Waking to the morning alarm, I rubbed my heavy eyes and forced myself up. The lights came on and the squeaks of a dozen bedsprings echoed through the room. Looking over at Jenny, she was already awake. Her small frail legs dangled off the bed, waiting for me to get up.

"Morning, little mermaid. Got a good night's sleep?" I asked as I pulled my feet out of the covers.

She nodded in approval.

I was thankful she did. I wasn't the only one with nightmares. That was another perk we got after we turned back. Some had it worse than others. The first few nights Jenny was staying here at the Girls Shelter House, it was bad. Her screams woke the whole house, including the Boys Shelter next door, but as time went on and she got the hang of being human again it became less frequent.

"Looks like another one left," Eve said as she walked past, glancing over toward the far-right corner of the room. She tossed her towel over her shoulders, and I noticed her jet-black pixie hair wasn't its usual straight style; bits of wavy bed head curls peeked out in the back.

I turned my head and looked at the vacant bed that had no imprint or trace of anyone having touched it. It was a magnet for everyone to walk by and stare, lost in thought as if it was some sort of Bermuda Triangle.

I didn't really know the girl who occupied that section except that everyone called her Blondie because of her long, silky blond hair. This was the fourth person this month who had the guts to leave this place and put their fates in whatever lies behind these walls. Yes, there was a cure, but we were left in the dark as to how much antidote there was and if the Zcure had been distributed to other places around the world or not.

"Should we wash up first or eat breakfast?" I asked, looking towards the double doors just as a stampede of girls headed out and turned left. I already knew it was going to be a long line for the showers.

She placed her hand towards her mouth 'tapping on' it giving me the signal that she was hungry.

Even though Jenny hasn't spoken a word since her arrival here we had our own special language in communicating.

"I was thinking the same thing." I smiled lightly as we took each other's hand and headed to the cafeteria, full of both boys and girls.

Walking through the rugged halls of the place, I could see Mrs. Julia sweeping up bits of glass from a broken window. I wasn't sure why she would bother to clean it up; it fit right in with the tumbledown walls and other decaying elements that my nostrils detected.

Mrs. Julia was our sort of head of the household, if you would call it that. After she got turned back she volunteered to help the younger kids cope with the life they were given. Her salt-and-pepper hair was up in a bun and she wore her usual pink rundown sandals. Her glasses caught a reflective shine from the sun through a hole in the wall. "Morning, girls."

"Morning, Julia. I see we have some new decorations." I said, giving half a smile.

"Yep, we sure do! It looks like the Luckies were very generous today." Her glasses slid a bit down from the bridge of her nose as she spoke.

"The Luckies did this? Did you see what they looked like?" I asked, clenching my teeth.

Julia set her tired eyes on us. "It will be alright. I'll have one of the boys board it up."

"No, it's not alright. They shouldn't get away with this. I mean, we're struggling as it is." I could hear my voice getting louder as it echoed back. I exhaled hard through my nose, trying to release any anger that was building up.

Mrs. Julia set the broom down and came closer walking over the shards that cracked beneath her feet. "Jenny, go on and get some breakfast. I need to talk to Leona for just a minute, okay?"

Jenny tugged on our intertwined hands in a nervous attempt to get my attention away from a now worried old woman who started to fidget with whatever was inside her pocket. "I'll be right behind you. Save me a seat," I said, giving her a reassuring smile.

Jenny disappeared through the cafeteria doors and Mrs. Julia pulled me away from prying eyes and ears. "I hate putting this on your shoulders, but I don't know what to do." Her cold delicate hands grasped mine.

She stared at me for a moment without speaking. I could see the struggle in her eyes on whether or not she should tell me whatever it was that was invading her thoughts.

"Everything okay?" I arched my brow as I waited for a response.

With a sigh, she slowly pulled out a dark green handkerchief. Something was wrapped up inside. "We're running low on food and..." She paused and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Um... I don't know how much longer we have before the supplies are completely gone."

Unraveling the handkerchief, she held a few small pendants. The one with a small ruby the size of a marble in the middle and gold trimming caught my eye. Another item I spotted was a silver band that had obviously been someone's wedding ring. "I managed to get these items from a couple of friends that were willing to give up some of their valuables to help out."

"Help out?" I questioned.

She placed them in my hands and gently closed them as if to seal what she was about to ask. "I need you to take these and trade them on the other side—the north side."

Immediately, the weight of holding the precious gems became slightly heavier. "The Luckies side?" I said, as if her saying the north side wasn't confirming enough. She continues speaking, but her voice is drowned by my thoughts like a salty tidal wave devouring sand castles on the earth's shore. We weren't allowed to go anywhere near that side due to the regulations that we were slapped with the moment we got the Zcure. This included the daily checkups, lined up at the Center Hall making sure the cattle didn't turn back into zombies and being forced to attend ZA group meetings.

