Matthew hurried over, then undid their cells with short, jittery movements. "They found us."

Forest mulled over his words when it dawned to him. "The mob, right?"

"What else would I be talking about?"

The boy glanced at Jade, who was flustered and pale, then nodded. "Then let's go."

"Are you forgetting something, boy?" Matthew pressed, locking eyes. "I'm the one who gives orders."

Forest inwardly sighed. "Right. Sorry."

Frowning, the man shook his head. "Well, let's go."

Forest shivered as he passed the eerie cells, each likewise to their own: foul. Once they reached the end of the hallway, Matthew paused before the iron door, back to them. "What is it?" Forest muttered.

The man looked them over, eyes narrowed. "You've finally got a chance to prove yourselves, so don't mess it up."

An uneasy silence fell over the captives.

"Well?"

Exchanging looks, they nodded stiffly.

Matthew huffed, unconvinced, but turned back and undid the lock. "Just remember, we could easily overpower you," he said. "If ever you feel the need to do something stupid, I just have to say the word... and you're dead."

Forest swallowed hard.

"Okay, come on." Gesturing them forward, Matthew hurried round the stairs before going down. "If they break down our barrier, it's over, so let's make sure that doesn't happen."

How many are there? Following after, the boy tripped half-way down the stairs and tumbled the rest of the way. Grimacing, he struggled to his feet, holding up a hand. "I'm fine."

"Are you?" Autumn asked, hurrying to his side. "Your lip is bleeding."

Forest shook his head. "Wouldn't I know if my lip was bleeding?"

She huffed, unimpressed. "I guess not."

After a brief stare-down, he felt his lip and found that she was right. "I'm fine."

"Come on," Matthew ordered from the front doors. "Don't be such a girl, you're fine."

-

The sun mocked him. Shielding his eyes, he made his way to a pile of tools lining the building. And blinked. "Matte-" When the man's face turned cold, he stopped himself. "Master, I mean, why aren't they using guns?" Then the boy looked around and scoffed. "I understand why we aren't, but no one is."

"Might attract walkers." With that, the man nodded to the pile. "Well, help yourselves. Just know that we'll be watching."

The captives eyed him, uneasy.

"Don't just stand there. Grab weapons!"

They complied, each taking a tool of their own. While the others hustled in various directions, the fence burdened with walkers, Forest noticed two figures. Hurrying to the front doors, the men peeked for witnesses before disappearing inside.

Despite himself, Forest followed after.

Carefully, the boy opened the door, braced himself, then stepped through. Looking around, he released a breath; the coast was clear.

That was when he heard shuffling upstairs.

Wasting no more time, Forest hurried up the steps, determined not to give himself away. Near the top, he peeked and leaned forward. There were four doors, two on each side of the staircase. The men, still glancing for witnesses, scurried through one opposite of the door to their cells.

"What are you doing?" he muttered to himself. Stomach clenched, he quietly drew near the door and listened. I should have taken a tool.

"Hurry!" came a shrill voice. "Where is it?"

"I... I don't know."

Forest held his breath when there was silence.

"There."

"What?"

"It's right there."

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

From within, each stumbled to the back of the room.

"Good," one said, chuckling. "Now to diffuse it."

His heart suddenly dropped. Knowing better, he didn't care and barged inside. "Give me the bomb, now." His voice was cold. "I will not allow you to ruin everything."

Though the room was sizable, it was anything but spacious; five long, parallel tables stemmed from one wall to the other, barely allowing someone to sneak through. Atop of them were a variety of vials, each containing questionable substances. In its midst were instruments, all of which foreign to Forest.

And, in the back, there they were, side by side.

"What's the point of this?" Locking with their gaze, the boy shivered. Their eyes - they cut into his. "That bomb is what we need to rid these walkers from the prison. You know that! So... why are you going to destroy it?"

Snickering, the shorter of the two showed off the explosive. "Oh, this little thing?" Then his face twisted, all stability gone.

"Yes," Forest said, biting back choice words. "Why destroy it?"

"You say this is our lifeline, but, really, it's our ultimate downfall."

Forest shook his head. "I don't believe you."

"Well," the taller man began, "you're not the one with the bomb." Then he pointed to him, eyes dangerously narrowed. "I don't know what Bosley's told you, but she's lying. It's much worse than you can imagine, boy. As long as this is destroyed, we won't be tempered and we'll stand a chance."

"Are you saying I can't trust Bosley?" Forest scoffed.

"No," the shorter one deadpanned. "You can't."

At this, Forest stiffened, stumbling back. "No, you're wrong."

"Look at me. Does it look like I'm bluffing?"

The boy searched his eyes for a long moment. "Why can't I trust her?"

"She's sly, this woman; she's not to be trusted." Pondering, he then exhaled heavily. "Bosley has every reason to want revenge."

