Red's POV

I left the room and hurried to my bedroom a few doors down. Once I entered, I shut the door and slid down it, clutching my head.

Memories...so many lost memories...of a woman...and a child...my family....

*FLASHBACK* 3rd POV

"HAHAHAHA!!! Again, again!" Yelled 11-year-old Lalia.

"All right! HAHAHAHA!!" The man known as Red exclaimed.

He picked up little Lalia under her arms and swung her around again.

"WHEEEE!!!" Lalia laughed.

Lalia was a special case. She was not medically disordered in any way, but...she was tiny for an 11-year-old. Her dirty blonde hair reached a couple inches above her elbows. She weighed 85 pounds and stood at 4' 8". Her hands were the size of a 5 year old's hands. Her hazel eyes would gleam with joy everyday. She was an optimistic girl.

A woman came outside. "Vack! Lalia! Supper's ready!"

Vack and Lalia frowned at each other before running inside.

"Daddy, what time is it?" Lalia smirked.

Vack played along. "SUMMERTIME!"

Lalia clapped her tiny hands together in joy.

Lalia, Vack, and the woman sat at the table and ate chili, Lalia's favorite.

"Diana, how was work today?" Vack asked as he ate his food.

Diana frowned. "Not...very good. I think I made a customer REALLY mad. He wanted a room for just one night, but he just didn't have enough money. He begged me to let him stay, but policies are policies. He cursed at me and said something about revenge. I'm not worried, though. I've never seen him in my life and he doesn't know where we live."

Vack sighed but said nothing.

*TIME SKIP TO WORK*

WARNING: A BIT OF GRUESOMENESS AHEAD AND A NONWORD

Vack typed endlessly on his computer.

Databox 6-Dsg needs to be rebooted and the core memory of Databox Hg-Af7 needs to be upgraded.... (I don't actually know what this means. My dad has a similar kind of work, so I hear him mumbling things like this. xD)

*BANG*

Vack's head shot up at the sound. He was about to ask what just happened when the screaming started. His eyes widened as he shot up. His office partner shot up as well. "Daniel, what the hell was that?!" Vack spoke, fear clear is his voice.

"I don't know...." Daniel trailed off. The lights flickered before shutting off completely. More screams filled the air. "OH GOD! HELP!" A voice yelled. Red and Daniel glanced at each other before running towards the voice.

They kept tripping over stuff since the only lights in the room were coming from the windows.

When they reached the voice's source, Daniel yelled and jumped back. Something was eating the person who called for help. It looked up and snarled. Its mouth was covered in blood, and some guts were hanging out of its mouth.

Vack put his hand over his mouth. He grabbed Daniel's hand and raced to the staircase exit.

People flooded the staircase. Screams of terror filled the air. Vack held on tightly to Daniel, promising himself that he would never let go. (NEVER LET GO, VACK. NEVER LET GO!! ...I had to. xD)

Somehow, Vack and Daniel managed to escape their office building. The outside, though, was worse.

People were freaking out, running from the things that ate that man. Vack and Daniel glanced at each other before running to their car. Vack took shotgun as Daniel revved the car. They raced out, running over a couple of the things.

They carpooled (How the frick is carpooled not a word?!?!! ...oh...it is on the computer but apparently not on my phone. Ugh.) with each other since they were neighbors.

Daniel stopped the car outside his house. Vack shot out of the car and into his own home as Daniel ran into his.

"DIANA?!? LALIA?!?!" Vack called loudly. ...Silence.

Vack ran to his bedroom and stopped in shock.

Diana was holding Lalia in her arms. Lalia was dead, her whole front torn open. Diana looked up at Vack, her tear-stained face covered in her daughter's blood.

Before Vack could say a word, Lalia's eyes shot open. They were dull and lifeless. Lalia bit hard into Diana's arm, causing an ear-piercing scream to ripple through the air. Vack screamed and ran to his bedside table, pulling out the knife he kept in it. He stabbed Lalia in the head, killing her...again.

Diana began coughing up blood. "V-Vack, sweetheart...I l-love you...." Diana murmured. She ripped the knife from Vack's hands and stabbed herself in the head.

"DIANA!" Vack cried. He held his wife's and daughter's bodies close, not caring that blood was all over him.

Daniel raced into the room. "VACK! WE'VE GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE!!!" He yelled.

Vack hugged his family one last time before laying them on the bed.

Daniel patted Vack's back before pulling him out to the car.

"Zombies...why...?" Vack murmured.

Something broke in Vack that day. He used to be a happy, outgoing guy. After that day, he grew bitter. Cold. Isolated. He only ever opened up to Daniel.

Daniel and Vack wanted to shed their old lives, start fresh. That would all start with a new name.

Vack became Red.

Daniel became Kam.

The two were inseparable. Slowly, they began gaining group members. Too many. They didn't have enough food.

