For this chapter, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at a different side of the story...

The moon shone brightly in the sky, it's light cascading down and casting a cross shaped shadow into the room. Was it some sort of cruel irony, or a message that praying was the only thing that could be done.

These are the thoughts that ran through Simon Drummond's head as he lay awake in the bed that was provided to him and his wife Raven. Perhaps it was the overly-studious part of his mind trying to find some sort of meaning to what was most likely just a simple shadow. He had never truly believed in any sort of religious deity, not out of spite or anything like that, though the thought of his son Eddward and his friends living in the hell that roamed outside of whatever place he was kept in made him pray for their safety.

Thump!

Though maybe he was worrying more than he ought to be. Eddward and his friends always seemed to turn out just fine. Despite their more... immature escapades that the trio of boys would typically participate in during their youth, sometimes even resulting in injury, the three always showed some sort of growth from the experience. Be it mentally, emotionally, or physically and that growth allowed them to become what Simon thought were well-adjusted young men that had promising futures.

THUMP!

All Simon could really do now though was hope that the boys, their friends and their families could all stay safe during these dangerous times. Perhaps if all went well then they could all reunite and go back home.

THUMP!

Alright now this was getting annoying. Raven even began to slowly rise from her slumber, looking around the room with disgust and unease.

"Messy, messy, messy..." She whimpered.

"And without a single label." Simon added, getting up from the bed.

From the other side of the wall separating the two rooms, Jayson Barr paced around his room, the pillow that was formerly on his bed looked as though it had been tossed around at least five times now, and with another thump, that number increased to six. Saying that he was worried about his daughter Kathy was an understatement. As he rubbed his face with his hands in frustration and anxiety, a gentle knock came from the other side of the wall.

"Is everything alright?" Simon asked. Jayson could barely hear his muffled voice through the wall but it was audible.

"Yeah... Sorry about the racket, I just can't get over this. We haven't done anything to warrant this kind of treatment, meanwhile my daughter is out there with those... those things!"

"I understand what you're feeling." Simon responded. "My son and his friends are also out there."

"We have to get out of here! We need to find our kids!" Jayson urged.

"Even if we did escape we have no idea where we are, or if we're still even in Canada."

Jayson paced around his room in silence, knowing that his neighbor was right. With a dejected sigh, he rubbed his temples in frustration and anxiety. At this point he wasn't sure what he'd rather deal with: the zombies out there ripping him apart or the heart attack he'd suffer if he was forced to remain in whatever facility they were stuck in with not even a hint as to why they were even there.

"So what can we even do?!" He eventually asked. Double D's parents looked to each other, hoping one of them could find some sort of answer.

"Escape would almost certainly be impossible if this is a military base. There would be too many army personnel around." Simon stated. Raven then immediately began to scan the room, they had been in this facility for about four days now but since the talk of escape never once crossed their minds, they had never really noticed if they were being observed all this time. Springing up, she checked under the bed and behind the dresser that they were given. The small mirror yielded nothing, though looking at her reflection made Raven scoff at how truly empty the room was. A bed, a dresser, a small mirror, and a toilet with some toilet paper in the corner of the room with a sink right next to it: that does not make a bedroom of any kind. The fact that the dresser was empty essentially forced them to sleep in the clothes that they were taken in! Not to mention the toilet being out in the open to leave no sense of privacy! Something that unsanitary made the woman cringe in disgust as negative thoughts flooded her mind. She had to shake her head to regain her focus.

With an audible sigh of relief, Raven was able to deduce that there were no cameras or microphones observing them. While she was unsure if Jayson had the same luck, she was able to hypothesize that it was the same for him.

"What are you doing?" Simon asked.

"Checking to make sure our captors aren't watching us, which they thankfully aren't. At least not from our room."

"No, they shouldn't be able to." Jayson added. "My younger brother works with surveillance appliances and from what he's shown me, there isn't anything being used in the rooms we're in right now. What I want to know is why."

"Well if we aren't being watched then I can do this!" Raven removed several hairpins from her head, allowing long hair that was the same color as her name flow down to her lower back. Handing one to her husband, the woman bent one a bit before inserting the now bent hairpin into the lock of the door. Simon began to sweat nervously as he explained his wife's actions to Jayson, who was quick to voice his interest.

With a click that made the couple's eyes go wide in excitement and fear, Raven slowly opened the door just enough for her to look out into the hallway.

Darkness and silence in a place they didn't recognize. It was enough to unsettle anybody. The two slowly entered the hallway, making sure that there weren't any prying eyes. Taking careful steps, Simon walked over to Jayson's room, thankful that the door was a simple lock from the outside. Jayson exited the room a bit too eagerly, the three looked around once more to make sure the noise they were making didn't attract any unwanted attention.

"Alright, we're out of our rooms, now what?" Jayson asked.

The other two adults were silent, what could they possibly do with the cards they were dealt.

