There was silence for a moment, then a rising murmur in the crowd as Alice stood.

“You fought for us before you knew us. I’ll fight with you.”

One by one, all of her students stood, followed by more and more people until every single person in the cafeteria was on their feet.

Pride rose in Rachael’s chest as she looked around.

“We must move fast before more of the orcs come through. I know we can block the fence and clear out the orcs. Gather anything you have that can be a weapon.”

As she stepped down from the chair, Maria and two other teenage girls, Eden and Kate, pushed through the crowd gathered around her.

“We . . . uh . . . we were on the track team,” Maria started shyly, “and . . . um . . . we wanted to volunteer to run to the fence to try to block it.”

“We’re fast and strong and we can outrun anything that tries to get us,” Eden piped up.

“We want to help,” Kate added.

Rachael looked at the three teens with a smile. “If you promise me you’ll be safe, I will gladly accept your help.”

“It was Maria’s idea, but all three of us were the fastest on our team and we all want to help!” Eden said.

Maria wouldn’t meet her eyes, and Rachael smiled at her proudly. Holding up the crown, she gently placed it on Maria’s dark hair. The teen looked up in surprise and confusion; then reached up to feel the crown on her head.

“I’ll make you proud,” Maria whispered.

“You already have,” Rachael replied.

— 5 —

“Do you think you can do it?” Mark asked nervously. “Do you think you’ll survive?” He watched Rachael’s group gathering their weapons, his own hands empty.

“I think we can,” Rachael said with more confidence than she felt. “You don’t have to worry; we’ll make sure we still have a home come morning. Plenty more plants for you to weed,” she added with a small smile. He didn’t return it. She put it down to nerves.

Turning away, she moved over to her waiting army. Walking up and down their ranks, she split them into five teams of equal size, making sure each squad had the right balance of muscle, fighting skills, and common sense.

“We need to clear out the orcs,” she said, “and keep them away from the fence while Maria, Kate, and Eden secure it. They should be able to barricade it temporarily with some of the metal sheeting we have in the yard, but it will take some time. We need to buy them that time.”

“It’s dark, and we will use that to our advantage. We need to be as quiet as possible, take the orcs out a few at a time so we don’t get swarmed. We’re going with a buddy system, groups of four. Know where your team is at all times. We want to come out with the same number we go in with.”