Chapter 1... Silence

ALICE P.O.V

A pause... Silence... I can't Breathe... My ears hear nothing, the breeze caresses my skin and yet... Nothing. 'Shut Your Eyes!!'... Lingering thoughts that just don't register... A scream... 'That's right, it's my voice.'... They're killing him in front of me... The man I love is being ripped away from me, being ripped out of our world, being ripped out of my life. 'A hand? No, wait, that's my hand.'... My hand reaches for him but he's already gone. My head suddenly hit something hard... A bright white flash and the sound of bones crushing and flesh ripping was my last memory... I remember nothing after that, absolutely nothing... 'How did it get to this!?'... Maybe I should first explain just what and where it is happening... Explain why I am in such a damned mess.

I am Alice Henashee, Age 17 and this is Our story:

It all started on 29 January 2030... The out-break of a virus... A killer virus, the only problem was... After it killed you, You... Didn't... Stay... Dead... Zombies.

21 September 2033... 3 Years after the virus' out-break, the cure was released... But the results and release of the cure is all completely unknown to the public. All the 'cured' ones are thrown into a school, well not really a school more like their own community called: Project Z.

That's where I, or at least Me and Nicole, come in. For the world, the changes started in 2030, but for me it started way before that, on 21 October 2017, the day I was born. You see we have a... Mutation... A gene called Zelba.

I can hear you asking, 'What does that even mean?'... Allow me to explain:

Zelba is a genetic mutation only found in human specimens. It's extremely rare, but easily spotted. If you're so unlucky to have it as we are, you'll be stripped from existence and thrown into a pure white room, giving it the simple appearance of innocence, and experimented on. That's how they created the cure after all. O, and by stripped from existence, I literally mean stripped as in erased. Your parents are killed along with anyone who knows about you, to make sure you will NEVER experience Any 'difficulties'. You?. . . More like THEM... In short, no rebellion from your side, caused by longing for parents or any parents showing protest against what they use you for. They even tell you about it and show you pictures of it, like it's some celebrity gossip in a popular magazine, all of it just to ensure that you will never defy them, yet they make it seem like it's for you and your emotional state.

How do you know if someone has the Zelba gene? Well... Dual Colored eyes, like for example one of my eyes are red and the other is purple... We are apparently considered to be the most beautiful beings alive, and also we cannot turn into Zombies. One other thing: We're kind of, what you call, Immortal. We stop aging at 18 and can live for hundreds of years.

Then of course there's the question, 'What happens if we do get "infected"?' That's simple... We die... However a very lucky few, like one out of a billion of our kind, survive and develop a few abilities referred to as "Talents". When this happens to us, we are called Devils. There have so far been only one Devil in accordance and he's the one organizing all the experiments and "Missions" we are sent on.

But enough with the Science... I want to explain how I got into this whole fucked up MESS!!

13 September 2034, On the way to Project Z

"Geez, when are we going to bloody get there!?" I exclaimed agitatedly.

"A-Alice... Calm down please." Nicole's gentle voice insecurely drifted to me.

'Geez every time she talks she annoys me so much, I actually calm down, and that pisses me off even more.'

"W-why... Why were we chosen?" I could see tears welling up against her eye-lid walls.

"We're Zelba, we get used for experiments like these." I huffed boredly.

"But why here... This is 'their' community?" Her voice broke slightly.

"Just shut up, you are starting to annoy me Nicole."

5 Minutes Later

My cheek felt heated as we finally stopped in front of the school. "Damn, why'd you have to hit me?" I asked rubbing the red tinted cheek she'd so eagerly slapped.

"You were asking for it!" Nicole's bitch walls were finally back in place, hiding the fear that was currently making her legs shake.

I rolled my eyes annoyed, taking my bags and drifting over to our "house". 'More like an apartment on the second floor...', apparently the ones living beneath us are 3 males, a pair of twins and their friend or that's what we were told when we got our "brief" which sounded more like a plea to "Please fuck off now".

"Alice, Wait!! I can't keep up." I sighed and glared at Nicole.

"Is it my fault you brought 70 Million bags?" I asked, over exaggerating greatly, out of annoyance.

"It's not 70 Million, it's 10." Nicole snapped shark-like.

"O? And you believe that's better huh?" I smirked.

Nicole frowned. "Shut up and let's go." Continuously muttering as she finally caught up. . .

We had finally made it into our apartment... "Geez who decided 2-storey buildings need a Million-and-one stairs??" I huffed and threw my bags on my bed.

