End of Days

Interrogation

(4)

 Griffin slams a chair down in the middle of the basement, most all the other furniture has been removed. My basement no longer looks familiar. All the posters and sports memorabilia have been torn down, to be used as fire wood and what not, some corners are still stuck on with the staples and thumb tacks. Mounds of the dirt from below the house filled each corner. Most of us gather to the side of the stairs, waiting for the scene in front of us to unfold.

My father and Nolan bring Enzo in. He doesn't protest just descends the stairs, looking around at us. They sit him in the chair and Griffin ties him up, Enzo lets out a small grunt as he tightens the ropes. Griffin smirks and whispers something in Enzo's ear. His face remains calm as the three men gather in front of him.

James comes down the stairs and stops next to me. "How did they get over here so soon? They just finished nuking us a couple weeks ago. How could they have already made their way to Minnesota?" he wonders.

"I have a feeling we are about to find out," I mumble just as the interrogation begins.

"Now son listen," my father begins, bending over slightly to be at Enzo's eye level. "We don't want trouble. None of us agree with this war, we are only looking out for our families. We would be happy to let you go just as soon as you tell us why you guys are here and how you made it to Minnesota in a matter of weeks after the bombs." Enzo shifts his eyes from my fathers to the ground and doesn't speak.

Griffin rolls his eyes and sends his fist crashing into Enzo's jaw. "Come on you little shit!" he yells throwing a second punch as my father pushes him back. I hear my mother gasp before making her way up the stairs unable to watch any longer.

"You haven't even given him a chance to talk Griffin. Jesus!" Henry curses, turning back to Enzo. "I don't want to hurt you, kid. Just tell us what you know."

Enzo looks up slowly as a stream of blood drips from his lip. "They train us for interrogations. Beat me all you want," he says and looks back down.

Griffin mumbles an 'okay' and stars pounding on him. "Stop it!" I yell shoving Griffin off the best I can. Before he can respond James pulls me back. "Let's go upstairs," he says, practically dragging me up the stairs.

"We can't do this. If we do, we are just like them!" I yell as he shuts the door.

"We need to know how they got here Mazy."

"You heard him. This won't crack him. They train them for this crap." I plop down on one of the beds and run a hand through my hair.

"They took Sam," James says quickly, sitting on the bed next to mine. "While you and Alec were in town. Sam was searching a house with Bree and soldiers rolled through. They were in separate rooms and when they left Bree went to go find her, but she wasn't in the house. They took her, and we need Enzo to tell us where," he finishes, watching me and waiting for my reaction. I try to think back to when the soldiers came through town, if they had given any indication to where they were going. I sigh and remember Enzo's words when we first met. "I came to hide," I mumble to myself.

"What?" James questions, confusion written all over his face.

"That's what he said to me when I found him in the house, 'I don't want any trouble, I came to hide.' Don't you see? He's not with them, he ran away. Let me talk to him. Maybe I can get him to say something." I say and stand up, heading for the basement door before my brother has a chance to stop me. As soon as I open the door, Griffin's punches and Enzo's groans can be heard. I jog down the stairs, James trailing behind me. Before Griffin has a chance to throw another punch I step in front of him, flinching slightly as his fist pauses just before connecting with my jaw.

"Are you crazy girl? Get out of the way!" he yells, taking a small step back. My father is about to speak up, probably to tell me to leave, but I cut him off.

"This obviously isn't working. Let me talk to him alone." I say looking at my father with pleading eyes. "Ten minutes." I add, and he nods slowly.

"Fine but one of us is staying down here with you," he says, crossing his arms.

"No, just me. Please just trust me. He's tied up, he can't hurt me." My father groans but nods reluctantly. I wait for them all to file out and shut the door before I turn back to Enzo. I untie his hands and drag another chair over and sit in front of him.

"So, let me guess, they're the bad cops and you're the good one, right? You say you're on my side, that you didn't want any of this and it can all be over if I just tell you everything I know? Hm? Well what's to stop you from killing me once I've told you everything? I'm the enemy right? The bad guy. Can't have me breathing fresh air when I know where you are all staying. Wouldn't be safe. I'm a liability, a threat, and you just can't afford those." He finishes his monologue, rubbing his raw wrists.

"I won't lie to you, the only reason I am here is to get information from you. I'm not on your side. You and your people killed millions of us, I had family in St. Louis. But none of that matters because you took one of my people, a friend, if that means I must play nice with you to get her back then so be it," I say standing up and walking to bathroom, I grab a hand towel and dip it in the sink, which is filled with water. I ring it out before walking back over to him. I hand Enzo the towel and sit back down. "Where do your people take prisoners?" I ask as he looks down at the rag in his hands. I wait a moment for his to speak, to move, anything, but he doesn't. "How did you get through the rest of America so fast?" I ask, again nothing. He doesn't even use the rag. I sigh, stand up, and take the rag back. I tilt his head back and start to gently wash the blood off his face. "I can get them to stop beating you, but I have to have something to tell them. You have to work with me Enzo." I can see him looking up at me, I ignore it and finish washing the blood off. I walk over to the bar, the only piece of furniture, aside from the folding chairs, left in the basement. I set the now dark red rag on the bar and sigh.

"Canada." It was so faint I barely caught it. I turn to look at him, he's still facing forward, his head slightly tilted toward me, like he's waiting for my reply. I remain silent and move back to my seat. "After we dropped the bombs on them, they surrendered. In exchange for us not sending more nukes their way, they let us into their country, so we could invade America from the north, east and west all at once."

"What happens to all the people you encounter?"

"Any survivors that come willingly are taken to camps where they either work until they die or train to be part of our military. Most don't make it through training, the final step is to kill one of the workers to prove they are on our side. If they fail at any point of training, they're killed. Any survivor that tries to run, is killed. The officers in charge of the camps show no mercy," he pauses and looks up at me. "If your friend is there, she doesn't have much time. I-I'm sorry."

"Time's up girly," Griffin says as he bounces down the stairs, eager to return to the beating.

"No, he's talking. He's helping us. When we first met he told me he was there to hide, he's not a part of their military anymore. Just give me more time, he already told me about where they took Sam," I say as Griffin shakes his head.

"Somehow I doubt that. Now move, or I'll move you." He says, my father still has not made an appearance. "I'm not afraid to move you," he says taking another step closer. He raises his fist, I close my eyes and wait for the impact that never comes. I open my eyes to see Enzo standing in front of me and Griffin on the floor, clutching his jaw. My father finally makes his way down the stairs, after observing the scene in front of him he pulls his gun, pointing it at Enzo.

"Wait Dad no!"