Post by SouperAsylum on Jun 11, 2013 15:39:36 GMT -7
Chapter One: Ittus Island’s Fall
Andi’s POV
Alex and I stand over the person who fell out of the sky onto the island. I nudge Alex, “Where do you think he came from?” Alex shrugs in response. No one else has ever been on the island since we’d gotten here five years ago.
“Let’s bring him inside the cave,” Alex suggests.
I nod in response.
……
“I think he’s coming to.”
Ayden’s POV
As my senses start to return to me and my body regains its ability to move, I start to hear voices around me. As if acting on instinct, my body freezes like I have some phobia of people. Somehow, I feel as though if I don’t move these people will leave me alone and, hopefully, go away. ‘Why get up is I’m only going to be judged,’ I suddenly ask myself without knowing the answer, ‘Why get up if they’ll tease me?’ So, if I don’t get up then I won’t have to deal with them right? [Then I won’t have to worry about these thoughts I don’t understand.] Suddenly I hear a loud roar, like a T-Rex, and jump to my feet
Alex’s POV
“Calm down, its okay,” I assure the guy, “It can’t get us here.”
I was strange seeing someone else here. I can’t remember anything before the island and the only person I’ve ever known is Andi. I find myself staring at the guy and he’s staring back, only he looked afraid.
“Where are you from,” I ask.
Ayden’s POV
“~~~~~,” A guy asks me.
My eyes fall onto two people in wherever we are. [One of the people is a girl with brown hair and green eyes, while the other was a boy with red eyes and black hair. As I look over them,] dread falls upon my face as an odd sensation bubbles inside of me, “Where……are…we..?”
‘Damn of all the times for this disability has to hinder me,’
Andi’s POV
I step forward [and say], “This is Ittus Island, at least it’s what we call it.” “How did you get here?”
I really wanted [change to want] to know; how had he gotten here? also [want to know] why it’s taken so long for someone else to appear! We didn’t even know how we got here.
Ayden’s POV
When the girl takes a step forward, I take a step back, [and when she finishes talking I say,] “Ayden…my….name….” I want to tell her I don’t know how I got here, but I don’t [know] why she’s asking me [all] these things. However…how did I get here?
I feel my legs start to go weak and I fall to my knees, unable to support myself. While I keep myself steady with my arms directly in front of me, I try to find answer to all her questions. [There’s] nothing, only black [in the places] where my memories should be. It’s as if this place Ittus Island, is all I should know.
Andi’s POV
I sigh and take [another] step forward, “I’m Andi,” I gesture towards my friend, “and this is Alex.” I decide not to push Ayden anymore, because he seems to share our fate.
“I think we should go to the beach,” I say with a smile, “We can tell stories!”
Ayden’s POV
My heartaches and somehow I feel like I’m missing something important to me. I mean how can they not be worried or ever curious about whether or not people are out looking for us?! The more I continue to think about this the more I find myself getting even more frustrated and curious.
As my brain continues to process her questions, something in my brain seems to click into place. I can feel something, almost like a long lost memory I’d lost, return to me. However, instead of answering her questions, I state my thoughts clearly in what feels to be ages.
“How can you not be curious about the people who might be looking for us or our previous lives,” I suddenly bark. Red and green eyes meet, what are probably still deep dull blue eyes, “There could be people out there looking for us…yet, here we are doing nothing….”
I just can’t let it go. ‘This can’t be the end. There has to be more to this place, this island,’ I think to myself as I feel the [familiar] connection begin to fade away and my brain returns to ‘normal.’
Alex’s POV
I shake my head, “you don’t get it do you?” I pause to take a breath, “We’ve been here for over five years. Of course we wonder about our past. It’s just been so long, there’s no point anymore.”
Suddenly Andi stands up and gives me I look I can’t read. “I’m going to [go] collect some [more] wood,” Andi says, before walking into the forest.
Andi’s POV
I don’t know why he upset me, but for some reason Alex’s words unsettled me. Somehow, I felt like cry. Then movement in the bushes makes me jump. I sigh, ‘It’s probably just a bird,’ I think to myself as I turn towards the sound
“AAK,” I scream as a head pops out of the bushes, follow by another, and another [who’s wearing a determined look upon his face.] Confusion courses through me as they stare back.
Karu’s POV
I watch as my eldest brother, Karr, [reaches out and grabs the girl;] on hand over her mouth and the other around her neck. The look on Karr’s face is murderous and I almost, almost, feel sorry for her.
“We don’t have time for sympathy, Karu,” Kain, the second eldest, answers as if he were reading my mind.
“I was to see her blood run into the rock pool,” Karr laughs. [“I’ll bet her blood will turn the water a wonderful shade of red,”] he muses as he pulls her in the direction we came from.
Kain’s POV
“Well~ They encourage my complete cooperation,
Send me weapons when they think you need to die.
I can’t control myself because I don’t know how~
And they love me for it honestly, I’ll be here for a while~!” Karr chants, like a child promised a new toy, as we continue through the brush.
I stop Karr mid-chant, “Karr, don’t you think you should tie her up?” motion for Karu to pull out our vine rope.
“Hm, it does sound like a good idea,” Karu replies light-heartedly as he hands me the vine, [which I pass of to Karr.] He takes it from me like he’s promised a ticket of this shithole and ties her up, before continuing his chanting and the walk to out cave. Sometimes I think he’s stupid.
Ayden’s POV
“AAK!”
I jump at the sound of Andi’s scream and run towards it to find her. I don’t care if I barely know her, but it was my fault she ran off in the first place. If I’d never opened my mouth, then Alex wouldn’t have said any of the things he had, and Andi wouldn’t have run off.
Andi’s POV
Everything is spinning around me when I open my eyes. I don’t understand what’s happening and I can taste the blood flowing from my head. I let out a groan of pain and notice a figure in my blurred vision.
Alex’s POV
Ayden and I jump when we hear Andi scream. Ayden runs off [immediately] towards her scream, whereas I’m a little delayed.
“Wait for me,” I call running after him.
We burst through the trees to find a trail of blood. I gulp [and hope it’s not Andi’s.]
Ayden’s POV
My heart jumps at the sight of blood and my stomach clenches as I step back nearly traumatized. Why am I acting like this? It’s only blood, so why am I so afraid of it?
“She………th-that’s……it’s not hers…right?”
Kain’s POV
After five or ten minutes, my brothers and I come up on a cave. As we step inside, it occurs to me it’s our first time bring game into our cave.
Our save is unique [compared] to all the others. It has a rock bottom pool filled with fish; grass covers the cave floor with a flower here and there; and a hole in the ceiling as the only source of light. This place is truly amazing, just like the information the girl can tell us.
I glance in Karr’s direction, where he’s set the girl down in the farthest place from the pond,
“So~ give me blood, blood, blood, gallons of the stuff!
Give me all that I can drink and it will never be enough.
So~ give me blood, blood, blood~
Grab a glass because there’s going to be a flood!”
Ew.
Andi’s POV
I wake up to a beautiful area. I’d ask if I was in heaven, but there’s an immense pain throughout my body. I see the boy from earlier towering above me. I don’t have the energy to say anything, so I garble out nonsense. A noise sounds. It’s something I’ve never heard before, but the word ‘electronic’ comes to mind. Electronic, what does it mean? The noise continues and then the world shuts down, literally.
Everything starts to disappear leaving behind a grid in its place. I stand up, with difficulty, wavering when I [get to my feet.] A door to my left hisses open, revealing a familiar area. Slowly I step over the threshold and instantly fall backwards. A flood of images, memories, hit me in the chest. I can remember everything. The lab, the injections, and the testing; the last five years of my life have all been a lie.
Tears well up in my eyes as I step into a deep sadness of hate, I hate the lab people.
Ayden’s POV
Alex never answers me and I turn away just as everything goes black and disappears. I whip back around to find Alex as confused as I. The blackness begins to dissolve into a room with a figure [standing in the room].
The first thing I notice when the black is gone is Alex running towards the figure. Unlike him, worrying about the other person, I let my feet take me towards [one] specific wall, a wall with a sign on it, ‘exit.’ My hand reaches through the ‘exit’ and images come flooding into my mind. First they’re just a family to me, no one special. Parents and two kids, ‘My family,’ I realize, ‘My parents, my sister; Mom, dad, and Setsu…where are you?’ Images continue to flood my mind. Red floors and dead bodies paint the scenery. I can feel my body shaking in fear as torn faces of my family and they’re burned into my memory.
’The police must have sent me here,’ I think sadly to myself.
Chapter Two: Reality Hits Hard
Andi’s POV
I stop for a second. Where did those three, who captured me, go? They just…disappeared.
I turn around to face Alex [running in my direction.] I’m overcome with feelings of joy. My limbs decide to act on their own and I run to him in a daze, throwing my arms around his torso.
Alex’s POV
I’m not entirely sure about what’s going on, until Andi’s arms are wrapped around me in a hug, crying tears of joy. I don’t let this moment pass and hug her back tightly.
“Alex,” she sobs, “I-I remember…I remember everything!”
She takes my hand and leads me through the door. I stumble backwards a little as all my memories come back to me at once, “I remember…” I mutter. “They put us in there as a test,” I say looking at my hands; “to test our abilities we’ve been given.”
My hearts racing, all this time I this power, but I couldn’t remember. I aim my fist towards a picture on the wall and punch the air. A ball of fire flies across the room burning the picture. I exchange a nervous look with Andi.
Ayden’s POV
I feel liquid run down my cheeks. When I woke up in the middle of the day, I had no idea who I was and I had desperately wanted answers. Now I know who I am and I just want to forget everything again.
“A-Alex…” I whimper, “I-I…memories…”
I give up on trying not to full on cry and let all my tears fall like waterfalls, while I bit my bottom lip and clutched my fist closed.
Andi’s POV
‘What was that…,’ I think to myself, ‘It almost seemed like…no.’ I pause, ‘That would be ridiculous…’ I shake my head free of the thoughts.
“Hey… where are the scientists,” I ask confused, I know it’s been five years, but [shouldn’t] they still be here?”
Alex’s POV
Ayden stats crying and I kick into [compassionate-Alex-mode and disregard Andi’s question.] I step over to him, “Are you…okay?”
He falls over into my arms shaking as he cries, “H-Hey don’t-don’t cry…” I glance over to Andi and she’s looking at us with a slightly horrified look on her face for a reason I can’t explain.
Ayden’s POV
I feel heart rise to my cheeks as my tears begin to dry. I pull away quickly, with a small distance still between us, and utter a quick, embarrassed apology.
“Sh-Should I…we…we should….go outside…” I suggest again, looking between Alex and Andi, noticing the look on her face.
Elizabeth’s POV
Two years, it’s only been two years since the world’s been apocalyptic, but I’ve only been out here on my own for one [of those years.] Every night, even now as I think to myself, I can hear feral growls and hissing outside. Sometimes, I question my insanity, especially when I the voice in my head, the voice belonging to a man.
