A/N: Holy. Hell. IT'S DONE! A 5,000 word chapter! Of course, this is to help make up for missing my deadline last week. I'm very sorry. I just had a terrible time trying to iron out this chapter that the work I had saved about a week ago was so convoluted and confusing that to post it would be...well, bad. I'm very proud of this chapter though. Finally, the plot is moving and the characters are filling out! I would like to thank everyone for showing support for this little old story! It means a lot to me, and I really appreciate it. Thank you to Jack Argyle, John Wescot, Dellarose, pinkdottedlilly, that dork stacy, and RandomActs for submitting reviews recently. You guys are all amazing! :D

“Dude, get your moose paw off of my foot!” I hissed. Aidan stepped down on my toes a little harder before moving over. I rolled my eyes, but continued looking over the chair and out into the street.

“It’s way too quiet.” I commented.

“That’s what happens when you close your mouth.”

I ignored him again. Besides, there were more pressing matters at hand. We had traversed our way back down all those goddamn steps, and I had been thinking all the while that there would be some zombies waiting for us at the bottom. Or mercenaries. Santa Claus? Someone!

Instead, the building and street were how we left them; which made no sense. Everyone and their decaying Mother should have heard the ruckus we made on the roof, and then came over to the Parker Building to feast on our brains.

“I’m going to look outside.” I whispered defiantly. Before Aidan could correct my folly, I strode through the lobby and cautiously poked my head out the door.

A caravan of SUV’s and Jeeps were crawling down the street towards us. I was taken aback by how quiet the whole thing was. Aidan was beside me in moments, and I suppose he was too surprised by the string of vehicles to berate me for my idiocy.

I squinted. Oh dear.

“Shit,” I hissed. Aidan had seen it too. He pulled my arm back sharply so that none of the zombies flooding into the street could see our delicious little heads. I started fumbling for my gun when I heard an engine rev and screams of gibberish. Men shouting and bursts of gunfire followed almost instantaneously. I started cursing when the lead car sped past the building with a pair of zombies swinging off the back.

“We have to go help them!” I started to push open the filthy glass door, but Aidan dragged me back in. He was staring intensely out the window and visibly winced when a car slammed into another office building with a shower of tinkling glass.

“Just wait.”

I stood still and listened as the battle waged. This was so not good.

A few cars pulled up onto the sidewalk, rocking with the transition. Their rusty and dented bodies swarmed around the building in a semi-circle to block the entrance. Men quickly climbed out and took cover behind the trucks with their guns resting on hoods.

Well, they do make a living out of this. Figures they would kind of know what they were doing.

A mass of zombies rushed at the barricade from both sides. Bullets ripped into the crowd, sending limbs flying. The throbbing, pulsating crowd of dead people was too much for the not dead people though, as some zombies trickled past them and either A) latched onto the necks of mercenaries or B) bypassed the all you can buffet for the two of us, who were protected only by a set of crumbling glass doors.

“Come on!” Aidan turned tail and then shouted over his shoulder, “There’s too many for us to take. Back upstairs!” So says the kung-fu master? Well, if he doesn’t feel up to a fight then I certainly don’t. I took off after him just as I heard the first inhuman snarl pass through the door.

Maybe it was too late. I saw Aidan was already on the stairs, taking them two at a time, but I was still a good ten feet behind him and our adversaries were getting much too close. In sheer panic I dove behind the tall reception desk and scurried to tuck my limbs behind it. That was useless of course, because they already knew where I was.

I stood up and held my gun steady, pointing it menacingly at a dead man’s head. Its eyes were gray, filmed over like the eyes of a dead fish. The zombie roared, stretching it's slimy black mouth moments before I shot it in the head. I would have been proud of myself for a successfully executed headshot had there not been so much adrenaline in my brain.

After dispatching a few more of the bastards with the help of Aidan, who had turned around on the stairs and realized my stuck-ed-ness, I looked around for some sort of escape route. I spotted a ceiling duct about five feet over the desk. Scrambling onto the desk, I grabbed hold of the vent and kicked a zombie in the side of the head. I shoke the vent loose and tossed it Frisbee style into the crowd, then hoisted myself into the dusty, cobweb choked duct. After a few moments of furious coughing I swiped the cobwebs aside and looked down at the zombies as they reached for me.

