Chapter 1

The wind pushed at the tattered garments clinging to her body. Instinctively, she shivered, pretending to feel the cool touch from the breeze. She didn't remember what cold felt like. Very slowly, her arms wrapped around her torso, she rocked herself back and forth on her heels. Her face was buried into her knees as sobs managed to choke past her torn throat. Her voice had long since fled her. The ability to speak had been stripped from her long ago. Her body shuddered once more, the motion giving her a small piece of comfort. Slowing her movement, she raised her head to glance around the space she had chosen to inhabit. She looked without seeing, the darkness of night a comfort as much as her body shivering from the supposed cold. Her vision was clouded by a crimson shroud, the bloody color the only thing she could see. Falling into her vision were strands of stringy, grease-covered hair. She made no move to alleviate the small annoyance. There was very little that bothered her now. The harsh crack of gunfire reached her ears, the sound distant and echoing. She felt her muscles tense and her mind started to swamp with terror when she remembered where she was. Her heart rate slowed as her body barely relaxed. She had to commend herself. When it had begun, she would have run screaming in terror.

No point in running. They would find her like the countless times they had found her before. She rocked more slowly, raising her head and straining her ears. The sounds of weapons echoed in her mind, the distance slowly becoming obvious to her. Suddenly, silence fell for a time. Her nerves tightened to their limit when an inhuman scream pierced the night, followed by the crack of guns. She lowered her face to her knees, her eyes focusing on the cracked ground. They were getting closer. As they always did. Fresh sobs tore at her worn throat. She knew that they had given her kind names. People who were no longer people. Humans who had succumbed. Her kind versus the survivors. The immune versus the infected. She knew what they would call her the moment they found her again.

Witch.

Memories swarmed her mind, seeking to pull her beneath their comforting arms. They enjoyed placing her back to the days before it had come. Before she came to carry the destruction of mankind. Before she was feared and carried the accursed disease. Her body, frail in appearance but stronger than any human, shuddered with her sobs. Muscles cried out in protest from being in her crouched and curled position for so long. The sickness she carried affected her but not to the degree it did when she infected others. The disease was made to target a person's vital organs, the initial target the brain. It didn't destroy motor functions but it devoured the frontal lobe and the rest of the mind. It would always leave the heart and lungs for last, like it was some kind of sadistic killer, laughing as he watched his prey struggle to live when there was already nothing left. For most infected, the taking was simple. Infected then die. However, for her, some mutated as the virus devoured their bodies, giving them abilities that only served to kill them faster. She had seen people mutate before her very eyes, the horror still fresh in her mind, the sound of ripping flesh and cracking bone and the choking, liquid gurgle from the poor victim haunting her every move. At least then, she had other people to share the memory with. That single thought sent ripping agony through her chest. With a heartbroken wail, she allowed the memories to finally seize her and pull her down into a blissful escape.

"C-13...C-13..."

"C-13! Wake up!" The voice was faint, barely touching her consciousness. She had been standing in a beautiful meadow, the sun's rays gently touching her skin, the grass tickling her bare toes. Far from her, she could see sparkling streams, the sun's light winking at her from the crystal blue surface. She could still feel the course fabric of her tattered and ratty gown, three sizes to big for her tiny frame. Her skin seemed to be barely hanging on, her knees knobbly and elbows jutting bone. She could feel her hair just touching the backs of her knees, the color as black as pitch. She felt him enter. Turning, she looked at a tall boy, about her age with blue eyes the color of ice and golden hair, falling just to his shoulders in a gentle wave. He had a strong jaw yet gentle features. He smiled at her, his eyes glowing with kindness, moving in her direction. She couldn't help but grin back. He was far to pretty for her and yet he was always there in this meadow. They were barely an inch apart when the look of joy transformed into one of fear. His cream-colored skin paled to an ashen white as he suddenly turned to flee. Terrified, she reached out for him only to feel her world shake and shatter.

