Warning ⚠️: This book contains graphic content. Viewer discretion is advised.

" It had to be zombies." Joelee murmured to herself as she ran quickly after the rest of her group.

" They're not zombies." Kevin snapped as he ran up to another door, throwing it open as he bolted into the safety of the new room before he paused to turn around and glare at Joelee.

" They're literally visibly decaying. They're zombies!" Joelee exclaimed as she followed Kevin through the door, holding it open for everyone else until they all got into the room.

" They're defects. They're experiments like us who couldn't take to the serums the way we do. It's basically melting them from the inside. They start losing memories first, then their humanity... Then they just forget everything except infecting others with what they have."  Kevin muttered as he flipped a large lock on the door behind Joelee before hurrying away.

" So... Like zombies." Joelee arched her eyebrows as Kevin released a loud sigh.

" No. They're... Fine. Yes. They're zombies." Kevin snapped after a moment, causing Joelee to nod seriously as she followed closely behind the ginger haired male.

" I knew it." Joelee said solemnly which made Kevin sigh loudly before quickly going silent as the defects began to slam against the door roughly.

" So... They're infectious? Are they still technically alive?" Joelee questioned as she eyed the door behind them warily, staying near the back of the group to make sure that nobody got left behind.

" They're just sick... There's no cure for it right now but... I don't know how to actually answer your question. Nobody actually knows. I don't think the process can be reversed." Kevin replied after a moment, pausing for a moment to contemplate his answer before continuing.

" From what I've seen... It's like... At first they seem fine... But then not even a few minutes later they're tired and seem to be less capable of holding a conversation without forgetting what they were saying or just not knowing how to reply. It doesn't take very long to notice that they're super pale, they have a super high fever and almost appear as if they forget how to talk. It attacks your brain first, causing amnesia, paranoia, and sometimes seizures." Kevin explained as they ducked into another room just as a loud bang was heard behind them from the door finally being forced open.

Kevin ignored the sound as they all began to pick up the pace, not wanting to have their brains turn to goop.

" How do you know all of this?" Esther questioned suspiciously as she kept close to Rachel, not wanting to be too far away from her sister as she glanced at Kevin out of her peripheral.

" I'm friends with a few scientists here. A lot of them come to me as a therapist of sorts... I literally have no idea why, though. All I'm good at is listening.... I give terrible advice. I think it's because not a lot of people contained here or working here are willing to listen without any ulterior motive." Kevin replied as he took a moment to glance back at Rachel and Esther before he quickly looked away again.

" Continue with what you were saying. About the defects." Rachel urged him as she fiddled with the hem of her shirt awkwardly.

" Uh... I think from what I've been told... They actually unlocked the mutant gene a lot sooner than they thought but a few tests with it deemed it unstable. Apparently you have to have a very specific... Something. Not to mention, I think it didn't have a stabilizer for the gene. This experimental strand was one a scientist named Doyle tampered with. Apparently he figured that since the serum did give people mild examples of what appeared to be powers he just needed to create something to stabilize the serum and make it more potent at the same time." Kevin paused for a moment as he glanced into the hallway cautiously before he quickly ducked through the door as he began to walk quickly down the long, almost completely dark, hallway.

" He tested it a few times without permission.... But obviously we know at least one serum worked. From what I was told, it seems like without something keeping our powers in check... They just start tearing us apart from the inside. I think that whatever triggers our powers has something to do with our brains." Kevin said while Rachel smiled at him, fascinated but also a little mortified at what he was telling them.

" That would explain why the infection starts with their brains. It makes a lot of sense. And if the powers are kind of like a disease to our bodies it would explain the fevers..." Killian said thoughtfully which turned Kevin's attention to him for a moment.

" Exactly." Kevin said before quickly backing up as he went to step through a door, only for a large group of defects to pour through the door at them.

" Okay, this is just getting cliche now." Kent sighed as everyone quickly backed away from the foul smelling beings.

Brianna lifted her hands, causing the floor beneath the defects to immediately soften like quicksand as the defects began to sink into it.

" Woah, that's super OP." Joelee whispered before yelping as a defect grabbed her arm, causing her to push its head away from her arm as it clacked its jaws together.