"Well they would certainly notice if we just left..." Raven replied. Simon closed his eyes and placed a hand underneath his chin, tapping his cheek with his index finger rhythmically to help him concentrate. In all the years she was married to him, Raven never knew why doing that somehow helped Simon concentrate but she never cared.

"We've been in the dark on everything that's happened since we were taken from our homes. I believe we have a right to know what's truly going on!" Simon exclaimed, making sure to keep his voice down.

"Yeah!" Jayson agreed before noticing something. "This might also be a risky move, but I think we should split up and cover more ground. We'd be able to learn more about where we are and we might have a better chance of learning what exactly it is we're doing here. The entire time we've been here we've only ever been allowed to look at out rooms and the main lab, wherever that is! Why they blindfold us to even bring us there is another mystery to me!" Jayson explained.

"That should be one of the first things we look for." Raven added. "Even when we're allowed into the lab we're restricted to our own small spaces, if we can find the lab and search it thoroughly then we might learn what exactly we're doing."

"But what if there are still personnel working and roaming the halls?" Simon asked.

"Avoid them. If you can find them talking about this place or about their plans, try to listen in and get as much info as possible."

"Let's try to make a mental map of these halls as well. We don't have all night so we'll have to get back here and into our rooms." Raven explained, handing the two men some of her hairpins. "Use these in case you need to get into locked rooms."

"Be safe. The sooner we can get out of here, the sooner we can see our kids again!" Jayson exclaimed, sneaking to one end of the hall. The couple headed to the other end, holding each others hands tightly enough to the point where they could barely feel the blood pumping through their hands. As they approached a corner, they listened in to make sure the sound of footsteps weren't approaching them, but they were only met with silence. Just as Simon was about to turn the corner, Raven stopped him with a look of wonder and even a hint of a smirk on her face.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"It's just... Look at us. Sneaking around and trying not to get caught like children hiding from our parents. Perhaps this is sort of what Eddward felt when he tried sneaking out of his room at night when he was a young child."

Simon couldn't help but let out a silent laugh.

"Haven't we all done something like that in our youth? The only difference now is that our lives may be at stake."

"Right. It's silly of me to be thinking of such trivial things in this situation." Raven followed her husband through the halls until they came at a fork in their path.

"Damn, which way?!" Simon cursed.

The two looked at both paths several times before Raven came to a conclusion.

"I believe it is time we also separated for this little escapade."

"Right..." Her husband said solemnly. "Just... be careful, alright?"

The two looked at each other for a moment before sharing a kiss and one last embrace before hurrying away in their side of the hallway...

Jayson tried to keep as quiet as possible, but being ready to punch someone's lights out kind of made that difficult. After rounding a corner, the man took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down. Getting pissed off about his situation wasn't going to help anyone. As he rubbed his temples he jumped ever so slightly when the sound of a voice entered his ears.

Hesitantly, the man followed the sound of the voice, leading him to a room with its lights still turned on and door cracked open just enough for him to properly hear what was being said. He could recognize the voices as that of Russ and Dave, which made his blood boil back to the level of frustration he had earlier.

"So what are you going to tell the President if he finds out about this?" Dave asked.

"He's not going to find out about this." Russ replied.

"You've abducted scientists from around not only this country, but from Canada, and you're keeping it a secret from the most powerful man in the world?! You, his Vice President?!"

"Look around you! This whole god damn continent has gone to shit! We already have cases of these things as far down as Panama! If the big man finds out about this, my ass is on the line!"

"But you're willing to break international law for this?! To cover your own ass? Christ, what the hell has this country come too..."

"It's all for the good of humanity. And hell, these people are doing the work they give them, aren't they? You're also sticking around."

"Yeah, because they're terrified and think you'll kill them if they so much as speak out of line, and the only reason I'm still here is because I'm reluctantly under you in terms of authority."

"You're damn right I am." Russ chuckled. "Now, I know it's late but there's one last thing I want to go over with you."

The VP then turned off the lights of the room and turned on a projector screen. As he was unable to see whatever it is they were looking at and didn't want to risk getting caught, Jayson had no other option but to leave, pondering the information he was given as he felt like he would combust from how much his blood was boiling.

Once Jayson felt like he was a safe distance away from the two men and in a spot quiet enough for nobody to hear him, he took out his wallet and removed a photo of himself with a woman standing at his side and a young girl that looked about the same age as the Ed's during the Big Picture Show wearing a yellow cap and gown with a green sash. Looking at the picture seemed to calm him down as he held the photo to his heart.

"She's okay." He said out loud to nobody. "She's a smart girl and she's resourceful. If anyone can survive out there, it's Kathy." Jayson collected himself and headed back to his room...

Simon stealthily checked every room he came across, hoping it was unlocked so that he could find any sort of information from whatever was inside. Unfortunately, every door was either locked or held nothing of value. Walking through the empty hallway made Simon realize something; this could not have been a military base, if it was though then it was not a very good one. Where were the staff and personnel? Did they have their own barracks? Whatever the answer was, Simon was thankful that these halls were not patrolled as he initially expected.