"C-13! Wake up!" The girl known as C-13 almost cried as her disorientation wore off. It had all been a dream. Of course it had. Nothing that peaceful or wondrous existed in this place. The mattress beneath her body was lumpy and uncomfortable, springs poking out into her back. In some places, the stuffing had started coming out, yellow with age and human filth. C-13 glanced around, her eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness. There were at least fifty other girls in the tiny space. The beds were all stacked at least five high and crammed together. The girls assembled were thin, their ribs poking out from skin just stretched over bone. Ragged garments barely covered their bodies. The biggest girl's clothes barely covered her chest and hips as she was huddled in the corner. For some of the smaller girls, their clothes were baggy but thinner than the others. Girls were rocking back and forth and other simply stared at the walls. One was hovering over C-13, shaking her gently. C-13 regarded C-40 with a calm, neutral gaze. C-40 sighed in relief, her pale, heart-shaped face nearly skeletal in appearance.

"You were called, C-13. They want us again," C-40 whispered, her hair falling to the ground in a messy braid that kept coming apart. C-13 nodded and rose slowly from her bed. As soon as she was completely off of it, there was a loud squeak as an ugly, large, gray rat sprinted from its hiding place and darted toward the now vacant mattress. With practiced grace, it slipped back inside, attempting to reclaim its nest. C-13 sighed in irritation. She hadn't wanted to try to chase it out again. Her bare feet were instantly acclimated to the cold tile floor. With C-40 by her side, she went to the massive steel door and knocked three times, stepping back and waiting. With a heavy groan, the door swung open, allowing faint light to filter in from the hallway. Standing in the door was a young man, his face clean shaven. Thick brows overshadowed deep set black eyes. His arms were bulging muscles and steel cables. In his hands was a standard issue M16 rifle, a magazine already in the magazine well. At his hip was a shining M9 pistol as well as a magazine pouch for both weapons. The camouflaged clothing he wore hugged his muscular body, barely containing it. C-13 looked carefully at the man and could see he was trembling very slightly with fear. She almost wanted to tease him but she had seen plenty of girls get shot by such man that she chose to keep her mouth shut.

"C-13, C-40, C-26 and C-99," the man said, his voice cracking, "you are to report to physical examinations effective immediately." C-13 and C-40 waited as two others joined them. C-99 was a girl a little shorter than C-13, her large green eyes sunken into her skull and no glimmer of life hid in them. A permanent frown seemed fixed on her face. C-26 was the biggest of the group of girls in the room, standing the tallest and the most developed. She kept her face hidden behind a curtain of blue-black hair. The man looked them over once then turned to lead the way. The four followed, silent. They had nothing to discuss as, behind them, the steel door swung closed. C-13 looked around the hall, seeing the plain white walls, dim lights and gray tiled floors, hoping for something new. Nothing had changed. She looked to her companions. They rarely called in a group. The man in white liked to test them individually. To be called in such a manner could only mean that one of them would not be returning back to the small room they called home. There were thousands more girls here. They all knew that and could hear the moans, screams and sobs from them every night. Every now and again, a girl from a different chamber was moved to theirs and they would tell stories. C-13 felt a shiver go down her spine when she remembered a blonde-haired girl that had arrived. She had been named C-54 and had been very tight-lipped. However, she told them of a group of four girls that had left the chamber and only three had returned. The way she described the looks of terror on the three surviving girls' faces frightened the girls in C-13's chamber. They had learned to be wary and pray it would never happen to them.

The young man stopped, causing the girls to halt behind him. Standing before a large door marked with some sort of triple, blood-red crescent moons were two more men dressed in similar attire to their escort. The young man saluted the two and turned quickly about, taking off down the hall as quickly as he could without sprinting. The man to the left snorted, his thick, gray mustache bobbing in rhythm. The other grinned, a scar running down the right side of his face.

