Hello again! Yay, an earlier update than last time haha. My chapters are getting longer too, so woo! We're really getting into the swing of things now, the story really kicking in. I'm sorry if it's seemed slow so far, but I wanted you all to get a feel for Alice before we moved forward with plot and so forth.

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Enjoy the chapter - onwards! ~X~

Then

3 Weeks After Outbreak

I let my fork push the pasta around the metal plate, biting the inside of my lip as I tried to find the urge to eat the slop. Everything tasted like cardboard here, the mac n' cheese especially. It also left a powdery taste on my tongue. I let out a sigh and glanced up, noticing the way Louise just stared at her plate.

"You need to eat something, Lou," tried Matt again, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She kept her eyes cast down but nodded, reaching up to pick up the fork and then mimicking my idle movements, pushing the food around.

"You should be grateful! Soon we won't have the luxury of food, soon we'll all be fighting over the last few beans at the bottom of a can!"

"Hush, Martin. Don't scare the kids."

I watched Mrs Donnelly as she gave the skittish man a stern look before turning to me with a small smile. I tried to smile back, but Martin was getting to me more and more.

He was a skinny older man, with wispy black hair and a constant look of horror on his face. There was definitely something weird about him, and I still wasn't sure whether he was Mrs Donnelly's husband or some guy she knew and felt the need to take care of.

They'd come here together, taken from the same hospital we'd been in. I hadn't pried, but sometimes Mrs Donnelly's soft hazel eyes were so filled with sadness that I had to look away. It was plain to see she'd lost someone, and from the way she always grabbed the cross around her neck, she was scared for someone else too.

They were just two of the thirteen people that were here. Some of them had been brought here right away, part of some kind of neighbourhood that got overrun with the sickness.

Alistair and Joey sat towards the far back, a young couple that were always in close proximity. They kept telling us they were roommates in the old neighbourhood but I'd caught more than a few tender glances between them. I had no qualms with gay people - hell, my best friend Katie back at home told me she was gay when we were thirteen, so how could that ever bother me?

It wasn't hard to notice that some people over here weren't so accommodating. I saw the news every now and again, about the prejudice some people still carried. I knew religion was a bigger thing over here, too, and I always said 'Live and Let Live'. I knew what I believed, and as long as other beliefs weren't pushed onto me, then people could do what they liked.

They were nice guys, though, about the same age as Matt.

The only people who gave them trouble were the Hendersons, and that was mainly Mr Henderson. The man seemed to have an issue with them. He was a real big man in build, with short dark hair peppered with silver. He must have had money because there was just an air of arrogance about him. His wife was called Ella, a beautiful, slight little thing who barely spoke above a whisper. Their kids, twins Emma and Emily couldn't have been much older than ten, and they were the quietest kids I'd ever met. All they seemed to do was cling to their mother.

The other two men I had only seen once. One was short and fat, always sweating and the other was tall and muscular, always looking at us as though we were the most interesting of specimens. I'd heard some of the soldiers talk about the tall one, that he was some kind of scientist they'd found in a little facility not far from the coast.

I turned back to my stodgy mac n' cheese, sighing heavily before putting my fork onto the plate and pushing it away.

"Has Bradan said anything else to you?" I asked Matt. He shovelled the last mouthful into his gob, shaking his head as he chewed.

"Still under orders to hold the base as far as I know."

I bit the inside of my lip, watching as Mrs Donnelly reached over and brushed her hand over Martin's cheek. The man sighed at the contact, nodding at whatever the plump lady was saying.

"I'm surprised we haven't heard anything else yet," I mulled, picking up the mug and taking a small sip. The slightly acrid flavour rushed over my tongue and I winced, but I carried on drinking it anyway.

Earl Grey was not my favourite tea, but it was tea, and better than coffee.

"I don't think that last lot of soldiers came back, you know," said Matt, leaning forward and keeping his voice hushed. I nodded, because I'd noticed the same thing. This base had been full of military men and women when we first arrived, and they'd all been sent of to do one thing or another. But over the days, less and less of them were coming back. The military was dwindling, and the last mission, led by Corporal Jennings, had gone three days ago. From the look Bradan shared with the last three remaining soldiers - I don't think that was a good sign.