Bryan’s POV
As I lay in my sleeping bad on a rooftop, watching the stars, I think about the silence. It’s been so lonely all the time…except…this one voice. It’s a voice I hear every so often, a voice of a woman who keeps me company in the silence. I laugh and slap myself. I’m going insane in this god damned zombie world.
Andi’s POV
‘No way,’ I assure myself, ‘There’s no way it’s like that, because the very idea of it…is…absurd…Alex isn’t…like that.’ [Before I realize what’s happening,] my body, as always, decides the best solution for itself and and peel Ayden away from Alex.
“Let’s get out of here,” I say [immediately], “and find out where all the lab guys went.”
Alex’s POV
I’m a little relieved when Andi gets Ayden away from me. I had no idea [how to fix the situation,] but why would she be so…angry? Angry was right, is it because she-no way, Andi wouldn’t like him…. Then…why would she him away and closer to her? I shake my head.
“Let’s get out of here,” Andi says [immediately], “and find out where all the lab guys went.”
I nod in agreement, “Yes, sounds like a good idea.”
Ayden’s POV
I bite my bottom lip before taking in a breath. ‘They’ve probably realized something’s wrong with me,’ I think to myself as flashes of school bullies [play] through my mind.
Elizabeth’s POV
I step outside with my travel bag [full of] weapons and must-haves; and two pistols in hand. Jim, the voice in my head, won’t shut up. Sometimes I feel like yelling and him, but then I remember Jim is only a voice in my head. Jim isn’t real.
“Grr…”
I turn and find a zombie making its way towards me. ‘Damn you Jim,’ I think to myself violently, ‘why aren’t you real?!’
Andi’s POV
O put a hand near the door to activate it, [again,] but jump back immediately in horror at the sight behind the glass [looking into this room.] A…a…I don’t even know what to call it. A man…a monster…no…a zombie.
The display behind the glass was soul chilling. A man in a lab [hung] over himself with blood dripping out of his orifice. I gag fighting back the vomit threatening to come up. The man looks up and sees us through the glass. At first he was approaching the glass slowly, cocking its head side to side like a dog. Then, suddenly, his walk turned into a sprint and [the moment the] man slams in to the glass, making me scream as I jump in horror, while the man smears the blood all over the glass.
Alex’s POV
We jump in horror as the zombie tries to get at us, snarling behind the glass.
“What happened while we were gone,” I ask, [directed at] no specific person.
Bryan’s POV
I sit in a chair rummaging through my bag like a mad man. ‘Where is it,’ I ask myself as I continue looking though my bag.
I don’t get it. Sometimes I think I may turn into a different person, among many other things. I sigh, but then something glints from the little light streaming between the boards on the windows, ‘Ah ha, there it is!’
I grab my knife and hold it in my hand. It’s not just any knife, I have good cause to believe it’s magic. As I point it at the wall, a light flies out of the tip. The moment the blue stream meets with the wall, an oval shaped…something [begins] to form. I reach out and touch it. The oval feels like water, but when I touch it [my hand doesn’t] get wet.
In all honesty, I don’t know what it does, but I can’t help feeling this…thing is important. I lay down on my sleeping bag, in a small office, messing around with my knife, ‘What could it possibly be?’
Elizabeth’s POV
As I pull out my empty gun to reload it, I feel something touch my soul. It’s weird, almost like a…fluttering feeling. I continue to reload me gun and hear something creeping around, ‘Ugh, time to get back to work.’
Bryan’s POV
While I lay in the blue glow of the oval, I can faintly the woman’s voice again. It’s unclear and I have no idea what she’s saying. For some reason the name Elizabeth keeps creeping into my mind, but why? I’ve never known an Elizabeth, ‘Oh god, I am crazy.’
Ayden’s POV
I jump back when the zombie hits the glass and smears blood everywhere. The sounds it’s making ring through my memories like [nails against a blackboard, only these nails are scratching at my memories.] I can see [one specific memory clearly as if it were a movie playing before me.]
“The…infection...,” I say staring at the creature.
The disease had started two years ago. At first it was some new vaccine [with the capabilities to] act as a cure-all, but something went wrong in the gene changing process. [We were never told] the facts, however, rumors always [revolved around the one idea of the serum being a code to rewrite genes to make the perfect person. Clearly, the serum rewrote the genes, but it worked too well and reset everything; shutting it down and restarting the entire being.]
Karu’s POV
When our cave disappeared, my eyes…no, program went blank. Everything was gone [in a flash] and I was standing in the darkness. I could still hear my business; Kain rattling off statistics and Karr threatening to kill someone.
After what seems to be days, we were in a room with some kind of creature in it. Within no time Karr was on the creature literally tearing it apart against the glass with sick joy written on his face.
Andi’s POV
I blink a few times dazed. Someone had gruesomely attacked the zombie trying to get at us…. I look closer at the figure and gasp in surprise.
“I-It’s you,” I say in surprise, “but why would he help us…I thought he was going to kill me!”
Alex’s POV
“What,” I nearly snap angrily, “Kill you, he tried to kill you, when did this happen?!”
Karr’s POV
It’s her! It’s really the girl I want to kill! She’s there; she’s just beyond that door!
Karu’s POV
My insides turn as Karr’s joy turns into excitement. I can’t believe he stills wants to kill the girl!
“Karr, let the brats be,” Kain growls annoyed.
“No,” Karr snaps, “She, that girl, is mine to kill!”
Karr moves away from the, deader, zombie and dashes through the door to the other side where the girl was.
Ayden’s POV
When the teen-who-killed-the-zombie enters the room the temperature feels like it’s dropped and a deep feeling of malice washes over the room.
“There you are,” he sings darkly, “Now that I’ve found you girl, let me see you blood run on this floor like the creature in the other room.”
Elizabeth’s POV
Finally in the safety of a hotel room, I begin digging though my backpack. I don’t know what I’m looking for, but I just can’t shake the feeling it’s important. By the time I nearly empty out my bag, I pull out a [small pocket sized sketch book I remember waking up with.]
I flip it open and as At first I could only hear Jim’s voice, but as
Bryan’s POV
I gasp. The circle is changing into an image. A girl starts appearing on the other side of the glowing oval on the wall.
“Who…are you,” I ask gaping at the events occurring.
Somehow, I feel like I know this woman already, but I know I’ve never met her before.
Elizabeth’s POV
I step back from the oval with the man inside it the moment Jim’s voice speaks, “Who…are you?” This has to be some kind of sick joke!
“Ah ha ha, okay Jim this is not funny,” I shout hoping to his voice answer back to me, “Are you listening to me! This. Is. Not. Funny!”
Andi’s POV
I’m too terrified to scream. What is he saying? Why does he want to kill me? My body’s paralyzed as he advances towards me. Soon, I realize, too late, I’ve forgotten to breathe.
Alex’s POV
“Andi,” I scream as she passed out. I run to catch her before she can hit the floor, “What the hell?!”
Carefully, I set Andi down. Shaking with rage, I stand with my fist palled up. Heat waves begin to course through my body. I run at the sadistic guy, raising my fist to punch his skull in. However, when I bring my fist in front of me, I don’t notice the flames encasing my fist.
Bryan’s POV
I reach out towards this…oval that appeared on the wall. When I set my hand on the oval my hand falls through, followed by my body. For some reason, I had expected the oval to hold me up like glass or stone. That wasn’t the case I found as I slam into the ground halfway between the two rooms.
Finally, I look up to see a woman, “Elizabeth?” I ask no knowing where my question had come from.
Chapter Three: Rush of Water
Elizabeth’s POV
“Elizabeth?”
I step farther away from the man hanging halfway out of the oval and fall backwards in shock, ‘Wh-Who is this?’
“Who are you,” I snap forgetting whose voice this is, “How do you…”
I catch my words in my throat just in time to remember who his voice sounds like. This man sounded just like Jim, but somehow…seeing this man hear…the owner of Jim’s voice…Jim doesn’t seem to fit anymore. I don’t understand why, but the more I wonder about his true name the only name I can remember is Bryan as if the previous name I had was worthless. I lean forward onto my knees and move closer to him, eventually meeting with his blue eyes.
“You, Br-Bryan…I heard your voice in my head,” I say carefully trying not to sound crazy, “H-How did you get here?”
Karr’s POV
I let out a wild laugh as he comes at me with a fist of flames. Who the hell does he think he is?! Does he think I’ll let my prey go so easily because of a little fire?! HE’S CRAZY! THIS BOY IS CRAZY!
“AH HA HA HA,” I continue to laugh as the flamed fist connects with my face, leaving behind a tickling feeling and no mark.
He pulls back for another punch, but I catch it letting my hand get engulfed by his flames, “YOU’RE CRAZY BOY, YOU’RE CRAZY!” I push him back and step forward. This boy will die, I’ll make his pain last as long as possible. I can’t help but laugh louder, if it were even possible as I can hear my laughter ringing in my ears.
Kain’s POV
I watch as Karr stalks his new prey. Before I can register what’s going on, a small figure jumps between my brother and his prey, “D-Don’t…hurt him..!” His words are unthreatening, but his eyes were a completely different story, as a flame of determination burns.
“Karu, let’s end this nonsense,” I order uncaringly, “I’m tired of watching his idiocy take place.”
Karu is happy to follow my order as we both enter the room and pull Karr back from the teens. Karr fights against us for a few moments before pulling away from us and yanking his hood up on his short-sleeved hoodie-shirt.
“They will die,” Karr hisses darkly, “I always kill my prey.”
Bryan’s POV
I stand brushing myself off, “I’m not sure,” I mutter in response.
The portal as usual begins to close in on itself and my limbs act on their own. “My stuff,” I yell diving through the portal in the nick-of-time.
Andi’s POV
“Where am I,” I ask as my voice echoes down the bright, white hallway.
Without notice the scenes changes. The walls are covered in pictures attached by magnets. I peel one off the wall and look at it only to find it’s a picture of an explosion. I put the picture back and move onto the next one. This time it’s an image of people changing into the creature we saw in the opposite room. As I follow the pictures down I realize they’re pictures of how it began to the current time.
I wonder down the infinite hall staring in horror at the travesty and sorrow of our world. I had no idea the world was this bad. I gasp at the next picture and try to cover my eyes from the image. Unfortunately, it doesn’t remove it from my mind as it burns into my memory. The image of my friends lying on the street right outside the lab doors being eaten forever engraved into my mind.
Alex’s POV
“Shut up,” I shout at the sadist, “Just shut up!”
I move Ayden out of my way as two look-a-likes pull the sadist back. ‘I have to defend Andi, I have to,’ I think as tears actually begin to form in my eyes. Suddenly, Andi’s eyes snap open and she screams out ‘why?’, silencing the entire room.
Karr’s POV
When the room falls silent, I can’t help the dark chuckle I allow to turn into a full out laugh from beneath me hood. Crazy is good, it makes everything go away!
