be the one time she would actually listen to you? Next to the laptop you find a framed photo of you and her. She has a big grin on her face while you look miserable complete with frown and tilted eyebrows.
  
  The search has turned up nothing and you come to the conclusion you're simply overreacting, she's probably out having fun and enjoying life, something you should start doing someday. Her cell phone most likely has a dead battery or she lost it, hence the lack of response. She'll presumably be home in a few hours and that will be that. For now you head into your and sit at your desk to begin working on your computer. Your computer is your sanctuary, your escape from reality. Talking to people via online chat is far less stressful then dealing with them face to face. Not long after you log on to your company's website, you begin working on fixing someone's computer, most of the time the problem is a virus someone got while trying to download porn or a pirated movie. After a while your work is interrupted by the growling of your stomach which reminds you that you never had breakfast. You go into the kitchen and have breakfast which consists of stale cereal and milk that's only one day passed its expiration date. When you put the milk back in the fridge you spot a note that had fallen off the door and sailed underneath the refrigerator. Picking it up off the ground you read the message on it.
  
  Ben, since you don't ever bother to check your phone, I'm leaving this note to remind you to wake up early so you can get me to Jan's dance studio tomorrow 6/26 at 10 AM. I can't get anyone else to do it and yes I know I should have my license, please try to remember because I hate going into your room to wake you up since it smells like feet in there -Love Vic
  
  Victoria loved dance and wouldn't miss it for the world, the worry you had earlier comes back and is a bit more potent this time. You decide to call the police, it may be a bit extreme but you figure it is better to be safe than sorry and take out your cell phone.
  
  "911, what is your emergency?" The operator on the other end inquiries.
  
  "I'd like to report a missing person," You answer.
  
  "What's your name sir?"
  
  "Ben Higgins."
  
  "Who is it that's missing?"
  
  "My sister, Victoria Higgins."
  
  "How old is she?"
  
  "Twenty."
  
  "How long has she been missing?"
  
  "I woke up and she wasn't here and she hasn't been answering her cell phone."
  
  "I'm sorry sir, but the law states a person has to be missing for at least twenty four hours before we can investigate, in most cases the person comes back on their own, if she is still missing by tomorrow morning, call us back."
  
  "Thanks, I guess." You hang up the phone, unsure of what to do next, you could wait to see Victoria comes back by tomorrow and call the police if she hasn't. It's also still possible to go to Moira's and see if she knows anything.
  
  > call the police tomorrow morning
  You decide to call the police in the morning. The rest of the day is combination of worry, anxiety and boredom. After the sunsets you go to bed. During the night you don't get much sleep during as you constantly check your phone to see if Victoria has contacted you. When morning arrives you dart out of bed and rush into Victoria's room not bothering to knock. Your worst fears are confirmed when you see her bed is still empty. With no other option you call the police.
  
  "911, what is your emergency?" The operator on the other end inquiries.
  
  "I'd like to report a missing person," You answer.
  
  "What's your name sir?"
  
  "Ben Higgins."
  
  "Who is it that's missing?"
  
  "My sister, Victoria Higgins."
  
  "How old is she?"
  
  "Twenty."
  
  "How long has she been missing?"
  
  "Since yesterday morning."
  
  "So your sister Victoria Higgins has been missing since early yesterday?"
  
  "That's about it."
  
  "I need your address."
  
  "219 Okonedo Street."
  
  "Alright, I'm sending someone over."
  
  The operator hangs up and you spend several minutes pacing back and forth until you notice a police car pulling into your driveway. A few seconds later there is a knock at the door. You open the door to find a women slightly older then you with light brown hair in a bun and matching colored eyes. You would find her pretty if wasn't for the serious look on her face.
  
  "Hello, I'm detective Carla Northcutt are you Ben Higgins?" She asks you with a no non-sense demeanor.
  
  "I am, come on in," you respond in a direct way.
  
  Carla walks into your kitchen as you notice she as a somewhat annoyed look on her face. It's hard to tell if she's annoyed at something in general or if this was her natural personality.
  
