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Chapter One, All That Remains. "WHEN YOU'RE LOST IN THE DARKNESS"
ᖭི༏ᖫྀ
NOW.
Summer — 15 Years Later.
THE BRIGHT AFTERNOON sunwas beaming down on the Boston Quarantine Zone, golden rays of sunlight cascading over the tall buildings, accompanied by a pale orange hue seeping through the sky, and peaking over the horizon. However, with beauty comes the darkness hidden underneath. Clouds of gray and black smoke floated into the sky while trucks filled with the dead parked themselves on the outskirts of the QZ, burning those who were riddled with infection upon their arrival to the safe zone. It was a violent form of disposal, but the safest if it meant preventing the spread of infection amongst those who remained.
The heat continued to beat hard against Ezra Windsor's pale skin, beads of sweat sticking to his forehead in the process. The familiar smell of burning flesh and rot wrapped in smoke flooded the boy's nostrils through the bandana covering the lower half of his face. The familiar smell was enough to make Ezra's eyes sting. The burning sensation leaving the boy with another reminder that no matter how many times he got stuck with a job as grotesque and as disheartening as this one, the smell was something he could never come to terms with. It was a constant reminder that death was everywhere, even hidden behind the walls that were meant to represent safety and solitude.
This was never his idea of a good life. After running away from the only family he had when he was sixteen, believing he was better off without them, he spent months alone until he walked through the gates of the Boston QZ. FEDRA were anything but friendly, and after days of interrogations and observations, he was welcomed into the community, or at least their version of it. Ezra was forced to live under strict rules. If he were to break any of those rules then he would be forced to answer them with his life. If he wanted food, he would have to work for it, or he would starve to death as a result. He took any job he could, even one as tormenting as disposing of the dead.
His life now wasn't any better than the life he had once before. However, he was still alive after walking through the gates of the Boston QZ all those years ago. The boy believed deep down that if he had stuck around with his mother any longer, he would've lost his life due to her reckless actions. At least he got to fight another day, even in the midst of a world as cruel and cold as this one.
Ezra helped lift another dead corpse from the truck with the help of a known smuggler and friend, Joel Miller. After a few weeks in the zone, Ezra had spotted the man leaving the zone after hours alongside his partner in crime, Tess Servopoulos. At first, they threatened to kill him if he even thought about reporting them to FEDRA, but Ezra had swallowed his fear and asked if he could join them. He was a young sixteen, year old boy in need of a parental figure, or a purpose in the world. He didn't really know which one he wanted more. But Joel and Tess took the boy in, and it wasn't long before he had grown used to the life of crime. Hell, he enjoyed it because, well, it paid more.
