It was around 5:00 in the morning when Aaron woke up in his cell. He forgot how uncomfortable the bed was since he easily fell asleep the night before. Granted, he spent an hour sulking over the fact that his secret would finally be exposed and he didn't even get to redeem himself before his eventual death, but he didn't suffer from insomnia like he usually did on terrible days.

He leaned up from the bed and stared at the windowless walls around him. The dim orange glow of the corridor lights were the closest thing he had to a sunrise. The other cells around him were still taking solace in ambiguity, whatever they contained hidden in the shadows beyond the bars. Back in his own cell, the only thing he had besides a bed were a lame wooden chair and a toilet.

"That's a first," a young woman said from one of the other cells. The snarky attitude and subtle foreign accent immediately made Aaron realize it was Natalya. "Normally you're out for a whole fortnight. Even an alarm clock couldn't wake you up."

"Nice to see you, too, Natalya," Aaron replied unenthusiastically. Still sitting up on his bed, he faced toward the bars separating him from the hallway and looked for Natalya, spotting the glint of the lights in her blue eyes. "What the hell are you doing here? I thought they were housing you in Cell 12 back upstairs."

"They haven't completed my blood test yet. They're too focused on yours, so they moved me down here until then. Plus, some of the other prisoners were getting a little grabby. Schaefer started killing off a few of them, as unnecessary as that was."

"Surprised you're not showing more disgust."

"I'm surprised you still show disgust considering you're the one who used to go out to kill shit all the time." Natalya paused for a moment. "What happened to you, Aaron?"

"If it ain't obvious, Schaefer thought I looked better behind bars and decided to lock me in here."

"No, smart-arse. I mean what have you become? You used to be our moral compass."

"Our?"

"You, me, Nika, and Jonah. Remember? We used to call ourselves the Cod Squad after that incident at the fishmonger's."

"I thought he was gonna give it to us as fish and chips. I didn't think he was gonna toss a live fish at us. It slapped me in the face with its tail like seven times!"

Natalya chuckled. "See? That's what I miss most about us. Our innocence. Or at least mine since you and Nika never seemed to lose it."

"But how was I your moral compass? In fact, how am I even considered innocent? I swear every day and killed dozens of Deadmen."

"Because you followed rules and helped out others. You helped teach Nika English. I'm her own sister and didn't ever feel like doing it! And I was already fluent in it. You kept all the other kids entertained while I just sat there wishing everyone else would just shut up already." Natalya paused again. "But now I heard you tried to eat some wanker's hand and then bashed another one's brains in. Where have your morals gone now?"

The conversation was interrupted by wicked chuckling echoing through the corridor. It came from right around the corner, like something sinister was lurking in their own safe haven. Aaron wouldn't have been surprised if that person was worse than whatever Deadman he'd run into in his life.

"The fuck?" Natalya said. Even though Aaron knew Natalya swore profusely, he was still shocked to hear her since it sounded like Nika was swearing, something she never did. "Is there a witch in here or something?"

"No," replied a crazed, female voice. "A witch uses a wand to get what she wants. I use whatever seems the most effective at the time."

"Where's it coming from?" Aaron asked Natalya.

"The cell to your left," Natalya groaned. "Thought they'd leave her back in Cell 13."

Aaron's eyes widened. "Please don't tell me it's that psycho-bitch Schaefer still keeps alive."

"Yes, sir, it is," the voice replied. Aaron could confirm it was Lavinia Dyer, even though the concrete wall of his prison cell came between them. "And thanks to you, I'm stuck with a cast for the next few months. And it doesn't help that the Outbreak probably set medical treatment back a century."

"The hell happened to you?" Natalya asked.

"The young man you're talking to broke my wrist two nights ago as he stumbled about the corridor aimlessly," Lavinia replied. "I honestly would've been impressed if it weren't for the fact he broke my wrist."

"Can you blame me for doing it?" Aaron chimed in. "You tried to grab me."

"And why the hell were you laughing a few seconds ago?" Natalya asked.

