===============Chapter 1=============== Civilizations, I believe, came to birth and proceeded to grow by successfully responding to successive challenges. They break down and go to pieces if and when a challenge confronts them that they fail to meet.Arnold Joseph Toynbee (1889 - 1975) Charlie sped up his pace as he headed to the ticket office. It was a relatively nice October day and the sun was at its peak, so the buildings did not block the sun rays from coming down through down to the street. That was the only problem Charlie had with Chicago. He didn’t feel comfortable not being able to see the sun at any moment during the day. That wasn’t on his mind right now. Right now he was headed to get a ticket to the Worlds Fair. It was only continuing for two more weeks and he hadn’t gone yet. It was said that Sally Rand was going to do her bubble dance. That was something worth Charlie’s time and money. There were some other things that he was interested in; like the major automotive companies were putting out brand new models, there was talk about tiny people acting out stories but today was special because the Zepplin was going to take flight. The whole city was talking about this one. He was going to watch history. Some day when he was old he would tell his grandchildren about what he was going to see today. A story in the making. He bought his ticket and headed to the fair. The Sky Ride was set up to take ticket holder to the fairgrounds. The bridge was packed with visitors, way more that should have been inside but even though they were cramped they were all happy. You could feel the excitement that people had inside them. This was something that they had never seen before and no one knew exactly what to expect. Charlie’s friend Harry was supposed to meet him at the entrance. He was prone to being late so Charlie was in no hurry. He grabbed a hot dog and drink on his way to the entrance. He finished it up right before Harry saw him. “Hey Mac! Over here.” Harry was leaned up against a light post by the entrance. “Boy am I surprised you beat me here. I just knew I would have to wait on ya.” It was true Harry had been late to class everyday when he was in school and had lost jobs since because he was always late. If he was early that meant that he was thrilled about something. “Ah cut it. Are you gonna tell me how great I am all day or are we gonna ankle?” “Lets see what this place has got Harry.” Charlie and Harry walked though every exhibit they could until hours past dark and they were not done. They way household inventions that were mind-blowing. There were people singing and making crafts. There were paintings and models of planes and buildings. The town was redecorated with tents of all different colors. They agreed to meet again the next day and finish. There were more performances tomorrow too. They left the fair. Harry to his car and Charlie walked. He did live to far away and the night was beautiful. Charlie was 20 years old and wasn’t unsure of what he was doing with his life. Charlie just didn’t think about the future. He lived each day from beginning to end then started over. He had a great mind when it came to smooth talking the girls but didn’t have much interests besides that. Harry didn’t do anything good unless he personally cared about it then it got all of his attention. Nothing recently had caught his attention. Harry worked for a mechanic. He lived with his older brother. Charlie worked a newspaper stand in the city and that was enough for him. He didn’t make enough money for a car or a girlfriend so he didn’t have either one of them. The boys met back at the entrance the next day. The fair was just as packed as the day before but no one seemed to mind because they were all preoccupied by all the new gadgets, inventions, foods, and cars. “The Century of Progress huh?” A large banner put up by the cities mayor declared this motto for the fair. “You know that’s what they are calling this thing. The Century of Progress. Hot socks! I’ve seen it all and none of it was progress. I’ve thought of tons better ideas than some of this. What do you think Charlie?” “I think when I get my next paycheck I’ll just run down to the car lot and get myself a brand new Ford just like that pearly white one right here. That’s what I think.” “I think your full of hooey. You don’t have enough money to buy anything but a drink for me. Whaddya say? The crowd was beginning to be too much for Harry so they headed over to a cafe to grab drink. The fair was completely packed with families, young men, school kids, groups of women looking for the newest kitchen appliances and the old men that were just there to spread the news. The people watching was almost as entertaining as the performances they had paid to see. Harry and Charlie stood by a counter where you could get a cold drink and it was a nice place just to watch the people flow by. There was a kid that had found his way into a new Cadillac and locked the doors, there was a two girls that Harry recognized from his school days, and there were two tall blonde fellas that walked like they were out of place. The guys seemed to know that Harry and Charlie were making fun of them and started to walk right for them. The two men walked right by and order a drink then turned to Charlie. “Hey if you’ve got something to say tough guy why don’t you and your friend come talk to us after your done lolly gaggin here. You like that idea? Haha” “Ah yeah might just do that. Yeah why don’t you go chase yourself around town?” Charlie was always quick with his wit but would rarely back it up. Harry on the other hand had a reputation of proving it for little or no reason. Charlie knew that so he immediately he grabbed Harry by the shoulder and walked away. “Yeah you two love birds better run along!” Once they had walked far enough away that Charlie didn’t think that there was a chance of Harry going back, they stopped. “What was that all about anyway? Who do they think they are? Ohh, that just makes me so mad. I woulda busted that tall one right between the eyes so hard…” “They were both tall.” Charlie drug his feet as they finished the fair and made their way back to the entrance. It was a long walk and Charlie was going to get a great chance to hear all about how Harry would have handled that situation if it hadn’t been for Charlie. “Yeah they were big guys. No matter. Idda knocked their heads together. Haha they wouldn’t have seen me coming. They should be glad that you were with me ya know. Boy, they don’t even know how lucky they were. They don’t even know” “Yup your right. They were in for it.” “They sure were. They were so in for it.” There was a pause in the conversation as they reached the parking lot. The traffic was horrible because the fair had just closed and everyone was trying to leave. “So do you need a ride home or are you gonna walk?” Charlie could tell from his voice that he had something planned and would feel put out if he had to drive out of his way to take him home. He had planned on walking anyway, his mind was still organizing all the things he had seen today at the fair. He decides to take west 18th home. He enjoyed the scenery and the fact that that’s were all the labor corporations there. Tourists called it the Redbelt where you could find all the local kooks. The road was filled with trash from all the traffic lately. The city was more full during the fair than he had ever seen it. As he reached the half way mark to his house he got the feeling he was being watched. He didn’t really see anything or hear anything but he could feel it. He reacted without thought and spun around like a tornado just to see where he had come from. He smiled at his fright from the dark, even though, he knew something wasn’t right in the back of his mind. He laughed it off and continued home. “Hey its tough guy. Well aint that a surprise. So what are you doing out here all alone without your big macho friend? Did he leave you? I’m sorry. Are you gonna be okay?” Although the voice wasn’t that familiar he knew exactly who it was and it was the last people he wanted to run into right now. He took a few steps toward a light pole before he turned to see the two men from the fair. “I don’t have a problem with you now just let me get home.” “Notta chance kiddo. I haven’t met my quota for the day and you’re the last pick up. No one is awake around here, you’re far from home, your buddy is long gone so why don’t you just take a ride with us and well fill you in. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be kid” They were obviously playing good cop bad cop because one was trying to make him mad and the other was appealing to his logical side. Could he take them? Would he have to? Good cop was right, he was no where near anyone and it was obvious that if he ran they would only catch him and make it worse, whatever it was he was a bout to find out. His dignity did not allow him to simply accept defeat. “I guess you bimbos get it easy toni…” The last few words were a jumbled mess inside his head. He blacked out before he hit the ground. He was unaware that bad cop had take a lead pipe out of his jacket and connected it to the side of Charlies head. He was also unaware of the small distance he was dragged, the car ride he took, where he was being driven, or the other person that was in the car besides the brothers.