Half an hour later, Aaron and Nika were on an elevator ride down to the Commons. Both of them were holding hands, a sign that a little bit of hope and happiness had restored itself within them. Their silence was still a reminder that things weren't as nice as they could've been, but it otherwise felt like nothing could ruin this moment.

Until they started speaking again.

"I don't mean to bring back any upsetting memories," Nika said, "but how do they test whether a person is infected?"

Goddamn it! Aaron thought. We were having such a great time a couple of minutes ago! And it probably could've been better if it weren't for Mr. Hecox's dumb celibacy advice and my infection getting in the way.

"Are you sure you want to know, love?" Aaron asked hesitantly. "Despite what they say, the methods aren't always humane."

"What do they do?"

Jeez, how long does one ride on a lift take? Aaron thought to himself.

"Well," Aaron explained, "it all depends on the citizen's status within Matheson. The more behaved they are, the less harmful the experiments will be. Normally they just take a few blood samples and study them. The results should be found in a couple of hours and the test subject will receive his or her punishment."

Nika looked frightened. "Sorry, too far," Aaron added. "But the criminals become part of the inhumane experiments. Since they say Deadmen can't feel pain, criminals are tortured and then have blood samples taken, and not in the clean way people usually have them."

Aaron started realizing he might've been giving too much detail when he noticed Nika's increasingly worried look. He quickly pulled her into his arms and attempted to lighten the moment. "But don't worry, love. Natalya will be just fine. They'll take a few blood samples and that's it. They won't hurt her."

"But what if she's infected?" Nika asked fearfully, not even looking at Aaron.

"Trust me. She's not infected. I should know."

Shit! Why did I say that?! Aaron gasped in horror on the inside. He got a little too close for comfort. He let go of Nika, now scared about what would happen to him.

"Makes sense," Nika replied. "You were in the DZI, so you would know what an infected person looks like."

That was close, Aaron thought to himself. I'm a little surprised she hasn't picked up on anything considering how smart she usually is.

The elevator doors opened up, revealing the Matheson Commons. Unlike the night before, the Commons' festive appearance was gone, instead replaced by the mundane, dilapidated safe haven everyone was used to. People were still mingling in groups around the area, but they looked bored and dreary.

"I just hope for her sake, they stick to getting blood samples the peaceful way," Nika said as she and Aaron exited the elevator. "He was clean and precise when he took yours last night."

Aaron's heart nearly stopped. "He did?"

"Yeah, he thought it would be safe for everyone. Your increased paleness made him suspicious since paleness is apparently a sign of turning."

"Uh...well—"

"And is it true you tried eating someone's hand?"

"I wasn't trying to eat it. We were playing some stupid game and I accidentally went too far."

Nika's eyebrow raised. "Are you sure you're alright?" she asked.

"Nika, darling, I couldn't be better." Aaron forced himself to smile before giving her a reassuring kiss on her head. "Just outta curiosity, where did they take the blood samples?"

"Last I heard, back to the DZI headquarters. Why?"

"Just wondering."

Plus, I'm planning on getting rid of them, Aaron thought to himself. He didn't have a plan figured out yet, but he knew what should happen if everything went well. And something gives me the feeling it's not just my blood I'll be out for.

Aaron and Nika finally reached the library. They gave each other a goodbye kiss before going their separate ways, both of them noticeably uncomfortable. Neither of them felt like addressing the sudden awkwardness and went on with their days.  As soon as Nika disappeared into the building, Aaron raced across the Commons to the front of the DZI headquarters. He remembered how he used to feel an adrenaline rush every time he was assigned to a new mission, but now it just reminded him of a major accident that wasn't even his fault. They blamed him for the unpredictable.

There was an alleyway between the headquarters and the building next to it that led directly to one of Matheson's walls, essentially just a dead end. However, there was also a secret entrance into Matheson's sub-levels as an emergency escape route in case of a Deadman takeover. Citizens spread rumors that Colonel Schaefer stored bodies of Deadmen he killed down there, but the DZI knew that Schaefer either burnt the corpses or left them out in the Dead Zone torn limb from limb.

Nonetheless, Aaron brought a flashlight and a mask—the tactical kind the DZI wore sometimes that only covered half of their face—just in case. While he didn't originally plan on infiltrating his old squad again, he brought the mask along in case the DZI managed to convince the whole tower to shun him. Since he was also known for improvising, he made sure to take the first weapon he'd find.

With his hood over his head and the mask wrapped around his face, he crept down the alley and approached the entrance, two basement doors laying flat on the floor beneath him. He slowly twisted the knobs around and lifted the doors up.

As soon as Aaron turned on his flashlight, a labyrinth of pipes appeared in the yellow glow, water dripping down to the floor. Puddles were scattered across the ground like a minefield. He was in a corridor stretching from his right to his left. Closing the doors behind him, he made his way into the darkness.

Several steps into his walk, he looked above him to see a grated pathway working as a roof between him and the rest of the headquarters which he was currently underneath. Dim beams of light sliced through the slits of the grated floor. Aaron also spotted a table above him covered in random boxes. At the far left was a small opening in the grated path big enough to fit through, but he would have to climb up several pipes to reach it.