"Because of your little discussion of that boy being a moral compass. There's no room for morality here in the Dead Zone."

"Of course there is."

"Oh really? Do you think DZI Commander Zachary Shaw displayed a sense of morality when he beat the boy half to death after the incident in Longridge?"

Aaron's eyebrow raised. "How do you even..."

"And if the DZI really had morals, do you think they would execute the prisoners to make room for more? Some of these poor devils aren't even guilty. Some of them weren't even there when the crime was committed."

"How do you know about the Longridge incident?" Aaron growled.

"Shaw and Colonel Schaefer told me themselves," Lavinia replied nonchalantly. "But the point is morality would knock off the balance in our population. It keeps us from killing."

"Killing is wrong, no matter the situation," Natalya interjected.

"It might be inhumane, but it's necessary for survival," Lavinia continued. "We kill animals for food and we kill our enemies to prevent future conflict."

"But Aaron's still a lad. He can't do this much harm."

"Both of you may still be kids, but kids lose innocence like you said. And from what I've heard about the crimes you've committed, you, lass, have definitely lost your innocence."

Natalya gasped in embarrassment before returning an aggressive look to Lavinia. "Says the woman who's been in this prison longer than I have."

"Don't worry, lass. You'll probably be stuck in this hellhole in the long run with me. In fact, you should be worried about your friend here."

"I can fend for myself," Aaron asserted. "And to be honest I don't even care what happens to me, as long as my friends are safe."

"You probably should care." Lavinia paused for effect. "Especially considering the fact you're infected."

Aaron's jaw practically crashed to the floor with shock. He remembered she'd figured it out when he was messing around the prison hall the other night, but he just hoped she was delirious or assuming the worst. Now he was fated to be outed as an infected man.

But he still did what he could to hide the truth. "You're mental. You don't know what you're talking about."

"Bollocks!" Lavinia shrieked aggressively. "Don't try to run away from the truth, lad! I've spent as much time around Deadmen as any DZI soldier, so I know everything about them. And the first thing I've noticed is that you're as pale as moonlight."

Aaron had to think up excuses quick. "So what? The sun rarely shines down on England anymore. Look at you! You could camouflage with a bed sheet!"

"What about your healed wounds?"

"What healed wounds?"

"Exactly!" Lavinia slammed her fists against the bars of her cell. "Swear on your mother's grave that any injuries you've received within the last few hours have vanished."

"What injuries could I have—"

"The incision across your hand when DZI Officer Jonah Franklin broke the one-way mirror and a glass shard cut you. Or yesterday when Colonel Schaefer took your blood work. Or when he did it today, dammit!"

"How the hell do you know so much about me?" Aaron asked, growing frustrated with the amount of secrets suddenly coming to light. "Are you Schaefer's bitch or something?"

"Schaefer sees me as an ally, albeit not always a reliable one," Lavinia replied. "I help him with his Deadman research and he lets me interrogate the prisoners."

"Well that explains the bloodstains in the prison cells," Natalya grimaced.

"But answer me," Lavinia growled. "Look at your arms and answer me. Have your wounds vanished? Scab and all?"

Aaron shamefully extended his arm and rolled back the sleeve. Sure enough there wasn't a single mark on his pale flesh.

"Well?" Lavinia said impatiently. "Are they gone?"

"Yes," Aaron groaned halfheartedly. "They're gone."

"You, lass," Lavinia barked to Natalya. "Is he telling the truth?"

Aaron raised up his arm so it pointed toward the ceiling. Natalya reluctantly glanced up and down his arm and responded back to Lavinia. "He's telling the truth. His wounds have disappeared."

"Not even a scab?"

"Not even a scab."

The ding of the elevator caused Aaron to freeze in place. Footsteps echoed through the corridor, two hidden figures approaching his cell.

"Good morning, Colonel," Lavinia said.

"Miss Dyer," Schaefer replied without turning to look at her. He and Hugh Richmond stepped in front of Aaron's cell, staring into Aaron's eyes with deathly gazes. Richmond unstrapped his sawed-off shotgun from his back and cocked it.

