i woke up to a sound of crashing and choking. i stand up grunting in pain before stepping out of the room and over to the room that had the sounds. i look around to see dr pam being choked by a patient. the patient looks at me. she looks familiar.

dr. pam's body goes limp. "did you just kill her?" i ask quietly. "shit." the face drops. "i'm not going to narc i swear." i hold my hands up in defense.

"okay. come in close the door." she motions me in i do as told. "i'm here to find my brother sammy, do you know him?" i furrow my eyebrows.

"cassie?" i say in a whisper. he head snaps towards me.

"how the hell do you know my name?" she asks.

"i'm lana, your best friend."

"lana, oh my god, i thought you were dead." she says coming up to me before throwing her arms around me. i grunt in pain, "sorry." she says back before walking over to the computer typing in numbers.

"they're in a room, it's a code yellow. i can take you, i need to get amélie anyways."

"yeah! okay, yes."

"follow my lead."

we run as far as we can, we reach the weapons and uniform room. "get it on. they won't look twice at you if your in it." i say throwing her some clothes and a m16 with a bag for bear. she nods before turning around to strip i do the same. throwing on some clothes i take a deep breath hoping that zombies on his way.

after i put my cap on i turn around to see cassie putting it on wrong. "no. let me see." i say inching closer to her before adjusting the cap. "there you go."

"thanks."

"yep."

now we're walking around the corner to be carful. it was raining ceiling pieces.

another explosion. the walls tremble. the dust falls. from above the sound of the buildings being ripped and shredded down to their last nails. and here below, the screaming of terrified children.

we follow the screams.

sometimes we make a wrong turn and the cries grow fainter. we backtrack, then try the next corridor.

the booming from above has stopped, at least for the moment, and we slow to a trot, gripping the rifle hard with both hands, trying one passage, backtracking when the crying fades, moving on again.

we hear major bobs voice on a bullhorn bouncing along the walls, coming from everywhere and nowhere.

"okay, i want you all to stay seated with your group leader! everybody quiet down and listen to me! stay with your group leaders!"

we turn a corner and see a squad of soldiers running right at us.

they turn a corner, and we're moving again. i can hear the kids jabbering and whimpering, despite major bobs scolding, around the next bend.

almost there, guys. now you be there.

"halt!"

shouted from behind us. not a kid's voice. we both stop. square our shoulders. stay still.

"where's your duty station, soldiers? soldiers, i'm talking to you!"

"ordered to guard the children, sir!" i say.

"turn around! look at me when you address me, soldier."

i sigh. turn. he's in his midtwenties, not bad looking, an all-american-boy type.

to be absolutely safe, anyone over eighteen is suspect. there may be some human adults in positions of authority, but knowing vosch, i doubt it. so if it's an adult, and especially if it's an officer, i think you can assume they are not human.

"what's your number?" he barks.

cassie blurts out the first thing that pops into her head. "tee-sixty-two, sir!"

he gives her a puzzled look. "tee-sixty-two? are you sure?"

"yes sir, sir!" sir, sir? oh god, cassie.

"why aren't you with your unit?"

he doesn't wait for an answer, he steps forward and looks cassie up and down, and clearly she's not in regulation. officer alien does not like what he sees.

"where's your name tag, soldier? and what are you doing with a suppressor on your weapon? and what is this?"

he pulls on the bulging leather satchel holding bear.

cassie pulls back. the satchel pops open and we're busted. "it's a teddy bear, sir."

"a what?"

he stares down at her upturned face and something crosses over his as the lightbulb comes on and he realizes who he's looking at. his right hand flies toward his sidearm, but that's a really dumb move when all he had to do was lay his fist upside her teddy-bear-toting head. i swing the silencer in a slicing arc, stopping it an inch from his boyish good looks, and pull the trigger.

now you've done it, cassie. blown the one chance we had, and you were so close.

we can't just leave officer alien where he fell. they might miss all the blood in the hurly-burly of battle, and it's nearly invisible anyway in the spinning red light, but not the body.

i grab him by the ankles and drag him back down the corridor, into another passageway, around another corner, and then drop him. he's heavier than he looks.

the room is packed with kids. hundreds of kids. dressed in identical white jumpsuits. sitting in big groups spread over an area about the size of a high school gymnasium. they've quieted down some. maybe i should just shout out sam and amélie's names or borrow major bobs bullhorn. we pick our way through the room, lifting my boots high to avoid stepping on any little fingers or toes.

we're still stumbling around like a zombies when i hear a little voice calling cassies name. coming from a group we had just passed, and it's funny he recognized her and not the other way around. she goes still. she does not turn. closes her eyes, but can't bring herself to turn around.

"cassie?"

she lowers her head. i grab her hand comfortably. and then she turns and he's staring at her with something like fear, like this might be the last straw, seeing a dead ringer for his sister tiptoeing around dressed up like a soldier. like he's reached the outer limits of the others' cruelty.

i see amélie beside him not noticing. my heart drops. before walking past sam to amélie. "sissy?" she says quietly squinting at my appearance. before throwing her arms around my neck. i hug her back tightly. "where's tobi?" she asks looking around me.

"with teacup, she promised to take good care of him." i say smiling with tears in my eyes.

"teacup?"

"i think you'll like her. she's reminds me of you and mom."

"i'll like her."