“Aidan!” I yelled over the din.

“Yeah?” A faint shout echoed up to me.

“Where the fuck am I going?”

“I don’t-” Gunfire interrupted his words. “Just go! Go!”

More gunfire rebounded around the duct. I covered my ears until the sound died down to a bearable level. Then I started crawling, thanking my lucky starts that I wasn’t claustrophobic. Or arachnophobic. Or germophobic. Damn. This was a crappy place to be.

I crawled forward on hands and knees until the only sounds I could hear were my labored breathes and the shuffling of my extremities. Coming to another vent, I maneuvered my legs in front and brought my feet down hard. The metal grate crashed down on the floor and I tumbled down after it.

I fell on my butt. The surprise made me wince, but once I opened my eyes I realized I was in some sort of cafeteria. Industrial sized refrigerators, freezers, and stovetops lay forgotten under a blanket of dust. A row of windows sat high up on the furthest wall, casting gray shadows on every surface. There were two doors; one behind me on the right, and one behind me on the left. The only place the dirt and grime had been disturbed was where I was unceremoniously birthed through the vent, so I was fairly comfortable in that I was alone. I stood up and dusted myself off.

It was creepy and quiet. I walked around the stoves and saw frying pans and cutting boards still laid out on the countertops, mold and God knows what else spilling over the sides. I didn’t dare open the refrigerators to investigate for fear that Swamp Thing might have been spawning in one of them.

I guess I had better go find my idiot.

I decided to go through the door on the right. I crept to it cautiously, trying to be as quiet as possible. The door was wooden, goddammit, so I had to crack it open to make sure the coast was clear. Doing just that, I peered into a long rectangular room that housed a dining table and cluster of chairs. I slid through the door and closed it as silently as possible.

This was a time for me to catch my breathe and to do that I began pushing furniture towards the the doors, the one I came through and another that led to somewhere...else. Satisfaction in that both ends of the room were securely barricaded, my feet hurried me over to the table. Once I was safely nestled beneath it, my chest expanded with a much needed deep breathe. I rubbed my face, trying to coax a headache out of my skull and flick it off my fingers like water. That didn't work, obviously. Instead, my pulsing cranium kept on, well, pulsing.

Furious pounding came from the door off to my right. Out of surprise I slammed my head on the table. As I blinked furiously to try and relieve some of the blurriness, the door burst open and sent the chairs around it flying. I felt a vague sense of disappointment in my barricading skills.

Aidan stumbled into the room, very unbalanced from battering the door. He caught himself quickly though, spinning around to shut and lock the door. He hadn't noticed me yet. I watched for a handful of seconds as he rubbed the side of his face with his forearm, a gun held loosely in his hand.

“You should really find you own hiding place.” I said dryly.

He jumped and looked around. I reveled in his confusion as evil laughter echoed in the far off recesses of my mind.

“Down here.” I poked my head from underneath the table. He chuckled and I couldn't help but smile. Sliding out from underneath the table, I hoisted myself up and preoccupied my attention by smoothing out my clothes. “How you doin', pardner?”

“Oh, you know.” He exhaled, trying to compose himself. “Just killing stuff.”

I nodded. Okay, great. Nice to see you too. I decided to play his 'impersonal game'. “Awesome. Well, I've been mad busy too. Trading stocks, knitting sweaters. You know.”

“You're ridiculous.”

I shrugged. “I think you take the cake on that one, buddy. Anyway, how many are out there?”

“A lot. What’s back the way you came?”

“No zombies,” I said. I wanted to lie and add, 'because I killed them all', but even he would have been able to spot my lie. So I decided to offer an escape route. “There are some windows in the kitchen we could climb out of.” He nodded, and together we cleared the rubble in front of the other door and ventured back into the kitchen.

I closed the door quietly and peered into the kitchen. Aidan was doing much of the same, scanning the room for any movement or sound.

