1- Day Zero

"Move in! Move in!" A professional looking woman shouted into her ear piece. She was wearing a grey suit and tie and was standing in front of a room of screens. "I've got him. He's down the alleyway between Mason Street and Keiff Lane. Close him down! Now!"

"Affirmative Ma'am." A young lad with medium brown fluffy hair and a camo combat suit adhered to the command and began running towards his location. He sprinted and sprinted, catching a glimpse of a sign, high up in the air that wrote "Mason Street". At the corner he pivoted and started sprinting down the long alleyway. He clicked his earpiece in, "Aureli, can you give us a hand?"

"Already on it Major." A regular sized girl placed her hand on a pistol on her hip and drew it. "I've got eyes on him." She aimed down the sight and locked her aim onto the shadowy figures torso, who was frantically running away like he'd lost all control. "Begone, scum." She fired two shots, which landed straight into his torso and sunk into his flesh.

The man stumbled in his step and fell to his knees in pain and agony. He was being loomed over by a tall and shadowy figure, he had been blocked at both ends of the alleyway. He gazed up into the eyes of the man above him, who was holding a longsword at his throat. Major looked head into his eyes and said nothing. He held the sword up to the dying man and struck down, relieving him of his head, and his fear. "He's dead, lets go home." Major walked away from the body and onto the pavement of a relatively empty street. He called his driver on the phone and requested a pickup to the headquarters of the Zombie Extermination Agency. 

Aureli joined him by his side and placed the gun back into its holster. "I love these new guns, z-cell bullets. I mean, that's just about the best thing that they could've made. You don't even need to be close to those disgusting things to be rid of them." She smirked at the gun at her hip, like it was her favourite new toy. It was even better however, this new toy was one that could kill man eating monsters with ease. "So Major, how many people do you think that guy we just popped has killed? A hundred? A thousand?"

Major stared up at the day sky, thinking about her naïve predictions. "Probably not that many, one life is enough to justify an execution. Those zombified freaks eat the brains of our loved ones and that's enough to rid them of the planet. Good riddance." An all black car pulled up at the roadside and the window rolled down. 

"Get in sir, and madam." The driver nodded his head with reassurance and the two got into the back of the car. After a short drive to the headquarters, the two youngsters hopped out and onto the pavement. Walking through the sliding doors of the agency, they were greeted by a familiar face. 

A tall, round and welcoming figure opened his arms welcomingly the two slayers. "Welcome back my friends. You've only gone and done it again haven't you. Killed the brute and taken the prize." He egged them on to follow him down a corridor to the left of the lounge area. "So tell me, was this one weak, strong? what was he like?"

"Weak, about as weak as one of us, nothing special about him at all. Can't believe he was actually a zombie to be honest. I guess there's weakness present in even the most basic of minds." Major went on coldly, like he tends to do in work-related conversations. He twiddled with his sword in his hands for boredom relief as they talked. The man they were with wasn't exactly enjoyable company. "So then, Jeff, you had any personal run ins with the infected?"

"Only one, ever. Disgusting on the inside but undoubtedly stunning on the outside, like a barbie doll in the flesh. She was the most beautiful women I ever laid eyes on. With such grace and elegance. Soon as I got too close to her, she tried to suck the brain from my very skull. Took me three months in hospital to reconstruct and recover from my cranial damage. No idea what happened to her though. She could be anywhere now. Dead,or in the gutter." He twiddled his thumbs in excitement. "I hope she's gone forever, and we can put her corpse up on display for all to see."

Aureli rolled her eyes at his story. She wasn't one for stupid gloating or heroics. More the type to just get the job done because she was told to and no other reason. Jeff opened an office door to reveal a relatively young woman, working behind a computer. She was smashing away at her keycaps, not looking up for a moment to see the people who had just entered the room. She had bob length black hair and was wearing large rimmed glasses. "Ijona. The report?" Jeff smacked his hand against the wall, making the girl jump up from her chair and quickly muddle through the documents on her desk. 

