They had taken refuge in an old, dilapidated two-story house. They had boarded up the windows as best they could, with what little material they could scavenge from the grounds and the house itself. It was a rushed job, but it would do for the time being. They preferred to spend most of their time upstairs and in the same room together. There was nothing in the room; no furniture or wall coverings, but the high ceilings gave them room to breathe and there were windows on either side of the room that gave them a good vantage point to spy any impending attacks. They took turns keeping watch, democratically and amicably deciding who would get what shift, who would wake the others up when it was their turn. Other than that, they talked very little, having found that there really wasn't much to discuss anymore other than tactics for basic survival and mundane, housekeeping matters such as where they should go to the bathroom. Prudently, they decided that the bathroom would be located downstairs.

They didn't have anything to heat up the house with. A fire was too dangerous. The infected were good at spotting those types of things. While Cerasi slept, Obi-Wan gently covered her with the thick woollen poncho he normally wore. She was huddled in the foetal position with her hands cupped underneath her cheek as a makeshift pillow. Nield was keeping watch, pacing back and forth in the spacious room restlessly and peeking through the gaps in the wood covering the windows. Obi-Wan's actions did not go unnoticed by Nield.

"You're going to be cold," he remarked quietly.

Obi-Wan shook his head but was blowing hot air into his hands to warm them up anyway. He looked up at Nield from where he crouched with a grin. "It's always cold."

Nield grinned back.


It was now 21 days after they encountered the first infected. The first infected they saw was an adult. Coincidentally, it had been Nield, Cerasi and Obi-Wan that saw it. They were scouting out a weapons cache, carefully moving from crate to crate, taking stock of how much was contained in each and how much explosive power would be required to take it all out. A commotion caught their attention, and all three froze, stilling their breathing to hear what was happening beyond their hiding spot. At first it was just yelling, then some odd grunting noises, then there was full-blown screaming and wailing followed by weapons discharging. All three took the chance and peeked over top of the crates. Cerasi quickly popped down and covered her eyes with her hands, as if willing to undo what she had just witnessed. Nield's eyes hardened until he could not take it any longer and then he too dropped into a crouch with his back against the crate, his pale and shaken face staring at the ground. Obi-Wan found that he could not turn away. He had never witnessed anything like it before. He racked his brain for an explanation, something to rationalize what he was seeing. Adults attacking other adults, vomiting blood into their faces; the victims going into convulsions before their twitching bodies stood up and locked on to other adults to repeat the procedure. But not all of them turned; some they ate, ripping flesh from limbs that were still squirming with life. They didn't discriminate, there seemed to be no thought process involved in who would become infected and who would become food.

Obi-Wan's heart was pounding in his ears. After a span of minutes, there wasn't anyone left who wasn't already infected or dead. Obi-Wan slumped to the floor, still processing what he had just seen. Cerasi was crying softly; Nield was rubbing her shoulder mutely.

"We have to leave," Obi-Wan whispered. "We have to warn the others."

Nield and Cerasi both looked at him and nodded in agreement. "What was it?" Cerasi asked.

Obi-Wan frowned. "I don't know," he said truthfully. "But whatever it is, it's spreading too quickly to be controlled."

They ran away quickly, taking furtive glances behind them. Every now and then, they could hear screams and the fierce sounds of battle. Obi-Wan felt the Force urging him on; he had to find the other Young and keep them safe. Cerasi was crying; her tears made her stumble. Nield was hanging onto her arm and coaxing her on. Obi-Wan slowed down his run to allow the two to catch up.

The reached the underground hideout of the Young. Nield set out rounding everyone up while Cerasi warned them to not venture outside. Obi-Wan began to seal the entrances, ignoring the constant barrage of questions that the curious children were dying to have answered. When he finished his job and turned to face them, he looked at them sternly. "No one goes out," was all he said.

For days that dragged on achingly slow into weeks, the Young had stayed in their cramped underground shelter, relying on their meagre rations and doing their best to keep their spirits up with simple games and stories. Everyday, the younger children bugged Obi-Wan and the others for answers. They never received a satisfactory answer other than 'there's something bad out there'. To which the children naturally replied 'worse than the Adults?' Cerasi nodded at them severely. Then she would tell them stories about mythical cities under the oceans.

They never knew how it reached the tunnels; they guessed that some of the children had decided to get some fresh air or to find more food. In any event, of the 7 or so who disappeared and were never seen again, one little girl returned with blood running down her nose. She staggered as she walked. The other children gasped when they saw her and naturally rushed to her aid.

