PART 3: AARON'S LAST DAY

Aaron sat up on the ground and looked toward a massive, rectangular building mostly hidden behind trees. A wide crevice replaced a corner of the building facing toward him and the three Deadmen that brought him there, almost as if a bomb was detonated in that portion of the building. Dread overflowed Aaron's body just by staring into the darkness of the building's interior, and it didn't help that blood appeared to be tinted on the edges of the crevice.

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

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

"What are you, a narrator?" Jade chimed in. "You make it sound like something cool is about to happen."

"I mean, this is the first time the three of us have been here," Kyle said. "It'll be interesting for Harry to show us around."

"Speaking of which, Harry," Aaron said, "what do you mean by 'the beginning of the end'?"

"This is where the Deadmen came from, mate," Harry continued, staring into the infinite darkness of the crevice leading into the facility. "This is where I came from. I don't know what went on in my past, but the last thing I did before I died happened in this building."

"So this was your resting place?" Kyle said.

"Sir, does it look like I'm resting?" Harry retorted.

"I know. I was trying to be cool like you."

"Are you wankers done yet?" Aaron shouted. "I'm a little busy turning into a flesh-eating monster here!"

"Hey, that's rude, mate," Harry replied. "We're not monsters. Just misunderstood."

"No, he's serious, guys," Jade said. "Once he's become one of us, no one will be able to understand him if he wants to make a point." She and Harry helped lift Aaron to his feet. "Just out of curiosity, Aaron, what exactly are you looking for?"

Aaron didn't say anything. He just brushed the dust off his pants and made his way into the building, disappearing into the darkness.

"Aaron!" Harry shouted. "Wait up!"

"Why the hell is he going in if he doesn't even know the place?" Kyle asked.

The three Deadmen ran in to join their friend. Apart from the grey morning sky outside, no light entered the building. Aaron had to feel his way toward a door, nearly slipping on a puddle of some unknown liquid. "Shit," he said as he caught himself. "Anyone know where the light switch is?"

Nobody responded. "Let me rephrase that," Aaron continued. "Does anyone know what a light switch is?"

"You mean this thing?" Jade replied. Aaron couldn't see her anywhere, but the sound of a flick in the dark was followed by a brief crackle of the lights above. Aaron instantly regretted having the lights turned on as the first thing he saw  was a large pool of blood covering the entire floor, from the crevice they entered to the door leading out of the room.

"Shit!" Aaron exclaimed, nearly slipping on the blood again. The lights continued to twitch on and off, momentarily leaving them in the dark before shining a light on their path a second later.

"Yeah, that's Archibald you're standing on," Harry replied. "Bloodletter said we used to call him Hermes."

"Where's Archibald?" Kyle asked.

"I already told you. We're standing in him. All that blood caked to the floor and wall is him. He got caught in the explosion when Bloodletter made this giant hole."

"Damn. He still used his bangers back then?" Jade asked.

"Yep. It was terrifying," Harry shuddered. "This one Revenant vision of his daughter made him go completely bonkers. Archibald didn't exactly help since he was complaining about food the whole time, and one second later...kaboom!"

The lights in the room went out for good, leaving the four Deadmen in the dark. "Goddamn it," Aaron said. "Let's go find a fusebox or something. But keep talking, Harry."

Aaron felt his way toward the door as the other three followed behind him. "What was it like during the day you turned?" he asked Harry as they continued making their way to the exit.

"It was chaotic, mate. None of us knew what we were doing. People were getting ripped apart here and there. The living fired back with their guns. I wasn't really attacking anybody, though. I just stuck to feeding off the corpses already littering the floor."

"Still don't understand how that's a better option, but whatever let's you sleep at night."

"Jokes on you. I haven't slept in eight years."

"Eight years? Damn. How many did you spend in here?"

"Two, mate. Then once Bloodletter got that vision, we were all out of here."

"The Outbreak," Aaron gasped. "I was twelve years old when it began, yet I don't remember much of what life was like before that. I just hope I was happier than I am now."