Ayden’s POV
Chills run up my spine when the teen-who-killed-the-zombie starts laughing for no reason. Cautiously, I step back towards Andi. Kneeling down, I help Andi to a sitting position and ask in the best worried tone I can manage, “Are you alright?”
Elizabeth’s POV
When Bryan and the portal disappear, I feel like a chunk of me dove through the portal with him. I stand there staring at the place where the portal used to be unable to remember where I dropped my small book. I walk towards the wall as my legs start to waver. I fall against the wall for support and lean my head against its hard surface.
I don’t understand why I feel like he’s so important to me. I’ve only just met him, yet here I am getting emotional over him. As I stay in my position, I feel a cool breeze blow over my hand as the green glow begins to appear again. Only this time, Bryan isn’t on the other side, there’s only a green haze against my hand.
Bryan’s POV
My knife! I have to get my knife! I’m shaking as I rustle around my mess to find it. ‘There it is!’ I grab it off the desk I’d left it on, but during my jumps of excitement I watch in horror as it gets flung out of my hand and crashes through the window.
“NO,” I yell, but all I only hear it muffled knowing it’s my only chance at seeing Elizabeth again.
What do I do? I had this amazing thing and I felt like Elizabeth was part of my fate. I don’t even know where she is! I fall to my knees and lean against the wall with my fists and forehead.
“Come back,” I yell as I pound my fist on the wall only to find myself falling through a hole in the wall. ‘Legs,’ I ask myself as I fall into them.
Andi’s POV
“I-I think so..,” I fumble over my words as I try to recollect myself.
What was with the dream? It felt so…real. I’m so lost in my thoughts and confusion it takes me a little while to notice Alex. My eyes go wide when I see the fire on his fists.
Alex’s POV
I can’t help feeling jealous as Ayden’s got to Andi before I can. I rush it off, ‘Whatever. Why should I care anyways?’
I flame my fists on and walk menacingly towards my opponent. “Why do you enjoy this,” I yell practically centimeters from his nose.
Elizabeth’s POV
I try to step back away from the portal as the image from before reappears before me and Bryan falls forward, taking me down with him and landing on top of my legs.
An over whelming feeling of relief courses through me and I don’t understand why tears are flowing from my eyes, “Wh-why did you leave if you were just going to come back?” I lean forward and put my hands to my face, “I don’t even know why I’m so relieved you’re here.” I let out a nervous laugh looking up from my hands and down towards his blue eyes with tear filled eyes.
Ayden’s POV
I give a small sigh of relief escapes me as I look over towards the direction of Andi’s attention. Alex is approaching the crazy teen again with fire fists.
“The others…they…they just…….stopped…him,” I say in a worried tone.
Karr’s POV
Oh? He’s confronting me?
I let a wicked smile cross my face as I pull my hood down. Does he know he’s approaching a monster? “I love to see the fear an terror in peoples eye as they realize their fate. I adore the negative reactions I pull from people,” I lug has my hands start changing into large claws.
“Why do you feel so obligated to face death,” I ask as my hands finish their change and I pin him to the ground.
Andi’s POV
I watch in horror as Alex throws off the guy. I stand still, a little dizzy, and yell, “stop,” as tears stream down my face from all the stress.
I squeeze my eyes shut with my fist clenched together at my sides, “Why are you fighting, can’t we just figure this out together? What will we gain if we kill each other in this world?”
My tears won’t stop and all I can see is the picture of my friends dead. There has to be some way for me to stop it from happening. Wait. There’s no proof this is actually going to happen, but there’s this feeling inside me telling otherwise. It’s like I knew it would happen.
Alex’s POV
Andi’s outbreak shocks me. This isn’t like her to suddenly act in this manner. However, I’m quickly distracted by the glowing light forming around her, ‘She’s…glowing?’ The light begins to shine brighter as its hue changes to an aquamarine color.
“What’s that sound,” I ask slowly not really expecting an answer from anyone. The sound begins to grow louder and louder and then I realize what the sound is. Water. Something hits me with full force and my knee buckle underneath me, causing me to drop to my knees on the ground; however before my memory takes complete control, I noticing the feeling of liquid soaking into my clothes.
Lab Coats loom over me with a clip board in hand. I lie, about 6 years-old, on a cold metal operating table. My body is so weak from testing; the Lab Coats have no need to strap me down.
“Doctor,” A female doctor calls from the door, “We have a problem with the girl Manning was taking care of.”
The doctor growls irritated, “Why can’t you people do things correctly, she’s just a child.”
The Lab Coats both leave in a hurried manner. Wait…did she say…Manning, as in Lilly? They must bee talking about Andi!
I take a deep breath in, mustering up enough energy to roll off the operating table and will myself towards the door. Two doors away, I can hear Lab Coats shouting. Not to soon after they’re pulling Andi out of the room. Andi’s eyes are glowing a bright aquamarine, but it scared me when I realized he body was limp and unmoving.
Water rushes out of the room startling me, but my nerves calm when I realize the water is somehow directed towards only the Lab Coats. As I watch them I notice tears run down Andi’s face and I can’t help thinking the water would never end.
“You were crying then too,” I yell over the noise as I jumping to my feet and run to Andi’s side. I notice the glow creeping farther and farther into her eyes as the liquid I identified to be water continues to rise. I put my hands on her shoulders, “Wake up Andi!”
I look down at my feet to check the levels of the water and immediately think, ‘I have to do something before we drown.’ Despite this thought of bravery, my mind stops when more pictures flash through my mind. One by one as the Lab Coats had tried to bring Andi back out of the trance like state they all died. These images kept me from moving as I try to decided if this is worth the price of my life after I’d just found an escape.
Bryan’s POV
I stand to look at Elizabeth and I hug her tight. Wait, what am I doing? It’s like I know this woman from somewhere, but at the same time I know I have never met her. I pull back from her and take a step back, “Hold on a second.”
I jump back through the hole I came in from and start frantically grabbing all my things. I toss them all through the hole I named a portal and jump through right after it, “Mind if we stick together?”
Ayden’s POV
Water starts to fill the room as I jump to my feet and rush to Alex and Andi’s sides. When I get there, Alex is trying to get Andi to snap out of whatever trance she’s in and for a moment it almost reminds me of Setsu when she was really upset and dad tried to reason with her. Andi…she must really want them to stop fighting.
I take a breath and wonder to myself if Andi will calm down in the way Setsu would when I wanted to reason with her. Releasing my intake of air, I say a quick sorry to Alex and step in between the two. As I gently wrap my arms around Andi’s middle section, I feel normalness begin to seep into my mind. ‘This time,’ I think to myself, ‘this time I’m going to us this moment of normalcy to do something right.’
“Andi,” I say softly as I continue to hugs her like I would my sister Setsu, “Setsu used to get into determined mood like this when she felt a lot of just one feeling. Sometimes-Sometimes when dad or mom couldn’t get through to her, I would hug her just like this and keep talking to her about whatever caused her to feel the way she was feeling.” I pause long enough to let my words sink in through whatever walls she may have up and then start talking again, “You just want these guys to stop fighting don’t you Andi? I’ll bet its scary seeing those close to you in danger; even getting into dangerous situations.” I continue to talk to her in this same gentle and comforting tone; while trying to keep along the thing bothering her. Eventually the aquamarine glow begins to seep away and the water begins to evaporate into nothing.
Kain’s POV
As I watch the silver haired teen get to his feet, I notice something strange happen in my head. I being to think about the game in a way I’d sworn off too many years ago. However, when he moves in to help bring the girl out of the trance, my chest brings to tighten and twist in strange ways. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling, but the moment he started talking his gentle comforting words started to make my chest feel lighter, almost like…butterflies flying around inside me.
‘What is this fluttering feeling,’ I wonder as I search through all the data I’d stored over the years, ‘A heart…what’s a heart?’ I look up more on this “heart” and find it’s an organ in living creatures, it’s beating rate changes with the rise in need for blood circulation and sometimes it’s beating rate is described with emotions, but I can’t have a heart. I’m a program; programs aren’t living.
Elizabeth’s POV
I tense up when Bryan hugs me and my thoughts begin to overwhelm me as he pulls away and holds up a finger, “Hold on one second.”
Bryan jumps through the portal and my thoughts immediately run wild. Why am I acting like a grade school girl with a crush? How come my heart is beating a million miles per second? Why is it worse when Bryan is around me? What’s with this sudden feeling of hope he gives me just by being beside me? Why, why, WHY?!
The sound of items hitting the floor brings me out of my thoughts as the portal closes behind him, “Mind if we stick together?”
I bite my lip nervously. Why should I give him an answer? He hasn’t even answered one of my questions. “You…you never answered any of my questions…,” I finally decide to say, “Why should I…answer you?”
Andi’s POV
The only thing running through my head repeatedly is one single thought, “Stop fighting.” It’s all I can do as my body starts reacting to things on its own. However, everything comes to a crashing halt and I stop thinking for a moment.
The constant synthesized voice and the rushing sound of water just drops out of my ears and a quiet soft voice replaces it. A bright light blurs my vision and within moments my eyes start readjusting to the real world. The first thing I see is a small shoulder, but whose? At that moment I don’t care. Whoever they were, they saved me from wherever I was at. I hug them back, clinging tightly to them as if they were holding the world together and keeping it from falling apart.
Alex’s POV
I can’t help but shake with rage and sadness when Ayden is able to calm Andi down and I couldn’t. I turn away right when she hugs his small stature tightly. Whatever, it’s not like I care. I don’t. I mean, why should I care? Them being that close doesn’t bother me…right?
Bryan’s POV
“What,” I say practically dropping my jaw in shock.
The tone in her voice causes a twinge of pain in my chest to swell up like I’ve never felt before, “I-I’m sorry, I thought…” I can’t finish my sentence because I really don’t know where I’m trying to go with this thought.
Ayden’s POV
I’m relieved when Andi finally begins to calm down. Andi’s eyes begin to change back and her arms tighten around me in a hug, “I’m glad you’re alight now.”
We stay like this for a little while longer and, for the sake of my personal guilt, I pull away from her. As we stand there, I almost feel like I never lost my sister. Before my normalcy slips away, I feel a very small smile make its way onto my face.
Kain’s POV
I step towards the group and observe their actions. With the other two busy in one another’s company, I decide to approach the tallest teen with control over fire.
“Hey Fire-Fists, do you know where we’re at?”
Karu’s POV
I hear Karr snicker beside me as he leaves the room. I follow after him and we walk into a dark hallway. Karr continues to walk through the halls until we come across a window looking upon an apocalyptic world. Zombies creep across the streets. Their movements are slow and disoriented, almost like they have no central control programming. A clawed hand pulls me to the side and a huge oversized rabbit pounces on a zombie.
“I guess it’s a good thing we’re only programs,” I mutter watching Karr rip the zombie to pieces.