  "So when did you last see your sister?" Carla begins her investigation.
  
  "Two nights ago a friend of hers picked her up, Vic told me she was going out and would be back later, pretty much routine, the next day I noticed she wasn't back and she hasn't responded to any texts or messages, this morning nothing had changed so I called the police," You bring Carla up to speed.
  
  "You wouldn't happen to know where she went or who picked her up would you?"
  
  "No I never really pried, she hates when I do that."
  
  "I'd like to search her room."
  
  You lead Carla to Victoria's room and open the door. The detective doesn't seem bothered by the mess and eyes Victoria's computer. "This might be able to help us," Carla suspects.
  
  "I tried that yesterday, it's password protected," You point out.
  
  Carla is undaunted as she sits at Victoria's desk and begins typing on the laptop, after several tries she manages to get past the login screen and gains access to Victoria's files. "Jackpot," Carla exclaims.
  
  "How'd you do that?" You say with astonishment.
  
  "The password was password," Carla explains.
  
  "You've got to be kidding me."
  
  "I learned a long time ago it's better not to over think things, now I'm going to see what your sister's various social media pages can tell us," Carla browses through Victoria's various online accounts while you watch over her shoulder. One account has numerous photos and Carla begins looking through them. Most of the pictures are selfies, Victoria with various friends, even one with you and her. Suddenly one picture catches both you and Carla's attention, a picture of her kissing a man you don't recognize.
  
  "Looks like somebody has a boyfriend," Carla says with the satisfaction of finding a break in the case.
  
  "She never mention this to me," You say in a surprised and annoyed tone.
  
  "Let's see who is, once I find a name I'll go pay him a visit and see what he knows about Victoria's whereabouts." Carla begins to read the comments of the photo in order to identify the man.
  
  "You and Steve look SO cute together," one comment reads.
  
  "Soon I'll be calling you Mrs. Upton," another comment says.
  
  "His name is Steve...Upton I'm guessing, but yesterday there was...oh fuck!" Carla says as her tone goes from confidence to concern. She quickly gets up and turns to you.
  
  "Now listen to me Ben, what I'm going to tell you isn't to make any sense, but you have to do exactly what I tell you if we are to have any chance of finding Victoria," Carla warns. "Yesterday a man named Steve Upton was found murdered in his home and I'm positive it's the same guy your sister was dating, I'm also positive that the person behind it also is behind Victoria's disappearance, the less you know the safer you'll be, I'm going to give you my card and call you if I find anything, do not under any circumstances call the police again."
  
  Upon hearing this dozens of questions enter your mind but Carla quickly leaves the house before you can get answers for any of them. Something was going on and you're in the dark. You need to get more information but how exactly?[Themes: sci-fi, serious, post-apocalyptic, drama, dystopia]
  
  > Survivors
  Jimmy Thompson, or "Jim" to his friends always thought of himself as an average mid-western guy. He grew up on a ranch near the base of the Rocky Mountains in Montana. He was used to getting up early and working hard all day long. He got average grades in high school and was really more interesting in spending time outdoors than in anything that was taught in the classroom.
  
  Instead he spent long weekends out camping and hunting in the mountains and really came to know the mountains as his home. But when high school was over, his parents convinced him to move along and try new things, so he headed to the local community college. He managed to take it for some time, but he really wasn't that interested. After he received a 2-year degree, he moved on to try something new, this time the U.S. Military.
  
  He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and headed out to serve Uncle Sam. He spent four years in the infantry, moving around the world and guarding people, bases, and other things that he really didn't understand. Once again, he was about average -- except in the area of marksmanship. He was one of the best when it came to the rifle range. Despite the ease he had with those skills, after his four year term was up, he left the service and returned to his family home in Montana.
  
  He quickly found life on the ranch to be what he wanted. He spent long hours working around the family ranch and eventually built his own house on some adjacent land. He was satisfied with life on the ranch until the day that was forever known as "The Event."
  
