We cleared the empty and spacious nave of the cathedral, which went reasonably well than I thought. About sixty rows of pews were neatly arranged in two columns, and no surprise, vectors were hiding between them. Someone wrapped a chained padlock tightly around the double doors at the front of the cathedral.

I theorized that the infected we killed earlier were survivors who sought refuge behind the cathedral walls and locked themselves in, only to realize too late that some of them were infected-or all of them. We didn't find any vectors left.

We were safe for now. There were still a couple of unexplored areas, including the four-story private catholic school: CROMWELL ACADEMY. The rest were just the cloisters and chapter houses. Two hallways led toward the east and west from the nave; the two areas I was hesitant to check out with just the three of us. We needed more people to keep the cathedral safe. Lucky for us, both doors connected to those areas had a padlock on them, and I had the master key.

The place was huge. I didn't know how many survivors could be hiding in there, or worse, how many vectors were waiting for us on the other side. There might be students or some of the staff still trapped inside the building.

It was clear that I had to bring the others here. The bookstore wasn't the right place to hole up while we waited for everything to blow over, and Miguel and Logan agreed with me. I was already planning on using the roof, which overlooked a good portion of the neighborhood, by creating signs and SOS signals for other survivors and the army. Miguel reluctantly stayed behind the cathedral, keeping a watchful eye on it as Logan and I went to fetch the others in the bookstore.

"Keep the kids safe," Miguel told me.

I knew he was worried about Henry, the boy he rescued out of the streets last night. I reassured him that I would do my best to bring him to the church safe and sound.

Miguel carefully looked at the weapons and the vest I wore, and seemingly satisfied, he nodded and said, "You better."

I left the master key with Miguel if he needed an escape route if the vectors managed to get into the nave.

There were three entries into the main cathedral: The front door and the two exits at the back. The door on the east, which was the garden and where we came in, was filled with vectors. The one on the west was clear of them. Logan and I took that exit out of the church and ran off toward the bookstore's direction. Most of the vectors were distracted by the explosions and gunshots ringing out a few blocks away. A part of me was thankful for that.

I peered at the bags we carried, each filled with the haul from the pharmacy. We've only been gone for three hours, but I didn't know how long Carson have before the fever worsened. As we ran toward the next block, I wished we weren't too late to administer the medicine. We left some of the bags with Miguel, only bringing the things we needed for Carson.

We avoided the one or two vectors rushing through the street toward the army by hiding behind cars or underneath it, and once they were gone, we pressed forward toward the bookstore. It took half an hour to reach the back alley, getting lost for a good quarter of a mile before backtracking our way to the right street.

I knocked on the door at the pattern I showed Jonas earlier. A few seconds went by, and Jonas slowly opened the door, wide-eyed and on the brink of tears. At that instant, I knew something was wrong.

"What happened?" I asked him as I stepped into the dark.

"It's—It's, I don't know what's going on, but a few minutes ago they...they..."

As my eyes adjusted, I saw Bobby and Daniel huddled at the far corner, quaking with fear. At the door leading to the bookstore, Yousef and Luke had their hands wrapped on the handle, tightly pulling it shut as if someone was trying to break out. Joe pointed the shotgun directly at the door.

Joe turned around, and a wave of relief washed over him; he said, "Thank God you two are both here. Wait, where's Miguel? Is he--"

"He's alive. He's at the church, waiting," Logan answered.

"Church? Why?"

"We got into some trouble, so we hid there for a bit. It's safe there. We could move there after we finish here. It's a safer building than this."

"Good. Let's go now!" Joe said, stomping toward the door. Daniel followed after him.

I raised my hands to stop him. "Whoa! Hold on a minute. We still need to give the medicine to Carson!"

"Wait, where's Nat? Aria?" Logan asked, searching around the room.

"There's no point in that!" Bobby screamed suddenly. He walked toward the door, shoving Jonas out of the way. I felt sorry for the poor guy as he fell hard on the floor, and Bobby didn't even apologize.

