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A blast.
A bright light.
Screams.
“THE POWER SOURCE!”
“SHILOH!”
“DARIUS!”
“MICAH!”
“MOM!”
And then…
…nothing.
He blinked his eyes open and sat up with a groan.
His body hurt.
…What happened?
He didn't remember…
He didn't remember.
He forced himself to stand before spinning around desperately, trying to get any sort of clue from his surroundings.
Where was he?
He didn't remember.
His breathing picked up.
He didn't remember.
He didn't remember anything!
What was his name!? What was his name!?
Micah.
He let out a breath.
He remembered.
His name was Micah.
…What was his last name?
…He… didn't know.
Who was he?
…He didn't know.
He looked down at his clothes. He was wearing black pants and a gray hoodie with some sort of long, green overcoat on top.
It didn’t help jog any more of his memory.
He tried his best to calm himself down. If he could just figure out where he was, maybe he'd start remembering.
He was in some sort of alleyway. Colorful graffiti lined the concrete walls.
He tried to read some, though much of it wasn't very legible.
SAVE YOURSELF…
THE ALPHA REIGNS…
A shiver ran down his spine. He didn't know what the graffiti was talking about, but it didn't sound good.
Deciding there wasn't much else to discover in the alley, he made his way out.
He was in a town. Not necessarily a city, but there were houses and businesses.
But no people.
Everything seemed abandoned.
He kept walking along the worn sidewalk, still having no clue where he was or what had happened to this place.
Then, out of nowhere, something flew past his face.
It just missed his head, instead lodging itself into the fence beside him. It took a minute for him to process what it was, but once he did, his blood ran cold.
It was an axe.
He slowly turned his head in the direction it came from.
There, stood a creature: humanoid, but with pale skin, bags under its eyes, and streaks of green in its hair.
They made eye contact for a moment.
Neither moved.
Micah didn't dare breathe.
Then, the creature lunged at him.
He let out a scream and ran.
He didn't know where he was going. He didn't care where he was going. He just needed to get out of there!
He chanced a quick glance behind him to see the creature pull the axe from the fence.
What was that thing!?
What was that thing!?
Where was he!?
WHERE WAS HE!?
Micah squeezed his eyes shut as tears began to sting his eyes, but he didn't stop running.
He wasn't sure how long he could keep it up, or when that creature would try throwing the axe at him again, when suddenly, he heard some sort of shot followed by a shout of distress from behind him.
He whirled around to see the creature lying on the ground.
He slowed to a stop, putting his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.
Suddenly, a hand reached out to him.
Micah looked up to see a man with dark hair and stubble looking down at him.
Two women stood behind him. One had a brown pixie cut and the other had long, blonde hair tied into a braid and blue, almost purple, eyes. All three held some sort of blaster.
“You OK? That was a close call. Not everyone can outrun these things.”
“Huh?” Micah asked, realizing the man was talking to him, “What… what are they?”
Micah took the man's hand and he helped him to his feet, though he gave Micah a confused look.
“Uh, zombies? Where have you been?”
“I… I don't know…” Micah stammered. Then, his eyes widened, “Wait, did you say ZOMBIES!?”
“Um, yeah. Seriously, have you been living under a rock the past couple months?” the woman with the pixie cut spoke up.
“Chloe,” the man from before said with a sigh, “Leave the poor guy alone.”
The woman, Chloe, apparently, shot her hands in the air in defense, “You just said basically the same thing!”
“But, I didn't say it like that-” the man cut himself off, “Look, guys, with the alpha still out there somewhere, this zombie's only gonna stay stunned for a second. And there’s probably more close by. We need to leave!”
The women nodded.
Micah remembered that word from the wall earlier.
“What's an alpha?” he took the chance to ask.
The man blinked at him, “Wow, you really don't know what's going on, do you?”
“Come on! We gotta get out of here, remember!?” Chloe exclaimed, she and the other woman already starting to run off.
The man turned his attention back to Micah, “You willing to come back to base with us? We can talk more there.”
Micah hesitantly nodded. He didn't exactly have anywhere else to go.
...He didn’t think he did.
After running for a bit, the group slowed to a walk again. The man spoke up, “Sorry about all that. Let's try this again. The name's Lucas,” he signaled to himself. Then, he signaled to the others, “You already know Chloe. And this is my wife, Iris. What's your name?”
