A top-secret lab in England was still operating late into the night on March the 15th 2034. Well renounced scientists in the fields of biology and chemistry from all over the world, were walking around in white lab coats, observing and recording results of their specific experiments.

Suddenly a side door opened and a man in his early 30s walked out wearing the same attire. Round thick glasses sat on his high bridged nose and very hollow grey eyes were faintly visible behind them. He was mumbling to himself as he walked with quick strides down the corridor.

A flustered looking youngster hurried after him with a notepad and pen, hurriedly scribbling down everything that was discussed before.

Neither of them noticed the heavy silence that followed their arrival. Or maybe they were used to it. Every single pair of eyes in the hall traced their path until they disappeared through another door.

"Wasn't that Professor Hawk?" One of the younger scientists whispered to his superior in question. The other nodded his head and then suddenly chuckled. The younger scientist looked confused. "Is something wrong with him?"

This time his superior laughed out loud. This seemed to signal everyone else to join and the entire corridor burst into laughter. The man flung an arm around his junior and said with a mocking tone.

"Now listen carefully. That man is Mad. He has all these weird impossible ideas in his head and always spews nonsense without any results to back him up. He is considered a joke to our community." The man laughed louder. But then he suddenly stopped and looked grim "...and yet he is the only one allowed into lab 0. Special favouritism of being related to the chief. No one knows what he is up to in there." The jealousy could be easily heard from his voice. Lab 0 has always been a top-secret part of this entire facility. Only very important and life changing experiments were conducted there. He chucked again "not that I am expecting anything big from him anyway. Rich people have it easy" he scoffed and turned back to his experiment which he neglected till now.

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Professor Hawk was... Mad... just like people said. Once he was focused on his experiments, he would forget everything around him. But unlike the rumours he was very skilled at what he did. His ideas, although far fetched, were greatly valued by the higher society who constantly put in more and more money to see him succeed.

Right now, he was coming back from a meeting with the chief director who was responsible to monitor his results and make sure that he was getting somewhere, so he was in a bit of a foul mood. "Can't put in more money he says..." he mumbled in annoyance. "What does he know...I am on the verge of a breakthrough" the mumbling continued and his assistant Sam was as usual hurrying behind him. "Sir your flight is in 6 hours. I was told to remind you not to miss it." He was totally ignored. He sighed and noted down to remind him again in a few hours.

"...all they are good for is money so what's the need to make such a big fuss. It's not like they will not benefit from my discovery after its finished" he suddenly gave a mad scientist laugh which send shivers down Sam's back, but he kept quiet as usual.

They reached in front of Lab 0. Professor Hawk put in his pass code, scanned his ID and then entered the first door. At the second one he did a fingerprint and retina scan and the door slid open. At the last door he pierced his finger and a drop of blood fell onto the strip to test his DNA sample. Finally, after he entered the lab he had to strip and scrub himself clean and put on the security suit.

The room looked like any other lab. Monitors beeping. And equipment buzzing. That's until Prof. Hawk walked towards a blank white wall and pressed a button. Two cylindrical wall length tubes emerged from the space between the walls. The containers were filled with gooey looking fluids. Submerged in these fluids were his test subjects.

Test subject 0029754 looked human. She had very beautiful curves which were exposed by her lack of clothing. Her skin was very pale and if you looked very closely you could see glass like scales covering her skin. Her hair was on the border line between a deep crimson and brown. She looked to be asleep or dead.

Prof. Hawks spoke into a microphone "transfer her into the test chamber" as soon as he finished several robots arrived and started the transfer process. Once she was behind bullet proof glass, the cylinder was drained of the fluid. There was no response.

Prof. Hawk wasn't concerned he went over the details he has gathered about her so far.

Test Subject 0029754:

Referred to as Erva

Age: 12 years

Biologically modified human with DNA from a peregrine falcon, Sea Wasp and the black mamba.

Skills possessed:

Poison: very potent. antidote not present

Hardened shell for skin: tough but can crack under continues attack

Speed: similar to a peregrine falcon

Flight: occasional. Not long distance.