"Young ones," scar-face chuckled, "never understand this job 'til they get here." She felt her gaze turn to him, her mouth dropping open to ask a question. The mustached man drove the butt of his weapon into her back, steering her forcefully toward the door. Frightened, the others who had come with her followed, not wanting to be struck by the other man. Scowling, C-13's mouth closed with an audible snap. She hated this, being batted around and tested. She knew this walk like the back of her hand, she'd completed it so many times. She didn't need the escort, let alone an escort with guns. However, she knew that, to survive this place, she had to play their games, let them think she was beaten down. So far, they had done nothing to her other than push her about. The massive doors opened slowly, eerily, admitting her entrance. Knowing the barrels of the weapons were pointed at her back, she walked inside. With a faint creak, the doors closed shut behind her, the guards at the rear with the other three close at her side. A tall, lanky man stood before them. His build was almost skeletal, skin seeming to cling to bone. His face was gaunt, black eyes sunken deep into his head. Scraggly white hair stood out in an orb around his head. A long, white coat with deep pockets billowed out behind him, his blue pants and baggy, collared shirt looking massive on his frame. Large gloves hid his hands and a portion of his arms from view. C-13 and the girls shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

"C-13, C-40, C-99 and C-26," he greeted them, his voice like gravel to her ears, "a pleasure to see all of you again. This way please." He turned and walked away from them, not looking over his shoulder to see if they followed. The two guards pushed them roughly forward. C-26 stumbled, almost falling if C-13 hadn't caught her. Glaring at the guards, she helped the smaller girl steady herself and then continued walking. The white coat man lead them to a smaller area where more white coated people bustled about. C-13's companions were grabbed by others but she went with white coat man. He sat her down in a marked off area where there were many strange boxes. Without a word, he wrapped something around her arm and pushed one of the buttons on the closest box. The thing began to squeeze her arm to an almost painful degree but she ignored it. He put something in her mouth, telling her to hold it there with her tongue to which she obeyed. Lights flashed on the screen, showing something white coat man recorded. C-13 spat the thing in her mouth back into his hand, resorting to glaring at him sullenly while he moved about, checking and recording numerous things. He then gestured for her to move to another box, a small square of mostly black and white. She stood on it and waited for a moment before stepping back off. The man recorded something on a clipboard, pulling off the thing wrapped around her arm and then escorted her to some of the other machines. She stood on a simple white square, watched the dial move and numbers scroll across it. It landed on the numbers one two and four all put together. He moved her to a pole with markings and numbers on it. She stood as he adjusted something behind her. She scowled at him when something touched the top of her head. She didn't bother to look. She stepped out and saw it had stopped at the numbers five and two. She didn't know what these meant but they seemed important to the man. He made another note on his clipboard and then led her to where he measured every inch of her. She took all of this with a disinterested expression. C-13's mind had wandered back to the rat that was curling up in her mattress.

"-13. C-13? Did you understand what I just told you?" The man was looking down at her, a frown fixed on his ghastly face. C-13 hadn't noticed but he had led her to the obstacle course. Massive walls, cracked in various ways, rope webs, hurdles and other physical obstacles littered the area. She could see C-40 had already started and C-99 had finished. She didn't see the other who had come with them. The white coat man was waiting for an answer to a question C-13 hadn't heard. She looked up at him, eyes blank. Once, when she had first become aware of what had been going on, she had been full of conversation. That time had long since passed. The doctor sighed and turned to look at the course.

"You know what to do, C-13. Complete the course as quickly as you can." C-13 nodded, waiting to be escorted to the beginning. When she was, she waited, watching his face out of the corner of her eyes. When she saw him hit the button on the strange, shiny circular device, she took off. Everything blurred in her vision as she raced toward the first wall. She never remembered grabbing the rope but the next thing she did know was she was over it. Weaving through ropes, jumping over gaps, crawling through small spaces, she moved as quickly as she could. She could see the finish line ahead of her, the strip of reflective white tape glinting in the faint light. Using what felt like the last of her strength, she ran, her muscles groaning with the strain and her lungs begging for air. The reflective line broke and she felt her bare feet slide for purchase on the tile floor. Panting for breath, C-13 looked at her white-lab coat man in triumph, waiting to hear what he said. His gaunt eyes looked at her surprise before jotting something down on his clipboard before taking her to a small, enclosed area. The other girls were huddled there, looking as terrified as C-13 felt. They waited, watching the curtain blocking them in the small space. Finally, a woman appeared and gripped C-13's arm, towing her out of the area. The woman's grip was firm and by no means gentle as she led the terrified girl through the massive room. C-13 was made to stand on a pedestal made of white, glittering tile. Shaking with fear, she tried to mask her terror by glaring defiantly at the assembled people. The woman was gruff, gripping her chin and holding it in her iron grip. Her white-lab coat man approached her with a something in his hand. Watching him with wide, terrified eyes, she saw one end erupted in a brilliant white light that hurt. She squirmed, trying to back away from the light. The woman and three other people held her in place as the man shined its harsh beam in her eyes. C-13 screamed, trying to free her arms to claw at her burning eyes. There were soft murmurs of astonishment and then she was released. Her legs gave way and she collapsed to the cold floor, shrieking and clawing her eyes. Hands gripped her wrists, pulling them away from her face. She kicked and screamed, desperate to remove the unsetting blackness over her eyes and alleviate the burning. When the blackness receded and the burning dissipated, the man with the light looked down at her. The mysterious thing that had hurt her did not appear to be in his hand. He offered his hand to her. Cautious, she took and was slowly helped to her feet.

