'No one's out there!' Bill exclaimed, withdrawing from the slightly opened window, the rifle against his chest.

'The alarm won't go off unless it detects something.' I said, my throat dry. Lila pressed tight to me as I hid with her under the table.

Ray went to the other side of the window, looking through the binoculars that hang around his neck. 'I see nothing from this angle. Could it be a malfunction?'

'It can't be,' said Yoko. 'The sensors are extremely accurate. Professor Richmond made sure of it.'

'What about beyond the gates?' said Martha adjusting the strap of the weapon she carried.

'Can't tell. The floodlights on the snow are blinding.' Bill said, squinting once more, looking again into the chamber of his rifle.

'Look closely,' encouraged Martha, placing a hand over Bill's shoulder. 'It must be the Shadows. No human can be out there.'

'Mummy, I am scared,' cried Lila.

I turned at her. 'Everything is going to be alright, sweetie,' I said, looking into her gleaming eyes. 'We are safe.' I combed through her sleek hair with my fingers. 'Nothing could get to us up here. We are at the forty-seventh floor.' I smiled, detaching from my fears, showing her nothing but love. She smiled back, shaking her head in agreement. My sight turned to Ray, whose eyes called for me. 'I'll have a peak, sweetie. I might see something they've missed, okay?'

'Okay,' she said, her little hands letting go, holding onto Yoko's arm, who joined us under the table.

'Can you keep me safe, Lila?' asked Yoko, her eyebrows lifted.

'Uh-huh,' I heard Lila answer enthusiastically as I rose from under the table.

'Any news from Ali?' I asked, looking at the transceiver in Ray's hand, taking my place next to him.

'He needs time going down there.'

'May I,' I said, taking the binoculars, scanning the white blanket of snow covering the yard in front of our building. I checked the gate, wall sides, and corners. Even the pitch-black darkness that lay beyond. No trace of the red eyes I saw earlier and no humans either. Fear clutched my heart for a moment, imagining the possibility of the wall being claimed, but I quickly dismissed the idea. No one could climb a twelve-meters wire barbed wall. Not even the Shadows.

'Do you copy,' Ali's voice came through, evaporating into the whoosh of static, transceiver's light blinking red.

'Anything out of the ordinary?' asked Ray, sight fixated outside.

'The monitors show no movements. I can't detect the cause of the alarm.'

'Did you check the monitors of the west wing?'

'Yes, I just did. It swarms with Shadows. Fifty fucking levels of it.'

'What about our wing?'

'All exits and entrances are secure. No breaches on all levels.'

Ray exhaled, 'Keep a sharp eye and report of anything suspicious. Bill is ready with his rifle and—'

'Wait, I see something.'

'What where?'

I searched the yard, my heart thumping in my ears, the sound of the static seeming eternal.

'Humans, I see humans by the gates!'

I swallowed, turning at Ray. 'Survivors?'

'It's impossible!' He furrowed.

I snatched the transceiver from Ray's hand. 'Ali, do you copy?'

'Yes, Beth. Advise what shall I do?'

'How many are they? We still can't see them from our position.'

'Three adults and four children. They seem like a family.'

'Children...' My mind raced. How in such weather, with the Shadows lurking outside? How could they've survived?

'Beth,' called Martha, suddenly beside me. 'We must allow them in.'

'The shadows will get to them before the gate opens.' Bill said, peering through the scope of his rifle. 'I can see them.'

'Ali, do you have a visual on the Shadows?'

'Yes, their glowing eyes give them away. We must hurry, or it'll be too late.'

'How long does it take for the gates to open and close?' I asked.

'Two minutes maybe a little more, considering the drag the accumulated snow would cause,' Yoko answered.

'Do we all agree?' I asked.

Bill hummed, agreeing, taking a defensive position, the rifle nuzzle outside. A gust of freezing wind swirled around us.

Yoko enthusiastically shook her head. 'Yes.'.

'Yes,' said Martha, lifting her weapon.

'Ray?' I asked, looking into my husband's eyes, doubt eating at my soul. Anything goes wrong; we'll all be done for.

'Yes,' he agreed without hesitation. His sight returned on the gate, the weapon kept by his side lifted.

I pressed on the transceiver. 'Ali, open the gates!'

'Hell, yes!' I heard him cry, static swallowing his voice, the gate's hum shaking the ground beneath us.