Smoke rose to the air. Abel gritted his teeth. They wouldn't have enough food for a day, but they'd surely die if they don't leave now.

"Fall back! Use the cafeteria exit!"

He leaped down the railings and shouted, distracting the zombies. He could faintly see the horde. The ground beneath him started to vibrate.

Abel ran down the courtyard, into the desert. Chills ran down his spine. More than a hundred? These zombies would overrun him in minutes – well, at least the others would have more time to escape. God, should he recite that prayer now? Wait, can he actually say, 'In your hands, O Lord, we humbly entrust myself'??

Maybe change the 'we' to 'I'?

Gunshots filled the air.

Abel ducked down. Aren't they out of ammunitions? He jumped into the nearest pit and looked back.

His jaw dropped.

Hundreds of zombies laid motionless on the ground, just inches behind him.

"Father, are you okay?"

"Wait, isn't that another priest?"

Huh? Abel crept out and looked up. Is that... Cain??

"Some fashion you got there wearing a priest robe with an MK-48, brother!"

"What can I say when you disrupted my afternoon mass?" Cain chuckled and leaped down.

------------------------------------------------ 20 years before ----------------------------------------------------

"Oh my goodness, not that son of a disaster! Who invited him?"

Liam lifted his eyebrows, a little offended.

"Ouch, hate me so much, Emma?"

"Well, yeah when you came right at the naming process! What did you name the last kid last time? Syphilis?"

"Ok, I have NO idea that it was a name for a disease!"

"Yeah?? Then you also named the other Ballas!"

"Because he's really good at ballads!"

"The priests need to whack anyone who mistakenly call their old names, idiot! Those poor kids still turn their heads when you call them Syphilis and Ballas!"

The alarm rang, jolting everyone. Emma turned it off.

"What's that?"

"Oh nothing, we just set an alarm every few minutes to monitor the new kid's condition."

"He had hypothermia, right?"

"Yup. We took them in when the government raided one of the terrorist's camps."

"Ah, but they only found the two of them, right?"

"I'm pretty sure they'll catch up to the group soon. The extremists are on their wits' end anyways."

"What are those marks on his neck and wrists?"

"I think he was often restrained. When the raiders found them the older one's neck was chain to a pole. He was unconscious but covered his brother that the younger one stays unharmed."

"Is the younger one also unconscious?"

"No. He just insisted on laying by his brother's side."

"It's a miracle their frostbites weren't severe, given the blizzard going on."

"I agree."

Liam squinted his eyes.

"Are they really brothers, though? The older one's blonde and the younger one's brunette."

"Well, we can't do a genetic test, but they both have long neat eyebrows and thick eyelashes."

Everyone nodded their heads. That makes sense.

Emma's eyes widened. Wait, why are they even discussing this? She whacked Liam.

"Hey, we're supposed to discuss the names!"

"What about Cain for the older one?"

Emma looked at him skeptically. She turned to the medics.

"Are there any diseases that have the name 'Cain'?"

"Nope, I think it's safe!"

"Hmm, I kinda like the ring to it. Then what about the younger one?"

Liam thought hard again.

"I think I heard somewhere that the name Cain goes with the name Abel, so Abel?"

Emma turned to the medics again to confirm. They put their thumbs up.

"Ok, so Cain and Abel it is!"

***

Cain's eyes fluttered open. Where is he?

He glanced at his hand and gasped. What are these machines? Did the terrorists go back to capture him? Where's he?

He yanked the needle off his hand and jumped down the bed but toppled down, a sharp pain stabbing up his leg. Cain winced. His body felt so weak.

"Cain!"

He looked around. Who's Cain? Abel rushed into the room, helping him up.

"Brother, no! You shouldn't have plug off the needle!"

He grabbed him.

"Are you ok? Where are we?"

"We're in a safe place! Some good people took us in, and they've been feeding me every day. They also took care of you."

That sounds like bullshit, but his face does look much rounder, with a healthy blush around his cheeks. The horrifying purple bruise is almost gone. He's also wearing a nice, warm shirt, not those torn rugs or hand downs they wore at the camp.

"Who's Cain?"

Abel's eyes sparkled.

"That's you! We got assigned names; can you believe it?? I'm Abel!"

Cain's eyebrows furrowed. Now, that sounded even more ridiculous. Why would they give random kids names when they can just give them numbers? Before he could think further, people rushed into the room.

Cain stood up, clenching his fist.

"Abel, stay behind me."

But Abel pulled his hands instead.

"They're the good people I mentioned! They fed me warm soup and bread!"

"What if they are poisoning you?"

"Well, I wouldn't be this healthy after weeks, would I?"

Cain pursed his lips. Well, that's true.

Abel ran to the nearest lady.

"This is Emma! She lets me pick some shirt and toys when we first got here."

He grabbed the guy next to him.

"This is Liam, he's the one who gave us the names! He used to live in this orphanage but have now gotten a job."

Cain looked at them as Abel continued the introductions. They smiled at him. He couldn't remember the time when his heart seeped with warmth and safety. He smiled and nodded.

"Thank you for helping us and taking care of my brother. I hope I'll be able to contribute and be a useful member to your community."

The people looked at each other, their cheeks reddening.

"Aww, look at this little angel!"

"Don't even think about it, you are welcomed in our family!"

Emma chuckled and patted his back.

"Our orphanage is actually led by a priest, but he's currently away with the older kids to do some fundraising. You'll meet him later. For now, do you want to grab some food?"

Cain nodded in excitement. He took a step forward but toppled down again. Everyone gasped. Right, he twisted his leg! They rushed to his side. Abel swung his arm around his shoulder, helping him walk. Cain smiled, listening to all of his yapping – his newest favorite food, his favourite musics, his new friends... everything. That kid could really yap non-stop. That day, amongst the warmth of the shabby house and the faint music playing from the radio, Cain found his family.