Intelligence: low. No response to communication

Pain: able to feel it.

Diet: water not needed to survive

cooked meat- curious but not fond

Cooked vegetables - despise

Raw vegetables - ignores completely

Fruits - ignores completely

Raw meat - success

Prof Hawks continued to read through the experiment details and pondered what was missing. Erva was the perfect weapon. A lot of people have invested in his research. Yet what was lacking was the ability to control. He tried all kinds of torturous experiments, but they were not effective on her obedience. But still they allowed him to gather data on her. Without signs of intelligence it was difficult to train her like a dog. Although she responded to pain, she doesn't seem to fear death. So, they couldn't hold her life hostage and hope it works.

With such a dangerous invention it was important to have control over its actions. Its also an issue on who is to have control over it.

While he was busy pondering over this issue the test subject who was pretending to be asleep until now opened her eyes. A pair of golden orbs fixed on the man in the security suit and a hint of malice and killing intend flashed through them. She continued to observe her surrounding taking in every detail, from the length of the room to the tiniest bolts weren't left unnoticed. After a thorough observation her eyes flashed back to the still oblivious man and she slightly bared her teeth. Then just before the professor looked at her, her eyes closed again.

The next morning there was a news broadcast about a science facility which got under attack and valuable research specimens were stolen. The story goes that several scientists were injured during this terrorist attack and now these extremely dangerous test subjects could be in the hands of one of our enemy nations.

The police arrived at the scene after a request to help track missing people. They were hushed into silence after observing the scene of the attack. To them it was obvious that the attack happened from inside the facility and the entire bullshit they were fed was just a cover up.

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One of the rooms had the wall blasted open from the inside and the contends inside the cylindrical tubes were missing. The facility blamed a junior assistant named Sam who was apparently responsible for cleaning and locking up the lab but neglected to do his duty properly. He was fired and fined. He was made the sacrificial lamb for a lab he wasn't even allowed entrance into. Later on, people showed up at his home and threatened his life for confidentiality regarding anything that he witnessed in the lab.

There was loud blaring alarms going off throughout the facility. Inside lab 0, all the commotion woke up test subject 0029755. The monitor next to the cylinder showed test subject 0029755 details and test results.

Test Subject 0029855

Referred to as Ash

Age: 20 years

Biologically modified human with high psychic stats.

Skills possessed:

Heal - able to heal others. Slow but effective. Able to treat 8 people before feeling exhausted. Up to 12 people when pushed to the limit.

Side effect - highly tiring for the subject. Feverish after. Sleeps for 10/12 hours

Self-Regeneration - can heal small wounds quickly. Bigger wounds take half the normal human heal time. Broken bones heal faster than normal. Cut off body parts don't grow back.

No other skill known at the moment but potential high. Could grand immortality after future developments.

Intelligence: very high. Speaks the human tongue.

Pain: highly sensitive to pain

Diet: Normal human diet

A pair of beautiful blue eyes scanned his surrounding through the fluid he was kept in. Ash has been in this lab for several years now. He can't tell the time flowing to precisely know but he knows it's been long. Every time he opens his eyes, it's with dread. The Mad scientist said he was treating him because he was sick. But the torturous pain of each experiment was enough for him to be happy staying sick. It took him some time to grow out of the childish mindset and understand that he was being treated like a lab rat. No. that he was in fact a lab rat.

His only comfort was that there is a companion. Although they never talk, he enjoyed the feeling that he is not alone.

The other test subject was scary. He would occasionally catch the killing intend in her eyes. Watching her observe her surroundings and baring her teeth at that man, all these small gestures brought him joy though. But he knew that from watching her have her meals that if the occasion arises, he would be on the menu as well. It was a surprise to him that the scientist hasn't noticed these signs of intelligence in her. Smart people can be sometimes very stupid. Or maybe she is just that good at hiding it.

Right now, the lab was immersed in darkness. The occasional flashes from the alarm being the only guide for his eyes. Did the scientist forget to put them back inside the wall? He wondered. Once in a while he would forget, but it wasn't like they benefited much from it anyway.

