"It's me," Aaron replied weakly, as if he'd gone days without eating. "At least what's left of me."

"What the hell?" Jonah said, shoving the gun back into his holster. "You look like someone just wiped the floor with you. Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Hunky-dory." Then Aaron collapsed to the pavement.

"Shit! Hold on, bruv," Jonah said as he ran to his friend. He wrapped Aaron's arm around his shoulder and assisted him to a nearby bench, letting him slide off onto the cold, wooden seat.

"Thanks," Aaron replied heavily exhausted.

"Bloody hell, you look like you haven't slept in weeks," Jonah continued. "And what's with the suitcase?"

"You mind passing it to me?" Aaron groaned.

Reluctant, Jonah grabbed the suitcase and placed it beside Aaron on the bench. "What's in it anyway?" he asked.

"The truth."

"What truth? Is there a severed head in there? Or the soul of Marsellus Wallace?" Jonah chuckled. "That's Pulp Fiction, by the way."

"Are you done yet, Mr. Cinephile?" Aaron asked.

"Right. Sorry, bruv." Jonah cleared his throat. "Where have you been all this time?"

"Wandering the Dead Zone. Wanted to clear my head."

"Guess you wanted to lose your head, too. Why would you be out here?"

Aaron stayed silent. He pulled the suitcase closer to him and brushed the dirt off.

"Wait a minute," Jonah continued. "Is that a DZI jacket?"

"Yep," Aaron replied. "It gets chilly out here, y'know."

Jonah started connecting the dots, his hand on his gun. "You were at the destroyed village, weren't you?"

"Right again."

"How many DZI did you kill?" Jonah asked almost threateningly.

"I dunno. Like nine or ten, probably more. But they attacked me. Remember that."

"How could you?"

Aaron grew more frustrated. "See, here's something I've noticed. When people get shot at, they don't necessarily like that they're being shot at. So it was either them or me."

"They used to be your comrades!"

"Well here's another thing I've noticed. Opinions change once you get infected by a single fucking drop of Deadman blood!"

Jonah gasped in horror, nearly falling back once he heard that. He now felt the same guilt the AIS felt once they realized they had failed their one mission: to prevent the spread. But this was more personal. He had failed to protect his best friend.

"That's right, Jonah," Aaron said in an quivering voice. "I'm infected. I know what people taste like. My wounds heal before I even notice I had them. I hear Deadmen speak like normal people."

"Aaron, you're scaring me," Jonah said.

"Did you know that Deadmen suffer when you burn them? Normally they sound like wild animals when you set them on fire. Now that I'm one of them, they sound more like innocent people being massacred. It might just be a hallucination, but it still hurts to hear it happen."

"If you're infected, why'd you come back?"

"Because I spent all of today attempting to redeem myself. Schaefer was supposed to kill me last night, so I escaped out into the Dead Zone. I've finally found the cause of all of this. The Deadmen, the Outbreak, the Abnormals, everything!"

"So you wanted to redeem yourself by killing people?"

Aaron ignored him and held up his suitcase. "I'm telling you. Everything you need to learn is in here."

The sound of footsteps were heard approaching the glass door back into the clinic. Kat appeared, wearing her shirt. "Jonah, hurry up," she said with a yawn. "Shaw says we're returning to Matheson in twenty minutes, so..."

It took her several seconds to realize that walking corpse standing beside Jonah was her old friend Aaron. Once it dawned on her, she bolted out of the building and threw her arms around him. "Where the fuck were you?" she asked, nearly crushing his back with her powerful hug.

"Kat, is that you?" Aaron joked, patting her on the back. "I don't remember you ever being a hugger."

"Yeah, Aaron," Jonah added sternly. "You mind telling her where the fuck you were?"

Kat moved away from Aaron and studied his jacket. "Isn't that Romero's jacket?" she asked.

Aaron took off the jacket and threw it to the ground beside him, revealing a long-sleeved shirt dotted with dry blood.

"You were at the village earlier, weren't you?" Kat said.

"They prefer calling it the Dead Center," Aaron replied.

"Who's they?"

"The Deadmen," Jonah replied. "This wanker is infected."

Kat's eyes widened. Unlike Jonah, she didn't hesitate to unholster her gun, and she aimed it directly at Aaron.

"Go ahead and shoot," Aaron said. "You'll be doing me a favor."

Hearing that shattered Kat's heart into a million pieces. Ever since Jonah asked her the other day what she would do in this situation, nightmares had been plaguing her sleep. One of them was exactly like this, except Aaron killed all of his friends and family when she refused to shoot him. But she couldn't find it in herself to shoot him, the one kid that changed her life forever by welcoming her into his home and providing her with a way out of London.

She slowly lowered her gun to the ground. It hurt to look at him.

"Well, before I go out," Aaron said, as if none of that mattered, "I must show you both what's in this case."

* * *

The three of them spent those next couple of minutes studying every piece of evidence Aaron brought in that suitcase. The blueprints, the binder, the photos of the scientists and test subjects of the Ambrosia Project, and especially the recorders. Every new detail resulted in shock from Jonah and Kat. The discovery that Aaron had an older brother warmed their hearts, but each new recording of Schaefer made them lose hope in humanity.

Then came the recorder marked with the skull and crossbones. The death of poor little Sarah.