Elizabeth’s POV
I suddenly regret saying my choice of words when I see pain lace the emotions in his eyes, “I-I’m sorry I thought….” For some reason I feel myself start to smile and slowly it turns into a full out laugh. I’m not sure why, but this whole situation seems so funny and the confused look on his face makes his look so cute!
“I-I’m sorry,” I say in between laughs, “b-but just now-ahhaha-you looked really cute!”
Andi’s POV
“Hey wait,” I call making a move to go after them. There’s something horrible up there, I know it, but Alex grabs me by the arm and forces me to stop.
“Just let them go,” Alex says.
“But I can’t,” I snap, “There’s-There’s…” I can’t find the words for what I’m trying to say. What is up there, the zombies from earlier? “There are more of them,” I exclaim motioning towards the dead oozing corpse killed by violent teen.
Bryan’s POV
I blush, which is not something generally I do or have ever done. Elizabeth thinks I’m…cute? Can you imagine it, being worked up about something like this during the middle of an apocalypse?
“It’s you,” I say, “You’re the one I’ve been hearing all this time.”
Karu’s POV
I slide past Karr as he tears zombies apart bits and chucks at a time. I rush down to the door and spot my brother and the group of teens. Changing I watch Karr do something human, something I would have expected him to do when we were five; minus his colorful use of language.
Karr slides to the door as he changes to his original form covered in zombie parts and blood, “Unless you filthy meat sacks want to become zombie chow, I suggest you worthless organisms get your asses out of here.”
Elizabeth’s POV
The moonlight passes over us and I see a pink tinge on his cheeks. I let out a small laugh, “Yeah, I’m me…and you’re Bryan.”
To think I’d be stuck on the thought of happiness in this Hell. Had anyone have asked me about happiness two months ago, I would have told them they were smoking something and ask them to share. Now, however, I think I could actually tell them there may still be a chance at happiness.
Andi’s POV
I’m stunned by his actions. It’s doesn’t make since. I thought he wanted to kill me? I don’t know if I should follow or not. This could all be a trap, but it doesn’t seem like his style to set someone up; his other brothers may do that, but he’s too impulsive to act upon a strict plan.
Despite all these things going against him, I feel a compulsion to follow after him. I feel like if I follow them the images of my friends being dinner chow is less of a possibility. I grab a skeptical Alex’s hand and pull him towards the exit.
Bryan’s POV
“Do you...hear that?”
We fall silent and listen to the sounds around us carefully. A faint, very faint, sound from outside infiltrates our serenity and continues to get increasingly louder. It sounds like…screaming?
I run to the window to see a single person fending off a city of zombies. As he runs I realize he’s being chase by a huge group of zombies coming at him all at one time, “We have to do something to save him!”
Ayden’s POV
When Andi grabs Alex’s hand and pulls him away towards the door I almost feel a pit of emptiness take hold in my heart. Perhaps I should leave them so they don’t have to worry about a third wheel. It’s not like they haven’t already-“Hey, didn’t you hear him; we need to get out of here.”
“I-I…know…” I answer quietly looking into red and gold eyes, “…it’s just…” Before I can finish my sentence, he grabs me by my hand and pulls me out after Andi and Alex. However, through all the chaos we ran through all I could think about was a foreign feeling taking root beside my empty hole.
Extras
Karu’s POV
The moment I see Karr come out and Change, I begin to bite and tear through zombies while he takes care of the back end. Kain and the others follow me out to the front door never leaving the safety of our defense. Once outside I sense Kain Change and He replaces Karr’s spot after the stupid rabbit left the formation aimlessly slaughter zombies.
Elizabeth’s POV
When I glance out the window, I see a man fighting off a horde of zombies.
“We have to save him,” I hear Bryan yell as an idea pops into my head.
“Our portals,” I say, “One of us can place one outside and the other in this room!”
Bryan’s POV
“Yes,” I practically yell in response.
Adrenaline pumps through my veins and I start shaking. I concentrate all my thoughts on placing a portal on the wall below. A thin, blue, ribbon-like stream of light bolts out from my palm and a few seconds later the familiar blue oval appears on the wall below. Now it’s Elizabeth’s turn.
Andi’s POV
I stand by stunned by the scene I am watching. It’s horrifying to watch these …animals, which mind you used to be human, injured and being torn down little by little.
A single tear rolls down my cheek and for some reason I have a feeling I can help. Everything after this feeling, I suddenly forget.
Alex’s POV
We’re just watching the fight scene take place, when suddenly Andi begins to glow again. Before I can register what’s happening, she’s slashing at zombies and cutting them down with…water? It’s the only thing I can assume from its appearance as it zips past me at a high rate.
Elizabeth’s POV
The moment Bryan’s eyes meet my own, I feel an instant connection to him. I place my hand to the wall and a familiar breeze passes over my hand. A green oval outline begins to appear, along with the scene of a person fighting of a horde of zombies. However, when the portal is fully established, I see a look of relief wash over the man’s expression as if he had accepted his fate after seeing other survivors.
I don’t know if Bryan can see the man’s face from the window, but it was like he understood and accepted that we wouldn’t reach him in time to save him. Before I can actually make a decision to save him, my hand drops down to my pistols the instant he stops fighting for his life. I start mauling zombies down with my bullets in a strong attempt to reach the man.
Stepping on to the street and through the portal, I continue with the massacre of the walking dead and began to mix in the martial arts I know and my guns-man skills together to achieve a quicker success rate. However, despite all the killing I’m doing, all I can think about is saving the man’s life.
Karu’s POV
My body is beginning to weaken from being Changed for so long and I almost lose my balance. As I Change back to my human shape against my will, a curve of water zips past me cutting zombies in half with ease. When I look back to find the cause, I see the girl from before; however, the air around her is completely different from when we first encountered her.
“AHHAHAHAHA, LOOK AT THE BEATUY,” Karr laughs loudly in a crazed manner, “THIS IS WHO I WAS LOOKING FOR, SHE IS THE ONE I WANT!”
What he wanted-Oh…he wanted to kill the timid side of this child, but not this…side? Person? Version..? Whatever, it doesn’t matter; I finally understand what he wants from her and why he kept her away from the water in the simulator.
Ayden’s POV
Watching the water all around me cut through the oncoming threat, sends flashes through my families death and the incidents in the lab. I want to be able to defend these people; I want to be able to keep them safe as I was unable to do the same for my own family. Most of all I want to be able to save this teen who put his life on the line for a complete stranger.
If only I had a blunt object with me or even something sharp, maybe a compact machine gun with unlimited bullets?
My hand begins to feel heavy and I bring it up to see the exact gun I had described in my head. I feel my instincts pushing through the back of my mind and I let them take over, taking zombies down as if it was in my nature to do so.
Bryan’s POV
Elizabeth and I begin to almost fight in a rhythm of sorts. Throwing zombies around with our fists and shooting the others down, all until we reach the man.
Instantly the adrenaline rush I had felt in the room is washed away in one giant rush, “He’s …dead…” I notice my voice inch and octave higher on the word “dead.” I had this shred of hope there was another person alive and now in a matter of nano-seconds it was taken away,
Andi’s POV
My limbs are numb and I’m back in the white hallway. The picture of my friends and zombies has changed now. I turn around when I hear a crashing sound.
A giant screen appears and I wonder, ‘Is this my vision?’ On the screen there’s a person slashing up zombies like a ninja, only with water. Around the screen are the picture I had seen before, but they’re changing constantly. Could these be the future? I turn back to the screen and myself, ‘is it me,’ but even as I ask this I get the feeling it’s not. I am me and I’m trapped. I know, somehow, the pictures on one side of the hallway are mine, but deep down inside me I know the one on the opposite side are not mine.
“Let me out,” I scream.
I’m starting to feel scared and I bang on the walls as if it will save me from this place. I heard beating on the other side of the hallway, the side that isn’t mine. What’s happening?!
Alex’s POV
It’s hard to distinguish what’s happening. Andi’s lost control of herself and has gone ninja on the zombies, and everyone else is fighting them. I “flame my fists” and begin to add in my two-cents. We continue on this way until, finally, we are the only one’s standing, trying to catch our breaths.
“Andi,” I yell running to her side, “Are you okay, what was that-It was amazing!” Andi looks at my with glazed, glowing blue eyes, “An...di…?”
“Stop,” she replies, but not in her voice. It’s strange, it’s not Andi’s voice. This voice almost sounds synthesized, if only a little. “That’s not my name,” she says suddenly, “Call me CArLi.”
What? What is she saying? This girl, she’s Andi…she is Andi…right?
Andi’s POV
I’m on my knees with my newly bruised fists propping me up on the wall.
“What are you doing,” A voice asks from behind me.
I feel like I’ve heard it before in my dreams. I quickly turn around and see a girl. She’s short and has long silver-blonde hair, dressed in a yellow sun dress and a big sun hat. I stand up slowly and ask, “Who are you?”
“I’m CArLi,” she replies in a slightly synthesized voice.
“CArLi,” I question, “Why are you here?”
“I’m here to help” CArLi answers a-matter-of-factly as if it was a simpler question.
Before I can ask her anything else, I am ripped away from the hallway and I’m back in reality looking around at all the dead bodies and blood scattered around us.
Ayden’s POV
The moment the zombies are all dead and my instincts recede, I realize my hands are empty. Where did my gun go, more importantly, where did it come from?
The sound of Alex’s voice draws me out of my thought and I see the teen with mismatched eyes passed out in front of me with battle wounds. As I step towards him to see if he’s alright, one of his brothers zips past me to check on him. Watching them, I can’t help feeling a tinge of pain in my heart at the connection everyone has around them in this world.
I let the thought pass and turn around to the people I have the most connection to. Alex is trying to get Andi’s attention again and I wonder why she isn’t responding, but then I notice a change in her eyes from aquamarine to her natural born green eyes. I walk over to her and put a hand on her shoulder, “Are…you…okay?”
Kain’s POV
My body hurts all over and I do my best not to move. I can only see black, but I can faintly hear the things carrying on around me. I groan in pain when I feel someone pull me into their arms; immediately, I know its Karu from his scent. I open my eyes and see worry in his eyes, but behind him I see the boy I pull out of the room watching us with pain on his face.
Why would he have such a look directed at me? Have I caused him pain in some way? There should be no reason for it. We have just met. Not only that, but I’m a monster; I’m just a program.
Elizabeth’s POV
My heart sinks at Bryan’s words and I have a strong feeling to end everything right here and right now. I can see it all working out smoothly in my mind, first I take Bryan out of his misery and then follow right after him. However, I can’t. I’m too scared to kill a living person who has come this far in this world. It doesn’t matter that everything good has been ripped away the moment it was in my grasp, but this time I still have something worth living for. This time, hopefully for his as well, I have become something for him to live for.
