"Let's go." Unlocking the cell door, the guard swung it open with a frown. "At this rate, you just might get dinner."

His hands were then bound from behind. "Where are you taking me?" Forest shifted uncomfortably.

"You'll see soon enough," the man grunted. After being led away, the iron door was slammed shut. "Now let's go. Don't make this difficult."

Forest shivered at the tone. "We don't need more drama; I'll listen." Escorted away, he was hurried past the eerie cells, each empty of life. "If I'm going elsewhere, will you tell everyone I'm fine?"

They stopped before the door at the end of the hallway.

The guard sneered.

Opening with a groan, they stepped through the entry and into the all-too-spacious room. Forest grinned when he was guided to the door nearby; he was going back. As he walked the hallway, there was a new bounce to his step.

Everyone suddenly stood, beaming at his presence.

"Forest, you'll go with Jade." After unlocking the door, he undid the cuffs, then shoved him inside. "We heard you crying, by the way."

The boy's smile left. "You can leave now."

And then he did.

-

The silence didn't last long. It would be a few minutes before any voiced their thoughts.

"What did they do?" It was Winter, low and angry. "Did they give you water torture also?"

"No." There was a thickness to his tone. "They just locked me in a cell."

After a moment, she exhaled heavily. "You're lucky then. Trust me, you wouldn't want what I got. It sounds stupid, sure, but an hour never felt so long."

Forest's eyes turned hard. Finding his feet, he drew near the peep-hole. Holly and Winter were to his right, he realized, each sitting across from one another. "Are you okay now?"

Each jumped, then looked to him.

"I'm sorry," he insisted. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Winter sighed, then stood. "I'm okay now, yeah." Then she met him at the peep-hole. "I'm sorry, brother."

"For what?"

"I should just be happy they didn't do that to you."

They shared a brief smile.

"Here," Forest said, slipping a hand through, "grab my hand." When she complied, he studied her. "Can we start over?"

Winter narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I mean what I said. Can we start over?" After a moment, the boy firmed his grip. "I'm sick of holding the past against you. I want us to forget our history; our little fights that mean nothing. I just want to start over."

She eyed him, then gave a slow nod. "This is random, but... I'll try."

"Really?"

"I'm sick of it too." With that, she squeezed his hand and smiled.

"I didn't think it'd be this eas-"

A sudden creak came from down the hallway, followed by the thud of a door and hurried footsteps. Everyone grew silent until they heard a certain noise: a bark.

Forest was at the bars in an instant. "Lucky! Beverly! We're here!"

"Quiet," came a familiar voice, "they might hear you."

"Bosley?"

And it was soon confirmed.

Carrying the puppies, Bosley hushed everyone. "If they find out, I'll be in big trouble," she warned, "so whisper and whisper only." When they agreed, she undid the cell of Winter and Holly. "You two can visit first."

Elated, Forest and Jade looked through the peep-hole. On the other side they giggled, each showing the puppies some love.

After a moment, the boy stepped back, his gaze drifting to Bosley. "Why?"

"Why what?"

Slow and steady, Forest came forward, then gripped the iron bars. "Why are you risking your life for us? I met you a few hours ago. Why risk your reputation just to show us some dogs?"

"Wait," Skylar began, "you know her?"

"Give me a mo-"

"No-"

"Yes," the boy snapped. "I'll tell you about it later."

There was an eerie pause.

Bosley gave a soft sigh. "I had a dog named Tigger for three years, but he died a month ago." She paused, shifting on her feet. "I just know what it's like to worry about your pet; that's all."

He would have pried further, but then he noticed the tears. "I'm sorry for you loss."

"Yeah," she managed, "I am too." Wiping at an eye, she disappeared into a cell. When she came back, there was a puppy in each arm. "Skylar and Autumn, you're next."

It would be several minutes later before it was their turn.

When the prison door opened, Lucky and Beverly hurried inside and barked at their feet.

Forest kneeled down, burying his face into them both. "I've missed you two so much." Sniffling, the boy finally wiped at his face and stood. "Thank you, Bosley. Thank you for bringing them."

Jade nodded to her, overjoyed, before lowering to the ground. "Yes, we were all worried sick!"

Amused, Bosley stepped back, arms crossed. "Just don't tell anyone. Like the boy said, my reputation is on the line."

"We won't," Jade said, "don't worry."

The woman mumbled a 'good' as she rubbed her stomach.

That was when Forest formed a question. "Who's the father?" Her face fell and the boy knew he had made a mistake. "Never mind, don't answer that."

Everyone murmured amongst themselves, taken aback.

Bosley's face twisted. "Boy, I told only you for a reason. How can I expect six to keep a secret?!" She scoffed, shaking her head. "If any find out that you know, it'll be clear I was here."

"We won't tell," Autumn insisted, all-too-timid. "This conversation never happened, okay?"

After a heavy sigh, the woman closed her eyes. "Fine. Just know that if I get into trouble, you're as good as dead. All of you."

There was another eerie quiet.

"Again, thank you fo-" Holly was cut off.

"The father is Ashton, but... he's gone."

That name - it sounded so familiar. And then it clicked. When he and the others were found and held hostage in the woods, that man was there. It was Holly, he remembered. She had saved them that day, killing three in the process.

Holly had killed the father.

Forest swallowed hard. "I'm terribly sorry for your loss."