“I don't hear anything.” I whispered. He grunted his agreement and then I pointed toward the lone of windows. We snaked our way over there, careful not to make loud noises by tripping over each other or bumping into any of the appliances. I stood pin straight when I thought I heard a noise, but when I looked around I didn't see anything but Aidan giving me a stupid look. We neared the windows and I scrambled up onto the counter carefully, sliding in the dust. I offered Aidan a hand but he ignored it with his dumb man pride and climbed up with a lot more grace then I could muster. I tugged at the window, but to no avail.

We both yanked at the latch. A thick vein of grime between the glass pane and the frame sealed the window shut. I grumbled. “Hang on.”

I let myself down carefully, somehow anxious to keep from breaking the silence. After routing around I was able to come up with a heavy cast iron frying pan. Despite my reverence for quiet, this was the only way to make a speedy escape. Time was running out.

I hoisted the pan over my head with two hands. Aidan took the hint and moved over to the side in a crouch. Spinning around twice for momentum, I released the pan and cringed at the sound the glass made as it shattered. Aidan stood up and broke the jagged glass that remained in the frame with his gun.

Clattering and screeching erupted from behind me. “Shit shit shit!” I didn't turn around to look. I already knew what was there. Aidan gave me his arm and I pulled myself up. He laced his fingers together so I could slip my foot into it. In true ninja style, I bounced up with the help of his hands and vaulted out the window.

I wish I could say my reconnection with the Earth was one worthy of a Sensei's praise, but I flipped head over heels and landed with a woomph on my back. I struggled to take a breath as Aidan's head appeared above me, lined with blue sky and a patchwork of clouds. He grinned at my uncoordinated antics, emerged effortlessly from the window, and then alighted on the ground with two feet. I rolled my eyes as he helped me up.

We stayed close to the wall and headed out of the alley and back into the street. Poking my head around the corner of the Parker Building, I saw zombies milling around aimlessly.

“Holy hell.” All of the men were dead. Most of their bodies had been ransacked, losing different appendages to the greedy maws of the infected. I watched as a few ambled over to the now caved in front doors and disappeared into the dark lobby. “We gonna make a run for it?” Aidan nodded and pointed to a black SUV closest to us. Its driver door was ajar, the lights blinking on and off inside the cab as if to say, 'Hey moron, you left the door open'.

I took off first. As I ran I saw putrid heads jerk up in my direction; it was an almost instantaneously reaction in the whole flock of ghouls. A female zombie's matted hair swung back and forth with the effort. In a nanoseconds the whole lot of them where after us.

After a few more frenzied strides I threw myself into the vehicle and slammed the door. I even pushed down the little lock for added security. A swarm of zombies thudded into the passenger side door, inches from my face. The car rocked violently.

Aidan was inside in moments. He slammed the door in a similar fashion and grasped the keys, staring as a zombie starting climbing up the hood. He turned the key and started the windshield wipers. Jets of clear fluid sprayed the zombie, who ignored the cleansing as he clawed at the and gaped.

“You are one sick dude.”

Aidan revved the engine and then shifted into gear. The car lurched forward, shaking off a pair of zombies who had latched themselves onto the back. He turned the wheel hard left, catapulting us onto the street. I waved a small goodbye as the windshield wiper zombie was finally peeled away from the SUV via gravity. Gravity? Velocity? Whatever. All I knew was that we were hightailing it the hell out of there. I turned to look at Aidan and noticed a small cut on his cheek. He noticed me watching and gave me a very uncharacteristic smile.

“Konichiwa!” I flashed a peace sign with two fingers and a sickening, anime girl smile as I tried to lighten the mood.

“Silence, Naruto.” Aidan crouched low with his eyes closed. I marveled at his serene expression as he swung his arm in a wide arc and exhaled deeply. I cocked my head to the side for a good twenty seconds until drool slipped down the corner of my mouth. Remembering myself, I rubbed my face to exterminate all traces of my short attention span and tried to copy his stance.

Much to their despair, I bent my knees and straightened my spine. Feet squared, jaw held high, I inhaled as much air as my lungs would hold and then closed my eyes.

