With Emmanuel safely out the way, I wheel and direct my gun at the shadows, at the figures darting around in them. Molly’s gun cracks out another bullet, hitting a crazy in the chest. She fires two more times, and he finally falls. Ryan and Zeke both fire on a second crazy and he collapses to his knees before falling face first onto the marble with his arms splayed either side of him. I turn my gun on the last standing crazy and fire. My bullet hits him right between the eyes. He pauses momentarily before falling to the ground.

Panting, blood-splattered, we look around at the fallen group of crazies. Ten of them lie dead on the floor. That was way too close for comfort, but we did it. We killed them all.

Suddenly, I hear the sound of Jack’s barking coming from outside the castle. If Jack is barking, that means there’s more danger. My mind immediately thinks of Emmanuel, who followed the pit bull outside. He’s completely defenseless.

Ryan, Zeke, Molly, and I exchange a quick glance before rushing out of the castle doors. And that’s when we see them. Through a gray sheet of rain, we take in the sight of more crazies. A whole gang of them—on our boat. The ones inside the castle were just an offshoot of this main group, a distraction used to give these crazies the opportunity to steal our boat. And there in the center sits Emmanuel. He’s been completely bound in rope. His frantic gaze locks with mine.

“NO!” I scream.

The engine of our boat thrums and the black water churns as the propellers turn. The boat starts to move away, taking our weapons, food, and medical supplies with it.

Flooded with anger, drenched by rain, I raise my gun. But what can I do? I can’t get a clear shot of the crazies driving the boat because Emmanuel is in the way. If I shoot it to sink it, that would be no help either. We’d lose everything, including Emmanuel, who wouldn’t be able to swim to safety. There’s nothing I can do. I’m completely defeated.

Suddenly, I feel something grab me from behind. I scream and thrash around frantically. Beside me, Molly, Ryan, and Zeke have all been grabbed as well. As I finally catch a glimpse behind me, I realize that the whole island is filled with crazies. There are at least fifty of them surrounding the castle. The ones in the boat were just a decoy. We’re trapped. There’s nothing we can do.