Necrocide

Chapter 42

THREE YEARS BEFORE THE OUTBREAK...

Aaron, Jonah, and Natalya were kicking the football around the yard while Nika waited in the shade of the tree for them to finish up and rejoin her. As usual, she was not a fan of action and sports, but preferred the more laid-back activities. Unlike the rest of the kids at the children's home, she wasn't a hyperactive child. She was obedient and calm, very mature for her age.

The main thing that proved she was still a child was her little crush on Aaron. She didn't understand what this warm feeling she felt around him was, but all she knew was that she loved it. And she loved him. And she was curious if he felt the same strange yet wonderful feeling around her.

But it was a little hard to tell since he was too busy getting hit in the head with a football.

"Shit!" Jonah exclaimed, immediately covering his mouth as soon as the word left his lips. He was one of the youngest kids in the children's home to already know a few swear words. "Sorry, bruv! I was aiming for the goal."

"Mrs. Hecox says that's a bad word," Aaron groaned as he rubbed the side of his head.

"You got clonked in the head, and you're worried about Jonah's potty mouth?" Natalya asked.

Mr. Hecox walked onto the field to help Aaron to his feet, lifting him by his arms. "Are you alright, Aaron?"

"Kinda," Aaron replied. "I'm not sure if it was the ball or something, but now I'm hungry."

Mr. Hecox chuckled. "Mrs. Hecox bought some crumpets earlier just in case. There should be some waiting in the kitchen."

"Thanks, sir," Aaron replied, shaking Mr. Hecox's hand. Handshakes become an unofficial yet admittedly adorable tradition the two of them shared.

"Can I come, too?" Nika asked.

"I guess," Aaron shrugged.

The two of them ran back into the house and made their way through the hall. While Aaron was focused on finding those crumpets, Nika was still dying to find out if Aaron felt the same way she did. They were both only nine years old, but they felt like they would be living together forever, despite Mr. Hecox's constant encouraging comments that someone would eventually adopt them.

Both of them froze once they passed by the infamous door. The only room in the entire children's home they've never entered. The funny thing was the fact that Mr. Hecox didn't forbid them from going in. He just nonchalantly discouraged them by saying there was nothing interesting beyond those doors, and that was all it took.

Or at least it used to work. "Should we try it out now?" Aaron asked Nika. "None of the Hecoxes are here to stop us."

"No thanks," Nika replied. "Mr. Hecox said there was nothing interesting in there anyway. Probably just a closet. Besides, there was something I wanted to ask—"

The lock on the door clicked, and Aaron pushed it open. A set of stairs descended into the darkness and a single unlit lightbulb hung from the ceiling. As far as either of them could tell, there was only one window down there, and the sunlight passing through only revealed the wooden planks of the floor.

"Pretty big for a closet," Aaron smirked. He made his way down the steps, not even caring that he left the door wide open.

"Wait, Aaron!" Nika called out as she followed him down. But before going any further, she pulled on the string hanging from the lightbulb, shining some light on the path leading down to this mysterious new room.

Aaron and Nika stood in the middle of the basement. Cobwebs littered the ceiling and dust was layered on every surface. Stacks of boxes as tall as the two kids were scattered throughout the room like pillars, each stack consisting of three to four boxes. Aaron glanced around the room to look for another source of light, whether a lamp or flashlight or anything else that would vanquish the rest of the shadows haunting the room.