There hadn't been much rest for us once we finally made it back to headquarters. Aside from a small string of survivors, not many had returned from the Parker Building. Quinn was furious, and I think he blamed us for the event, even though he didn't say as much. In retrospect, it didn't seem like a good call on Aidan's part to say the building was safe despite the fact that we had toured maybe 7.4623 percent of it. I wondered who it was that Aidan had called on the satellite phone. My wonder, however, did not outweigh my desire to forget all this crap and sleep.

After a long night of exhausted snores I was feeling more like myself and less like a crazed mercenary in Diamond Province. After yawning and stretching for a sufficient amount a time, I decided to see what Aidan was up to. Truth was that I needed a little distraction. My thought processes kept touching on the same places, and it was seriously getting me down.

Back in the present, I waited long enough for Aidan to think that I was really concentrating. Cracking an eye open, I observed his mental detachment and decided to make my move. I crept closer on my tip toes until I had snuck far enough behind him. Then I pounced.

“WATERMELON!”

He screamed like a little girl as we tumbled to the floor. I swear on all things holy that if there had been any glass objects in the room they would have shattered, reassembled, and then shattered again. He shoved me away very harshly, but at that point I was way too busy laughing to care.

For a few minutes all I could do was roll around the floor, silent tears rolling down my cheeks. I clutched my stomach and gasped for air.

“I hate you so much right now.” Cold fury laced his words.

I splayed out on the carpet and sighed in a very satisfied manner. “Gold! If only I had a camera.” After my faculties were semi under control, I propped myself up on an elbow and watched him from where he sat on the floor as he glared at me with unchecked anger. “If that’s not Zen, I don’t know what the hell is!”

Sitting up the rest of the way, I folded my legs underneath my body into a pretzel and grinned like the Cheshire cat. “You know you love me.”

He grunted, shook his head, and then looked around. “Har har. You’re a riot. Now can we try to concentrate a little bit? I don't want you to tax your attention span too much, but we don’t have very much time.” I was about to ask what he meant, but he adapted to his new seating position by resting his hands gently in his lap and closing his eyes. I honestly thought about jumping on him again, but he was more than capable of snapping my neck with just his thoughts. I hesitated; letting my thoughts take control was what I was trying to avoid, but maybe it was just what I needed. You know, addressing your issues and all that jazz. Air inflated my lungs as I followed my comrade into the depths of meditation.

I loosed my thoughts against the dim pink light that filtered through my eyelids. Memories, concerns, and feelings streamed in and out of each other, swooping and twirling with graceful movements. I imagined each thought process as a banner, with different colors and symbols as they were sorted into different areas of my hollow, spongy gray brain. One banner in particular refused to budge. I moved in on it until a figure came into view. His features were blurry, but I could see that his clothes were torn and that there were red splotches of liquid blooming through the fabric of his shirt. One of his hands rose slowly and after a few moments of focusing I could see that the index finger was missing.

Gasping, I emerged from my reverie and found Aidan observing me calmly, a thoughtful mood permeating his icy blue eyes. I was shaken a little; the images in my head had been so vivid that I was slightly unnerved.

“I’m worried about Ralphy.” I said quietly. My throat tightened and I suddenly found it hard to speak.

“Ah. I thought you looked a little constipated.”

If it weren’t for the neutral, slightly sympathetic expression on his face in the absence of a sneer, I would have gotten up and left without a word. Instead, I held my head in my hands and sighed.

“What is it?” Aidan probed softly.

Without looking up I said, “I’m just not sure I believe all of the stuff you talked about.” I clenched my fist and felt four half-moon nails dig into the skin of my palm. “He can’t be a bad guy. I haven’t known him for very long, but he’s the sweetest boy I’ve ever met. This government stuff I can entertain, but he’s my friend.” I thought of all the long nights we had spent huddled together, trying to stop from shivering; tense and miserable as we waited for zombies to start lowing in the distance. The time he gave me his coat when it started to rain resurfaced in my thoughts, and especially the wide smile on his face as he wrapped it around my shoulders. No, it couldn’t have all been a sham.

