WILLOW

Two rows of Officials marched silently up the muddy bank. The wind blew over us on its way to them, carrying their scent far beyond our reach. Had they come from the other direction, the whole camp would have known by now. They'd planned. They'd prepared. They knew everything.

I stood like a deer faced with an oncoming car. No match. No chance. No more hope.

"Willow?" Croc said, as if he'd said it several times already. I hadn't even noticed him exit the water until he was right in front of me. He took my chin, forcing my eyes to his. "Their focus will be on the men in camp. Go wait in the garden with Julia."

I shook my head. "The kids—"

"I'll protect the kids." His voice was stern. "I need you to promise me you'll protect our baby. Promise me you'll wait in the garden."

No. No. This was all wrong. We couldn't be separated. I couldn't go hide without knowing he and the kids were okay.

"Promise me!" he hissed, the call leaking into his words.

The Officials were drawing closer. There was no time to argue. No time to think. "I promise." I choked.

Croc pressed a palm to my stomach, kissed my forehead, and took a deep inhale of my hair. Then he pulled away with a rough "Go" and stormed to the water's edge. His arms extended, chest expanded, and the call poured from his lungs like a summons from God.

The water stirred violently, waves becoming rapids, then geysers as alligators burst onto the shore and stampeded toward camp.

I scrambled up a small hill before they could trample me. My breaths broke apart like glass, slicing my throat raw. This couldn't be happening again, already. It was too soon. We'd won. My vision blurred. Everything felt too horrible to be real. Like a nightmare, I ran, but my legs had no power. I was disembodied, clumsy, and the distance kept stretching. My footing slid on the dead leaves. Tree roots fought to trip me.

After what felt like an eternity, I broke through the trees.

Julia knelt in the garden, sprinkling water on the freshly disturbed Earth, oblivious to the danger.

She jolted upright at my approach. "What's wrong?"

The first round of gunfire answered for me, and a sob stole my last bit of breath. I collapsed in front of her, heaving air.

Julia gripped my shoulders and forced me upright. "Where are the kids?"

I motioned behind me, but I couldn't speak. My lungs were locked, my throat shut.

More gunfire erupted, a cacophony of roars mingling with the noise.

"Dammit, Willow!" Julia shook me. "Where are the kids?"

"With Croc," I rasped, hoping it was true. He would get them. He would protect them. I had to believe it; the alternative wasn't something I could bear.

The gunfire multiplied, and I straightened, turning toward the sound. Birds fled the trees, becoming frantic black specs in an otherwise cloudless sky. Everyone could die. This could all end, and the world would never be saved. If I lost Croc, mine would never be the same. What if something happened to him before he made it to the kids? What if they were alone and afraid, little mice waiting for me to come and find them. And I was here, hiding, saving myself, like I'd sworn I'd never do again.

I turned back to Julia and pushed to my feet. "Hide in the woods."

She gripped my wrists and stopped me. "Where in the hell do you think you're going?"

"To help. I have to help." I'd changed. I was stronger. We were already outnumbered, and I'd never forgive myself if this was the end, and I didn't at least try.

"Courtney, listen to me," Julia urged.

I blinked, and, for a split second, my mind went blank. Courtney? Something in the air seemed to shift as I studied Julia's face. The name was familiar, but I couldn't recall where I'd heard it. Had that been her daughter's name? Had Julia's unbreakable fortitude finally collapsed?

If Julia realized her mistake, she didn't show it. "You can't help. Not anymore," she whispered softly, patiently, as if I were delusional to have ever thought otherwise. The gunfire grew distant. My thoughts stilled, because, deep down, I knew she was telling the truth.

I shook my head hard. We couldn't think like that. She was the strong one. She was the one who never gave up. "I have to do something," I said.

Julia reached into her bag then pressed an apple into my palm. "This is probably the last apple on Earth," she said. "Enjoy it. That's all anyone can do."

It wasn't right, but her insistent stare made me feel like I didn't have a choice. She guided it to my lips. I took a bite and chewed. Tears spilled, the sweetness like a photo of someone already dead. Heartbreak was real, because mine split in two. I bowed forward, seeking comfort in her familiar embrace.

Julia wrapped her arms around me.

