FIVE YEARS BEFORE THE OUTBREAK...

Aaron lay in his room, buried up to his neck in his blanket. He snuggled his head into the pillow and let out a sigh of relief. This had been one of his favorite days at the children's home. It had been snowing in London ever since Christmas, and three weeks into January it was still coming down strong. Twice a week they would all travel to the nearest parks to play in the snow. Then they'd finish off the day back at the children's home with hot chocolate and a movie.

As much as he enjoyed the day, especially when Jonah decapitated the snowman they made and launched the head at Natalya, he was glad to be back in his warm bed. He also loved his view from his window. The perfect view of Big Ben on the other side of the Thames combined with the serene descent of the snow only made him feel more relaxed as he attempted to fall asleep.

Just as his eyes were about to slide shut for the last time that night, he heard his door creak open. Since he was faced toward the wall, he couldn't tell what was coming, but he didn't feel threatened. Anytime someone entered his room it was always one of the Hecoxes. But not this time.

Aaron slowly tilted his head toward the door, getting a quick glimpse of the ceiling before encountering his visitor. Turns out his visitor was the same golden-haired bookworm who always kept him company in the library every day.

"Hi, Aaron!" Nika greeted with a smile. She stood next to Aaron's bed in her nightgown, clutching a Peter Rabbit book to her chest.

"Nika," Aaron groaned tiredly as he sat up on his bed. He took a quick glimpse at the clock hanging from his wall. "It's past midnight. Get some sleep."

"But I can't sleep. We didn't get to read today and you promised me we'd finish it before Christmas."

"But it's the twenty-fourth of January."

Nika raised an eyebrow. "Exactly."

Oops, Aaron thought to himself. "Fine," he said halfheartedly. "But only because I now need help sleeping, too."

Nika sat down on the bed next to Aaron and placed the book in front of them. She briefly hugged Aaron, pressing her head against his shoulder, before letting go and remaining close to him as they prepared to open the book. Aaron suddenly lost all of his focus in that one moment. He felt like he forgot how to read.

"W-w-what page were we on last time?" Aaron stuttered.

Nika took the book and flipped the pages until it landed on a page marked by a purple slip of paper. "Here, silly. We marked it earlier, remember?"

"But I thought Mr. Hecox said he would read the rest of it to us."

"He's asleep!"

"What a surprise."

"And I like it more when you read it. You're good at doing the character's voices."

Aaron shrugged. "I guess."

He grabbed the book and placed it in between the two of them and prepared to read. Even though it had been a fortnight since he last read The Tale of Peter Rabbit, he and Mrs. Hecox agreed he was improving in his reading skills. Plus, Nika had become one of his closest friends besides Jonah and Natalya--the Cod Squad as they called themselves--and he hated seeing her unhappy.

"Mr. McGregor was quite sure that Peter was somewhere in the toolshed," Aaron read, "perhaps hidden underneath a flower-pot. He began to turn them over carefully, looking under each. Presently Peter sneezed-'Kertyschoo!' Mr. McGreg--"

Nika giggled. Aaron glanced at her. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Kertyschoo!" Nika repeated, continuing to giggle. "That sounds funny! Say it again!"

"Kertyschoo?"

Nika giggled a little more. She grabbed a pillow and pressed it against her face to muffle her laughs. Aaron soon found himself resisting the urge to chuckle, but he was more skilled at hiding his laughs than Nika. In fact, he actually spent most of his time keeping her from waking up the others. The only thing he could think of doing was helping her muffle herself by holding the pillow to her face.

"Don't wake up the others!" he hissed, trying to sound commanding yet non-threatening.

Once Nika had finally calmed down, she let out a yawn and rested her head on Aaron's shoulder. "Okay, carry on," she replied cheerfully.

The comforting feeling of her soft hair against his neck made him lose his focus again. "Where was I?"

A knock was heard at the bedroom door. Nika hid behind Aaron, crouching down behind him fearfully. Aaron closed the book and spread his arms out to protect her, even though he knew his small stature and lightweight body would work as a disadvantage. He only knew this because of how easy it was for the Hecoxes to yank him off the ground and swing him around, despite how fun it was.

A hand appeared from behind the door, grasping the edge to continue pushing it open. Aaron realized it must've been one of the witches Mr. Hecox told him about. The ones that would come out in the night and terrorize him if he didn't eat his fruits and vegetables. He was still too young to realize it was only a story.

Fortunately for him (or at least compared to the witches), it was only Mr. and Mrs. Hecox at the door.

"What are you two doing up this late?" Mrs. Hecox asked. "And Nika, you're supposed to be back in your room."

Nika hid herself behind Aaron, fearfully cuddled up against him. "Well...I..."

"She just needed help falling asleep," Aaron replied. "So did I."

"What were you doing?" Mrs. Hecox replied. "And what was with all the noise?"

