“Maybe if we take him to his home, his people might let us stay for a while,” Peter said hopefully. He settled down on a large rock, crossing his arms and stretching out long, boot-clad legs. “If they have supplies, they might have space, maybe even looking for more people.”

“That’s best-case scenario,” Rachael said, rejoining them as Alice continued to talk quietly to the child. “In answer to your question—” She nodded at Jason. “—I want to take him back home, see if we can find his parents for him. It’s got to be nearby, otherwise he’d be dirty and hungry.” The others nodded in agreement. “But it might also be a trap. We just don’t know what we’re going to find there. Jason, you and Alice come with me. Peter, I want you to wait here for a few hours. If we don’t come back, go back to Brett, tell him what happened.”

No one argued.

***

“The Apple Man used to work for my daddy,” Tommy said, hand tucked into Alice’s. He’d grown more animated as the four made their way along the forest path. “And he was always nice to me. He always gave me apples right from the tree, even though he wasn’t supposed to.”

They rounded a large tree in the middle of the path and Rachael stopped in her tracks. A large, broad figure dressed in jeans and a dirty T-shirt faced away from them, short cropped hair dark against his neck, skin bronzed from the sun.

“Apple Man?” Tommy pulled his hand out of Rachael’s and took a step forward. The figure turned slowly, one shoulder sloped lower than the other, head tilted to one side, mouth hanging open.

“Apple Man!”

“Tommy, no!” Rachael reached for the boy, fingers grazing his shirt and missing as he darted forward.

Cursing in Elvish, she bolted after him, pulling her dagger from her hip sheath. The orc was newly turned—Rachael couldn’t see any decomposing flesh, but the closer she got, the worse it looked. Its jaw hung all crooked, like it had been smashed with something hard, its eyes clouded and yellow. Blood and sticky black gore stained the side of its face and shirt collar, a chunk of flesh missing from its neck.

Tommy didn’t notice anything wrong. He ran toward the orc, who took slow, shambling steps forward, reaching for the boy.

“Tommy, stop,” Rachael shouted as she dashed after him, pulling her sword from the scabbard attached to her backpack. “He’s a . . . he’s a Bad Thing!”

Tommy faltered as he heard his own words echoed back, but he was already too close to the orc that was once his friend. It lunged at him, strong hands clenching around his arm. The sound of Tommy’s horrified screams turned Rachael’s stomach to lead and spurred her forward even faster.