"C-13, you have showed significant improvement," he told her in his gravelly voice. "We will be moving you to a different location." He waited for her to get steady then led her gently to a small desk. He walked away from her for a moment, letting her eyes wander over the desk. She recognized paper and pens but the foreign lines and squiggles meant nothing to her. C-13's eyes were drawn to a rectangle that was glowing with a faint blue light. Curious, she moved toward it to get a better look. Once, closer, she saw a second rectangle attached to the first except it had a multitude of raised squares. Glancing at the glowing rectangle, she noticed the same foreign marks on it as the paper and single squiggles on the squares. Curiosity getting the better of her, she placed her finger on one of the squares. It pressed down and the squiggle appeared in a continuous line on the glowing rectangle. The light brightened, stinging her eyes but she forced herself to look. She released the square and the squiggle line stopped. Smiling, C-13 pushed down as many of the squares as she could with her fingers, watching the rectangle. Giggling like a small child, she began pushing a bunch of the squares in rapid succession, the tak-a-tak noise filling the air. Gnarled hands gripped her wrists, pulling them away from it. Startled, she looked up and saw the gaunt face of white coat man.

"That is not for you. C-13. Leave it be," he told her. She scowled at him as he pulled her away from it. Two burly guards stood behind him, their faces stern and their weapons readied. Almost immediately, she noticed that the other three girls hadn't come with them. The man motioned to the two men, getting ready to state what C-13 already knew.

"Now then, C-13, you are to follow these two gentlemen to your room. Before you leave, take this." He extended to her a red, shiny circle on a piece of semi-transparent paper. It was obvious he wanted her to take it but she made no move, her eyes narrowed suspiciously. The white coat man sighed and pulled from his pocket a similar circle except that it was yellow.

"It's a sticker, C-13. You wear them. See?" To demonstrate, he pulled the yellow circle off the paper and placed the circle on his chest. C-13 said nothing, carefully observing his face. Nothing happened. Smiling, satisfied, she snatched the red sticker from him, peeling it off the page and placing it on her chest. She grinned triumphantly, believing at long last she had won their game.

She didn't realize just how wrong she was.

She didn't know, when the two guards escorted her out of the lab, the man dropped to his knees, his head bowed and hands folded in fervent prayer. That he was begging forgiveness from God for what he had just done. What he had sentenced her for. He didn't move for some time, feeling his guilt and shame. When he rose, he knew no amount of prayer and begging would atone for what he had done. He went to the laptop and shot a message to his superior.

Replacement located. Prepared to continue as planned. Will await further instruction.

