Finally, after a long moment, the boy stood and wandered to the ladder. "Want me to grab you anything to eat, Winter?"

She shook her head, still smiling. "I'm good."

Hopping down, Forest went for the kitchen when someone tapped his shoulder. It was Autumn, her hand extended. "What is it?" he asked.

"Berries."

Forest didn't bother to accept them. Not yet. "Are you sure they're not... poisonous?" The boy shook his head. "You remember last time, don't you?"

Autumn nodded, laughing. "I wouldn't forget something like that, but here," she insisted. "Were you not just going to the kitchen?"

Forest remained silent.

"Well, you can have these. This time I made sure. I actually looked them over, then had a few myself."

Forest continued to eye her, before taking the handful. These ones were black, rather than red. "Thanks," he mumbled, still skeptical.

Autumn gave a soft smile, then sat next to Jade on the couch.

The boy suddenly sighed, remembering what was just outside. Or, rather who. Turning around, he drew close to the window, shivering at the sight. The gravestones - all six had an inscription. Just a week ago, there were seven; only, his siblings and Holly had returned. But it was clear these people wouldn't. They were really gone. Dead.

Forest read the names, holding back tears:

Lane Olsen,

Kimberly Rye,

Ryan Bennett,

Hale Shepherd,

Jett Shepherd,

and Galant Langlois.

Forest sniffled, pressing a hand against the glass. It was yet another reminder to not take the living for granted. In a day, they could be underground and no more. As stiff as he was, the boy left to sit at the counter, unable to keep looking.

It would take a minute for him to finish with the berries; another for him to decide on a can of beans. All the while, he struggled to take his mind off the gravestones.

That was when someone spoke.

"We're not leaving." It was Skylar. "We will stay where we are and ready ourselves for them."

There was a murmur of agreement.

"There are six of us... still. We can do this."

"Sky," Holly started, "what's your plan? What do we do to prepare?"

"Well, we know that they won't be here for a while. Kara and that other person - they know where we live. They escaped, so the two of them can navigate others to our farm." Skylar paused for effect. "If their people are determined enough, we can be under attack tonight. Most likely, however, it will happen in the morning."

There was a pause.

"Yeah, breaks are essential. Especially considering it is roughly a day-round trip," Jade piped up. "Twelve hours each way."

Another pause.

"With that said," Skylar continued, "we won't sleep tonight. Not any of us. The moment we see someone, we fire - no hesitation."

"Wait-" Jade tried.

"What?" she demanded.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"What if we first see a child? We can't shoot at a child."

"We won't. Why would they bring a kid along?" Her tone was low and harsh. "And if for some reason they do, we still shoot. We can't lose this farm, Jade. It's all or nothing."

"I won't shoot a kid," Holly admitted. "I killed many to save you back there, but I couldn't imagine shooting a child. That's where I draw the line."

"Then I will, Holly. I'll do it." Skylar locked with her gaze and sighed. "Listen, I know how many there are-"

"Thirty," Holly interrupted, crossing her arms. "Easily thirty of them."

"Yes, and we'll be ready."

-

"It's suicide!" Winter argued, glaring at her twin. "We'll die. It's that simple!"

Forest shivered, feeling a soft breeze. "I-"

"Not now." She waved him off, still studying Autumn. "Do you not agree?"

With a huff, the girl began to round the farmhouse, her siblings following behind. "Well, do you have any better ideas?"

"So you agree?"

"Maybe."

Another pause.

"Can I please speak?" Forest asked, growing irritated.

"Sure, what is it?" Autumn glanced over her shoulder, then waited. "What is it?"

Only when the siblings were side-by-side did they continue walking.

"What if we set up traps? Maybe if they go into them, we'll hear." The boy searched their faces. "What if we attack a bell to it, or something?"

"I'm not sure if they've got bells, but maybe we could find a substitute," Autumn said, nodding to herself. "Or maybe we shouldn't be in the farmhouse at all. That's where they expect us to be."

"Should we hang out in a tree?" Winter deadpanned. "You know how that idea worked last time. We lost Dad."