Rachel lunged forward and shoved the zombie away from Joelee, which made it lunge at Rachel instead. Rachel stumbled back as the zombie released a high pitched wailing noise, swiping at the young woman who used the book to block its attack.

Rachel released a scream as the zombie shoved her to the ground, immediately holding her down with its bony fingers as it leaned down with a low clicking sound echoing in its throat.

Joelee ripped the zombie from Rachel, stomping down on its head at a surprising speed, her eyes glowing gold as the defects head made a sickening cracking sound.

" Thanks." Rachel dusted herself off before putting a hand over her chest as if it would calm her racing heart.

" Were you bitten or scratched?" Joelee asked as she looked Rachel over with a worried expression.

"I ..." Rachel paused as she stumbled to form words, her face still pale and chest heaving from the adrenaline that raced through her veins.

"Zombies and losers with superpowers... This would make a great book." Kent said which caused Nathan to laugh before nodding in agreement as he walked up to stand next to Joelee.

" When we get out of here you should write a book about this." Nathan grinned which caused Joelee to look down as she began to pick at her fingers awkwardly.

" Maybe I will." She agreed before Kevin shoved her against a wall with an angry expression.

" What part of, 'they're just sick' did you not understand!?" Kevin yelled in her face which caused black veins to crawl up her neck at his sudden aggressive move.

" It was going to kill my friend! It's not dead, it's just incapacitated. It still had a heartbeat." Joelee snapped which caused Kevin to hesitate momentarily as he glanced at the defect for a moment, noticing the slight rise and fall of its chest but it made no movement to get up now.

" And I would suggest never doing that again." Joelee warned as she shoved his hands away from her, causing him to stumble a bit at her strength.

A deep exhale ripped out of Joelee as she closed her eyes and inhaled slowly, causing the veins to slowly creep away.

" We should go." Joelee growled out as she finally opened her eyes, fists clenched to show that she still wasn't fully in control but she was doing her best to fight it.

Kevin spared a final glance at the defects before hurrying through the door that they had previously been blocking.

Esther stuck close to Rachel once again as Rachel warily stared at the defects as she slipped passed them, shaking a bit as one lunged at her, only for the concrete beneath it to stop its frantic movements.

" Hey, awesome job. You saved our lives." Joelee grinned at Brianna who gave a slight nod but didn't say anything in reply as she followed the rest from the room.

" If I'm correct... There is a weapons room in that direction. I remember stumbling across it one day." Kevin said as he pointed to a door at the other side of the room.

" Yeah, you're right." Connor said, his right eye flashing a light blue as he quickly scanned for life forces but found none in the vicinity besides the ones he was with.

" We're clear. Come on." Connor slipped around Kevin as he approached the large, metal door.

The others followed, Connor letting out a sound of annoyance as he typed in a few passwords before it finally beeped and the door slid open.

Kent gasped as he ran over to a large, black, flamethrower, eyes wide with excitement as he pulled it from the wall, almost dropping it due to how heavy it was.

" Ohhh, no, no, no, no, no! Kent, plus a flamethrower, can only equal trouble." Joelee said, taking the heavy flamethrower away from Kent as she placed it back onto the wall.

" But... I know how to use anything I touch, safely.  Can I pleaaaaase, have a flamethrower? Please?"  Kent begged but Joelee shook her head as she handed him a taser instead.

" Go nuts." Joelee patted his arm while he heaved a large sigh, tucking the taser into his pocket before he began to search for something cooler.

Joelee eyes traveled over the various weapons before her eyes landed on a large glass case near the back of the room.

" Woah..." Joelee whispered as she walked forward, staring at the two katanas within the glass case.

" Those are The Life And Death katanas. Sometimes known as The Yin And Yang." Connor said as he unlocked the glass case, handing the black katana to Joelee whose eyes widened.

Joelee examined the black sheath, admiring the scaled pattern that had been carved into the black marble of the katanas sheath. The hilt was made of the same black marble, the scaled pattern ending with a blood red stone that set in the center of the top of the hilt.

Joelee removed the sword from its sheath, revealing the black metal beneath, admiring the red thorns that adorned the sword itself, traveling up into a red rose that bloomed from the mouth of a skull with red eyes.

" Why are they called that?" Joelee questioned as Nathan took the white one, noticing it was a copy of the katana Joelee held. But the sheath was white instead of black, and the stone that sat in its hilt was an amethyst rather than a ruby.

