A two-week hiatus.

Now that I'm healthy, I'm back to work. Exploration mission to search for survivors. We're two hundred and fifty kilometres south of the farmhouse. Charleston. Our farthest trap. It's filled to the brim. I start the fire when Damien asks me to come and look. On one of the posts indicating the trap, a bear cub with a heart is attached. I watch it carefully. A recording camera is hidden in the eye of the teddy bear. Evidence of human presence. I put the teddy bear back down. Once again, we have to identify the potential threat. Nevertheless, here we do not have a booby-trapped house.

I leave one of our data compilations in plain sight, with a multi-coloured furry ball key ring. I place a note. Part of the lyrics to a boy band song. About pretense and seemingly nice but dishonest people. We leave canned food in a car. However, we do not give any information about ourselves. We leave. At least, we pretend to.

As soon as we are far enough away, we turn around. We head for an old jewellery shop that films the street where the trap is located. We enter it. We hurriedly watch the recordings of the previous days. Suddenly, I see a kind of Pikachu. It's him dropping the bear cub. It's a flock of giant stuffed animals. I don't understand the purpose at first. Blaise tells me that this kind of disguise, although visible, is very well padded. Moreover, there are very strong iron frames. If the stuffed animals are attacked by zombies, they are safe from bites.

The best way to find out who they are is to put on a giant plush outfit. Back to the house. I describe the bugs in detail. Mélia asks me some very specific questions. The colours and accessories have a real meaning that I am totally unaware of. She has a disguise to lend me. It is almost identical to one of the stuffed animals, one of the characters in the herd.

Mélia gives me a lot of information. Some of the details of the stuffed animals are very important. If they are military in disguise, these details will be sloppy. She explains everything to me. My head hurts trying to memorize the difference between Salamèche and Reptincel. I'm not alone in this. Blaise is also going to put on a plush outfit. He's so cute as a Kawai mascot.

We go back to the trap. We hide at dawn and leave at sunset. It takes three days before we see our flock of stuffed animals again. We put on our costumes and mingle with the gang. Damien and two other guys have our backs. We pretend to help collect the food. They are girls. I can tell by the sound of their voices. They know the song. They have understood that the other survivors are suspicious. I would be surprised if the military were so well versed in boy bands. Blaise seems to be as hesitant as I am about what to do. Two other stuffed animals arrive with a car.

As soon as they see us, the two new ones stop. They immediately identify us as intruders. But I recognise their disguises. I helped make them. The two new girls point a gun at us and run away with the others. We chase them. We arrive in a shopping centre. I take off my plush outfit and keep my military outfit. I enter the building with the two guys and order Blaise and Damien to watch the exit.

We move slowly. We check each shop. One of the mannequins in a clothing shop catches my eye. It is too beautiful, too realistic. I approach him. I reach out and touch her cheek. It is a child of about sixteen, terrorized. I lower my gun and speak to her gently.

- You're too pretty, kid. Come down and follow us. Hands up. Be good. We won't hurt you. We won't hurt the children. I give you my word. Don't be afraid.

I'll tell the boys. Our runaways are here and seem to be very good at hiding. We flush out three girls including the teenager. The girls' make-up is incredibly well done. Their camouflage technique is well honed. The two guys don't see anything. I'm having trouble myself. The details that distinguish them from the plastic dummies are imperceptible. A slight tremor. A moving eye. An almost invisible breath.

They must have been doing this for months. This kind of make-up takes hours. The plush outfits allow them to hide this grimacing. We found them abandoned in a corner of the shopping centre. Eight people, given the size of the costumes, eight girls or teenagers. A man's hips won't be slim enough.

I am forward. I try to find other people. The girls are behind me and the guys are leading the way. We don't really point our guns at them. We don't rush them. They are harmless, scared and hungry. I promised to take them to safety. They seem to be afraid of our military side and I can understand that. They keep shaking and the teenage girl starts to cry despite my reassuring words. One of the guys gently hands her a handkerchief and her water bottle to calm her down.

I am in a ready-to-wear shop. Many, many mannequins. My eye is drawn to a glowing wax doll. Absolutely perfect and all too familiar. I think I recognise the doll's face. I let my guard down for a few seconds under the influence of memory. I touch her cheek gently. I start to smile under my mask. I hear a click behind my head.

A girl holds me at gunpoint. Two others aim at the temples of my two companions. The other two don't look like warriors to me. The two boys can handle them. The one aiming at me seems more seasoned. But she is thin and therefore potentially weak.

- Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you, she spits at me.

- Six and a half meters, I murmur quietly

- What are you saying? she shouts.

I smile. The strange wax doll observes me. She seems hesitant.

- Six and a half meters, Laëtitia. That's what she said. That's the distance where a knife is more effective than a gun. My ninja friend taught me that.

I move very quickly while the doll is explaining. I recognized the voice. I'm sure of it. Doll is not a stranger to me. I slap the wrist that holds the weapon. The two guys do the same as I taught them. I kick the gun away as far as possible. I hit the belly of the woman called Laëtitia and twist her arm. Then I pin her against me and aim the gun at her from behind. My two guys also overpowered the two girls who were pointing at them.

- And now, who's going to give a good reason not to get shot?

I giggle, proud of myself and the turnaround. Laëtitia has good fighting skills, but is much less technical than me. She also has less strength, less training, and much more hunger. Three girls are at gunpoint. Five others are facing us, terrified. I speak. I am a girl. I would scare them less. Besides, Poupée might recognize my voice or my vocabulary. I tell them that I am peaceful. I confirm that I belong to the group of survivors who built the trap. I explain that I just wanted to check that I was dealing with non-dangerous people. Our group was attacked. The woman called Laëtitia is trying to negotiate. She is one of the leaders. She explains to me that the group has been dealing with warlike groups. She justifies their flight and hiding in this way. I feel that she does not trust us. But I know how to turn things around.

I look into the eyes of the pretty doll. Her face. The outfits of the last two stuffed animals. The doll that knows the five-metre rule. It can't be a coincidence. I'm convinced of that. So I speak to her softly.

- I know perfectly well the outfits of the last two plushies that arrived near the trap. I was tortured by four Kawai to make them. They held me captive and abused me with the help of sweet music. Tell me who owns them, tell me how you got them. Tell me what I want to hear so I can put down my gun, pretty doll. I'm convinced I know you. If not, I'll shoot you.

- Megane?

The doll looks at me in amazement. She doubts. She is afraid. She starts to cry.

- Megane, if that's you, let Laëtitia go. Please. It's me, Fleur. I know you are a good person. She is my friend. She's protecting us. Put the gun down. I am scared. So scared.

- You see, Laëtitia. That's a good reason. I love this girl and I love to see her smile.

I push the girl away and hold my Fleur doll.

- HUG little minx.

She jumps on my neck and bursts into tears. The second plush girl also jumps into my arms. Lilou. Of course I recognised the costumes immediately. My two friends are safe and sound. In my arms. I breathe a sigh of relief and happiness. I tell the guys to lower their weapons. I remove my bonnet. I push Laëtitia to hug my two friends.

I shout to Blaise and Damien to come, taking off their bonnets and keeping their weapons down. By the time they come, I warn them that I am with Lilou and Fleur. My two friends rush into their arms. They cover them with kisses. It's a general hug in front of the other girls who are dumbfounded. My two friends both speak at the same time. I can handle it. I'm used to it. I put my hand over Fleur's mouth, smiling, and ask Lilou a question.