Necrocide

PART 2: Chapter 26

PART 2: BLOODY BEGINNINGS

SEVEN YEARS BEFORE THE OUTBREAK

Five-year-old Aaron O'Connor approached the steps of the children's home, two older males following behind him. Rain softly drizzled down, but the raincoat his deceased mother made for him kept him dry. He looked up at the night sky, intrigued by where this mysterious, falling water came from. He'd seen it occur before from behind the window back at his old home, but he didn't know the name of this phenomenon.

"Don't worry, Aaron," the oldest man following him said. "It's just rain. It can't hurt you."

Both of the figures' faces were hidden in shadow, but Aaron knew he could trust them. The oldest person was a man with a golf hat and round glasses, but the rest of his face was too dark to make out any other noticeable characteristics. The youngest person following behind Aaron was a fourteen-year-old boy, the hood of his hoodie hiding his eyes. Everything below his nose was visible to Aaron in the porch light of the children's home, yet the fact that his eyes were hidden gave him a more enigmatic vibe than the other man.

Despite that, Aaron automatically trusted him the most. Even though he didn't know it yet, that teenage boy was his older brother.

The older man knocked on the door three times. Seconds later the door opened, and a young man appeared. He had combed hair and stubble around his chin and mouth, and he looked young for a caretaker. He wore a plain white T-shirt covered by a blue flannel shirt, which added more to his youthful appearance.

"Are these the boys?" he asked.

"Just the youngest one," the older man replied. "The older one is going to a military boarding school. And speaking of young, how old are you, sir?"

The man at the door quickly glanced down at himself. "Thirty-one, last I checked."

"You're pretty young to run a children's home. Don't you think?"

"My wife helps me out."

"And you're married? Someone's noble."

The man at the door leaned down to Aaron's level and stared him in the eyes. Aaron shyly turned his head away from the man's view.

"It's alright, lad," the man said with a gentle tone. "I'm not gonna hurt you. In fact, I'll be taking care of you from now on. What is your name?"

Still looking away from the man, Aaron tried to croak out his name as if he lost his voice, but all he could do was say the first syllable, which only sounded like he said "air."

"His name is Aaron," the older boy said. "And if it isn't obvious, he only trusts his family. And, to a lesser extent, this old wanker."

"Shut it," the older man said, smacking the back of the teen's head.

"So, Aaron," the man at the door continued. "My name is Roderick Hecox, but you can call me Mr. Hecox. Like I said before, I will not hurt you, nor would I ever have a reason to. This children's home will be your home now."

Aaron still refused to look at him.

Mr. Hecox stood up and faced the other man. "So may I ask what is your role in this child's life?"

"I'm probably of no importance to him," the man replied. "I was their neighbor, but their house burned down two weeks ago. Sadly, their parents didn't make it out."

Mr. Hecox looked at the teenager, trying to appear as sympathetic as possible. "My apologies, young man."

"No worries," the teenager replied somberly, his arms crossed as evidence of his hidden sadness. "I wanted to join the army anyway."