"I never said he was dead, just gone," Bosley hissed. "Although, he might as well be."

"How do you know you're pregnant?" Skylar asked bluntly. "You don't look like it."

"I look a pregnancy test." With that, Bosley chuckled dryly. "One word.... one word," - she held up a finger - "and you're dead. Got it?"

After a long moment, Skylar scoffed. "Why would I?"

Then, ever-so-slowly, Bosley drew close. "You answered a question with a question. Listen here, Skylar, when I ask you something, you'll give me a direct response. End of discussion."

"No, I won't tell." Her words were cold. "End of discussion."

The woman studied her. "You're right, you won't."

"I have a question myself."

Looking to Jade, the boy tilted his head.

"Why does everyone listen to Matthew?" She shifted on her feet, before locking with her gaze. "I don't understand it. He's... a jerk, but his orders are followed without hesitation."

Bosley's eyes cut into hers. "Why do you think you have the right to ask such a question? I'm not within those bars like every last one of you. No. And there's a reason for it! Jade, I have more authority in here than you will ever have. From the moment my people spotted you all at that farmhouse, it was over."

"I'm-" Jade tried.

"When will you understand that it will never get better? You guys are as low as they come. When they took me in, we had no history; they trusted me right away and I was one of them! But you people are a different animal. Remember this word, and remember it well: slaves. That's all you'll ever be!"

"Wait-" she tried again.

"From now on, whenever you see anybody else, make yourselves as small as possible. Look to the ground. That's where you belong. They are superior to you and always will be. None of them killed our people like you monsters."

"Stop," came a low, eerie voice. "You better watch your mouth."

"Skylar?" Bosley sneered. "I think you should be telling yours-"

"Just look at yourself."

"I-"

"You're just as much of a human as us." It was Holly, all-too-timid. "Those walkers - they're the real monsters! It's us against them. Why must there be all this drama? As long as you're human, we're on the same side."

"I wish it were that simple. I really do," Bosley said, then looked to the far right cell. "It's time for me to take those puppies."

"Wait," Forest insisted, struggling for composure, "you said that you believed me."

"What?"

"Matthew's lying. Whatever he said we did, it's not true."

"Boy, y-"

"And you're scared of him!" he went on. "Why do you put so much faith in a man you're petrified of?! What did he do? Why is he so heroic?"

It was her turn to struggle. "You really wanna know?" When he nodded, she sighed. "We had a leader before him. This man, who we called Randall, was brilliant at being a friend to everyone. He'd always wear a genuine smile, talk real nice. But that was all a disguise. One winter night, somebody made a mistake and was called into his quarters. He never came out. And this repeated, over and over. People would come in, but never return. And they didn't even have to do anything wrong anymore. Randall - he just snapped!"

"So, did he?" Skylar asked.

Bosley's nose flared as she turned. "Did he what?"

"Kill them?"

The woman crossed her arms. "Yes, but the worst part is that we didn't even realize it." Then she sighed. "There were just so many of us. Randall killed twelve of ours during that winter... in this very prison."

"I'm sorry," Forest whispered, shifting, "but how does this have to do with Matthew?"

"There's a difference between them, and it's a big one. Randall seemed like a great person, hiding his true colors. But Matthew? He's not hiding anything. He's not trying to gain friendship. He's leading and doing a swell job at it. The man's a real jerk, but at least he isn't a murderer."

"But how'd he save you?" Winter piped up.

"It was Matthew who called him out," Bosley said quietly, staring into space. "At the time, he was all alone when he came upon this prison. That's when he discovered the graves, all strangely hidden. Matthew climbed the fence and told everyone, all thirty of us." She chuckled dryly. "It turns out, some that had supposedly died by walkers were murdered by him."

"Bosle-"

"Matthew's nothing like that."

"Bosley?" Holly tried again.

"Just let me finish!" Bosley demanded. When Holly was silenced, she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I know you've been wondering why Master hates being called Matthew. Well, he had a good friend by that name... and he died. It's that simple."

"It makes sense now," Forest said, looking to his feet.

There was a long, heavy pause.

"These puppies are going now."

-

Sitting across from her, Forest bit back his words. She hugged her knees, head buried. He tried hard, but couldn't hold it in forever. "Jade?"

The woman flinched, before looking up. Her eyes were red with tears.

"You're awfully quiet. What are you thinking about?" The boy kept his voice low.

"My... son."

"Your dead son?" When the tears fell, Forest knew he messed up. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."

"They never do." After a moment, she exhaled heavily. "The death of a loved one is always hard. Always."

The silence was eerie.

"You know, I used to have a sister."

Holly, he soon realized. "Really?"

"She died four years ago and not a day goes by that I don't miss her. Her name was Amelia. One day, she went to the woods by the farmhouse... and was attacked by a walker. She was only trying to gather flowers! She did escape, but it was too late; Amelia had been bitten. We tried everything, but this virus doesn't let down."

"I'm sorry," Autumn said gently. "I know how hard it can be."

"She was only ten at the time. She was my little sister, and I wish it were me. If I could have sacrificed myself, I would have. But it's too little, too late."

"I'd die for my son any day," Jade said grimly.

-

It would be a week later when it happened. During the dead of night, all asleep in their cells, Matthew came in, white as a bone.

And Forest knew it was bad.