I feel my eyes begin to water and I quickly try and wipe away the tears with the back of my hand before they can fall. I try and compose myself the best I can and say, “We need to leave, with all the noise we made and the scent of fresh food there’ll be a horde here in a matter of moments”
Andi’s POV
Alex and I stand over the person who fell out of the sky onto the island. I nudge Alex, “Where do you think he came from?” Alex shrugs in response. No one else has ever been on the island since we’d gotten here five years ago.
“Let’s bring him inside the cave,” Alex suggests.
I nod in response.
……
“I think he’s coming to.”
Ayden’s POV
As my senses start to return to me and my body regains its ability to move, I start to hear voices around me. As if acting on instinct, my body freezes like I have some phobia of people. Somehow, I feel as though if I don’t move these people will leave me alone and, hopefully, go away. ‘Why get up is I’m only going to be judged,’ I suddenly ask myself without knowing the answer, ‘Why get up if they’ll tease me?’ So, if I don’t get up then I won’t have to deal with them right? [Then I won’t have to worry about these thoughts I don’t understand.] Suddenly I hear a loud roar, like a T-Rex, and jump to my feet
Alex’s POV
“Calm down, its okay,” I assure the guy, “It can’t get us here.”
I was strange seeing someone else here. I can’t remember anything before the island and the only person I’ve ever known is Andi. I find myself staring at the guy and he’s staring back, only he looked afraid.
“Where are you from,” I ask.
Ayden’s POV
“~~~~~,” A guy asks me.
My eyes fall onto two people in wherever we are. [One of the people is a girl with brown hair and green eyes, while the other was a boy with red eyes and black hair. As I look over them,] dread falls upon my face as an odd sensation bubbles inside of me, “Where……are…we..?”
‘Damn of all the times for this disability has to hinder me,’
Andi’s POV
I step forward [and say], “This is Ittus Island, at least it’s what we call it.” “How did you get here?”
I really wanted [change to want] to know; how had he gotten here? also [want to know] why it’s taken so long for someone else to appear! We didn’t even know how we got here.
Ayden’s POV
When the girl takes a step forward, I take a step back, [and when she finishes talking I say,] “Ayden…my….name….” I want to tell her I don’t know how I got here, but I don’t [know] why she’s asking me [all] these things. However…how did I get here?
I feel my legs start to go weak and I fall to my knees, unable to support myself. While I keep myself steady with my arms directly in front of me, I try to find answer to all her questions. [There’s] nothing, only black [in the places] where my memories should be. It’s as if this place Ittus Island, is all I should know.
Andi’s POV
I sigh and take [another] step forward, “I’m Andi,” I gesture towards my friend, “and this is Alex.” I decide not to push Ayden anymore, because he seems to share our fate.
“I think we should go to the beach,” I say with a smile, “We can tell stories!”
Ayden’s POV
My heartaches and somehow I feel like I’m missing something important to me. I mean how can they not be worried or ever curious about whether or not people are out looking for us?! The more I continue to think about this the more I find myself getting even more frustrated and curious.
As my brain continues to process her questions, something in my brain seems to click into place. I can feel something, almost like a long lost memory I’d lost, return to me. However, instead of answering her questions, I state my thoughts clearly in what feels to be ages.
“How can you not be curious about the people who might be looking for us or our previous lives,” I suddenly bark. Red and green eyes meet, what are probably still deep dull blue eyes, “There could be people out there looking for us…yet, here we are doing nothing….”
I just can’t let it go. ‘This can’t be the end. There has to be more to this place, this island,’ I think to myself as I feel the [familiar] connection begin to fade away and my brain returns to ‘normal.’
Alex’s POV
I shake my head, “you don’t get it do you?” I pause to take a breath, “We’ve been here for over five years. Of course we wonder about our past. It’s just been so long, there’s no point anymore.”
Suddenly Andi stands up and gives me I look I can’t read. “I’m going to [go] collect some [more] wood,” Andi says, before walking into the forest.
Andi’s POV
I don’t know why he upset me, but for some reason Alex’s words unsettled me. Somehow, I felt like cry. Then movement in the bushes makes me jump. I sigh, ‘It’s probably just a bird,’ I think to myself as I turn towards the sound
“AAK,” I scream as a head pops out of the bushes, follow by another, and another [who’s wearing a determined look upon his face.] Confusion courses through me as they stare back.
Karu’s POV
I watch as my eldest brother, Karr, [reaches out and grabs the girl;] on hand over her mouth and the other around her neck. The look on Karr’s face is murderous and I almost, almost, feel sorry for her.
“We don’t have time for sympathy, Karu,” Kain, the second eldest, answers as if he were reading my mind.
“I was to see her blood run into the rock pool,” Karr laughs. [“I’ll bet her blood will turn the water a wonderful shade of red,”] he muses as he pulls her in the direction we came from.
Kain’s POV
“Well~ They encourage my complete cooperation,
Send me weapons when they think you need to die.
I can’t control myself because I don’t know how~
And they love me for it honestly, I’ll be here for a while~!” Karr chants, like a child promised a new toy, as we continue through the brush.
I stop Karr mid-chant, “Karr, don’t you think you should tie her up?” motion for Karu to pull out our vine rope.
“Hm, it does sound like a good idea,” Karu replies light-heartedly as he hands me the vine, [which I pass of to Karr.] He takes it from me like he’s promised a ticket of this shithole and ties her up, before continuing his chanting and the walk to out cave. Sometimes I think he’s stupid.
Ayden’s POV
“AAK!”
I jump at the sound of Andi’s scream and run towards it to find her. I don’t care if I barely know her, but it was my fault she ran off in the first place. If I’d never opened my mouth, then Alex wouldn’t have said any of the things he had, and Andi wouldn’t have run off.
Andi’s POV
Everything is spinning around me when I open my eyes. I don’t understand what’s happening and I can taste the blood flowing from my head. I let out a groan of pain and notice a figure in my blurred vision.
Alex’s POV
Ayden and I jump when we hear Andi scream. Ayden runs off [immediately] towards her scream, whereas I’m a little delayed.
“Wait for me,” I call running after him.
We burst through the trees to find a trail of blood. I gulp [and hope it’s not Andi’s.]
Ayden’s POV
My heart jumps at the sight of blood and my stomach clenches as I step back nearly traumatized. Why am I acting like this? It’s only blood, so why am I so afraid of it?
“She………th-that’s……it’s not hers…right?”
Kain’s POV
After five or ten minutes, my brothers and I come up on a cave. As we step inside, it occurs to me it’s our first time bring game into our cave.
Our save is unique [compared] to all the others. It has a rock bottom pool filled with fish; grass covers the cave floor with a flower here and there; and a hole in the ceiling as the only source of light. This place is truly amazing, just like the information the girl can tell us.
I glance in Karr’s direction, where he’s set the girl down in the farthest place from the pond,
“So~ give me blood, blood, blood, gallons of the stuff!
Give me all that I can drink and it will never be enough.
So~ give me blood, blood, blood~
Grab a glass because there’s going to be a flood!”
Ew.
Andi’s POV
I wake up to a beautiful area. I’d ask if I was in heaven, but there’s an immense pain throughout my body. I see the boy from earlier towering above me. I don’t have the energy to say anything, so I garble out nonsense. A noise sounds. It’s something I’ve never heard before, but the word ‘electronic’ comes to mind. Electronic, what does it mean? The noise continues and then the world shuts down, literally.
Everything starts to disappear leaving behind a grid in its place. I stand up, with difficulty, wavering when I [get to my feet.] A door to my left hisses open, revealing a familiar area. Slowly I step over the threshold and instantly fall backwards. A flood of images, memories, hit me in the chest. I can remember everything. The lab, the injections, and the testing; the last five years of my life have all been a lie.
Tears well up in my eyes as I step into a deep sadness of hate, I hate the lab people.
Ayden’s POV
Alex never answers me and I turn away just as everything goes black and disappears. I whip back around to find Alex as confused as I. The blackness begins to dissolve into a room with a figure [standing in the room].
The first thing I notice when the black is gone is Alex running towards the figure. Unlike him, worrying about the other person, I let my feet take me towards [one] specific wall, a wall with a sign on it, ‘exit.’ My hand reaches through the ‘exit’ and images come flooding into my mind. First they’re just a family to me, no one special. Parents and two kids, ‘My family,’ I realize, ‘My parents, my sister; Mom, dad, and Setsu…where are you?’ Images continue to flood my mind. Red floors and dead bodies paint the scenery. I can feel my body shaking in fear as torn faces of my family and they’re burned into my memory.
’The police must have sent me here,’ I think sadly to myself.
Chapter Two: Reality Hits Hard
Andi’s POV
I stop for a second. Where did those three, who captured me, go? They just…disappeared.
I turn around to face Alex [running in my direction.] I’m overcome with feelings of joy. My limbs decide to act on their own and I run to him in a daze, throwing my arms around his torso.
Alex’s POV
I’m not entirely sure about what’s going on, until Andi’s arms are wrapped around me in a hug, crying tears of joy. I don’t let this moment pass and hug her back tightly.
“Alex,” she sobs, “I-I remember…I remember everything!”
She takes my hand and leads me through the door. I stumble backwards a little as all my memories come back to me at once, “I remember…” I mutter. “They put us in there as a test,” I say looking at my hands; “to test our abilities we’ve been given.”
My hearts racing, all this time I this power, but I couldn’t remember. I aim my fist towards a picture on the wall and punch the air. A ball of fire flies across the room burning the picture. I exchange a nervous look with Andi.
Ayden’s POV
I feel liquid run down my cheeks. When I woke up in the middle of the day, I had no idea who I was and I had desperately wanted answers. Now I know who I am and I just want to forget everything again.
“A-Alex…” I whimper, “I-I…memories…”
I give up on trying not to full on cry and let all my tears fall like waterfalls, while I bit my bottom lip and clutched my fist closed.
Andi’s POV
‘What was that…,’ I think to myself, ‘It almost seemed like…no.’ I pause, ‘That would be ridiculous…’ I shake my head free of the thoughts.
“Hey… where are the scientists,” I ask confused, I know it’s been five years, but [shouldn’t] they still be here?”
Alex’s POV
Ayden stats crying and I kick into [compassionate-Alex-mode and disregard Andi’s question.] I step over to him, “Are you…okay?”
He falls over into my arms shaking as he cries, “H-Hey don’t-don’t cry…” I glance over to Andi and she’s looking at us with a slightly horrified look on her face for a reason I can’t explain.
Ayden’s POV
I feel heart rise to my cheeks as my tears begin to dry. I pull away quickly, with a small distance still between us, and utter a quick, embarrassed apology.
“Sh-Should I…we…we should….go outside…” I suggest again, looking between Alex and Andi, noticing the look on her face.
Elizabeth’s POV
Two years, it’s only been two years since the world’s been apocalyptic, but I’ve only been out here on my own for one [of those years.] Every night, even now as I think to myself, I can hear feral growls and hissing outside. Sometimes, I question my insanity, especially when I the voice in my head, the voice belonging to a man.