He had been resting against a stone wall, trying to meditate but finding his grumbling stomach too intrusive. The Force leaped in Obi-Wan's mind. He was on his feet in an instant and reaching for the nearest weapon. Cerasi and Nield came running after him when they saw him take off down the hall.

By the time Obi-Wan reached the scene, two children were on the ground and not moving. Another girl was screaming bloody murder as the little girl with the bloody nose tore a chunk out of her neck with her teeth. Obi-Wan's stomach flipped with disgust for a moment before he raised the pipe above his head. The little girl dropped her victim and hissed at him. For a moment, Obi-Wan stared at her eyes; the new colour of yellow irises on a red background. Then she charged and that's when Obi-Wan swung. It wasn't enough to kill her; she came at him again and again. By the end of it, Obi-Wan's heart was pounding and he was shaking at the realization that he had just taken a child's life.

"Obi-Wan!" Cerasi's panicked voice jolted him out of his reverie. The two children who had been on the ground were picking themselves up, twitching and growling.

"Get everyone back! We have to seal it off!" Obi-Wan ordered. The children were stampeding away, falling over each other and screaming.

But it was too late and Obi-Wan would make a crucial discovery only after the panic in the tunnels had receded to the dying sounds of moaning and animalistic grunts. The infected could blend in. The quicker the transition, the easier it was to run with everyone else and bite one here and another there. The infection had entered the tunnels and within an hour, total devastation had come.

The survivors had run out of the tunnels screaming, scattering in all different directions. It was impossible to round them up, to sit them down and formulate a new plan. Obi-Wan was running too, but he had no clue where. He felt a strong hand on his shoulder and spun around to attack with his pipe when he stopped abruptly.

Nield was shielding his head with an arm. "Don't," he said breathlessly.

Obi-Wan heaved air into his tired lungs as he dropped his arm holding the pipe. "Where's Cerasi?"

She was calling to them from across the courtyard, waving them towards her. They ran and crouched beneath the barrier where she sat. "We have to leave," she panted. "Maybe get to the countryside. There won't be as many people there. Less chance of being attacked."

Obi-Wan and Nield shared an uncertain glance. "What about the others?" Obi-Wan asked.

Cerasi's face betrayed the sureness of her answer. "We have to leave. We can try to round up as many as we can, but if we go chasing after everyone we'll all be killed." She looked at them and tears welled up in her eyes.

"Why is this happening?" She asked in a tiny voice.

Obi-Wan shook his head and rested his hands on his knees. "I don't know."

Nield was glaring at the chaos beyond the barrier. "It's got to be the Adults. Those idiots must have been trying out some sort of biological weapon. I bet it backfired on them. Now they're hellbent on killing all of us."

"You don't know that," Obi-Wan reasoned. "For all we know, this is some sort of virus."

Nield snorted at Obi-Wan's response. "And you don't think it's at all odd that this started with the Adults?" He challenged.

Cerasi interjected by placing a hand on each boy. "Stop. It doesn't matter. All that matters is that it's happening. And we have to leave."

Obi-Wan rose to his feet with a tired sigh. "Which direction?"

Cerasi pointed east. "That way. I know a bit about the country over there. It's flat, not much cover. But at least we'll be able to see anyone coming for us."

Obi-Wan nodded at her sound reasoning. Nield stood as well. "So we run?" He asked.

Cerasi nodded and slowly left the confines of the stone barrier. "We run," she affirmed.


That was a week ago.

The routine in the house felt like it was established a year ago. Obi-Wan had sent his desperate plea to the Jedi Council a few days ago. They had not responded and he was beginning to lose his faith that they would. 'Not that I could blame them,' he thought bitterly. 'It was my betrayal; not theirs.'

The sound of wood being splintered made Nield and Obi-Wan freeze. Cerasi woke up with a jolt. "What was that?" She whispered.

Nield and Obi-Wan exchanged wary glances. Nield pointed to the downstairs. Obi-Wan nodded and quietly grabbed his metal pipe. Then he motioned to Nield and Cerasi to stay where they were. Cerasi was shaking her head defiantly at him. Obi-Wan flashed her a quick, reassuring smile before creeping down the stairs.

Someone was pounding on the wood covering the door, kicking it until it splintered, then punching through. Obi-Wan stealthily took up a hiding place beside the door so he could bring his pipe down as soon as the intruder entered. He was shaking, terrified at the thought of there being more than just one infected. He would not be able to hold them all off, but perhaps he could buy time for Nield and Cerasi to escape.

A large figure finally broke through the remnants of the boarded-up door and stood in the doorway cautiously. Obi-Wan brought the pipe down with a vicious swing.