They rarely confronted one another. Rarely bothered to acknowledge each other either, mostly out of disgust that only grew with the manifestation of their parents. Whenever they did, they made sure it wasn't around their parents at all, knowing that Jack and Marguerite would inflict more damage than they could do to each other, and getting on each others nerves was a lot more better than letting their parents interfere.

Zoe Baker usually lingered in her trailer, away from the house and its monsters crawling and stalking the halls. They never attacked them, not outright and Zoe knew as she looked down at her pale skin. She was infected with the same virus as her parents, a monster that isn't completely formed yet beneath her skin.

Wrinkling her nose, she stood and opened her fridge. There were empty beer bottles, some food that gone stale. She would have to go inside and rummage through the storage rooms, hoping her parents didn't throw it out. She didn't think they did when the flash of a young woman in a cell came to her mind, her dark hair and dazed expression when Lucas took her downstairs after her mother found out that they were plotting together.

Zoe wasn't allowed near the guest house because of this. Her mother still growled at her, the bugs hovering and possibly living inside her were hostile. It made her feel more of a prisoner. Her father, Jack, was no help. He wasn't patient nor kind as he was before.

He usually inflicted more harm to herself and Lucas whenever he was annoyed. Either cutting Lucas, or taking off a limb. Once he stabbed her in the stomach and let her bleed out in the hall by herself, knowing full well she wasn't going to die.

The action of it scared her that she tried her best not to be around her parents for a long extended time. Lucas on the hand, grew up strange. He stayed with their parents, watching them peculiarly and didn't seem in the least bothered by their actions.

Although she caught him stealing food and taking it to his side of the house. He thrived on the regenerative powers the infection gave them, adding to the disgust of his own mind when his parents gave him a victim so he could experiment on. The traps he creates are terrible and usually ended in his favor.

Sighing, she left her trailer and headed toward the house. Her ears twitched at the noises, silent and eerie, yet there was the sound of a low growl and the crunching of the grass and leaves that weren't tended all over the courtyard.

It was hard to tell where those things are, they moved slow and tentative and only revealed their location when they were either caught, or they were close enough to attack.

Zoe turned her head, glaring at one near a tree in the dark. They never attacked her, usually they just wander by. Lucas had kicked one when they got in his way and all they did was growl at him.

Zoe tried the front door and found it to be unlocked. It was only locked when their were guests in the house. Today wasn't one of those days. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her. She shivered from the lack of heat in the house, bringing her arms up and hugging herself, she walked to the far right to the door with a scorpion on the front.

Before she could grasp the knob, the door swung open and Lucas stood in front of her. His brows—or the lack of the them—pinched together at her, before his surprise twisted to amusement.

His appearance only irked her. She diverted her gaze and hoped he would ignore her like he always seems to do, and tried walking past him.

"Where are you going, Zoe?" Lucas asked, following behind her, hands in his jean pockets and his hood covering his head that was lacking hair. Something the regenerative powers couldn't fix once it was gone before they were infected.

"Leave me alone," Zoe told him.

"I'm curious, tell me, you don't come in the house unless there's something you want. Is it the food? Mom moved half of it upstairs, knowing you'd wander back in after your dumb stunt with Mia."

Zoe gritted her teeth, hoping Lucas wasn't baiting her to react. Yet he giggled, following right behind her as she walked toward the storage room and pushed the door open. To her dismay, he was right.

Most of it was gone. What she did find was rotten with mold, some of it was alright, she would have to carry it out later, but she was more focused on the other items her parents have in their room upstairs.

"You have mom's key?" she asked, looking around and trying her best not to look at her brother who was probably getting pleasure at seeing her annoyance.

"Yeeeessss," Lucas says, chuckling.

Zoe turned, glaring at Lucas who smiled at her and walked out of the room. Breathing deeply, Zoe followed Lucas who was sauntering down the hall toward the scorpion door.

"Lucas, give me the fucking key," she demanded, her finger curling into fists.

"You know, mom and dad don't sleep," Lucas said, ignoring her. "They wander around, making sure everything is to Eveline's delight."

Zoe blinked and for a second she thought she saw the young girl standing in the opposite hallway. Her heart raced at the prospect, she didn't want to deal with the girl and her awful demands. Zoe was able to ignore it, hold onto her humanity unlike her parents, and apparently like her brother who didn't seem to have any trouble fighting it.

"They don't notice it, nor do they seem to care that much. The house is filthy, rotten, broken down. Yet it was easy taking the key from them...that's how ignorant our parents are when they don't watch us. Stupid, right?"

He almost sounded childish. Like a child taking something and hoping for attention, something that could enact a punishment just for himself. It was dangerous. Lucas didn't seem to mind crossing that line, back and forth, appeasing them and at the same time, disobeying.

She couldn't deny she was the same way. Her mother was more violent, angry and foul, yet she was focused on Eveline and the thing she gave to her. Something so precious that her mother's violence becomes more apparent whenever she enters the old house.

Her father was obsessed with caring for Eveline. Taking her as the daughter Zoe couldn't be.

Lucas took advantage of this and he was smart to do so.

"Give me the key," she demanded again.

