"So, I have heard that you brought a boy to your room and forgot to talk to your brother about your ability? The boy I will excuse, as we all saw what care you put into him, but keeping your ability a secret from your brother?" Mr. Murray asked Maison with a stern expression. Noah, who sat between Jay and Maison, felt he didn't need to be present for this conversation.

Maison nodded his head facing down, "I know, I am sorry. I didn't want to keep it a secret, but I was worried about scaring Jay and as I anticipated I scared him. I scared him." Mr. Murray looked at his two grandsons sitting there like a sorry little puppy and the other was sending the puppy death glares. Then there was Noah sitting in between them, like a stature his face was neutral. It didn't really let anything on or said what happened on his face. When Noah noticed that Mr. Murray was staring at him he showed a concerned look first at Maison and then at Jay. Mr. Murray raised an eyebrow before he concentrated on his grandsons again. One was so obsessed with his brother and the other so self-centered and not educated well.

"Boys, there was once a time when you could tell each other what you didn't like, and now you're behaving as if you don't know each other at all. Even getting me as a mediator to help you grow together, if I knew what I was getting into I would've sent your mother."

Now both grandsons were looking a the ground, and Noah just sat there, the concern long vaished. He just existed at this point, he wondered if this is what it would feel like to be invited by a friend and then they'd argue with their parents. Noah was just hoping they could both make up and be done with it.

"The boy and I will go out and when we return in fifteen minutes I hope your communication block will be unblocked," he said as he stood up and walked to the door. Noah stood up as fast as he could and even held the door open for Mr. Murray. The old man nodded in appreciation, Noah smiled a little and walked out right after him.

He faced the old man who was looking at him with cold calculating eyes, "You don't have to pretend to show concern, I see right through you."

Noah smiled a lofty smile, then his eyes bent like crescent moons, "I don't seem to understand what you're talking about."

Mr. Murray rolled his eyes, "Sure, whatever. If you hurt any of my boys more than you already have you will be thrown out." Noah just smiled, dimples showed, but the old man couldn't be fooled as Noah's eyes weren't smiling.

"When can I go back to the laboratories?" Noah asked casually, Mr. Murray wondered how someone who had just lost someone to the very thing they experienced on, could be eager to go back there.

The old man smiled coldly, "How can you be so unbothered by the death of your friend?"

Noah looked Mr.Murray deep into his eyes, "He was indeed the first friend I ever had. Even in the beginning like right at the moment that zombie bit him and then put his claw through his stomach, I felt awful. Then again after the two days, it felt sad, but now I feel nothing."

The old man was surprised by such honesty, and he knew it couldn't have come from his grandson's ability. After all, he was putting his energy into his brother in there, which meant that the boy in front of him said that with pure honesty. He was not even worried one bit about the consequences of that sentence.

Mr. Murray looked at the door where his two grandchildren were in, "If only all of us could be as heartless, in this shitty world. A lot of things would be easier, but okay. One person got through the third trial without needing a good heart, he just needed to follow the flow of the others." Noah walked slightly away from the door, as the old man's gaze was uncomfortable, to say the least.

It was to no use as the old man refocused his eyes on Noah, "Tell me young man, how does it feel to truly feel nothing even though so many things are happening around you?"

Noah shrugged his shoulders as he looked at anything just not the old man, "Tough childhood? I still don't know what answer you expect me to give, but I know one thing if I don't work on that cure then Zenix's sacrifice will be in vain."

The old man scoffed, "Be in vain?! What are you trying to do? I don't believe a word you say, you don't show any kind of emotion except when you know that people are watching you."

Laughter sounded and Noah felt just like himself, "Well, I can't do anything against this good face I was given." A smirk sat on his lips as he gestured to his face.

Mr. Murray found this gesture unfitting, it was like the teenager in front of him didn't know what his face looked like right now. The smirk that might have looked good on 'Felix', was looking really weird on 'Noah'. The green eyes with butterfly lashes on 'Felix' that always showed a hint of mischief, were now eyes with a much softer shape, more round not as sharp as the original. The full lips on 'Felix', where as 'Noah's' were more a smaller, softer shape and the smirk looked more like a grimace. The casual smirk that was 'Felix's' best, was looking horrendous on 'Noah'. Mr. Murray smiled awkwardly as the face of the other was really weird to look at, Noah upon noticing the face of the man in front of him stopped smirking.

He heard a crackle in his mind and then a full-blown laugh, 'OH MY LORD. Your face when you said that. HAHAHAHAHAHA'

Noah rolled his eyes and watched Mr. Murray who was nodding automatically, having already forgotten the issue about Noah. The misplaced smirk was enough to keep his thoughts occupied, Noah wondered about all the times he smirked before. No one ever reacted like that, maybe because of the intensity? Like a little smirk was acceptable, but a smirk was too much?