The alarms were still going off, irritating his ears. What's going on? He thought annoyed. That's when he noticed the broken cylindrical container next to him.

It was empty. Erva! Where is she. Ash started to panic. He didn't want to be left here alone. Without warning a pair of golden orbs popped up in front of him. There was a long silence as both of them observed each other. Ash was starting to feel scared. Although he didn't want to be alone, he didn't want to be her meal either. He was frozen still.

Suddenly Erva raised her hand and curled it into a fist. He could see the skin on her hand harden. It looked like it was covered by a layer of shimmering ice. Seeing her intentions, he moved as back as he could in order to avoid the impact. He closed his eyes and waited for whatever his fate was going to be. After all he was weak. He heard the glass shattering and then the fluid he was in started flowing out. A hand grabbed his neck tightly, pulled him out and smashed him to the floor with great force.

Pain assaulted him. He felt a few of his bones crack. His eyes opened in shock and saw Erva on top of him with her mouth open ready to bite him. Please don't he screamed in his head as tears rolled down his cheek. He saw her lean down and then he felt her sharp canines on his shoulder. He shouted out in pain as he felt a piece of his flesh being torn from his body. Having been a test subject for several years he knew there was no helping it. His mind automatically went into defence mode and shut down. This is what he usually does. Whenever something unpleasant happens to him he becomes like a corpse. Without feeling, without thinking... he just becomes an observer. In this case he was about to observe his own death. At least he won't feel the pain. Actually, he will but he will pretend he doesn't.

Suddenly Erva stopped. She looked like she was choking. After a bit of struggling she spat out everything that she was chewing on.

Her eyes flashed with surprise and confusion. This brought Ash back to his senses as well. He was hurting a lot, but his curiosity overtook his pain. But then Erva leaned in again. Ash widened his eyes in horror. The imagined pain didn't come instead this time she was sniffing him. After a few sniffs her face contorted, and she made a disgusted look just like the time when she was offered vegetables to eat.

Ash let out a sign of relief. He was not appetising to her. Just when he started to relax, he saw the killing intention in her eyes. Something she can't eat was a danger to her. She raised her claws to strike at him. But before she could, sound of people trying to get into the lab was heard. With all the security in place for lab 0 it was difficult for just anyone to come in. Her eyes snapped to the sound and her animal instincts told her to escape. She rushed to the opposite end wall, hardened her entire body and then slammed it against the wall. Without any resistance the wall gave out and a human sized hole was now in it. The wall was connected to one of the busy corridors in the facility and several scientists saw a naked woman charging out of the hole. Then it was a large commotion. People were being bitten and chased. Security came with guns and started firing. Everything was chaos and panic.

Ash slowly stood up and he felt the pain rush through his entire body. He looked down at himself. His shoulder had a chunk missing but he wasn't worried. His wounds heal fast. His leg seemed to be swollen as he tried to walk. So, he slowly limped towards the hole. And his entire body was littered with small and big cuts. The small ones will be gone in 2 days the bigger ones maybe a few more. The leg is the problem. Without knowing if its broken, he couldn't tell how long it would take to heal. He signed heavily. Now was not the time to evaluate his stats, he had to get out.

When he looked into the corridor, it was silent. Everyone had rushed off somewhere. Some were escaping with their life's while others were chasing the monster that escaped the lab. He observed his surroundings, noticed the directing the bullets were fired in and limped down the other way. He saw a man with a bite on his neck lying dead on the floor and started undressing him. Although the cloths were a bit blood stained and loose, it was better than walking around naked. After getting dressed he quickened his limb and walked around to find an exit. He could still hear the alarms going off and the distant gun fire. Suddenly he saw a group of scientists hurrying down the hall whispering about getting out. Quietly he slipped among them.

"What was that?" Someone asked his voice shaking hard. "It came from lab 0 so it must be Prof. Hawk's experiment" someone else answered in a small voice.

