"You're... my mother?", I asked in disbelief as I heard those words.

"Indeed, I am", she replied while looking away from my eyes. Gathering the courage, she made attempt to hold my hands while saying, "It's been so—".

"Get your hands off me!", I snapped while drawing my hands away from hers, "I have no memory of my mother and you just call me here to tell me you're my mum, expecting me to believe such a lie?".

She hesitated for a moment before replying, "Joe, I can explain—".

"Explain why you left me when I was little? Explain why I was always depressed seeing other kids with their mothers and wondering why my own mother abandoned me? Explain why—".

"Enough!", she yelled and struck the table with both fists. The guard immediately came in and pointed his gun at me. However, after reading the atmosphere, he sighed and ordered us to not make loud noises again. Silence filled the room when the guard shut the door behind him, with mother and son looking away from each other with mixed feelings.

"What about your father?", she asked, attempting to break the silence.

"Turned into a metal zombie, and died at my hands", I replied coldly.

"I... see", she replied while closing her eyes, regretting that she would never again be able to talk to my father. "You married?".

"The first person who got infected. Her name is Ana".

She paused before asking, "Dead?".

"Hoping not".

"I... see. Friends?".

"All dead, one by one".

She paused again, wondering how he was still in his right mind after such heavy losses. She pressed further, "Pets?".

She was surprised to see a tear escaping from my left eye as I heard her question, "A dog. Killed ten Maneaters all by itself but was heavily wounded. I... put it out of its misery".

Silence again filled the room. She was at a loss of words, wondering what type of hellish experiences I had gone through.

"What do you want?", I asked, breaking the silence.

"Do I need a reason to see my son?".

"You're no mother of mine, and I don't think you'd come to just tell me, 'I'm your mother'. State your business".

Sighing, she continued, "I noticed an explosion North-East from here. I checked it out and discovered lots of zombies dead, with a building I'm familiar with crumbled to dust. Out of curiosity, I traced the sewage system and found tracks that lead to the bar you entered. I waited to see who would come out from the bar, only to notice a suicide zombie running in like a madman. I later saw the bar going up in flames and you bursting out from it, heavily wounded. So I—".

"Saved me only to sell me off as a slave?", I asked with an angry expression on my face. "How motherly".

"It was my husband who saved you".

"Oh so you have a husband now, right? So you agreed with him to sell me off then", I replied in anger while my tone was rising.

"I didn't know it was you at first", she replied while trying to defend herself, "It was when I stared at your face that I realized that I had make a very grievous mistake".

I sighed while tightening my fists, "Have any kids?".

She paused, wondering why he was interested in that topic, "I wasn't able to conceive, so we adopted a girl who should be three years younger than you".

"Serves you right for abandoning dad", I replied with the intent to provoke her.

As expected, she flared up at the insult and yelled, "Don't you dare talk to me like that!".

"And don't you dare call me my mother!", I retorted back.

Before I could expect it, Lucy lashed out a right blow on my face instantly. I staggered backwards, shocked at the sudden assault, then became enraged and rushed back to retaliate. She dodged my attack, aimed for my stomach, and gave me an uppercut that made me fall backwards to the floor. The guard came in again when he heard all the noise but was ordered to leave by Lucy, who stated she had everything under control. He hesitated before leaving, while Lucy looked back to see me getting back to my feet.

"If I were you, I'd try to be reasonable and help each other", she replied with an air of authority.

"As if I'd help a childless woman like you", I replied while cleaning off the blood that had escaped from my mouth.

Enraged, she charged towards me and attempted to kick me with her right leg. However, I grabbed it with both and hauled her towards the wall. Her back hit the wall hard, and she fell on the floor, groaning from the pain. I picked up one of the chairs and tried to hit her with it, but she immediately got back to her feet and grabbed hold of it. We wrestled over it for a brief moment, but she won by kicking my right leg very hard and suddenly raising the chair up so that it hit my face. We both let go of the chair, and while I staggered back holding my face, she moved back small before rushing towards me, dumping off the chair and used her right knee to hit my face just as I had let go of it. Blood escaped from my nostrils as I fell to the floor, while she rolled over once her legs touched the floor and got back to her feet. I spat out blood as I laid on the floor, supposedly defeated. Slowly, I got back to my feet and saw her seated on the other chair.

"We're both survivors Joe, surviving against the odds to see another day. Just let me help you. Tell me who is targeting you, Joe. I've known your father for a long time. He was a man of many things, and mistake was never one of them. If I'm to guess, the same person who is targeting you is responsible for this outbreak right?".

"How do you know I'm being targeted?", I asked and spat out blood.

"Your face alone says it all. So, who is it?".

I sighed and rested my back on the wall, "I don't know. The only thing I can say is that if I don't get out from this place soon, then everyone in this underground paradise will soon become food to the monsters on the surface".

The guard came in and said our time was up. It was almost time for the next night shift, so he had to move me back quickly into my cell before they would discover my absence. As he ordered me to stand up, Lucy said, "Take care of yourself Joe. Survive the game tomorrow and I'll see you again".

"Then note one thing", I replied when I got up to my feet, "No matter how much you'll try to convince me, it still won't change this simple fact: You are not my mother".

The guard immediately shoved me out of the room and into the darkness, while Lucy remained in the room, holding up a tough appearance before she finally, and slowly, broke down into tears.