I woke up to small hands patting my cheeks. I opened my eyes, seeing my five year old son Okan peering at me, his little face troubled. I sat up and stretched, yawning. "What's up, little man?" I ruffled his reddish hair, and his blue-green eyes sparkled for a minute.

"Mommy, there's weird noises." He pointed to the wall, from where creaking and moaning drifted.

I opened my mouth and closed it again. I licked my lips and tried to think up an excuse. "Ah, well, um..."

Before I could say anything, a loud thump thump thump hit the wall. "Hey, shut up! There's kids here!"

"Shut up is a bad word, Katy." Okan looked at the blonde with round, sincere eyes. "Mommy said so."

Katy scoffed. "Well, I'd rather not hear the sound of two assholes mating..."

"Katy, language, please?" I rubbed my temples. "The world may have ended, but I'd really rather not have to hear my son cursing." I sighed and got up off of the pallet I shared with both Katy and Okan. "And I really don't want to hear it from a kid. How do you know what they're doing, anyway?"

Katy glared at me and I raised an eyebrow. "I'm nine, not stupid."

I shook my head and left the room we shared with six other people. "Come on, let's go get breakfast. Wake the others." Besides Okan, Katy and me, there were five kids and one woman in the room. Katy rolled her eyes and did as she was bid. She may be vulgar and smart-assed, but she always did what I told her.

We were in an old motel that sat by itself by a highway, remarkably stable. It had about twenty rooms and two cabins nearby, and the lobby doubled as a cafeteria and sitting room. I took Okan's hand and led him to the lobby, where there was already a small group of people gathered.

A smell of something cooking permeated the air from the kitchen in the back. Katy soon entered, the kids behind her. June was behind them, yawning. I had found her with her little girl Lacey a few months before, and we'd become fast friends. Other than Lacey, there was Leo, a shy eight year old; Jacob, a hyper ten year old; Loretta, a curious six year old; and Bridget, a quiet three year old. I'd found Leo, Jake, Bridget and Lori a couple months before June and Lacey. I'd found Katy a few months after the bombing two years ago.

"Alana!" Jake ran to me and hugged me, grinning.

"Hey bub. You kids hungry?" I smiled and hugged Jake before hugging Lacey, Leo, Lori, and June. I picked Bridget up, and she snuggled into my neck.

"Mommy! Keith says he found bacon!" Okan tugged on my shirt, and I smiled at him. I shifted Bridget so she sat on my hip, and I put my hand on Okan's head.

"Alana, Lori wet the bed again!" Katy folded her arms, glaring at the younger girl. Lori pouted and her chin trembled, and she buried her face in my shirt. "This is the hundredth time, and-"

"Katy, she's six. Lay off a little." Leo frowned and went to stand next to Lori. They were the only two actually related.

"You lay off! I'm gettin' sick of the smell!" Katy scrunched her nose.

"Why do you care anyway, she don't share your bed!" Lacey, a pretty twelve year old with dark waves and piercing blue eyes, stepped up. She and Katy didn't get along much.

I sighed. She was right, though. Katy, Okan, Bridget and I slept on a pallet on the floor; June and Lacey shared one with Lori; Leo and Jake slept on the third pallet. "Alright, alright. Quit fighting." I scowled.

"Leo! Jake! Lori! Okan!" four more kids ran up to us and there were hugs and shoulder punches all around. Katy scowled and went to one of the tables to sit and wait for food.

"Well well. If it ain't the baby crew." I turned to find Jared, a tall man in his thirty's, staring at us. He had brown hair that always looked messy, and dark green eyes. Some stubble graced his strong jaw, but he still looked not older than me. Which was irritating. I was twenty-three, he was nine years older at thirty-two.

"Jared. I see you're still bitter." I worked my jaw a bit, trying not to start anything this early in the morning. He didn't like that we had so many kids with us, since most were too young to chip in with the heavy chores.