"Then where is he?" The first asked with a hint of anger in his scared voice"

"I heard he had a flight to New Zealand today. We have another base there after all"

The rest of the scientists started cursing him loudly after hearing this. "I heard the test subject was running towards the exit. I hope it doesn't escape but if it doesn't escape it means we will be in danger inside the building" everyone shivered at the thought. They already witnessed several of their colleagues being bitten and killed. Suddenly they hurried their footsteps with newfound enthusiasm to get out of these four walls. Ash had a feeling he knew where she would go if she escaped from here. He followed them quietly to his freedom.

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The virus infection spread from two different places. One started from the people bitten in a top-secret scientific lab. The public know the facility as an animal shelter and the employees were apparently bitten by a diseased dog. The second place was the airport. Many people were wounded, and several were found dead. The culprit for this attack was unknown. This incident led to the spread of the disease worldwide as the passengers on the flights to Dubai and America were among the bitten. The symptoms don't start showing until 24 hours into the infection and people with stronger immunity can last up to 3 days. That day several long distant flights crashed along the route.

Overnight several calamities occurred all over the globe. England was the most severe affected. Its population reduced to a mere 35% within 2 months. The infection was quickly spreading all over the world and although the other countries lasted a few months longer, the world population dropped to 20%. The rest?? Cold, Unfeeling, emotionless, and dead walking corpses. This was the beginning of hell on earth. The end just came unexpected, without any signs or warning. It took everyone by surprise, and no one was prepared. Exactly one month after Erva's break out, April 16, was officially recognised as dooms day.

Ash was on the run. After splitting from the group of scientists he wandered around aimlessly for a while. Whenever he got hungry, he would steal some food from someone's house or another while they were not around. He saw the news broadcast on one of their TVs about the attack on the airport. He was sure it was Erva since he saw the sudden interest in her eyes when prof. Hawks got the message from his assistant about the flight he had to catch. Ash knew Erva's destination once she escaped the lab would be the airport as she had a lot of resentment to vent. It seems the security were not able to stop her that day after all.

After his escape Ash spend several days wandering around hungry and homeless. When the hunger got too much, he would sneak into different homes and steal any food he could find. He spend over a month like this. By then all his wounds were already healed. His bones still ached from time to time and his limb was gone except for a small uncomfortable itch. The bite from Erva was still bleeding though with no signs of healing. During this time a lot of changes occurred. The people were asked to stay home and not wander outside. But people being people, always wanting to do what was told not to, still went out, working and enjoying life in pubs and clubs. So instead the Police were wandering around in the street on patrol every day. They seemed to be on high alert. Whenever they encountered large groups of people, they would advise them to disperse and stay home. No real reason was given for this behaviour which made the residents more and more angry. During this month several people entered the hospital with high fevers and contorting faces. Most of them had weird looking wounds on their bodies. Those without wounds were mainly their partners. Doctors determined that it was some kind of contagious new virus whose means of spread was still under research.

All this continued until one day he witnessed a woman walking strangely down the street. She then approached a group of teenagers who had snuck out late to meet up with friends. Without any warning or sign she growled and attacked them. Ash watched in horror as screaming teenagers ran away, several of them clutching their arms or sides where they got wounded. The woman grabbed hold of one boy and started tearing into his neck with her teeth. After the body went limp, she tore out his stomach and buried her head inside the mess of organs and intestines. After witnessing this Ash became sick and puked out what little food he had in his stomach. Looking up he noticed that a blood-soaked face was looking at his direction and bolted.

3 days after his escape he started noticing something strange. People were acting weird. They all reminded him of Erva. They craved raw meat and started biting everyone they saw. Their eyes were unfocused and bloodshot. Their skin looked pale as if there was no blood circulation through their body. They had wounds and bite marks. Some were missing larger parts of their body as if something was trying to devour them before they died.

Scared from this scene, Ash hid out in the house that he was stealing from at the moment for 2 weeks straight. None of the actual residents showed up. The bite from Erva was the most stubborn one to heal. Although it was slowly closing up now, the process hurt like something was stabbing his vessels over and over. He saw on TV from the last news report that a bite would spread the disease and one would turn into one of those lifeless beings. Since it had been over a month since his escape, he knew that he wasn't infected. Maybe Erva forgot to inject her venom into him! That was the only explanation he could think of.