“Uh… Micah.”
A moment later, they made it to a bunker-like building with a large door.
Lucas pulled the door open, just enough so the group could squeeze in.
They were in some sort of dimly lit hallway.
Micah watched as Lucas slid a large barricade across the door before joining them.
“So, Micah,” he spoke up again, “Now that we're safe, what's your story?”
“Huh?” Micah asked.
"What's your story? Where did you come from? I've never seen you around here before, even before the infection started.”
“‘Infection?’” Micah asked.
“The zombie infection,” Lucas signaled outside with his head, "Even before it started, I've never seen you before.”
“Oh, um,” Micah stammered, trying to collect his thoughts, “I… I don't remember.”
Iris’ eyes softened, “What do you mean?”
“I… I mean I don't remember anything!” Micah exclaimed, “I'm sorry. All I remember is my name. I just woke up before you guys found me and I have no memory of anything that happened before that.”
Lucas, Iris, and Chloe all exchanged a look.
“Could you have gotten knocked out somehow?” Lucas asked.
Micah shrugged, bringing a hand to his head, “I… I don't know! I guess I could've!”
“Doesn't explain why we've never seen him around before, though,” Chloe whispered, “Do we trust him?”
“I’m right here,” Micah put his hands on his hips.
Lucas gave Micah another look before turning back to the others, “I think we can. I mean, he’s not infected and he’s clearly been through some stuff.”
Micah sighed, “I just wish I could remember what it was…”
“You can stay here with us if you want,” Lucas spoke up again.
Micah’s head shot up.
The offer was tempting. He didn’t even remember where he lived and it seemed safer in the bunker than out on the streets…
At least until he got his memories back. He would stay until he got his memories back.
They were bound to come back eventually… right?
Micah nodded, “OK. T-thanks…”
Lucas gave him a wide grin, “Well, in that case, let me properly introduce you to the team!”
The group led Micah down the hallway and into the actual base. The first room they entered was a large lab.
“This is where we're working on finding a cure. Do you have any scientific knowledge?” Lucas asked.
Micah shrugged.
“Oh, right. You don’t remember…”
Iris gave her husband a look before continuing for him, “These are our head scientists,” she signaled to an older man and a younger woman with her hair in a bun, “Dr. Willow Foster and Dr. Thomas Morrison.”
Dr. Foster looked up from her work at the sound of her name.
She gave the group a relieved smile, “Oh, good. You made it back-” she cut herself off when she noticed Micah, “You found someone!?”
Dr. Morrison looked up from his work now too. The scientists made their way over to them.
“Yep! This is Micah!” Lucas exclaimed, patting Micah on the back a little too aggressively.
“It’s uh… nice to meet you, Dr. Foster, Dr. Morrison,” Micah greeted awkwardly.
Dr. Foster waved her hand at him, “Oh, just call us Willow and Thomas!”
Micah nodded, still trying to take everything in.
“Micah lost his memories. We think he might’ve hit his head or something. Anything could’ve happened with how it is out there…” Lucas continued.
Willow frowned sympathetically. Thomas let out a little hum of acknowledgement.
“Sorry, I wish we could help you more,” Willow spoke up, “But we’re not really that kind of doctors…”
Micah nodded in understanding, “Oh, no, it’s OK. I get it.”
“We’re glad Lucas found you,” Thomas spoke up, “It’s already dangerous enough out there when you know what’s going on.”
Micah let out a breath, “Oh, you have no idea how glad I am too.”
They introduced Micah to the rest of the team: the other scientists and other survivors, and showed him around the rest of the base. There were a few bedrooms, as well as the bare essentials. None of it was glamorous, but for the apocalypse, it wasn’t so bad. From the sounds of it, the apocalypse hadn’t been going on for too long, so Micah guessed everything was still in fairly good shape.
Chloe had left the group at this point, so it was just Lucas and Iris showing him around as they reached the armory.
Micah’s eyes widened. There were blasters of all shapes and sizes lining the walls.
“Even if you don’t leave the shelter much, it’s still a good idea to carry one or two of these around,” Iris explained as her husband moved to take one off the wall, “All the scientists have one too.”
“This should be a good starter blaster,” Lucas said, making his way back to Micah and handing him a medium-sized blue and orange one.
Micah hesitantly took it.
“Have you ever used one of these before?” he asked.
