Note: I just realized that Mikey's name changed to Mickey in chapter 3! I guess I had Disney on the brain or something. Sometime I'll get around to changing the first two chapters since that would be easiest.

I want to thank everyone for reviews, messages and favorites on this story. Lately I've had little to no time and my inspiration is toggling. This is a rather short chapter. I have the ending in mind but getting there all I have is a vague outline.

As always, feel free to point out any errors you may find.

- 12 -

The morning was proving itself a heartless thief - stealing away my time quicker than I would have liked. I looked to the sleeping child at my side and wanted nothing more than to hold him. I wanted to hold him close, tight and fiercely. I never wanted to let him go.

I allowed a single tear to flee down my cheek.

"Here, at this very building, they are gathering. They have my brother and today they want to stage a public execution. A lot of norms have been called here, like the rest of you. More than a few of those norms have been promised safety and peace.

"I'm not buying any of that..."

"Damn straight!" Mack interrupted me. "I aint buyin' none of it either."

"Pile o' cow manure, ya ask me," Benny echoed.

I could feel my skin crawl under the pressure. I had a job to do and neither man was making it easy. I wanted to let them know what their decision would entail before they made it.

Glancing up at Simon I noticed that his expression was uncertain. I was relieved. I needed him to feel differently than the two older men. I needed him to run and I was willing to do what it took to make him.

Without turning my attention away from the men, I snaked my arm around and rested it on Mickey's chest. The soft rhythm of his heart and the shallow movements of his chest brought me back to where I needed to be.

I locked my stare with Simon. It was now or never and I had no time to spare.

"I need you, Simon. I need you to promise me something and do me a huge favor I have no way to pay back."

His eyes proved to me he had an idea of what I was going to ask him. I could see a mixture of agreement and rebuttal. He nodded, prompting me to continue before he agreed on anything solid. I'm sure he wanted to verify that my intentions were what he thought they were.

"I need you to take Mickey and run. Please, take my boy and get out of here. It's..." I swallowed down the lump in my throat. "It's the only chance he has."

The second lump would not be swallowed. I felt my airway block off and tears spilt in abundance from my eyes. My breathing sputtered but I managed to keep myself from vocalizing my anguish.

"Helen...I can't leave you. We've come so far and I can't stand to think you are ending it here."

He wanted to cry too but he held off; finding strength that I managed to lose somewhere. He made me proud and proved I couldn't have picked anyone more capable of handling the responsibility of my son's life. I had to fight. It was time I took a stand but I couldn't drag Mickey into it. As a mother, he came first. If Simon ran with him, the odds were there that they would live on. Meanwhile, I had to start fighting in this war or there would be no future for Mickey. Even if I couldn't be there to watch him grow up, I could fight to the bitter end knowing that he still had the opportunity.

"I have to stay. I don't know what to tell you to convince you, but I can't leave until I've taken care of a few things. But Mickey...I need to keep him safe and you're the only one I trust, Simon. I trust you with my son and that's..." I broke off as my voice wavered and threatened to leave me completely.

Simon scooted down until his rump was beside mine on the stairway. Reaching with no hesitation; he took me into an embrace and hugged me tightly. I lost it. I cried hard into his shoulder.

He held on. Despite how soaked his shoulder must have gotten from my tears, he never pulled back. I finally broke the connection and urged him with silent pleas. He nodded, unable to find his own voice.

Once we parted, Simon stood as I kissed my sleeping little boy good-bye. I had to force myself not to hug him or touch him too much. If he stayed sleeping then my good-bye would be easier to handle. And God knows I needed my wits about me. I've never gotten into any physical confrontation but I understood that when fighting a war emotions could hinder. I had to push with all my might to force my emotions to subside and my mother's instinct to let go.

I was doing this for Mickey. With Simon, he had a chance. It might have been small but it was better than nothing. Since I was linked to my brother, I was a threat to the zappies. They wouldn't ever stop hunting me in the wild search for their revenge. I didn't blame Shawn. In fact, I was almost wishing I had been with him when he torched the first group of zappies he found.

The pressing of time must have prompted a quick response. Without so much as a word Simon gathered himself and proceeded to push Mickey out of my view. Before he was gone he turned. His lips told me good-bye wordlessly. In response I mouthed thank you back.