He ate everything that was still in the house. screams and growls filled his ears throughout the first week. Then it quieted down. By then he was already out of food supplies, but he prevailed for another 6 days before his hunger took over his fear and he decided to go out to find something to eat.

He scanned his surroundings and jumped out a window which was close to the house next door and climbed into that building. His senses were on high alert as he made his way through the house. After making sure that there was no danger, he hurried into the kitchen which had already started to reek of decaying food. Fruits in the fruit basket were already a rotting black colour. The odour made Ash's stomach churn. He held down the bile that was threatening to rise and started loading a bag with all kinds of dry food and some kitchen knives. Then he looked into the rooms and found a baseball-bat which he took without any hesitation. He also rummaged through the closet and put on a new set of comfortable and flexible cloths. Although he spend most his life as a lab rat, he was highly intelligent to know what things gave him a higher chance to survive. Although the world was in chaos, he was at least free, and he wanted to live no matter what.

After packing everything he needed, he moved from one house to the other making sure to make as little noise as possible. His goal - find some living people. Ash had long realised that he can't survive by himself anymore. Just remembering the first time he stupidly went outside, got chased and injured while running away send shivers down his back. After all there was strength in numbers. Ever since then whenever he encountered these living dead he would hide and hope for the best. His baseball bat was his last resort. After all he was no fighter. His muscles were undeveloped due to the lack of exercise in the laboratory. Unlike Erva who was raised to be a weapon, he was hardly given any attention when it came to physical development. Even with his lack of physique, his luck was good because all the chasing Zombies would give up right after he found a hiding spot.

While he was crouching in one of these hiding spots, he started to use his brain. Of all of Prof Hawks treatments the one that Ash feared the less and actually looked forward to, was the intelligence training. There was no pain involved. Just a lot of reading, watching and learning. So even though he had a sheltered life, he was up to date with all the general information.

Where would humans try to run to when they face danger? The police station. But then based on the current situation, it has already been almost 3 weeks, they would need food and water. So even if they went initially to a police station the possibility that they left there is high. Another factor that I should consider from observing the Zombies is that they can sense movement and they are attracted to sound. So, if a large number of people gather in one place the zombies around the area would be high. If that's the case, they need a place which has good fortification in order to protect themselves. Hmmmm... Ash scratched his head in thought and then got out from his hiding spot he quickly entered a house nearby, made sure it was empty and then found a room to isolate himself while he was planning his next steps.

After he made sure he was safe for the short term, he opened his bag and took out a large folded piece of paper. He found this detailed map of this city hanging as a decoration in one of the houses that he looted. It had all the roads and stores marked on it. Ash first traced down the biggest police station nearby. It was around 3 hours walk from his current location and him not knowing how to drive or cycle, his option was to walk or sprint. It would still take him more than half a day to get there and from the slow pace that he was moving at it would take him longer. But that wasn't his destination anyway. After locating it, he looked around at the nearby shops and stores. There was a small Tesco 20 minutes' walk from the police station. It would be a good spot to stay for a while. Since its was already 3 weeks into the official apocalypse, April 16th, he should still be able to find them there. Although the place doesn't have much fortification it will do for the time being.

Having made up his mind, he started tracing the shortest path towards Tesco but soon gave up. from what he understands the area in between him, and Tesco should be overflowing with Zombies because of a recent concert in that area. Not to mention the closer you get to the destination the more of them he will face. So, it's better to pick a less risky path. Finally, he picked a route which he believed would get him there safely, but it increased the time spend on the road by 2-3 hours and that is if nothing unexpected happened.

Making sure he had enough supplies for the time he was on the road plus emergency provisions in case something happened, Ash took a deep breath and opened the door. He looked around, spotted several zombies a few blocks down, gulped audibly and sprinted in the opposite direction. He already deviated from his planned route before he even began.