Bryan’s POV
As I lay in my sleeping bad on a rooftop, watching the stars, I think about the silence. It’s been so lonely all the time…except…this one voice. It’s a voice I hear every so often, a voice of a woman who keeps me company in the silence. I laugh and slap myself. I’m going insane in this god damned zombie world.
Andi’s POV
‘No way,’ I assure myself, ‘There’s no way it’s like that, because the very idea of it…is…absurd…Alex isn’t…like that.’ [Before I realize what’s happening,] my body, as always, decides the best solution for itself and and peel Ayden away from Alex.
“Let’s get out of here,” I say [immediately], “and find out where all the lab guys went.”
Alex’s POV
I’m a little relieved when Andi gets Ayden away from me. I had no idea [how to fix the situation,] but why would she be so…angry? Angry was right, is it because she-no way, Andi wouldn’t like him…. Then…why would she him away and closer to her? I shake my head.
“Let’s get out of here,” Andi says [immediately], “and find out where all the lab guys went.”
I nod in agreement, “Yes, sounds like a good idea.”
Ayden’s POV
I bite my bottom lip before taking in a breath. ‘They’ve probably realized something’s wrong with me,’ I think to myself as flashes of school bullies [play] through my mind.
Elizabeth’s POV
I step outside with my travel bag [full of] weapons and must-haves; and two pistols in hand. Jim, the voice in my head, won’t shut up. Sometimes I feel like yelling and him, but then I remember Jim is only a voice in my head. Jim isn’t real.
“Grr…”
I turn and find a zombie making its way towards me. ‘Damn you Jim,’ I think to myself violently, ‘why aren’t you real?!’
Andi’s POV
O put a hand near the door to activate it, [again,] but jump back immediately in horror at the sight behind the glass [looking into this room.] A…a…I don’t even know what to call it. A man…a monster…no…a zombie.
The display behind the glass was soul chilling. A man in a lab [hung] over himself with blood dripping out of his orifice. I gag fighting back the vomit threatening to come up. The man looks up and sees us through the glass. At first he was approaching the glass slowly, cocking its head side to side like a dog. Then, suddenly, his walk turned into a sprint and [the moment the] man slams in to the glass, making me scream as I jump in horror, while the man smears the blood all over the glass.
Alex’s POV
We jump in horror as the zombie tries to get at us, snarling behind the glass.
“What happened while we were gone,” I ask, [directed at] no specific person.
Bryan’s POV
I sit in a chair rummaging through my bag like a mad man. ‘Where is it,’ I ask myself as I continue looking though my bag.
I don’t get it. Sometimes I think I may turn into a different person, among many other things. I sigh, but then something glints from the little light streaming between the boards on the windows, ‘Ah ha, there it is!’
I grab my knife and hold it in my hand. It’s not just any knife, I have good cause to believe it’s magic. As I point it at the wall, a light flies out of the tip. The moment the blue stream meets with the wall, an oval shaped…something [begins] to form. I reach out and touch it. The oval feels like water, but when I touch it [my hand doesn’t] get wet.
In all honesty, I don’t know what it does, but I can’t help feeling this…thing is important. I lay down on my sleeping bag, in a small office, messing around with my knife, ‘What could it possibly be?’
Elizabeth’s POV
As I pull out my empty gun to reload it, I feel something touch my soul. It’s weird, almost like a…fluttering feeling. I continue to reload me gun and hear something creeping around, ‘Ugh, time to get back to work.’
Bryan’s POV
While I lay in the blue glow of the oval, I can faintly the woman’s voice again. It’s unclear and I have no idea what she’s saying. For some reason the name Elizabeth keeps creeping into my mind, but why? I’ve never known an Elizabeth, ‘Oh god, I am crazy.’
Ayden’s POV
I jump back when the zombie hits the glass and smears blood everywhere. The sounds it’s making ring through my memories like [nails against a blackboard, only these nails are scratching at my memories.] I can see [one specific memory clearly as if it were a movie playing before me.]
“The…infection...,” I say staring at the creature.
The disease had started two years ago. At first it was some new vaccine [with the capabilities to] act as a cure-all, but something went wrong in the gene changing process. [We were never told] the facts, however, rumors always [revolved around the one idea of the serum being a code to rewrite genes to make the perfect person. Clearly, the serum rewrote the genes, but it worked too well and reset everything; shutting it down and restarting the entire being.]
Karu’s POV
When our cave disappeared, my eyes…no, program went blank. Everything was gone [in a flash] and I was standing in the darkness. I could still hear my business; Kain rattling off statistics and Karr threatening to kill someone.
After what seems to be days, we were in a room with some kind of creature in it. Within no time Karr was on the creature literally tearing it apart against the glass with sick joy written on his face.
Andi’s POV
I blink a few times dazed. Someone had gruesomely attacked the zombie trying to get at us…. I look closer at the figure and gasp in surprise.
“I-It’s you,” I say in surprise, “but why would he help us…I thought he was going to kill me!”
Alex’s POV
“What,” I nearly snap angrily, “Kill you, he tried to kill you, when did this happen?!”
Karr’s POV
It’s her! It’s really the girl I want to kill! She’s there; she’s just beyond that door!
Karu’s POV
My insides turn as Karr’s joy turns into excitement. I can’t believe he stills wants to kill the girl!
“Karr, let the brats be,” Kain growls annoyed.
“No,” Karr snaps, “She, that girl, is mine to kill!”
Karr moves away from the, deader, zombie and dashes through the door to the other side where the girl was.
Ayden’s POV
When the teen-who-killed-the-zombie enters the room the temperature feels like it’s dropped and a deep feeling of malice washes over the room.
“There you are,” he sings darkly, “Now that I’ve found you girl, let me see you blood run on this floor like the creature in the other room.”
Elizabeth’s POV
Finally in the safety of a hotel room, I begin digging though my backpack. I don’t know what I’m looking for, but I just can’t shake the feeling it’s important. By the time I nearly empty out my bag, I pull out a [small pocket sized sketch book I remember waking up with.]
I flip it open and as At first I could only hear Jim’s voice, but as
Bryan’s POV
I gasp. The circle is changing into an image. A girl starts appearing on the other side of the glowing oval on the wall.
“Who…are you,” I ask gaping at the events occurring.
Somehow, I feel like I know this woman already, but I know I’ve never met her before.
Elizabeth’s POV
I step back from the oval with the man inside it the moment Jim’s voice speaks, “Who…are you?” This has to be some kind of sick joke!
“Ah ha ha, okay Jim this is not funny,” I shout hoping to his voice answer back to me, “Are you listening to me! This. Is. Not. Funny!”
Andi’s POV
I’m too terrified to scream. What is he saying? Why does he want to kill me? My body’s paralyzed as he advances towards me. Soon, I realize, too late, I’ve forgotten to breathe.
Alex’s POV
“Andi,” I scream as she passed out. I run to catch her before she can hit the floor, “What the hell?!”
Carefully, I set Andi down. Shaking with rage, I stand with my fist palled up. Heat waves begin to course through my body. I run at the sadistic guy, raising my fist to punch his skull in. However, when I bring my fist in front of me, I don’t notice the flames encasing my fist.
Bryan’s POV
I reach out towards this…oval that appeared on the wall. When I set my hand on the oval my hand falls through, followed by my body. For some reason, I had expected the oval to hold me up like glass or stone. That wasn’t the case I found as I slam into the ground halfway between the two rooms.
Finally, I look up to see a woman, “Elizabeth?” I ask no knowing where my question had come from.
Chapter Three: Rush of Water
Elizabeth’s POV
“Elizabeth?”
I step farther away from the man hanging halfway out of the oval and fall backwards in shock, ‘Wh-Who is this?’
“Who are you,” I snap forgetting whose voice this is, “How do you…”
I catch my words in my throat just in time to remember who his voice sounds like. This man sounded just like Jim, but somehow…seeing this man hear…the owner of Jim’s voice…Jim doesn’t seem to fit anymore. I don’t understand why, but the more I wonder about his true name the only name I can remember is Bryan as if the previous name I had was worthless. I lean forward onto my knees and move closer to him, eventually meeting with his blue eyes.
“You, Br-Bryan…I heard your voice in my head,” I say carefully trying not to sound crazy, “H-How did you get here?”
Karr’s POV
I let out a wild laugh as he comes at me with a fist of flames. Who the hell does he think he is?! Does he think I’ll let my prey go so easily because of a little fire?! HE’S CRAZY! THIS BOY IS CRAZY!
“AH HA HA HA,” I continue to laugh as the flamed fist connects with my face, leaving behind a tickling feeling and no mark.
He pulls back for another punch, but I catch it letting my hand get engulfed by his flames, “YOU’RE CRAZY BOY, YOU’RE CRAZY!” I push him back and step forward. This boy will die, I’ll make his pain last as long as possible. I can’t help but laugh louder, if it were even possible as I can hear my laughter ringing in my ears.
Kain’s POV
I watch as Karr stalks his new prey. Before I can register what’s going on, a small figure jumps between my brother and his prey, “D-Don’t…hurt him..!” His words are unthreatening, but his eyes were a completely different story, as a flame of determination burns.
“Karu, let’s end this nonsense,” I order uncaringly, “I’m tired of watching his idiocy take place.”
Karu is happy to follow my order as we both enter the room and pull Karr back from the teens. Karr fights against us for a few moments before pulling away from us and yanking his hood up on his short-sleeved hoodie-shirt.
“They will die,” Karr hisses darkly, “I always kill my prey.”
Bryan’s POV
I stand brushing myself off, “I’m not sure,” I mutter in response.
The portal as usual begins to close in on itself and my limbs act on their own. “My stuff,” I yell diving through the portal in the nick-of-time.
Andi’s POV
“Where am I,” I ask as my voice echoes down the bright, white hallway.
Without notice the scenes changes. The walls are covered in pictures attached by magnets. I peel one off the wall and look at it only to find it’s a picture of an explosion. I put the picture back and move onto the next one. This time it’s an image of people changing into the creature we saw in the opposite room. As I follow the pictures down I realize they’re pictures of how it began to the current time.
I wonder down the infinite hall staring in horror at the travesty and sorrow of our world. I had no idea the world was this bad. I gasp at the next picture and try to cover my eyes from the image. Unfortunately, it doesn’t remove it from my mind as it burns into my memory. The image of my friends lying on the street right outside the lab doors being eaten forever engraved into my mind.
Alex’s POV
“Shut up,” I shout at the sadist, “Just shut up!”
I move Ayden out of my way as two look-a-likes pull the sadist back. ‘I have to defend Andi, I have to,’ I think as tears actually begin to form in my eyes. Suddenly, Andi’s eyes snap open and she screams out ‘why?’, silencing the entire room.
Karr’s POV
When the room falls silent, I can’t help the dark chuckle I allow to turn into a full out laugh from beneath me hood. Crazy is good, it makes everything go away!
