Nine |

"Get back!" Cam yelled, launching himself towards the twins just as the dog lunged at Annie.

Instincts moved in as my body reacted to protect these people I didn't even know. My fingers grabbed the dog's collar throwing it back. It didn't make a sound as it landed on its feet. I glanced over at Cam who fumbled to get his gun out. He'd be too late.

The dog snarled, lunging across the room towards the twins again. Again I moved, all emotions escaped my mind. I slammed the dog to the floor, rolling my hand towards its neck to hold it down. Screams begged me to stop, begged for the dog's mercy. I twisted my hands sharply, the dog stopped moving. Mercy got you killed in this world.

"You monster!" Annie screamed at me.

I stood and looked at her blankly. If she thought I was the monster then she truly had the luxury to live a normal life. I watched Annie struggle in Cam's arms as he worked to drag her out of the room. I decided that I was no longer welcome in the house, so I moved to leave.

"Miss, wait please," called the southern man.

I didn't stop. Not until I threw the front door open, and was marching down the porch steps and a hand grabbed my arm. I froze but didn't turn around.

"You watched me snap a dogs neck, is that really the best move?" I demanded.

The hand let me go, "Thank you for what you did, and Annie will get over it."

I turned to look at the man, then shrugged. It didn't matter if she did or not, it just showed that I didn't belong here. You can't tame a wild animal, it will always resort back to instincts. I had been stupid to think I could find home here, that I could belong here.

"Noa! Lookit, Clark gave us cake for free!"

We turned, the kids were back. The oldest one carried a small cake in both hands, while the other three ran ahead and over to us. The man – Noa smiled at the kids, taking the cake from them.

"Be good and introduce yourself to Mira," he told them.

The youngest one, the small one from earlier giggled, and ran over grabbing my hand, "I'm Mathew but it's ok if you call me Matty."

He pronounced his name Matwo, making me smile, next was the oldest child who had darker skin and bright, brown eyes, "Dillan, nice to meet you," he said politely with a wide smile.

"He's Adrian," Said one with longer, black hair and hazel eyes – he pointed to the boy beside him who had brown hair and catlike green eyes.

"He's Max," Adrian said pointing to the one with hazel eyes.

Both boys paused, then looked at each other and started giggling.

The front door opened, and Cam stepped out causing the children to run over to him. I watched him and Noa exchange a look, then Noa sighed deeply. His eyes turned to me and he smiled, I could tell how tired he was.

"Thanks again, I'm sorry it didn't turn out the way we all hoped but Annie will come around. It's just, these kids and this farm is our whole world – our life," he said softly, his eyes begging for me to understand, then he turned towards the kids, "boys it's time for lunch, let's go wash up, Dillan can you go get Sarah and Sophie? They're still in the barn."

The oldest boy, Dillan nodded and ran off towards the barn. I watched as the others went inside and Cam walked over to me. He pulled me along as we started walking off back towards the center of town. I waited anxiously for him to bring up the dog incident – would he yell at me?

Finally, once we walked past the shops I then realized we were walking towards the mayor's house. Instantly I stiffened, and let out a dark chuckle. I guess he figured I wasn't town material either? So be it.

"Annie said that Lacy had escaped under a small hole in the bottom of the fence," he said once we reached Alana's porch.

I looked over at him blankly, why was he telling me this? He stopped seeing my face, then pulled my arm gently, until his arms wrapped around me. I yelped startled.

"I know what you did must have been hard, I'm sorry you had to do that. I shouldn't have agreed to open the cage, I should have had my gun out sooner. I'm so sorry Mira, you must have been afraid and horrified," he whispered in my ear.

I didn't comment because I knew he was completely wrong. I didn't feel afraid or horrified, or even guilty. The dog was bitten, if I hadn't acted then Annie or Noa or even Cam would have died. I balled my hands into tight fists. I wouldn't have allowed that.

He pulled away and pressed his lips to my forehead. My eyes widened at that, and a blush danced across my cheeks as I casted my gaze to the dirt ground. He chuckled and tugged my hand up the porch just as the door swung open and Alana stepped out.

"Cameron, you have wonderful timing. Will you join me on the porch for tea?" She hummed nodding towards the porch seats along with an elegant glass table.