  People in places like Montana never really understood "The Event" like others in the rest of the world. What happened was clear to everyone else: a number of small nuclear bombs were set off in various places around the country. All the largest cities were hit: New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Miami, St. Louis, Detroit, Dallas, and dozens of others. A massive coordinated attack took place hitting all the population centers at the same time.
  
  People in Montana knew something had happened simply because all radio and television broadcasts suddenly stopped. Internet backbones were taken out, so for a time there was simply no Internet. While power generation was on at first, power outages quickly became the norm. And without power or broadcasts, it was some time before anyone in Jim's small town had any idea what had happened.
  
  As things started to get back to "normal," whatever that was, people started to gather just to find information or news about what was going on. People who were employed in technical areas, or anything related to information were out of work and had no food or supplies. Most people in Jim's area were used to farming and had many supplies, but they still ached for information and news of the outside world.
  
  Finally the sheriff of East Ridge County had a general public meeting. He said that they needed to take stock of the County and the town of Twin Hills. He was going to set up a logistics area, a defense area, and would then see about setting up a town government with the elected officials that could be located. Then they would try to contact other counties and towns to see if they could re-establish contact with the rest of the country. Anyone who could help should meet him at the Sheriff's office first thing in the morning.
  
  Jim attended the meeting and had to decide what to do. He could stay with the county and try and help the local people with the sheriff, or he could take one of his horses and head down to the state capital to see if he could link up with the government forces there to help out.
  
  > Jim should head to the capital and see what he can do to help at the government headquarters...
  When Jimmy gets back to his ranch, he packs up some supplies and prepares for a few days in the outdoors. It is nothing that he hasn't done before, so most of the supplies are ready and easy to pack. He double-checks his tent and blankets -- it is late summer, so the cold should not be an issue, be he doesn't want to be stuck outside overnight with the bugs if he can help it.
  
  He checks out one of his rifles and places that on the horse. He also has a pistol on his hip, but that's not really out of the ordinary in this part of the country. Things haven't gotten too confusing yet, but he figures it is only a matter of time before the robbers will start showing up. He places a couple boxes of extra bullets in one of the saddlebags.
  
  After Tarkus, his large black horse, is loaded, Jimmy climbs on and rides over to his parent's house. When he gets there, he sees his father sitting on the front porch in a rocking chair, talking to his mother. They stop talking as Jimmy rides up to them.
  
  His father looks over at Jimmy and says, "So, you're headed out, are you?"
  
  Jimmy replied, "Yup."
  
  There was a moment of silence before his father continued, "Where to?"
  
  "I thought I'd head down to Helena. Some folks there might need my help."
  
  "Well, some people here might need your help, too, you know."
  
  Jimmy nodded then said, "Yup. I dunno, but maybe I can help find out what is going on down there and get things set to right soon."
  
  "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do."
  
  "Yup."
  
  There was another pause before Jimmy's mother spoke up, "Jim, you be careful now. No one's been out of the town in days, so no one really knows what you'll find out there. I don't want this to be the last time I see you."
  
  Jim smiled and spoke to his mother, "Ma, I'll do all I can do. If I made it through the Marines, I think I can make a quick trip down to Helena."
  
  There was another pause and the only sound was the creaking of the rocking chairs on the porch. Finally Jimmy said, "I'll be on my way now. See you soon." He turned his horse and started down the dirt path away from his parents house.
  
  When going by car, the trip to Helena was just a couple hours. But by horse, Jim figured it would take him a few days. He didn't push Tarkus, but let Tarkus set the pace. They headed down the side paths, but eventually Jim wanted to take a look at the Interstate Highway. He guided Tarkus along the paths and headed around through the mountains and towards Interstate 90.
  
  When he reached the top of the last rise, he reigned Tarkus in. He could see miles in each direction along the Interstate. There was absolutely nothing moving that he could see. There were a number of different cars and trucks stopped at various places along the road. The road looked clear, with most of the vehicles pulled to the side, but there were a shocking number of abandoned vehicles there. Clearly their town was not the only one with problems related to power and gasoline. He turned his horse back into the mountains and towards the city.
  