"Over exaggerating again, I swear you have no idea how to count... What I don't get though, is why we have to share the kitchen and living room, shouldn't we at least have our own?" Nicole said, clearly thinking out loud, a weirdly irritating habit of hers.

"No ladies, 'cause if you did we would never see you." A smooth male voice flowed from the doorway.

"And you are?" I stared at the rather attractive guy hanging in our doorway at the moment.

"Jayden... Natsuuke Jayden... 007... But you may call me Jayden."

"Well 007 I'm Alice... Hinashee Alice."

"Ganriku Nicole..."

"Lemme guess you're called Nicole?"

Nicole rolled her eyes annoyedly, just as another really attractive voice yelled up to us from the bottom floor "Jayden get down here and stop bothering them!"

"Shut the hell up and come say hello!" Jayden yelled back.

I stared at the door annoyedly. 'Why can't they just leave already!' My thoughts yelled, almost deafening me.

"Fine," The voice came closer, "Hey, my name is Wellron Leonardo, nicknamed Leo, it's a great pleasure to meet you." Leonardo said, giving a five-star grin.

"Leo here, did your room and also did your bathroom."

"Shut up Jayden and let's go, they need some rest after the long journey." Leo said, flashing his five-star smile again as he dragged the ignorant Jayden down stairs a scream following them. "LET ME GO!!"

"Finally!" I sighed and fell onto my bed, closest to the fan and aircon.

"It might not be that bad here." Nicole grinned like a cat with a fresh bowl of creamed milk.

I sighed covering my face with a pillow. "Agh... For fuck sakes."

NICOLE P.O.V

14 September 2034, Project Z

First day of school and we're late, Alice just had to refuse to get up…

"Alice!" I yelled annoyedly.

"I'm coming! Hold your bloody make-up brush!"

"At least I have one!"

"At least I don't need one!"

"Shut up!"

"Geez what's all the ruckus people are trying to sleep here!" A very aggravated, male voice filled the two-stories.

"And you are?" I huffed at the punk-styled male.

"Like I'd tell a creep like you."

"Wellron Alaric, Age 18, birth date 18 November 2015." Alice chimed from behind the giant. "Regular at skipping school or arriving late."

"How do you know that?" Alaric asked, spinning aggressively toward her.

"It's a neat little thing called Google, but perhaps you've never heard of it before huh?"

"Why you little bitch!" He lunged at her, but merrily got side-stepped and kicked into the wall.

Alice hunched next to him grinning. "Don't ever call me bitch again."

I started laughing uncontrollably. "Looks like his worst nightmare has arrived, come Alice, let's leave the big boy to take care of his bumped head."

"Awwhhh, the baby gotta boo-boo." Alice commented sarcastically dramatically stepping past him.

Alice smiled slinging her bag over her shoulder and walked out the front door with me following close behind her.

"Did you have to be so cruel to him?" Alice kept quiet, to my surprise. "I mean even I know you won't find any info on him…" I kept my voice low as if talking to a wild boar. "Even if you do go to Google..." My voice trailed off at Alice's pained expression.

"He doesn't remember." She whispered to herself and I instantly felt my body go ice cold and my heart ache... I completely forgot that she doesn't know anything about what happened then.

Ok, so you are probably wondering what I mean with what happened? Let me explain: Alice and Alaric know each other, before the Zombie Cured Community was created they took those who were cured along with us and used us to interact with them and teach them the basics that they have forgotten due to what the virus did to their brains.

Why? Because humans can't understand them, curing them never brought back "all" their human characteristics, like language skills and memories of their previous lives, not to mention eating habits.

Alaric was assigned to Alice, they were both very young still, but they were best friends and inseparable . . . They even shared the room and bed on occasion, like normally when Alice had a nightmare she got into Alaric's bed.

When they found Leo and discovered they were twins, the community had already been established and both Alaric and Leo were sent away.

What no one who had a cured one assigned to them were told was that their cured ones were memory-wiped to forget all that happened at the lab. So to fill the void they paired the Zelbas up, one who used to have a cured one and one who didn't and got all the details to keep their partners in line.

Alice shook her head and grinned. "I wonder what classes we will have and if we'd even be in the same class." I sighed.

"I think they will purposely split us so we can gather info from all sides and angles." I sighed.

"Yeah, true that." Silence swept over us again as we headed toward the school.

"Hey!" Jayden yelled running toward us waving his hands wildly.