Why turn us back only to make us live this way? It made no sense and I was tired of it. I was tired of falling in line and being told what to do. It was about time for a change and I'm going to be the one to shake up this shit.

"I'll do it." I said, placing the valuables in my pocket.

Julia straightened the poster and peered deep into my eyes. She wrapped her arms around me, giving me a tight squeeze. "You be careful, okay? If things go sideways, just run and don't look back."

"I'll be fine, I promise." I patted her on the back. I wasn't much of a hugger, but I didn't want to ruin the moment so I did the best I could muster.

"Do you want one of the boys to go with you just in case? Like, back up?" She sniffled as she let go of her embrace, "Spencer maybe?"

I didn't need a tag along, let alone Spencer of all people. He despised every single one of those Luckies even more so than I did. Having a hothead as back up would for sure ruin my cover.

"No, I'm better on my own," I said as my voice beamed confidence.

"You're one brave seventeen-year-old, I'll tell you that," she said, picking up the broom to continue sweeping the glittery fragments.

I headed to the cafeteria and found Jenny sitting in our usual spot in the very back corner, next to a few familiar faces including Spencer. I rolled my eyes as if my body had a mind of its own. His short blonde hair that was combed back made his ocean blues more noticeable, including the small pink scar under his left eye. He mentioned it during one of our ZA meetings that he got it before the change but nothing more. Looking down below his undercut chin I could see the bite mark including the one on his hand as he went to scratch his stubbled cheek. He got them when he turned. They were trophies he liked showing off.

Seeing an open spot for me to sit right next to Jenny, I had to make sure to let her know I was coming up to her so she wouldn't get startled or cause an episode. She definitely didn't like surprises. One time, I accidently came up behind her and patted her on the shoulders. She flipped out, screamed, and just went ballistic. She gave me the most terrifying look I'd ever seen in her. That look triggered my shitty past. It was a fucked up day, I'll tell you that. From then on we came up with a whistle so we would know when we were getting near.

Licking my lips, I puckered up and blew softly at first but the tone sank in the air. I blew harder and the tone changed to a higher pitch that lingered out just a bit at the end. It was all the whistle I could gleaner at the moment.

All heads snapped towards me. Her smile arched out, reaching from ear to ear as she patted the seat next to hers.

Spencer, Lucus, and Brooke greeted me with smiles. I've known them since the beginning, and when I say beginning I mean when we all got the Zcure on the same day. That was about a month before Jenny changed. Even though Spencer got on my nerves more so than the others, there was a sort of respect between us because we all had gone through the same thing.

"Well, hello there sleepy head! Not hungry or what? Does the broth not look appetizing?" Spencer teased, taking a slurp of his watered down excuse for soup.

I knew he was trying to get me to react in some way, but he wasn't going to win. Pointing my nose up as I sat down, I avoided looking his direction. "How's your broth, Little Mermaid?"

Her brows stretched up to the top of her head and she nodded with delight, taking a big gulp of it. She was a trooper. The items in my pocket burned through my thigh in anticipation of trading them for something better than this sad soup we've had every day for weeks. And soon there will be nothing left but empty bowls and broken wishes.

"Oh, come on sassy pants. I was just messing with you," he smirked.

I rolled my eyes at him and wrinkled my nose; this time making sure my annoyance was obvious enough for him to see it. Unfortunately, the reaction I got was Spencer biting his lower lip; he was enjoying this.

Brooke shook her head as she adjusted the long neck of her peach colored turtleneck. It did a good job of hiding the deep indent of her bite mark. "You guys need to bang. Get it over with already."

My jaw fell open, nearly landing on the table. "Jenny is right here, Brooke," I whispered.

"Yeah, I agree! You two go at it every day." Lucus chuckled out loud as his short curly bangs swung back and forth.

"I don't mind taking one for the team," Spencer said, flexing his arms out behind his head. It looked like he was doing some kind of macho stretching move.

"Ain't ever going to happen!" I snapped. "And both of you need to stop encouraging this peacock. His ego is already too big for his head." I waved a stern pointing finger at Brooke and Lucus, both still chuckling like a couple of clucking chickens.

Brooke shot her hand up in the air as if waving a white flag and Lucus gave a gesture of an invisible lock in key on his thin lips. Thank god Jenny was still focused on her broth.

"I'm a peacock now?" Spencer said with a coy smile.

Folding my arms and leaning forward, I stared him the eyes. "You are many things Spencer, but peacock is just a nice way of saying what I really want to say."

He leaned forward as if challenging me. "Oh yeah, like what?"

My eyes focused on his plump lips as he moistened them with his tongue. I blinked a few times, feeling unwanted butterflies flutter into my stomach. I leaned back and looked away from his flirtatious gaze. Brookes face was still posing the 'just bang already' expression. I didn't care if we were the last people on Earth, that wasn't going to happen, even in his dreams. He may have won this round but it won't happen again.