" I'm not actually sure. I just know its name because I know that nobody is allowed to use them." Connor shrugged, watching as Nathan removed the katana from its sheath, revealing the angel wing design on its silver metal.

" Dibs." Joelee murmured which caused Connor to give her a weird look as he crossed his arms over his chest.

" How old are you, again? Six?" Connor rolled his eyes as Joelee secured the katana around her hips, letting it rest on her right side.

" Still more mature than you." Joelee teased which caused Connor to stick his tongue out at her.

Kent released a maniacal laugh as he pulled a large gun from the wall, pushing a button that caused a sword to pop out of the end.

" I regret letting Kent in here." Joelee mumbled to Esther who shook her head in disappointment.

" It's like letting a toddler into a candy store and then letting them drive your car in the middle of a hurricane while blaring baby shark." Esther said which caused Joelee to arch her eyebrows.

" That was an oddly specific analogy." Joelee scratched her head as she struggled to talk herself out of believing that Esther had actually done that before.

" Was it? Huh." Esther grinned before walking over to Kent who quickly began to ramble about the gun he was holding.

" Everyone should probably take a taser..." Joelee called to the group after she recovered from having a mental breakdown about Esther's words.

" I'm good." Conner said, showing her that he literally had a taser built into his arm which caused Joelee's eyes to widen.

" That's... Honestly really cool... But once everyone has at least a taser, we should go. They're probably not sure where we are right NOW, but they'll catch up pretty quick if we're not careful." Joelee said which caused everyone to nod in agreement, Kevin quickly exiting the room after he peeked into the hallway to check for any guards.

" I disabled the security cameras and security systems. Well... Most of the security systems. I'm not sure if my mole came through and actually got them ALL." Connor's eye flashed blue for a moment as he hurried after Kevin.

Rachel was the last to leave as she rubbed her eyes wearily, face seeming a lot more pale as she exhaled heavily.

" You okay, Rache?" Joelee questioned as she hesitated in the doorway for her friend who gave a slight smile.

" Yeah... I'm just a little tired." Rachel said softly, rubbing her arms as though she were cold as she spoke.

" Guys, come on!" Nathan called over his shoulder, snapping Joelee's attention to him as she motioned for Rachel to follow before hurrying after everyone else.

Kent was talking to Esther quietly, every once in a while both would laugh, occasionally almost running into the wall as they weren't paying attention to anything else at all now.

Rachel lagged behind as she struggled to keep up with her friends, who would occasionally slow down for her to catch up but they didn't think anything of it as she had just gone through a traumatizing experience and was probably thinking.

Esther giggled as Kent grinned at her, satisfied that his joke had made her laugh,  his blue eyes seeming more alive than they had before as he gazed at the woman next to him.

" I still ship it." Joelee muttered to Nathan who nodded in agreement.

" I heard that!" Esther called over her shoulder, face red as she glared the two who laughed.

" What does that mean?" Kevin asked as he turned his attention to Joelee and Nathan, eyebrows arched in confusion as he eyed the two curiously.

" It means we want them to get together. Saying I ship it means we think they'd be cute together." Joelee explained awkwardly before pausing as she turned to glance at Rachel, eyes glowing a bit as she eyed the long haired woman curiously.

" What is it?" Joelee asked, causing Rachel to look up with a shocked expression.

" I've got a slight headache." Rachel admitted as she eyed Joelee, hand on her head as she spoke.

Joelee approached her friend and pressed the back of her hand on Rachel's forehead, checking for a fever.

" You are pretty warm, Rache." Joelee said after a moment, pulling her hand away as her eyes dawned a faraway look to them.

Kevin walked over, his eyes held an emotion that Rachel couldn't place her finger on as he eyed her curiously.

" Rachel is it?" Kevin asked softly, causing Rachel's cheeks to tint red as she nodded slowly.

" When did you start feeling sick?" Kevin questioned as he checked her pulse, wincing a bit at the rapid pace.

" A few minutes before we left the armory." Rachel replied after a moment, avoiding the ginger haired male's gaze.

Kevin nodded slowly as he released a gentle sigh, leaning close to whisper something in her ear. Rachel gave a shaky nod which caused Kevin to sigh again as he turned to the others.

