Forgotten Memories

Chapter 18

The ground was still trembling as the bunker erupted into shouting and chaos. As far as Charlotte knew, the rebels had never been bombed. This was probably due to the fact that they had never been found, and that they had never stolen the crown princess before. While watching the hundreds of rebels who were corralled into a small set of bunkers, it was obvious to Charlotte that they didn't know how to react.

Matt was busy looking for Carson and Scarlett, and everyone else was in a frenzy. Sean took a step back, hands still on her shoulders. His face was scrunched in concern as he looked her over for injuries.

"Are you okay?" He asked just to be sure.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine."

"Okay, though it hasn't been confirmed, there is a chance more bombs will be coming. Like, within the next few minutes, and it could last for hours."

She nodded in understanding, it made sense that there would be more than one bomb, seeing as the first barely sent a tremor to the floor they were huddled on.

"We have made every precaution, so we should be plenty safe here. Are you okay if I go check the radars and see if there is anything I can do to help?" He asked, making sure she knew that he would stand with her all day if she needed him to be there with her.

She raised her chin, set her jaw, and conjured up all of the bravery she could manage. "Of course, we can't just sit here waiting for this to be over. There is still more we can do to increase our chances. You should go help the tech team, Matt will find Carson and Scarlet, and I will help everyone who is freaking out. After all, I was supposed to be able to lead the whole kingdom, so surely I can find a way to help."

Sean left with an encouraging smile, but she wasn't sure she would be able to do anything to help. She was supposed to be a leader, but she sure didn't feel like it. She squared her shoulders and marched towards the rebels who clearly hadn't known what to expect.

"Okay everyone, I know most of you don't know me very well, and I don't know most of you very well, but if we work together we will be much better off." She tried to sound positive and confident but she had never lead any group of people.

The shouting died down as their curiosity grew larger than their fear. She needed to talk them down quickly before another bomb hit.

"I know you all must have questions, and they will be answered but we need to remain calm. That was likely not the last bomb, but now we know what to expect. The next one may hit much closer to us, so you need to be aware of the fact that this could get much worse before it gets better." She looked over the crowd and saw forlorn nods.

These tunnels were their home, and these bombs could do a lot of damage. She felt utterly distraught for them, but she knew they needed to be distracted.

From the door, Sean stood up to address the crowd. He had been sitting at the computer that spanned the length of an entire wall of the bunker. It was obvious he had important news, and she knew it wouldn't be of good nature.

"The radar has picked up on another bomber plane, it will be here in less than three minutes and will likely strike quite close to us."

The noise rose again as everyone tried to figure out what to do. They were like sitting ducks and none of them were happy about it.

"I know you are all afraid, but we need to stay quiet. Sean and the tech crew are working hard to keep us informed. Nothing shows we are in immediate danger, so we will sit through this one, okay?"

The crowd nodded, and Charlotte felt relieved. For the time being, she had managed to calm them down. The ground started to rumble, and she could already feel how much closer it was.