"Stop treating this as a puzzle for me to solve. Tell me, and say it how it is." Slowly, Forest shut the door behind him, never turning his back. "What's going on with her?"

"Her sister, Marley, died at the hands of Matthew."

The taller man eyed the boy with a pained gaze. "She's never been the same since. This is why she wants revenge, which is also why I won't let this bomb be activated."

"Wait," Forest tried, "why was Marley killed? There must have been a reason!"

Sharing a glance, the men then looked back at the boy. No longer were they amused; shifting, each gestured him over.

Forest studied them, frowning, but came forward. After shuffling past the tables, he stopped before them, hand extended. "Can I have the bomb? We must destroy this while we still can."

The silence was cold and eerie.

Finally, the shorter nodded, but he suddenly looked to the door, frozen. "We've been found."

Forest resisted a smile. Thank God. But turning to the door, he shivered; there was no one there. Before he could react, a hard blow struck his head and all went black.

-

He groaned. Opening his eyes, Forest looked around, his heart skipping a beat. And then it registered. Finding his feet, he found that each were gone, but for how long?

Forest stumbled past the tables. If only I had taken a weapon.

Peeking from the door, he noticed a figure scurrying through the one to the far left. "Guess I wasn't out for long," he said, chuckling dryly. Then he followed after, not bothering to be quiet.

Forest braced himself before barging inside, but, as before, they weren't there.

Similar to theirs, this room had two rows of cells lining the wall, each parallel. However, unlike theirs, this one wasn't empty. While the right side contained walkers, the left withheld cougars. Crowded, each cell of walkers held roughly four. The cougars, on the other hand, were lone.

The boy stepped in further when his eyes turned hard. Spinning around, he then froze. "Wait, please don't do this."

The taller one snickered, blocking the exit. "You had every chance to leave, but you didn't. Now you will pay with your life."

Fumbling with the lock, the shorter opened the third cell down of walkers. Then he did the first two, his movements swift and deliberate. "We're leaving, but not to worry!" he hollered. "You'll have a proper funeral, I'm sure."

"Oh, wait," the other said, "you won't. This looks awfully suspicious."

Then, with toothy smiles, they left, slamming the door shut.

His heart dropped. Searching around, he came up empty. Maybe this is how I die, he realized. Maybe it's finally my time.

Stumbling back, the space between them was closing. "God," he whispered, holding back tears, "I don't want to die. I'm not ready!" His voice was grave and weak, but he didn't care. "Please." Then his back met the wall, no place left to go. "Please!"

The walkers reached out, shuffling closer and groaning.

Forest folded his hands, dropping to his knees. He couldn't dodge twelve walkers in such a space; he just couldn't. "Lord, please."

As before, nothing.

Realizing the answer, Forest covered his face, eyes shut. "Alright, Lord," he said softly, "it's okay." The first tear fell. "I'm ready to go."

But this time something did happen.

With a sharp grunt, the door burst open. At once, the walkers turned, drawn to the noise. Then a shot fired, followed by a dozen more. One-by-one, the bodies dropped as they went in pursuit of his rescuer.

When only a few still stood, Forest gasped. It was her. "You saved my life!"

At a standstill, Jade stood halfway down, her face growing pale. "Maybe."

His smile dropped. "What's wrong? Just shoot them!"

"I'm out of bullets."

For the second time, his heart dropped. "Then get out!" he ordered. "Shut the door and leave!"

Instead, she stayed there, frozen.

"Jade!"

The gap between her and the walkers was closing. And then it did.

"Jade!"

Suddenly, the door opened. Aiming her gun, Bosley fired at those remaining. "You people just can't stay out of trouble, can you?" She shook her head, frowning. "Let's... just go before they find out."

Forest and Jade shared a look before complying.

Bosley moved aside, but Jade stopped before her. "Thank you," she said, mustering a smile. "I ran out of ammo."

"It's no pro-"

"I don't know how I could ever repay you!"

"I might have an idea." Eyeing her hand, she looked back to Jade. "That bomb - I need it."

"Oh, right, of course!"

Forest stiffened. When she handed it over, he smiled brightly. "How'd you get that?" he managed. "I don't understand!"

"I knocked them out, then took it." Jade gave him a nudge, smiling softly. "I knew something was wrong when I couldn't find you."

-

"Holly."

Startled, the woman opened her eyes and blinked at the figure staring into the cell. "Bosley? Is t-that you?"

"Yes."

Holly swallowed hard as she stood. "It's the dead of night. Why are you here?" Coming forward, she gripped the iron bars, searching her face. "Is this about yesterday?"

"Yes," Bosley said, crossing her arms. "Have you changed your mind?"

Holly glanced at Winter and smiled. She was out cold. "No, I want to do the sacrifice."