Jonah grew nauseous as a result, as he believed Schaefer and Bennington did more than kill her, and he and Kat begged for Aaron to turn it off once her screams blared out of the recorder. The rest of their time spent studying their evidence was done in complete silence.

"Bollocks," Jonah finally spoke as Aaron stuffed the evidence back into the case. "I believe the whole 'microscopic robots' thing and maybe even that you actually talked to Bloodletter, but there is no way a man like Schaefer could still be in power after everything he's done."

"Actually, it makes a lot of sense," Kat chimed in. "Aaron says Schaefer killed his own colleagues. In all honesty, he does seem like the kind of man who would do that, killing people to cover his tracks."

"But killing a child? That's unforgivable."

"He didn't just kill Bloodletter's daughter," Aaron added. "He killed my brother Harry and too many other people. And I should also note that he and his bitches tortured them to death. None of them died peacefully."

"And he was responsible for all of it?" Kat asked.

"Everything. He's a goddamn puppet master."

"What are we supposed to do with all this evidence though?"

Aaron finished stuffing everything back into his case and closed it up. He handed it to a surprised Kat. "Guard it with your life," he ordered. "Present it to the rest of Matheson, even the other DZI. Just make sure Schaefer's crimes become known throughout what's left of the world."

"Damn, someone's determined," Jonah said.

"I wanted to make sure I did something right before I die. Glad it seems to be working out."

Kat hid the suitcase behind her back. "What's gonna happen now?"

"Don't worry about me," Aaron replied. "You guys have a ride to catch back to Matheson. I'll find my own way."

Kat gave Aaron another big hug, one she felt would be the last. Ironically, this was only the second time they ever hugged. But the feeling of her arms wrapped around one of the kindest people she had ever met was something she'd never forget.

"Stay safe," she warned.

"A little too late for that," Aaron joked darkly.

Kat let go and looked at Jonah, placing her hand on his shoulder. "I'll see you back on the bus," she said before giving him a quick kiss. And she disappeared into the building. Jonah was blushing as red as a tomato.

"What in the arse was that?" Aaron asked in a hilariously monotone voice.

Jonah scratched his head. "Yeah, you should've been there. She gave me my first kiss, which evolved into my first make-out session. Then my first love bite and my first titty-grab—"

"Kat let you do all that?"

"Bruv, she encouraged it. Except the love bite. She gave me one and it stings." Jonah paused to rub the new bruise on his neck. "It was kinda like 'glad-to-be-alive' sex...which we also planned on doing once we returned to Matheson."

"How many drinks did you two have?"

"Just one. Like I said, it was mostly out of excitement. And I find it ironic that we got all that done before you and Nika have."

"Nah, we're too modest. I have seen her in her knickers when we spend the night in each other's flats, but we've never gone that far." Aaron slouched his head. "And now I'm never gonna see her again. I promised her I'd never leave her. And what's the first thing I do?"

"In your defense, you didn't run off," Jonah replied. "You were chased off by that arsehole Schaefer. But thanks to you, now everyone will know what he's done."

A half-smile crossed Aaron's face. "Thanks, man."

"Anytime, bruv."

Aaron stood up, his legs wobbly. "And now for the hard part," he sighed. "How much ammo do you got left?"

"Two bullets. Why?"

Aaron took the gun out of Jonah's holster and handed it two him. Then he fell to the ground on his knees and bent his head down. "You know what to do."

Jonah's heart sunk. "No way," he said.

"I've been suffering for three days. Just put me out of my misery."

"No! Fucking no! I can't just shoot my best friend!"

"I'm begging you, Jonah," Aaron whimpered. "I feel dead, but my heartbeat keeps reminding me I'm not. I just want to sleep!"

"SHUT UP!" Jonah exclaimed. And he jerked to the side to make sure his best friend couldn't see him breaking down. "Just shut up," he blubbered. "I never knew my family! I don't know who my parents are or if I have siblings. You, Nika, Natalya, even Kat, you guys are my only family!"

Aaron remained silent.

"Please, Aaron. Don't make me kill one of the only people in this world who made me feel like a part of something."

Still no response. "Aaron?" he asked as he turned to his friend.

The first thing he saw was Aaron, still planted on the ground on his knees, empty white pools replacing his eyes. A strand of drool dangled out of his mouth, revealing clenched teeth. Veins sprouted out all over his body, and his breathing grew extremely heavy. A monster had taken over his friend's body.

Aaron lurched toward his friend and tackled him to the ground. Now out of his control, Aaron found himself attempting to strangle Jonah, his hands crushing his throat. Jonah was kicking and shoving out of his friend's grip, but he apologized after every hit. He held the gun in one hand the whole time, but he did not plan on using it.

"Jonah!" Aaron growled, his voice completely unrecognizable. "Stop!"

"You...are not...a monster..." Jonah managed to say in between chokes.

Then Aaron quickly grabbed Jonah's arm and snapped it in half. The gun fell to the ground beside him, and he rolled over on his side screaming in pain. He could only watch as Aaron picked the gun off the floor and pointed it under his chin.

"I knew you couldn't do it," Aaron said again, his voice returning to normal. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"Wait, Aaron!" Jonah exclaimed, still clenching his broken arm.

"Goodbye, Jonah. Tell Nika I love her with all my heart."

"AARON!"

And a bright light engulfed the two of them.