And My Name is Amy- Chapter 6

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.

The next morning, in the dining room, the kitchen staff had set the food up in a buffet style. They had rightfully presumed that everyone would be hungover and stager in for the meal at different times. Amy was circling the room keeping the coffee filled. Today would be the first day of presenting gifts. It will take place just after lunch in the main living room. While that was happening, Amy was assigned to clean up Lord Crimson’s office. That was odd because it had been cleaned before the visitors arrived and Lord Crimson hadn’t used it since. However, the look on Matilda’s face told Amy not to speak up about it. So, Amy figured she would dust and polish the wood and then hid out for a bit.

Amy had just started when a bookshelf behind her had moved. She was about to scream out in fright when Matilda stepped into the room and waved Amy over to her. Maybe this was how she would get her answers, so she hurried over and Matilda closed the bookcase. Then when she turned on a flashlight Amy saw a long skinny corridor. It stretched what looked like the length of the house.

“Follow me stay quiet. I’ll explain when we get there.” Matilda whispered. Amy wanted to start asking questions. There was a small voice that wondered if this could be some kind of trap, but her instincts and curiosity kept her feet moving forward after Matilda. Before long they were heading down a tight winding set of stairs. Amy started getting dizzy when she realized they were going further down than the kitchen and the servants’ quarters. At the bottom was a small chamber with a door on one wall. Matilda pressed a small button concealed in her shirt sleeve. Amy hadn’t noticed it before; it looked the same as her own cuff buttons. The gold ones. The door opened to reveal a room with video monitors on the other side. There were about five people here observing many images. They also had a computers with chat logs pulled up. Amy turned towards Matilda with a look of wonder and nervousness.

“You said you didn’t know much. You’re young. There’s probably a lot that was kept from you or you didn’t understand. How old were you when this war started?” Matilda asked.

“I was 10 when the fighting was on the news. I was 12 when our town got cut off from a fight in Charleston. and now I’m 14 when they raided our home and brought me here. I have lost track of time; my birthday is March 25^th. I could be 15 now, but I’m not sure.” Amy had tears in her eyes from the memory of losing her parents and knowing they won’t be here for the rest of her birthdays. Matilda saw this and had Amy sit in a chair and take some deep breaths.

“You haven’t missed your birthday. It is only September. My next question is what is your real name?”

“Why?” Damn it this is a trap. And Amy doesn’t see a way out. What could she have done wrong that she is being questioned like this? “My name is Millie. You know this. You have been using my name just fine since I got here.” Amy could be stubborn at the best of times so she figured she should be now so that she doesn’t incriminate herself.

“Em, you’re getting your head of yourself. Sit down. I’m watching the ceremony. Explain to the poor girl what’s going on. You sound like you’re interrogating her.” said a boy in the corner.

Matilda took a deep breath, closed her eyes and sat down. When she looked at Amy again it was with a much softer look.

“I’m sorry Millie, Caleb is right. You have no reason to trust me if I don’t tell you what’s going on. My name is Emily; I grew up in Charleston. My parents always paid attention to what was happening in politics, so they could make informed decisions on how to raise myself and my siblings. I was 16 when this group rose up just months before the fighting started. My parents listened and didn’t like what the leaders were saying, or better yet not saying. They talked about making life simpler, cutting costs, and reshaping politics. Dad was worried about why they wouldn’t answer questions about how they planned on doing any of that. Then in the middle of June comes a speech that finally addresses everything, and it’s not good. The man making the speech declares himself king, declares the new country of Aurum, spells out that they no longer recognize the United States government and everything that was formed in its name. The camera panned over the crowd, and you realized just how many people supported this. The next morning an army surrounded D.C. killed the president and shut down the government. It was chaos from then on.” Matilda took a breath. Amy knew things had been bad but really had no clue how much her parents had managed to shield her from.

“What happened? What changed? How did they manage to win?” Amy heard her voice from a distinct part of herself. Matilda looked dejected. Amy thought about it and saw a young woman who also lost everything. Emily hadn’t been hard, but Matilda had no other choice.

“Charleston happened. The US army was trying to regroup there when the Aurum army pulled a surprise attack. The explosion knocked out communication with everyone. The US army was forced to retreat. The newly appointed president was then forced to draw up a truce. It was the only way he could protect as many lives as possible while still not wiping the United States off the map. They now have the land West of the Mississippi while Aurum owns everything to the east. Citizens were told they were given a choice as to which country to live but when my family tried to get out, we were stopped and detained 10 miles from the border. My father was beaten, being asked why he wanted to leave. The rest of us were forced to watch, when his body finally gave out two days later. They separated all of us, I don’t know what happened to the rest of my family.” It was Emily’s turn she dried her eyes at least Amy’s parents’ deaths were quick, and clean. Amy didn’t want to imagine the torture they all went through.

After a few moments of silence Emily continued but sounded more determined now. “So, I’m here and I just want my old life back what about you?”

“I can’t get it back, but I want to be my own person again. I want my friends back in my life, and I want to be someone my parents could be proud of someday,” Amy said. She looked at Emily in the eye. “My friends are Danny Clayton Joann Stephanie Eric and my name is Amy.” she felt strong finally saying that out loud.

Caleb turned around and said, “The ceremony is finishing up we will have to pick this up again another day.” Emily quickly and quietly ran Amy back upstairs and back into Lord Crimson’s office. Amy picked up her cleaning supplies and put them away to prepare for dinner service to begin.