“Luna? Where are you going? Did Grace not tell you to set up the perimeter?”

Luna rubbed tears from her face as she turned to Joanna, “Sorry, Nene, I’ll be right there. I just needed a second.”

“There’s no time for a second right now, child. Get going. I’m going to need your help.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Luna turned and followed Joanna as the old woman ran through the woods. The orphanage quickly came into view. She watched as young kids scurried to their posts.

 Joanna entered slowly through the attic window. Her bones creaked as she stepped down on the old wooden floors. Luna followed close behind.

Joanna paused to catch her breath. Her wheezing lungs worked extra time as Luna helped her down the ladder.

“Take your time, Nene.”

Joanna swatted at Luna’s hands, “I’ll be fine, child. Now go prepare the explosives.”

“D-do we need to set those up?”

“Yes, just do as I taught you, and you’ll be fine.”

“But…”

“No buts, go set them up.”

“Nene,” Henry ran up to Joanna, and Luna rushed away. “You’re setting the explosives?”

“It’s necessary.” Joanna’s eyes wandered to a new face.

“Oh!” Henry scratched the back of his head. “This is Five. I met her not long ago.”

“Five?” Joanna observed the girl. She stood with her hands clasped in front of her, and her eyes shifted from side to side.

“You brought a numbered here?”

“A numbered?” Henry tilted his head to the side.

“Never mind, it’s too late anyway. We’ve angered them.” Joanna pinched the bridge of her nose. “Take the girl and finish your preparations. Also, get all the kids out of the orphanage.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll see you outside.” Joanna headed off, leaving Henry and Five scratching their heads.

She then made her way down to the first floor of the building. Bending down, she unlatched a trapdoor. It creaked as she pulled it up and out of the way.

A parade of growls sounded down the dark stairway. Joanna gulped as guttural groans and clinking metal echoed. Carefully, she stepped onto the first step. She held her breath as the smell of death grew stale in the air.

Light flickered on, and a flurry of hands reached through prison bars that were crudely fastened to the floors and ceilings. Pulling her shirt over her nose, Joanna moved closer to the zombies. Her eyes watered as she inched closer to the chain that held the door closed.

She reached for her pocket and pulled out a tiny mouse. It wiggled around and squealed in fear. Joanna tossed it far from the door, and the zombies ran in its direction. Joanna hurriedly unlocked the chain and rushed up the stairs, slamming the trapdoor behind her.

The older woman ushered the few remaining kids out of the orphanage and towards the attic. When she reached the attic, she pulled the ladder up and latched it shut. A symphony of growls could be heard on the other side.

“Everyone got out, Nene.” Luna held her arms out. A rifle was in one hand and a remote in the other.

“Thank you, Luna. Now, let’s get to our positions.” Nene grabbed the rifle and remote, and they headed out of the attic.

“Everyone get in place and don’t make a peep.” The kids ran to their positions, and soon, the forest was vacant.

Joanna climbed to the top of the building's roof and up a rope ladder. From her perch, she could see everything, and as time passed, she could see the shadowed people approaching.

A man appeared from the forest with hands raised, and Joanna’s vision flashed red. “Surrender, and we will make sure you get the best treatment from The Twelve.”

Rage built within Joanna’s chest, and the world spun as she put pressure on the trigger of her gun. The kickback hurt, but it didn’t hurt nearly as much as missing that bastard.

Quickly, Joanna cocked her gun, but by the time she did, that bastard was nowhere to be found.

“Coward!” She spoke under her voice.

Joanna held her scope up to her eye. Her wrinkled hands quivered, and she breathed deeply to calm herself.

The whole ordeal was a bit of a blur. Joanna’s entire body felt sore from all the rounds she shot off. Fighting their attackers became more challenging as more children were taken and used as shields.

“Come out, Joanna.”

Joanna aimed her scope at the voice, and her entire being burned with fury. Swinging halfway down the tree with the rope ladder, she jumped off it. Her bones creaked as she landed on the roof with a thud.

Calmly, she raised her rifle. “What are you doing here, David?”

The man across from her was twenty years her junior and, at one point, a dear friend. He held a kid by the neck, separating himself from the older lady’s gun.

David jeered and laughed at the older woman, “What do you think I’m doing here? I’m doing The Twelves’ bidding.”

“I won’t let you take my home.”

“You’ve lost this battle once before, and you are doomed to lose it again. Give up and bring out the rest of the kids.”

“I did not give you my family before, and I will not give it to you now.”

The man scoffed, “What makes these kids different from the rest?”

“They are my family. The others were not.”

He gestured to the chaos, “This family you love so much is losing. Either join us or die just as your daughter did.”

Joanna’s knuckles reddened as she gripped the rifle, “What would you offer? That these kids die now, or that they die later? I don’t have much time left in this life, so why would I take your offer?”

“Those who serve The Twelve have a chance at immortality. And they will treat the kids kindly. They will live a good life with nothing to want for, away from all the zombies.”

“Serving The Twelve is no way to live. Even if they don’t die physically, they will still be dead.” Joanna dropped her rifle and reached into her pocket. “However, I see I no longer have much choice.”