When I didn't move, partly because I was confused and shocked by what was going on, Bobby marched toward me and grabbed the collar of my vest. He pulled me toward the door as if I was a riot shield to be used against the vectors waiting behind it. I shoved him back, pissed, and Bobby scowled at me for having the audacity of touching him.

Now, I know I was only a kid, barely at the end of my seventeenth year, but older or not, a person should not treat someone like that.

"Keep your hands off of me!" I shouted.

"You know how to use that gun, so fucking use it! Let's get the fuck out of here!"

"Hold on. What happened?" I asked. I looked around, and I didn't spot Natalie, Aria, Carson, Christina, the two French tourists, and Henry with them.

I regarded the door once again. Yousef and Luke both shook their heads fervently at me as if they didn't want me going back inside the store.

"Are they still inside?" I asked Joe.

Joe frowned. "Look, Bren. I don't know how, but I think your friend is one of them."

"You think?"

Bobby interjected, jumping close to my face, scowling, and pointed a finger accusingly at me. "I called it! I told you! I told you! He was one of 'em! See now? He's one of them!"

I pushed him out of my face, but it felt like he was made of cement. He pushed me back instead, and I almost toppled over if it weren't for Logan catching my fall. Bobby screamed again, "Take us to this church! Let's get out of here!"

"No, I'm going in there!" I said, raising my weapon.

"I'm going to get Nat!" Logan added.

"It's not a good idea, Bren," said Luke softly. "Carson is one of them."

"Well, did you see it? Were his eyes different? Was his skin pale?" I spewed the questions to the others, and I noticed right away how their shoulders slumped and their heads lowered.

Even Bobby shut his mouth, but only for a split second. "He killed the girl!"

I froze, and I looked at Logan. His blood drained out of his cheeks. "Which girl?" he asked.

"I don't know! Probably one of them inside the room. We heard a scream, a woman's scream, and then that awful growl followed it as the crazies did out there. It was coming from the staff room, and all of us just ran out of there and went in here!"

"So you didn't see if it was him? What if a vector got inside through the windows? Have you ever thought of that?" I asked angrily. "Jesus, you left a kid in there!"

"I have to protect my family," Joe said, placing his hands on his son's shoulders. "I ordered everyone here instead of risking their lives to check out the noise."

"And now they're trapped!" Logan yelled. He made a dash toward Joe, but I shot my arm out in time, catching him by his chest, and stopped his advance. He was about to attempt a swing, but he didn't. His fist remained midair.

"Easy there! Let's not do anything we'll regret, okay?" I said. Logan shot a dirty look at Joe before I felt his chest relaxed on the palm of my hand, and he lowered his fist. "Good. Now," I turned to Joe. "We're heading to church just as soon as we're sure that everyone's okay in there."

Joe was about to protest, but I stopped him and said, "Now I understand why you did what you did, but not through the expense of others. You left people out there in danger."

I walked toward the door. Luke shook his head at me once again, but I ignored him. I was mad at them for leaving the others, and I made sure it was evident on my face. He lowered his head, and he and Yousef parted to the side.

"All of you can stay here while Logan and I search the others."

"Damn right we will," Logan said, puffing out his chest, and glared at Joe and the rest.

I turned to Yousef and Luke, said, "In the meantime, keep this door shut behind us. I'll knock in the same pattern I showed Jonas. You'll know it's me."

"I can help," said Luke.

"No," I quickly spat back. "As I said, you stay behind this door."

Luke wanted to object, but I was glad he didn't say anything. I wasn't in the mood to be confrontational with him. Part of me felt like he only wanted to help because he felt guilty about it. One look at him, and I knew I was right.

"I'm going. Don't do anything stupid while we're gone," I said one last time.

I didn't wait for the others to respond as I opened the door and stepped into the store. Logan followed close behind me.

"I got your back," said Logan, patting me on the shoulder.

