We settled back in as Edward closed the door. He didn't lock it, though. Zombies weren't exactly smart enough to open doors.

"How old are you?" I asked. Alice had me sit on the cot so she could play with my hair. It had grown a bit since my mom had cut it...

"I'm twenty-three." Edward replied. "Alice is around twelve. What about you?"

"I was eighteen when outbreaks started in the US late September early October, and my birthday is in September. I lost track of time otherwise..." I grimaced slightly as Alice tried to finger comb my hair. There were quite a few tangles. A decent brush has been on my 'to find' list for ages.

"Then you're almost twenty-one." Edward said.

I stared at him. "Seriously? Seems like it's been longer." I sat quietly for a moment. "Where are you from?"

"Chicago." he replied. "Outbreaks there started in October. We tried setting up voluntary patrol systems. A lot of us college students joined. It worked, sort of, for a while. The lobotomizer was developed around January, but things in Chicago went bad in the spring. The infestation had been bad before winter since it was a city, but everything went to hell when it got warm." he stopped.

I figured he had some bad memories. He may have even had to deal with the same things I had. "I'm from Phoenix. Things actually didn't start happening until November there. But after six outbreaks, my mom and step-dad decided to move us north. We found a camp in Canada, a small one. Things were good because it was already pretty cold. But, like everywhere else, things went to hell in the spring." I clenched my hand and fought back tears at the memories. "What about you, Alice?"

She shrugged at my question. She had given up on getting tangles out of my hair and was now trying to braid it. "I don't remember." she said.

"I found her south of here. Where is here, anyway?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I figure southern Canada or northern US. Apart from that, no idea."

We lapsed into silence again. It was actually kind of strange, sitting here in the candlelight with other people. Edward's odd bronze hair looked redder from the flame, and his green eyes looked almost black. Alice looked almost sickly pale. If I hadn't been able to see earlier that she didn't have any bites, I might have been uncomfortable with her. Her black hair, in contrast, looked vibrant.

I stood rather abruptly. I didn't say anything, just opened the door and walked out. I paused before closing it. "I'll be back in a while." I muttered then pulled the door shut. I needed to be alone for a while. Looks like I needed to get used to being around people again. I had been shy enough before, and it looked like right now that trait was coming back.

So this was pretty much setting up their basic stories. I will eventually have all their stories told...at least for Bella and Edward. Alice doesn't remember. And please review! I'd love to hear what you think of the story, even if you think it's crazy.