"What could be up there?" he asked himself as he switched off the flashlight.

As soon as he finished that sentence, two men walked in. Both of them wore lab coats. One had smooth brown hair and wore glasses while the other was bald and looked agitated. At least from Aaron's angle.

"Why did we have to wait so long to get this over with?" the one with glasses asked. Aaron wasn't sure at first who it was from his view, but the voice helped him confirm that it was Vaughn Vega from yesterday, one of the guys who followed Shaw into the headquarters and walked in on Rupert after Aaron tore his hand apart.

"Believe it or not, we need sleep," the other man replied, his voice more gruff than Vaughn's. "I know you have a weird zombie fetish and get so excited you practically jizz yourself whenever a poor bastard might be infected, but I can use sleep every once in a while."

"It's not a fetish! It's just a scientific fascination. And why are you accusing me of a fetish? You're the one who can't control yourself around children."

Aaron gasped in horror, quickly clamping his mouth shut with his hands. He knew exactly who this wanker was. And he was now extremely disappointed in whoever let all this despicable people into Matheson.

The bald man up there was another forensic pathologist like Vaughn named Dan, last name unknown to Aaron. He occasionally went out with the DZI to collect Deadman parts and even had a bit of experience with a gun. However, everyone noticed he had a strong reluctance to kill Deadman children, which was understandable by itself until they caught him caressing the hair of a Deadman child they had recently put down. Seven incidents later, he gained a reputation as one of the creepiest inhabitants of Matheson.

"It's like you said," Dan replied defensively. "It's not a fetish. It's a scientific fascination."

"No, it's a damn mental disorder."

"I can't help it! Children are just so...innocent. And after this whole Outbreak incident, we need more of them."

"Whatever. Just hand me the slides."

Dan grabbed one of the boxes on the tables and opened it up. He pulled out two small blood films and placed them next to the box. One had the words A. O'CONNOR taped on the back while the other was labeled N. KOSLOV.

"Are we doing an infection test?" Dan asked.

"Of course," Vaughn replied sternly, like Dan should've known.

"But I thought it was only the girl who needed the test."

"She does. But Commander Shaw got suspicious of O'Connor following his erratic behavior in the prison level. He had small bruises and cuts that vanished almost instantly, his complexion was pale, and Shaw also suspects possible hallucinations."

"All right, then. Guess that's convincing enough. I just hope we don't have to watch either of them turn. Especially because that O'Connor kid and his girlfriend are kinda cute."

"What the fuck, man?" Aaron whispered.

Dan and Vaughn froze. "Did you hear that?" Dan asked. He slowly leaned his head down, his eyes meeting the grated floor between him and Aaron.

Aaron crouched to the floor, praying that his hood would help him blend in with the darkness. Luckily for him, the abrupt sound of a door crashing open grabbed the attentions of Dan and Vaughn. Shaw walked in, now one of three people hovering above Aaron.

"Gentlemen," he said.

"Commander," Vaughn and Dan greeted in unison.

"I know I told you last night to run a test on Miss Koslov and O'Connor, but there's been a slight change in plans. Colonel Schaefer is planning on taking a few of our squad mates to our new base in Longridge, and he's requested for a few forensic pathologists to join him. Unfortunately, he only needs six, and we already have five. So, between you two, whoever says  'Not it' first gets the final position."

"Not it?" Vaughn repeated hesitantly.

"Thank you, Dr. Vega, for volunteering."

"But you didn't even give me enough time!" Dan said angrily.

"Too bad," Shaw replied. "His name was written down anyway, so he would've been sent off to Longridge even if he didn't want to. Now let's go, Vega."

"Cheerio, Dan," Vaughn said as he followed Shaw through the door.

"You can't be serious," Dan groaned. "What the hell am I supposed to do then?"

"Follow the original plans," Shaw replied loudly, almost angrily. "Run the blood test."

Aaron watched from below as Shaw and Vaughn exited the room, shutting the door behind them. Dan was left alone to his own devices as he prepared the blood test. However, his murmurs to himself put Aaron on edge.

"Fuck you, Shaw," Dan growled to himself. "You may have the guns, but I have the brains."

Too bad there's something wrong with them, Aaron thought.

Dan walked over to the table and rustled his hands around in a box. Seconds later, he pulled out a pair of headphones and slid them over his head. "Now...who to test first?" Dan continued, clapping his hands together. "I guess I'll start with O'Connor. Handsome lad."

Oh hell no!

Aaron rushed to the pipes on the side of the wall and proceeded to climb them, making sure he could reach the small space so he could climb out and steal those samples back. And considering the sight of the tools hanging on the wall, possibly kill Dan.

Meanwhile Dan had set up a microscope and a syringe filled with some kind of fluid. Aaron knew exactly what he was planning on doing. He was going to use the microscope to investigate the quantity and frequency of possible pathogens inhabiting his blood by injecting small strands of bacteria into the blood. If the pathogens quickly destroy the bacteria, that would conclude the test. Only the Deadman infection could destroy other dangerous microbes in less than a minute. The more pathogens there were, the worse the infection was.

