It had been the hardest choice Yaryu had to make in her life. She glances from the little boy she could no longer recognize to the helpless couple.

"Drive!" Anaki yells jolting her to her senses. "Do you want to get the children killed?!" His cold words were enough for her to stomp onto the accelerator and it takes off blasting past the lifeless bodies. "What happened?" Orion removes the curtain separating the driver from the children. The sudden break had scared most of the children though thankfully Ross had found it amusing.

"There was a stray." Anaki lied bluntly biting his lower lip. Orion stares at the back of his head silent, "Right." And returns his seat to calm his nervous classmates.

Miss Yaryu clasps onto the driving wheel, her hand clammy from the sudden shock. She holds in her sob and drives forth. Anaki glances at her then rests his head by the window frame. Dammit...

He knew all too well that there were countless lives he couldn't save. It was crucial for Miss Yaryu, as an adult, to confront this cruelty and accept the bitter truth before her actions led to disaster, endangering herself or others. There had been many who had met their end due to their own ignorance and recklessness—Orion and Eli among them. The memories of their tragic fates weighed heavily on him

"Over there," he said, his voice a mix of exhaustion and comfort, pointing to the distant silhouette of the metro station. He could finally let out a sigh of relief, knowing that they had passed the second major hurdle.

Miss Yaryu responded slowly, her movements deliberate as she turned the wheel, guiding the vehicle toward the station. She maneuvered the van carefully, eyes darting around for any signs of danger, and finally parked it in a concealed corner behind an alleyway. The moment the engine went silent, the oppressive silence of their surroundings settled around them.

"There are over a hundred of them," she said, her voice trembling as she bit her lip. The area was packed with infected, just as Anaki had feared. "We need to get the children past them to the train tracks." He picked up his weapon. "I'll go scout the area. Stay here and keep the others safe."

"I'll come with you-" 

"Miss Yaryu." There was a chilling sincerity in his voice, "right now we are not in the position to act according to our beliefs. We must make choices to bring forth a miracle, only by doing that can we survive."

"But your going alone-"

"It's best that way, no one will hold me back." She reluctantly nodded, locking the door as she watched the child sneak behind a mailbox and vanish into the street. Her heart ached as she realized the weight of their choices. 

"Where's Anaki?" Orion asks checking in. She shook her head, and from her nervous demeanor, he understood that she was clawing at thin ice to keep herself steady. His aunt is as troublesome as ever, he leans back browsing his mind for a change of topic. "Everyone is having a hard time in the van, they are getting bored since the consoles and phones don't work anymore."

"Should we play a game then?" Miss Yaryu asks smiling at them, Ross leaps forth from the end of the van where he had built his own throne with the provisions. "I wanna play hide and seek! This travelling has my butt numb!"

"What a child." Laura, the only female upperclassman chuckles. She was famous for pestering Ross. He hisses at her and plops down in his seat grumbling, "none of your business miss nosy-no-body."

"I heard that you hairy primate."

"Ok. Ok, calm down, I know you are all tired but remember the rules? No leaving the van unless I tell you." Miss Yaryu pulls out a large packet of chips, "should we eat this instead?"

Eli smiles relieved to see his worn out friends ease after the stressful travels. He tugs at Orion, "where is Anaki?"

"Probably taking a dump." 

"Alone? With the zombies out there?" 

"He is not my responsibility." 

"Orion." Eli felt nervous, "what if he gets bitten?" 

"That won't happen, he isn't an idiot." But he found it hard to believe those words, to him, Anaki had been a simpleton pushover who always held them back. He lets out an exhale, it'll be best we separate our paths after reaching the safe point. He rips open his chips packet. If there is even one. 

"Did everyone get their share?" Miss Yaryu asks, she could see the patience running thin on the children. It was hard for the grade-schoolers to sit still for three days inside a stinky van, with no word from their families." She glances back at the outside where those mindless undead are having a gathering. Her eyes study them, their slow moving feet, those revolting veins rooting out their neck and temples. She pondered how they were able to move about with injuries that could kill any being. Are they even alive? She taps the wheel nervously then jolts sitting up straight.

There was a shadow of a man running past the infected, he manages to rush past them by hiding behind vehicles and bushes. She spins back to the children, "Orion. I need to check something out, you are in charge." She halts and glances back again, "and Ross, you help him. No one leaves the van."

He grins, "you heard her losers! I am the Boss man." The girls groan sulking in their seats. Orion glances back at Yaryu leaving in a rush, lost in thought. "What's wrong?" Eli asks.

"Nothing, just a headache that Ross is my partner." He sinks in his seat feeling uneasy. As if an anchor was weighing down in his consciousness. Will his aunt be alright with her caring personality? She shared many similarities with Eli. Both were naive and saw the world through rose-colored glasses.

Miss Yaryu knew she was insane to do this but perhaps it was because of her guilt from abandoning that couple earlier the day. She hides behind a large stone pot and picks up a stone tossing it hard enough for it to pounce off the strange man's back. He glances back, clearly frightened but a shower of relief washes over his pale face when he notices her hiding awkwardly behind a pot. In an instant he makes his way across the road to her.

You're not a zombie." The man appeared to be in his mid-forties, an average salaryman or perhaps some kind of office worker. "Do you know what's going on?" He glanced nervously around, his eyes darting back and forth to ensure they weren't seen by those monsters. Breathless from running, he gasped for air with every word he spoke.

"I'm sorry, I don't know much either." Miss Yaryu glanced back at the van, relieved to see it was still safe. "Why are you running around in the open?"

"Why else?" The man replied, grinning widely as he adjusted the heavy sack slung over his shoulder. "To loot."

"What?" She turned to face him, suddenly wary. He no longer seemed like an innocent survivor. His wrinkles deepened as his smile widened, beads of sweat trickling down his face. "The government will sort this out eventually, and when it's over, no one will know what happened, or who did what." He let out a nervous chuckle and grabs her wrist, a wild look in his eyes. "You must be thinking the same, right?"

She yanked her hand away. "I—I need to go."

"Where? There's nowhere safe." He followed close behind, and it terrified her. What if he does something to the children? A shiver ran through her, freezing her in place. Forcing a weak smile, she looks back. "I only came out for food. I'm going back."

He grabs her again. "Where are you going? It's too dangerous for a woman on her own."

"What?" She struggled to free herself, but his grip tightens. "Follow me," he insisted. "I'll protect you. We can start new—"

She slaps him, her eyes darting around to see if any of the infected had noticed. "Let go. I'll scream if you don't."

"You b—" The deranged stranger lunges at her, grabbing her collar, but she twisted away, tripping him up against the floor. Her nerves were frayed, her mind spinning with adrenaline as she stumbled backward. "Are you mad? Assaulting someone at a time like this!"

"Where do you think you're going? Huh? You really think you'll be safe?" His voice, menacing and rising in volume, was terrifying, but what frightened her more was how it echoed through the streets. She had to escape, but he could easily follow her back to the van. The children's lives were at stake.

"Where are you running to?" the man shouted, his voice growing increasingly desperate as she disappeared down the street. His words faltered, he could feel something behind himself, he turned and saw the looming silhouette. "Well shit."