Haiden and me are nothing like twins, we're not even remotely similar. In fact, I will go as far to say we are opposite in almost every way possible: physically, mentally and verbally.

'This is my greenhouse. I work in here for a few hours, before and after lunch, instead of being on field duty. In terms of carpentry, there are only a few of us who know anything and even then, most of what I know was passed down from this woman called Jesse. She died about five years ago when Outsiders raided us one night. We haven't had any problems recently with Outsiders. Last time was a few years ago when they stole some babies. That was horrible. One of the mum's of the babies ended up committing suicide.' Haiden pauses and leans forward to touch my arm. I jerk back so her hand only touches air.

Haiden frowns. 'Are you ok, Kit? You look a little pale.'

No, I'm not ok. I'm just trying to keep up with the speed at which you speak, that I'm guessing is currently ranging at a million words per second, while processing everything you say. And when I was told the Drifters were fake, I assumed our settlements were the only survivors. Now, I'm being told there are lots of people, including outsiders who kill people and steal babies causing mums to commit suicide. 'Fine. I'm tired that's all.'

'It must be tough out there. Cas told me you came with your boyfriend, something about you not being able to stay in your community. You two must really love each other to risk everything and go wandering out there. What's it like travelling just the two of you? Did you come across anyone else? What did you eat? Where did you stay? Do you think you'll stay here?'

I blink several times.  'I'm not sure whether we'll stay or not. We're going to see how it goes.'

'Where you came from, were you born there or did you join it later? Is it a big community? I wish this was bigger. Sometimes it can get a little dull here, especially as half our community is under the age of ten. Have you been introduced to anyone? Not that there's a lot to meet. I know you met Doll, Cas and Bo as they found you. Ethel and Roman are the current leaders. We can do the rounds at lunchtime. I'll introduce you to everyone. It won't take long.' Haiden smiles widely.

'That would be nice.' Walking around the perimeter of the half-empty Greenhouse, I inspect the one side which is full of overgrown pots of mint. The other side is covered in piles of empty containers. 'What are you doing in here?'

'I'm trying to grow plants which we can use for drugs. And when I say drugs, I mean not druggy drugs but, you know, useful drugs. Saying that, if I could find some druggy drug seeds I think I'd still give a shot at growing them, they could be useful. I'm not talking hardcore ones but, you know, some fun ones which make you hallucinate or feel a bit spaced out. Don't tell Ethel and Roman I said that, they'll stop me from doing this if they think I'm aiming to turn into some Drug-lord, and I really don't want to work out on the field pulling weeds and growing vegetables. It's so boring. That's the great thing about working in here, I get to avoid field duty.' Haiden inhales deeply.

I don't understand most of what she's said however I've found a similarity. We both hate fieldwork.

'So, you're trying to grow plants which can be used for medicinal purposes? All by yourself?' I ask for clarification.

'Yeah, but as you can see, it's not going very well. Apart from supplying our community with an abundance of mint, I haven't managed to source anything else.'

'Mint is a great start though.' I rub a mint leaf between my fingers. 'Promotes digestion, soothes stomach aches, nausea and headaches. It's antibacterial too, so great to clean your mouth and body with.'

'You're into medicinal plants too?' Haiden asks.

'Not specifically. I like to identify plants but, like you, I don't enjoy working in the fields. My settlement focussed on everything being as natural as possible. We not only grew vegetables but also anything which could be used for washing, medicine, that sort of thing.' The smell of mint causes a stab to my gut and my eyes sting with the thought of my family back at the Naturalist settlement.

'That's brilliant.'

The proximity of Haiden's voice makes me jump. Her arm brushes mine, and I'm scrabbling backwards slightly.

She laughs loudly. 'Sorry, didn't mean to make you jump.'

I nod and give her a tight smile, trying to look unbothered. I am bothered. My heart is beating rapidly against my chest while my hands shake.

Shit. I'm still scared of touch.