  Jim spent two nights camping in the woods and hills as he worked his way towards the city. On the morning of the third day he crested the last hill blocking his vision of Helena. When he climbed over that rise, he was shocked by what he saw. The city looked like it had been in a war. Not many buildings were destroyed, but there were fires and car wrecks all around. He could see some groups of people moving about, even from a distance. Some looked to be just destroying windows and anything else they could break.
  
  He turned once again and headed for the FBI buildings that he knew were on the northern outskirts of the city. He could see the sun glinting off the various barbed-wire fences surrounding the compound, even from a distance. As he got closer, he could see a number of armed guards in uniform all around behind the fences, watching him closely.
  
  He rode right up to the front gate. There were a number of guards there, and the gate was closed. There were large concrete barriers in place as well. Jim called out, "Hey! I'm here to help!"
  
  A guard called back, "Who are you, and what do you want to help?"
  
  Jim thought that was a little odd, but he called back, "My name is Jimmy Thompson, USMC. I thought Uncle Sam might need me."
  
  The guard looked around, ensuring that Jim was alone, then he carefully opened the gate while a number of others stayed at attention with their rifles pointed out the gate. The called gestured and called out, "Alright then, come on in Thompson. We can always use a few more Marines in here."
  
  Jim went in and was quickly ushered to the leadership building. An older man stood up and introduced himself as Major Alexander. The Major explained that the group was still trying to get organized, and they absolutely could use some more experienced soldiers. He said that the group was trying to get organized to support the U.S. government, or what was left of it. There were not a lot of orders coming out of any central command, but there was a command trying to get organized now, and they would work together to restore order over the country.
  
  The major explained that right now they needed help on two different teams: the leadership team and the firearms team. The leadership team was setting up to do some planning and logistics to ensure the safety of the military. The firearms team was, obviously, working on securing firearms for the defense of the military and Helena base.
  
  "Well, Thompson, you can pick either one of the teams, both need help right now. Either way I'm giving you the rank of sergeant right now."
  
  > Jim should take their offer to be on the leadership team...
  "Major, I'm going to help out with the leadership team."
  
  The major nods and replies, "Fair enough, we need good men there. Go on over to building C, out the door and to the right."
  
  Jim headed out the door and easily spotted the large warehouse building with a large letter C on the wall. He went in through the main door. Inside the room was indeed a large warehouse, but with cubicles set up as far as the eye could see. The place looked like an accountant's nightmare with messy desks, some smashed computers, and papers all around the place. The first five cubicles had people working in them, but the rest were completely empty. The place smelled like sweat and garbage.
  
  As soon as Jim walked in, one of the people at the desks jumped up and said, "Hey! Who are you?" His hand quickly moved to the sidearm on his side while the other workers stopped working and looked up.
  
  Jim held his hands up to show that he was unarmed and replied, "Easy now. I'm Jimmy Thompson. The major sent me over here to help out with the leadership team."
  
  The other man visibly relaxed and held out his hand to Jimmy saying, "Ah, that's good. Things are crazy around here. I'm Sargent Wilkins, 22nd Support Division. I was stationed here before all this craziness, so I guess I'm sort of in charge while we figure out what's going on. We still don't have power here, so we're trying to find what information we can in these old printed records. Before the power went out, we managed to dump some piles of data, but we didn't get a chance to sort it. Come on over, I'll show you what we're doing."
  
  Jim thought to himself, "This doesn't look much like a leadership team, this looks more like the paper-pusher team. But if it helps get this country back on track, I'm going to support it."
  
  He followed the Sergeant to the tables and worked with him, sorting through the papers. They were currently trying to identify locations for potential food sources, and which areas around Helena were to be annexed. Jim asked him about the annexation plans.
  
  "Well, we're trying to help set up a new American government. We're identifying which areas would be easier to obtain and hold so that we can ensure we get off to a good start. I'm sure once we've got a good base of people, we will be able to expand out until one day we've got the entire old United States back together again. In the meantime, we know we're going to run into some pockets of resistance, and we want to identify those early and either avoid them or take them out, depending on the threat and depending on the resources that might be available. You can see the big plans over there on that map."
  
