"Where is she?" Jaxx shouted, his face contorted into a sneer.

Spittle flew into the boy's face. He grimaced, rubbing his face against the fabric of his t-shirt, failing to remove the spit from his cheek. Morgana would have felt sorry for him, if they weren't in the situation they were in. Jaxx's rage was brutal. The boy wouldn't live if he didn't give up Katherin's location, and even then, Morgana wasn't so sure.

Her stomach churned at the thought. She didn't want to take another life.

"Tell me where she is, or your brother will suffer the consequences."

The boy froze, eyes flickering to his whimpering brother. Jaxx had tied his arms behind his back, securing him against the pole in the corner of the room.

Morgana thought it was unnecessary. The little boy wasn't going to run. He was terrified, fearful of his brother's fate. No one would care for him if his brother died.

"It's too late," the boy replied dryly, wincing as Jaxx pulled on his restraints.

"Why?" He demanded.

Morgana felt as if she was going to puke. She looked to Gwynth, whose face was pale. The boy couldn't be telling the truth. They'd heard her scream. She'd been alive half an hour ago.

The boy didn't respond.

Jaxx growled, kicking the boy in the stomach. He stumbled forward, spitting blood onto the wooden floorboards. Gwynth tugged him backwards, pushing him into a sitting position. There was no point in holding the boy captive if he'd choke on his own blood.

"Your brother won't tell me where my friend is. Do you know where she is?"

Jaxx squatted in front of the little boy, his voice laced with false optimism.

The little boy whimpered, looking to his brother for help.

"Don't look at him. Tell me your name," Jaxx coaxed.

The little boy squirmed against his restraints.

"Edward," he spoke softly.

Jaxx smiled.

"I'll let you out of those restraints if you help me find Katherin. If you're good, I might let your brother out of his restraints too."

Edward nodded, his eyes wide. Jaxx lent forward, untying the restraints around Edward's wrists.

"She's downstairs in the dungeon. With mum," he added after a moment.

Jaxx's brows furrowed.

"With your mum?" He clarified.

"Yeah," Edward replied, eyes darting to his brother. "She gets hungry sometimes."

Jaxx clenched his jaw, looking over his shoulder at Morgana and Gwynth with panicked eyes. Katherin had been locked in the dungeon with a zombie, and by Edward's description, the zombie was in desperate need of a feed.

"Edward, you've fucked up. Mum's going to starve and it'll be your fault," the boy hissed.

Edward froze. His bottom lip wobbled, tears pricking his eyes.

Jaxx grabbed Edward by the shoulder.

"Don't listen to your brother," he spoke softly, confidently. "Your mum will be fine. Your brother is lying to you."

Edward hesitated, before bobbing his head slightly. Morgana was relieved. They needed the little boy, relied on him. He would help them save Katherin, if it wasn't too late.

Morgana's stomach dropped. She couldn't think like that. She wouldn't. Katherin was alive.

Edward led them down the staircase. He looked back constantly, checking to make sure that the others were following.

Gwynth stood in the middle, her hands secured on the boy's rope. He writhed as he walked, attempting to escape, but Gwynth wouldn't let him go so easily. The rope burned on her hands.

Jaxx turned around and slapped the boy across the cheek.

"You did this to yourself," he warned. "Stop trying to escape, or I'll make sure you can't."

The boy stiffened. He had a fear of dying, and Jaxx had found a way to exploit it.

Morgana was relieved. The boy had put her on edge, making her unnecessarily paranoid. There was no need for her to be feeling so uptight. The doctors had told Morgana that stress would kill her, a heart attack in her early twenties, and this disaster was surely speeding the process along. She didn't think she'd survive this apocalypse. She didn't think she wanted to.

"Behind that door," Edward mumbled.

Jaxx shone his torch on the door. It had been barricaded with wooden planks, a chair forcing the door to remain locked. There were no windows, no method of seeing inside.

They could faintly hear noises inside. A struggle. Katherin was still fighting, but Jaxx doubted she had long. The blood on the tree had been hers. She'd been wounded, and now she was up against a ravenous beast.

"We need to open this door," Jaxx grunted.

Morgana rushed to his aid, casting the wooden planks onto the ground with a huff. She was afraid of what was on the other side of the door, but she couldn't back down, not now. Katherin was in danger. She'd sworn to Esther that she'd bring her home.

Edward was shaking his head, tears streaming down his cheeks. He felt behind him, reaching for the torch that Jaxx had placed on the ground.

Then, Edward swung the torch. It connected with Gwynth's knee.

The door was open.

Jaxx acted without thought, grabbing the boy's wrist and hurling him into the dark room.

Morgana was already inside, calling Katherin's name, reaching for her hands.

Gwynth fell to the ground, clutching her knee in agony.

Edward screamed as his brother disappeared into the darkness, chasing after him into the unknown.

Katherin and Morgana collapsed at the doorway.

Jaxx slammed the door closed, pushing the chair back into place. 

Then, he collapsed, chest heaving.

There was a scream inside the room.

Katherin was the first to respond. She crawled to the door, bloody and broken, pulling the chair from its position under the lock. The door creaked open.

Jaxx's torch was on. It rolled across the floor, casting light into the dark room.

There was blood; everywhere. The boy was on the ground, locked in a wrestle with the zombie that had once been his mother.

Edward stood against the wall. He wailed, hands balled into trembling fists. There was a bloody handprint on his ankle. Was it his brother's? Or worse, his mother's?

"Katherin! No!" Jaxx shouted.

Jaxx lunged for Katherin, sweeping her feet from underneath her. Katherin collapsed, groaning in pain as her chest hit the floor. She forced herself onto her knees. The wound in her arm screamed in protest, blood streaming down her forearm.

"He's just a fucking kid. I can't let him die!" Katherin shouted.

Jaxx shouted in frustration, grabbing at Katherin's ankles as she disappeared into the darkness, cursing as she evaded his grip.

Morgana watched helplessly. She'd rushed to Gwynth's aid as the chaos ensured. Gwynth's leg bone wasn't broken, but Morgana was sure that it had been fractured. It was too swollen otherwise.

Katherin was right, of course. Edward was just a kid. He didn't deserve to die, not now, not like this. Even if he'd taken part in Katherin's capture, Morgana doubted that he really wanted to hurt anyone. He'd just wanted to feed his mother, to help his brother.

Morgana reached for the torch, shining it into the darkness.

The boy was laid on the ground. His shirt had been torn open, blood pulsating out of the wounds in his stomach. He was alive, but barely.

There was nothing they could do for him. If he was anything like the others, he'd be turned into a zombie.

The zombie let out a wheeze.

Morgana tore her eyes from the boy.

Katherin held the zombie down, one foot on the zombie's neck. She was mouthing to Edward, begging him to look away.

Edward refused to tear his eyes from his mother's body.

Katherin set her jaw, stamping down on the zombie's head. The head collapsed inwardly, the brain matter spilling from the gaps in the bone.

Edward let out a scream.

Katherin scooped him up in her arms, but he fought her, trying desperately to squirm from her grip.

"I'm sorry, Edward, I'm so sorry," Katherin murmured.

Edward stopped fighting. Katherin relaxed, thinking that Edward had accepted the fate of his mother.

Jaxx realised the little boy's intentions too late.

Edward dug his fingers into Katherin's forearm wound.

Katherin screamed in pain, dropping Edward in her haste to stop the blood flow.

Edward ran from her grip, running into the arms of his brother.