"I don't like the fact they haven't let us go outside, Matt. I feel… trapped."

Matt nodded slowly, picking up his own mug and taking a thoughtful sip.

"Hey!"

The sudden burst of sound had us all glancing up and over to Mr Henderson, who was jumping out of his chair and storming over to Joey and Alistair. I noticed one of the twins standing by Joey, and her eyes were wide as her dad thundered towards them.

"Emma you get away from that freak, right now!"

The little girl gasped and ran away, into her mother's arms where Emily was still cradled.

"You! What the hell do you think you're doing, talking to my little girl?"

Joey had paled, his thin face slack and making his eyes seem huge. Joey was only a slight man, with a soft voice. Alistair had already jumped up and stood in front of his 'roommate', even though he wasn't much bigger.

"Hey what's your problem? She'd only asked him to fix her doll."

"I don't care!" yelled Mr Henderson, squaring up to Alistair. The man absolutely towered over Alistair, and his body language was ready for a fight.

"You are disgusting freaks. I don't want my kids anywhere near the likes of you faggots."

"Oi!"

My body jumped at the sudden voice next to me, just as Matt got to his feet and moved over towards the argument.

"Sit down kid, this ain't got nothin' to do with you," growled Mr Henderson. I found myself on my feet, moving towards Matt as my brother stood in front of Alistair. Joey looked like he was about to cry, but I'd never seen Matt's face so set.

"The hell it isn't," snapped my brother. At least Matt matched Mr Henderson in height, even if he lacked the width.

I moved around Matt, gently pushing Alistair back. If Alistair got into a fight then the poor guy would be knocked senseless. My heart hammered in my chest as the air buzzed with tension. Everyone was watching us now, and it only made me angry to see that absolutely no one else looked like they were about to step in.

"You condone those freaks of nature?" snapped Mr Henderson, and I turned to see a vein ticking in Matt's neck.

"Oh get off your high horse. They've done absolutely nothing, and it's arse holes like you who make these prejudices stand."

Mr Henderson's face slowly went from slightly flushed to downright red, and I noticed the way his meaty hands were clenching into fists.

Even though the man had about two feet on me, I managed to stand between them.

"Alright enough," I snapped, my voice surprisingly strong even as my hands trembled. The man could kill me in one felled slap.

"Move out the way, this boy gotta learn some manners."

"This boy is my brother, mate. And you are scaring your kids!" I threw my hand forward, pointing at Mrs Henderson as she cradled her sobbing children. The man begrudgingly followed my finger, and thankfully seeing his kids scared was enough for him to lower his stance.

"You queers stay away from my family, you hear? I won't hesitate to send you straight to hell."

I stood my ground as Mr Henderson looked us all over, sending an icy glare behind me and making me shiver nonetheless.

"Prick," muttered Matt, just as Mr Henderson walked towards his family, ushering them harshly out of the cafeteria and through a door.

"You OK?" I cooed, moving towards Joey. Alistair had his arms wrapped tight around him, looking more than a little fucked off.

"What an asshole," muttered Alistair, putting his face against Joey's head.

"Thank you," said Joey quietly, offering me and Matt a shaky smile. Matt nodded before patting Alistair's shoulder and moving back to Louise, who looked like she hadn't even blinked since the argument broke out.

"Do you always get people like that?" I asked, taking the seat Joey offered me.

"Pretty much," sighed Alistair, still not letting his arm drop. I shook my head, not wanting to say anything offensive about their homeland, but I was still reeling from the outright homophobia. I knew some people were bad, but I was from London. Anything went in London and people were just used to it.

"That's horrible. You'd think people would kind of forget about that shit, you know, considering the world is falling apart and all that."

Joey let out a small laugh through his nose, sighing and leaning into Alistair.

"People will never forget their phobias," said Alistair solemnly. Joey gave him a concerned look and Alistair caught his eye. For a moment I saw something so rare pass between them, unspoken and yet so clear – I didn't know where I should look. So instead I glanced down and let them have their moment.

