Dr. Janet had not noticed I was missing. The nurse was still gone when I returned, and I crept back into bed without a sound. I cried myself to sleep.

That morning, Dr. Janet spoke to me, but I did not respond. She seemed to give up and go away, but then Daniel was there. He spoke to me. I ignored him, staring blankly ahead. I would survive here as I had survived there. Only Wolf mattered. He was the one with the power. The others were irrelevant. Daniel was insistent, asking me repeatedly what was wrong. I did not respond.

Daniel and Dr. Janet spoke quietly. The nurse came in with Lona and Owen. My children. I sat up, taking them from her quickly. I laid back, my eyes softening as I watched them suckle. They were alive. They would stay alive.

The children had finished eating and the nurse took them away so I could rest. Daniel was still there-- asking me what was wrong. I turned over and pretended to sleep.

I cracked my eyes open to peek out under my eyelashes when I heard Wolf's voice. He was standing in the doorway, almost leaning against the frame. His hand alternated from rubbing his eyes to scrubbing through his silver hair. His voice creaked like an old man.

Both Dr. Janet and Daniel ran to check on him. He brushed off Daniel's help and looked accusingly at Dr. Janet. His hands flew around as he gestured wildly at her. She looked taken aback, but quickly recovered, grabbing one flailing wrist to take his pulse. Wolf snatched it away from her, glaring.

Daniel motioned to Dr. Janet and she departed, allowing Daniel to pull Wolf to a nearby corner. I could hear everything they were saying, but although I understood bits and pieces, I could not grasp their whispered conversation.

Daniel's eyes looked sad and worried, but Wolf just sounded aggravated and a little… afraid. They moved closer to my bedside as they spoke, finally sitting in the chairs by my bed. I watched them carefully, unmoving.

Wolf paused for a long moment, and when he started to speak again it was in a flat monotone voice. An involuntary chill shook me gently. It sounded like the voice from last night. My muscles tensed under the thin sheet. I heard the words 'kill', 'children', and 'please'. My eyes shot open. Daniel had his eyes on Wolf and did not notice; Wolf had his eyes on the floor. Wolf fell silent, running his hand through his silver hair.

I grabbed his wrist, fingers tightening with bruising pressure as he and Daniel looked up at me in surprise.

"Promesa. Please." I begged once again, fingers tight. Wolf's brown eyes widened, and then slammed shut. Shaking his head, he yanked his hand from my grip and stumbled quickly from the room, Daniel following close behind.

I sat there in shock, my fingers clenched into a fist. No. He said no. My eyes narrowed. He would not hurt my children. I slid from the bed and snuck into the small storage room on the left. I had seen nurses go in there and come out with different clothes. I struggled into one of their white uniforms, slipped on a pair of black boots, and stole one of those square cards that opened the doors.

I knew my children were one floor up in an 'isolation room'. I wasn't quite sure what that meant, but I knew how to go up. I used the card to get in the moving room and pressed the number before this floor.

It didn't take me long to find my children. Owen was unhappy. His cries echoed mutely down the halls. Wrapping them securely in their blankets, I used one of the long white doctor's coats to form a sling. The children hung comfortingly on my chest, and the large coat I slipped on almost disguised them. They slept contentedly as I made my escape.

I had noticed an odd door in my journey and decided to investigate. It was small and screwed closed. It did not look like it was used often. I knew I was far underground, this much Daniel had explained to me. I pried open the door, the screws slicing my fingers. A ladder. I looked up the tube. It seemed endless and black. Footsteps. Someone was coming. The ladder was my only chance. I knew I could not avoid everyone if I used the moving room. I slipped onto the ladder and swung the door shut behind me. I stared to climb.

-ooo-

I hung on the ladder weakly. I was exhausted. It felt as if I had been climbing for hours, though I knew it could not have been that long. It was pitch black, and I was quickly beginning to lose hope. Maybe it was endless. Maybe it was so far underground that I could never escape. My hands were raw, the blood impeding my grip. If I fell, I would fall to my death. Lona squirmed against me, reminding me of the consequences of my failure. Death for me meant death for them, escape meant survival. I continued to climb.

Only a short time later, my head brushed the exit. I reached up blindly, feeling for a way out. I felt the outline of a large hole. I pushed up, bracing my body on the ladder. Ever so slowly, the circle rose, allowing blessed light to stream in. With a clang, the lid fell open. I was free.

I stepped out into blessed sunlight, its yellow glow warming even in the cold breeze that whipped around the trees. I had emerged in a small corps of evergreen trees. I pulled the coat snugly around me and set out to find shelter.

As I emerged from the trees, I was greeted by a dramatic view of the surrounding area. I was atop a mountain, surrounded by snow-covered peaks in the distance and a tree-filled valley far below. I could see a sizeable town in the distance. There were many miles between the mountaintop I stood on and the sanctuary of the town. There was also a large fence. Many feet high and topped by rolls of metal spikes, it surrounded the top of the mountain. My heart sank at the sight. There had to be a way through. There would be a way through. I set my jaw, checked on my children, and set out to make my escape from this prison.

Many times I fell, slipping in the icy mud of the steeply sloped mountain. My once white coat was brown and damp. I shivered continually, covering the children as best I could. I expected snow to fall at any moment, the dark clouds blocking the sun as they loomed overhead.

I was startled from my struggle by the faint wailing of alarms. My breath caught in my throat. My escape had been discovered. I moved faster, scrambling over rocks. Dogs barked and snarled. Wolf had sent his kinsmen after me. I ran. The dogs grew closer, men yelling behind them. I did not stop. I was almost at the fence. I would crawl under it. I would escape them.

A shot whizzed past me, shattering a stone to my right. I dropped to the ground, covering my children with my body. I had seen Wolf's weapons in action. I knew that even one of the tiny metal pieces would kill. I cowered in the dirt, dogs snarling in my ear, the children's shrieks muffled by my enfolding body.

Wolf was there. A man's rough hand grabbed my arm, pulling me to my feet. He kept a tight grip on my arm as Wolf approached me.

I glared at Wolf through the grime that clung to my hair and face, wrapping my free arm tighter around my wailing children.

"Perro!" I spat. Dog.

Wolf frowned and drew closer. He commanded the man that held my arm. My left arm was pulled behind my back to join my right. I tried to pull away. The man's arms were iron. Wolf took my children.

A hot, bubbling, magma anger rose in me. As Wolf handed the children off to Dr. Janet, something inside me snapped.

With power that astonished even me, I yanked my arms from the man's grip, sprang forward, and, snarling, attacked Wolf. He fell to the ground beneath me, the people surrounding us silent in shock. I punched him solidly in the face, and he did not attempt to block me.

"Perro! Filis a perro! Serpenties! Halcon!" I screeched; punching any part I could reach. Someone tried to pull me off. I barely gave them a thought, shoving them away. More came, finally pulling me off him.

As Dr. Janet injected me, I spat out one last epithet.

"Assino a jacks! Killer a children!"