„Remembrance could be a dangerous trap since time heals nothing. Truly nothing."

We heard the noise. I knew that they were coming. From above, I could see the military convoy with those ridiculous school buses roaming nearby. I didn't know what would be better – to lie low and have faith in the impossible: that they might not come in here. Or to willingly give my life into their hands.

Then, I thought that there must be an intermediate solution. We wait inside, but no more hiding. I woke up the kids one after another. I didn't understand why this wrangling had to occur in the middle of the night, but I couldn't do anything against it.

When they kicked the door down and got inside, I got really insecure. I hated this helplessness and vulnerability.

I moved back and told the kids to sit down on the huge carpet, which was placed in the middle of the living room. Before that, I swiftly lighted some candles. It was gruesome to wait for fate deciding what to do with us in that half-light.

They'll be here in seconds. I had a bad feeling, but there was no escape. Even if I could run away, what about the others? They were just as frightened as me, although they could hardly understand anything of this. People came-and-went. If somebody got sick, I took him/her to a remote place, in order to stop the spread of disease. However, the dead still outnumbered the living. Most of them didn't even get to live 8 years. Only they could remain in the institution, everybody else either left or died. I didn't have the guts to leave them nor did I find a better shelter. The doors were strong and the walls were high. Still, we were running out of essential supplies like food and medicine.

They were already coming upstairs. I had no time to buckle up. The door opened, and the first thing I saw was the barrel of a machine gun directly pointing at us.

I swallowed and glanced at the children again. I put my finger to my lips as a remembrance of the fact that no matter what happens next we must stay quiet.

In full combat gear, with a helmet and a mask on, came our first guest.

We probably looked kind of surreal to them. Six children and their babysitter who herself was barely an adolescent.

The first one was followed by a whole squad, and it immediately made me abandon my crazy ideas. I yielded and waited for them to make the first step.

My fellows were gossiping about the military collecting orphans and taking the survivors into refugee camps where is no sickness or starvation and everybody is safe. I suspected that we were about to be taken too, but I wanted to delay it for as long as I could.

My worries affected the kids and one of the little girls burst into tears. The tension could be cut with a knife, so I had to intervene.

- Mandy, stop crying! – I goaded her.

I was afraid that my armoured friends were not fond of crying children.

- Everything will be okay, these soldiers are only here to help – I said to her, but it was not very convincing even for me.

- Am I right? Have you come to help? – I asked the soldier standing closest to us.

This finally broke the ice. He took off his mask and smiled.

- Of course! – he replied immediately. He was a little too intense which he tried to compensate with a smile, but it just made it more bizarre.

- I'm Corporal Branch – he introduced himself. – We want to secure the kids as soon as we can – he said with confidence.

- Do you mean Wright Patterson? – I interrupted. I could see that he became uptight, and even though he tried to keep his smile on while remaining calm, the tension was growing between us. I had to change tactics. Mandy was still crying and all the frightened little faces were glazing towards me. It was me who they expected a solution from.

- I'm sorry – I apologized blushing. – I was kind of impolite and I tend to talk too much.

I tried to rely on my feminine power, but I wasn't sure if they could be deceived by this.

- Nothing happened. However, it's really strained out there and it would be better if we could take everyone into safety as soon as possible.

I couldn't argue with that, although in my world, armoured soldiers didn't mean the manifestation of safety.

- Come on, kids! – I waved to the children. Exceptionally, all of them were ready to go. They probably had the jitters so much that even if I had told them to jump out of the window, they would do it without question.

They were following me one after another, while I was right behind Branch with Mandy in my arms.

We left the building quickly, but as soon as we reached the bus, I could feel that something was wrong. My paranoia made me think that my precious self could be the source of the problem. My fear was about to come true when Branch moved aside and started a deep conversation with one of his fellows.

- Get on the bus! – I ordered the kids so that I gain some time.

In my mind, the not at all delightful scene was already clear where Branch takes me back into the building with some made-up excuse and shoots me in the head. That's why I was trying to get rid of Mandy.

- Go after the others! – I encouraged her.

- I don't want to go without you – she resisted. With one eye, I was still watching Branch who just started to walk back to us. We were running out of time.

- Go ahead and get a seat for me too! – I winked at her with a partner-in-crime look. She always liked this.

When I saw her running up on the stairs, slowly disappearing from my sight, I got less anxious. It was better for her to be far away from me. She had a higher chance of survival this way.

- Everybody is on board, sir – I informed Branch, even though he already knew this. – Look after them, please! – my voice shivered. I wanted to take a step back, then run straight into the house. However, I knew that if did that, they would fire at me immediately. I had no chance of running away and he was well aware of that.

- Basically, the order is to transport the kids in the first place, because they are the most important. I assume, there's no need for further explanation – he looked me in the eye. I didn't like the way he was staring at me; like a predator at its prey.

I didn't say a word, just nodded – I understood everything, maybe way too much.

Then, he continued.

- But, in this case, we won't follow the rule. There are no more stops, Wright Patterson, or Camp Haven as they call it today, is the final destination. The bus is almost empty, why would we leave you here?

He smiled again, and I tried not to notice the hidden ulterior motive. He put his arm around my shoulders and led me to the bus. This behaviour was not at all normal from a commissioned officer, but I was agreeable the game.

He searched for a seat for me up there, deliberately not close to my "adopted" children, then left me alone. Half a minute passed, the engine started and off we went. Somehow, the cathartic feeling of getting out of that lockup didn't arrive. The past 19 years vanished behind me in a moment.

I didn't want to start thinking. Not yet. I leaned against the window and tried to ignore the rattling of the bus.