"We'd love to," he replied taking a seat.

I followed suit, as Alana went back inside and returned with her trolley of the tea, and this time a pie and saucers. We settled in, today sipping some sort of honey and rosemary blend and bit into apple pie. Once the pie was done, Alana cleared her throat.

The atmosphere changed then, from a cheerful tone to a much grimmer, and serious one. I looked from Cam to Alana, and realized gone was the bright and happy looks. Like this, Cam looked much like his older brother.

"Apparently, Sophie and Sarah were near the North-West, area just past the barn when a zom appeared outside the perimeters. The girls got spooked, and Lacy slipped under the fence via a hole previously made by we think a racoon. Lacy brawled with the zom and got bit," he told her.

Alana glanced over at me, "Is Lacy gone now?"

I gulped harshly, casting my gaze away from her and at the people walking by. They chatted and talked happily among themselves with no fears in the world it seemed. How lucky.

"Yes."

"But that hole will be a problem," Alana sighed, "Very well, I shall send a group to fix it in the morning. It will rain soon, I'd rather not send anyone out tonight."

Cam agreed with her. I did to mind you, fixing a fence and keeping an eye out for zom's during a storm? That sounded merely suicidal. Plus, with the vibes of this town, no doubt the casualties would do more bad than good, but it wasn't smart to leave a hole like that in your defence system.

"And what about you Mira? How is your training going?"

The question caught me off guard and I turned to her then forced a smile onto my face. I didn't want to tell her I questioned whether I wanted to stay or not. What if she kicked me out then, and I figured I did want to stay? Instead I nodded with false enthusiasm.

"Good, yes, very well," I squeaked, the lie turning my voice a few octaves higher.

Her eyebrow rose but she didn't comment if she suspected anything. Instead she dismissed us – telling Cam and I to take the rest of the day off.

And so, we headed back to the house. I retreated to my room not wanting to talk or any of that bullshit and soon, I could hear the front door close as Cam left once again. Most likely going back to the farm to check on Annie or move the dog's body. Fuck it all. I sighed deeply, rubbing my hands across my face.

"Daddy," I complained as he rubbed my face roughly with a towel.

"Sorry Erin, almost done," he chuckled, "there."

Once he pulled away I noted the yucky colouring upon the white towel. He handed me a candy, like he did after every appointment and I sucked on it watching him as he cleaned up his office.

"How do you feel?" he then asked nervously.

Outside, a roll of thunder made me jump. I turned towards the window, swallowing the candy as my anxiety increased. I really hated going to his office but I know he was only trying to help. He poked my tummy with a pencil and I giggled. Daddy was so silly sometimes.

"We can leave as soon as my report is done. So number zero, how do you feel?" he teased.

I giggled at the nickname he had given me once these visits started.

"Cancer free! Right daddy?" I asked hopefully, swinging my feet back and forth.

He froze, dropping the pencil. I watched it hit the ground, on impact the eraser popped off. Rolling, and rolling until it hid itself under Daddy's desk. My eyes flickered back to Daddy, suddenly bored of the pencil. Tears pricked in his eyes, and I pouted. Why was he so upset?

"Soon I promise baby, soon," he whispered so low I almost missed it.

Almost.

Thunder rolled outside and I flinched. Pushing myself up, I pulled the curtains aside to see the world darkened, and rain poured down. A flash of lightening, and I let the curtain go. I thought about the hole Alana and Cam spoke of; and how quickly they were to dismiss that hole in the fence. How foolish they were to ignore it. Especially during the storm.

Oh fuck it. I grabbed my coat and yanked it on I grabbed my gun and a knife, shoving them into my pockets and headed outside. The storm was bad enough, that no one was outside. The town looked haunting with no people, I shivered and looked towards the direction of the farm. I couldn't see anything in the distance however lucky for me I knew where to go.

By the time I got to the farm house, I was completely soaked. Not that I minded, with the town protected, the storm no longer held the same scare it used to. Another perk I would get if I stayed. I smiled slightly at that one.