Soon after the awkwardness, everyone settled down and started to talk and mingle with one another.

Small chatter filled the empty spaces of the cafeteria but it wasn't enough to stop me from thinking about my strategy for blending in with the Luckies. My clothes weren't in the best shape. My usual attire was a washed out grayish-black long sleeved shirt and a pair of holey jeans. My biggest worry was that my pale skin would be spotted in an instant. If I got caught I would have no clue about what they would do to me. No food for a week? I can handle that. Torture me on some archaic device? I can handle that, too. Turn me back into a zombie? I wouldn't bear it.

"Everything okay?" Brooke asked with a cocked head.

"Yeah... yeah, I'm fine." I snapped out of my daze to focus on her.

"You thinking about what the Luckies did today?"she continued.

That immediately got Spencer's attention. "What the hell did they do this time?"

"Great! You've done it now, Brooke." I looked over, biting on my lower lip and shaking my head. I was really hoping she wasn't about to spill the beans about the broken window.

Her dilated eyes looked concerning because I didn't know if she was going to give in to Spencer's gaze or not.

"They broke one of the windows. Julia's cleaning it up right now," Lucus said without skipping a beat. He continued to gulp his broth as if he hadn't just let the secret out.

I knew Spencer was going to find out sooner or later, but I would much rather he found out later—or at least when I wasn't at the table.

"Those mother F—!"

"Spencer!" I quickly said, nodding toward Jenny.

"This is getting old. What they're doing... getting away with stuff like this. We need to do something about it." He clenched his fists in anger, pressing them into the table and making his knuckles paler than his skin.

"And what are you going to do? Recruit some of us and go charging with pitchforks onto their side? We are barely getting by with the traumas we are all dealing with," I said, holding onto Jenny.

His nostrils flared as his hands smothered his face in an attempt to wash away the anger, but I could tell it was still there. He stood up and walked away. I didn't disagree with what he felt about the situation because some day we will have to come to that realization. But I knew there had to be a better way about it, a safer way, I hope.

"I'll go check on him," Lucus said, following his trail.

I looked back at Brooke in hopes that she would say I was right but all I got was a shrug as she continued eating her broth. She and I both knew Spencer just needed to take a breather and cool down, or most likely punch something. More than likely the hard cement wall that confined us would be his hit target.

Fiddling with my fingers, I couldn't help but to think again about the secret in my pocket. It was starting to become a nuisance. I needed to tell someone before my pocket had a voice of its own.

Looking over at Jenny, I noticed she had finally finished her bowl. "Hey, why don't you go and get my portion, okay?"

She shook her head and slid her bowl over to me. "I'm not hungry, little mermaid. I want you to have it." I slid the metal bowl back to her. I knew she was still hungry. That soup couldn't fill even a mouse's belly.

She tried sliding it back to me but I stopped it half way. "Please," was all I said as I looked at her beautiful forest greens. "I really want you to have my portion, okay? Go ahead, go get it."

She hesitated for a second and then nodded in agreement, which put a smile on my face. I watched her get up and get in line. Turning back toward Brooke, I exploded my words to her like vomit. "Julia gave me jewels to trade on the North side for food because we're running out!" I inhaled and exhaled waiting for her response.

"Are you nuts?!" she shouted, turning a few heads near us.

"I don't know what I'm going to do or how I'm going to get past not being seen," I whispered, gliding my hand through my hair.

"Yeah, not only that, but if you get caught who knows what they'll do." She leaned in closer to me. "They might even kick you out and what then? What about Jenny? She would be devastated."

Her words hit the core of my heart. "If I don't do this Brooke, she will starve in here—we all will."

She started to bite her thumb nail, zoned in on her thoughts. I didn't know what she was thinking, or if she was going to let Lucus and Spencer know about what I was going to do.

"You can't let the boys know because they'll ruin my cover." That was all I could say, hoping my words would change her mind if she was thinking about doing exactly that.

"I won't tell them, I promise. But I think I know who might be able to help you with blending in."

My eyes shot up. I was all ears to her suggestion.

"I heard from a couple of people that Eve knows about a Stiff who's been on the other side, undetected." She shook her head as if she didn't believe in her own words. "I don't know if it's true or not, but it's better than nothing."

It was a shot in the dark but it was worth a conversation with Eve. There was just one more thing I needed to do before I left. "Could you look after Jenny while I'm gone?"

"Of course I will," she said without hesitation.

I sighed in relief, but I hated the next part. "If anything happens to me, would you..."

Before I could finish what I was going to say Brooke cut in. "You're coming back to us, no if's, and's, or but's about it, okay?" She grabbed my hands and squeezed them gently as her lips tightened, letting her words soak in.

Her confidence in me was a breath of fresh air but I knew that the moment I stepped onto the North side that air would be sucked bone dry. Let's just hope I don't screw it up.