" She's infected." Kevin said after a moment which caused Esther to release a gentle sob.

" No! She's not! Don't joke like that!" Esther exclaimed as she shoved forward, narrowing her eyes at Kevin as she pointed a finger in his face.

Kevin was silent as he turned to look as Rachel who heaved a gentle sigh, moving her hair aside to reveal the bite mark on her neck. Incredibly dark green veins spread from the wounds which were starting to swell and turn a deep red.

" No! She's fine! It's just a scratch! You have no idea what's going to happen! She'll be fine!" Esther yelled which caused Kevin to narrow his eyes as he took a step towards the younger woman.

" Your sister is not fine! She's infected with something that makes you start rotting from the inside out. You lose your memories, your emotions....Everything that makes you.... You... Before... You turn into nothing but an empty shell... But it doesn't stop there. The virus starts to eat away at your flesh before you're reduced to nothing but a pile of sludge. I'm pretty sure that's VERY far from fine! This isn't about you right now, kid." Kevin snapped before freezing as Rachel began to cry beside them.

Rachel buried her face into hands but you could tell by the shaking of her shoulders and the soft sobs that she was still crying.

Joelee shot Kevin a glare while putting a reassuring hand on Rachel's back, gently rubbing her friends back to try and smooth the young woman.

Kevin sighed quietly as he placed a hand on her good shoulder, eyes remorseful as he gazed down at the shorter woman.

" I'm sorry...I didn't mean.... To hurt you... In any way..." Kevin whispered which caused her to look up at him, tears running down her pale cheeks as she met his light green gaze.

" What do we do?" Esther asked finally as Alyssa wrapped the older girl in a hug.

" We need to help her... Somehow... Connor, do you know anything that could help her?" Joelee whispered as she looked at the silver haired android.

Connor looked down sadly which signalled that there was nothing he could do, looking disgusted with himself for letting another friend get hurt.

" We need to go." Brianna said after a moment, looking incredibly awkward as everyone turned to glare at her.

" We can't just leave her!" Esther snapped as she pushed forward to hug her sister instead.

" We're not going to." Joelee said sternly as she looked from person to person to make sure nobody argued.

" She's going to turn."  Blake said hesitantly which caused Esther to glare at him as she hugged Rachel tighter.

" I just want to see the sun... Just one more time. I'll stay behind. Don't worry." Rachel whispered which caused everyone to exchange weary glances before Kevin nodded.

" She'll be fine for about two days. It'll be fine." Kevin squeezed Rachel's shoulder reassuringly before he turned and began to walk again.

" Come on. It's been too long since any of us has gotten any vitamin D." Joelee grinned before hurrying after Kevin who turned to make sure he was being followed.

Esther grabbed Rachel's hand as she walked close to the young woman, eyes full of tears she realized just how high Rachel's temperature was. She knew what it meant but there was no way she'd be there as a living reminder that Rachel was dying, she wouldn't bring it up but she didn't know what to say to distract her sister.

" Is there grass outside?" Kent asked after a moment which turned everyone's attention to him.

" What kind of question is that?" Blake questioned as he arched his eyebrows at the younger male who grinned.

" Like what time of the year is it? Will there be grass... Or snow?" Kent pondered as he looked to each person curiously.

" It's September... So... It should be grass." Nathan said which caused Kent to grin happily as he looked at Esther.

" Perfect. Because I can't wait to look at the stars with you again." Kent said, causing Esther to blush a bit before quickly looking away.

A dark figure watched from the shadows, jealousy clawing at his heart and filling him with rage as he stared at the group.

" Don't worry love. I'll protect you... But, that one needs to go." The figure whispered to himself as he glared at Kent who continued to walk, completely unaware of the danger that he was in.

Kevin smiled as he stopped in front of a large, red, door.

" Here we are folks. The exit. Connor, the key card please " Kevin said, holding out his hand to take the small blue card which caused Connor to falter for a moment.

Connor walked forward after a moment, sliding the keycard himself which caused Kevin to frown as Connor entered a password.

The door made a loud creaking noise as it began to slide open, sending a gust of wind in everyone's faces.

" Here we go." Joelee murmured as everyone began to step through the door, light blinding them from what was ahead.