"What," Griffin sat up "in living hell just h-happened?"

"This apocalypse just got a lot more complicated," Adam informed him.

Layla hissed in pain and tossed the burning logs away from her blistering arms. Nonetheless, she pumped her fists cheerfully. "I was right!"

Terrence groaned.

Whynn rolled onto her hands and knees and looked at him. "Terrence?" She checked his pulse, panicking. "Guys, he's unconscious,"

Eric lowered himself to the ground and pulled back Terrence's eyelid. "Layla, what happened up there?"

The excitement faded from Layla's expression when she heard the grim tone in his voice. "He woke me up, and everything was really cold. And there was this girl outside the window. She looked so familiar. We ran but she caught his leg,"

"Which one?" Adam asked.

"I'm guessing this one," Eric grimaced. He rolled up Terrence's pant leg. The whole area from his knee to his mid-thigh was ashy black, and hard.

"F-frostbite," Griffin gasped.

Whynn touched the infection. She took a slow ragged breath before whispering: "He's so cold,"

"Frostbite causes gangrene," Adam told them. "It's freezing and killing the tissue in his leg,"

"It's no good," Terrence whispered groggily, his eyes still shut. "I'm not making it,"

"D-don't say that," Griffin replied quietly. "You're gonna b-be fine,"

"I won't," Terrence exhaled, his foggy breath being the only one in the room that they could see. "It's spreading. When I fell down the stairs, it was only my knee. I can't feel my leg at all anymore,"

"We've got time," Whynn assured him shakily. "Help will be here for us any day now,"

"I don't know if I have that long," Terrence told them. Then he shivered so hard that it threw him into a coughing fit.

He heaved until he blacked out.

***

When Terrence came to, he felt like an ice pop. An ice pop laying in the sunshine. So cold that he was almost burning up. So cold that he almost couldn't feel that he was cradled in Eysjah's arms.

"What's going to h-happen to him?"

Adam gestured for him to lower his voice. The commotion hadn't been enough to bring the monsters into the house, but they'd drawn closer. Too close for him to feel safe about.

He waved over to Eric and Layla to have a group discussion near the dining table.

"Look, based on what I can tell, the ghost-"

"Spirit,"

"We're not doing this again," Eric warned her.

"The spirit," Adam corrected himself. "Gave Terrence one of the worst cases of gangrene that I've ever heard of," he lowered his voice even further. "His leg is destroyed. Frozen practically to the bone. And it's killing the tissue in his entire body as it spreads. Much more rapidly than any natural cases,"

"Doesn't gangrene cause m-m-muscle failure?"

"Yes,"

"So if it spreads too much..." Eric hesitated.

"If we can't stop it before it reaches his vital organs," Layla glanced at each of them individually. "He'll die?"

"Exactly," Adam muttered. "And sitting him next to the fire doesn't seem to be working. I'm not sure how to treat him until help arrives,"

"So we have n-no chance?"

Layla slammed her fist into the table, making everyone in the room jump. "There's always a chance. A rescue team could be here any second, and maybe they have a highly trained medical genius with them. We just have to wait and see,"

"And what if something gets here before they do?" Eric demanded, just as quietly. "How do we fight them off while carrying Terrence?"

"What are you suggesting?" Layla demanded.

"I'm not suggesting anything," Eric insisted. "I'm just saying that we have to be realistic here,"

"And in your warped version of reality, we have no chance?"

"That's not what I'm saying! All I'm saying is that we need to be able to look at this logically. And have a plan in case worst comes to worst and some sacrifices have to be made!"

"You're going to get Terrence killed," Layla spat.

"And if you have us running back to save everyone who can't carry their weight, we might as well gut ourselves right now," Eric retorted. "I want him to live as much as you guys do, but I also want you guys to live just as much as him. We need to draw a line now, before we get to a point and realize that we're in way over our heads,"

"You're crazy!"

"Nevermind, forget it,"

Terrence had heard enough. The pins and needles were bad enough, the loss of feeling was even worse. But this topped everything.

"I hear something coming," Terrence whispered to Whynn, lying through his teeth.

"What?" Her eyes filled with panic.

He merely turned his head and pointed at the back door.

