SIX YEARS BEFORE THE OUTBREAK...

Six-year-old Aaron walked into the library, bandages wrapped around his head and arm. Mrs. Hecox held on to his shoulders as she escorted him into the room. Jonah and Natalya were sprawled out on the floor surrounded by stacks of graphic novels. Both of them glanced up at Aaron.

"Are you okay?" Jonah asked.

Aaron scowled. "Yeah, I'm hunky-dory," he replied sarcastically.

"Okay. Carry on."

Natalya snickered but quickly silenced herself as she, too, became a target of Aaron's scowl.

"What did you little troublemakers do this time?" Mrs. Hecox asked.

"We went to the fishmonger's earlier with Mr. Hecox," Natalya replied. "Jonah wagered that Aaron wouldn't be able to convince the fishmonger to give him a live fish."

Mrs. Hecox raised an eyebrow. "Then?"

"Aaron made it happen by asking for fish and chips. The fish-man laughed and handed him a live cod. We tried going back outside, but Mr. Hecox startled Aaron and the fish when he jumped out of the door like 'Blah! It's me!'"

Both Aaron and Jonah started chuckling. "The fish slapped Aaron in the face with its tail like seven times!" Jonah said.

Mrs. Hecox wasn't amused. "Are you gonna tell me why this poor boy has scrapes on his head and arms yet?"

"Oh yeah," Natalya continued. "Aaron tripped on the pavement and dropped the fish into the Thames."

"Long story short," Jonah took over, "Mr. Hecox put us here as punishment, and Aaron saved a fish from swimming down someone's gullet."

"Don't they chew the fish before swallowing it?" Aaron asked.

"I know, bruv. I was trying to be funny."

"Was Nika with you?" Mrs. Hecox asked.

All of a sudden, a timid, golden-haired little girl slowly appeared from behind a bookcase. "Y-y-yes, miss," she replied sheepishly.

"But look at her," Natalya said. "She didn't mean no harm. She's like a little kitten. I mean, she did try tugging on Aaron's shirt to keep him from acting stupid, but at least she tried to help."

"Don't call Aaron stupid, young lady. That's rude." Mrs. Hecox glanced over toward Nika. "And don't you worry, Nika. I'm not holding any of this against you."

Nika slowly slid back behind the bookcase. "Sorry, miss."

"Nothing to worry about, dear," Mrs. Hecox replied. She then looked down at Aaron. "Aaron, you will have to spend the rest of the afternoon helping Nika with her reading."

Aaron raised a brow. "Why? I thought that was you and Natalya's job."

"Nika could use another friend besides her sister. In fact, you could use another friend, too, lad."

Jonah and Natalya started snickering. "You're making him sound like one of those anoraks who never leave their homes," Jonah said, hiding himself behind a comic book.

"Don't think of this as a punishment," Mrs. Hecox continued. "Think of this as a chance to prove your responsibility and maturity."

"I'm only six," Aaron responded bluntly.

"You're never too young to be a gentleman." Mrs. Hecox started nudging Aaron toward Nika until the two of them were at the same table. She waited as both of them sat down in their chairs and scooted in, both of them uncomfortable.

"Uh...hi," Aaron croaked, weakly waving toward Nika.

"See? You two will be close friends in no time!" Mrs. Hecox said, her optimism blatantly forced. "Now if you excuse me, I'll be in the kitchen making tea." She made her way around the bookcase before stopping in front of Jonah and Natalya one more time. "Please don't bother Mr. O'Connor and Miss Koslov for the next hour or two."

"But what if there's an emergency or something and we need to help them?" Jonah asked.

"Then call me, Mr. Hecox, or one of your older peers. And please stay out of trouble! You're in a library for crying out loud."

She then took her leave and stepped out of the library into the hallway. Jonah and Natalya returned to their comics and Aaron was left alone at the table with Nika. Even though he already knew her for almost a year like Jonah and Natalya, he talked to her the least. In fact, he could only recount six times he talked to her, and it was only when he was either eating with her and the other kids or when he was in class. Their conversations weren't personal or exciting; the most immersive conversation he had with her was during a mixup involving a pen, a pencil, and what he thought was a pencil at first but turned out to be a twig he snatched from the playground by mistake.

However, he would admit she seemed like a nice girl to be around. She had an adorable smile and couldn't even hurt a fly. Plus, everyone loved her hair, even though she looked exactly like Natalya. She had learned a little more English since he met her, so she would be able to communicate a little longer with others, even though she would usually talk to Natalya in Russian.