Ayden’s POV
Chills run up my spine when the teen-who-killed-the-zombie starts laughing for no reason. Cautiously, I step back towards Andi. Kneeling down, I help Andi to a sitting position and ask in the best worried tone I can manage, “Are you alright?”
Elizabeth’s POV
When Bryan and the portal disappear, I feel like a chunk of me dove through the portal with him. I stand there staring at the place where the portal used to be unable to remember where I dropped my small book. I walk towards the wall as my legs start to waver. I fall against the wall for support and lean my head against its hard surface.
I don’t understand why I feel like he’s so important to me. I’ve only just met him, yet here I am getting emotional over him. As I stay in my position, I feel a cool breeze blow over my hand as the green glow begins to appear again. Only this time, Bryan isn’t on the other side, there’s only a green haze against my hand.
Bryan’s POV
My knife! I have to get my knife! I’m shaking as I rustle around my mess to find it. ‘There it is!’ I grab it off the desk I’d left it on, but during my jumps of excitement I watch in horror as it gets flung out of my hand and crashes through the window.
“NO,” I yell, but all I only hear it muffled knowing it’s my only chance at seeing Elizabeth again.
What do I do? I had this amazing thing and I felt like Elizabeth was part of my fate. I don’t even know where she is! I fall to my knees and lean against the wall with my fists and forehead.
“Come back,” I yell as I pound my fist on the wall only to find myself falling through a hole in the wall. ‘Legs,’ I ask myself as I fall into them.
Andi’s POV
“I-I think so..,” I fumble over my words as I try to recollect myself.
What was with the dream? It felt so…real. I’m so lost in my thoughts and confusion it takes me a little while to notice Alex. My eyes go wide when I see the fire on his fists.
Alex’s POV
I can’t help feeling jealous as Ayden’s got to Andi before I can. I rush it off, ‘Whatever. Why should I care anyways?’
I flame my fists on and walk menacingly towards my opponent. “Why do you enjoy this,” I yell practically centimeters from his nose.
Elizabeth’s POV
I try to step back away from the portal as the image from before reappears before me and Bryan falls forward, taking me down with him and landing on top of my legs.
An over whelming feeling of relief courses through me and I don’t understand why tears are flowing from my eyes, “Wh-why did you leave if you were just going to come back?” I lean forward and put my hands to my face, “I don’t even know why I’m so relieved you’re here.” I let out a nervous laugh looking up from my hands and down towards his blue eyes with tear filled eyes.
Ayden’s POV
I give a small sigh of relief escapes me as I look over towards the direction of Andi’s attention. Alex is approaching the crazy teen again with fire fists.
“The others…they…they just…….stopped…him,” I say in a worried tone.
Karr’s POV
Oh? He’s confronting me?
I let a wicked smile cross my face as I pull my hood down. Does he know he’s approaching a monster? “I love to see the fear an terror in peoples eye as they realize their fate. I adore the negative reactions I pull from people,” I lug has my hands start changing into large claws.
“Why do you feel so obligated to face death,” I ask as my hands finish their change and I pin him to the ground.
Andi’s POV
I watch in horror as Alex throws off the guy. I stand still, a little dizzy, and yell, “stop,” as tears stream down my face from all the stress.
I squeeze my eyes shut with my fist clenched together at my sides, “Why are you fighting, can’t we just figure this out together? What will we gain if we kill each other in this world?”
My tears won’t stop and all I can see is the picture of my friends dead. There has to be some way for me to stop it from happening. Wait. There’s no proof this is actually going to happen, but there’s this feeling inside me telling otherwise. It’s like I knew it would happen.
Alex’s POV
Andi’s outbreak shocks me. This isn’t like her to suddenly act in this manner. However, I’m quickly distracted by the glowing light forming around her, ‘She’s…glowing?’ The light begins to shine brighter as its hue changes to an aquamarine color.
“What’s that sound,” I ask slowly not really expecting an answer from anyone. The sound begins to grow louder and louder and then I realize what the sound is. Water. Something hits me with full force and my knee buckle underneath me, causing me to drop to my knees on the ground; however before my memory takes complete control, I noticing the feeling of liquid soaking into my clothes.
Lab Coats loom over me with a clip board in hand. I lie, about 6 years-old, on a cold metal operating table. My body is so weak from testing; the Lab Coats have no need to strap me down.
“Doctor,” A female doctor calls from the door, “We have a problem with the girl Manning was taking care of.”
The doctor growls irritated, “Why can’t you people do things correctly, she’s just a child.”
The Lab Coats both leave in a hurried manner. Wait…did she say…Manning, as in Lilly? They must bee talking about Andi!
I take a deep breath in, mustering up enough energy to roll off the operating table and will myself towards the door. Two doors away, I can hear Lab Coats shouting. Not to soon after they’re pulling Andi out of the room. Andi’s eyes are glowing a bright aquamarine, but it scared me when I realized he body was limp and unmoving.
Water rushes out of the room startling me, but my nerves calm when I realize the water is somehow directed towards only the Lab Coats. As I watch them I notice tears run down Andi’s face and I can’t help thinking the water would never end.
“You were crying then too,” I yell over the noise as I jumping to my feet and run to Andi’s side. I notice the glow creeping farther and farther into her eyes as the liquid I identified to be water continues to rise. I put my hands on her shoulders, “Wake up Andi!”
I look down at my feet to check the levels of the water and immediately think, ‘I have to do something before we drown.’ Despite this thought of bravery, my mind stops when more pictures flash through my mind. One by one as the Lab Coats had tried to bring Andi back out of the trance like state they all died. These images kept me from moving as I try to decided if this is worth the price of my life after I’d just found an escape.
Bryan’s POV
I stand to look at Elizabeth and I hug her tight. Wait, what am I doing? It’s like I know this woman from somewhere, but at the same time I know I have never met her. I pull back from her and take a step back, “Hold on a second.”
I jump back through the hole I came in from and start frantically grabbing all my things. I toss them all through the hole I named a portal and jump through right after it, “Mind if we stick together?”
Ayden’s POV
Water starts to fill the room as I jump to my feet and rush to Alex and Andi’s sides. When I get there, Alex is trying to get Andi to snap out of whatever trance she’s in and for a moment it almost reminds me of Setsu when she was really upset and dad tried to reason with her. Andi…she must really want them to stop fighting.
I take a breath and wonder to myself if Andi will calm down in the way Setsu would when I wanted to reason with her. Releasing my intake of air, I say a quick sorry to Alex and step in between the two. As I gently wrap my arms around Andi’s middle section, I feel normalness begin to seep into my mind. ‘This time,’ I think to myself, ‘this time I’m going to us this moment of normalcy to do something right.’
“Andi,” I say softly as I continue to hugs her like I would my sister Setsu, “Setsu used to get into determined mood like this when she felt a lot of just one feeling. Sometimes-Sometimes when dad or mom couldn’t get through to her, I would hug her just like this and keep talking to her about whatever caused her to feel the way she was feeling.” I pause long enough to let my words sink in through whatever walls she may have up and then start talking again, “You just want these guys to stop fighting don’t you Andi? I’ll bet its scary seeing those close to you in danger; even getting into dangerous situations.” I continue to talk to her in this same gentle and comforting tone; while trying to keep along the thing bothering her. Eventually the aquamarine glow begins to seep away and the water begins to evaporate into nothing.
Kain’s POV
As I watch the silver haired teen get to his feet, I notice something strange happen in my head. I being to think about the game in a way I’d sworn off too many years ago. However, when he moves in to help bring the girl out of the trance, my chest brings to tighten and twist in strange ways. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling, but the moment he started talking his gentle comforting words started to make my chest feel lighter, almost like…butterflies flying around inside me.
‘What is this fluttering feeling,’ I wonder as I search through all the data I’d stored over the years, ‘A heart…what’s a heart?’ I look up more on this “heart” and find it’s an organ in living creatures, it’s beating rate changes with the rise in need for blood circulation and sometimes it’s beating rate is described with emotions, but I can’t have a heart. I’m a program; programs aren’t living.
Elizabeth’s POV
I tense up when Bryan hugs me and my thoughts begin to overwhelm me as he pulls away and holds up a finger, “Hold on one second.”
Bryan jumps through the portal and my thoughts immediately run wild. Why am I acting like a grade school girl with a crush? How come my heart is beating a million miles per second? Why is it worse when Bryan is around me? What’s with this sudden feeling of hope he gives me just by being beside me? Why, why, WHY?!
The sound of items hitting the floor brings me out of my thoughts as the portal closes behind him, “Mind if we stick together?”
I bite my lip nervously. Why should I give him an answer? He hasn’t even answered one of my questions. “You…you never answered any of my questions…,” I finally decide to say, “Why should I…answer you?”
Andi’s POV
The only thing running through my head repeatedly is one single thought, “Stop fighting.” It’s all I can do as my body starts reacting to things on its own. However, everything comes to a crashing halt and I stop thinking for a moment.
The constant synthesized voice and the rushing sound of water just drops out of my ears and a quiet soft voice replaces it. A bright light blurs my vision and within moments my eyes start readjusting to the real world. The first thing I see is a small shoulder, but whose? At that moment I don’t care. Whoever they were, they saved me from wherever I was at. I hug them back, clinging tightly to them as if they were holding the world together and keeping it from falling apart.
Alex’s POV
I can’t help but shake with rage and sadness when Ayden is able to calm Andi down and I couldn’t. I turn away right when she hugs his small stature tightly. Whatever, it’s not like I care. I don’t. I mean, why should I care? Them being that close doesn’t bother me…right?
Bryan’s POV
“What,” I say practically dropping my jaw in shock.
The tone in her voice causes a twinge of pain in my chest to swell up like I’ve never felt before, “I-I’m sorry, I thought…” I can’t finish my sentence because I really don’t know where I’m trying to go with this thought.
Ayden’s POV
I’m relieved when Andi finally begins to calm down. Andi’s eyes begin to change back and her arms tighten around me in a hug, “I’m glad you’re alight now.”
We stay like this for a little while longer and, for the sake of my personal guilt, I pull away from her. As we stand there, I almost feel like I never lost my sister. Before my normalcy slips away, I feel a very small smile make its way onto my face.
Kain’s POV
I step towards the group and observe their actions. With the other two busy in one another’s company, I decide to approach the tallest teen with control over fire.
“Hey Fire-Fists, do you know where we’re at?”
Karu’s POV
I hear Karr snicker beside me as he leaves the room. I follow after him and we walk into a dark hallway. Karr continues to walk through the halls until we come across a window looking upon an apocalyptic world. Zombies creep across the streets. Their movements are slow and disoriented, almost like they have no central control programming. A clawed hand pulls me to the side and a huge oversized rabbit pounces on a zombie.
“I guess it’s a good thing we’re only programs,” I mutter watching Karr rip the zombie to pieces.
