My arm is locked to a metal bar. The room im in has no windows, only a metal door. I pull at the handcuff that is keeping me there. They didn't cuff me before, they only kept me locked in the room but I had lost control and nearly gotten out so they had to bump up their security. If you ask me hand cuff's aren't much of a bump up. "Where is my best friend?!" I hear Fidelis yell on the other side of the door, I feel my stomach drop, I don't want her to see me like this. I am a monster. After a small amount of whispers that I couldn't hear, the door opens.

"Looks like you made it back alive" I say with a cheeky smile but I know by the look on her face that today is the day that our friendship ends. Fidelis sits down on the chair beside me. She looks at me like I am a stranger. "Fidelis?"

"They told me that you are a monster" Fidelis mutters. I look at her offended, she looks away from me. "What happened Alexandra?" She asks quietly. She looks down at the ground with a sad expression on her face, it's as if she lost someone very close to her.

"I made you a promise" I say. "I promised to look after your brother, I had no other choice. You can look at me like I am a monster all you like but I am never going to regret saving your brother's life"

"Thank you for saving my brother's life and I'm sorry about your mother" She says with a look that suggests she doesn't know me. She says it as if I am a stranger who saved her brothers life, not her best friend who made a promise to keep him safe. She stands up and walks towards the door.

"DON'T YOU DARE LOOK AT ME THAT WAY! I SAVED YOUR BROTHERS LIFE, I PROMISED YOU!" I scream at her. She turns around and looks at me calmly. "I'M YOUR BEST FRIEND AND YOU'RE LOOKING AT ME LIKE I AM A COMPLETE STRANGER" I scream at her. I rip my hand free from the cuff as I feel myself losing control, my body begins to hurt as I try to resist. "GET OUT! I CAN'T CONTROL IT" I yell at her. She hesitates and then steps back slowly. I'm not sure what she saw out there when she went to get Dread DNA but it must not have been good.

"Just like the others" she whispers before everything goes black. 

*

"You're better than this Ali" I hear a soft deep voice come into my thoughts. "Come on Ali, you can control it", my sight begins to fade from black to colour. I see Tobias' smooth, frightened face staring at me, his hands are holding down my arms. I then realise I am laying down and his on top of me holding my arms down. I drop whatever I was holding in my hand with a gasp.

"What happened?" I ask. I don't remember anything, I never do.

"The cuffs don't work" He says with a smile although he looks exhausted. "Don't worry, you didn't hurt anyone. You're not even out of your room. I hear Felix is working on a better door" He says as he gets off me. I stand up.

"I don't want to be like this Tobi" I say with tears falling down my cheeks. He pulls me into a hug. "What if I am in here forever?"

"You won't be. I promise" He says softly into my ear. "I won't ever give up on fixing you, you are worth it" He states once he pulls away. For once I look at him like he is meant for greater things, he has qualities of a leader. I realise that he isn't just my friend, he is more like a best friend. He has always been here for me from the start. 

"Tobias, I have been friends with you since you got here... You've always been special to me" I say with a smile. He looks at me completely the opposite way that Fidelis did, he looks at me like he has always looked at me. "How many leaders died from the Dread attack?" I ask.

"Three" He mutters. "Why? What is this about Alexandra?" He asks with a concerned tone.

"I want you to be one of the Leaders Tobi, Get Rick for me would you?" I ask. He doesn't move from the spot he is standing. "Tobi, I know that I probably don't have a spot at the leaders table anymore but I know a leader when I see one and I want you to be one... Please don't look at me like I am crazy" I explain. He sighs and sits down on the chair.

"I get what you are saying and I don't think you are crazy, I just don't know if I want those responsibilities" He admits with a sigh.

"The people of this place could use someone like you, I believe that they would love if you were their leader" I explain. "Plus, you get more privileges... Better meals, longer showers, better living quarters. You can choose any of the rooms in Leaders lane"

"They are the best rooms" He says with a chuckle.

"I'm not joking"

"I know, look I'll think about it... meanwhile I'll get Luke in here, he thinks he has a way to help you" Tobias says as he gets up from the chair. I grab onto his hand and pull him into a hug, he holds me for a while. "You aren't evil Ali, you just need to remind yourself that" He pulls away and walks out the door.

Shortly after my brother walks in. "Luke, you really shouldn't be in here"

"I wanted to be" He sighs. "Mum's gone and I have no one out there, all I have is you and I can't deal with not having you there so i'm going to sit in here until you find a way to control whatever it is inside of you that makes you a monster"

"It's not that simple Luke"

"But what if it is" He says with hope in his eyes. "People think that control is so hard but it is simple, you have to remind yourself who you really are when you feel yourself giving in" Luke says wisely. He is really too smart for his own good.