I'd read so many love stories, some of the greatest kind of love. Romance that tore through the ages. And even though that was beautiful in it's own way, seeing love in the realest form always hit home the most.

I felt my throat get tight as an image filtered in my mind. Mum and dad had that look.

"Hey, you okay?"

I glanced up quickly, feeling the tear roll down my cheek. I gave Joey a small smile and nodded, wiping at my face and trying a small smile when Joey put his hand over mine.

"Yeah... kinda. I suppose I have to be."

Alistair and Joey watched me steadily, almost with understanding in their eyes.

"It'll be alright, honey. It will."

I opened my mouth to reply but was cut off as something burst into life. The static was so high and loud that everyone in the room gasped. The sound pierced my skull and rattled my brain, making it hard to think in the moment of panic.

Martin jumped and ran to the corner where the radio continued to blare, turning random dials until the sound was dimmed enough for us to take a collective breath.

In the commotion, Bradan and the other soldiers had ran into the room just as everyone got to their feet, watching the radio as if it were our salvation. Ironically, it was.

"...transmission... abort – repeat... Miss... code red..."

The static was parted by random flickers of a voice, and we all strained to listen. The three soldiers were crowded around the radio, all still as they listened. Bradan bit his lip, his dirty blond hair spiked in all directions as his pale face slowly lifted to look at Jax, the tattooed soldier I'd met the same day as Bradan. Apparently his real name was Simon Jackson, but as far as I knew everyone just called him Jax.

The other soldier was called Yearley as far as I knew, but I hadn't spoken to him before. He always had a sombre expression and avoided everyone.

"Everyone back to their rooms," said Jax suddenly. When we all continued to stand there and watch, the man turned quickly and faced us.

"That was not a request!"

I felt my eyes widen as his sudden aggression, but I was quick to go to Matt and Louise. I took my brother's arm because he didn't look like he was about to listen, and one tug at him had him moving with the rest of us out of the room. We made our way down the corridor and into our room, shutting the door closed behind us.

"What was that all about?" demanded Matt, to no one in particular I knew, but I still found myself answering with a shrug.

"I don't know. We'll just have to wait for them to tell us."

Matt scoffed and shook his head, sinking onto his mess of blankets. I moved to sit on the edge of my bed as Louise climbed back onto the top bunk, crawling under the covers and remaining silent. I sighed and looked at the band on my wrist.

We needed to know something. Anything.

Soon.

The blanket finally slipped off the end of the bed and I sighed, tossing again. I reached up to rub my face, glancing at the clock on the far wall to see it was now half past five in the morning.

A whole night tangled in the sheets and not a single wink.

My mind just kept replaying that transmission, over and over. What was a code red? What were they aborting? Why did the announcer sound panicked? And why hadn't we heard anything else? Why wouldn't they give us an update? Why were we not allowed outside? I hadn't seen the military base as the truck we came in had no windows, but still. We should know something by now.

With another aggravated sigh I threw my arms to my sides and looked at the clock again. I was quite used to staying up all night, but only when my nose was in a book. Now it just felt like torment.

Pushing myself up, I slipped my legs around to the edge of the bed and winced as my bare feet touched the cold floor.

Grabbing the jacket that Bradan had given me when I met him, I slipped it around my shoulders. My hair was lose and knotted, but I didn't have a brush or even a comb, so I just shoved it up into a messy bun and secured it with the rubber band I'd found.

Wiping my eyes of sleep, I stood and padded around, checking to see that Louise and Matt were still asleep. The lights were still dimmed, nothing but the emergency one illuminating the room ever so slightly. They dimmed the lights at night, so that must have meant that no one was awake yet. I could grab a cup of tea, maybe start the breakfast. Maybe I could find some of those powdered egg things. They tasted like shit, but at least we could imagine we were eating real eggs.

I left the room as quietly as I could, padding barefoot down the hallway and through the door, leading into the cafeteria.

The room was slightly more illuminated, but as I reached out to the switch on the far wall, I heard a rustle of some kind. Frowning, I peered over the tables, to the far end where the radio sat atop a rickety table. The small kitchen to the right was empty, the slight humming of the fridge all I could hear.