  Sargent Wilkins pointed over to a wall where there was a large map of the area around Helena. He walked over and looked at it where another man was drawing a few more lines. The map included all the roads, cities, towns, and also geographic features. Much of the area around Helena was marked "New America." Some of the areas to the south were marked in red. He followed the map back to his small hometown and saw that area was marked in yellow. He called over to Wilkins, "Hey, what are these colors for?"
  
  "They indicate where we're going and what we're doing next. The areas in green are areas we already control as part of New America. The red areas are areas that we either don't want, or are so dangerous there's no point in trying to take them until we're stronger. The yellow areas are the target areas -- they have something we want, usually supplies or food, and we're pretty sure we can conquer them with the forces we have now."
  
  "Conquer them?"
  
  Wilkins laughed and continued, "Well you don't think most of those places are just going to give us their supplies and food willingly, do you? I mean sure, we'll walk in and ask them to join us, but if they don't, we will be prepared to force them. In most cases, those places have more than they need, and we need their supplies to feed all the people in cities like Helena. It's not like we're going to carpet-bomb them or anything, we're just making sure that everyone is going to do their fair share."
  
  Jim nodded and said, "Oh, that makes sense." He thought to himself, "I'm sure Ma and Pa would like to help others, so I don't imagine there'd be any problems with them joining New America."
  
  > Jim should try to make modifications to the plans so that his town is red.
  Jim starts looking over the plans. As he does, a few others show up to report to him, and he gives instructions to prepare for the movements. He works with men to determine the number and types of trucks that will be needed, and also to coordinate space in the trucks to bring back supplies. He has to balance the need to take arms and ammo with the need to have space to bring back the supplies to the city.
  
  He works with some others who bring in maps and discuss fuel supplies and how they can move the number of men required. He helps to plan the directions the trucks will take and how long they will be in the field. He hears about the limited supply of batteries for field radios, and the availability of very old field radios that can operate with hand cranks and off truck battery power.
  
  As they finish making the plans, Jim takes a deep breath and prepares to depart on the assault.
  
  > Continue...
  As Jim is about to leave, one of the other Sergeants walks into the room and takes the Sergeant Williams aside. He shows a map to the Sergeant and then gestures towards Jim. Jim turns to leave, but Sergeant Williams calls out, "One moment, Thompson, before you go."
  
  Jim stopped and turned around. Sergeant Williams was spreading out a map on the table and gesturing to it while the other man pointed at a few locations. Williams nodded a few times, then spoke quietly to the man. He looked up at Jim and quickly scampered out the door.
  
  Sergeant Williams said, "Thompson, you drew up these plans, didn't you?"
  
  Jim nodded without saying a word.
  
  Williams continued, "And you're from East Ridge, aren't you?"
  
  Jim started to realize where this was going as he nodded again. A door slammed open behind him as two men quickly came into the room.
  
  Williams stood tall and said, "And you picked out a route that would leave East Ridge alone then, didn't you?"
  
  Jim didn't speak, but saw the two men step closer to him from the rear.
  
  "You decided to save your own town and screw the rest of the country. That's exactly what we're trying to avoid here. We need to save everyone, no matter what it takes. If a few people have to die so we can have a united country again, then that's what it takes. Dammit, this is a war, Thompson, and there's no place in a war for those who don't have the guts to do what it takes."
  
  The men behind him grabbed him by the arms as Williams kept talking, "People are going to have to make sacrifices here, and since you're not willing to make them, we will make them for you." He looked up at the two men and said, "Take him away."
  
  The guards roughly grabbed his arms and pushed and shoved him through the door as they took his sidearm from him. Down a row of stacked boxes and behind the edge of the building was another door with a barred window. They shoved him inside and Jim found himself inside a jail cell. There was one small barred window looking outside, a small hole in the corner of the cell, and nothing to sit on. The door slammed as the guards left him to his fate in the solitary cell...