Sadly, shyness still overcame both of them.

"So..." Aaron attempted to speak. "What book are you reading?"

Nika quietly grabbed a book from the edge of the table and nudged it toward Aaron. The book was sky blue and lengthy compared to the other books he read, around seventy pages. On the cover was a drawing of a rabbit wearing a blue shirt, the title The Tale of Peter Rabbit stretching across the top.

"Rabbit!" Nika said with a smile.

"Yeah, I can tell," Aaron replied unenthusiastically. "Doesn't this seem a little long to read?"

"Mrs. Hecox said you can read it with me," Nika replied.

"But are you sure you want to read this one?"

Nika only nodded. She passed the book closer to him. He then exchanged halfhearted glances between the book and Nika.

Aaron shrugged. "Fine."

Once he made it through page one, the rest of the story was mostly a breeze to get through. There would be a few new words here and there, but Aaron and Nika were able to get through them with a few repetitions of these new words. Natalya even helped a little bit, but she always laughed when she had to, which made Aaron regret asking her.

During the many times they mispronounced something or felt like the paragraphs were too long, they would either groan or laugh about it. Aaron failed to hold his laughs in, but Nika showed her amusement through soft giggles. It almost seemed like she cared too much about the rules of the library to fully enjoy this moment.

Once they reached the middle of the story, a loud bang occurred outside and multiple colors of paint splattered the window. Aaron almost thought the building was being graffitied again, but the sounds of children cheering made him ditch the idea. Then he realized in disappointment that Mr. Hecox was conducting his favorite science experiment: where he'd construct homemade bombs out of a combination of either baking soda and vinegar or water and dry ice.

"And that's how you make mass destruction beautiful!" Mr. Hecox shouted, followed by a frighteningly maniacal laugh. However, he quickly became aware of his weirdness and silenced himself, sheepishly adding, "When you all finally find the right families, please do not try that at your new home."

Mrs. Hecox regained Aaron's attention by knocking on the door. "You've been reading for an hour already. Would you like to join the others outside?"

Aaron immediately leaped out of his chair with a grin stretched across his face and nodded his head so fast he felt like his neck would break at any second. However, Nika didn't look excited, demonstrated by her shrug of disinterest.

"Do you want to come with us?" Aaron asked.

"No thank you," Nika replied. "I feel more comfortable in here."

"But—"

"It's alright, Aaron," Mrs. Hecox chimed in. "I'll keep her company. You can run along with the others if you'd like."

Jonah and Natalya scurried to the door leading out to the hallway. Jonah motioned to Aaron to follow him before disappearing out of the room.

"Should I?" Aaron asked.

Mrs. Hecox started chuckling. "Is that sympathy I sense in you, Aaron?"

Another banging noise occurred, startling all three of them. Aaron found himself wrapping his arms around Nika out of fear and the two of them were huddled together in Mrs. Hecox's arms, like if they were all bracing for impact. He was surprised at how soft Nika's hair was now that his cheek was pressed against her head.

Instead of an incoming threat, all they were startled by was Mr. Hecox, who apparently threw himself at the window. He was pressed up against a clean part of the glass like a child getting a glimpse of a zoo animal, a crazed grin covering his face. Everyone knew he was eccentric, but he looked totally bonkers as he was pressed flat against the glass like a madman.

"Good afternoon, Agatha!" he said as he waved his hand in a frantic but friendly manner. So he wasn't insane. Just charmingly weird. "Hello, children! You want to come out with the rest of us?"

Aaron and Nika awkwardly released each other from their arms. "Please tell me you're doing what I think you doing," Aaron said.

All of a sudden, Jonah appeared behind the window, wiping away the paint with a rag. Just like Mr. Hecox, he pressed up against the glass with a silly smile.

"We're crafting bombs out here, bruv!" Jonah said. "A little water and a little dry ice, then kapooey-kashaw! All over the place."

"We've got a few more chunks of dry ice," Mr. Hecox continued. "Would you two like to join us?"

Aaron and Nika were too focused on the crazed expressions on Jonah and Mr. Hecox's faces. They knew they were enjoying the experiment a little too much, and it was made more hilarious by the fact that Mr. Hecox practically resembled the child standing next to him. They both looked so innocent and happy.

And with that thought, Aaron and Nika burst out laughing.