The guards led her through the halls, one before her and one behind. She sighed, not really liking the idea of having the guards lead her around the place. She knew this path like the back of her hand. Instead of taking her left, the one behind took hold of her shoulder in a painful grip, steering her to the right instead. Confused, she followed the firm guidance of the guard as they led her on. Thousands of questions erupted in her mind but she held her tongue. The very first lesson she had learned was to remain silent. You didn't get the butt of a rifle to your face that way. She glanced back over her shoulder once, to see if the other girls were following but she didn't see them. Shrugging, she turned her attention back to following the guard in front of her. The second lesson was to not become attached to anyone. The two guards led her to a large set of double doors. Instead of the cold steel she was used to seeing, the dark, enchanting color of the wood held her entranced. Slowly, carefully, she raised her hand and placed it on the smooth surface. Beneath her fingers, she felt warmth, unlike the steel that had surrounded her for her entire life. Using a good deal of her strength, she pushed the doors open, her eyes widening at the sight before her. The room was larger than any containment cell she had ever seen. The flooring was strange and soft on her bare feet, its red color astounding to her eyes. Hanging from the windows were red velvet curtains, the crimson color interrupted by silver trim at the ends. Items were scattered all across the floor, some with faces and others in odd shapes. Six beds of a dark wood were lined across the western wall, each with different colored blankets on them. Behind the curtains was a large cut out of the wall, a shining surface inside of it and steel bars behind it. The cut out offered a view of the rest of the complex, the drab, uniform gray buildings hardly something to want to look at. There were four other girls in the room, each wearing some sort of white, skin-tight outfit with colored circles over their hearts.

The guards closed the doors behind C-13, the sound barely noticeable. C-13 could only stare at the wonder before her. One of the girls, a small child barely up to her waist in height, was darting around the room. Her long, raven black hair flew out behind her as she darted this way and that, the red streaks shining in the light. She was giggling, blue eyes sparkling with merriment as she searched the space. Sitting on a ledge in front of the cut out were two girls, one with long golden hair. Her pale skin contested C-13's own. The brunette's curly mop of hair was neatly bound at the back of her head, the curls cascading down to the middle of her back. She was pulling something through the blonde's hair. Standing with her back to C-13 was a red-haired girl, easily the tallest of the group. By her stance alone, C-13 knew this was someone she did not want to cross. Blonde looked up, her eyes a sort of glassy blue, and stared straight at C-13. Her gaze remained emotionless as she lifted her hand and pointed. The other three girls slowly looked in her direction. C-13 felt exposed and frightened. The red haired girl's emerald green eyes were twin barrels and they were trained on her. She strode across the room and towered over her, arms crossed over her large chest.

"Who the hell are you?" She snapped, rage shining in her gaze. C-13 shrank under the glare, backing slowly away.

"I…I'm C-13," she mumbled meekly. The red-head's scowl deepened. She looked down her hawk nose at the smaller girl. C-13 noticed that the circle over her heart was black in color but shining in the light.

"That bed with the red blanket is yours. I'm C-7 and I'm the leader here. My word is law and you better remember that. You'll be helping to keep this place under control. Now, get out of my face." C-7 spun around and walked away, the anger and rage an almost palpable aura around her. The blonde rose fluidly and seemed to glide across the floor toward her, the brunette at her side. When they stopped before C-13, it was the brunette who spoke first.

"Sorry about C-7," she said, extending her hand. The circle over her heart was a dark purple. "I'm C-10. This is C-5. She's mute."

"Mute?"

"It means that she can't talk," C-10 explained, her brown eyes glowing with genuine kindness, "or she chooses not to." C-5 smiled at her and made a strange clicking noise with her teeth was she took C-13's hand into her own. Her own circle was a light pink. C-13 felt her own grin spread on her face when she felt something tug at her tattered clothes. Glancing down, her eyes nearly bugged out of her head as she was seeing double. There were two small girls that looked completely alike. The only differences were the streaks in their hair and the color of their circles. The one with the red streaks and a blue circle giggled, removing her hand.

"I'm C-1. This is my sister, C-2."

"We're twins!" C-2 grinned, flipping a lock of hair over her shoulder. Her fingers touched absently on the silver circle for a moment before lowering.

"Twins?" C-13 was still confused and disoriented. "What are twins?" The two girls giggled, grinning at each other.

"Twins are siblings that-" C-1 started.

"Were born at the same time." C-2 continued.

"In other words we-"

"Came from the same mom-"

"And look alike. That-"

"Makes us twins!" The two finished together. C-13 frowned, thinking about what she had just been told. It didn't quite make sense to her but she couldn't see another explanation.

"So…you two came from the same mom?"

"Yup!" C-1 said happily. The twins giggled and walked away, chattering to each other in a strange dialect. C-10 smiled, her eyes watching the children walk away.