I had no idea of where we were going. As for me, I had no trust in Camp Haven being a better place than the institution. Everything was so ridiculous and unnatural. Smiling soldiers. The constantly repeated "Everything will be alright". Still, when they started handing out gummies was the oddest. They checked if anybody had a fever beforehand and I got a pretty red sigil from the guy who introduced himself as Parker. He avoided asking me about the gummies since he noticed that I was not sympathizing with the sugar daddies. Then, he left.

I was just staring into nothing and pricking up my ears. They were chattering about me for minutes and even glanced at me from time to time. The doctor in attendance – Parker, and of course, Corporal Branch.

- I don't think it was a good idea to bring that chick along – Parker turned his head in my direction. The other one just shrugged. – Maybe there won't be a problem. She'll keep her pretty mouth shut and do what she has to do. And if it's not working, she'll be shot anyways.

I froze at this point and had to force myself to stay still.

- She's quite a catch, it would have been a pity to leave her there – he continued.

- You should have taken her somewhere behind the building, and when finished, you could have shut her up for good! – criticized Parker.

All of these were put like an everyday chit-chat about the match on the previous day.

Breathe in! Breathe out! I ordered myself because I was on the verge of panicking.

I heard someone crying from one of the backseats. Then, Parker rushed to the back, passing me. I forced myself to look unconcerned. If they notice something, I'm dead.

It didn't take long to stop the crying, then I heard the fast-paced stomps of military boots on the ground. Unfortunately, he stopped right beside me. My hair covered my face as I let my head down. I was literally sitting like a bird on the seat. When he touched my shoulder, I shivered out of disgust that he immediately misconceived.

- I didn't want to scare you – he tried to ease the situation, and I decided to show my most charming side. That's something even most kids in the institution are capable of if they are not spoiled yet. That typical slightly shy, slightly confused look with a bit of a smile.

- It's okay, I was just wondering a little – my voice was full of fake sweetness, but he fell for it.

- Are you sure you don't want a drink? – he asked again, because I rejected the offer the first time.

- Well, maybe a little water if there's any – I giggled.

- Just a minute – he said and went to the front of the bus.

Good dog, give your owner a high-five! I thought to myself. Men are all the same… evenly pathetic.

He didn't come back alone and to make it even better, they both sat down next to me.

- We'll stay with you if it's not inconvenient to you – Parker gave me a full smile. The friend of this psycho briskly nodded to his words while he handed me the bottle of water.

- I am not wasting your time, am I? – I asked faking the insecurity. I swiftly switched to a friendly style in order to be more convincing.

- Oh, absolutely not! Camp Haven is the only place where we'll stop so we have a little time to relax.

- Glad to hear that – I replied with a grin. They were staring at me so disgustingly. As if I were a pig waiting to be butchered. Branch made it even worse with his next question.

- Is it okay if we want to know more about you?

I glanced at him with confusion, although I was well aware of the situation. Things weren't going as planned.

- Did you have a boyfriend in the institution Hailey?

- What? – I asked.

- You know…a boyfriend. I mean, have you had a lot of dates?

He didn't fool around for much time. But if he wants to play like this – I'll give it to him.

- Not really. I used to work in addition to school and looked after children when I had the time for that.

- But there must have been somebody who you liked at least a little bit. Or somebody who fancied You – he insisted.

- Don't pester her! Girls don't like talking about stuff like this – Parker tried to act like a gentleman, but that ship had already sailed.

- To be honest, I haven't found anyone who would have been perfect for me, but maybe this time I'll have more opportunities to get to know somebody – I winked at him.

They began to laugh at my response while I was just smirking in silence.

Think what you want to think. I would never need your company even if there were no other men on this damned planet.

- We'll arrive soon to Camp Haven and we have to gather the folks in advance – said Parker when they finally got up.

- You'll be given guidance inside – added Branch – But we'll meet afterwards.

- I hope so – I smiled. Then, as soon as they had gone away, that smile vanished from my face.

- It's only your funeral where I want to see you again – I murmured under my nose what they could not hear anymore.

The sun was already up when I finally caught a glimpse of the camp. From the distance, it looked much like a fortress. However, as we crossed numerous checkpoints, I had to realize, that the institution was just the beginning.

Waking up almost shocked me. One moment I was in Camp Haven the next in Riley's bed – in reality. The monster mentioned was sleeping peacefully right next to me. However, it was just the outside. I was sure that he would wake up as soon as I make a move. And I had no intention of giving him another reason to hurt me.

I turned my back on him, and tried to fall asleep, but I was afraid of my dreams too. I didn't want to relive the past few months. I wanted to forget, but they wouldn't let me. The system wouldn't let go of me.

I shattered when the bed springs squeaked, marking that my roommate had woken up. I didn't dare to move when he got under my blanket and put his arm around my waist. Not long ago, it was somebody else who had done the same thing, but I hadn't objected to it back then.

He, who was so far away from me as if he were on another planet.

There was nothing left except Riley and my fears. And, of course, the baby that I could not hide for eternity from him.

- Are you awake? – he whispered into my ears. His breath was tickling my skin, while his closeness gave me a very nasty feeling all down my spine. Everything inside me was protesting against him, but I was paralyzed by the fear.

- I just had a nightmare, but it's over now.

I hoped that this would be enough explanation for him. I wanted a few hours without his sadistic self.

- That's so sweet – he let out a dark giggle. – People and their dull imaginations. They are afraid of the dark, afraid of nightmares. But they are not afraid of reality ant true monsters. They don't even notice them.

I didn't answer him, because extraordinarily, he was right this time. The fall of humanity was not due to aliens but to our blindness. Nobody had noticed the premonitory signs, only when it was too late. Or not even after that.

- Sleep now, darling. Nothing can harm you here. Nobody can touch you…except me, of course.