It’s tough to be a child.

I feel like everyone—except Jill—thinks I’m too young to do anything. I’m not even allowed to use a gun. I do get a small katana, though thanks to the internet, I found out it’s actually a wakizashi. A Japanese sword, a little shorter than a katana. I’m not sure why Mr. Sanders called it that. Maybe he was just trying to give me confidence.

Sometimes I hate being six. I wish I were sixteen again. But then again, being small does have its perks. Jill, Madison, and I can squeeze into places no one else can. We’re about the same height. Same age too.

I ran into the living room and stopped cold.

I saw what they were watching. Of all movies… why that one? Never mind. I won’t go there. I’ll just let it go. I turned around and slammed the door behind me.

I walked into the room with the computer and sat down. At least online, I could figure things out. Jill was the only person from my past I knew was still alive. But if there was even a sliver of hope that Mom and Jennifer were too...

Minecraft.

Of all the things to check online—of course. Jennifer’s obsessed with Minecraft. I typed in the website. It was still up. That was a good sign. Now I just had to hope the server she used was still running.

I’d played Minecraft tons of times growing up. It’s kind of old now—over a hundred years old, I think. I’m still amazed people still play it. The graphics are ancient compared to today’s games, but maybe that’s why people love it so much.

I downloaded the game to the computer and hoped it would work. These old games can be tricky. When the login screen finally popped up, I breathed a sigh of relief.

I typed in my old account: NatTheKing.

I giggled a little. I really should change that name someday.

It took forever to load. I don’t know how many updates this game’s had over the years, but I’m pretty sure this was the last one. Kind of sad. I always wished they’d add the evil bunnies back in.

I watched the screen as it slowly loaded. Way longer than it used to. I knew why—the internet. Without anyone maintaining the servers, it was painfully slow. But still, I whispered to myself, Don’t fail me. Please don’t fail.

I was about to give up… when the server finally appeared.

“It’s working?” I whispered. “I can’t believe it.”

Now I just had to see if Jennifer was on.

I clicked the server name and waited again. I glanced at the clock. Seven minutes—seven—just to get this far.

I stared outside while I waited. The dead were still wandering around below, owning the streets like they had always belonged there. I looked back at the screen.

Connection Lost. Timed out.

Of course.

I tried again. And again. Same error. Just as I was about to close it, it finally loaded in.

I pressed Tab to see who was online. She wasn’t there.

My heart sank a little.

But… there was someone. A girl, based on the name.

[NatTheKing] Hello?

I waited. No response. Maybe she was away from the keyboard.

Still, after all this effort, I wasn’t about to log off. I headed to one of my old builds to kill time. I’d gotten pretty carried away the last time I was on. Hard to believe I built a huge castle at age sixteen. Now, at six, I didn’t even know how to recreate the front steps.

So I built a little house. It was all I could think of. I wished I could make something grand like before. My eyes started to sting.

Then came a reply.

[JamGirl02] Hey Nathan! Haven’t seen you on in a long time.

Oh no.

One of my old online friends. I’d completely forgotten about her. How was I supposed to explain that I was now a girl named Natalie?

[NatTheKing] Yeah. It’s been a while. How’s the zombies in your area?

[JamGirl02] Being zombies. How about yours?

[NatTheKing] lol. Pretty much the same. Ugly—like they came straight out of the morgue. Not like the ones on The Walking Dead.
Hey, have you seen my sister Jennifer on here lately? Her IGN is js420.

Ugh, character limits. I hated how short the messages were. But I understood—it was to stop people from spamming.

[JamGirl02] Nope. This is my first time on since it all started. But if I see her, I’ll tell her you’re looking.

[NatTheKing] Thanks. Tell her I’ll be on every day at this time—if I can get on. Internet sucks.

[JamGirl02] Yeah, true. I’ll let her know. I was hoping more friends would log in. I guess… most of them are gone.

We talked for a while. Eventually, we just played the game together. I found her working on this huge build, not far from my tiny, sad little house. I offered to help. She let me.

Part of me was scared she’d find out I wasn’t who I used to be. I was a six-year-old girl now. But even if she found out… who would believe it?

My stomach growled.

I looked over and noticed a cup sitting next to me. But that wasn’t enough. I needed real food. Chicken. Yeah, that sounded good.

Speaking of chickens, it’s weird how you don’t really see many animals in The Walking Dead. A few horses. A goat. Maybe a pig or two. And they all died, of course.

I headed to the kitchen, grabbed a few cooked chicken pieces, and went back to the game. My friend was still working on the chimney. It was getting dark in the game. That’s when the mobs come out. Mobs are the monsters.

Why did they have to put zombies in this game, too? Like real life isn’t enough?

