[D3thNote]

The day was long, and like any other parents began to call their children off the streets and back in their home's. "Alex, Aidan! Time for dinner!" A voice called out into the soon to be night sky. "Coming." One voice called back before two boys ran towards their mother and into the house. Dinner had been prepared and set on the table. The boys jumped into their seats and began to eat happily. The three ate in silence and enjoyed their meals.

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He took the bag of noodles and mixed it with some sauce. He placed it the pot over the fire and called out "Aidan." Everything was quiet and his voice could be heard a decent distance away. The white-silver haired boy walked into the house and sat on the floor. Alex took the pot off the fire and placed it on the floor in front of his brother. "I'm sorry, I know it isn't close to what mom use to make." Aidan replied in sign language, 'It is okay. You are doing the best you can. I am just glad we have some food still.' Aidan began to eat the pasta as it=f it was his favorite food, but it wasn't, far from it. Alex shifted into his bird form and flew up over the broken stair case and onto the broken upper floor.

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15 minutes or so had passed before Alex returned downstairs. The pot had been placed on the counter and Aidan had gone. Alex always knew where he was though. That boy always loved trying to catch butterflies. They were alone in the town so he knew he'd be able to find Aidan if he needed to. Alex looked into the pot and ate what was left in it. Later that night when Aidan returned home he asked, 'Why don't you eat with me brother?' Alex was the oldest if the two and he knew it was his job to look after his little brother. Even if they weren't brothers, he would still have done the same. "You need to grow big and strong like me, remember?" Alex hadn't really answered his brother but he didn't have to. The truth was, Alex didn't know how much food they had left. It was a day to day effort just to find a single meal for the two of them. He figured, seeing he was already infected, it was best for his brother to stay strong rather than himself.

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The night was long and cold. The boys turned in their sleep and Alex drempt of a nightmare...

Two boys ran towards their mother and into the house. Dinner had been prepared and set on the table. The boys jumped into their seats and began to eat happily. The three ate in silence and enjoyed their meals... The next day would change their lives forever. Screams, blood, chaos swept through the town one by one people got infected. Slowly they died. It ate away at them, slowly torturing the victim with unbelievable pain. "Mom!" Aidan had cried as the curse took a hold of her. It had hit her heart within minutes, at least she didn't suffer much. Her body began to break down and moments after she died-

"No!" Alex yelled as he woke from his sleep. He looked around to see Aidan still asleep in his bed. He had a nightmare, but if only it wasn't real. He grabbed his side as it ached in pain. It was dawn and the sun had begun to rise. Alex walked over to the half broken mirror and took off his shirt. 'It has gotten worse.' He thought to himself as he stared at his reflection in disappointment. 'I should have saved mom. If only I had listened to her...' his thought trailed off as he heard Aidan wake.

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'Alex?' Aidan thought as he opened his eyes. Alex quickly threw his shirt on so his brother didn't see. Aidan stared at his brother for a moment then signed, 'It hurts doesn't it?' "What are you talking about?" Alex replied. 'I know that you're infected, and I know why you visit mom's grave every day.' Aidan said. "No you don't! You don't know anything." Alex replied angrily. 'You blame yourself for her death.' Aidan continued. "How would you know." Alex said a bit calmer now. 'Please tell me the truth then. It's been a year since it happened.' Aidan pleaded. He was right, Alex had to tell him at some point.

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"To make it short, one of the villages came back from the outside world carrying a virus. No one knew it at the time but he eventually went crazy and tried to eat and kill anything he saw, including humans. Whoever he bit but didn't kill eventually went insane as well. It spread through the village like a massacre. It was total chaos. Mom always kept us inside and away from the windows. Eventually everyone in town was infected or dead. Because we were the farthest away from the town, the infected didn't acknowledge us. But it wasn't long till they would. Mother knew that we had to get to a safer place so she told us that we were going to a historical place on a trip, but not to talk to anyone. But I knew different because I saw the infected before mom made us stay inside. Mom had you in her arms and her and I ran to the police station. Mother knew it had the thickest walls and most locks of any building in town. She put you to bed in one of the office bedrooms. All of the officers had left to try and help the people but obviously failed and ended up dead. Mother and I found some papers on the main desk from a researcher. It explained the situation and how it was caused by a virus they called Croatoan. I nicknamed the infected croats. The papers also stated a type of plant that would stunt the infections effect for a while. It said that they were still working on a cure. The croats eventually caught our scent and came after us. The police station's doors and windows held up for enough time for us to find some weapons. "Get your brother!" Mother said at one point while we were fighting them. I didn't listen and instead kept firing at them. Mother then had to go get you but couldn't leave me on my own. She pushed me into a cell and locked the door with a key. "Don't stop shooting son." She had said as she raced to get to you. She made it back with you unharmed and again told me to shoot the croats while she unlocked the cell door. I...I didn't shoot." Alex paused as he thought about that night. "Anyways, when I didn't shoot thats when one of the croats knocked mom and you on the ground. As you fell you woke up and hit the wall. Thats when you lost your voice. I finally listened and started shooting them again. She quickly opened the door and passed you over to me. "Make sure he doesn't see and don't open this door till you know they are all dead!" She said to me as she locked the gate on us again. She had been bitten and knew that she would turn. I quickly got you into a different cell room and cover you with the blanket. I then covered your ears long enough for you to fall back asleep." Alex paused again. 'Then how did you get infected?' Aidan asked. "I went back out." Alex said. "She had told me not to, to stay in the room with you. I didn't listen and then I witnessed as she turned and was being devoured by the others." "She's a hero you know?" Alex said directing the last sentence to his brother. "I went too close to the cell block door and one of them grabbed me and pulled me closer. it bit me on the arm and another on the side. In that instant, I thought I was dead, but mom was alive long enough to attack the other croat and yell me "Run!" She died after she ripped that croat apart. The other corats all died from hunger just in time for me to find the plant mentioned in the research." Alex finally stopped and looked at Aidan to see his reaction. He had a bit of horror on his face along with relief. 'Thank god they died.' was all he said. "Now I have to go. I'll be back in a bit." Alex said in a bit of a hurry as he ran out of the bedroom. Aidan assumed it was because he was sad, but he couldn't have been more wrong.

[D3thNote]

Sure, Alex did feel sad and guilty about what happened, but that wasn't what was on his mind. The research that they had found that day did say that it was a temporary cure, but it also mentioned that there would still be symptoms of the Croatoan in the host.
The story that he told Aidan was a much friendlier version of what really happened. There was blood everywhere and pure cannibal behavior. Screams could be heard from everywhere and  you could only watch as your friends got torn to pieces and turned on you, only thought in their mind was to eat, eat you! It was really a hundred times worse than how he told Aidan.
Alex ran to the police station, it was the only safe place. He had searched around earlier and found a four walled steal cell in the basement of the station. Here he would be safe. He locked the cell gate behind him and then went into the steel room. That door he locked as well. He wasn't trying to keep anything out, he was trying to keep it in. Croatoan, even with the plant's effects still had it's time to reek havoc.
Alex threw his top and shoes outside of the door, he then prepared himself for the hunger. He used the cell's chains and cuffs to lock himself and make sure he couldn't get out. The hunger always came slowly. First he would have an enormous pain in his gut, then his jaw would crack and shift along with some other bones in his body. After that pain stopped he'd get an unbelievable migraine and come out of it as something else. Pure hunger. At this moment he is a croat.
The hunger is so intense that he even consumes himself. His arms are torn up, and body scratched into deep cuts. It only lasts ten minutes, but it's three days of hell.
When he comes to, he is covered in blood and fresh wounds. Quickly he must clean up before Aidan notices.