The gunfire slowed, stopped, leaving room for more subtle sounds. Like a set of boots pounding the Earth. I pulled away from Julia and stood, wiping my eyes clear as I peered in the direction. They were headed our way, and I held my breath, praying at any moment, Croc would emerge through the trees. He would tell me it was over, and the kids were okay.

But it wasn't Croc.

An Official raced into the clearing as if the devil were chasing him. His clinical white was splattered in blood, and his helmet was gone, revealing short dirty blonde hair and too-wide, glassy eyes.

When he saw us, he skidded to a stop and lifted his rifle with shaking hands. His eyes skimmed over us both before focusing on me.

My hand instinctively moved to my stomach.

Julia held out her hands. "Hey, now. Take it easy. She's pregnant, and I'm old. Neither of us is any threat to you."

I had no idea how she managed to sound so calm. I held my breath, willing the man to leave. Then movement flashed in my peripheral, and Croc barreled from the trees.

The man noticed, panicked. The gun fired.

Julia jumped in front of me.

"No!"

* * *

CROC

I'd never moved as fast as I did in that moment. The ground blurred beneath my feet, leaves kicking into the air behind me. So fast, yet not fast enough, because the gunfire kept growing, becoming a booming echo that scared away any and all life. The louder it got, the more convinced I was I'd find nothing but bodies waiting for me, and I'd be alone again.

"Pappy!" My mind flashed with memory. I saw him collapse through the doorway, roar for me to get back. I felt the warm, wet blood soaking the back of his shirt as I clung to him, begging him not to leave.

"Where do men wear suits, boys?" Tex's booming voice echoed above the chaos.

The men all answered in unison. "A funeral!"

I jumped over a log, and the back of the first tent came into view between the trees.

"Whose funeral is it?" Tex roared.

"Ain't my goddamn funeral!"

The world exploded just as I stepped into it. Shots erupted in all directions, tearing holes into the white suits of their targets, painting them red. Bears ripped arms. Gators tore legs. Screams of anguish rang the air, smothered beneath the carnage.

I rushed into the fray, snapping the necks of anyone still upright with no direction other than toward the garden. Then, the world began to quiet, leaving behind a chime that filled my skull from ear to ear. Bodies upon bodies lay scattered across the camp. Collapsed tents and broken furniture. Bullet holes coated the supply shed. But the majority of the dead were dressed in white, and I breathed deeply, unaware I hadn't been breathing before.

Then my eyes cut to the left just in time to see an Official dip between the distant trees, running for his life.

He was headed straight for the garden.

No! I cut between tents, my arms and legs pumping as I fought to catch him first. But he'd disappeared from view. He had too big a head start. And by the time I made it to the clearing, he was already there, his gun pointed at Willow.

My life flashed before my eyes. Like a whirlpool, my most horrible moment spun back around, sucking me down into the life I'd had before she came. I couldn't lose her. I couldn't let it happen. I roared and stormed forward, determine to change fate.

But, instead, I sealed it.

The man startled. The gun went off—a quick rat-tat-tat that threw him off balance. He fell back, giving me a clear view of my biggest mistake.

Time slowed. Julia jumped in front of Willow, and her body jerked as each round pierced her flesh. One. Two. Three. Red bloomed across her top as she fell back into Willow. They both landed, Willow wailed, and I snapped.

* * *

WILLOW

Some things were too terrible to accept. It wasn't real. We hit the ground, and she landed on top of me. The back of my skull connected with the Earth in a sickening crack, and I craned my neck, fighting for stability in a constantly spinning world. A haunting cry ripped the atmosphere, and it took a moment to process that the sound was coming from me.

Julia. Not Julia. I scrambled back, fighting to scoot out from under her just enough to sit upright. Her head rested in my lap. Her perfectly manicured hands held her torso, failing to do anything to stop the bleeding.

She sucked in a shaky, gargled breath. "That fucking asshole shot me."

"It's okay. You're going to be okay."

"Liar."

The glow rapidly drained from her skin, like bleach spreading across something vibrant, stealing her color. I gasped on a sob and caressed her disheveled curls away from her face.

"I'm an old woman," she rasped, forcing a smile. "I've had a long life. A good life."

I shook my head. "Don't talk like that. You're not going to die. Fern knows the plants. She can fix this. Croc!" I looked up. "Croc, get Fern!" But he couldn't hear me. He wasn't there. He was somewhere else, somewhere tormented, roaring his own anguish as he beat the Official responsible, slamming his head back over and over again despite the fact the man was obviously dead. It wouldn't undo what'd been done.