Cam had said the hole was just past the barn, towards the North-West. I looked towards that direction, the barn's bright red colour was just spottable through the storm and so I headed towards that direction. While I did so, I pulled my hair back into a pony tail, and pulled my coats hood up to cover my head. I didn't want anyone to spot me while I investigated that hole.

Once I got to the barn, I noticed the large doors wide open, inside cows, sheep and pigs huddled together. I also noticed a few chickens hanging around just in the door way. I was surprised to see so many barn animals. It was a pleasant sight.

"Mira?" squeaked a tiny voice.

I turned, to see Max and Adrien huddled together outside, at the side of the barn. Concern raked through me, what were they doing out here? I spotted a girl beside them, around the two boy's age. She looked up at me, her eyes filled with tears. Instantly I knew something wasn't right.

"What's wrong?" I asked walking over to them.

The girl cried, "Sophie thinks that Lacy died because of her and she ran away earlier and I waited for her to come back but she hasn't and now it's raining!"

I calmed down a bit.

"I'm sure she's just hiding in the house or the barn sweetie," I told her calmly.

She shook her head, crying harder and blubbering words I couldn't understand. Max grabbed my hand, pulling me down so we were at eye level. I tilted my head to listen to him.

"She went through the hole, Sarah didn't want to tell and get her in trouble," he whispered.

My blood turned cold. I felt as it I was punched in the gut. The chances of a little girl surviving outside the fence? I felt like throwing up. But, I couldn't tell these kids that. I needed to find that little girl, I didn't have time to wait out the storm or go and get more people.

"Adrian take Sarah to the house now. Get any adult inside and tell them what's going on. Don't be afraid of getting in trouble ok?" I said softly.

Adrian nodded, with sudden determination, "Okay."

They ran off and Max tugged my hand again. I looked down at him, rain still poured down on us and suddenly I felt bad for his soaked body. Tugging off my coat, I pushed my gun and my knife into the back of my pants. Max's eyes widened at the weapons, but I didn't let him say anything, merely pulling my coat onto his body.

"Show me where the hole is," I ordered.

He nodded, pulling my hand as we walked quickly. We rounded to the back of the barn, where I could see this side of the fence. There, I could see the bottom of the fence had been bent upwards, and a little gap had been scratched out. It did look like some animal had tried to get in. I looked up at the top of the fence, it went up just over the top of the trees.

"Alright, I want you to go back to the house now ok? I'm going to go find Sophie," I hummed crouching down.

Pulling the bottom of the fence up a bit more, I lowered myself onto the ground and started pulling myself through the hole. It wasn't too big, however with years of lacking proper meals, I was lucky to get quite small and very skinny.

Ignoring the rain and the mud I was now drenched in, with a few more wiggles and tugs, I was successfully on the other side of the fence. However, with my efforts I made the hole bigger – a zom could easily get through now.

I looked through the fence back at Max. He shivered in the cold but I was happy that I had given him my coat. Despite my own coldness, it would be of more use to him than me. That and, I didn't want the little man to be getting sick.

"Get going Max," I ordered waiting until he ran off before I turned around towards a thick forest. This was nothing like the apple orchard that was on the south side. I gritted my teeth as a shiver raked through my body and I began moving quickly and cautiously through the trees.

Should I call her name? I shook my head, even if she heard me over the rain, it would only attract attention towards us. I just had to keep my attention alert and look for any small girls. Pulling out my knife, I held it with tight fingers – how far had she gone off to?

Hopefully not far, however an upset child lost all senses of fear and logic. That, I knew all too well. Lightening flashed overhead, and I kept my eyes skimming around slowly. I couldn't afford to miss anything. The deeper I went in the forest, the more the trees blocked the rain, however that also meant the darker it got.

Whimpering caught my attention, and I froze. Crouching down, I bent my elbows ready to strike at any sign of danger. Another whimper, and I turned my attention towards a fallen oak tree. Behind it, I spotted a bright yellow sundress stained dark. Blood or mud? That was the question.

"Sophie?" I called lowly.

The whimpering stopped, and I held my breath. The child moved, hazel eyes stared at me. I relaxed slightly, taking in her appearance. She looked Matty's age, barefoot and wearing a bright yellow sundress that I now could see was fortunately mud and not blood. Her long black hair, was tangled, and she was completely soaked. Other than that, she seemed completely unharmed.

