Free Rescuing Liberty: Perseverance Book 1 by Amanda Washington

What was she like?”
    “ Stubborn,” I replied, trying to
redirect my memories on the brat she could be. It didn’t work
though. In my mind, Megan’s pout turned into a game of tickles. We
chased each other around the house until she begged me to, ‘Stop,
Aunt Wibby.’ “And sweet, adorable, funny. Loved to perform. To
dance. She tried to make people laugh. She drove everyone crazy
with knock-knock jokes, but could only remember the punch lines.
Just a baby. She wasn’t even three.”
    “ Wow.” Ashley hugged Frog. “Not even
three?”
    I nodded. “I wonder if she would have
grown up to be a comedian. Her twin brother, Martin, was always so
serious. And quite the tattle-tale. He probably would have made a
good cop.” In my last memory of Martin, he was saying grace over
Thanksgiving dinner. The kid prayed for the silverware, the turkey,
the glasses, the television and everything else he could see. Our
meal had gone cold by the time Anna nudged him to finish. I savored
that prayer now, thankful for the Sunday school teachers who had
taught the twins so well.
    “ He was right.” Ashley took a deep
breath.
    “ Hmm?” I asked.
    “ I left the safe and went home,” she
continued. “I was worried about my parents. I heard the shots, and
when I ran into the room he grabbed me and threw me over his
shoulder. I kicked and punched him, but he wouldn’t put me down. He
shoved a shirt in my mouth and carried me back to the safe. Then he
changed the code on the lock so I couldn’t get out
anymore.”
    I brushed back a hair from her
face.
    “ I couldn’t get out … couldn’t get
back to them. Didn’t even get to say goodbye.” She
hiccupped.
    The stars came out and I held Ashley
until she started to fade. Then we unrolled our sleeping bags and
huddled close.
    She turned to face me with Frog tucked
securely under her arm and asked, “What really
happened?”
    “ What do you mean?”
    “ Well, one day I was in school and the
next I was in the safe. All Mom and Dad would tell me was that
people were angry and we had to lock ourselves away from
them.”
    “ Well,” I pondered
how much of recent events were okay to reveal to a twelve year old.
“ About four months ago, our country ran out of
money.”
    Her brow furrowed. “How does a whole country
run out of money?”
    “ The government gets money from taxes.
And they spend money on programs, employees, military, defense and
all sorts of things. For a long time they’ve been spending more
money than the taxes have been bringing in. So we’ve had to borrow
enough to make up the difference.”
    She nodded.
    “ I’m not sure what changed. I don’t
know if our lenders cut us off, or if we upset someone. All I know
is that on the first of March the government stopped putting money
into people’s accounts. Grocery stores were full of confused and
angry customers who had nothing but empty benefit cards to fill
their family’s growling stomachs with.”
    “ No one had any money?” she
asked.
    “ Some did,” I replied. “But we had
become way too dependent on Uncle Sam. Lots of people were on
unemployment, social security or welfare. And look at how many
people the government employs.”
    “ Like teachers?” She looked
thoughtful.
    “ Yep.” I nodded. “And postal workers,
politicians, IRS employees, the FBI, police, road construction
crews, surveyors, military, and so many more.”
    “ Wow.” She rolled over on her back and
stared at the sky. “That’s like as many as the stars.”
    “ Yeah.” I nodded. “And that’s a lot of
people to be really upset when their paychecks weren’t deposited.
Tens of thousands showed up at the capitol building and fought
their way inside; looking for answers.”
    She turned back toward me and raised herself
up on one elbow. “What did they find?”
    I sighed. “Nothing. The building was empty.
The senators had abandoned us.”
    “ But—” Her brow furrowed. “That was
only a few months ago.”
    “ Yeah.