"Uh uhm here sir!" She handed him the report in lightning speed. Bowing her head as she gave it. Jeff swiped the papers from her hands in a belittling and rude manor. He looked down upon the underpaid and clearly unhappy worker like she was beneath him. He struck a dirty look towards her, like she'd done something to offend him. 

He flipped through the pages quickly, showing little to no regard for her hard work and effort. "Not bad, more next time. I want more research on the Z-Cells. Those things are the key to winning the war against the damned. We'll use their methods to take them out, that's the only way this fight will be fair.... Also, killing them with their own methods has a nice ring to it as well." He shoved the papers into her chest and walked out of the room and Aureli followed suit. Major stayed to pick the fallen papers up with Ijona.

"I'm sorry about his behaviour." Major placed the papers into a pile in his arms and handed them to her. He tried to break a reassuring smile.

"It's fine. I'm used to it now." She clutched the papers close to her body and looked away from him. "I think i'll just get back to work now if its okay with you." She turned her head away from him and walked back to her desk. Majors fake smile dropped, he was starting to understand her situation. She was obviously not happy in her current situation. He wasn't sure whether to say or not, if she needed company or just needed time to think... He decided just to leave without saying anything. under her breath, Ijona spoke. "Please don't leave..."

Major shut the door behind him and caught up to the other two, who were further down the corridor. Aureli looked over to him as he caught up. "You busy tonight?" He gave a confused but understanding glance at her. "So.. are you? 'Cause we can hang out if not. There's a cool new bar on that one road that has the dirty chicken shop and the laundrette that looks like its from the 50s. You know the one."

"Yeah, i know it, problem is, I'm booked out tonight. Mari wants to hang out as well and I already agree to meet with her." Major gave an apologetic smile to her, to try and ease her annoyance.

"Oh, you're meeting with your girlfriend again?"

"No, she's not my girlfriend or anything of the sort. Were just mates, that's all. Stop twisting it." He looked at the floor beneath him, thinking about how badly he just wants to go home tonight and not bother with anyone else. It didn't really feel like the kind of night where he wanted to do anything at all. Just one of those tiring dull nights. It's also rude though to make a promise and not go ahead with it. "I think I'm done for the day, can you hand in my report as well for me? I need a rest before I go anywhere." Aureli gave a reluctant nod to him as he walked out of the complex.

"Jerk."

Major opened the front door to his office a few buildings over. It was an absolute mess after the breakdown he had over the demand from the higher ups and also the fact he let three people die a few missions ago due to a silly error in judgement. Three people were slashed up due to the zombie he was chasing down. He just wished that they never existed, such cursed beings. 

Major tossed his rucksack onto the small sofa near the window, it landed then rolled off onto the floor, adding to the already chaotic pile of mess. He wasn't in the mood to pick it up either, what was the point. He set his alarm for three hours, placed his head on the desk in the dark room and went to sleep. His alarm went off, but to no answer...

In his pocket, he was woken up by a strong vibration. Blinking his eyelids and rubbing his face, Major awoke and felt around his pocket for the source of the vibration. He pulled the phone out from his pocket and saw Mari's name calling. His brain was waking up much quicker as he realised the dire situation he was in. He swiped the accept button. "Hey Mari, I'm so sorry.... I. I just got caught up at work and I.."

"Don't stress, I know you work hard." Mari had a noticeably soft voice, like an angel breathing into your ear. She also had a kind and safe tone, like a mother.

"I'll be there as soon as I can. I swear." Major jumped up from his seat, smartened himself up, grabbed his backpack and headed out the door. As the door opened, Mari was standing on the other side, still holding the phone up to her ear and smiling sweetly.

"I said, i know that you work hard." She giggled slightly at the dishevelled mess in front of her. He grabbed at his clothes and smartened him up like a sister, looking after her younger, boisterous brother. "There you go, all better." She patted his shoulder twice reassuringly and walked inside his office. 

"Wait, aren't we going out somewhere."