Facing the zappies no longer seemed like a frightening endeavor. After parting with my only child and knowing I may never see him again; no other pain had room to roost in me. That was the moment that Helen Ashen died for without her son she felt like nothing. Without Mickey, my world was not worth living in. I was ready to fight and to die trying.

In a way, I was already dead.

"What now?" Mack asked after a respectful amount of time.

To my surprise I found answering him easy. I would have thought that seeing my child taken from me, even by my own choice, would have stripped my voice away. Instead, knowing that Mickey was safe made me stronger. "Time to fight or run. Those are the options you have. If you fight…"

"No need 'splainin'," Benny replied quickly. "We're a couple 'o old men. Aint got much life left, so might as well do something with it. If we die we die. Plain and simple."

Mack only smacked his lips. Benny had said it all and Mack felt no need to expand. Now there were three of us. All ready to be an army of three and fight for what little future we could give to this world.

My grandfather had fought in World War II. My dad and uncle contributed their loyalty to America in Vietnam. Somewhere in my blood were reminisces of the Civil War. Fighters were only one attribute to my heritage and I prayed that all of them would give me strength. This once pacifist girl was willing to fight; not for her country but for her son. Selfish? I know it is but at that moment I couldn't care less of who was benefiting from my actions as long as it provided Mickey with a better future.

I scanned the hallway. I knew that at any moment more people would show up. We had been lucky so far but it wouldn't be long before our privacy was breached. I glanced at my watch. In two hours, at noon, the zappies planed to show everyone what comes to those who injure them. Somewhere in the building my brother was being help captive.

"All right," I spoke sturdy. "I need to find Shawn and the others. Once we get them out we'll need to fight. But that's where the problem is. I have no idea what to do once we get Shawn."

Benny's thick hand came to rest on my shoulder and he held the shot gun up with his free hand. "We'll git to that part when we git there. No use 'n frettin' 'bout it."

Mack hummed thoughtfully. "When they want to do the festivities?"

I paused. Today the zappies planned on executing my brother and three other people. We wouldn't be able to get Shawn out…he would be too heavily guarded. Now we did need a plan.

I pounded my fist into my hand. "Shit! This isn't going to work."

- 13 -

After realizing that our time was extremely short, we raced up to the top floors. The zappies slept on ground level, as far as we could tell, so if there was any hope it was upstairs.

The very top floor provided us with offices and equipment rooms. I'm sure that during regular business hours the main entrance door would be locked. But due to the new 'holiday' the doors were not only unlocked but opened.

We split up, never straying too far from one another, and searched the rooms methodically. The first round of savaging turned up nothing. Without words we nodded to each other and proceeded to the next junction.

The first room I opened was the Manager's Office. As I expected, there was nothing of use. Though I didn't find a single weapon, I pocketed the Zippo lighter he had tucked into a drawer. After long nights of walking I had realized that I hadn't packed matches. Though I couldn't conceive of a use for the lighter, I still took it with me. I was ready to die but routinely looked to providing for my future.

I didn't have a future and I knew it. Still, the lighter tucked into my pocket made me feel a little better.

The second room I chanced upon was an equipment room. I didn't see much of interest and nearly walked out when a faint shine caught my eye. The bulbs overhead were dull and did a poor job at illuminating the room. Despite that they had found a way to alert me to something I would have otherwise missed.

There was another door at the back of the room. I took a split second to weigh the options of time versus curiosity. Curiosity won and I slunk to the door as quickly as I could. I had intended to open the door and asses quickly if there was a need to explore or not. If not, I wasn't going to waste any more time than possible. But what I found was more than I had expected.

The cat walk.

I inched into the small room surrounded by glass windows. The door (also glass) was positioned ahead and to the right. Looking out I could see the whole stadium. My mind went quickly into formulating a plan of some kind. This new discovery could be very useful. And to make things better, there were four other rooms like the one I had found myself in scattered along the ceiling.

I wasn't sure of the fine aspects of my new plan, but I was sure Mack and Benny would have the answers to fill in my blanks. I left the room, making sure the door stayed ajar, and searched for my comrades in arms.