"Uh...good morning, gents," Aaron said nervously.

"Aaron O'Connor," Schaefer declared. "You have been declared a traitor of the Dead Zone Infantry and a soon-to-be victim of the Deadman infection. As punishment, you have been marked for execution, which will conclude with the dismemberment of your corpse to feed the Deadmen, as what happens to all of Matheson's criminals."

Natalya gasped in horror. "So it's true?!"

"Yes, ma'am," Richmond replied, not turning back to look at her. "We just got the results last night."

Schaefer pulled out some keys and started unlocking the bars to Aaron's cell. Aaron clenched his fists, ready to fight, until Richmond aimed his gun at him. "Don't even think about it," Richmond threatened. "You can either wait to die and receive the appropriate sendoff, or you can die now by making another incredibly stupid decision."

Aaron unclenched his fists. He obediently strutted out of the cell and stopped in front of Richmond, the gun aimed directly at his head. On one side of the hall Natalya was doing everything she could to hold back simultaneous anger and sadness while Lavinia watched in sadistic glee from the other side of the room.

"Aaron!" Natalya shouted angrily, quickly pausing to keep from crying. "How could you?!"

"I'm sorry, Natalya," Aaron replied miserably. "But whatever you do, don't tell Nika. I don't want her to feel guilty for—"

"How could you do this to us?! Jonah and Nika are gonna fucking lose it! You're a liar, you piece of shit! You're—"

"Shut up!" Richmond hissed. He returned his view to Aaron. "And you, head for the lift. And don't even think about making a run for it."

Schaefer closed the door to the cell Aaron previously occupied and followed the other two toward the elevator further down the hall, ignoring Natalya's angry cries.

"So," Schaefer said, speaking loudly over the girl's screams, "what made you think you could keep this all a secret?"

Aaron remained silent, his head slouched as he progressed down the hall.

"You didn't think we noticed your pale skin and violent behavior? I mean, why else would you have mangled Rupert's fist like that?"

"You knew this whole time," Aaron muttered, "yet you didn't do shit about it?"

"You think I'm an idiot? I was taking the piss, messing around with you. I take pleasure in seeing the hope drain out from people who threaten me. One could interpret me as letting you spend the last few days of your life however you pleased."

Aaron darkly glanced back at Richmond. "And what the fuck is your excuse?"

"You little sh—" Richmond didn't finished his sentence. Instead, he smacked Aaron across the face with the barrel of his gun. The boy fell backward, crashing against the wall besides the elevator.

"I expected more from you, O'Connor," Schaefer said, pressing the button marked with the up arrow. "Of all the youth inhabiting Matheson, you were one of a few who had such potential. You knew what life was like before the Outbreak, and that should've motivated you to reclaim what was once yours."

"You're nothing now, lad," Richmond growled. "You're just a fucking Deadman."

Aaron raised his head up, shrugging his shoulders back so his posture was straight. His lip was busted open, already in the process of healing. Richmond stepped back, aiming the gun at Aaron's head.

"I'm a Deadman," Aaron repeated softly.

"Brilliant observation," Richmond deadpanned.

"I'm a dying man," Aaron asserted. He clenched his fists and concluded his statement. "It's not over yet."

And with that, he swiped Richmond's gun to the side before nailing him in the throat. He took another swing at Schaefer, colliding with his nose before shoving him back toward the wall.

"You little shit!" Richmond hissed in a raspy voice. Still disoriented, he leaned his gun toward Aaron and opened fire.

The bullet made impact with the fire extinguisher behind Aaron, and a cloud of white mist filled the area around them. Aaron took advantage and bolted down the corridor, a painful ringing resonating in his ears. He saw another fire extinguisher up ahead, laying below the glow of a light as if a spotlight was purposely helping him find one.

"O'CONNOR!" Schaefer bellowed within the mist. Two more shots rang out, and a third struck Aaron in the back of his shoulder. He flew forward into the wall, and he tore the extinguisher from its hook as he crashed to the floor with a thud.