Elizabeth’s POV
I suddenly regret saying my choice of words when I see pain lace the emotions in his eyes, “I-I’m sorry I thought….” For some reason I feel myself start to smile and slowly it turns into a full out laugh. I’m not sure why, but this whole situation seems so funny and the confused look on his face makes his look so cute!
“I-I’m sorry,” I say in between laughs, “b-but just now-ahhaha-you looked really cute!”
Andi’s POV
“Hey wait,” I call making a move to go after them. There’s something horrible up there, I know it, but Alex grabs me by the arm and forces me to stop.
“Just let them go,” Alex says.
“But I can’t,” I snap, “There’s-There’s…” I can’t find the words for what I’m trying to say. What is up there, the zombies from earlier? “There are more of them,” I exclaim motioning towards the dead oozing corpse killed by violent teen.
Bryan’s POV
I blush, which is not something generally I do or have ever done. Elizabeth thinks I’m…cute? Can you imagine it, being worked up about something like this during the middle of an apocalypse?
“It’s you,” I say, “You’re the one I’ve been hearing all this time.”
Karu’s POV
I slide past Karr as he tears zombies apart bits and chucks at a time. I rush down to the door and spot my brother and the group of teens. Changing I watch Karr do something human, something I would have expected him to do when we were five; minus his colorful use of language.
Karr slides to the door as he changes to his original form covered in zombie parts and blood, “Unless you filthy meat sacks want to become zombie chow, I suggest you worthless organisms get your asses out of here.”
Elizabeth’s POV
The moonlight passes over us and I see a pink tinge on his cheeks. I let out a small laugh, “Yeah, I’m me…and you’re Bryan.”
To think I’d be stuck on the thought of happiness in this Hell. Had anyone have asked me about happiness two months ago, I would have told them they were smoking something and ask them to share. Now, however, I think I could actually tell them there may still be a chance at happiness.
Andi’s POV
I’m stunned by his actions. It’s doesn’t make since. I thought he wanted to kill me? I don’t know if I should follow or not. This could all be a trap, but it doesn’t seem like his style to set someone up; his other brothers may do that, but he’s too impulsive to act upon a strict plan.
Despite all these things going against him, I feel a compulsion to follow after him. I feel like if I follow them the images of my friends being dinner chow is less of a possibility. I grab a skeptical Alex’s hand and pull him towards the exit.
Bryan’s POV
“Do you...hear that?”
We fall silent and listen to the sounds around us carefully. A faint, very faint, sound from outside infiltrates our serenity and continues to get increasingly louder. It sounds like…screaming?
I run to the window to see a single person fending off a city of zombies. As he runs I realize he’s being chase by a huge group of zombies coming at him all at one time, “We have to do something to save him!”
Ayden’s POV
When Andi grabs Alex’s hand and pulls him away towards the door I almost feel a pit of emptiness take hold in my heart. Perhaps I should leave them so they don’t have to worry about a third wheel. It’s not like they haven’t already-“Hey, didn’t you hear him; we need to get out of here.”
“I-I…know…” I answer quietly looking into red and gold eyes, “…it’s just…” Before I can finish my sentence, he grabs me by my hand and pulls me out after Andi and Alex. However, through all the chaos we ran through all I could think about was a foreign feeling taking root beside my empty hole.
Extras
Karu’s POV
The moment I see Karr come out and Change, I begin to bite and tear through zombies while he takes care of the back end. Kain and the others follow me out to the front door never leaving the safety of our defense. Once outside I sense Kain Change and He replaces Karr’s spot after the stupid rabbit left the formation aimlessly slaughter zombies.
Elizabeth’s POV
When I glance out the window, I see a man fighting off a horde of zombies.
“We have to save him,” I hear Bryan yell as an idea pops into my head.
“Our portals,” I say, “One of us can place one outside and the other in this room!”
Bryan’s POV
“Yes,” I practically yell in response.
Adrenaline pumps through my veins and I start shaking. I concentrate all my thoughts on placing a portal on the wall below. A thin, blue, ribbon-like stream of light bolts out from my palm and a few seconds later the familiar blue oval appears on the wall below. Now it’s Elizabeth’s turn.
Andi’s POV
I stand by stunned by the scene I am watching. It’s horrifying to watch these …animals, which mind you used to be human, injured and being torn down little by little.
A single tear rolls down my cheek and for some reason I have a feeling I can help. Everything after this feeling, I suddenly forget.
Alex’s POV
We’re just watching the fight scene take place, when suddenly Andi begins to glow again. Before I can register what’s happening, she’s slashing at zombies and cutting them down with…water? It’s the only thing I can assume from its appearance as it zips past me at a high rate.
Elizabeth’s POV
The moment Bryan’s eyes meet my own, I feel an instant connection to him. I place my hand to the wall and a familiar breeze passes over my hand. A green oval outline begins to appear, along with the scene of a person fighting of a horde of zombies. However, when the portal is fully established, I see a look of relief wash over the man’s expression as if he had accepted his fate after seeing other survivors.
I don’t know if Bryan can see the man’s face from the window, but it was like he understood and accepted that we wouldn’t reach him in time to save him. Before I can actually make a decision to save him, my hand drops down to my pistols the instant he stops fighting for his life. I start mauling zombies down with my bullets in a strong attempt to reach the man.
Stepping on to the street and through the portal, I continue with the massacre of the walking dead and began to mix in the martial arts I know and my guns-man skills together to achieve a quicker success rate. However, despite all the killing I’m doing, all I can think about is saving the man’s life.
Karu’s POV
My body is beginning to weaken from being Changed for so long and I almost lose my balance. As I Change back to my human shape against my will, a curve of water zips past me cutting zombies in half with ease. When I look back to find the cause, I see the girl from before; however, the air around her is completely different from when we first encountered her.
“AHHAHAHAHA, LOOK AT THE BEATUY,” Karr laughs loudly in a crazed manner, “THIS IS WHO I WAS LOOKING FOR, SHE IS THE ONE I WANT!”
What he wanted-Oh…he wanted to kill the timid side of this child, but not this…side? Person? Version..? Whatever, it doesn’t matter; I finally understand what he wants from her and why he kept her away from the water in the simulator.
Ayden’s POV
Watching the water all around me cut through the oncoming threat, sends flashes through my families death and the incidents in the lab. I want to be able to defend these people; I want to be able to keep them safe as I was unable to do the same for my own family. Most of all I want to be able to save this teen who put his life on the line for a complete stranger.
If only I had a blunt object with me or even something sharp, maybe a compact machine gun with unlimited bullets?
My hand begins to feel heavy and I bring it up to see the exact gun I had described in my head. I feel my instincts pushing through the back of my mind and I let them take over, taking zombies down as if it was in my nature to do so.
Bryan’s POV
Elizabeth and I begin to almost fight in a rhythm of sorts. Throwing zombies around with our fists and shooting the others down, all until we reach the man.
Instantly the adrenaline rush I had felt in the room is washed away in one giant rush, “He’s …dead…” I notice my voice inch and octave higher on the word “dead.” I had this shred of hope there was another person alive and now in a matter of nano-seconds it was taken away,
Andi’s POV
My limbs are numb and I’m back in the white hallway. The picture of my friends and zombies has changed now. I turn around when I hear a crashing sound.
A giant screen appears and I wonder, ‘Is this my vision?’ On the screen there’s a person slashing up zombies like a ninja, only with water. Around the screen are the picture I had seen before, but they’re changing constantly. Could these be the future? I turn back to the screen and myself, ‘is it me,’ but even as I ask this I get the feeling it’s not. I am me and I’m trapped. I know, somehow, the pictures on one side of the hallway are mine, but deep down inside me I know the one on the opposite side are not mine.
“Let me out,” I scream.
I’m starting to feel scared and I bang on the walls as if it will save me from this place. I heard beating on the other side of the hallway, the side that isn’t mine. What’s happening?!
Alex’s POV
It’s hard to distinguish what’s happening. Andi’s lost control of herself and has gone ninja on the zombies, and everyone else is fighting them. I “flame my fists” and begin to add in my two-cents. We continue on this way until, finally, we are the only one’s standing, trying to catch our breaths.
“Andi,” I yell running to her side, “Are you okay, what was that-It was amazing!” Andi looks at my with glazed, glowing blue eyes, “An...di…?”
“Stop,” she replies, but not in her voice. It’s strange, it’s not Andi’s voice. This voice almost sounds synthesized, if only a little. “That’s not my name,” she says suddenly, “Call me CArLi.”
What? What is she saying? This girl, she’s Andi…she is Andi…right?
Andi’s POV
I’m on my knees with my newly bruised fists propping me up on the wall.
“What are you doing,” A voice asks from behind me.
I feel like I’ve heard it before in my dreams. I quickly turn around and see a girl. She’s short and has long silver-blonde hair, dressed in a yellow sun dress and a big sun hat. I stand up slowly and ask, “Who are you?”
“I’m CArLi,” she replies in a slightly synthesized voice.
“CArLi,” I question, “Why are you here?”
“I’m here to help” CArLi answers a-matter-of-factly as if it was a simpler question.
Before I can ask her anything else, I am ripped away from the hallway and I’m back in reality looking around at all the dead bodies and blood scattered around us.
Ayden’s POV
The moment the zombies are all dead and my instincts recede, I realize my hands are empty. Where did my gun go, more importantly, where did it come from?
The sound of Alex’s voice draws me out of my thought and I see the teen with mismatched eyes passed out in front of me with battle wounds. As I step towards him to see if he’s alright, one of his brothers zips past me to check on him. Watching them, I can’t help feeling a tinge of pain in my heart at the connection everyone has around them in this world.
I let the thought pass and turn around to the people I have the most connection to. Alex is trying to get Andi’s attention again and I wonder why she isn’t responding, but then I notice a change in her eyes from aquamarine to her natural born green eyes. I walk over to her and put a hand on her shoulder, “Are…you…okay?”
Kain’s POV
My body hurts all over and I do my best not to move. I can only see black, but I can faintly hear the things carrying on around me. I groan in pain when I feel someone pull me into their arms; immediately, I know its Karu from his scent. I open my eyes and see worry in his eyes, but behind him I see the boy I pull out of the room watching us with pain on his face.
Why would he have such a look directed at me? Have I caused him pain in some way? There should be no reason for it. We have just met. Not only that, but I’m a monster; I’m just a program.
Elizabeth’s POV
My heart sinks at Bryan’s words and I have a strong feeling to end everything right here and right now. I can see it all working out smoothly in my mind, first I take Bryan out of his misery and then follow right after him. However, I can’t. I’m too scared to kill a living person who has come this far in this world. It doesn’t matter that everything good has been ripped away the moment it was in my grasp, but this time I still have something worth living for. This time, hopefully for his as well, I have become something for him to live for.
I feel my eyes begin to water and I quickly try and wipe away the tears with the back of my hand before they can fall. I try and compose myself the best I can and say, “We need to leave, with all the noise we made and the scent of fresh food there’ll be a horde here in a matter of moments”