A knock sounded, someone knocked on the headboard of Noah's bed. Confused he opened his eyes only to be blinded by the light. He closed them again because of the sharp pain and squinted them open. Above him, he saw a smiling Zenix, his green-brown eyes looking right into Noah's emerald-green eyes.

"I am done! With work I mean and Ben will be back tomorrow, heard they were running into a horde and couldn't make it back today. So show me around and then we have to hope Ben won't notice that I am not at my usual spots," A mischievous grin spread over Zenix's face.

Noah nodded, sat up, and looked at Zenix, "What time is it even?"

Zenix looked at the ceiling, "Well, I was done with my shift like 7.00 pm so it's probably about ten to fifteen minutes later?" Noah laid down again, he was so tired, but he did have to show Zenix a few things if they were working together. Finding motivation he flung himself upward and stood up.

"Well, what are we lazing around for then? Let's go," he said and walked to the elevator. Zenix followed him with a big smile on his face.

As they walked to the bright green doors. Zenix was already in aww, he had never been on this floor before, these hallways looked so clean and white, except for some of the doors. Swiping his card Noah walked into the room and Zenix followed him like a little puppy. Big eyes, a big smile, and his slightly curvy dark blond hair. Zenix looked like the incarnation of a golden retriever. When Noah looked at Zenix and then remembered what he looked like, he suddenly understood why people wanted to pet him, he also wanted to pet Zenix. He then showed Zenix everything about their workplace to the cells for the zombies, the mid to high-level tier zombies. Showed him his job of documenting everything that will happen in experiments to getting certain chemicals out of the storage. Noah even gave him access to the computer in case he needed to look up information on earlier experiments. Zenix tried to familiarize himself with the protocols for the documentation, as he printed a few forms and put them on a clipboard. Already readying himself for tomorrow. Then when it was 9.00 pm they both walked back to their room the get a good rest.

...

"Father, I didn't know they would be in front of the school!" Felix explained himself.

His father looked at him menacingly, "Really? I heard that you and the Fracis or whatever met on a frequent basis and he even owns your number."

Felix's eyes went big, "Father I only have Terry's number because I wanted to keep an eye on him, I noticed from the start that he was a police officer. But I never could have guessed that he and my mother would be working together to catch me... To catch us!"

His father looked pissed, and he grabbed Felix by his collar, "There. Is. No. Us. There is only me my business and my organization. You are only taking over because I can't manipulate the others like I do you. You are NOT needed, I could replace you any day I want. But you have my blood in you so I will give you a chance. Kill him, and you have my trust again." Then he showed his back to Felix as he walked away, then he raised his hand and two men held him in place. "Empty his backpack."

Felix's eyes went wide, a third gripped his backpack, opened it, and emptied it onto the floor.

The USB fell out, "We found it, he really did want to give the police information."

As he looked at his father's back, he saw him nodding, "Throw him into the ring, he should learn his lesson."

"NO, father. I was wrong... just..just don't send me in there." He begged as he trashed in the hold of the two men. But his build didn't even come close to these body-building hunks. They walked into the basement, carrying Felix to a circular ring, they threw him in and pressed a button. Felix tried to get out but the metal fences already blocked his way.

'What a nice 16th birthday,' he thought to himself as he looked at the one-meter-tall hunting dogs. Gnashing their teeth, their saliva going everywhere and Felix right in front of them. He got into a fighting position, but he knew he would at least get one bite wound out of it. The first dog jumped at him and Felix punched him away, the second dog attacked from behind and a bite went into Felix's shoulder.-

...

Phantom pain shot through him, he could still feel those canine teeth. Seems like the memory when he got home got altered. He remembered that they held a meeting and everything was fine, it was obviously not fine. He had dog teeth in his shoulder, but why alter it? Why doesn't he remember anything after that? Too pent up on memories and situations he couldn't sleep anymore. He looked to Zenix's bed, he was still sleeping soundly. Noah got up and walked out of the room, with a last look back he noticed that Ben was in his bed.

