Tallahassee, United States
2:40 p.m.
— August 26, 2010
When they reached the orphanage, they understood why the crying had grown quieter during the night.
The main gate was surrounded.
Several of the dead had gathered there, drawn by a sound that was still coming from inside—or one that had stopped sometime earlier.
Some struck the metal bars repeatedly, while others simply stood motionless, as though waiting.
Jason crouched behind an abandoned car, and Robert and Melody quickly did the same.
“There are many of them up ahead,” Robert murmured.
Jason studied the building, examining the side wall, the windows, and the area behind it.
Then he noticed a side door partially concealed by bushes and far from the largest concentration of the dead.
“There.”
Melody followed his gaze.
“There aren’t many on that side.”
Jason nodded.
“We’ll go around.”
They moved slowly, staying close to the wall and avoiding anything that might make noise.
When they reached the side door, Jason tried the handle.
Locked.
“Let me,” Melody whispered.
She pulled two paper clips from one of her backpack pockets.
Jason looked at her in surprise.
“Seriously?”
Melody kept her attention fixed on the lock.
“You have stormtrooper armor.
I have paper clips.”
Jason almost smiled.
Melody worked in silence for several moments until the lock gave a quiet click and the door opened.
Robert looked at her in surprise.
“Where did you learn to do that?”
“Scouts,” Melody answered.
After thinking for a moment, she added, “And curiosity.”
Jason slowly pushed the door open.
On the other side, the inner courtyard was empty.
Far too empty.
They stepped inside and closed the door behind them.
The silence inside the orphanage felt different.
Heavier.
Signs of panic filled the main hallway: overturned chairs, toys scattered across the floor, and dark stains covering parts of the walls and tiles.
Dried blood.
Melody raised a hand to her mouth but forced herself to continue.
Robert tightened his grip on the knife, while Jason felt pressure building in his chest.
This was where his mother had worked.
The place she had always described as being filled with voices, laughter, and children running through the hallways.
Now it seemed abandoned by everything that was still human.
“We clear it one floor at a time,” Jason whispered.
Robert nodded.
“Slowly.”
They began on the ground floor, opening one room after another.
Some contained nothing but disorder.
In others, they found former employees who were no longer themselves.
Robert dealt with two of them.
Jason handled another.
Melody covered the hallways, keeping her crossbow raised as every shifting shadow tested her courage.
There were no living children.
Not yet.
They climbed to the second floor, where the smell of dust and fear seemed even stronger.
Jason moved in front, Robert followed close behind him, and Melody watched their backs.
When they reached a room at the end of the hallway, Jason stopped.
Small marks covered the door, as though someone had spent a long time scratching at the wood.
He took a deep breath and opened it.
There were three children inside.
Or what remained of them.
Small.
Silent.
Standing motionless in the middle of the room.
For a moment, Jason couldn’t move.
His body froze, and although his hand tightened around the handle of the kukri, the blade remained in its sheath.
He knew what he had to do.
He knew.
But knowing didn’t make it any easier.
They were children.
One of them turned its head toward him and suddenly lunged, moving too quickly for his moment of hesitation.
Jason raised his arm on instinct, and the small creature sank its teeth into the protection covering his forearm.
The teeth didn’t penetrate.
The armor held.
So did the wetsuit underneath it.
Jason didn’t feel any pain.
But he felt something else.
A cold shock.
The brutal confirmation that the protective clothing truly worked—and the even crueler realization that he would need it to survive moments like this.
“Jason!” Melody whispered in horror.
Her voice brought him back.
Jason took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a fraction of a second.
Then he did what had to be done.
When it was over, the silence inside the room seemed even greater than before.
Melody had gone pale.
Robert maintained a hard expression, but his eyes revealed how deeply the sight had affected him.
Jason stood in the middle of the room, staring at his own arm.
The bite mark remained on the white plate.
No blood, no wound, no infection.
He had survived.
But he didn’t feel victorious.
Only more tired, Older.
Farther away from the boy who, only a few days earlier, had still been running onto a football field in a Tigers uniform.
