SEVEN YEARS BEFORE THE OUTBREAK

Two weeks had passed since Aaron became part of the Hecox Home for Children. He remained quiet and introverted, usually keeping to himself in the library while the other kids played outside in the playground. He would read stories or look out over the River Thames through the window.

One day, as he was attempting--and utterly giving up on--reading a Charles Dickens novel, he paused as he realized he wasn't alone in the library. Mrs. Hecox was somewhere else in the room reading to herself out loud, but she wasn't speaking English. Whatever language she was speaking, she'd say one word of it, pause, and follow it with what he assumed was the English translation of the word.

He rose from his chair and followed the voice. He passed around several bookcases before finding Mrs. Hecox sitting at a table. She continued her verbal cycle of muttering a word of the foreign language, pausing to look down at whatever book she was reading, and repeating the same word in English.

"Excuse me," Aaron said.

Mrs. Hecox gasped in surprise before turning to look back at Aaron. "You startled me, Aaron."

"Sorry."

"It's alright, dear. Is there a problem? Why aren't you outside with the other children?"

"I...uh...feel safer in here, to be honest. I haven't really made any friends yet."

"Well how are you supposed to make friends if you stay in here all day?" She grinned to make sure that comment didn't hurt Aaron's feelings. "You've been here for two weeks already, Aaron. You should get to know these kids. Like this little girl right here."

Aaron looked down at the books on the table, confused by the question. "That's not a girl. That's a book, miss."

Mrs. Hecox chuckled. "No, silly. Two twins were brought here all the way from Russia. One twin is fluent in English, but her sister can hardly speak it, only a word here and there." Her face suddenly lit up, as if a lightbulb representing a new idea appeared above her like in cartoons. "Maybe you should introduce yourself to them."

"I dunno, miss," Aaron replied. "What if they don't like me?"

"Sadly, Aaron, things like that can only be found out through personal confrontation," Mrs. Hecox replied. "Now run along. They should be outside with the other children."

"What are their names?"

"Nika and Natalya Koslov, two golden-haired girls around your age. Nika is shy, so you can probably find her underneath the tree at the edge of the playground. Natalya is more outgoing, so she'll probably be running around the yard with everyone else."

"Okay," Aaron said, making his way toward the exit. "Thanks, miss."

"Anytime, dear."

Aaron walked out of the library and continued down the corridor until he found the door leading outside. He pushed it open and walked out into the sunlight. He was greeted by the blue sky and the sounds of children running around screaming with joy. Several kids were playing tag while others were messing around with a football, with one kid trying to kick it into the air as many times as he could without dropping it.

"So Nika and Natalya," Aaron mumbled to himself. "That's who I'm trying to find. Shouldn't be too hard. Especially if someone has hair made of gold."

He strolled through the field where the other kids played, caught up in a conversation with himself. "Wait...I think Mrs. Hecox was kidding when she said they had hair made of gold."

He stared at the dirt beneath his feet as he continued walking. The world was completely shut off from him thanks to this weird conversation.

"Can someone actually have hair made of gold? Or does she mean that they're blonde? That would be weird if it was real gold. I'd probably cut it so I could get rich. But then again, that seems mean. I don't think they would like it if I—"

Aaron was interrupted by a football clocking him in the side of the head. After a short delay, his legs gave in and he collapsed to the ground like a deflated balloon. The impact of the ball against his head didn't hurt, but his random fall worked as a defense mechanism—albeit a flawed one—to prevent him from getting hit by another ball. At least that's how he thought it worked.

"Oops!" a boy yelled, followed by a long chuckle. "Headshot!"

Several kids ran over to Aaron and helped him back onto his feet. Once he was standing again, a boy approached him, apparently the child responsible for launching the football at Aaron's head. He wore a red cap over his black hair and wore a light grey hoodie. He looked the most out of place of all the kids since everyone else either wore a simple T-shirt, dress, or overalls.

"Sorry about the headshot, bruv," the boy said with a Cockney accent as he jokingly brushed dirt off Aaron's shirt. "That last kick of mine was a real cock up. I was aiming for the goal between those two bushes over there. But you have to admit: the power of that kick was spot-on."

"Uh...that's fine?" Aaron replied, unsure of whether or not that apology was sincere.

"Where are my manners?" the boy added.

"You don't have any," a little girl replied for him. Aaron noticed the girl had blonde hair. Must've been one of the twins Mrs. Hecox told him about.

The boy chuckled before continuing his statement. "As I was saying, where are my manners? My name is Jonah." He extended his hand out for a handshake. "Jonah Franklin."

Aaron hesitantly shook his hand. "I'm Aaron."

"Well that's a better name than 'bookworm.' That's what we've been calling you for the last few days."

Several kids chuckled at that last statement. Aaron, however, wasn't amused and hung his head down.

"Hey, nothing wrong with making a few new friends," the blonde girl added, a slight accent hidden in her speech. It definitely wasn't a British accent, but Aaron couldn't tell what kind of accent it was. She politely curtsied to Aaron as an introduction. "I'm Natalya."

Found one, Aaron thought to himself, an awkward grin forming across his face.

"Why are you always in the library?" Jonah asked. "Is Mr. Hecox hiding one of his toy bombs in there or something?"

Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Hecox has bombs?"

"Yeah, bruv. He makes them himself. He used to be a science teacher at the nearby high school."

Bruv? What does that mean? Aaron thought, but he kept that to himself. "Why doesn't he teach there anymore?"

Jonah started snickering. "Because he started making bombs."

While everyone else laughed, Aaron was too focused on a few other things to react to the comment. The first thought that went through his head was why the fuzz wasn't on Mr. Hecox's case. The second thought was where the heck the other twin was.

"Well, I'd be a real wanker if I left a new mate alone," Jonah said, placing his hand on Aaron's shoulder. "Wanna join us in a game of football, bruv?"

Bruv? Wanker? What do those words mean? Aaron thought to himself. Is he one of the chavs Mum told me to stay away from?

"You maniacs can play," Natalya replied. "I'll watch. I don't want a football to the head, especially with hair like this."

Jonah shrugged. "As you wish, pretty miss. Let's go, Aaron."

Jonah and several other boys made their way to a small field next to the children's home. Aaron and Natalya followed them, but Aaron stopped in his tracks, aware that he was being watched.

He looked over his shoulder and spotted a little girl hiding behind a tree, her head and most of her body visible behind her unreliable hiding spot. She had golden hair and wore the exact same dress as Natalya, only blue instead of pink. And now that Aaron looked at her closer, she also had Natalya's pretty hair. And blue eyes. And face.

Found the other one, Aaron thought.

"That's my sister Nika," Natalya said, further supporting Aaron's discovery. "She's cute, but she's very shy since she can't speak English that well."

Nika nervously waved at Aaron from afar, to which he replied back with another wave and what he hoped look like a friendly grin. She seemed to get the message since she smiled back.

"She's learning it, right?" Aaron asked.

"Barely. I try teaching her, but she never wants me to. Mrs. Hecox is doing her best at teaching her." Natalya chuckled. "You can give it a shot, too, if you want."

Aaron shrugged, the two of them approaching the field. "Maybe."

The word repeated in his head for some time. Maybe. Maybe I really am starting to make some friends.