Adam flicked his knife out and took one of the kitchen knives. That, he threw down next to Eric.

He leaned towards the door and glanced through the window. "I don't see anything..." Adam informed them.

Eric lifted Terrence from under his arms and supported him, then he scooped up the knife. "Don't worry man, I got you,"

"No," he shook his head.

"What do you mean n-no?" Griffin asked.

"You don't," Terrence sighed.

Whynn cupped his face. "Terrence, what are you talking about?"

"If you all get stuck here, and you die because of me. Because you're trying to carry me, I can't take that,"

"Terrence," Eric bit his lip, realizing what Terrence was referring to. "Man, that's not what I meant,"

"It doesn't matter what you meant," Whynn insisted. "What anyone meant, because nobody is going to die here,"

Terrence smiled weakly and grazed Eysjah's cheek. "I love you, you're so brilliant," he breathed. "But this time, you're wrong,"

Terrence pinned Eric's arm to the wall and threw himself into the knife.

"Terrence!"

Whynn screamed and pulled him away from the wall. But the knife came with, buried deep in his chest.

Terrence took one last look around at his friends and collapsed into Adam's arms.

"Take it out!" Griffin cried, covering his eyes.

"No, leave it in!" Layla countered. "If we take it out, he'll only bleed faster!"

"It doesn't matter what we do," Adam replied grimly. "He's already gone,"

Eric took shaky breaths, his eyes fixed on the blood that coated his arm. He could almost still feel the blade punching through Terence's chest.

"No!" Whynn punched Adam in the side of the head. "He's not gone. Help him!"

"We can't Whynn," Adam replied, evenly. "He's dead,"

"He's not!" Whynn screamed. She swung her fist again, but this time Adam caught her arm.

"Freaking out doesn't bring them back!" He yelled in her face. "They're gone! Now we're messed up and we're stuck like this! Do you want to blame someone? Blame the monsters outside that window!"

For a second it looked like he was going to shake her until her head fell off. Then he cradled Whynn against his chest, a single tear of his dropping onto her hair.

"G-uh, th-it they g-guuhhh," Griffin shook, going into a frenzy.

"What the hell is it, Griffin?" Layla demanded.

"L-look,"

Layla walked over to the window, next to Griffin, and peered out into the sunset. "What are they doing?"

Everyone watches the two by the window. Even Eric glanced away from his arm, to see what the commotion was about.

"What is it?" Adam asked over the top of Whynn's head.

"Guys? You know how sharks can smell blood in the water up to a mile away?" Layla asked.

"A quarter of a mile," Whynn corrected her, in a muffled voice between sobs.

Layla nodded grimly. "They know we're here,"

"A-all of them," Griffin breathed.

Adam broke free of Whynn and ran to the window. It was a terrifying sight. A sea of rotten flesh, and bloody corpses converging on their small island. Steadily swallowing it whole.

"Everyone to the attic," Adam demanded. "Now, let's go!"

Layla seized Griffin's arm and sprinted out of the room. Adam grabbed Whynn.

"Wait. Terrence," she pointed. "We can't leave him here,"

"We can't bring him, Whynn," Adam told her. "He'll lead them right to us,"

"Please," Eysjah begged through her tears. "I can't leave him there. Didn't you want to save Emily? To put her down, like there was still a shred of dignity left in this world?"

Adam stared at Whynn. "There was nothing left to save,"

Whynn stared back, unsure of what to say in return.

But Adam didn't wait for her. Instead, he knelt beside Terrence, undid his necklace, and gave it to Whynn.

"Take this, go upstairs. It's all we can do," he told her.

Whynn took the necklace in her fingers and nodded quickly. She dropped down and placed a kiss on Terrence's cold lips. Then she followed the others to the attic.

Griffin brushed past her on his way back into the room. "What's taking s-s-so long?"

"Help me grab Terrence," Adam instructed him. "Try not to get any blood on you,"

They dragged the corpse to the back door and propped him up against it.

"I'm sorry, Terrence," Adam whispered, taking as deep of breaths as possible. "I tried,"

Then he pulled the knife free of his old friend's chest, letting the blood flow free. Even so, Terrence's body would only buy the attention of a thousand zombies for so long.