'He must have come back in the middle of the night,' he thought to himself. Closing the door behind himself he walked to the community room, looking at the corner where he last saw Jay. He remembered the fight they had, he hadn't seen them since, well except Maison. He sat down in the armchair Jay was in before and closed his eyes. That is when he felt someone looking at him and slowly walking toward him. That person stood directly in front of him now, Noah opened his eyes and like the other person knew he was thinking about them. Maison stood before him, his hair was let down, not in a ponytail his hair was ribcage length and his eyes were so focused on Noah. Noah thought Maison was staring right through him, right into his soul.

'Didn't they always say, that eyes are the door to the soul?' Noah thought to himself as he looked back at Maison.

"Can we talk?" Maison asked.

"Sure, what about?" Noah said and watched as Maison sat down on the armchair in front of him.

"Listen, I get your beef with Jay, I mean, I watched it unfold and I also noticed it before when we were in that school. I get it he is an ass, the things you said with him watching you sleep and stuff. I just want to say, don't ignore me. I don't know why but I can't stand it, you ignoring me and not noticing me. We haven't even talked that much, and it will sound corny for what I am about to say, but ever since I first looked into your eyes my first thought was 'finally' and I don't know what that means. I keep feeling jealous about your relationship with the Dou, even though I know they are great guys and wonderful friends. You have something that shakes my deepest core and I want to figure it out together. Because of the look you gave me in the canteen, you looked confused but not in the way of 'why is he looking at me' confused more of an 'where do I know him from' confused."

Noah was surprised, but he was reminded of the memory vision. Even if he is feeling those things, he only lets those feeling outside if he has to play on his puppy side. The side he made Noah out to be, when he walks he keeps a neutral face.

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'So how is it that he knows? My own father wouldn't be able to tell...' Noah's demeanor changed since Maison asked to talk, it was a stone-cold face. Not letting on his thoughts at all, but then

Maison said, "You were surprised, and now you're confused again, why?"

To say Noah was shocked was an understatement, with no change in his voice or demeanor he asked, "How do you know? What I am feeling, I perfected this mask so much my own Fa- I mean Aunt wasn't able to tell anything. And there you are watching through me like an open book. How?"

Maison looked in the air, "I don't know, I just know. I don't know how to put it in words, but I can feel it and at the same time, I see it. Even if it is just a microexpression I know."

Noah let out a cough, "So you just know a lot of things and don't know a lot too. You feel my emotions, you want to be close to me because you don't know what that feeling inside your chest? Maybe your head, which keep showing up."

Maison was looking offended, "My head, you think those feelings are all in my head? They're not in my head and not in my chest, it feels deeper. Like my soul." '

Noah rolled his eyes, "The soul right. Science has not even proven that we have a soul. If there is, where would it be located? In the end, it comes from our head, our head controls a lot of things one of these things is the heart. So if not for the brain to tell the heart it hurts, where else would it come from? There is no such thing as a soul. But I agree on one thing, I also want to be friends with you."

Maison looked a bit hurt, he himself didn't know why but he smiled a bit, "Yeah, that is all I wanted anyway."

"Good," Noah said as he nodded, closing his eyes again and leaning into the chair. He listened while Maison stood up and left the community room. Noah felt at peace, with Ben and Zenix as his friends, and Maison as his almost and maybe boyfriend. He could think that this counted as starting a family, now he just needed to survive. Not that he really cared about Maison that much, but Maison had something that Noah lacked. He was able to bring memories of 'Felix' back, so Noah could entertain the thought of playing pretend boyfriend. The only thing that was important anyway was to find a way back and prove to his mother that she was wrong. The cure to the virus was a bonus really, as he helped people along the way. Noah hoped it would give him better karma when it would come due. He already got plants to grow again, if he could find a cure the path of survival would be glass clear.

Just like that, he fell asleep in the armchair, when the first voices were heard he woke up and returned to his room. Ben and Zenix were still sleeping soundly, he walked to his bed sat on it, and thought to himself that he needed books. With books to read the time would always pass faster.

