Author's note: I hope you all have enjoyed the brief break from action and excitement, because this chapter is full of both. Hope you are having an excellent week!

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Eliza's eyes snapped open.

It was nearly pitch black in the large game room, though the overhead light had still been on when she went to sleep. The only light was a soft, undulating glow coming from behind her. Rolling over to her side, she readjusted her pillow in an attempt to get more comfortable. An odd, sharp smell immediately assaulted her nose as she inhaled.

Something was wrong.

She sat up quickly from the couch. Someone, probably Willa, had covered her with a blanket, and it slid noiselessly to the floor as she moved. The space was eerily silent, other than the quiet breathing of her friends as they slept. The girls were scattered about the room on various couches and blankets. Across from her, Aruna and Mayar were sprawled across a pallet of pillows and blankets on the floor.

Inhaling again, Eliza tried to pinpoint the source of the sharp smell. It was burning into her throat and sinuses now, giving her a headache. The smell was familiar, but her half-asleep brain took a second to catch up. Where had she smelled this scent, recently? A flash in her mind showed her the rows of burning houses in Zombietown, smoke billowing up into the sky like dark pillars.

Smoke. And where there was smoke, there was –

"Fire!" Eliza shouted, causing several of the girls to shoot up from their various makeshift beds.

Next to her on the floor, she heard Willa take in a sharp, ragged breath.

"What?" Wynter mumbled, rolling over on the couch next to her and shoving her face down into the cushion.

"Oh!" Willa said, looking towards the large doorway behind Eliza. She turned to look as well. There was a soft, orange glow emanating from the game room entrance. Flames. As Eliza's eyes adjusted, she could now see the black and grey smoke, rolling like waves across the ceiling as it began to permeate the room. She felt dread forming a pit in her stomach. The smoke was coming from the only exit.

"Bree!" She shouted, releasing a choked cough at the end of her declaration. They had to figure out how to get out of here. There were no windows in the large room, probably because of the home theater, and the only door she'd seen was the one that was now impassable.

"Mph?" Bree said, not moving from her position on the leather couch. Her head lulled to one side.

"BREE!" Eliza shouted again, jumping up and rushing to shake her friend.

Bree coughed for a moment, but then seemed to finally look directly at Eliza. She looked like she was still half asleep. Maybe it was the smoke?

"Bree, there's a fire. We have to get out. Where can we go?"

Bree groaned, looking with unfocused eyes towards the door. Then, her eyes went wide.

"The home theater!" She said, suddenly sounding much more awake, though her voice came out raspy. "There's a trap door behind the back row of seats, it leads to our zombie safe room!"

"LET'S GO, EVERYONE!" Willa bellowed, startling the still sleeping Lunites from their spot on the floor and causing Wynter to yelp awake. "NOW!"

Addison, who was on the floor next to Mayar, groaned, but did not lift her head. She and Bree, being humans, were clearly already being affected by the smoke. And if they didn't get out of this room, the rest of them would soon be, too.

"Mayar, Aruna!" Eliza yelled. "Get Addison! I've got Bree."

They nodded, still looking disheveled from their abrupt awakening. She watched as they each reached down and helped Addison clumsily pull herself to her feet. Reaching back, Eliza and Willa pulled Bree upright, who seemed disoriented but still fully conscious. Together, the group of girls ran back across the large room, away from the glowing doorway and back towards the home theater. Their footsteps pounded into the large side room, which was lit only by the distant glow.

"Back there." Willa said, pointing towards the third row of seats. They rushed up the few short steps, and Willa and Wynter began to frantically feel along the carpeted floor for some kind of latch or irregularity. Then, Wynter released a triumphant yip as she found the large square seam in the floor. Running her freshly manicured claws along the line, she quickly pulled up the well-hidden trap door.

There was a set of stairs beneath the floor, which led down into complete blackness. But anyplace was better than their current location. Eliza rushed forward, pulling Bree along and following her mate and friend into the dark stairway. Behind her, she could hear Mayar and Aruna stumbling along with a partially-conscious Addison. As they entered, they heard the door thud closed behind them.

Eliza quickly descended into darkness, using her other senses to compensate for the temporary blindness. Then, a soft blue light shown from behind them, as Aruna and Mayar's hair reacted to the dark. Bree seemed to be slightly more alert now, her own steps more steady as they moved.

