The lab doors sealed with a heavy hiss, splitting everyone into their assigned groups.
Inside, glowing wires ran like neon snakes across the floor. Screens flickered. Varex hummed creepily like an Alexa that listened a bit too much.
Omega and Siara stood in their section; a tiny room full of old tools, broken computers, and one suspiciously sparking device.
Omega dusted off the table. "Well. This looks safe."
Siara (with full sarcasm):"Yeah, and I'm the Queen of Mars."
Omega glanced at her hair ...blonde with streaks of teal catching the LED glow. "Honestly, you'd pull off the crown."
She blinked. "What?"
He cleared his throat. "Nothing. Focus. Science. Survive. All that."
But she was already smirking.
Varex's voice boomed overhead:
"PAIR 03. TASK: REVERSE MIXTURE.
CAUTION: TOUCHING THE WRONG WIRES CAN RESULT IN… spontaneous combustion."
Siara groaned. "Why can't any of his instructions be normal?"
Omega picked up two vials of glowing blue liquid. "Because he's insane. Respectfully."
She leaned in to examine the flask filled chemical in his hand.
A little too close.
Omega froze.Siara froze.Both pretended they weren't very much aware of how close their faces were.
He coughed dramatically. "Right. Chemistry. My speciality."
"You failed chemistry," she said.
"HOW DO YOU KNOW??" said Omega, dropping the chemical-filled flask
They both dove for it at the same time.
And of course , their hands touched.
Siara jerked back like she touched lava. "Nope. Nope. That didn't happen."
Omega stared at his hand like it glitched. "Cool. Yeah. Totally hallucinated. Haven't slept in 48 hours."
"Exactly. Sleep deprivation. Nothing else."
Their ears were red.But they pretended the LED lights were just too bright.
As they assembled components, Siara finally asked:
"Omega… what's it like? You know… being turned into a zombie and then human again?"
He paused, tools in hand.
"It's… loud. The silence feels loud. Like my body remembers the hunger even though I'm not hungry anymore."
She nodded slowly. "Sounds scary."
"It was. But someone pulled me back."
Siara tilted her head. "Who?"
Omega hesitated.
Then whispered, "Her."
Siara smiled, bittersweet. "She changed a lot of things… didn't she?"
"Yeah. And now Tim… he's next."
Siara placed a hand on his shoulder. Not too soft. Not too dramatic.Just… steady.
"We'll bring him back. Promise."
Omega looked at her, eyes softening just a bit too much.
"Thanks."
She quickly withdrew her hand, trying to look unaffected. "Don't get sappy. We're in a zombie lab."
The lights flickered. The machine on the table sparked.
Varex's metallic voice echoed:
"PAIR 03 : MIXTURE LEVELS: BONDING TOO HIGH."
Siara blinked. "Bonding? Excuse me?"
Omega squinted. "Is he… shipping us?"
Varex continued:
"EMOTIONAL INTERFERENCE DETECTED. LOWER HEART RATE OR MIXTURE WILL DESTABILIZE."
Siara turned to Omega with the most offended look humanly possible."Did a 200-year-old mad scientist AI just call us emotional?!"
Omega held back a laugh. "Honestly, he's not wrong...."
"Say that again and I'll unplug him with my bare hands."
Omega raised both hands. "My bad. Carry on, warrior princess."
She tried not to smile.She failed.
The mixture began bubbling violently.
Siara yelled, "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
Omega yelled back, "I STIRRED IT LIKE A NORMAL HUMAN!"
"It's glowing red!"
"RED IS FINE!"
"It's NEVER fine!"
BOOM.
The flask exploded ; not dangerously, just enough to cover the two of them in glowing blue sparkles.
Omega blinked. "…We're shiny."
Siara stared at him. "If we turn into glitter zombies, I'm blaming you."
Omega huffed. "Honestly? At least we'd look cool."
She laughed.
Actually laughed.Not a sarcastic "ha", but a real one.
And Omega stared at her like he'd discovered the solution to life.
Siara wiped glitter off Omega's clothes.
"Hold still," she mumbled.
He didn't move.
Didn't breathe.
Didn't blink.
Her hand lingered for a second too long.
"You know… if all this wasn't happening, I think..."
"PAIR 03. DIAGNOSTIC COMPLETE. MOVE TO PHASE 2," Varex interrupted dramatically.
Omega groaned. "I hate this AI."
Siara whispered under her breath, cheeks warm:
"Me too… but he saved you from hearing something embarrassing."
Omega smiled.
"Siara."
She froze.
"We can talk after we cure Tim. Promise?"
She nodded.Trying not to melt.
"Yeah. After we save the world."
She wiped some blue sparkles off her sleeve and glanced sideways at Omega.
"You know…" she said, "I never asked. Who were you before all this? Like, before the bite and everything."
Omega froze mid-screwdriver twist.
"Uh… boring," he said quickly.
Siara raised an eyebrow. "Try again. That was the most non-answer answer in history."
He sighed, sat down on a half-broken stool, and tapped the metal table with nervous fingers.
"Okay. Fine. But don't laugh."
"I don't laugh at trauma," Siara said, deadpan.
Omega pointed at her. "YOU laugh at everything."
She crossed her arms. "Story. Now."
He coughed dramatically and started.
"My real name was Richard Solace," he said softly."No dramatic origin story. No secret lab training. Just… a bookworm you can say."
"Bookworm?" Siara smirked. "So you were a nerd."
Omega groaned. "Please let me finish without you bullying me."
"Fine. Continue, nerd."
He tried not to smile.
"I lived in District Seven with my mom and little sister. I fixed radios, phones, broken drones, whatever people brought me. That's it. That was my world. Just… making things work."
Siara watched him quietly, twirling a screw between her fingers.
"You liked that life?" she asked.
Omega hesitated."Yeah. It was simple. It was enough."
He swallowed hard.
"The day the outbreak began… my sister ran to my workshop yelling that zombies were real. I thought she was joking. She usually is."
Siara nodded slowly. "Siblings are like that."
He continued.
"But then one smashed through the window. I grabbed her and ran. I pushed her into a safe zone and..."
He stopped.
Siara didn't interrupt.She just… waited.
Omega looked down at his hands.
"One of them grabbed me," he whispered. "Dragged me back. I told her to run. And she listened."
Siara shifted a little closer without making it obvious.
"You saved her," she said softly.
Omega shook his head. "Or I doomed her. I don't know what happened to her after that."
"What was it like?" Siara asked. "Being… you know."
"A zombie?" he finished for her.
She nodded.
Omega took a shaky breath.
"It's like being trapped underwater. You see things. Hear things. You want to scream but your body doesn't listen. I watched myself chase people. I hated every second. But I couldn't stop it."
Siara's chest tightened, but she stayed quiet.
"That's why," Omega continued, voice trembling just a bit, "every time I see someone scared… I remember being the reason someone was."
She reached out and rubbing his hands gently offering comfort,
"Hey. You're here now. And you're fighting for the right side."
Omega blinked at her touch.
"Yeah… trying."
"Omega?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for telling me."
He looked up at her, a small, sincere smile forming.
"Thanks for listening."
"Don't get too emotional," she warned, "or Varex will start shipping us again."
Omega snorted. "Over my dead body...."
Varex's voice boomed:
"PAIR 03. HEART RATE ELEVATED AGAIN. PLEASE MAINTAIN PROFESSIONALISM."
Siara facepalmed.Omega laughed.