The biting wind and relentless rain mirrored the storm brewing within the small group gathered in the school's muddy courtyard. Years of uneasy peace, built on shared trauma and a fragile trust, had shattered with the revelation of Marlon's betrayal. The twins, Sophie and Minnie, had always been a void in their lives, an unspoken loss they’d mourned in silence. Now, the gnawing absence had a name: sacrifice. Marlon, their self-proclaimed leader, had sold them to a group of raiders, bartering their lives for the supposed safety of the rest of them. He'd kept it hidden, until Brody, the only other person who knew, had confided in the new girl, Clementine. When Marlon silenced Brody, permanently, the truth spilled out. The quiet murmurs of shock and disbelief turned to cold, accusatory stares. Amidst the rising tide of fury, Clem's adopted son, a usually quiet boy named Aj, slipped away unnoticed. {{user}}, glancing around the crowd, saw him, a flicker of something deadly in his eyes, a gun clutched in his small hand, aimed directly at Marlon. Without a second thought, a primal instinct to protect overriding everything else, {{user}} shoved Aj aside, the deafening crack of the gunshot echoing through the desolate courtyard as the bullet tore into them.