"There's a set of emergency lights at the bottom of the stairs," Bree said, her voice sounding rough but strong. "And a second door that leads into the safe room. It's fireproofed, and there's a second stairway that leads out to the back side of the property. We'll be safe."

They reached the bottom of the staircase, and Bree removed herself from Eliza's grasp with shaking hands. She ran a hand along the side wall to find the switch, and the stairway immediately flooded with an eerie green light. Before them was a large metal door. Rather than a handle, there was a large keypad in the center of it. Reaching forward, Bree quickly typed in a four digit pin number, and the door swung out towards them. They all rushed inside, Mayar quickly turning to pull the door shut behind them. A loud clicking noise resounded through the metal as it locked behind them.

The safe room itself looked more like a tiny house than it did a hiding place from rogue zombies. She knew that most human homes in Seabrook had safe rooms, but this was beyond anything needed for basic survival.

The long, narrow room was brightly lit, and the sections of wall that were not stainless steel were painted a pale yet vibrant pink. Multiple framed pictures were hung throughout the space, giving it a more comfy feel. Three long rows of neatly labeled cabinets lined the entirety of the left wall, leading back to a tiny kitchenette. In the center of the room were two couches, and behind them were two sets of bunk beds, set back into the right wall. All of the furniture was sparkling white. At the far end, a second metal door sat, identical to the one they had just entered through.

Moving past her, Aruna and Mayar quickly laid a groaning Addison onto the pristine couch.

Bree rushed to her best friends side, shaking her gently. She stumbled slightly as she reached her, falling to her knees.

"Addy?" She yelped, her concern evident through her scratchy voice.

Addison let out a deep, hacking cough, and her bright blue eyes popped open.

"What happened?" She said weakly, much to Eliza's relief.

"The house is on fire," Bree said. "But we made it out. We're in my family's safe room right now."

"Oh, Bree."Addison said, wavering slightly as she sat up to hug her friend. "I'm so sorry."

Eliza noted the tears that were flowing silently down Bree's face, and she understood. If the fire was as bad as it had appeared to be upstairs, there was a good chance that Bree's entire house was a loss. She took a moment to be thankful that both of Bree's parents had been out of town tonight, or the whole evening could have been for more tragic. She watched as the two girls hugged one another.

"It's okay." Bree said, putting on a brave smile as she glanced around the small space and made brief eye contact with the other girls. "It's just a house. Everything that matters is in this room right now."

Eliza felt a sudden surge of pride towards her friend. Bree was often so quiet and timid, it was easy to overlook her. But when it counted, Bree was always right there in the fray, ready to help. Whether it was sticking up for the zombies at the football game, or helping the wolves retrieve the moonstone. She was far stronger and braver than people gave her credit for, including Eliza.

To her side, she felt Willa's warm hand sliding into her own cool one. They looked at one another, gently squeezing the other's hand as they did.

"Yes," Willa said. "Everything that matters is here."

Eliza smiled gently back at her, the caring and affectionate smile which she reserved only for Willa. Good grief, she loved that werewolf.

"Should we keep going?" Wynter asked, gesturing towards the back of the space to the metal door across from them. "Is it safe to stay in here?" She still looked tense, a wolf ready to spring into action if needed.

"It should be safe," Bree said, looking back at the closed metal door. "The door and walls are filled with fireproofing, and we have an air ventilation system that keeps fresh air flowing in continuously. It was built so that my family would be able to survive in here for up to two months, in case... Well, you know. In case of another zombie apocalypse." Bree looked at Eliza a little guiltily.

Eliza could tell that Bree was worried that she might have insulted her, being the only zombie in the room. Though honestly, until this second, Eliza hadn't really thought about it. She no longer separated her friends between species, as she once had. Now, they were just people who she loved, and who she enjoyed being around. She shot Bree a quick grin, letting her know that no offense was taken.

"We should probably get out, though." Addison said, continuing the chain of thought. "Just in case."

Mayar looked at her doubtfully.

"Starlight," she said. "Maybe you should rest for a moment. You and Bree inhaled a lot of smoke, and I want to make sure that you're both alright."

At that moment, she sounded every bit like the older sister she was, wanting to ensure that her little sister was okay. She may not have grown up with Addison, but her love and sense of protection towards her was clear.