"Hello?"

My voice echoed around the room, but no one replied. Frowning, I flipped the switch and the room was lit in a bright white light.

"Jesus!"

A figure gasped and rolled off a bench, hissing as the thump of the body was accompanied by a clinking sound. I lowered my head and saw the figure on the floor, groaning against the concrete.

"Bradan?"

He moaned again and pushed himself up, managing to get to his knees and running his hand through his hair. I could see he was only in a white vest top and his khakis. His bare arms were wound in tattoos that I hadn't seen before, but watching him trying to get to his feet I was drawn to what had made the clinking sound.

"Are you... drunk?"

He finally turned to me, his body swaying dangerously as he grabbed a table to keep his balance. As if I had told an amazing joke, he laughed loudly, small strands of hair falling into his eyes.

"Absudelu – no, absonatley. Abso-lu-tel-eey."

He laughed again and I watched him, confusion knitting my brows together. I moved closer to him but stopped as he turned, reaching down for the bottle and losing his balance. He cackled as he fell forward, putting out both hands before pushing back up. I noticed he'd grabbed the bottle somehow. He took a long drag of the dark liquid before slumping onto a bench.

"What's... going on?" I asked slowly, trying to be gentle. Seeing Bradan drunk was one thing that was bizarre, but the other was that he'd leaned down on his knees, looking at the floor without really seeing anything.

"It's fucked, all of it." He took another sip and stood so quickly I jumped back. In one long movement, the muscles in his arms bulged as he launched the bottle across the room. It shattered against the far wall and my eyes widened, panic licking down my throat.

"What's fucked? What's going on, Bradan? Talk to me."

I moved right up to him, even though he stood tall. I knew he'd been young from the flush in his features, but without all those military clothes covering him up, I could see the man he was underneath. That was nerve-wracking, considering I didn't really know him. Yet I felt as though I knew him enough that he wouldn't turn violent, so I reach out and touch his back. He jerked and I moved my hand away as if I'd been burned, only to have him turn and face me. My breath caught in my throat as I saw his dark eyes glistening. Only being so close did I notice the red lines around his eyes, the dark circles under them, the slight stubble on his chin. He looked like he'd been hollowed out, something carved from inside him.

"They're gone," he whispered, his voice trembling. I took another step forward, reaching out to touch him but afraid he'd throw something else. Matt always told me I was too nice to strangers.

"Who's gone?"

"Jax and Yearley. Took the truck last night, gone." He sniffed, reaching up and wiping his nose with his forearm, his fingers still damp from the booze he'd sloshed over them.

I swallowed thickly, trying to digest what he'd said.

"Gone on a mission?" I tried, and his sarcastic laugh only confirmed my fears.

"Yeah, their own personal mission, code name: 'Fuck Everyone'."

I pursed my lips and reached out again, this time taking his biceps in hand and squeezing firmly, forcing him to look at me. He looked so broken, his breathing shallow.

"Why? What's happened, Bradan? You need to tell me."

He frowned and yanked his body away from me, but soon deflated, sitting heavily on the bench. I slowly sat down next to him, close enough to offer what comfort I could.

"The transmission," he said slowly. "We got a better signal. Any attempts at controlling the outbreak were abandoned. All units in the area were called back to Atlanta. It's been declared a safe zone."

I blinked a few times, nodding.

"Okay. Atlanta is a safe zone. That's good isn't it?"

Bradan shrugged his shoulders, leaning forward and rubbing his face.

"So... why did they leave? We could've all gone together."

The broken soldier turned and set me with a strange look, so focused, so intimidating that I visibly shrunk back.

"I'll show you why."

His voice was so deadpan, so flat that I didn't have time to recover before he was grabbing my hand and yanking me to my feet. I would have protested if I wasn't so curious as to where we were going.

Bradan led me through a door and into a part of the base I hadn't seen yet.

We passed doors, glimpses of the inside caught through the little glass windows. I saw empty rooms, I saw store rooms and rooms filled with clothes. We didn't stop long enough for me to gather any real details, instead Bradan leading me through another door, and up to a stair case.