Aaron stopped halfway in the middle of climbing. His eyes were visible because of the light of the room, but the rest of him was still hidden in shadow. He got a closer look as Dan placed the slide of Aaron's blood underneath the microscope and adjusted the knob, offering him a view of the world of molecules. Endless circular patterns of red blood cells entered his view, as if he was staring at a collection of red beads. The cells remained stationary, but multiple black dots were scrambling all over the slide like bugs. Dan magnified the microscope a little more and the black dots looked more hexagonal in appearance, almost robotic. A small red light was located in the middle of each dot.

"Bloody hell," Dan said to himself in surprise. "Those aren't supposed to be there. Only one more way to find out."

Still soothed by the classical music filling his ears, he grabbed the syringe and placed the tip of the needle over the slide. He slowly pushed down on the plunger and waited as a small drop of the substance in the syringe oozed out of the tip of the needle. Once it plopped down into the blood sample, Dan returned to the microscope. Just as expected, the pathogens attacked the cells of the new substance until it was buried underneath a swarm of black dots. Seconds later the pathogens scattered. Not a single trace of the substance was left behind.

Dan gasped. "He's infected!" He scrambled around for a notepad and wrote down the results. "O'Connor is infected!"

If it weren't for those headphones, he probably would've noticed Aaron standing behind him, wielding a mallet.

The first swing of the mallet against Dan's skull knocked him to the floor. A dark red spot remained where Aaron hit him.

"What am I doing?" Aaron growled fiercely.

He swung the mallet again, slamming it into the side of Dan's head. He collapsed to his side, barely holding himself up with his left arm. Aaron delivered another blow to the top of his head, creating another contusion.

Stop it!

Aaron paused for a moment to admire his work, staring at the blood on the mallet. He was almost tempted to lick it off. He snapped out of it and slammed the mallet down once more, a nauseating crack emanating through the room as the back of Dan's head broke open like a shell.

Stop it! You're only making it worse for yourself!

Aaron caught a glimpse of a gun in Dan's pocket. He placed the mallet on the desk and threw himself on top of Dan. He punched him repeatedly to keep him still and yanked the gun out. He then cocked it, aimed it at the smashed bits that used to make up the back of Dan's head, and pulled the trigger.

"Intruder alert!" a muffled shout said behind the door to the rest of the headquarters.

"Shit!" Aaron exclaimed angrily.

Even though his presence had only been detected one second ago, he could already hear the loud thundering of footsteps coming his way. Panic-striken, he grabbed the blood films off the desk, hid the gun in his pocket, and jumped back into the space he crawled out of. He landed in the darkness below the grated floor, once again alone in the sub-level.

The door burst open. Colonel Schaefer and six other DZI soldiers entered, each one carrying an assault rifle. Schaefer, however, held his infamous machete in his hands. If he was within four feet of a Deadman, he never used a gun. Only that machete.

"What the hell happened to him?" he asked, staring down at the bullet hole in the back of Dan's skull.

"To be honest, it's kind of understandable," one of the soldiers replied. "A lot of people had beef with him 'cuz of his quirky behavior. Remember that one time with Rick's kid?"

"I know what he did, you imbecile. I'm just wondering why he's lying here in front of us with a bullet buried in his head."

"Wasn't he supposed to be checking out some blood samples?" another soldier asked. "Because there aren't any."

"What?" Schaefer said. He and the other soldiers looked over toward the desk.

Aaron took advantage of the moment. He blindly ran through the dark, trying to find a new way out of this situation. A beam of light revealed another door at the end of the darkness Aaron was trapped in. That's where he was headed.

A splash of water soaked Aaron's boot and pant leg as he ran through a puddle. And even though he still had the strength to run, he knew that it might as well have been a mine he stepped on rather than a puddle. Because of that, every DZI soldier above him had their guns set on him.

Schaefer quickly snatched a gun from one of the other soldiers and fired several shots beneath him, missing all but one shot. The final bullet was buried in Aaron's shoulder, yet he didn't feel a thing. Only the painless presence of the bullet in his shoulder. However, the impact made him stumble to the floor, and he ended up crashing into a puddle, his pants now soaked in murky water.

Schaefer gave the gun back to its original owner. "Must've been a rat."

As the soldiers returned their views to the table, Aaron continued making his way to the door. He could feel the bullet sliding back out of his flesh the way it entered. It was the most uncomfortable feeling he'd ever experienced, as if some kind of slug was crawling out of him.

He finally reached the door, its knob glinting in the dim light. He twisted the knob around, filling the air with the screeching sound of rusty metal scraping against each other. Sadly, by doing so, he had regained the attention of the DZI.

"The hell was that?" one of them said.

Aaron quickly kicked the door open and burst out running again. The blast of sunlight exposed him and he made sure not to look back and risk revealing his face. Before he could slam the door shut, another shot rang out, striking Aaron in the shoulder again and knocking him to the ground.

The door closed with a bang. Aaron waited as the new bullet made its way out of his shoulder before getting back up on his feet. He never thought he'd ever say that in his life.

"Hey, Aaron," said a familiar voice.

Aaron froze. He slowly turned his head around. The first thing he saw was Harry, almost completely drenched in blood.