And My Name is Amy — Chapter 1

Months ago, about the time that I started this blog, I had a weird dream that was hard to explain, and the details of the dream faded quickly. I wrote down the main concept of the dream before I forgot it. A group of kids were kidnapped and given new identities. I was sure that I would be able to make this idea into a book, or even a series of books. I choose to take my time writing out details. I wanted to write character descriptions, backstories and have an outline prepared before I officially started writing the story out. This proved to be too difficult for me. I lost focus since I also needed to keep up on writing stories to post each week. But I couldn’t get this idea out of my head. The writer’s block I have had hasn’t helped any because “Amy” the main character of this story just wanted to tell her story. So, I threw my whole plan out the window of planning everything out and I just started writing. Before I knew it, I had the first rough draft of the first two chapters. I have decided to share this first draft with you. No updated versions will ever be posted, but I plan on putting in detail later on that will take this from armature story to a novel worth trying to publish. I hope you enjoy this for now though. I will post chapters as they are written.

Amy stood nervously looking straight ahead as the men in the red uniforms were recording everyone’s name and age. Her entire town was just raided, and the survivors were marched onto a train. The building they have been led into seems to be a large storage unit. Once inside it’s clear it’s been converted into some sort of jail. Amy complied as the others around her had, giving her name and age, 14, when she was asked. When the men got what they needed they started dividing everyone into different cells. Amy was relieved when her group of friends were made to follow her into a cell.

Nobody spoke. Enough of their friends and families had been beaten to death during the raid that silence, unless addressed, was the only life preserver currently. Looking around the cell there were about twenty other people here already. There was nothing in the cell except a bench all around the walls that everyone was sitting on. Upon closer look of the other captives in this cell everyone seemed to be about the same age. For hours they all sat there with the occasional muffled whimper of someone trying to keep it together. Shortly after sitting down Stephine had reached out for Amy’s hand and the two girls stayed clinging to the other for support.

Through the bars Amy saw there was a steady stream of people being escorted back to the front of the building one at a time. None of them were ever taken back to their cell so this must just be temporary holding for something. Even the few kids taken from this cell hadn’t been returned. When Amy was told to follow, she turned around to look at her friends again. She had no idea what would happen to any of them, so she wanted to commit their faces to memory. She stepped out of the cell and tried to brave in the face of the unknown.

Amy was taken into an office and left there for ten minutes. When a women entered the room, she looked stern and annoyed. Even though she was the first women Amy had seen that was not a prisoner, she carried an air about her that said she was in charge and not to be crossed.

“Okay, Amy Ford, 14 years old. Brought in with the group from what used to be Asheville, North Carolina in the United States. Your people seemed to have lost communication with anyone else and have been just surviving. Does all that sound right?”

“Yes” Amy’s voice was quiet. “People tried to find help and information, but they never returned.”

“That’s probably because we took them in just as we are you now. So, because we don’t know you and based on your size and age, we will be assigning you to be a live-in maid for the Crimson Household. Lord and Lady Crimson will decide in a few years if they want to keep you or have you assigned somewhere else. You will do whatever they say. You are considered their property until told otherwise. You have no say in the matter. You are also being given a new name, Millie. This is the law. The US Government no longer exists so neither does your identity created under their name. You will be taken to your new position in ten minutes. Welcome to our new world in Aurum.”

The women walked out without giving Amy a chance to speak. Amy’s mouth had dropped open listening to all of this. The citizens of Asheville knew the civil war had been brutal, but nobody had believed the US Government would fall. There had been a massive battle in nearby Charlotte that had taken out the power grid for the whole state. That’s why the town had been cut off from the rest of the world. Amy was not the kind of person who would do as she was told without question, especially when being treated like she held no value. But she also knew she held no power here. If she fought back now against grown men who has possession of weapons, she was sure she would be killed. So, when another man came and collected her, she stood and went where she was told without fighting. As she was driven away, she thought of her five best friends, hoping somehow, they would all survive.