"Attic," Adam instructed them, rushing out of the room. "Now!"

Griffin started to follow until he noticed that Eric was still in the room, looking dazed.

"Eric!" Griffin grabbed his arm. "They're gonna b-bust the wall down a-any second!"

"It's not enough," Eric hyperventilated.

"What? What i-isn't?"

"One body," Eric walked over to Terrence and took several shaky breaths. "They'll walk right through him. We need more,"

"Don't touch th-th-that knife, Eric,"

Eric lifted the knife that took Terrence's life into his own hands. "We're in the real world now. Survival of the strong. The weak are nothing but bait. And I'm not strong anymore,"

"You're not w-weak Eric," Griffin insisted, attempting to drag him to the doorway. "The people in that attic need you. To keep them safe. If anyone is the weak link, it's me,"

"Thanks for volunteering,"

Eric spun around and stabbed Griffin, plunging the knife into him with the entire length of the blade. One of his hands shot out to cover Griffin's mouth before he could scream.

"I'm sorry Griffin," Eric sobbed. "I'm so sorry. Thank you so much for the sacrifices you made for this team. You really are a good guy,"

Then he slammed Griffin into the wall and watched him collapse onto the blood-soaked tile.

"But I have people to protect,"

Bang!

The door rattled on its hinges.

Bang!

Eric leaped over the barrier as fast as he could.

CRASH!

He dove up the stairs, up the ladder, and locked himself in the attic as quietly as he could.

He looked over what was left of the little group: Whynn, Layla, and Adam, and shook his head. "They're in," he breathed.

"Griffin," Layla sat up. "Where's Griffin?"

"I don't know," Eric shook his head. "We ran into some monsters and took different routes. We got separated,"

"No! Griffin!" Layla dove for the attic door, but Adam caught her and covered her mouth.

"Shh. It'll be okay,"

"No! Not Griffin! Anyone but Griffin," she sobbed, dropping her head against the floorboards.

Whynn grabbed Layla and pulled her into a hug. The girls shed tears into each others' jackets and cried silently.

"I was supposed to protect him," Layla wept.

"I know, I know," Whynn sniffed. "And he loves you for it,"

Adam even dropped his head back against the wall and let his tears slide down the side of his face.

But Eric didn't. It was almost as if he wasn't sure how. He just stared at the floor until everything went out of focus. Right and wrong blurred heavily in the eyes of a man bent on survival. And he honestly didn't know what he was anymore.

But we lived. Four lives have been saved. Four out of six isn't bad.

The trap door shook vigorously, and a deep groan echoed through the attic. Followed by a hundred others, from directly beneath their feet.

The floor under Eric shook hard enough that he was sent backward into the girls' laps.

"They found us!" Whynn cried. "How'd they find us?"

"The smell of blood," Eric replied, somberly.

"None of us are bleeding!" Whynn told him, bouncing over against the desk as the floor shook beneath them.

"They didn't find us," Eric lifted his arm. Terrence and Griffin's blood ran along his hand and forearm. "They found me,"

The floor shattered around Eric. Hands shot out of the gaps and caught his ankles, dragging him into the depths.

Layla dove forwards, but missed his outstretched hand by inches. And Whynn caught the back of her shirt before Layla could go toppling down as well.

"We have to get him!" Whynn cried.

"We can't!" Adam yelled. "If we go down, we'll be as dead as the rest of them,"

"Aaaagggghhhh!" Eric's scream of agony echoed through the attic from deep under the floor.

Whynn choked out a sob and clung to Adam, tears blurred her vision of rotting flesh clawing its way into the attic.

Layla took a chair and broke it against the monster's face, sending the pile back down through the hole.

"That's for Griffin, you psychotic savages!" She sobbed.

A hand broke out of the floor beneath her and yanked Layla's feet out from under her.

Whynn and Adam dove forwards and caught her wrists. Adam plunged his knife into the knuckles of the zombie and tore its hand in half.

Exhausted and weak, the trio backed up against the wall and watched the beasts crawl through the floorboards.

"We were so close," Layla sighed, leaning back against the wall.

"Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades," Whynn blinked away her tears and held Terrence's necklace to her chest. "Can you guys do me a favor?"

"As long as it can be achieved within a reasonable time frame," Adam nodded.

"Will you guys be my family?" Eysjah sniffed. "I never really had one, and I don't want to die without one,"

"You've always had one," Layla told her. "All families fight sometimes,"

Whynn patted Adam's shoulder and scrunched her feet in, to keep the monsters away long enough for her to finish her thought.

"You did good, Adam," she smiled. "Thanks for kidnapping me,"

"That's what friends are for,"

The three linked arms, and closed their eyes.

CRASH!

The ceiling came down in a heap in front of them, blocking the attic entrance, and crushing the top layer of zombies. A deafening whir came roaring through the hole above.

Max dropped down into the room, two guns slung over his shoulders, and a helicopter hovering above him. Then came another man, carrying his own, much larger, gun.

"We've got three. Drop the ladder, Mike!" Max hollered into his headset. Then he turned to his companion. "Give them the rundown, Jon,"

"Yes sir!" Jon saluted him, then he turned to the group with a grin. "This is the Huntsville Unit search and rescue team! And we're here to rescue your asses! Please hold all applause until after the mission,"

Layla lowered her hands.

"We'll have to ask you to split into sections! Children first, then women, then strongest males, followed by weaker males! Don't get pissed at me, I don't make the rules! Mr. Edison and I will board last!" He gestured at Max, who was slamming the butt of his gun into each face a zombie dared to show.

"You said there were six of you!" Max hollered over the roar of the helicopter. "Where's the other three?"

"It's just us now!" Adam yelled back.

Max nodded. "Jon, you have clean up,"

"Affirmative. Are there any questions?"

"Screw your sections! You two get on the chopper!" Layla snapped. She marched over to the hole and took Max's extra gun off of his back. "Take this you rotting pieces of-" The rest of her colorful sentence was drowned out as soon as she pulled the trigger.

"I don't argue with chicks that can work a pistol," Jon shrugged. Then he picked up Whynn and set her on the ladder. "Charlie, she's coming up!"

Layla lowered the gun and turned to Max. "That's awesome, do you mind if I keep this?"

"Only if I keep the bullets," he replied, slightly unnerved by her enthusiasm. He glanced back to Jon. "Hurry up! How many left?"

"Just this one and the crazy bitch with the machine gun," he replied.

"Get up the ladder," Adam told Layla.

"I've got the gun," Layla retorted. "You go, I'll be right behind you,"

"Layla, this isn't s discussion. Get up the ladder,"

"There's no time for your macho manly crap!"

"This has nothing to do with my sex!" Adam roared. "I made a promise to everyone in this house that I'd be the last one safely out of here, and I'm not breaking that promise a fourth time!"

"Someone go! We don't have time for this!" Max snapped. He busted open the skull of a monster climbing up his leg and tossed it down on top of the others.

Layla huffed and put the gun on her back, then she climbed the ladder.

"Your turn!" Jon smiled, nudging Adam.

"What about him?" Adam pointed to Max.

"Mr. Edison is a professional," Jon replied. His smile faded. "He's been where you are once himself. You two are a lot alike. 'Captain is the last one off the boat' all that stuff,"

Adam nodded vaguely and glanced at Max.

"But your crew is already off this boat," Jon told him. "His isn't. So get a move on, and let's go!"

Adam nodded again and made his way up the ladder. At the door of the helicopter, Charlie dragged him up into the vehicle.

"Hurry up down there, before someone gets the wise idea of climbing into my chopper," Mike called into his headphones from the pilot's seat.

Charlie pulled Adam over to the bench, where the other two were sitting. "Okay guys, how're your injuries?" He asked, pulling out his bag and beginning to give them thorough examinations.

He started with Whynn. "Hi. I'm Charlie. And you are?"

"Whynn," she said. She could barely hear herself over the noise, but somehow Charlie caught it.

"Alright Whynn," he pulled back her eyelid to check her pupil dilation. "Any specific injuries I should know about? Anywhere specific that it hurts the most?"

Whynn hesitated only slightly, then pointed to her chest.