The Crawford's Multiverse of Madness

Prologue 1.5

(Alice POV)

My mind felt as if it had been dormant for thousands of years. The last thing I can recall was the explosion and then Zeel talking to himself about radiation poisoning.

I guess we still didn't make it out in time huh?

I just hope that if we die, I and Zeel can go to the same part of hell. Why assume we're going to hell? Well if you know Zeel then you know that's where he's going, and I'll probably go as an accomplice.

All the years of killing and running can finally stop. We can now have peace together. I sank deeper and deeper into my thoughts as this idea began to dominate my subconscious.

Just as the idea was about to take over, a twinkle of light shines within my mindscape. Before I even had an inkling of what was happening, I am already beside the light.

I reach out towards the light, I still crave the light – still want to live and experience all the wonders I have yet to indulge in.

"I always wanted to tell you, but I could never put it into words. How about I show you," I hear a tired melancholic voice echo through the vestiges of my consciousness.

Then memories begin to stream through my vision. Each memory engraining themselves within me as if they were my own.

In a way, I guess you could say these are my own memories. These memories are Zeel's memories; Zeel and I belong to each other, so yeah, my own memories then.

See the logic I used there?

Even as the memories flow through my mind at light speed, I can still tell that they had been tampered with. Or rather, Zeel was blocking out specific parts of his memories that I should not have access to. Every time I tried to pry more than I should, the picture of a cube would enter my mind.

At one point I see a couple in a futuristic, but still antiquated delivery room. The woman was giving birth to a child.

"It's a boy," the nurse said, excitement apparent in her voice.

"Place him in the body refining fluid. He needs to get a head start on life," The mother says to which the father who is nearby nodding his head.

"His name will be Zeel 'The Perfect Child'," The father comments excitedly.

Then another point in the memory I see the boy at the age of five stabbing a child on the playground because the child made his younger sister upset.

"Zeel what have you done?" yells the mother in shock that her son could commit such a heinous act.

"He was bothering Catherine so I eliminated him in the most direct and effective way," The young boy replies, oblivious of what he had just done.

I could not determine if this is the innocence of childhood or the birth of a sociopath.

The mother then proceeds to slap him constantly, yelling at him during the process with tears rolling down her face.

"Mother if you keep hitting me. I'll be forced to retaliate and eliminate you too," The boy tells his mother straightforwardly to which she freezes and begins sobbing even louder.

"What have I done. What have I done," The mother whispers to herself like a schizophrenic who had forgotten to take her daily medications.

Times passes by fairly quickly, I watch the mother taking her son and daughter out for ice cream, then to amusement parks and every other entertainment possible.

It looked as if she was trying hard to rectify her past errors by showing the boy how wonderful life can be.

This continued until the boy was ten years old, walking home with his mother – a bud of happiness was beginning to sprout in his heart.

I could feel the happiness germinating within his body, but the boy did not understand the feeling and suppressed it unknowingly.

After which follows a series of memories I could not see, just blurs as if Zeel himself doesn't remember them, but still, not one to give up so easily.

I attempt to scrutinize the memories as one thought began to dominate my mind "MONSTER, MONSTER! MONSTER"

I immediately shut out the voices and avoid those memories like the plague.

Next is a 15-year-old Zeel working all his life in the study of sciences, becoming a well-respected researcher. Then came research on a specific type of wormhole – a Cosmic Wormhole.

I stare in awe at Zeel's memories as I watch how advanced his civilization really is. Entire galaxies blink out of existence, as they had become little more than resources for those who could extract the energy.

I was too indulged to realize, these memories I am seeing didn't seem to be from any place I know or any place that exists on earth before the apocalypse. I tried to think logically and remembered all the times Zeel would say the word 'My Universe'.

'So he's an alien of sorts,' I think without any proof to substantiate my claims, but as I am the girlfriend, I doubt he'll argue with me – if I say you're an Alien then you're an alien.

I peer into the memories of his home some more, but most of it seems blocked to me.

Then realization dawned on me, I watch Zeel jump through the warp gate after sending his family through some other ones.

Then he ends up in a junkyard in Raccoon City, muttering incoherent dribble as he suffers from a splitting headache. It almost seemed as if his body and soul were currently being attacked.

Then I begin to panic as I look at the memories of his past lovers.

Each more beautiful than myself, and one, in particular, that seemed beyond obsessed with him.

What if Zeel gets tired of me? Will he leave me? Will we separate? Will his ex be better than I am? NO, I refuse that; I can follow Zeel anywhere he goes on this Earth but to follow him to others?

Can I do that? I have friends here, and we can start a family here. We have so much to look forward to!

Then the question I have been dreading appears in my mind alongside Zeel's form "Will you go with me?"

I freeze for a moment before responding "I need time to think, I have friends and responsibilities as well. Just give me some time."

I could see the despondent look on his face when I answer, but I can't say yes when my heart doesn't know the answer.

Well, that is something for the future anyway. It is a good thing we'll be in stasis for a couple more years so I can sweet him up during that time 'Mind link works both ways Zeel'.

Then I begin to stir awake, I can feel Zeel's hand in my own.

'Why the fuck did this have to happen?' was my last thought as I am brought back into the world of the living, ...... or rather the undead since it is the apocalypse after all, and people just can't stay dead in the Apocalypse.