"You're brilliant" I say. "How do I test this?"

"Felix told me that your Dread side responds when you are angry or feeling any powerful negative emotion" Luke explains. Then I know suddenly that if I really wanted to become one then I wouldn't need a negative feeling, I can just do it. I feel like I know information that I didn't know before.

"I don't need a negative feeling" I say. Luke looks at me confused. I than close my eyes and I suddenly can feel the Zombies everywhere, the closest one is probably two hundred metres away. I open my eyes and Luke backs away. "My eyes are silver, aren't they?" I ask. I then smile to myself. My eyes have turned silver and I am still in my right mind. Luke nods. "It's ok, I don't feel like I'm turning"

"You need to start turning to do this" Luke says quietly. I nod and close my eyes once again. My body begins to ache and I feel myself losing self-control. I open my eyes and something inside of me forces me to pounce towards Luke. Luke dodges me. "FIGHT IT ALEXANDRA. YOU'RE NOT FULLY GONE YET, YOU CAN FIGHT IT" he yells. He's right, if I was fully gone I would have blacked out, I haven't yet. Every time I try to think of something normal my mind brings me back to trying to kill my brother.

"I can't Luke! Get out now!" I yell at him.

"NO! I'M NOT LEAVING ALI" He yells as he holds onto my shoulders. "We are family and I will always be here for you" He says softly. I drop to the ground as the pain in my body becomes worse. "COME ON ALI, YOU CAN DO IT, YOU'RE STRONGER THAN THIS" Luke yells.

"I can't, I can't" I say as tears fall down my face. I wrap my arms around myself, the longer I resist the worse the pain gets.

"It's all in your head" Luke whispers to me. My vision starts to black out.

"Luke, it's happening" I say. My vision becomes slightly clearer.

"No it's not, repeat after me: I am Alexandra Ductor"

"I am Alexandra Ductor" I say with my eyes closed.

"I am sixteen years old"

"I am sixteen years old" I repeat, the pain starts fading as I remind myself who I am. Luke places his hand on my shoulder.

"I am not a monster"

"I am not a monster" I say. I open my eyes, Luke smiles widely as if he had achieved something great. He has though, I am still me and I don't think I am going to change at this moment. "You did it" I say smiling. I hug him tightly.

"Repeat those words to yourself each time you feel like you are turning into a Dread, do it in your head, say it out loud. Doesn't matter because now we know it works" Luke says. His blue eyes show a type of kindness that I have never seen in him before. I feel like I could trust my brother with anything.

*

I try to get it in my head that Fidelis is now a dread. It's my fault too, im such an idiot. But now she is around me all the time, it's been three days and she hasn't gone out of control that's because there hasn't been any Zombies around lately. She begged me not to tell anyone because she feared that it would destroy her leadership. "It didn't destroy mine" I told her. She frowned at me. Her face was much clearer now without the scar, she decided to put make-up on to make it looks like she's just covering up the scar that is no longer there.

"You became one because you were protecting my brother and Rick loves you, he is like a father to you" Fidelis mutters. She looks towards the ground. "It was your opinion that made me a leader"

"And it will be my opinion that makes sure you remain one" I reply. I look at the frown on her face and I tilt my head to the side, confused. "Remind me why you aren't angry at me"

"I-I don't know" She stutters. She thinks for a moment. "You didn't know that this was going to happen" She murmurs. It seems that she hasn't got a clue why she is fine with this. "What will happen if I lose control?" She asks with a worried expression on her face. I have never seen her look like this, with fear. She has always been the brave one.

"I can help you" Is all I say. My watch buzzes. 'Leader meeting' it says. I let out a deep sigh, I look up at Fidelis, and she is shaking her head like she doesn't want to go. "Come on" 

*

We sit in the leaders room, Fidelis sits next to me. She is shaking and sweat is pouring down her face. "Calm down" I whisper. She shakes her head.

"I can't, I can feel them coming" she says. I see the flicker of silver in her eyes. Felix looks at us suspiciously. I close my eyes and concentrate, there are a group of zombies about a mile away from here. Only a new born dread could feel that so easily.

"Remember what I told you?" I ask. She nods. She starts whispering to herself.

"Are you alright Fidelis?" Rick asks. Fidelis doesn't open her eyes, she just nods. "Fidelis, look at me" Rick demands. Fidelis sighs and opens her eyes. They are her usual green. I smile at her and she sighs with relief. "What's wrong?" he asks.