"They really are a riot sometimes," she said, "They're the reason this place doesn't seem as gray and drab as it used too."

"Do they always do that?" C-13 asked. "Finish each other sentences and talk funny?"

"They enjoy every second of it. I think it comes as a second nature to them but I wouldn't know. I'm not a twin." C-5 nodded slowly, her strange eyes never leaving C-13's face. The twins were busy picking up small, circular pieces of two colors. C-1 was picking up the red and C-2 the black, trying to keep their hands shaped like bowls to carry them. When they had gathered what was enough, they placed them in two small piles next to a black and white checkered board. C-1 sat on one side of the board with C-2 on the other. They began setting the pieces up, setting them on the first two rows of black squares. C-13 watched in fascination as they began moving them around, staying only on the black squares.

"Checkers." C-10 said, coming up behind her. C-13 hadn't even realized she had moved closer to watch. "It's a strategic game. A simple but a very good one."

"Oh. What's the point?"

"Capture all you opponent's pieces while keeping as many as yours as you can." C-13 nodded, her eyes glued on the fast-paced game in front of her. A sharp pain erupted on her head as something seized a clump of her filthy hair and hauled her to her feet. She wasn't even aware that C-7 had come up behind her. Yelping in pain, C-13 tried desperately to squirm out of the restraining hand.

"Don't you dare sit your filthy, maggot ass on the floor," C-7 snarled. "I just cleaned it and if you so much as-" A small hand reached up and touched the red-head's. C-13 saw through her tears of pain that C-1 and -2 had gotten up in her defense. C-2 tugged gently at C-7's fingers, trying to pry them off.

"Sissy, be nice," she pleaded as she continued to pull at the taller girl's fingers.

"She is new, sissy," C-1 said quietly. "Let her adjust first." C-7 said nothing for a moment but finally released C-13, practically throwing her to the ground. C-13 didn't move, waiting to see what would happen. C-7 seemed to consider her for a moment before walking away. C-1 patted her shoulder, as C-2 helped C-13 sit upright. C-13 grimaced slightly, rubbing the spot on her scalp that had been yanked.

"Sorry," C-1 apologized. "She's been like that for a while…"

"For what?" C-13 forced a smile on her face, "You didn't do anything."

"For her attitude," C-2 said. "C-7's, I mean. There's a long story and she doesn't like us saying but…" C-1 and C-2 shared a glance and looked at C-7's back. They looked at each other again and nodded. C-1 motioned for C-13 to get closer.

"C-7 used to have a sister here," she said, her voice low.

"She was really nice and would play games with us all the time," C-2 nodded.

"But then…those scientists came and-"

"Scientist?" C-13 interrupted. C-1 nodded.

"Those people in the white lab coats are scientists. We don't know what they do but just what they are. Anyway, those scientists came and took her away and she-"

"Was gone all morning," C-2 continued. "When she finally came back she was all stiff and wouldn't move. And when she did wake up she-"

"Told us that they had done something to her," C-1 looked like she wanted to cry. C-2 already was, the tears streaming down her face. C-1 took a deep breath and continued where she had left off.

"She couldn't remember exactly what happened. All she could say was that they had done something to her. After that-"

"She went mad," C-2 sobbed. "She was always moody and her temper was really nasty. She snapped at everyone, even C-7. Then, all of a sudden-"

"She got really quiet. Sat in the corner and wouldn't speak to anyone. C-7 tried everything she could to get her back into her chipper mood."

"Nothing worked. She started getting sick and then she…she…" C-2 broke down into tears. C-1 hugged her twin close for a moment, letting her cry.

"C-7 refused to leave C-24's side," she said softly. "Even when C-24 refused to speak to her or clawed at her sister's face. Then, one day, C-24 spoke to C-7, telling her 'Get out. Get out while you still can.' After that, C-24 started scratching at her throat, deep enough to bleed until the scientists came and took her away."

"What happened to her?" C-13 asked, alarmed. C-1 looked at her, her expression grim.

"C-24 is dead. We all know that," C-1 said, the tears finally falling down her cheeks, "She killed herself in C-7's arms. You are supposed to be her replacement."