Micah just gave him a look.
“Sorry,” Lucas muttered, remembering yet again Micah had lost his memories. He cleared his throat, “We have a training room you can practice in.”
They showed him that next. Then, the room with their provisions. Finally, they made their way back to the bedrooms.
“This can be your room!” Lucas exclaimed, opening one of the doors. It was identical to the others: small, with just a simple bed and table, but that was all Micah really needed anyway.
“Luckily, we aren’t too packed yet, so you get it all to yourself!” Lucas announced.
“We’ll go ahead and let you get settled,” Iris said, giving Micah a comforting smile, “I know this is all pretty overwhelming-”
Micah smiled back at her, “It’s OK… I… I’ll figure it out. I mean, my memories are bound to come back soon, right?”
Iris’ smile faltered a little, but she finally nodded, “I’m sure they will.”
“One last bit of advice,” Lucas spoke up, “Ditch the overcoat. It’ll slow you down. It’s long, so zombies could grab you easier.”
“That’s comforting,” Micah replied sarcastically. Then added, “Thanks.”
“You know,” Iris suddenly said, stroking her chin in thought, “Your outfit’s a bit strange, especially for the apocalypse. It looks like… maybe a uniform of some kind?”
Micah blinked before looking down at himself. “Huh. I guess it could be…”
Then, Iris shrugged, “A mystery for another day. Let us know if you need anything.”
Micah nodded before finally stepping into his room.
With that, Lucas and Iris walked away, leaving Micah alone with his thoughts again.
He made his way over to the bed and sat down.
He racked his brain, trying again to remember something, anything.
…To no avail.
He let out a groan, running a hand through his hair.
Then, he sighed.
He moved to take off his overcoat as Lucas suggested, when he suddenly felt weight from one of the pockets.
He reached in and pulled out some sort of circular device.
He turned it over in his hands, trying to figure out what it was. Then, he realized it opened. He did so, but it wasn’t very helpful. It didn't seem to be on. He continued studying the device, still not sure what it was.
Then, it hit him!
…Was it a communicator of some sort…?
A communicator.
He immediately tried to find a way to turn it on, but he didn’t know how to use it! He experimented with a few things, and even spoke into it, but nothing seemed to be working.
He let out another sigh, this one filled with frustration.
Before he could get too caught up in it, he placed the communicator back in the pocket of his overcoat and placed it on the table.
Then, he laid down on the bed. He stared up at the ceiling, mulling over everything he’d just been through.
He really didn’t have anywhere else to go.
He guessed he’d better get used to things around here.
***
A couple weeks later, Micah’s memory still hadn’t returned…
He’d gotten to know the team a lot better now. He wished he had more to share about himself, but he didn’t really know anything about himself…
He’d also learned more about the infection. He now knew the alpha was the head zombie-someone who’d been infected by the alpha sword-and the other zombies followed their command. Once they found and took out the alpha, the rest of the zombies would be vulnerable. Until then, nothing anyone did would make much of a difference.
He was also more confident with his blaster now. He’d been training a lot and had even gone on a couple missions with the team.
He’d continued trying to turn on the communication device for a while, but nothing seemed to be working. He even showed it to the team, but they didn’t recognize the tech either. They said it seemed pretty advanced. Micah eventually concluded it must’ve broken when whatever happened to him happened and he put the device back in his overcoat to stay.
They were on another supply run today: Micah, Lucas, Iris, and a couple others from the team.
“Remember, just grab what we need. Don’t get greedy. We’ll meet up back here,” Lucas instructed as the group approached the abandoned grocery store.
The rest of the team nodded before rolling out.
Micah immediately headed to the canned food section. He knew they needed a lot of that because it lasted a long time.
The store was eerily quiet. Most places were. It was extremely unsettling, even more so than the broken shelves and flickering fluorescent lights above him.
He didn’t like large areas like this. They felt the most unnatural unpopulated.
He kept his guard up as he walked, keeping an eye out for any sign of zombies, or even other survivors with bad intentions.
Finally, he made it to the aisle. He quickly grabbed what he could off the shelves and placed the cans in his bag. He made sure to follow Lucas’ instructions and not take too much as to not weigh him down.
Suddenly, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
Something was wrong.
He was being watched.
Taking his blaster in his hands, he slowly shifted his gaze to the end of the aisle.
