Please Don't Feed the Children

Phase Five ended the pandemic by exterminating every infected adult, leaving New Mexico full of hunted orphans. Teenage Mary runs for a smuggler's tunnel to Belize and falls in with Ben, Jeffy, Vicky, Seth and Crystal, a scavenging crew who shelter at Clara's remote farmhouse. The kindly widow feeds them, then locks them in her attic. As Clara's affection hardens into a shock collar, forced gratitude and children who quietly disappear, Mary plays the obedient favorite while hunting a way to free the others before her own turn comes.