"Are you joking, this place looks like it was hit by a storm. Not until its clean we're not going anywhere." She started picking things up off the floor and placing them into drawers and cabinets. Major knew he should help, but was still waking up and slightly shocked by the fact she was there cleaning his office for no reason. "You know, you should really try to keep your office in shape. It was a gift for hard work by the Agency. You succeeded in all of those exterminations and this is your only medal to prove that, i'd polish the medal more often if you know what I mean."

He looked down and nodded, like he was being scolded by a parent for not doing chores or keeping his room clean. It took him back to his childhood. Which wasn't bad at all actually, he was raised well by two loving parents and now he was his own adult. "Okay, all done, now it looks like a functioning adult lives here. C'mon you." She grabbed him by the cheek and dragged him out of the office. "Since you slept through our time, you're going to walk me home to repay me." Major nodded immediately, I mean he couldn't refuse, he was the reason today didn't go ahead. Luckily, she didn't live far at all.

Mari opened her front door with her keys. "Thanks for walking me home. You didn't have to."

"Its the least I could do after ruining today, I mean I kinda slept through our plans and all. It's a shame, that new bar you said about looks pretty good as well." Major felt an essence of guilt because he turned Aureli down to go to the very same bar. He could've just invited her along after all.

"You coming in for a while?" Major thought about the question. Would it be right to? He though of Aureli and what she might be doing now. He pictured her alone, sitting on the end of her bed doing nothing. The sad truth, is that he wasn't far off the mark with his prediction.

"Sure, for a while..."

They sat on the sofa together, both a drink in hand. "So, Major. Do you like your job?" He didn't have to think much at all about her question. It was the plain and simple answer for him, it's as he would've always said it.

"Not really, it's just a job, it's one that needs to be done and I'm the person who needs to do it. Not much else to it really." He looked at his reflection in the drink below him. He didn't exactly look healthy, his skin was losing colour and he just looked dead behind the eyes. No colour in his cheeks anymore, he looked less human than the zombies themselves. "It doesn't do much good for the workers themselves though."

"Not a bad answer. I mean you do look ill. It was leaked online that the over-exposure to the Z-Cells causes the skin to lose colour and the person to feel worse in themselves. Also they become more numb to pain. It's quite scary that this sort of info gets leaked every day."

"Yea, I guess so." Mari pulled him closer to her, not in a romantic way, but more in a sisterly way. It's how they had always been. She'd always taken care of him through the hard times.

"I have a question..."

"Yeah."

"Do you ever think that maybe... you've killed an innocent person. In your job?"

"No."

"What makes you say that?"

"I've seen them kill people, it's my job to stop that from happening. Even if its only one person. One is too many. What if it happened to you. What if someone you know is killed by a monster?"

"I guess your right..."

She placed her hand on his head and started stroking his hair like a puppy. "You're right." He felt her grip tighten around his cranium. It slowly got stronger and stronger until it was starting to really hurt him. He tried to swat her hand away but to no avail. He glanced at her face, which was still innocent and sweet, but looking not at him. He tried and struggled frantically and eventually broke her grip.

"What are you doing?!"

"Just sit still."

She jumped at him and grabbed him by the neck, her grip was denying him oxygen as his airway was being crushed. He punched and kicked at her to stop. He didn't want to believe it, but he knew in his mind what she really was. She threw him into the kitchen, breaking the doors on a cupboard as he smashed into the counter. He was dazed but he felt a hand grab his face and smack his head against the counter. He felt blood rush to his head. "Please!" She punched him in the throat and heavily damaged his vocal chords. Holding him up by the neck, she threw him back onto the sofa.

His throat and head burned with pain like he'd never experienced before. He tried to spit words from his broken voice box. "Wh..W...Why?" She loomed over him, before grabbing her shirt and lifting it up. Half of her torso was completely missing. He could see her exposed and broken bones. sticking out of a fleshy interior. His unfortunate suspicion was correct. 

She grabbed at his skull once more and gripped hard, making breaks and dents in his cranium, before slowly ripping it open, revealing the brain inside his head. He felt tears rolling down his face as his defenceless self was completely exposed, the Z-Cell exposure was keeping him alive during the process. 

Mari started diving in and feasting on his brain, as he slowly blacked out and felt the thin fibres of life slipping from his grasp and breaking.

