This was a short story which was only available in the first print runs of Lauren Oliver’s Requiem.  The short story gives us a glimpse into the childhood of Alex, the torture he underwent in the Crypts, how he escaped and his slow path towards reuniting with Lena once again.

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love—the deliria—blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy. But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.