...

Days pass, Noah and Zenix have been working very harmoniously. Ben was kept in the dark the whole time, and Zenix was a really good liar. He always had an excuse for anything, sometimes Ben believed or sometimes he thought it was absolute horse shit. But he accepted that Zenix also had things he didn't want to talk about. Zenix also had a lot of good thoughts, even if he didn't know how to execute them. He was extremely creative and one evening he and Zenix had to work in the lab a little longer. They tried to recreate a zombie that could like barely talk to them, to amplify that Zenix had the idea to pound the crystals so small and then mix them with water to give the mixture to the zombie more easily.

That evening they administered the fifth dose of the crystal water, their high-level zombie was at a point where the "AHHGhhg" almost sounded like an "arghelprr". They counted that as a win. During the last days, they all ate together as a four-piece friend group. After going out of the zombie cells Zenix walked by Noah and put his documentation into the lockable drawer. Then he pulled his necklace out where he had the key to the drawer dangling. He locked it and put the necklace around his neck again, Zenix said nothing is safer than on one's own body. As they walked to the elevator Zenix stopped, Noah walked about three steps before he noticed it.

He looked at Zenix, showing him questions in his eyes. Zenix smirked, "I'm really thankful to have found a friend like you. I never thought we could ever move on from that, I didn't want to tell you at least not without Ben you know. But I think he would never want to tell anyone else anyway. I know it hit him harder than me, especially at the time this happened. Can I talk to you about it after dinner, we can go to the plantation. There is no one after 7.00 pm, and Ben has a meeting anyway."

Noah was curious, so he nodded, "Of course, if you decide otherwise later it is no problem. I don't want you to feel urged." With a kind smile, Zenix would describe it as a smile of the elderly, Noah looked at Zenix.

"Great, let's go before Ben and Maison get worried," he said with the carefree Zenix smile and passed by Noah. Being the first at the elevator Zenix mocked Noah for being slow and Noah chuckled. Eating with Ben and Maison is always lively, especially with Zenix who weirdly has always something to talk about. Which Noah found it weird he talked about stories and gossip from the whole base, but he was always with Noah.

'How the hell did he know all this stuff?' Noah thought to himself as he listened to Zenix's stories.

"How the hell do you know all this stuff? You work a lot, so where do you find the time for such gossip?" Maison asked as he ate a piece of potato. The potato that was plated in the plantation. Noah was again astounded that they thought the same thing, this had been happening a lot. Noah thought about something and Maison asked it or said it.

The other way around too, sometimes Noah said something and Maison would say stuff like, 'I wanted to say the same thing'.

Zenix shrugged his shoulders, "Well, you hear a word here and there. Especially around the kitchen and the cleaning supplies, they just love to gossip. I mean if you got a job like that who wouldn't?"

Ben smiled as he shook his head, "No no no, Zenix over here is a prodigy at not minding his own business and always being up in anothers. You know how many times I got gossip from Zenix about the strangest people on the train or any public transportation? Sometimes crouds, when I was standing next to him."

Zenix looked anywhere else just not Ben, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yeah right," Ben said sarcastically. Noah laughed, but not a 'Noah' laugh but an undisguised 'Felix' laugh. It sounded so real and clear. He even had to cough because he laughed too much.

"You two are the best honestly," he said out of breath.

Zenix stood up with his tray in hand and bowed down jokingly, "Thank you. Thank you, the next show will be at breakfast tomorrow." The eye-roll from Ben felt personal at that point.

He then looked at Noah with a look of, 'Honestly?! You'r encouraging him? Really?' Noah just shrugged his shoulders as he and the other two stood up and went after Zenix to put away their trays.

"Well, sorry to leave you two but me and Maison over here have to go now," Ben said and dragged Maison off to the elevator. As the two of them watched Maison and Ben go in the elevator with other people, a lot of people always had to wait because it was just one elevator.

Zenix looked at Noah, "Shall we go then?" Noah nodded.