Red got the idea to start eating people. Kam was against it, but eventually, he accepted it.

His story continued to the adventures of Nick and his gang. Of Becca. Something about Becca struck Red as familiar. He had long since buried the memories of his family. Becca...resurfaced them. Becca reminded Red of Lalia. Small, dirty blonde hair, tiny hands, outgoing. He never realized it until he saw Becca asleep in the cage. Until he saw her ways of communicating without voice.

*END OF FLASHBACK* Red's POV

I opened my eyes rapidly. I didn't even realized I had closed them. I sat there in silence. Lalia...God, I miss you....

Becca's POV

I nibbled on my apple a bit. My water bottle has been empty for a couple hours now. I was getting thirsty, but the juice from the apple quenched it a bit.

I yawned loudly.

Sah tired....

I couldn't remember the last time I had a legit sleep period. Being unconscious for who knows how long doesn't count.

The door opened and Red walked in. He didn't...look like Red, though. He looked dazed, like his emotions were tampered with. He said nothing as he shut the door and sat in the chair by the cage.

I stood up and walked towards the desk, or at least as close as I could. Is he OK?

Why do you care?

Come on, Rebekitah. You know I care about people in distress, no matter the side they're on.

I gripped the bars and leaned my head on them. My eyes focused on Red.

Red turned to me, the dazed look still in his eyes. "...Lalia...."

Lalia?

"You look exactly like her...you don't have your hazel eyes now, but I know you did. She had the most beautiful hazel eyes. No matter what the circumstances were that day, her eyes showed joy every time. She was a blessing. An angel any father would want. And...I had to kill her...I had to kill my own daughter...she had bitten her mother...Diana killed herself so she couldn't hurt me...."

Then...something happened...something that I'd thought would never be possible.... He cried. Red began crying.

...wow...Red....

I frowned. I wanted to comfort him, but 1, I was in a cage and 2, I didn't know how long he'd stay like this. I reached through the bars in hopes that he'd understand.

He looked up, tears still streaming down his face. He held my hand gently whilst examining it.

"...tiny hands...comforting aura...just like her...she'd be bullied for her size, but when those bullies were upset...she'd comfort them...."

He let go of my hand and wiped his face. "I had forgotten...compassion...I had forgotten them...they wouldn't want me like this...what happened to me...?" He whispered. I pulled my hand back in the cage and sighed.

Maybe...he's changed now?

We can only hope....

Becca...people don't change that fast...be cautious....

Don't worry, I will.

Suddenly, the lights shut off. It was completely dark.

I began to freak out. I was deathly afraid of the dark. I shook my head as I breathed deeply.

I didn't hear any movement from Red's area.

We sat in silence for a while. It was a bit awkward.

As if on cue, the door to the room flew open. One of Red's men was flung through the doorway into the now-dimly-lit room. He was beaten and cuffed.

Red stood up fast and tried to pull out his gun, but he didn't have one on him.

Nick, Shark, AK, Corey, Uni, and a blue fish looking dude came through the doorway. All their guns were pointed at Red.

Both Red and I glanced at each other before Red looked back at the gang.

"Let Becca out, Red." Nick growled.

Red stood there silently for a few seconds before pulling a key from his pocket and tossing it through the bars. I stared at it for a second before picking it up and unlocking the cage. I crept out slowly until I was between the gang and Red.

I could tell Red was still in a daze. He only focused on me.

I kept looking between Red and the gang. I didn't know what to do. The gang seems like the obvious choice...but Red...is different now. I still can't really tell if this is truly him or if he is still in some kind of trance.

Red looked down at his man. "Daniel...." Daniel coughed roughly before looking at Red. "Huh? It's K-Kam, Red." "But you're also Daniel...." He murmured.

Kam/Daniel sat up, though it was clearly difficult as he was cuffed and beaten.

Nick looked at me before tossing me a book and quill. "Care to explain what the crap is going on here?"

'I'm...not really sure. One moment Red is being Red, the next he's different. He says I look like a daughter he had. Lalia. I'm not sure what to do.'

He read it. "How about we do what we should've done a long time ago...." Nick spoke sternly. He pointed his M9 at Red.

My eyes went wide and I stood in front of Red, rapidly shaking my head.

'There's got to be another way. Not killing.'

Nick frowned. AK glared. "Well, what are we supposed to do!?! We can't just let him wander freely. He can go back to being a cannibal!"

...Well then. This is quite the situation. Both you and AK are right. He shouldn't be killed, but he also shouldn't be allowed to wander freely again. What are we to do?

Can't he just join the group?

No. The group will NOT accept him.

...What to do, indeed....

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Sorry for the chapter's jumpiness! It's kinda half filler, half action? *shrugs*

What should we do with Red?

>:D

Smash that vote button at hyper speeds, Hyperfans!

-Becca <3