Chapter 1

"Hey, you two! Stop running in the halls! You're going to get in trouble!"

"Not if I'm too fast for mother to catch!". The two children, Aaron and Zoe ran out of the building and into the courtyard where they were confronted by the caretaker of the orphanage.

"Just what do you think you're doing? Running inside the building is strictly prohibited!" Zoe pushed Aaron to the floor and attempted to retreat back to the housing district. Her attempt to flee was cut short by a tall woman with blonde hair.

"Just where do you think you're going?"

The woman grabbed Zoe by the collar of her shirt and smiled. "You two should know better than to run indoors."

As she spoke, Zoe struggled to break free from her grasp. "Aaron, help me out!"

He watched her struggle but did not aid her. Instead he turned to the caretaker and apologized. As Zoe attempted to squirm free, she looked to Aaron, shaking her fist vigorously.

"Aaron, you darned traitor! I'll never forget this betrayal!"

"You should apologize too, you know what happens if you don't."

"I don't care! I will destroy you, you backstabbing nimrod!" The caretaker told them the next time she caught them, they would clean all of the houses in the orphanage. Still trying to escape the grasp of her captor, Zoe reluctantly apologised. After the caretaker left, the woman let go of the angry child, causing Zoe to fall on her face.

"Darn you sister, if you weren't related to me, I'd smack you."

She turned to Aaron. "As for you! You will pay for your treason!" she ran at him full sprint as she punched him in the gut. Then, she shook her head and marched off. Aaron fell back to the ground and spoke in a pained whisper.

"That's gonna leave a bruise"

Zoe's sister sat down next to him. "That looked painful, are you all right?"

"What do you think?"

"Hmm… I think you'll live."

She helped him up and they walked to the courtyard.

"I don't understand why she's so violent, why can't she be more like the other girls? They're nice, calm and quite frankly, don't use me for target practice."

Zoe's sister laughed. "You'd think that after eight years of living here, you would've realized that she's not like the others. Even the boys steer clear of her when she's energetic."

"Yeah, but she never bothers them. The moment she sees me, I'm either tackled or pinned to the ground. I think this is what those counselors meant when they say 'no-good friendship'."

"I think she does it because you're her friend. Besides, you're the only one whose ever lasted more than ten minutes playing with her."

"So she hangs around me just because I'm durable?"

"No, she just thinks of you as a great, reliable and umm… durable friend. She just doesn't know how to express it yet."

Aaron rolled his eyes. "Yeah right, i think she just picks on me because i'm weaker than her."

"Maybe, but i still think she sees you as her friend. So what were you two running around for?"

"She stole my headband."

"She stole your headband?"

"yup."

"The red one?"

"Thats right."

"But she didn't seem to have it earlier."

"She wore it like a bracelet."

"Oh, I see…"

With a sudden flash, the housing district was now on fire. Aaron could hear the sounds of gunfire and explosions. The mayhem unfolded in less than a minute and he started to panic. Zoe's sister turned to Aaron and presented him with a necklace.

"Listen closely, I need you to take this and search for the rest of the children. Then, you'll need to head to the supply shed. Further information will be provided there."

"I don't understand, what--"

"Go now! There isn't much time until they arrive."

Aaron ran full sprint toward the fire. Running through the battlefield, he often got shot at and even stabbed a few times, but he ignored the pain and kept searching for his target. He knew that Zoe was in there and decided that she took priority over anyone else. He felt his legs giving in and thought he was ready to collapse. He had lost track of how long he was running for and was ready to give up. He thought 'what's waiting for me after i get through this? What happens next? Is it really worth anything, trying to survive? How will I go on living after this? What purpose do I…'

"Aaron!"

As he fell to his knees, he was caught by the troublesome child he'd know his entire life. 'Of course' he thought,' I need to keep on living for her. How could i have been so stupid?'. The air around them had turned bitter and it became hard to breathe without inhaling the fumes of the smoke around them. Zoe helped him up and hugged him tight.

"It looks like you've been through a lot. But it's okay now Aaron, i'll help you."

She took his hand, giving him a sense of security, her grip was tight and yet he felt as though her hand was extremely delicate. With the soft touch of the flower, and the powerful grasp of the roots. Aaron smiled and uttered a weak laugh.

"C'mon Zoe, we have to get to the supply shed. Did you see any other children?"

"Only dead ones, but I don't think we should go out of our way to search for survivors."

"Okay then, lets go."

"Yeah, okie-dokie."

They both grinned like idiots and made their way to the shed. Aaron knewHe should have been panicked and scared, but as Zoe guided him to their destination, hand in hand, he felt calm. Even when gunfire rattled through his head, even though he was dripping with blood, even if he knew he might die at any second, he somehow knew it was alright.

"Hey Aaron? Do you see that?"

She pointed to a tattered figure and spoke. "They look injured, we should leave them here. No point in dragging along extra baggage."

"But they might die. We should help them."

"Aaron, we need to look after ourselves from now on, we might not be able to afford bringing another person."

"Oh, ok"

Aaron had decided that Zoe should make the decisions from then on, he figured her decision making was more logical than his. All the walking made Aaron feel weak. He felt himself falling to the ground, as if he had no control over his own body. After laying motionless for a while, Zoe walked over to help him up.

"Are you alright?"

"I can't feel my right arm."

"So? You're left handed aren't you?"

"Yeah, but that's not the point."

He sat down and Zoe inspected it.

"I can't tell what's wrong with it, I'll need better medical equipment. For now, put it in a sling and try not to strain it."

They walked together in silence until they reached the shed. It was rather plain looking, only about ten meters wide, twelve meters long and eight and a half meters tall. The paint was coming off the walls, leaving it a sort of blueish-gray colour. For the most part, it at least looked sturdy, aside from a few areas that were boarded up with wood.

"What do you think, Aaron?"

"About what?"

"Is this place any good? Or do you think it's already been searched?"

"I don't know, it looks like no ones been here for a while."

The door didn't seem to have a doorknob or a keyhole, but the moment Aaron and Zoe walked up to it, it slid open on its own. The two children peered into the structure to find it looked nothing like it did from the outside.