"Nika wanted me to finish reading Peter Rabbit. I said one silly word, and she lost it."

Mrs. Hecox approached the bed and kneeled down to see Nika eye to eye, even though Nika was as terrified as an injured animal being approached by a stronger creature. "Aww, the little angel looks scared to death. I already told you, Nika, we are not going to hurt you."

Nika slowly backed off Aaron. "Could we please finish the story?" she asked sheepishly.

Mrs. Hecox formed a heartwarming smile before pulling Nika into one of her famous bear hugs. She caressed her hand through Nika's hair in order to comfort her and looked back at Mr. Hecox for approval on the continuation of the story. "Can we, darling?"

Mr. Hecox exchanged glances with the puppy eyes of his wife and Nika, and their adorable embrace only made it harder to say no. He probably could've refused if it was just Aaron since he looked tired and utterly confused on what was going on, sitting there with his mouth gaping open in boredom. Mr. Hecox amused himself as he jokingly thought of a fly entering his mouth, harmlessly, of course.

"Well, if we must," he replied. "I'll do the honors of concluding the story."

Mrs. Hecox and the children cheered with joy, quickly lowering the volumes of their celebration when they realized there were still other people in the building. Mrs. Hecox wrapped her arm around Aaron and pulled him closer to her and Nika, all three of them ready to hear the story. Mr. Hecox sat down on the edge of the bed and picked up the book.

"So where were we?" he asked.

"Kertyschoo," Nika giggled.

Mr. Hecox smirked. "Amusing. Now here we go." He cleared his throat and read. "Mr. McGregor was after him in no time. And tried to put his foot upon Peter, who jumped out of a window, upsetting three plants. The window was too small for Mr. McGregor, and he was tired of running after Peter..."

Several paragraphs later, Nika began dozing off, nodding her head repeatedly as she struggled to stay awake. She eventually gave in and rested her head on Mrs. Hecox's breast, falling fast asleep. Aaron, however, was still wide awake, cuddled up with the others.

"Aaron, look at her," Mrs. Hecox whispered to not interrupt her husband. She looked down at the sleeping Nika and brushed her hand through her hair. "Doesn't she seem so peaceful?"

"Yeah, I guess," Aaron replied. "Isn't that supposed to happen when you fall asleep?"

"Of course. She's been having trouble falling asleep recently, but thanks to you she's finally getting some rest."

Aaron shrugged. "The hot chocolate probably kept her up."

Mrs. Hecox chuckled and pulled Aaron and Nika closer to her. She and Aaron returned their sights back to Mr. Hecox.

"...One table-spoonful to be taken at bed-time," Mr. Hecox continued. "But Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail had bread and milk and blackberries for supper." He closed the book and glanced back at the others with a smile. "The end."

Aaron and Mrs. Hecox formed looks of disappointment before saying in unison, "That's it?"

Mr. Hecox raised an eyebrow. "You're seven years old. You're supposed to enjoy this."

"Oh no, I did," Aaron replied. "But I was kind of expecting a happily ever after or something."

Mr. Hecox placed the book back on the bed. "Sometimes you don't need to say they lived happily ever after. Sometimes a story can end on a simple note or even a cliffhanger yet still remain satisfying. Sadly, there can be times when a story ends on a less-than-cheerful note."

A frown formed on Aaron's face. Mrs. Hecox gave her husband a dirty look, alerting him to add something so he doesn't leave Aaron in a terrible mood for the night.

"However," Mr. Hecox continued, "I have no doubt that your story, Aaron, will end on a high note."

Aaron suddenly looked frightened. The words story ends were intimidating him. "When does my story end?" he asked.

Mrs. Hecox gave Mr. Hecox a more agitated look. He wasn't making things better. Even he realized it. And with that, he accepted defeat and mustered the only other thing he could come up with to keep Aaron from losing his innocence so quickly.

"It ends when you've run out of things to live for. And Aaron, my boy, you've got so many things going for you. You can do anything. Be anything. You can save the world, help the injured, cure diseases, anything! And as long as you've got a purpose, your story will never end."

Even though Aaron remained silent, Mrs. Hecox changed from miffed to overjoyed as soon as Mr. Hecox concluded his encouraging speech, a smile stretching from ear to ear across her face. A tear slid down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away before Aaron could notice.

"Okay, cool," Aaron replied with a goofy smile. "Thanks, sir!"

Mr. Hecox playfully messed up Aaron's hair with his hand. "Anytime, lad." He rose from the bed and took the book. "Goodnight. Agatha, let's be on our way."

Mrs. Hecox kissed Aaron on the cheek and hugged him. "Goodnight, Aaron."

Still carrying Nika in her arms, she rose from the bed and followed Mr. Hecox out the door. She waved goodbye before closing the door, leaving Aaron alone in his room.

Your story will never end, Aaron thought. And with that, he sunk into his pillow and fell asleep.