The two of them looked at each other and Sharon brought her finger to her lips. They side-stepped their way up the stairs quietly, weapons ready. Hopefully it was just a cat or something playing with a toy. She tightened her grip on the crowbar and Heather pulled out her pocket knife out.

The second floor split into two directions at the top. They stopped again and listened, but they didn't hear the sound again. She pointed to herself and then to the left. Separating, Sharon tiptoed her way down the hall; grateful that the ground didn't squeak beneath her feet.

Pulling the flashlight from her belt, she flicked it on and shined it around. There were three doors ahead of her, two closed and one partially open. She shuddered as she followed the path of blood littering the floor beneath her feet; and trails of red ran along the wall beside her.

"Welcome to the new normal," she muttered to herself. Sharon pressed her back up against the wall next to the open door, and tapped the end of the crowbar on the hard surface. Suddenly, the door across from her jumped as something thumped against it. She dropped the crowbar, letting out a cry.

"Geez!"

That's what she gets for being up all night. She flicked her light in Heather's direction, trying to bring her back to help. She had no idea what or who all was on the other side of the door. Her daughter looked back at her and started back in her direction. Reaching down, Sharon picked up her weapon and they both stood at the ready as Sharon turned the handle, opening the door.

They held their weapons at ready, expecting zombies to burst out of the room, but none did. She looked at her daughter, then back into the room, shining her light around. "Hello?" Sharon asked. A quiet whimpering noise arose from the far corner of the room.

She gestured towards the bed. Something was hiding over there. "It's okay, you can come out."

Two small hands gripped the comforter as a little head, full of blond hair, peeked up over the edge of the bed. "You won' hurt me?" asked a sweet high-pitched voice. It was a little girl, and she meant little. She looked to be a few years younger than her six year old son.

"You're safe now, hun," Sharon said, lowering her weapon and motioning Heather to do the same. "Is anyone else here with you?"

The young girl shook her head. "Jus' me."

"Where's your mommy?" Heather asked.

Her eyes filled with tears. "Gone."

Sharon opened her arms. "Come here, sweetheart." With that the girl ran over to her, almost knocking her over as she threw her little arms around her thighs. "Is anyone here with you?"

Again the youngster shook her head. "I alone." The poor thing was all skin and bone and looked like she hadn't eaten in a while.

"What's your name?" Heather asked.

"Caroline."

Gathering the child into her arms, she said, "Well, Caroline, Let's go get you some food."

They quickly checked the rest of the second floor, then walked back downstairs. Ben and Karl were still in the same place she'd left them. Their eyes widened when they saw the bundle in her arms.

"Who's this?" Karl asked, sitting up slightly.

"Caroline. She was hiding upstairs. We're going to see if we can find you some first aid supplies and then get us some food," Sharon said.

She tried to put the girl down, but she threw her arms around Sharon's neck and held on for dear life, eyeing Karl with fear. "No. I go, too."

Ben came out from his spot and walked over to her, holding out her hand. "You can stay with me."

Caroline shook her head and started crying. "No. No."

Sharon let out a breath. It looks like she had an addition to her body from now on. "It's okay, honey," she said softly. "This is my son, Ben."

The girl leaned close to her ear and said, "Boys bad. They hurt me." in the most heartbreaking voice ever. Then it dawned on her that Caroline may have been involved in some shady business. Trafficking had become worse than ever as the world had no rules or regulations anymore. She hoped she was wrong, but she doubted it.

Balancing the girl on her hip, she wandered into the kitchen and checked the cupboards. It looked like Karl kept them pretty well stocked. Sharon pulled out a few cans of tinned spaghetti, placing them on the counter. After she put the young girl down, she opened the tins and threw the contents into a pot. She turned on the propane camp stove that was sitting on the table and let the food cook.

"See if you can find any candles, Heather."

Caroline watched Sharon closely, almost appearing afraid that she'd disappear. "When did you see your mommy last?"

The girl shrugged. "Bad men eat her."

Sharon frowned. Were the zombies the bad men she spoke about earlier, too? "Did they hurt you?" Please, God, tell me they didn't. Her heart galloped as she waited for an answer.

Heather returned with some candles and some matches and lit them. The dim light cast shadows on the walls around them, making the atmosphere somewhat spookier. Her daughter looked in the pots and groaned. "Not more tinned spaghetti."

Sharon walked over to the young child and went down on one knee in front of her. "Hun, did they hurt you?" The thought made her sick to her stomach as she felt the girl's forehead. No fever.

Slowly, the girl lifted up her shirt. Beneath it was a patch of slightly reddened bite marks that broke the skin. Her heart dropped into a deep dark pit. She didn't want to deal with this. She knew what it meant.

"Mom?" her daughter said. "What did you find?"

"Heather, can you watch her a moment and the food. I need...I need a second." Sharon rushed out of the room and back up the stairs, not stopping until she got into the dark bathroom. Closing the door, she slid down the wall, her butt plopping onto the floor.

Tears burned in her eyes. "She's just a child," she cried out loud. "Damn it!"

It was one thing burying her daughter's boyfriend after he'd been bit...but...but this was just a little girl. She couldn't do it. Not again. Her stomach cramped, and she found herself over the toilet bowl.

It wasn't fair! Nothing in her life made sense anymore. Was this the universe's way to ensure that life would go on by cutting their population down big time? Why couldn't it just be the adults? These little ones had their entire lives ahead of them.

After her stomach settled and her head stopped spinning, she stood up. She needed to speak to Karl. They needed to decide what to do next. She couldn't make this decision on her own. She didn't even know if she could go through with it.

How do you kill a child, a baby?