I ran into the building and climbed the stairs to where she was. I knew they’d be spawning soon.

[NatTheKing] If only the zombies outside would spawn like the ones in this game.

[JamGirl02] lol. And then burn to death when the sun rises. That’d be nice.

[NatTheKing] I think Minecraft got it wrong. It’s vampires that burn in sunlight—not zombies.

A few zombies appeared in the game. I didn’t have a weapon. She gave me a sword. That made me laugh a little. If only I had my real katana, these things wouldn’t stand a chance.

I looked away from the screen and down at the street. The real zombies were still out there.

At least in the game, I didn’t have to see their guts. Or smell them.

[JamGirl02] It kinda sucks. Zombies in here, and in real life.

[NatTheKing] You’re telling me. I was just thinking the same thing.

We were mid-battle when something popped up on the screen.

I froze. My mouth dropped.

After all this time—after all these days—

[js420 joined the game]

I couldn’t stop the tears. Jennifer. My sister.

She was alive.

And if she was alive… then maybe Mom was too.

Maybe even…

George.

[NatTheKing] Jennifer!!

I typed as fast as I could—but the moment it appeared on the screen…

The server crashed.

Connection Lost. Internal exception: java.net.SocketException: Connection reset

“Crap!” I cried. “That was Jennifer! She’s alive!”

I rushed back to the main page and tried reconnecting. This time, I got:
Can’t connect to server.

I kept hitting refresh. Over and over. Same message.

I didn’t want to restart the game—it took forever. What if she logged off while I was loading? What if I missed my chance?

Tears poured down my face. I slammed the game closed and restarted it, but now it wouldn’t load anything. Not even my name. It just said:

Play Offline.

Minecraft was gone. I couldn’t play with friends. I couldn’t see Jennifer again.

I dropped my head onto the keyboard and cried.

I didn’t know what else to do.

I had been so close.

I must have cried myself to sleep, because the next thing I knew, I was in bed.

I had to get up. I wasn’t sure where everyone was. It was dark outside, and I could hear the groans of the zombies from below. Even though we were on the top floor, they still made enough noise to send chills down my spine—especially at night. It was creepy.

Then I heard it.

A loud shriek.

That sound.

No. No, no, no.

It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be another Cerberus… could it?

I started to cry again.

Beverly came into the room and rushed to my side. “Shhh,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around me. “Don’t cry. You don’t want to wake everyone.”

“I don’t think I’m the one who’s going to wake them up,” I sniffled. “Can’t you hear that?”

“Yes, I can,” she murmured, holding me close. “But they’re far enough away. We’re safe for now.”

Just then, Hunter burst into the room.

“I don’t think we’re safe,” he said in a hushed voice. “That’s a Cerberus. I’m sure of it. And it’s on the roof.”

My breath caught in my throat. I knew what that meant. I’d seen what they could do.

“Would we be safe if we stayed quiet?” Beverly asked calmly.

“We might,” Hunter said, barely above a whisper. “But we might not. If it knows we’re here, it can get to us fast. Its saliva is acidic—it can melt through metal. And its tongue is long, like a whip. Natalie’s seen that firsthand. Plus…” He hesitated. “It can breathe fire.”

My heart dropped.

“If it sets the roof on fire,” Hunter continued, “we won’t have time to escape.”

“Then let’s not make a sound,” I murmured, frozen in place.

“Go warn the others. Quietly,” Beverly instructed him.

I sat near the window, watching the world below. Mutant creatures were scattered across the ground. I didn’t even know what they were. I just wished they weren’t there.

This wasn’t Minecraft. They wouldn’t burn up when the sun rose. They wouldn’t despawn. They would still be here—waiting.

The girls were told to stay silent. Mr. Sanders slipped into the room, gathering supplies as quietly as possible. I could tell by the way he moved—we were getting ready to leave.

I didn’t want to.

This place felt like home. Safe.

I grabbed my wakizashi—though I still liked to call it a katana. The girls gathered swords and guns. I took a small gun, the only one light enough for me to handle.

Beverly packed up some food and a few useful items. I glanced at the clock.

4:00 a.m.

The sun wouldn’t rise for another three hours. And even then, it would still be dark. The mutants would still be out there.

I prayed Mr. Sanders had a plan, because I sure didn’t.

When we were all packed, Mr. Sanders opened the apartment door slowly. We held our breath.

Nothing.

No creatures. No dogs. Just silence.

The stairs were the next challenge. Echoes. Every creak could give us away. And the same staircase also led to the roof.

Where the Cerberus might still be.

This was Jill’s first time going back downstairs since we got here. It was hard for all of us. The food we left behind… the safety… it would all go to waste.

We had dreamed of clearing this building, making it a safe haven for survivors.

Now it was just a dream. One we had to leave behind.