It felt weird, but I accepted it nonetheless. "Okay. Stay focused."

Looking ahead, the store was bathed in darkness—the blinds from the windows drawn shut. There were no lights except for the flashlight attached to our guns. For a split second, I really thought about turning back. Maybe the others had it right, and I was wrong? But I knew I had to make sure that the others were at least okay and safe. I promised Miguel that I would bring Henry back to him safe and sound.

I didn't know what to expect or what I might see as I moved forward and deeper into the bookstore. Would I find the others dead? Brutalized and bloodied? I didn't want to see a dead kid in there, along with Natalie, Carson, and Aria. Not again after Mr. Ramirez. I didn't know if I could stomach another person I knew dying in front of me.

Row by row, Logan and I checked between the bookshelves. There was no one there either, which left only one area to investigate: The staff room. We moved toward the staff room, with me leading the front. My nerves tingled as I let out a shaky breath, grasping the door's handle. Wild imaginations ran through my mind.

With enough courage, I gently turned the knob and pushed the door open. The door creaked; I raised my rifle, pointing it directly into the room. It was dark inside, too. I waited, but no one lunged out to attack us.

I immediately saw the blood. And there were lots of it scattered on the floor and along the walls, the couch, and the tables.

There was a woman bloodied on top of a pool of blood. Her head and right arm were missing, ripped out of her neck and her shoulder sockets. I heard Logan hitched up a breath, but at closer inspection, it wasn't Natalie. Natalie wore a green shirt with a flowery pattern on it. I wasn't sure if it was Aria either since she wore an ashen pink shirt, but the body was covered in blood, so it was harder to tell if it was her. It could be either the French woman, Margot, or the nervous, twitchy woman, Christina, too.

"Where are they?" Logan whispered.

I shrugged. "Let's be very careful," I whispered back.

I stalked around the pool of blood, cautious not to slip on it. As I walked deeper into the room, I heard faint chewing to the farthest left, close to the curtain-covered window. I held my hand up, and Logan paused midstride. I put my forefinger on my lips to shush him.

My flashlight illuminated that corner. Hunched over it was a man facing the wall, and I realized he was chewing on the woman's decapitated head. Noticing our light, the man snapped his head back and snarled at us. Blood dripped from the side of his lips. I froze. Shocked.

It was Carson.

And the half-eaten head he fed on was Christina's.

I should've moved, but the shock never left my body as I stare at Carson for far too long, giving him enough time to spring up to his feet and charge toward him.

Fortunately, I was quick enough to swing my shotgun around, and the butt of the gun connected to his temple, sending him flailing to the side. Carson hit his head again on the table, causing a resounding crunch as his skull split open.

Carson didn't move after that.

Logan slowly walked toward his friend, on the verge of tears, and extended his hand out to check his pulse.

"Don't touch him," I quickly said. Logan recoiled his hand back. "He's infected."

"Right. Okay. Right," Logan muttered, wiping away the tears falling down his cheeks.

A thud. Right behind us. I swung my shotgun around toward the office door. I looked at Logan, and he nodded at me. He'll open it. I readied my weapon. Ready to shoot. Willing to kill. What if the others were infected, too? No. I couldn't afford to think like that. Not now. Not at this moment. Logan reached the door, grasping the handle as he waited for my signal. I held a finger up for him to pause.

"Whoever's in there, holler back, or I won't hesitate to shoot," I said.

A couple of seconds ticked by.

I heard a distinct commotion. Whispers.

"Bren?" Someone asked. I recognized the voice, and I realized it was Natalie.

Logan quickly pulled the door open, and Natalie and Aria were behind it. Their eyes red from crying, and Natalie promptly ran toward Logan and brought him to a tight embrace. Aria saw Carson on the floor, and she cried harder.

Margot and Felipe came out of the room next with Henry at their heels.

They were fine.

They were okay.

"The others are waiting for us at the back. We need to move now," I said.

"We're leaving?" Aria asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah. Somewhere safe."