There, holding an axe, was a zombie.
Micah noticing it seemed to be its cue to attack. The zombie charged at him. Micah quickly threw his bag over his shoulders, dropping a couple cans in the process, and took off.
When there was one zombie, odds are there were usually more not far behind.
He was about to sound the alarm and alert the others, but before he could, he heard Iris’ shout.
“ZOMBIES!”
Time to act.
Still running, Micah fired his blaster behind him. It took a couple tries-he was still working on his aim-but he finally made contact. He watched as the zombie fell to the ground, temporarily stunned.
He slowed and couldn't help a small smile from spreading across his face. That hadn’t been so bad.
Then, he heard a shout from behind him, “Micah! Watch out!”
He looked to his side just in time to see another zombie throw an axe in his direction. He quickly ducked, feeling the axe whoosh past the top of his head.
OK, he needed to stay focused.
He ran toward Lucas, who’d called out to him a moment before.
“Thanks,” he breathed.
Lucas just nodded, “No problem.”
Micah continued fighting off the zombies, clumsily grabbing ammo from his bandolier when he needed to reload, hands shaking from the intensity of it all. Some bullets fell to the ground, but he didn’t have time to worry about it and just kept firing.
The store that had previously been so quiet, eerily so, was now filled with the sounds of shouts and blasts.
The group finally met up again at the exit.
“Come on, everyone! Come on!” Lucas yelled, ushering the team toward the door.
His eyes scanned the group for a moment before his eyes widened. His head shot up.
“Iris!” he yelled, “Where’s Iris!?”
Micah looked around frantically as well.
A moment later, she came sprinting towards them, braid whipping up and down behind her as she ran.
“I’m here! I’m here!” she called.
Micah heard Lucas let out a sigh of relief before he moved to meet her halfway.
Before he could get very close, though, Iris suddenly stopped, face growing pale and eyes growing wide.
It took Micah a moment to notice what had happened, but then he saw the axe. His eyes frantically darted behind her to see a zombie standing off in the distance, wearing a triumphant smirk.
Lucas stopped dead in his tracks too.
And suddenly, the store was quiet again.
A moment that felt like an eternity passed before Iris began shaking.
Micah watched in horror as her skin paled and streaks of green spread through her hair. He’d never seen anything like it before and it made him sick to his stomach.
Then, she looked up, a wicked grin plastered on her face. Her eyes glowed purple for a moment. Not the purple-y color they were before. No, a vibrant, unnatural purple.
“Iris…” Lucas muttered quietly.
“Lucas!” Micah called, “We need to get out of here!”
But Lucas didn’t budge. He seemed frozen in place.
Micah rushed over and grabbed him, “We need to GO!”
Lucas seemed to snap out of his little trance, but instead of following Micah out, he tried to squirm free from his grasp, reaching out to the newly-infection Iris.
“IRIS!” he cried.
Micah tried to ignore his screams as he used all his strength to push the other man towards the door.
The other members of their team rushed to help. Iris was now in pursuit.
Finally, the group made it out the door. One of the other members of the team moved to close the long-broken mechanical door in place just as Iris and a couple of her zombie companions made it to them.
Micah watched as they banged on the door. After a moment, he let out a sigh, the team seemingly safe for the time being.
He was still holding Lucas, who now seemed to crumple in his arms.
Micah swallowed before asking shakily, “Lucas…?”
“They got her,” was all Lucas replied with, not really to Micah.
“Come on! We need to get back to base!” another member of their team yelled.
Micah nodded, letting Lucas drape an arm over his shoulders, so he could help him walk back.
Micah was badly shaken up too, but he couldn’t imagine what this must be like for him.
Finally, they made it back. Lucas practically collapsed as they entered the lab.
Willow immediately looked up from her work, “Oh, my gosh! What happened!?”
Micah gave her a pained look, “Iris is gone.”
***
It took Lucas a long while to start acting like himself again, though Micah doubted he'd ever be exactly the same as before. Micah did what he could to be there for him, but he’d never been in love. He was honestly still learning how to form connections again, so he didn’t completely understand what he was experiencing, but he still tried to be there for him.
Other than that, he continued training, continued adapting. He even started helping develop a cure.
He knew he had a life before this. He knew there was more out there somewhere for him. Another side of him he had yet to remember, but for now, he felt like he might be alright.