“That’s more like it.” David smiled, and the kid in his hands struggled out of his grip and ran into the forest.”

Joanna approached the man and held out her hand. David took her hand, and Joanna pulled him closer. “The rest of the children are inside.”

David and his group climbed into the orphanage, and Joanna began to run. As soon as she heard the first scream, she clicked the button on her remote, which sent her flying forward.

Clouds of dust filled Joanna’s vision, and loud ringing drowned out all sound. She directed as many kids to run for the forest as possible.

An adult fled from a zombie that crawled out of the orphanage. Then David, who was thrown from the building stood. Half his face was burned, and it was honestly a miracle he was alive at all.

Joanna pulled a bowie knife from its sheave on her thigh. She raised it to the chin of the man who invaded her home.

“Stop!” He yelled through the ringing.

Joanna pierced the knife through his throat and slowly dragged it across, leaving a red line.

“Your daughter,” he sputtered.

Joanna paused, “You killed her.”

“No,” the man grabbed Joanna’s hand, resisting her. “She’s alive, or at least she was when one of my men last saw her.”

The knife fell to the ground, and Joanna’s hand dropped to her side. The man scampered away. He gripped the wound, and Joanna noticed new flesh on his face.

“It was around when my kid ran away, and we first made a deal. You remember,” an evil smile crept onto David’s face as his skin returned to normal.

“That was years ago. Why didn’t you say anything then? I would have sold all the kids I came across, not just the ones looking for their parents for my daughter.”

Two distinct clicks caught Joanna’s attention. She and David both turned to the sound to see Grace aiming her rifle at them.

“You’ve been selling kids to him?” Tears ran down Grace’s face. “You said that you found their parents.”

“Sweety,” Joanna raised her hands.

“No! Stay where you’re at. You sold kids to this monster! You’re no family of mine.”

“Grace, I had no choice.” Joanna pointed at David. “He would have done this long ago if I hadn’t sold those kids.”

“We could have fought him!”

“No, we couldn’t! I sold them to keep the rest of you safe, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I would do it a hundred times over. I couldn’t let you be taken from me, too.”

“You told us what The Twelve do to people. I thought they were just stories, but you knew they were real, and you still gave this man those kids? How could you?”

Joanna opened her mouth, then shut it over and over. Then she turned back to the man. Her eyes stung from the smoke, and the burning orphanage lit up the night. “Where is my daughter?”

“What will knowing that do for you?”

A loud bang sounded, then two more clicks. “Don’t ignore me.”

Joanna clutched the sides of her shirt, “I don’t have an answer for you other than I did what I did to keep you safe.”

“What about their safety?”

Joanna spun around and yelled, “I don’t know, Grace. I try not to think about it.”

Suddenly, the man grabbed Joanna. He held a knife to her throat, and Grace faltered backward. The rifle in her hands quivered as David gripped tightly to Joanna’s waist. She squirmed, and he pressed the metal firmly against the old lady's neck.

“No, let her go,” Grace called out desperately.

“Tell me where the kids went, and I’ll let her go. The two of you can live your life however you want.” Joanna grasped David’s arm, keeping the knife at bay, “Maybe you can look for Joanna’s daughter in the sky.”

“So, she’s dead?” Joanna dropped her arm.

“Who’s to say?” David smiled. “Now, where are the children?”

Dew collected in Grace’s eyes as she looked at Nene. The old woman held up a signal they came up with after Grace had saved Jonathan. The girl exhaled slowly.

“You will never meet them,” Grace took a shaky breath as she lightly squeezed the trigger. A loud boom resounded through the forest, and Grace fell to her knees. She crawled over to Joanna and the man and pulled Joanna into her lap. “Why did you do this to me?”

Joanna’s arm shook as she reached up to the young girl. Tears spilled from Grace’s eyes, hitting Joanna in the face. “You did as I asked. I didn’t have much longer to live anyway.”

“But why would you give me the signal to shoot you? I never wanted it to come to this.”

Nene touched Grace’s cheek, “You did the right thing. Keep that numbered girl safe, along with all the other kids. Then, get as far away from The Twelve as possible. Go south, and don’t stop.”

Grace held Nene’s hand, pressing it against her face, which had turned cold. Grace wailed at the sky. Groaning sounds grew closer through the smoke, and as the wind shifted, a group of zombies came into view.

Grace released her grip on Nene’s hand, and she watched it fall to the ground with a thud. Her legs felt shaky underneath her as she stood to her feet. Zombies gathered around her, and she dodged and weaved through the crowd. Her eyesight blurred as she came closer to the cave.

She slid into the opening and blocked it off with whatever she could find.

“We can’t close it off yet.” Someone stopped Grace.

“Nene is still out there.” Someone else added.

“No, she’s not,” Grace pushed a boulder at the opening, blocking off the entrance. “Nene is gone.”

 An eruption of cries sounded throughout the cave, and four hands fell on Grace’s shoulders as she joined them. The group of children cried themselves to sleep. Then, the following day, they picked themselves up and headed south just as Nene had told them to.