Robert placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Son…”
Jason took a deep breath and returned the kukri to its sheath.
“There are still living children here.”
His voice was quiet but firm.
“We’re going to find them.”
Melody discreetly wiped away a tear before nodding.
Robert reopened the door and checked the hallway.
Jason gave the room one final look before stepping outside.
There were still more floors to search.
There was still time.
And if he stopped to feel everything now, he might not be able to keep moving.
The hallway on the third and final floor was darker.
Old curtains partially covered the windows, allowing the afternoon sunlight to enter in narrow strips that illuminated floating dust, overturned furniture, and stains scattered across the floor.
Jason raised a hand, signaling for Robert and Melody to stop.
At the end of the hallway, several of the dead had gathered in front of a door.
They scratched at the wood and repeatedly threw themselves against it—not with enough force to break through, but with the relentless persistence of animals drawn to the sound of something alive on the other side.
Jason felt his chest tighten.
“There’s someone in there,” Melody whispered.
Jason nodded.
Robert tightened his grip on the knife.
“We need to draw them away without making too much noise.”
Jason looked around before gently tapping the tip of his kukri against the wall.
Once.
Then again.
The metallic sound echoed through the hallway.
The dead stopped moving and slowly turned their heads toward him.
Jason took several steps backward, drawing them away from the door.
“Come on,” he murmured.
The creatures began staggering toward him.
Melody raised her crossbow.
Her hands were still trembling, but her eyes were steadier this time.
Her first shot struck its target directly, and one of the dead collapsed before reaching the middle of the hallway.
Melody took a deep breath, loaded another bolt, and fired again.
The second creature fell.
Jason moved before the others could get too close, finishing them with quick, silent movements.
Within seconds, the hallway was motionless again.
Melody slowly lowered the crossbow.
Robert looked at her.
“You’re getting better.”
She swallowed hard. Find the original chapter at g.com.
“I’d rather not have to get better at this.”
Jason didn’t answer.
He simply walked toward the door.
Before trying to open it, they checked the nearby rooms.
All of them were empty.
Unmade beds.
Open closets.
Toys scattered across the floors.
But no signs of life.
They finally returned to the door the dead had been trying to reach.
Jason placed a hand on the handle.
Locked.
He knocked lightly.
“Is anyone in there?”
There was no answer.
Only silence.
Jason pressed his ear against the wood.
“We’re survivors.”
Still nothing.
His heart sank.
Perhaps they had arrived too late.
Perhaps the crying during the night had been the final sound made by children who hadn’t survived until morning.
Jason closed his eyes for a moment before trying one final time.
“My name is Jason,” he said, his voice quieter and gentler.
“Mrs.
Miller is waiting for you”
The silence continued for several seconds.
Jason was about to step away when he heard a faint sound.
Click.
The lock turned.
The door opened only a few inches.
Jason remained completely still as frightened eyes stared at him from the other side.
He slowly pushed the door farther open, careful not to appear threatening.
Five children were inside the room.
Three appeared to be between nine and eleven years old.
The other two were younger, probably no older than five or six.
They were huddled together in a corner, clinging to one another.
One of the older girls held a piece of wood like a weapon.
Another kept her hand over a younger child’s mouth, trying to keep them from crying too loudly.
The relief that passed through Jason was so intense that his legs nearly gave out.
They were alive.
“It’s all right,” Jason said as he took a step inside.
“We came to get you.”
The moment he entered, however, the children recoiled.
One of the younger ones began to cry, and the girl holding the piece of wood raised it with a trembling hand.
“Don’t come any closer!”
Jason stopped immediately.
Only then did he realize what he must have looked like to them.
His white armor was filthy.
The kukri was still in his hand.
Marks from the fighting covered his clothes and protective plates.
To those children, he didn’t look like a rescuer.
He looked like another part of the nightmare.
Jason slowly lowered the blade.
“I’m not going to hurt you.”
His voice didn’t help.
The children remained huddled together, and one of them sobbed.
“Go away…”
The words struck Jason harder than any bite could have.
He stood motionless, unsure of what to do.