We crept down the stairs, listening carefully with every step. Nothing followed us. No strange sounds inside. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling something would.

And then… we heard it.

That familiar shriek. Louder now. Echoing through the stairwell, bouncing off every wall.

My spine went cold.

I sped up, passing the others. I needed out of this building. I needed away from that sound.

Then I froze.

A clicking noise.

“Hold on,” I whispered, lifting my hand. Everyone stopped.

The clicking came again—tap tap tap… scratch scratch scratch… tap tap tap.

Jill leaned in. “A zombie?”

“No,” I whispered. “That’s not a zombie. That’s Morse code.”

Three taps. Three scratches. Three taps again. SOS.

“Someone’s in trouble,” I said, heart racing.

I tapped and scratched back: Where are you?

The response came a few seconds later: Apt 1802. Dead outside door.

Mr. Sanders frowned. “That’s going to be a problem.”

“We can’t fight them now,” Beverly whispered. “Not with the Cerberus above us.”

“We’ll handle it,” Mr. Sanders said. Hunter nodded in agreement.

I wanted to help… but I was scared. I knew I wouldn’t make a dent in a real fight.

They each grabbed their swords. Guns were too loud. A single gunshot could bring the monster down from the roof.

Mr. Sanders opened the door to the 18th floor. We were lucky—the zombies were near the far end of the hall. He and Hunter dashed forward.

I counted six. Hunter took out two quickly. Mr. Sanders took the others. We slipped into the hallway and closed the stairwell door behind us.

Apartment 1802 was near the middle. I knocked gently. Beverly smiled at me.

A chain slid open, and a terrified African Canadian man peeked through. His eyes widened when he saw us.

He opened the door. “Come in,” he whispered.

We filed inside quickly.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” he said. “I have no idea how you even found us.”

“Wasn’t it Morse code?” I asked.

“Morse code?” He looked puzzled. “Oh—that must’ve been my son, Zachary.”

He ducked into a back room and returned with a boy, maybe thirteen.

“This is Zachary. He knows all that old stuff,” he said proudly.

Zachary gave a small wave. “Hi.”

“Nice to meet you, Zachary,” Mr. Sanders said. “I’m Mr. Sanders. This is Beverly, Natalie, Jill, Hunter, and Madison.”

“I’m Rodney,” the man said. “My wife Tia, and my daughters Shakina and Desiree, are still asleep.”

We settled in their living room for a bit, catching our breath. Finally, Rodney asked, “So… why are you all up so early?”

“We lived on the top floor,” Beverly explained. “But there’s a Cerberus up there. We had to leave.”

Zachary’s eyes lit up. “You mean the monsters with three dog heads, a dragon tail, and snakes growing out of their backs? I see them from the window every night.”

I nodded. “They’re worse than the zombies. We have to get out of this city.”

“It could be like this in every city,” Mr. Sanders warned.

“Jill and I were outside at night before, and we never saw them,” I added. “It was only when we got here that they showed up.”

We kept talking, but I started to feel uneasy. Like we were wasting time.

“I’m not staying here,” Rodney finally barked. “We need to get the hell out of this city.”

“But where would we go?” I asked.

Everyone had a different idea. I wanted to go back home to Mantri, Kansas. Rodney wanted to go north. Zachary wanted south. Mr. Sanders and Beverly wanted to stay nearby—just in case things ever returned to normal.

Hunter and Madison didn’t care either way.

It was almost 7:00 a.m. The sky was brightening, though we couldn’t see the sun—too many clouds.

Hopefully the mutants would hide during the day.

Tia, Shakina, and Desiree finally woke up. They were shocked to see so many people in their apartment. After introductions, Tia started packing supplies. Shakina and Desiree each grabbed one item—a doll.

Honestly? I would’ve done the same.

But dolls don’t protect you from zombies.

By 7:45, we were ready to move. Except now came the worst part—camouflage.

Jill and I hated it. I could tell Madison, Shakina, and Desiree weren’t thrilled either.

As daylight broke, we quietly stepped into the world again.

Every step, every zombie near us, made my heart pound. Any one of them could figure us out. If that happened…

We had one goal: find a broken-down light rail. Try to get it working.

“This’ll get us to Minneapolis,” I giggled nervously.

“It’ll take us farther than that,” Hunter said. “It goes all the way to Eden Prairie. We could stay at the mall there.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to go to the Mall of America?” Madison asked. “Less walking.”

We all agreed. The Mall of America would be quicker. Let’s just hope we’re not fighting zombies the second we get there.

Rodney managed to get the train started. It wasn’t easy—he didn’t have a key—but somehow, it roared to life.

We climbed aboard.

This was going to be a long ride.

Let’s just hope we make it.