Exhale....

Major opened his eyes in a slow but rewarding way, like waking up from a nightmare. He breathed deeply, blinking his eyes and coming to his senses. He was confused, he didn't feel like it was the morning. Mornings are normally sluggish and slow, yawning and stretching. He felt fine, like he wasn't asleep a minute ago. He sat up on the sofa and looked around the room, behind him were blood stains and he caught a glimpse of a poorly fixed kitchen cabinet door, hanging on by the last screw. It had happened. At least some of it had.

His head turned to look passed the sofa to see the door to a bedroom open. He could see Mari sitting, cross legged on the bed, the light from a television glowing across her face as she stared lifeless into the screen, as if a corpse was watching television. She looked completely different, not even the same girl as before. Her hair was visibly matted and unwashed, her clothes had stains on them and she looked as if she were in a deep depression. No life in her being.

Major stood up from the sofa, he felt fine, actually full of energy, which was a rare occurrence for him as he tended to lack sleep. His phone was still in his pocket, he checked it and saw many missed calls from his parents. Now may not have been the time to answer though. There were bigger fish to fry at the moment. He walked up the the bedroom and knocked on the already open door.

Inside, he could see many empty bottles of alcohol, packets of snacks and overall a completely unclean room. Like a completely new person was living here, almost as if he was living here during a depressive episode. Mari didn't even look up from the television. Even though not invited, Major walked in and sat down on the bed next to her. He looked up at the screen to just see a random gameshow on. Nothing interesting at all. Just brain rot television, terrible for someone's focus.

Mari finally said words after a few minutes.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do I feel this way?"

"What way?"

"Like a failure, like a mistake."

"How come."

"You. You should be dead."

"I know... I thought I was."

"But you're..."

"Turned."

"Yeah."

She was clutching a piece of paper in her hand. Tightly, like it was the most important thing in her life, her purpose, her treasure. 

"What's that?" She handed the piece of paper to him and he unfolded it. It was a picture of a young girl, she was smiling, though it was clearly forced. Long brown flowing hair and laying on a bed that looked like it belonged in a military shelter. "Who is she?"

"My sister. She passed away two years ago. Today was her birthday."

"How did she go?"

"She was hit by a car when she was six. It messed her body up beyond repair, but she was infected, so it couldn't kill her, even though she wanted to die. She put up with the pain of it for four years. She was an innocent soul, never wanted to hurt anyone and she swore never to eat a brain in her life, even though it would've put her out of pain. On her tenth birthday, she had a dream. She decided that she wanted to go to space one day. On her birthday, I took her outside to see the stars and she dreamed of them. The next day, she decided that she had no choice but to consume a brain. If it meant she would achieve the only dream she ever had, it was worth it. She didn't want to kill anyone, just turn them and apologise. It was the only selfish act she ever did. She wasn't lucky though. Before she managed, she was caught by the Zombie Extermination Agency. They didn't care that she was only ten. They took advantage of her injuries and killed her on the spot. This picture is all I have left of her. She was an innocent soul. And they killed her for it. The next day, I saw her mutilated body, nailed to the agency wall, people throwing stones at her, a child. I wanted nothing more than to take her down and bring her back home, but, I knew it would've been suicide. People laughed and cheered at her murder." Tears started to spring in her eyes, she placed her hand on Majors throat. "I know exactly what it feel like to have a loved one killed by a monster."

Major looked away, feeling guilty for the agency's actions. He wasn't with them when this happened but he did know of the story. He didn't recognise the girls face because in the records, she was unrecognisable. He swung his head down low.

"There was a man, called Dick Grey, he worked the shop near Keiff Street. One of the kindest souls you'll ever meet. Even though he was infected, he loved humans, and dreamed of a day where zombies and humans alike could live in peace and harmony. He never harmed a hair on anyone's head. I went to him every day, he told me stories until I fell asleep, he cared for me after my sister passed. He made food and brought me drinks. He was a shoulder to cry on. He was my lifeline. The only person I had left in the world. He died yesterday.... By your hand."