They continued making their way down the hall. The entire corridor was completely shrouded in darkness aside from a few small rays of sunlight penetrating through cracks in the wall. Aaron could hear the sounds of other Deadmen wandering the building's interior, characterized by their signature raspy screeches and loud footsteps.

"What are we looking for, Aaron?" Kyle asked.

" Right now we should be looking for this thing called a fusebox," Aaron replied, still moving forward with his hand against the wall. "It has a lever and a bunch of wires in it. When you pull the lever up and down, it turns the building's electricity--"

"I know what a fusebox is, bruv. I'm not an idiot. Also, what's a lever?"

Luckily for Kyle, he couldn't see the look of disappointment on Aaron's face. But he could hear the sound of him face-palming himself.

They continued their trek into the unknown. Midway into their stroll Aaron caught sight of several humanoid silhouettes wandering through the sunbeams entering the building. One of them walked right into the ray of light, revealing a monstrous withered face with no resemblance to a human being. It had cold, colorless eyes without a hint of life in them and there was an empty, moldy hole where its nose used to be. Aaron and the creature maintained direct eye contact for a few more seconds before it disappeared back into the darkness.

"Damn," Jade said as she passed by the same creature. "Someone could use more makeup."

Aaron paused as his hand reached the edge of the hall leading into a room. He peaked around the corner to see multiple rows of blue lights stacking up like boxes. Then it turned out they were in boxes. Each blue line was a shelf containing some sort of computer part or piece of technology unrecognizable to those born post-Outbreak. Even though Aaron was still around before that, the only piece of tech he recognized was a broken laptop and its charger. He would've stared longer if it weren't for the fact the fusebox was right next to the shelves.

"Bingo," he said as he walked over to the box. He noticed a crunching sound in his footsteps and he looked around the dim blue glow of the shelves across the floor to see pieces of hardened blood trailing behind him like bread crumbs. He briefly scraped his feet against the floor to get some of the pieces off before continuing what he originally planned to do.

Aaron opened up the fusebox and carelessly stuck his fingers around the wires, messing around with them as if he were placing his hand in a bush. He felt his way over to the lever and pulled it down, waiting for the power to return at any second.

"Uh, Aaron," Jade said. "I don't think we should be making this much noise. We don't know what else is in here with us."

"Chill out, Jade," Aaron replied. "Probably just some other Deadmen. As long as there aren't any Abnormals. Right, Harry?"

"I dunno, mate," Harry said. "We know a few Commoners who've given us a hard time before."

"How bad could it be?" Aaron said.

The fluorescent lights of the hallway flickered to life, the shadows previously enveloping the hallway vanishing instantly. Each light took a second to click on, continuously trailing through the corridors. Bloody footprints followed behind Aaron and the others, and decayed corpses littered the floor. Most of them were mutilated beyond recognition, their limbs and facial muscles barely holding on, and bones were more visible on some bodies than others. Aaron felt like he was trapped in a tomb. And whatever he would find in this tomb could be his curse.

"You," a raspy voice croaked from behind Aaron.

Aaron and the other three jumped back to see a fellow Commoner Deadman standing near the doorway. But it didn't look like any other creature they had ever seen. The flesh on its face was torn off and dangling lazily from its skull, revealing the murky white surface of its cranium. Its bloody, malnourished teeth was visible now that the cheeks were ripped from its face, forever trapped in a sinister grin. What distracted the four intruders the most was the realization that its right eye was missing.

"Careful," Harry whispered. "Could be a hostile."

The creature wore a light blue uniform similar to either a deliveryman or a prison jumpsuit. The shirt was shredded to bits and covered in so much dirt, it was almost as black as a shadow. Just like its face, its skin was so withered, its arm bones and ribs were peaking through its flesh, almost like if its skin was nothing but a tattered rag. It walked with a very conspicuous limp, nearly tripping to the floor with every step.

Aaron backed into the wall as the creature approached him. Just the smell of the creature made Aaron want to vomit, and the sight of the Deadman's lips dangling off its teeth only made him feel more nauseous.

And then the creature finally spoke. "You're...incomplete."