To my utter surprise, Aidan crawled over to where I sat and placed a hand on my knee. I regarded his long, slender hand as a warm, yet alien, presence. “I think I’ve given you the wrong impression.” He began. “He’s not the anti-Christ. I mean, I don’t particularly like the guy, but I know he’s not anywhere near the top of the ladder. He just can’t be trusted.”

“But how do you know? Can you say with absolute certainty that he’s rotten?”

“Why would he attack me and run away like that? You didn’t feel his fingers rip into you. I know he was trying to do damage.” His tone hardened slightly as dark emotions bubbled to the surface of his voice.

I had to admit that Ralphy’s display on the rooftop was the only stitch preventing me from tearing the whole theory down.

“There has to be an explanation.” I mumbled.

Aidan got to his feet and offered me a hand. I took it, and for a few breathless seconds we were inches away from one other. I stared into his eyes as he took a wisp of my hair and slipped it behind my ear gently. His warm breath bathed my neck when he reached towards my back, gingerly gathering my long hair into a cohesive ponytail. I inhaled his scent, studying the pale white shoulder revealed as his tee-shirt slipped slightly.

“Come on,” he said softly. “There are some things we need to take care of before we head out again.” He moved away, severing the strange connection, and I followed him out of the room, light-headed and thoughtless.

In the hazy, late afternoon heat, most of the men had either left already or where sleeping off their weariness. That meant that the hallways were deserted for the most part, and our trek towards the pent house was leisurely and relaxed. I watched Aidan stride on long legs a step ahead of me, wondering what the future held in store for me. All I knew was that I never wanted to be alone. Not here.

Before I knew it Aidan had led me to his room. “Come on,” he prompted. I followed him in, rubbing my eyes. I looked around the room and felt no surprise whatsoever in the neat, orderly way he had organized the place. Even his bed was made, a thought that has never, in all my eighteen years, crossed my mind. Aidan came out of the bathroom with a pair of sheers and suddenly two and two made four.

“My hair?” I whined.

Aidan tugged on my hair hard enough to illustrate his point. “It should have come off a long time ago, Lily. Way too easy to grab.”

My spirits sunk. I was proud of my blond hair. Aidan had a point though, so I didn’t protest when he secured my locks with a rubber band and sunk the scissors into them. The sawing motion of the shears gave me chills, and I watched as wisps of hair fell around my feet. The newly cut hair slipped out of his fingers and brushed against my jaw. I pushed it back, fingering the rough edges.

“Sorry, I’m not much of a barber.” Aidan conceded.

“So, how do I look?”

“Kind of like you got in a fight with Edward Scissorhands. ” Cue goofy grin. I socked him in the arm before rubbing my skull, adjusting to the new, decreased weight on my head. It really wasn’t so bad; just a change. A refreshing, cool burst of air swept the back of my neck. It actually felt kind of nice.

“So,” I looked at him as he shuffled back into the bathroom, where he was probably beginning to clean the shears with a toothpick and rubbing alcohol. “I kind of wonder what my parents are thinking right about now.” I heard him put something down, which I took as a cue that he was listening. I sat down on his bed and crossed my legs, contemplating the wall opposite me. “I mean, they weren't bad. They took care of me when they had to, and even though they were more on the neglectful side when it came to emotional things, they weren't bad to me. Just, not really there.”

“Do you wish you had told them goodbye?” He said from the bathroom.

I looked down at the threadbare carpet. “Yeah, I guess that's it. I miss them.” I laughed quietly. “You know, I never thought I'd say that in a thousand years. Do you miss your parents, Aidan?”

He returned from the bathroom with a blue case in his arms. He put it down on the floor and once he was seated comfortably he opened it and started digging around.

“Yes, I guess so. I haven't seen them in years though.” He said carelessly. I was a bit taken aback by how casually he spoke of his parents, almost as if they were acquaintances instead of family. His tone was icy and aloof, like he wasn't really paying attention.

“What happened?”

He leaned closer to the box. Peering inside, he started digging around for something. “They're here somewhere. They sent me outside of Forsa when I was around ten years old.”