The mist was starting to dissipate, and Aaron could see the barrel of Richmond's gun peeking out. He took another shot at the lad. A shell buried into Aaron's gut, and blood splattered the wall and his face. He blocked the next shot with the extinguisher, resulting in the creation of another cloud of foam that hindered the three men's eyesights.

While he was still free from the burden that was pain, Aaron noticed pieces of shrapnel from the fire extinguisher were jabbed into his face. He nearly started panicking. What he thought was sweat at first turned out to be streaks of his own blood trickling out of the wounds in his face. He then felt the uncomfortable sensation of sharp pieces of metal pushing back out of his cheeks and forehead as if someone were carefully pulling them out.

The disgusting experience gave him an idea.

Still holding the blade-like fragments of the fire extinguisher above him, he ripped a piece out and lobbed it deeper into the mist. Richmond's brief scream confirmed Aaron's idea had worked, and he through another piece to slow them down again. All he heard was the sound of metal quickly smacking the floor. He believed he had missed.

And Aaron ran again.

The world around felt as if it were moving in slow-motion. His heartbeat felt slow, but his blood was like electricity. He could feel the slugs emerging from his flesh, and he could almost hear them as they clanked against the floor beneath him. With every step he took, he could feel the wounds closing up. For a Deadman, he couldn't have felt more alive.

The door out into the Dead Zone was approaching. He could hear Schaefer and Richmond attempt to fire off more shots, but they were all for naught. Finally approaching the door's metal surface, he kicked it open, sending it flying off its hinges out into the wilderness as if it were weightless.

"Goodbye, Matheson," he whispered, and he disappeared into the gray mist of the early morning, the lights of Matheson eventually growing dim. He had no time to acknowledge his sudden strength. Instead, he devoted that time to disappearing into the Dead Zone.

"Harry!" Aaron called out into the mist. "Harry! Where are you?"

His voice echoed through the forest like a ghostly presence. The tree branches hung low like monsters trying to grab him and trap him. He did everything he could to duck each one and move forward.

"Harry! Har—"

He wasn't able to duck the last branch. A quick flash of light filled his vision as the wood collided with his skull, and he crashed into the dirt back-first.

The last thing he saw were three shadows standing above him.

* * *

"Aaron," whispered the surprisingly soothing voice of Harry. "Wake up, mate. That's what they tell each other, right? I don't know how sleeping works since I've never done it."

Aaron groggily blinked his eyes as the world came into focus. His view started off blurry, but his eyes soon adjusted to the enigmatic forest surrounding him. And above him stood Harry, Jade, and Kyle.

"Shit," Aaron coughed. "I thought you guys were gonna eat me."

"Nah, mate," Harry replied. "Friends don't eat each other. Remember?"

"Where are we?"

"To be honest, bruv," Jade replied, "me and Kyle don't know either. Harry's been telling us about this place forever."

"Adventure awaits the three of us," Kyle added. "And Harry's gonna lead the way this time."

Aaron leaned up from the ground and looked to his left. Separated from him by a small field was a massive, rectangular building mostly hidden by trees. A wide crevice replaced a corner of the building facing toward the three, almost as if a bomb had been detonated in that portion of the building. A logo was partially visible near the roof of the building but was cut off by the crevice. Filled with dread, Aaron gazed into the darkness of the building's interior, disturbed by the sight of what appeared to be blood tinting the edges of the crevice.

Whatever went on in there did not end peacefully.

"What is this place, Harry?" Aaron asked.

"This is where it all began, mates," Harry replied. "This place was the beginning of the end."

END OF PART 1

*Part 2 is just up ahead! And a few things you should know. They'll consist entirely of flashbacks, working as a kind of prequel to explore the characters' pasts, the origins of the Deadmen, and plenty of other valuable information you'll need before our story comes to an end. While some of the chapters will be lighthearted and kinda endearing, I gotta warn you: Part 2 will have some of the darkest and most violent moments in the entire story. In fact, once Part 2 is done, it will only get darker. So get ready! And once again, thanks for reading!*

- @JaCrispy_Jamaine