Prologue

Past or Future?

Seven brightly coloured children - teenagers, more like - sneak down a seemingly vacant street, staying as quiet as possible. Their wide eyes are alert and full of fear as well as exhaustion. Their heavy breaths and soft footsteps are the only things that can be heard, magnifying every sharp pant and leaf crushed under a shoe. They're huddled close, nearly touching. The only reason they're not clinging to each other is the weapons clutched tightly in their hands.

"I think we're okay for now," one huffs under his breath. "We should scout out one of these buildings. Maybe find some food and get some sleep."

"What about that one?" the only girl of the group asks, touching his elbow lightly with one hand and pointing at an old motel a few blocks in front of them. "There might be beds in there." Her eyes shine brightly at the thought.

"I second that," one of the others say. "Plus each room only has one way in, one way out. Easy to barricade if needed." The rest of the group seem to agree with this, so they continue heading in that direction.

Just a few steps later, one of the boys - a shorter one - suddenly stops and gestures for the others to follow suit. "Do you hear that?" he whispers as quietly as possible. They listen for a few tense seconds, trying to pick up on whatever noise the boy mentioned.

A soft creaking of metal. A low, bored groan. Obviously coming from a space between two buildings next the them.

The boy presses a finger to his mouth, signaling the others to stay silent, and creeps forward and peeks his head around the corner of the building. His eyes widen at the scene and he has to clamp a hand over his mouth to prevent a terrified noise from escaping.

Dozens of bodies, maybe a hundred of them total, leaning against a breaking metal fence. They seem almost dead - really dead, not undead - minus the few limping around the enclosure they're trapped in. Two sides of the makeshift cage are bricks, and the other three are chain-linked fencing. How someone managed to trick that many undead into there, he has no idea. The ones that are against the fence are mindlessly jamming their fingers through the holes and shaking the loose metal, not even realizing how close to freedom they are.

That's when the living boy makes a fatal mistake. He freezes, hand pressed over his open mouth and stays in view of the undead a moment too long. Their bored eyes fill with hunger, there's a loud screech from a dry, unused throat, and then a crashing of metal against cement.

"Run!" the boy demands the others, no longer worried about the volume of his voice. The creatures in the broken cage already know there's life here. There's no hiding from them now. The group of teens turn tail and sprint full speed back down the street. There's more inhuman screeching as the undead turn the corner on clumsy legs, many falling and tripping other, eyes bright with hope of a meal, being spurred on by that thought alone.

"Fuck!" one of the boys yells, shoving the girl in front of him, attempting to keep her safe as he half-turns and shoots his gun wildly. "Where the hell did they come from?"

"They were in some sort of cage," the shorter boy explains, also shooting but with a more precise aim. "They saw me and got excited, causing the fence to snap. I deeply, deeply apologize."

"Save your apologies for later!" another snaps. The creatures have found their footing and are quickly catching up, not enough bullets hitting their vital spot. "We're going to have to fight! We can't outrun them!"

He's right, the others realize. That's the best course of action at this point. The boy that has the girl in front of him points to her and to another boy next to her. "You two, keep running," he commands. "And don't fucking argue with me." The fire in his eyes gives the two confidence. With a small nod, they continue on as the rest slow down and turn, weapons raised, swallowing their fear.

They fight violently and a couple maybe recklessly. They use melee weapons: machetes and saws. They're much more effective than guns from such a close range. It only takes a few minutes for them to slice through most of the undead. Victory is within sight.

Then they hear a terrified scream from behind them.

The two that were demanded to keep running are just about to cross a street when they see hoards of undead on either side. The young girl shrieks loudly and both hoards are immediately alerted. They spot the two living and take off towards them, hungry for their warm flesh. A few quarrel with each other, knowing that there is definitely not enough to go around.

"Oh no..." the shorter boy breaths as he spots the amount of creatures spilling into the street, feeling guilty. None of this would be happening if he only moved fast enough when he saw the ones in the cage. They wouldn't have seen him and the fence wouldn't have broken. They would have been alright.

Suddenly he's thrown harshly to the ground. He feels his ankle twist and hears a bestial hissing above him. Great, now he's dead for sure. He deserves it. He should have been more professional. He closes his eyes, waiting for the end.

There's a whoosh of sharp metal and a splatter of blood around him. He cracks open his eyes and sees the tallest of their group standing above him, bloody machete in hand, fierce determination in his eyes.

He's grateful even though he truly believes he doesn't deserve to be saved.

At the other end of the street, the other boys race to maybe, just maybe rescue the two nearest the massive hoard. Out of the corner of one's vision, he sees the tall teen lift the fallen one into his arms and bolt down an alley. He feels a slight tug at his heart at being abandoned; but it's unwarranted. They should absolutely get to safety.

"This is so hopeless," one of the boys next to him cries, pace faltering.

The other smacks the back of the crying boy's head. "Don't give up!"

They're close to the other two. Perhaps if they take out the few undead directly behind them, they can all split up and get away. It isn't entirely a lost cause. Holding on to that thought, he swings his fire ax over the girl's head, successfully decapitating the creature behind her. "Hurry!" he calls, reaching out to grab her and pull her closer.

That moment, the left side of the girl's hair and clothing as well as the boy's outstretched arm is dyed in red. His eyes flicker to the source of the colour and he instantly regrets it. As if in slow motion, the boy he'd sent away with the girl is brought to a standstill. His eyes are wide. There's a hand sticking clean out of his chest, right where his heart should be.

"No!" he screams as time seems to speed back up. The girl is sobbing in terror as the boy next to her is dragged away by undead arms. No, no, no, no. Screw this.

Forgetting the others completely, he grabs the girl and practically throws her up a nearby fire escape, quickly joining her. It's not the best idea ever, but it's the only he has. "Just fucking run!" he yells at her. He feels his own eyes burn with tears as he turns and slaughters the few undead that attempt to follow them. But now that they have ready-to-eat meat they're not as intent as they were before. They can get away. Possible the others as well. The sad ending of their friend may save them all.

So, this is the prologue to my new story. This may be a bit confusing. I was purposely vague with the characters because their fates have to do with the actual plot. A lot more will be explained later. I have the zombies figured out and everything, so you won't be lost the whole time, I promise. I just wanted to give you a taste of the action (which I suck at writing, I realize, haha) There will be lots of plot though, some that takes place before this and some after. And of course the main plot will focus on Kagami and Kuroko, hehe.

I suck at English, so please tell me if you see any mistakes. Also please let me know if you're interested in this! It means a lot and will really motivate me to write if you are! (Though I'm afraid that this prologue is too confusing and boring, but I'll see how you guys like it, I guess.)

Thank you for reading!