"Please don't come to us." Alice mumbled over and over, as if it were a mantra of good luck. "O, hey Jayden." Alice glared at him before turning to me with her 'shit' look.

"Jayden, will you please take us to the school's office." I asked smiling and ignoring the 'shit' glare.

"Sure." Jayden said willingly.

Alice stared at me, her eyes filled with pure annoyance. "Just hurry up so you can leave us alone again." Alice huffed pulling her bag up over her shoulder again.

We arrived at the office where we got our schedules, a tour and we were shown our homerooms.

Alice was in the class almost on the other side of the school, due to her intellect she was pushed into the seniors' class along with Jayden, Alaric and Leo. 'Lucky bitch.'

I was in the second class, the year before you became a Senior. I don't know anyone here. But there is a very hot guy here who keeps staring at me. 'Shit, he's coming over.'

"Hi, what's your name cutie?"

"Nicole." I started, absentmindedly playing with my hair.

"Beautiful, just like you."

This definitely will not be such a bad time.

ALICE P.O.V

15 September 2034, Project Z.

By now me and Nicole had gotten used to the boys. Jayden the jester, Alaric the prick and Leo the gentleman. We all started to get along pretty well. I still really did not like Jayden, he was an irritating, asshole… Alaric was just as annoying, a baby in a big guy's body, what I hated the most though was that he seriously did not remember me. I am sure it was another one of the lab's 'projects', maybe they brainwashed them or something. I decided however that I would just ignore it and go along as if we did not know each other… Leo… I like Leo, he seems like a big brother, always looking out for us… I wandered around the house, lost in my own mind.

"Nicole . . ." I searched through the house not finding a trace.

'Beep' My phone chimed. ~Already at the school, your lunch is in the fridge, Principal wants to see Alaric so wake him up. Nicole~ 'Bitch.'

"Hey Alaric!" I banged against the door irritably.

"What!?" Alaric growled.

"Get up!" My voice soared out of annoyance.

"Like hell."

"Fine, then I'm coming in!" I pushed open the door making it 'bang' against the wall.

Alaric had the blanket pulled over his head, childishly hiding from going to school. "I said Get Up!" I yelled pulling the blanket off only to regret it moments later.

A squeal exclaimed through the house as I covered my eyes with my hands.

"That'll teach you Bitch." Alaric growled into my ear.

"I'm not leaving till you agree to come."

"Fine, just let me get some pants on at least."

"Fine." I heard scrambling and the wardrobe opening.

"You can open your eyes now." His voice was gentler this time as I let my hands down and opened my eyes staring straight into a chiseled body, making me blush wildly.

"Stop blushing." Alaric smiled, placing a gentle hand on my face.

"So, you can be nice?" My mouth spoke words I could not fathom.

"Depends if the girl is cute or not." Alaric said, pulling on a shirt despite my body's unnoticed protests.

"Flirting won't get you anywhere with me." I huffed and was suddenly, unexplainably irritated.

"That ain't flirting, but this is..." He pulled me into an agonizingly good kiss, my first kiss.

A loud sound filled Alaric's room as I slapped him across the cheek huffing that the principal wanted to see him and running out the house.

"Alice!" He shouted after me, I kept running till I finally got to school, almost running straight into Leo.

"Alice, what's wrong?" He asked, staring at me, his glowing blue orbs burning into mine, breaking through my defences.

Tears glistened in my eyes as I broke down. Leo grabbed my shoulders unknowingly, keeping me upright and pulled me into a hug to hide me from all the possible prying eyes.

"What happened?" He asked again, his voice a little softer.

"Nothing." I protested unknowing that Alaric had caught up.

"Geez you're fast." His voice made me stiffen in Leo's arms.

"Alaric, what happened?" Leo threatened, his voice dangerous.

"I was teasing her, how was I supposed to know kissing her would cause this?" Alaric exclaimed sardonically.

"You... What!?" Leo asked, pushing me behind him.

Leo grabbed Alaric pulling him up by his shirt collar.

"Now, now calm down boys, you'll frighten Lady Alice." Jayden said calmly, stepping closer to the brothers, grabbing Leonardo's hand tightly making him let go of Alaric.

I stared in amazement at Jayden. 'Was he really that strong?'

"Sorry Alice." Leonardo said, lowering his head in a type of bow.

Alaric huffed and stormed off into the school, presumably heading to the principal's office.

I sure as hell cannot stay here for long, this is going to be worse than bloody Hell...