I stopped and looked up, the staircase only about six or so high.

"Where are we going?"

Bradan didn't answer my question because he was already a flight up. I ground my teeth and followed, moving up as quickly as I could. Maybe it was because I hadn't slept, or because I wasn't the fittest person in the world, but by the time I reached the top I was breathing heavily.

The door at the top was open and early sunlight poured through the gap.

"Bradan?" I breathed, still sucking in great lungfuls of air.

I pushed the door to, squinting in the light. The first soft breeze rustled my face, cooling my flushed cheeks. I stepped out, pain stabbing at my feet as I noticed the gravel under my toes. I managed to move across slowly, taking in the rooftop. There was a helicopter pad to the right, sitting empty. Crates and numerous things littered the roof, but it was the figure standing by the edge of the wall that saved him from a death drop.

I managed to hobble steadily towards him, turning my head to see his expression, only to notice the stain running down his cheek. I frowned but followed his line of sight. And that's when I realised that we really had been living in a hole. That we didn't know the half of what was happening. That this wasn't just some virus. This was devastating.

"Oh my God..."

My hand flew to my mouth as the scene rolled out before my horrified eyes.

The base was small, surrounded by a huge gate. But beyond that was a town, or what once was a town. Smoke emitted into the rolling white clouds, the high pitch wailing of a car alarm along with complete chaos. Cars were overturned, abandoned all over the road. I saw shattered windows and scattered papers. What got me the most was the amount of people, shuffling around without will or direction.

They scattered around the gate, down the roads, in and out of buildings, on roofs. All of them moving without purpose.

I turned sharply to my left as whatever I had in my stomach was violently forced from my body. The people were covered in blood, one man wandering around with his eyeball dangling out of the socket.

"This is why they left," said Bradan softly as I coughed up the bile in my mouth. I tried to spit out the taste but my stomach was still rolling.

"What's happened?" I gasped, my voice higher than I'd ever heard it.

Bradan let out a humourless laugh.

"The sickness wasn't just killing people, it was bringing them back to life. Kind of."

I moved and leaned my arms on the bannister around the edge of the roof, bending my body and taking shaky breaths.

"Those people are dead?" Tears streamed from my eyes, and I didn't know whether it was from vomiting or from the utter desolation around me.

"Yeah. They... whatever infects them reanimates them, and they come back with a vicious hunger... for us. A bite is deadly."

I shook my head back and forth, the motion making me dizzy but my brain still unable to process what the soldier was saying. I kept swallowing in hopes I could regain control of my body, but I wasn't sure that was possible with the truth sitting heavily in my stomach.

"Like some kind of horror movie, right?"

I finally looked up at Bradan, and saw how his eyes searched the faces like he was looking for something. Some kind of confirmation that he was wrong.

"Why didn't you go with them?" My voice was a whisper, but easily carried in the early morning.

He turned his head slowly, locking his eyes with mine. They flickered back and forth, searching for something in my eyes.

"Because I swore to protect these people. Military is defence, and what defence is there if we just run away?"

I felt my lower lip start to tremble, his honour hitting me in the chest. I moved forward, reaching up to gently cup his cheek. He didn't shrink away, instead putting his own hand over mine. His eyes fluttered closed and he took a deep breath. I could see it all written on his face. The fear that he made a mistake, the annoyance at not running when he had a chance, and the guilt that he'd even considered leaving us. A good man, I realised.

"We need to go to Atlanta. If that's a safe zone, that's where we need to go."

Bradan nodded without letting go of my hand.

"Yeah, I know."

I felt my heart hanging heavily in my chest as I looked to my left, flitting over the mess of the world without focusing on one face completely. I had no idea how we were supposed to get out of the base, never mind make it to Atlanta. I didn't even know how far away it was.

But I pushed that aside, because that would be the easy part.

The worst would be convincing complete strangers to step out of a fake safety into a hot mess. I just had to hope that Bradan could face it.

I had to hope that I could face it.

As they say, out of the frying pan and into the fire.