He had crossed streets filled with the dead, entered the orphanage, cleared the hallways, and done everything necessary to reach them.
Yet when he finally found them…
They were afraid of him.
Melody noticed.
She gently touched Jason’s arm.
“Let me.”
Jason looked at her.
There was pain in his eyes, but he merely nodded and stepped back.
Melody entered the room slowly.
Before approaching the children, she placed her crossbow on the floor and raised her empty hands.
“Hi.”
Her voice was calm, almost gentle.
“My name is Melody.”
The children watched her suspiciously, but they didn’t recoil as far as they had from Jason.
Melody knelt on the floor, lowering herself to their height.
“I know you’re scared,” she said.
“I’m scared too.”
The girl holding the piece of wood didn’t lower her improvised weapon.
“Who are you?”
“We’re friends of Mrs.
Miller.”
At the sound of the name, one of the younger children raised their head.
“Mrs.
Miller?”
Melody smiled faintly.
“Yes.
She’s alive, and she’s waiting for you.”
The children looked at one another.
The oldest girl still appeared suspicious.
“You’re lying.”
Melody shook her head.
“I’m not.
She came with us, and she’s waiting somewhere safe.”
The younger child began crying again, but this time it wasn’t only from fear.
There was hope in it.
Melody extended one hand without touching anyone.
“We need to leave before more of those monsters appear.”
The oldest girl looked toward Jason, still frightened.
“What about him?”
Jason lowered his gaze.
Melody looked at him for a moment before answering.
“He’s the one who cleared the way for us to get here.”
Her voice became firmer.
“I know he looks frightening right now, but he was the one who heard you during the night.
He was the one who decided we had to come for you.”
The children looked at Jason again.
He tried to smile but couldn’t quite manage it.
Instead, he returned the kukri to its sheath and took another step backward, showing them he wasn’t a threat.
“Mrs.
Miller is waiting.
We’re going to take you to her” Jason said quietly.
The oldest girl hesitated before slowly lowering the piece of wood.
Melody released a relieved breath.
“That’s it.”
She carefully moved closer.
“What are your names?”
One by one, the children answered.
Still trembling, still frightened.
But alive.
Jason remained near the door, watching the hallway.
On the outside, he appeared calm.
Inside, the weight of their rejection sat like a stone in his chest.
He knew he couldn’t blame them.
Any child would have been afraid after seeing him like that.
Even so, it hurt.
For a few seconds, Jason understood something he hadn’t fully realized before.
In this new world, saving someone didn’t mean they would see him as a hero.
Sometimes…
To survive, he would have to look exactly like the thing everyone feared most.
Jason carried the small mirror to one of the third-floor windows.
Outside, the street appeared partially clear.
The dead remained concentrated around the main gate, but the side of the building was quiet enough for the motorhome to approach.
He took a deep breath and raised the mirror.
One quick flash.
Another.
Then one more.
Three brief signals directed toward the warehouse.
Melody remained in the room with the five children, speaking quietly and trying to keep them calm.
She sat on the floor beside them, explaining that Jennifer was coming and that they would soon leave the orphanage.
Jason watched them for several seconds.
The children still avoided looking directly at him, and he tried not to show how much it hurt.
Then he turned toward Robert.
“Let’s check the dining hall.”
Robert nodded.
“There might be food.”
The two of them carefully made their way downstairs.
The orphanage remained terrifyingly silent, and every hallway seemed to carry echoes of what had happened there.
When they entered the dining hall, they found overturned tables, broken plates, and chairs scattered across the floor.
The kitchen was located in the back.
Jason opened the cabinets while Robert checked the shelves.
They found several cans of food, sealed packages, and bottles of water forgotten in one corner.
It wasn’t much.
But in that world, anything helped.
Jason placed everything inside a bag.
“This could be useful.”
Robert closed one of the cabinet doors.
“It will.”
Then Jason noticed the large walk-in freezer built into the wall.
The metal door was closed, and several marks covered its outer surface.
He didn’t know why, but his stomach sank before he even touched the handle.
Robert noticed.
“Jason?”
The boy didn’t answer.