Eventually the man found a door that was unlocked and, after a quick look around, recognized the room as the lab that they were usually sent to when working during the daytime.

"Bingo." Simon said to himself, finding a computer that was stationed away from the door for safety. Despite the password protection, he was able to bypass the lock and see the available files on the computer as an admin. There wasn't much available that Simon wasn't already aware of from the work that he was made to do in this very lab. The new information that he did find though sent his jaw to the floor.

His hands trembled as he printed out all the information he could, his eyes stuck on the words that put him in this state: Nuclear Bomb...

Raven moved about like a cat, silent and quick, which was fitting as she scanned every room quickly and efficiently. Sadly, just like her husband, she didn't find much in most rooms and was considering heading back to her room. However, once she noticed a large set of double doors as opposed to the regular single ones she normally encountered, with a small scanner for a card key directly to the right of the doors, her curiosity got the better of her. The doors had a small window that allowed the woman to peer inside to see... something. It was tough to actually make out but whatever was behind that door was massive. Massive enough that the room she was looking into wasn't a normal room but something more akin to an aircraft hangar. While she couldn't tell what exactly was in that hangar, it gave Raven a feeling of absolute dread.

This feeling of apprehension and general anxiety urged Raven to slowly back away from the door and carefully head back to her room...

Jayson and Simon arrived at the doors to their rooms at just about the same time.

"Did you find anything?" Jayson asked.

"More than I expected to find..." Simon answered, his voice cracking ever so slightly.

"What do you mean by that?" The light tapping of shoes heading towards them caught their attention and caused the heads of the two men to snap in its direction in panic. Thankfully it was just Raven, looking just as skittish as her husband.

"Thank goodness you're both alright!"

"Did you run into any trouble?" Simon asked, grasping his wife's hands in concern.

"Thankfully no, however I did learn that the engineers are building something in a hangar located in what should be the Southwest section of this base." Raven explained.

"Did you get a good look at what they're building?" Her husband questioned, Raven shook her head. "No, the doors are locked electronically and it's too dark to see the interior clearly. Whatever it is though, it must be large if they require what appears to be an aircraft hangar to store it." Simon's arms went slack as he began to connect the dots, Jayson began to ask his own question.

"How do you know it's in the Southeast section? Do you think you might have an idea of where we are?"

"Actually, from the time we've been here, I've been able to see the North Star from outside our window. From there I was able to deduce that I was going Southwest based on my movements."

"Impressive!" Jayson admitted. "I was actually able to listen in on a conversation between the guys that brought us here. One of them is actually the American Vice President and he hasn't told the Big Man that he kidnapped us here."

"B-But that's against international law!" Raven exclaimed in horror.

"Yeah, and if we step out of line he might kill us to cover his own ass!"

"So no matter what we do, we're most likely going to die..." Simon said softly, a cold chill running up his spine and then running back down again in a cold sweat.

"What are you saying?!" Jayson asked.

"I... I read some of the files they have here and part of their plan involves a nuclear bomb. We run the risk of not only being killed by the hands of our captors, but of a nuclear meltdown as a result of this bomb either being detonated prematurely or leaking chemicals."

The adults stood in a stunned silence as they allowed the weight of their information to set.

"So what can we do?" Raven asked.

"What can we do?!" Jayson replied. "We're stuck. If we try to escape they'll probably find us and end us. If they don't then those zombies will. If we stay then we might end up dead anyway."

Simon raised his index finger, feeling the cogs turning in his head.

"It's a risk, but perhaps we should stay and continue to follow their orders. But! We try everything we can to hinder their progress as much as possible; intentionally use incorrect coding, make their tech faulty, etcetera! If we can't escape then we must try to shut them down!"

"You sure that's the smartest thing to do?" Jayson asked.

"Most likely not. We'd be sabotaging them, which could give them incentive to simply off us, but if their plan involves a nuke, it's for the best of humanity to ruin their plan!"

"Alright... You know this isn't going to be easy." Raven added.

"Life is never easy. It wasn't before this horror began, and it won't be when this is over." Simon replied.

"Then it's settled." Jayson announced. "We screw these Americans over, and if we can actually manage a best case scenario, we can see our kids again!"

The mention of their children made the the minds of Simon and Raven wander over to Double D and his friends.

"Right... I suppose we should head to bed if we're going to initiate our plan." Simon announced. The three adults headed to their rooms, Raven clinging to her husband as the two headed to bed. Their specific thoughts were slightly different, but they both prayed for the safety of their son.

'Eddward, whatever happens, your mother and I love you and we hope you're safe. Wherever you are.'

The choice for this chapter is a bit different, but it'll decide which side you want to read first, both sides will eventually be explored fully.

Make your choice:

Option A: Kevin's Group

Option B: The Eds' Group