The entire time with Zach, I haven't flinched, I haven't been scared of him coming near. Now I'm with other people, I'm freaking out. The thought of anyone, apart from Zach, touching me makes my skin crawl. My stomach sinks.

I haven't changed. I'm still a Naturalist.

Haiden looks at me oddly, and I force myself to speak. 'What's brilliant?'

'You being able to identify plants because I'm bad, like really horrendously terribly bad. Even with all the identification books, I can't figure out which is which. For ages, I was growing dandelions thinking it was some rare plant which was meant to be good at treating urine infections then one day Ethel came over to see the work I was doing, and she pointed out I probably shouldn't grow dandelion weeds when we have whole fields of them outside. I was too embarrassed to tell her I'd thought it was something else entirely. I'm worried they'll stop me doing this, and put me back on field duty if they think I'm getting nowhere. I really want to make this work, and I really don't want to do field duty.'

'Dandelions are highly diuretic and have disinfectant properties so they can also be good for urine infections.' I smile. 'So you were close.'

'And this is why I need you. You are a gift from the universe, right when I needed one. Now, all we need to do is start growing something more than mint and we can become Drug Lords together! Medicinal Herbal Drug Lords, of course.' Haiden jumps slightly on the spot, coming dangerously close to landing on me.

I smile tightly, forcing myself to not run away. I will overcome my fear of physical contact. I'm not in a Naturalist settlement anymore. I have no reason to avoid contact.

'Have you explored the local area?' I ask.

'What do you mean?'

'I saw plants growing in pots outside people's houses and in one of the towns, there was a building called a Garden Centre which had packets of seeds. If we searched the nearest town we might find another Garden Centre or something of interest growing.'

'I'll come into town with you,' Bo says as he walks in the Greenhouse.

'Are you sure? Maybe we should check with Doll first?' Haiden frowns.

'We'll tell her, but she'll be fine with it. We haven't had any trouble with Outsiders for ages.'

Haiden nods vigorously. 'Great, ok. We'll go tomorrow. If we get all our duties done early, we can head over there after lunch.'

Bo turns to me. 'Kit, you need to go for your medical check.'

'Medical Check?' I ask.

'It's a quick examination. They'll take a few samples and assess what damage has been done by Virulence.' Bo smiles.

'Damage by Virulence?' My throat tightens. How do they know I was infected by Virulence? Why aren't they running away knowing I was infected?

'Yes, we all have some damage.' Bo frowns. 'And you're old enough that you would have been exposed to Virulence so you'll have some damage too. I lost my tonsils and that dangly bit at the back of my throat when I got infected by Virulence.'

'And I lost a lung, part of my ear is missing and I have no hearing in it either,' Haiden says, tilting her head towards me so I can see the side where an ear would be. Instead, there's dark coloured lumpy flesh. Haiden shrugs. 'People who survived Virulence are always affected somewhere. Maybe, you don't know yours yet. For some, the damage is external and others internal. For most, it's both. Whatever the damage, don't worry. We're the lucky ones who got infected but didn't die.'

These people are resistant to Virulence. Have they been altered or are they naturally resistant? 'Everyone here is resistant?'

'Of course. How else would we have survived? My parents died. When the outbreak happened, they joined some religious cult who believed if they prayed enough to God they would be allowed to live. Roman's family had joined too but everyone died within a few months. He was sixteen and I was one. We were the only ones to survive. Roman took care of me until he met some others, and they all set up this place about thirteen years ago. There was only like five of them not including me...'

'Haiden, maybe you can give her the history lesson later.' Bo looks at me with a sympathetic look. 'Come on, Kit. The quicker you complete the medical check, the sooner we can head to lunch.'

'Ok,' I croak.

Emotions from being kept captive at the Techie settlement return. It's only medical checks, not tests. Don't worry.

I'm not worried. I'm terrified.

Author's note:
What do you think of the new characters?

I love people, like Haiden, who just talk talk talk!

Please vote if you're enjoying the story xx