"Are you Sophie?" Stupid question.

She nodded, taking a step back. And I quickly shoved my knife into my pants pocket, and raised my hands so she knew I meant no harm. I smiled at her and took a step forward.

"Hi, I'm Mira. I'm friends with your sister Sarah, and all the boys. I heard you went for a little walk," I cooed softly.

Little walk was an understatement. We stood deep in the forest, and I wasn't sure if I knew the exact way back to the town. I hoped for our sake I did. She hid behind the trunk again, and I stopped moving. I needed to get her to get over to me and not run off.

Sophie thinks it's her fault.

My eyes widened at the memory. Of course. She didn't want to go back because she think it was her fault the dog had gotten bit. I sighed, and sat on the ground, ignoring the wetness soaking through my pants.

"What are you doing?" she asked in a quiet, soft voice.

I smiled at her, "Well. I was thinking this is the perfect place to live."

She crept forward, curious to what I was saying. Her little brows furrowed in confusion, and I pretended to nod, and think hard. I pointed to one tree saying it would be my bedroom, then another saying it was the living room, finally I pointed to the trunk saying it would be my bathroom. At the end of it Sophie was beside me giggling.

"Ms. Mira you're silly," she chirped in a much better mood.

I chuckled, then sighed before telling her the reality of things, "You can't stay out here. You can't leave those who love you and you can't blame yourself sweetie."

Her smile dulled into a pout, as tears collected in her eyes. She sniffled getting ready to run away, but I grabbed her arm, yanking her into a hug. We sat there, as thunder rolled over head and she sobbed into my shoulder begging forgiveness over the incident that wasn't her fault.

We sat as time went by, and the storm clouds seemed to ease up, as the rain lessened. Finally, the crying stopped and I looked down to realize that she had fallen asleep. I smiled slightly at the tiny girl in my arms and picked her up easily.

It occurred to me I'd have to wake her up to get her back through the hole, but for now I let her sleep as I tugged back through the forest towards the direction I came. It took longer to get back but soon, I could see the glisten of iron. Still in the thick of the trees, I walked faster until something behind me caught my hair, pulling me back.

I gasped out, dropping the child. She woke up with a cry as she hit the ground and I pushed my body back forcing the fingers to let me go. Sophie screamed at whatever was behind me and I could take a guess it was a zom. However, when I turned, placing my body between her and the danger, I froze with fear. It wasn't one zom, it was about five of them.

"Sophie run towards the fence, get back into the town through the hole; NOW!" I snarled.

I could hear her little feet take off behind me, just as a zom attempted to lunge at her past me.

"Fuck off," I snapped at it, pulling out my gun.

I aimed, and pulled the trigger. The bullet tore through its head, and the zom dropped. I didn't have time to use my knife. Another one lunged at me, it was missing an arm and both of its eyes so it's aim was off and it tripped.

I kicked it blank in its chest, it stumbled back and I raised my gun again. That one fell as well. I looked over at the remaining three, they stumbled slowly through the trees towards me and I aimed my gun again.

My shot missed, as something grabbed my arm. I cried out, spinning my head around and did the one thing I could think of doing. As the new zoms head bent to bite my arm, I head-butted it right in the nose causing it to let go. Then, I dropped my gun, pulling my knife out and slamming the blade into the side of its head.

My heart was beating wildly as the remaining three advanced towards me, my breath was coming out hard and I took a step back. Making sure there were truly only three left, I waited until one was in arm's length before I moved again.

I lunged at the closest one, shoving the blade into its chin, and the tip poked out its eye socket. Hands reached for my back, I rolled onto my back and threw my legs up. Saliva dripped onto my face, making me wince and I sat up slashing it in the throat. It fell onto my legs, but continued to snap its jaw. I slammed my blade into its head.

Fingers grabbed at my head again, pulling me back until the last zoms face was inches away from mine. I gasped, dropping my knife to reach my fingers up and dig them into its eyes. It held no reaction as I tried to keep its jaws away from my face.

"Mira move your hands!" Cam's voice rang out over the retreating storm.

My eyes widened, I shoved my hands up to