I blinked a lot. Chewed my lip. Raised an eyebrow. “Did you just say what I thought you did?”

“What?” He gave me a cursory glance.

“You mean to tell me that you, as a ten year old boy, escaped from a government fortified zombie city and survived in the 'real' world? Not only that, but you came back?”

“For one, I have relatives in this real world you speak of. And I am rather proud of the fact that I'm the only one who has ever gotten out of this shit hole.” He gave me quite the look.

“Only one to get out?” A hint of panic edged my voice.

He scratched his head and it seemed as though he thought I was asking dumb questions. “Have you ever met someone who has left this place? Ever seen an interview on the news, maybe read an article? Nobody leaves here. Except me, anyway.”

“Are you insane?”

“Sometimes.”

I stood up. “You mean to tell me that you knowingly led me to a place that I can't escape? You do have a death wish, but you didn't have to drag me into it!” I thought about kicking the lying son of a bitch where he sat, but something prevented me. I felt the need to let all of these insane, convoluted thoughts out. “You and these cryptic little theories! I'm getting so sick of these crazy, outlandish tidbits you forget to tell me until long after the fact!” I was seriously starting to wonder if I could trust this guy. His credibility was taking a huge hit.

Aidan shrugged, which incensed me. His voice was bitter and defensive, almost angry. “I don't care if you believe me. It is what it is, and you'll find that out one way or the other.”

“Fine then.” I sat back down, too tired to argue. “So nobody can leave because the big bad government is conducting an experiment, right? The amazing ten year old boy wonder was able to miraculously escape, and he's now returned to set all the ills of the world right. These ills include a crazy guy named Max who wants to use women as breeding vessels in order to create a new world order; meanwhile, Quinn is a guitar playing hippie playing Mamma to a group of tired old men who got sick with their lives and decided to fight zombies as a perverse remedy for a hollow existence. Does that sound about right, comrade?” I exhaled, long and deep.

Aidan, who had been silently tinkering with a hunk of gears and screws while I went on a rant, put down his work and glared at me. “Yeah, among other things. Though I'm not exactly a crusader for justice.”

“No, you're definitely right about that. You're much too smug for that.” \

"Get out."

Gladly.

I curled into my bed, pulling the blanket up around me like a cocoon. The room was dark because I hadn't bothered to push aside to ratty old curtain or light a candle.

Naturally, my anger resurfaced. How could he go from kind and caring to cold and indifferent, just like that? And when I finally thought I had him close to figured out, he starts spouting gibberish about conspiracies and appears to have the emotional spectrum of a toad.

I tried to summon the feelings when we were so close together. When he brushed his hands against my cheek, touched my hair. I'd felt so warm. Did he not feel it too? I felt so shut out when we argued, like strangers. Why was he suddenly so defensive and angry? If he was actually telling the truth, I had every right to be mad. And if he was lying, I reserve the right to not only be mad but to kick his ass.

I sat up, dejected. I wish I had Ralphy to talk to. Even Quinn was off limits for talky talky time. This would be a great moment to have a meaningful conversation with the parental units but, oh wait, I'm stuck in a quarantine. Great going, Lillian. Keep trying to cozy up to the maniac, too. You can have psychotic children together.

My clothes lay in a pile by the sink as I climbed into the shower. There's nothing like getting lost in a room full of steam or feeling heat pound into your knotted muscles, especially if you want to reach that place of non-thought that I was crazing. I ran my fingers through my butchered hair and after a while it became clear to me that I needed to push forward. I decided to come here and dealing with the consequences was just the way it was.

But what was my motivation for coming here? I suppose it was listlessness more than anything else. I don't know what I'm on this stupid planet for. Who knows, maybe it's nothing? What I do understand is that a part of me wanted to be with Aidan. I'd like to seem noble and independent, but at the time he was offering me a chance to be somebody and to have a place. Now though, my infatuation with him was starting to wane; more out of frustration than anything else. At least, it felt that way.

I sighed as the water streamed down my face. I suppose Diamond Province was as good a place as any to untangle the meaning of the universe.

What better place to find yourself than in a land where everybody's losing it?

.