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In his own thoughts, he didn't notice the door behind him opening and both boys leaving. He just stood there thinking, but then he noticed a stare. It was Maison, his ice-blue eyes piercing into Noah's emerald green ones.

Their faces overlapped again as he saw Val, staring at him a sunny smile on his lips, "I was waiting for you."

Then a laugh filled with happiness, as the platin blond boy walked in front of Noah taking his hand, "Let's go?" Noah blinked and the scene was gone, away was Val and his sunny self and a confused Maison appeared in his place. He nodded slowly as he walked next to Maison, back to Maison's room.

In the room, Noah bit his lip and looked very nervous, Maison was concerned as he saw him, "What's wrong did something happen between you and grandpa? Is it because he doesn't let you back in the lab?"

Noah nodded as he sat down on the bed and looked at Maison, "It's just... I don't want Zenix's death to go to waste, because of his death I have to continue."

A silence followed and Noah was confused now as Maison looked at him for about three minutes now, "You don't have to lie. I can tell it isn't just because of Zenix's death. You always look like you HAVE to be better, like you HAVE to be good. It is as if even a little component of your personality or behavior is bad or unreasonable you... I don't know it feels like you have to be good, like there is nothing else to live for but to prove that."

Noah looked at his feet, "I HAVE to be good, because I want to prove someone that... that they were wrong. I never chose that life, I never chose to understand things a certain way. I never wanted not to feel things the way others do, I just don't see the point..."

Maison sat down next to Noah on the bed, "You know, you don't need to be in the lab to do certain tests. I watched the zombies outside, it was like they want to die. Like they know deep down that they shouldn't be alive anymore." Noah stood up, and walked out of the room. If what Maison said was true he had to see it for himself.

In front of the window from before it was really hard to see anything as the night settled in.

Frustrated, Noah balled his fists, Maison came up behind him, "Don't be frightened I will touch your hand to bring you back to the room."

A glare caught Maison off guard, the same look Noah once gave to Jay. The look of a dangerous python, then before Maison could ask anything the other ran away from him. Maison could only watch as Noah ran further and further away, he knew that Noah just needed a bit of space.

...

RUN. Just like before, searching for a place that is safe. A place that he was familiar with, but he knew that such a space didn't exist, because this is not his world. This is not his LIFE, this isn't his body, it wasn't his name and it isn't what he acts like. Just like the face he showed Mr. Murray, Noah felt so out of place. With one full swing, he ran further and further, not noticing that he ran to the garden. Stopped in front of an oven big enough to burn a person in, and knew this must have been Zenix's incineration place. He looked at it with no emotion, inside of him was also no turmoil whatsoever. He only felt slightly exausted from the running. Other than that he felt just empty, like always. Like the time he became numb to his father's beatings, like the time he became numb to the corpses in the basement. He didn't feel anything, there were only certain instances he did. Even then they weren't things like sadness or happiness or anger. He felt panic the moment Zenix pushed himself in front of him, but that went away when he knew he couldn't have done anything against it. He felt attraction for a handsome guy, but just like that Terrance guy. He wouldn't have anything serious. He saved those people, because he wanted to look good in front of his mother. Not because they gave him a good feeling. He just wanted all of them to see that he was worthy of living a normal life, but now? Everything went downhill already, he could still pull off two wishes... The surviving part is easy, he just had to not die. The family part could be done too, with Maison.

'Maison... He too is someone I can feel things for. Where I don't feel so numb and empty...' Noah just sat down, right in front of the big oven. His eyes lost and empty, he just stared in front of him. Not even focussing on a certain point. For the first time in his life he realized something, he never really did anything because he wanted to... He just did whatever others would expect him to. He did what he thought his mother expected him to, but his mother already lost all the expectations she had for him the moment she found out what her husband did. He couldn't hate his mother though, because she didn't know any better. As he went on thinking about everything. He still couldn't help but go from his clueless, helpless self to the delusion that his mother shot him because she wanted him to do better. The delusion that his mother loved him and that doing good is the big picture. That maybe he did that, so he didn't have to think about the possibility that he never did anything because he wanted to. He just did them because they were expected from him. He didn't have to face the reality of not knowing who he is and what his interests are. That he just exists, because he has to prove something. To others and not to himself, because he didn't want to think about it.

With a deep breath he was calm and everything was alright. No panic, not anymore after all he just had to prove that he was good. The best way to do that was to make a cure, so the zombies could be humans again and the whole ordeal is over. After that he can just live his best life and maybe do some other good deeds. Build up society again, just better so the crime rates are not that high.

'Yeah... Yeah... Just making the world a better place, for a better future. So my mother knows I deserve the good things in life. That I am nothing like my father,' he thought to himself even though he knew deep down that he had no idea what to do after.