"I remember, I remember," her twin mumbled, then shook her head. "But this is different. There's no mob of walkers."

"Kids?" came a gentle voice. It was Holly.

After a moment, the siblings came forward, watching her tend to the garden. She was kneeled beside the crops and harvesting them into a vined-basket.

"Yeah?" Autumn asked, brows furrowed.

"I'm not sure they want to kill us." Holly brushed off her clothes as she stood, then grabbed the basket. "When they took me, I was assigned a job. I had to work for them."

When the boy turned to his sisters, they each nodded. "Wait," he said, "really?"

"Autumn and I too," Winter replied with a sigh. "I doubt that'll happen again, though. We killed many of their people." With that, she faced Holly, hand in a fist. "What they want now is revenge. And I fear they're going to get it."

-

"Traps?" Jade asked, then tilted her head. "I can make some before nightfall, and I'll scatter them in the woods nearby." She drummed the counter, deep in thought. "I better get to work."

"How many do you think?" Skylar rose from the couch, shifting on her feet.

"I couldn't tell you." Leaving no more room for input, she went about in search of materials.

"I'm sorry to say this," Holly started from the front door, "but we're also low on ammo. Then again, you probably know that." When Skylar nodded, she set the basket down on the counter. "Well, we hav-"

"You really think I didn't know that, H?" the woman sneered, but recovered. "We'll use the weapons wisely; make our every shot count."

"Should everyone even have a gun?" Forest piped up, only to shake his head. "Actually, that was probably a dumb question."

"We have enough of them to go around, so everyone'll have something." She suddenly clenched her stomach, eyes squeezed shut. "That's how we'll do it."

"You okay?" Autumn asked, stepping forward, but she was waved off.

"I was shot, remember? Of course, it's gonna hurt! I bet Winter's been in pain too." Skylar groaned, doubling over.

With that, Forest turned to Winter, frowning. "Is it true?" When the girl nodded, he crossed his arms. "How bad is it?"

Winter sighed, biting her lip. "The pain comes and goes. Right time, it's not bad." Then, gaze averted, she lifted her shirt to reveal the wound. "Was the bullet ever removed?"

"Yes." Autumn offered a smile. "They removed it from both you and Skylar. I overheard them."

Instead of objecting, the boy smiled back. His twin wouldn't lie about that, and she didn't appear to be bluffing. "Now it's time for it to heal."

"Yeah," Winter mumbled, putting her shirt down.

"And it doesn't seem to be infected."

Then Skylar cleared her throat, eyes narrowed. "It takes 2-3 days to get an infection."

"Oh."

There was an uneasy pause.

"Well, Jade's making traps," Holly spoke up, strangely grim, "and we'll be waiting for them tonight. Soon enough we'll know."

"Know what?" Autumn asked, uneasy.

"If it's enough."

-

Forest observed from the attic window, the sky growing darker by the minute. It was almost time. Gripping his blood-stained gun, he then looked down at it. The red of the weapon was his own from that night, but the boy couldn't be picky.

Before long, his gaze drifted back to the window and he could make out two figures: Jade and Holly. Each were carrying a handful of traps, ready to set them up.

"God, we need You," he said, struggling for composure. "Please, I don't want anyone to die tonight."

"No, we don't."

Forest jolted, searching for the owner of the voice. It was Winter, a light smile on her face. "What?"

"We don't want anyone to die tonight."

"How long have you been here?" The boy tilted his head, brows furrowed. "Winter?"

"Half an hour ago." With that, his sister sighed softly. "Want to say a prayer?"

His heart dropped. "You d-don't have an infection, do you? Skylar said that's impossible, b-"

She held up a hand, shaking her head. "No, I just think that we could use His help. Don't you?" When he remained silent, the girl looked to the window. "Please, brother. I'm trying to change. Can you just get over the shock and say a prayer?"

Forest swallowed hard, then nodded. "Lord, I know we don't deserve Your help; we never do, but could you look past our sins? You saved us once, so could You do it again?" The boy paused, holding back tears. "Amen."

"Amen."