"Charlotte," Bass whispered. He couldn't believe he had finally found her. For seven long months he had wandered from town to town searching for her: his emotions running as wild as an unbroken stallion. Depending on the day, he would either be so pissed at the fact that she had run away that he could barely see straight, "She ran off like a coward," he would sometimes mutter to himself, or he would feel such excruciating sadness at the loss of her that he would hit his knees, unable to move for long periods at a time, "God, just keep her safe," he would pray. If her intent had been to test the limits of his sanity, she was succeeding.

Yet, here she was less than 50 south of Willoughby in a little town nestled on the banks of the Guadalupe River. Gruene, TX was a beautiful little town: one of those odd anomalies occasionally stumbled upon in the post-blackout world they lived in. Odd because it seemed relatively untouched by the harsh world in which they all existed. Other than the lack of electricity, Bass guessed the town looked the same as it had 17 years before. Young people still floated the river to get some relief from the hot Texas sun. People milled about the streets greeting each other in that friendly way that was somehow unique to Texans. Hell, even The Grist Mill was still in operation. The soil was rich and fertile and the wild game was plentiful; therefore, the residents of Gruene were well-fed and appeared healthy. The most shocking indicator that it was 2029, and not 2012, was the security screening at the edge of town. Bass had been forced to check his weapons upon entering the town. While he was not happy about that requirement, he knew she was behind those walls and if he had to parade naked through the streets, he would, nothing was going to stop him from getting to her.

He had only been in Gruene about a half an hour when he caught a glimpse of her. Her back was to him, so she hadn't seen him stumble in the street at the sight of her. She had her hair penned up and was wearing a dress, which he found odd. He had fought beside that woman for over a year and he had rarely seen her put her hair up, and he had never seen her in a dress. He guessed that it was this oppressive August heat that caused the change. She was picking out fresh fruits and vegetables from a booth at the farmers market, so Bass stayed back, watching her from afar and not wanting to cause a scene. This was Charlie after all, and she was just as likely to stab him as hug him, he had learned to proceed with caution; however, her time was running out. He had questions and she better have the answers. As she finished up her purchase at the farmer's market and turned to leave, Bass was finally able to have a good look at the woman who had haunted his dreams for the last several months, and what he saw sent him into a rage like he had never felt before.