"Jared, would you leave them alone for once?" Keith walked in holding a tall plate of steaming bacon. He was a tall man, a few years older than me, with blonde hair and light brown eyes. "You're the only one against them. You're gonna lose every argument." He set the plate down and started serving everyone.

"Go eat!" I pushed the kids towards the food and carried Bridget to the table Katy sat at. Bridget wiggled until I put her down, then ran to Katy, grinning. Katy smiled at the toddler and helped her into the seat next to her.

Soon, the lobby was filled with the sounds of everyone eating and laughing. Some of the kids I looked after were scattered around the room, and it wasn't long before something happened. There was a clatter and a yell, and I jumped up to see what it was.

"I- I'm sorry!" It was Jake, trying to wipe up the water he had spilled.

"Good-for-nothing brat!" Jared stood up, wiping at the front of his pants. I guess the water had landed on him.

I ran forward, pulling Jake and Leo, who was right next to him, behind me. "He didn't mean it! Jared, he's just a kid. It was an accident." I pushed the boys until they walked away, hopefully to where I had been sitting.

Jared wasn't listening, and he clenched his fists. "It wasn't no damn accident! He did it on purpose! He always does!" He stepped forward, gritting his teeth. "All them damn kids always do it on purpose! And you let 'em!" He brought his fist up, reeling back.

I closed my eyes and prepared to be hit, but it never came. I heard a thump, a grunt and a louder thump. I opened my eyes to see Katy sitting on Jared's stomach, punching him as hard as she could. "Katy! Wha-" I rushed forward and wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her off. I dragged her away a few feet and turned her around, catching sight of her now tear stained face. Her cheeks were flushed, and she was breathing hard. "Sweetie, what-"

"Jake did it cuz-" she sniffed and wiped her cheeks and eyes with her fists. "Cuz Jared was sayin' bad stuff....." To my surprise, she wrapped her arms around my waist and started sobbing.

"He was saying bad stuff about you, Alana." Jake appeared by my side, his black hair sticking every which way. He looked at Jared, who was still on the floor, and wrapped an arm around me.

"Wh- what was he saying, Jake?" I furrowed my eyebrows and continued to stroke Katy's hair.

Jake stayed silent, probably chewing on the inside of his cheek, a bad habit he had when thinking. He turned so he could look straight into Jared's eyes. "He said... he said the only reason he ain't s-slept with you was.... was cuz...." he glared, and I noticed his chin trembled. "Was cuz us kids are always around. He- he said he wanted to-" Jake gulped and closed his eyes.

"Jake, what?" I put my hand on his head, trailing it down to his neck.

He kept his eyes squeezed closed. "I- I don't wanna say."

Katy turned her head and squeezed me tighter. "He said he wanted to do you hard and then kill us."

I stayed very still, my heart beating fast. My mouth went dry, and I started to shake. "Why. Would." I shook my head and grabbed Jake and Katy's hands, pulling them as far away from Jared as I could.

The lobby had went silent, and a couple of the guys yanked Jared up and dragged him towards the kitchen. I stayed quiet and sat down, my back to the room. Katy and Jake sat on either side of me, still holding my hands. "Alana? Are you-" Jake turned to face me.

"I- I'm sorry." Katy whispered, laying her forehead on my arm. "Y- you're like my mom. You... are my mom. I didn't like how he was talking." She burrowed into my side, working her way under my arm.

I squeezed her shoulders and shook my head. "Don't apologize. I'm sorry you guys had to hear all that." My lip trembled, and I bit it to keep from crying.

June sat down across from me, frowning. "They're tying him up for awhile. Carl and Paul are talking about kicking him out." I guess she had followed the group to the kitchen. "If he ends up staying, maybe you should talk to Paul about taking one of the cabins. There would be more room for you and the kids, and-"

"June! Slow down. I Already talked to paul about it, we're all moving into Cabin 2 today. You and Lacey, too." I managed a small smile and took a deep breath. I pushed the kids away and stood up. "So, come on, let's all get everything packed and into our new home, okay?"