"I feel fine, really." Addison said, though her voice was rough and she still looked a bit out of it. "I'm okay. We can keep going. Besides, we need to get outside so that we can call the fire department. I'm pretty sure that we all left our phones upstairs." She patted absentmindedly at her sides, then quickly seemed to realize that her pajama pants did not have any pockets.

"I wonder what happened." Wynter pondered aloud, still staring back towards the door. "How did the fire even start?"

"I think I know." Mayar said, an uncharacteristically darkened expression making its way briefly across her face.

"Charon." Addison said in realization, anger and disbelief evident in her voice.

Though they had no proof, Eliza immediately knew that the sisters had to be right. It was too much of a coincidence. He must have been keeping track of them. It would be easy for him to realize that the girls were all in one place, and completely vulnerable as they slept. Eliza growled. She was getting pretty tired of this jerk, and the attempts on her and her friends' lives.

"I can't hear him." Mayar said thoughtfully. "Which means he can't hear us. So, he probably thinks we're all dead or unconscious by now."

"If we leave now," Willa interjected, eyes glowing faintly, "maybe we can still catch him. He definitely won't be expecting us." She grinned, flashing her fangs as she did. She was clearly ready for some revenge. Eliza was thinking along those same lines as well.

"Are you guys sure you're okay?" Eliza asked, looking back to Bree and Addison as they sat together on the now soot-stained couch,

The two human girls glanced at one another, then quickly nodded.

"Let's do this." Addison said, sounding far more steady than she had a minute before.

They stood, slightly shaky, as the group moved together towards the second door at the far end of the space. Bree reached out, punching in the same four digit code again. The door swung out and away from them. Eliza gazed into the long hallway, this one lit and clear of any smoke. Some distance away, she could see the second set of stairs which apparently led to the back of Bree's land.

Bree, Wynter, and Addison led the girls down the long corridor.

Bizarrely, Bree's family had also decorated the walls of the long hallway with family photos and bright, cheery artwork. As they walked, Eliza gazed more closely at the many family photos. An adorable, beaming Bree smiled back at her from each picture. To Eliza's surprise, she realized that several of the older photos included a second girl, who looked a few years younger than Bree. They had the same, cheery smile. She hadn't known that Bree had a little sister. But as the photos progressed, and Bree aged, the little girl vanished from the photos. All of the more recent ones, from the last ten or so years, showed only one child.

What had happened to Bree's sister? Eliza made a mental note to ask Addy sometime, when Bree wasn't around. If the little girl wasn't here, it was probably something bad. She made eye contact with Willa, who had also been looking at the photos. They exchanged a silent conversation, but said nothing aloud.

Finally, they reached the stairs, and began a gradual incline upwards.

"This is one heck of a safe room, Bree." Wynter commented as they climbed.

Bree shrugged. "I always thought it was a bit much." She said. "But I'm grateful we had it tonight."

The others could only nod fervently.

Then, they reached the top landing of the staircase, where a trap door awaited them.

Reaching up, Bree twisted the handle, pushing upwards. She grunted, looking back at Wynter.

"Could you give me a hand, Wynter? It's been a while since anyone opened this. I think some grass may have grown over the outside of it."

"Sure thing." Wynter replied, rushing forward. With only a little effort, she was able to easily heave the door up and outward, sending several clods of dirt and dried pine needles raining down onto them.

Quickly, the girls made their way upward and out into the night air. Eliza sighed in relief, glad to be outside. They were surrounded by tall pine trees, and the light from the moon shown down onto them between the branches in lovely beams. Eliza turned to face the house, and gasped.

The once beautiful house was fully engulfed. They had been more than lucky to escape when they had. Behind her, she heard Bree let out a small groan of sadness as they watched her home burn. In the distance, Eliza could also see the flashing of fire truck lights, and two large jets of water moving in low sweeps across the front of the structure. But like in Zombietown, she was pretty sure that they had arrived far too late to stop the flames.

Suddenly, the night air was filled with a long, sorrowful howl. Eliza felt her insides twist with unease. She may not have been very good at speaking wolf, but even she could hear the agony in the sound.

"Is that—" Wynter started.

"Wyatt." Willa finished, and behind her, Eliza saw Mayar's eyes widen with fear. Her soulmate was somewhere nearby, and clearly in trouble.

"Come on. It's coming from the road!" Willa shouted, and began to run.

Together, they all sprinted along the edge of the treeline, running towards the sound of a werewolf in peril.