"Nothing, I was just informed by Alexandra that there are Zombies about a mile from here. I just really dislike them. I suggest we send the teenage boy group to get rid of them" Fidelis says. My brother is in that group as well as hers. I'm fine with him going because he has always wanted to so I nodded in agreement. "It's about three Zombies" Fidelis mutters. "Shouldn't be too hard"

"Good idea, I'll send a message to their watches right now" Rick says. After he is finished he says "Now we have a few more security measures in place, all doors will have a scanner to let you in, they won't let Dreads or Zombies in unless you are a confirmed dread. There is only one of those" he mutters, he looks at me. Fidelis looks down.

"What if there were another one?" I ask.

"Well there isn't, is there?" he asks. I shake my head. "If there was another one I'd lock them up until they have as much control as you" Rick finishes. I look down at Fidelis' hands, blood falls to the ground from one of her hands. I take her hand in mine and open it, her hands have nail marks in them. I look at her shocked. I look back at her hand, it has already started healing. Tobias, who is sitting on the other side of Fidelis looks at me confused and then down at Fidelis' healing hands. Tobias looks away and doesn't say a word. When the meeting is over Fidelis runs to her room, I run after her.

"I can't control it" She says, she looks up at me with wide silver eyes. I look around the room, there is a belt on her clothing rack. I grab it. "You're going to tie me up?" she asks. By now sweat is pouring down her face. She lets out a groan "Okay, do it"

"I was going to, even if you told me not to" I say with a chuckle. I tie her to one of the poles that is placed in the middle of the room. At that moment she loses control, her eyes are fully silver and she is pulling at the belt fiercely. I watch as she pulls at it, I watch as the belt begins to tare. I run up to her and try to hold her arms back. She is stronger than me and I expected this because i'm in control therefore I'm weaker physically. She pushes me back and the belt tares more, I grab onto her arms again. This time when she pushes me away I go flying back into the wall, I feel a bone in my back break and I let out a shriek. Inconveniently Brodie walks in, his eyes widen as he shuts the door. He doesn't see his sister tied to the pole, he sees me struggling on the floor. The belt breaks and Fidelis goes for Brodie, she goes for Brodie's head. "NO STOP!" I yell. Fidelis stops, her hands hover in the air as her eyes turn back to her natural green. My eyes widen. So does Fidelis'. So does Brodie's.

"Y-You're a dread too?" Brodie asks.

"Yes" Fidelis says nervously. She turns to me. "What did you just do? You told me to stop and it brought me back"

"I have no idea" I admit. "Maybe we only listen to Dreads, it happened when I first become one, I told them to stop and they left" I say. I'm still laying on the floor, I feel my back healing which hurts like hell. Fidelis seems to notice that im in pain.

"What happened?" she asks. I give her a pissed off look.

"My back is broken because you practically threw me into the wall" I say. I try to move but the pain is unbearable.

"Let's get you to Felix" Fidelis says. I shake my head. Brodie looks confused.

"I'm healing, I can feel it" I say. Brodie still looks confused. "I heal faster than you, you idiot" I say, then I swear because more pain shoots up my back.

"It's going to take you at least three hours to heal" Fidelis says. "I'm so sorry Ali"

"Bloody hell Fidelis, im not going to die" I say, I start getting angry. I feel myself losing control but I don't try too hard to stop myself. I feel my back healing faster.

"Ali, your eyes" Fidelis says. Brodie steps back slightly.

"Don't worry, I'm in control" I snap. I feel the need to snap Brodie's neck but I fight it by directing my anger at my back. My back healed within minutes. I calmed down when I felt the pain go away. Fidelis looked at me with amusement and surprise on her face. "What?" I ask.

"Would you mind telling me how you did that?" She asks.

"Yeah, I'd like to know too" Brodie says.

"I concentrated my anger towards the pain in my back so I started healing faster" I say as if it is the simplest thing in the world. I sit up against the wall.

"I saw the look in your eyes Ali, you looked like you were about to turn into a full blown Dread" Fidelis says with a worried expression on her face. "I could never do what you just did"

"Well your back has never been broken, has it?" I ask with a smirk. "Listen, I think sometimes the Dread virus is trying to help you, you just need to know why you are using it" I admit. Fidelis looks at me with the most confused look I've ever seen her give me. The door to the room opens and Tobias hurries in.

"Those boys we sent out are back and Luke is injured" Tobias says, he looks me straight in the eye and I get up straight away and leave the room. "He has lost a lot of blood"