And he stopped in the center of the room, his hand running down to his pant pocket where he pulled something out. She hoped it was the key, but Lucas was unpredictable, and he kept on proving it.

He twisted around, a smile spreading across his face as he reached for her. She was too late to react when he grabbed her arms, she felt the rush of something cold in his palm as he shoved her backwards, hard enough that she stumbled and fell. She tried to roll away from him, but he grasped her shoulder and yanked her back and crawled on top of her. He pulled his arm back and curled his fingers into a fist, his knuckles connected with the side of her face.

A flush of pain against her cheekbones pulled a groan from her throat. Lucas grabbed her arms, pinning her down and leaned close to her face.

"Zoe, Zoe, Zoe, you're a stupid bitch, you know that. You don't understand sometimes, only your own damn selfish needs. What we have is a gift, and maybe it fucked up mom and dad, but it's not too late for us."

She struggled, but his hold only tightened. "Fuck off, Lucas."

"I'll show you what I mean, Zoe. The gift, that um, Eveline gave us, the one that makes everything so fucking special." He raised one of his hands that held a pointed end, but it was too late for her to stop him when he stabbed her in the shoulder, pushing through her flesh and into bone where it went through to the other side, cutting into the wood beneath her.

Zoe screamed so loud that her throat burned as tears ran down her face. Lucas laughed as he pushed himself up onto his feet. Bending down beside her, tilting his head to the side, he gave her an unfazed smile.

"You see, Zoe. Special." He raised himself up and walked off toward the staircase, leaving her pinned to the floor with the long sharp knife, thin yet durable. Blood flowed around her, soaking into her thin shirt.

She panted, trying to gain some level of control. A fear of realization rose to her mind. She glanced toward the front door and the one opposite that lead to the kitchen. Her father nor mother heard her, and they wouldn't have cared if they found her pinned. They would simply blame her for the position she got herself into.

Gritting her teeth, the pain began to numb, a sign that the regeneratives powers were beginning to work. She had to pull the blade out. Swallowing, she reached up to the handle with a shaky hand and gripped the blade. The slightest push stung all the way down to her toes.

Taking a slow breath, she tightened her hold and tugged as hard as she could. The pain would be temporary once it was out, but it was difficult on her own. The blade was stuck into the wood and her own bone. More tears streamed down her face, the pain was unbearable, yet she managed to free the blade from the wood and her own bone and skin.

She sat up the second it was out, the blade still firmly in her hand, stained with her blood. The wound sealed up as she rose to her shaky legs and took the stairs to her left, hoping to locate Lucas.

"Fucking stupid bastard," she growled under her breath. Panting low as she made sure her movements were quiet. The door to their parents room was open and she could hear him singing.

He was stealing food for himself, the asshole. She wouldn't forgive him if he did, it was hard enough finding food and hoping her parents wouldn't force her to eat the entrails of animals and people they kidnapped.

She kept close to the wall, tightening her grip on the blade once she heard his footsteps moving close to the open door. She would not hesitate. The second he came into view, she raised her blade and stabbed in the shoulder. He stumbled back, shocked as he hit the bookshelf and landed on his back. Zoe fell with him, this time she was ontop of him with the blade stuck in his collarbone. Cans of food fell from his grasp as they rolled along the floor, several had fallen to the main floor. The key laid strewn at their feet.

"Asshole," she growled, twisting the knife as he screamed in pain.

"L-Look at you," Lucas said, an unlikely smile tugged at the side of his lips. "Finally you got your fire back, sis."

"Fuck you."

Lucas laid his head back and sighed. "Take the food."

She pinched her brows together. "What?"

"The food," he indicated with his hand. "Take it."

"Why?"

"Cause I have my own storage hidden in the warehouse."

This surprised her. It made her falter for a second and it seemed it was exactly what Lucas wanted as he pushed her off and kicked her in the chest. He sat up, grinning at her glare. He grasped the handle of the knife and yanked it out.

"Funny thing, right?" Lucas said, fixated on the blood. "You honestly thought of yourself."

"You stabbed me," she said, gathering some of the can of food that was close to her.

He arched a brow, indicating his own sealed wound and the blood soaking his already dark sweater that looked stained with blood from something or someone she didn't want to know. "You can't blame me for everything, Zoe."

"I can," she said, rising to her feet and kicking the key toward him. "I'm guessing you took all the food."

"Enough, they won't notice. They never notice," He said it with disgust and bitterness.

"We'll run out," she said.

Lucas shrugged. "There's always people to kidnap." He grinned and she was once again disgusted by his nonchalance that she walked away, gathering the food that fell and left the house.

Her brother did nothing for her, this may have been different, but he was still the same. She needed to escape somehow and if someone does come, she could try her best to guide them.

Notes: There aren't interactions with Lucas and Zoe Baker. Sure Lucas brings up Zoe, but Zoe never talks about her brother. So I wanted to write one, something with a bit of warmth at the end, I guess. :D

I had to make this an OC story since Fanfiction hasn't put up Re7, nor any of the characters. :/

Don't mind the grammar issues or inconsistencies. I wrote this quick.

Reviews are appreciated. No flames or bashing please.