"They are coming!" She screamed, and ran into my arms.

I stroked my little sister's hair. "Not for you, little one. They are coming for me."

Marie looked up, her eyes wide and scared, but also flashing with deep anger. "I don't want them to kill you."

"I won't let them," I promised, although it broke my heart to lie to her.

The footsteps were getting louder, and I cursed myself for wasting time. "Come on," I said, taking Marie's hand.

A fact about my little sister: She can't run very fast, due to her crippled leg. Well, she can't really run at all. She kind of limp-jogs. So, in order to save her, I had to run at top speed while dragging her behind me. She was not really happy about this.

"I can run by myself," she complained. "Just because I'm crippled does not mean I can't run fast."

"Marie," I growled, "I'm saving your life. You might as well be grateful, because if I was not dragging you behind me right now, you'd be dead."

That comment stopped Marie's whining, but I could tell that she still wanted to run by herself. Unfortunately, there was no time for that.

The footsteps were starting to get louder, and I was starting to slow down. Hey, I can't help it. I can run super fast for short distances, but for long distances... Well, it is not my good spot.

Blood pounded in my ears as I searched the hallway desperately for somewhere to hide. The Dead Ones had bad eyesight, so they might pass us by. They had uber-hearing, though, so we'd have to be quiet. Their smell was okay, only a tiny bit better than ours. I was sure they probably would not sniff us out.

Thankfully, there was a door leading to another hallway. If we could get through that door before the Dead Ones did, we could hide behind a corner and they'd fly right past... Unless they were listening to our footsteps, which they probably were, but the corner was our best bet.

They were catching up to us, I knew, by the sound of their footsteps. But there was only a few more feet to go... If I could make it...

BAM! Me and Marie flew right into the door, knocking it open. I dragged her behind a corner and waited until the Dead Ones ran past, not paying any attention to us.

I was planning on going in the opposite direction as the Dead Ones, but I needed to catch my breath for a few minutes. You would, too, if you'd been dragging around your sister at your highest running speed for fifteen minutes. It's hard work.

Marie said, "Thanks for saving my life. I'm sorry that I was being whiny."

"It's okay," I panted. "I'd never leave you with the Dead Ones. They'd give you slow, painful torture until you told them where I was."

"I would never tell them!" Marie said. "You're my sister."

"Their torture is indescribable," I told Marie doubtfully. "You'd confess."

"I would not," Marie said, a little too loudly.

The Dead Ones came running back, I was dragging Marie behind me, and we were sprinting along the hallway again.