"Stop," Julia snapped. I hated how weak she sounded. She gripped my hand and squeezed. "It's your turn, baby. You are the only one who can keep everyone together. You have to take care of them, the way I've tried to take care of you. Promise me." She coughed, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes held mine as her lips moved again, but no sound emerged.

I nodded. "I promise. I love you. I love you so much."

She smiled, winced, then terror filled her gaze, ripping me to pieces. Her grip on my hand tightened, her body tensed, then slowly loosened, faded.

I cried. I cried like I'd never cried before. Not even when I was a child. She was my mother. We may have met later in life, but she was the one I got. The one I was meant to have. The best one a girl could ever hope for, and now, she was gone, leaving me an orphan once more. And it hurt so much worse than before. I hugged her head into my stomach, bowing over as sobs racked my body. I couldn't do this. I wasn't like her. I wasn't strong and selfless and persevering. I couldn't make food that nourished the soul or find just the right thing to say.

"No! No, no, no, no, goddamnit! No!" Tex rushed toward us, sounding how I felt. She was his mother too. She'd been a mother to the world. He fell to his knees beside us, his hands resting palms up on his thighs.

"We should bury her here, in the garden." I barely recognized my own voice. It was just as hollow as she now was. She'd been the light that kept us all going, and now, she was gone, and life was so much darker without her.

"Julia!" It was Merle. I looked up, watching him race toward us, toward her. He dropped down on our opposite side and yanked up her shirt. Blood, so much blood. "Why aren't you doing anything!" he shouted.

I flinched, wishing there were something, anything, I could do. But it was too late. She was already gone. She'd made her final sacrifice, her life for mine.

"Hang on, sweetness." Merle ripped off his jacket, then his shirt. He pressed the white fabric to the wounds, wiping as if it would simply go away. But no matter how much he removed the blood, more poured out to take its place.

"Merle." My voice broke, and another sob stole my breath. I doubled over, hugging her head, smelling her perfume. It couldn't be real. This couldn't be happening. "She's gone."

"No." The word poured from his lungs, then he snatched her away from me, pulling her into his lap, cradling her like a child. "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry," he whispered into her ear. I'd never heard Merle cry. He was the strong one. Invincible. Never bending. But in that moment, he crumbled.

Tex stood and paced back and forth, like a twister gaining momentum. "We can't stay here," he ground out from between clenched teeth. "If more come, we won't be able to hold them off."

"Promise me you'll take care of them."

I'd promised, and as much as I wanted to break down, close my eyes, never open them again, I couldn't. I had to be the strong one now, for her. "Merle." I touched his shoulder. "We have to get the kids away. That's what she would be screaming at us if she. . ." I couldn't do it. How could I do it?

Merle lifted his head, his face soaked with tears, breathing hard and harsh. "We can't just leave her here."

Tex nodded once. "I know. We'll bury her here, in the garden, and we'll come back to say a proper goodbye when we know it's clear."

Merle nodded, but his attention was seared onto Julia's face. His expression twisted as he pushed back her hair and placed a lingering kiss on her forehead. He heaved a breath and snatched the leather jacket from the ground. Then, gently, as if she were made of the most fragile glass, he slid it onto her thin frame. "Keep it for me, woman. Until I find you again. Like I always do."

I stared at them, knowing this was all my fault. I should have taken her to the woods. Why hadn't I hid her? Why had I stayed here, in the garden, out in the open, completely exposed? If we'd been in the woods, the Official wouldn't have saw us. If he hadn't saw us, then he wouldn't have fired that shot. If he hadn't fired that shot, then she wouldn't have jumped in the way. She wouldn't have taken the bullet. She wouldn't be lying there, gone, so that I could still sit here and draw air into my lungs. It wasn't a fair trade, her life for mine. Her life had been worth so much more. Her life had meant so much more to so many more people.

Croc dragged the Official away by his foot, headed toward the water, and Tex left, returning a moment later with shovels. Merle gently placed Julia on the ground and stood, then the pair of them began digging. Too final. Too quickly. Pretty soon, she'd disappear beneath the Earth, and I would never see her face again.

And I had no idea what tomorrow would look like without her.