In the days that followed Trudy accompanied me every time I went to give Zoot food and water, and instead of feeding him through the bars I gave him the opened tins when I let him out to hold the baby. I also brought down bedding, some books, and a deck of cards.

In that time much happened, but Zoot knew little of it. Much of it was trivial, and this we told him, but neither of us mentioned Ebony's search for him. Instead we told him of Lex and Zandra's approaching wedding, Jack and Del's attempts at improving the water filter system and their security system in the sewers. We talked of Bray and Salene's building romance, and speculated how long it would last. Trudy's guess was far longer than mine or Zoot's, her estimation in months while ours were in weeks. We talked of Bray's long disappearances, his quests to find formula milk and nappies, and Zoot became quiet at these times.

As the wedding drew nearer, excitement grew in the Mall, and even Zoot's spirits lifted, though he was unable to attend and did not know the happy couple. I thought perhaps the revelation of Sunshine into his life shook him, at least in part, from the hate-filled state of mind he'd been engulfed in since the first cry of "Power and Chaos" had echoed around the school all those months before. With each day that passed he seemed less resentful and angry, more hopeful, and more loving towards the baby he'd never known was coming.

He did not even seem to mind his imprisonment as much any more, though I knew such could be part of a plan to escape. Four days after I'd captured him, he asked for hot water and washed the Loco face paint from his face. In an instant he looked like Martin again, and the anger at his parents' deaths and the subsequent events seemed diminished, turned to acceptance of what was.

He spoke to me about it once, when Trudy had been unable to come down one morning as she'd only just managed to get Sunshine to sleep. He told me how much he missed them, how he wished the virus had never come, but that what had happened had happened and was in the past, unchangeable forever. I smiled sadly at his words, remembering my own grief as my parents and brother and aunts and uncle died. In return, I told him of how I'd come to the Mall alone after my parents had died. It had been the last day the Mall was open for business, the day before the looting had started. I kept the Mall locked up, though many had tried to come in during those days as I cried and hid from them.

I didn't tell him about the BB guns hidden away around the Mall. I'd found them in the toy shop my second day in the Mall, and selected those that looked most realistic. The others I hid all together, in case someone entered, saw them and realised the guns I claimed real were no more than toys.

The wedding was the next day. Trudy and I were with Zoot when the alarm sounded, the wolf-howls audible through a drainage pipe in one corner of the room. After locking Zoot back in the cage, we rushed out to see what was wrong. It was panic in the Mall as Lex led Ryan, Jack and Del into the sewers while the girls built a barricade at the top of the stairs. I overheard Amber snap at Taisan for not helping as I followed Trudy up the stairs. At that moment the alarm cut off, and a moment later Lex emerged with Bob; the dog had been the cause of our panic. I returned to let Zoot know that everything was okay, then joined the others in the wedding preparations.

Zandra looked amazing as she descended the stairs, with Cloe and Patsy as bridesmaids behind her. I was looking after Bob for them. Bray turned up just in time for the ceremony to start; he'd been missing all day and didn't know what was going on.

But then someone else, far less welcome, arrived in the Mall.

Ebony.

"Where is Zoot?" she demanded as everyone turned to gape at her.

No-one answered. None knew but Trudy and me. Instead Lex, Ryan and Bray charged at her as Bob barked under my hand. Ebony fled back into the sewers, and the three men followed her down there. On the stairs, Zandra started crying while Amber and Salene herded the younger children up to the cafe. Jack and Dal followed Lex and the others after a moment's hesitation. Beside me, Trudy began to panic. I released Bob's straining lead to turn to her and comfort her.

"What if she saw the baby?" she whispered. "She'd know Sunshine is Zoot's. What if she comes back with the Locos and tries to kill Sunshine?"

"Shh, don't worry, she was only there for an instant, she might not have even seen Sunshine. And besides, Bray and Lex and Ryan have probably caught her already. She won't be able to get the Locos and they won't be able to get in here – there's Jack's alarms and there'll be more security measures after this anyway, so it's nothing to worry about. This place is defensible. Sunshine will be fine. Come on upstairs with me, we can help Amber build the tables up to block the stairs."

I led her, shaking, up the stairs, speaking soothing words all the time and not believing any of them. Ebony had had the advantage of a headstart over the men, plus the element of surprise, and we didn't know whether there were any Locos in the sewers or waiting outside. While we had the benefit of home territory and a defensible position, the Locos' numbers were greater than ours even including the children. Worse, once any attackers emerged from the sewers into the Mall, they'd have free run of the ground floor, leaving us on the first floor.

Dal came back into the Mall as I sat Trudy down and turned my attention to helping Amber with the barricade.

"She's left the sewers," he shouted up to us. "There didn't seem to be any more of them."

Then he returned to the sewer.

We waited another twenty minutes. Zandra was in a bad state, upset over the distrupted wedding and worried about Lex. While Taisan calmed her down and Salene kept the children quiet I comforted Trudy and Amber kept watch. Eventually the others returned, empty-handed, to report that Ebony had escaped and that there were Locos around. Jack and Dal set the alarm back up then helped the rest of us build a fresh barricade around the sewer doors.

The panic finally over, Amber and Salene made supper.

At my suggestion, we didn't tell Zoot about Ebony's surprise visit, just as we'd never told him of the search she led for him or the rumours arising in the city of his death. He didn't need to know, and such knowledge might reawaken thoughts of Power and Chaos which had seemed to vanish at the sight and subsequent naming of Sunshine.

Instead of the truth, we told him that the wedding had been cancelled as a result of a problem with Zandra's dress. I suspect he knew we were lying, but he didn't press the matter so I couldn't be certain. He'd never been much interested in the wedding in the first place; instead he and Trudy talked about and to Sunshine. Feeling awkward about intruding, I didn't add much.