He simply opened it.
Cold air escaped from inside.
Jason remained motionless.
Two children were inside the freezer.
They were holding each other.
Small.
Silent.
Frozen to the floor.
Jason felt his eyes begin to burn.
They had probably entered the freezer to hide.
Or someone had placed them there in an attempt to protect them.
In the end, the cold had done what the dead had not.
And like all the others…
They had come back too.
But they couldn’t move.
Robert slowly approached.
When he saw them, his expression hardened—not from coldness, but from pain.
“My God…”
Jason tightened his grip around the kukri.
For several seconds, his hand refused to move.
He wanted to close the door.
He wanted to pretend he hadn’t seen them.
He wanted to return to a time when problems could be solved with a football game, a conversation with Melody, or a lecture from his mother.
But that world no longer allowed that kind of escape.
Jason stepped inside only far enough to do what was necessary.
Quickly.
Quietly.
Without cruelty.
When he came back out, he carefully closed the freezer door, as though the gesture could still offer the children some small measure of respect.
He stood there for a moment, struggling to breathe.
Robert placed a hand on his shoulder.
Jason didn’t look at his father.
His voice was low when he finally spoke.
“I’ll never get used to doing that to children.”
Robert tightened his hand on his son’s shoulder.
“I hope you never do.”
Jason swallowed hard before picking up the bag of food.
“Let’s go.”
They left the dining hall in silence, but before reaching the main corridor, a faint sound came from a narrow door beside the kitchen.
Jason stopped.
So did Robert.
The sound came again.
Quiet.
Something shifting inside.
Jason raised the kukri, while Robert placed a hand on his pistol without drawing it.
A crooked sign hung on the door.
JANITOR’S CLOSET.
Jason approached slowly.
“Is someone in there?” he asked quietly.
For several seconds, there was no response.
Then they heard a muffled sob.
Jason and Robert exchanged a look.
The boy returned the kukri to its sheath before carefully opening the door.
Two children were huddled between brooms, buckets, and cleaning supplies.
A boy and a girl.
They had the same frightened faces.
The same tear-filled eyes.
Twins.
Still alive.
The girl held her brother’s hand tightly, while the boy trembled so violently that he could barely breathe.
Jason remained where he was, afraid he would frighten them as he had frightened the others.
He slowly knelt, keeping some distance between them.
“It’s all right,” he said, his voice gentler than before.
“We’re not going to hurt you.”
The twins didn’t answer.
They only pressed themselves farther into the corner.
Robert stepped back to give them more room.
Jason looked at the children and then at the bag in his hand.
He removed a sealed bottle of water, placed it on the floor, and slowly pushed it toward them.
“You must be thirsty.”
The girl looked at the bottle.
Then at Jason.
“Did Mrs.
Miller come?” she asked, her voice barely audible.
Jason felt his chest tighten.
This time, he managed a faint smile.
“She did.
She’s coming to get you.”
The boy began crying silently, and the girl squeezed his hand.
Jason remained on his knees.
“What are your names?”
The girl hesitated.
“Emily.”
Then she pointed toward her brother.
“He’s Ethan.”
Jason slowly nodded.
“Emily.
Ethan.”
He kept his voice calm.
“You were both very brave.”
The girl shook her head as though she didn’t believe him.
“We stayed really quiet…”
Jason felt a knot form in his throat.
“You did the right thing.”
Robert glanced toward the hallway before looking back at Jason.
“We need to take them upstairs.”
Jason agreed but didn’t move too quickly.
He slowly extended one hand without forcing them to take it.
“Melody is with some other children on the third floor.
YYou can stay with them until Mrs.
Miller arrives.”
Emily looked at his hand.
Then at her brother.
Finally, she slowly placed her small hand over Jason’s dirty glove.
He carefully rose to his feet.
At that moment, despite everything he had seen inside the freezer, Jason felt a small part of himself breathe again.
There was still life in that place, there was still someone left to save.
I’m using AI to translate this story.
English is not my native language.
If you would prefer to read it without an AI translation, you can find the original Portuguese version on this same profile.