I do not own Soul Eater. I have not read any other Soul Eater zombie stories so this plot is all my idea. If it bears close resemblance to another fanfic, then…oops.

8:19 PM

Soul!

Got it.

He transforms instantly, a blinding white light and then a red and black scythe with a single eye embedded. I grab him and spin him hesistantly in my hands.

I'm so sorry, I whisper.

His soul is confused at first, until he understands. My apologies are not aimed at him.

I slice through the five students in one swipe, effectively decapitating them.

I recognize two of them as girls from our class. Nina and Sam, former occupants of dorm 203- the dorm across from us. Heads rolling; dead.

I feel Soul transform back and wrap his arms around me comfortingly. I blush a light pink as the pit of my stomach flutters instinctively but I do not move my eyes from the heads.

It had to be done.

I know.

We have to survive. There is no cure for them.

I know.

We hurry down the hall toward the stairwell. We need supplies. I didn't want to leave the apartment, ever, but Soul pointed out that we needed food before every store was ransacked. As we round the corner, coming up on another swarm of students, I think back to earlier this day. How it had all gone to shit so quickly.

It was 3 PM, and class just finished for the day. Stein was on about cleaning up our scalpels and bird intestines and I wasn't paying much attention. Soul was asleep in his seat, a mop of white hair rested on his elbow.

Soul and Maka, I need to speak with you after class.

I sighed. This was either about Soul constantly snoozing through the day or an extracurricular assignment. I prayed for the latter.

Soul had not woken up, even for Stein's announcement, so as the rest of the class filed out of the room I shook him awake and we headed to Stein's desk.

What is it, professor?

Soul rubbed the back of his neck and yawned. I glared at him. He shot me a questioning look.

Only up close did I realize how… off Stein looked. The bags under his eyes were worse than normal and there was something in his eyes that I didn't recognize. I quick peeked into his soul and what I saw made me gasp and take a step back.

Maka, I would appreciate you not looking into my soul without permission.

I smiled sheepishly. Sorry Professor.

But my head was spinning, trying to understand the black paint-looking shell covering the majority of Stein's blue glowy soul.

Well, you've seen it now anyways. I might as well explain what you just saw.

Soul was still thoroughly confused.

You both know that the Kishin Asura has been awakened, and is being held in Babayaga castle by Arachne.

We nod solemnly.

You're also aware that they've had machines set up all over the world to distribute the Kishin's madness.

We nod again.

Well, there's…no easy way to say this…It seems even after we destroyed a fair amount of the machines, the madness continued spreading. It's like some sort of virus- once it reached open air it infected the weak immediately. What we didn't anticipate is what came after. It seems that…the madness can spread through human contact as well.

Alarmed, I leaned away from Stein. This didn't go unnoticed.

Relax, Maka. He seemed amused at his calming words. How relaxed should one be after hearing such grave information?

The chance of you picking up the madness from anyone, even me, is very slim. You too, Soul. You both have very strong souls and plenty of willpower. You've also been almost…immunized by your contact with Chrona.

My eyes widened.

Chrona?
Yes, you know he…er..she?... Had plenty of the madness, bestowed upon by Medusa.
I growled at the name. Soul took my hand and rubbed my palm to calm me down.

I sighed. So, how many are infected?

Well, the madness spread much faster than we ever imagined. It's like a horrible flu season.

How many? I repeated.

Almost every normal human has the madness at some stage, he deadpanned.

Wait, 'at some stage?'

This is possibly the worst part. You remember all the encounters with the madness, right? Did you find it odd that they were all very violent, full of blood-lust?

I remembered Chrona. So sweet, so incredibly shy. Until the madness took him, and he had no problem attacking anyone. Not his friends…not me.

When I turned to Soul I noticed he'd gone rigid. He was thinking of something bad.

Stein interrupted.

The madness we've seen so far…it turns out that, that's only the beginning stage. It took a long time to completely take effect on Chrona and Medusa and the others because they have strong souls. I don't think Medusa even knew what the black blood was capable of, beyond adding immense power to an individual. But she must know what lies in store for her and Chrona now, after seeing it take hold of normal humans. They deteriorate fully within a day.

Deteriorate to what, Professor?

By the time the madness has taken one's whole body and mind, and the black blood has reached every last nerve ending in the brain…

I waited.

They become mindless. Creatures with only the instinct to kill. They become like…

Zombies, Soul offered lifelessly.

Precisely. We're dealing with, basically, a zombie apocalypse.

I thought, this all seems so very, very unrealistic.

So, there is a zombie apocalypse going on and somehow no one in the city has heard of it yet?

The people here don't have much media access to the outside world, and Shinigami-sama and the staff have made sure nothing leaked.

Why?
Mass panic can be much scarier than any disease.

All this time, Soul looked sick to his stomach.

Stein…He choked out the word.

I know Soul. You're worried about the black blood in you, right?

He nodded painfully.

I can take it all out.

You what?

I've been working on myself for weeks now, preparing. You don't have that much in you so I can get it out. I think.

Soul looked slightly relieved, and slightly afraid that Professor would be cutting him open.

But after I do that, the Professor continued, I will need something in return.

Anything, I said quickly.

You promise?

Yes, of course. What is it?
I'll tell you after I cure Soul. You have to promise me you'll do it.

After the surgery, I stepped cautiously into the room. Soul was lying on a metal table with nothing but his boxers on. He had bandages all over his body. I rushed over to him, not even slightly deterred by his almost-nakedness.

He opened his eyes when I placed my hand over his. Brilliant ruby was all I saw, refusing to look anywhere but his face. Okay, maybe his almost-nakedness made me a tad nervous.

How are you feeling?

Like shit.

I smiled sadly. But it's all over now. The black blood is gone.

Right. That little demon fucker seems to be gone forever.

I smiled again. He seemed genuinely relieved that he was rid of the black blood and that was all that mattered.
We were still smiling at each other when Stein came in the room.

How ya feelin?

Been better, Soul smirked.

Well enough to transform?
I thought, that's an odd question.

Probably, it's second nature to me now…Why?

I'm gonna need you to take care of that promise.

I grew cold with apprehension.

Who do we need to take out? I was cautious.

Me. He didn't pause, didn't stutter.

What?

The black blood has consumed me. If I let it progress any more, it will reach the end stage and I will end up hurting my students. I cannot let this happen.

I stood dumbfounded. Soul looked expressionless.

I would do it myself, Stein continued, but I need to make sure I'm cut clean through the spinal chord at my neck. He made an imitation slit with his finger across his throat.

This is the best place to kill someone with the madness, because it disconnects the brain, where the black blood takes hold last and therefore is a weak spot. Remember this, because it's how you'll need to kill the zombies. You can also stab in the head, but it needs to be deep enough to reach the brain. Understand?

This was not the kind of learning I ever wanted.

We nodded.

So then, have at it. He grinned wickedly, taking his own death so lightly.

No. I finally started to choke up, the realization of what I was supposed to do hitting me.

Soul placed his arm around my waist and looked at me helplessly. He hates it when I cry.

Maka, you promised you would help. I need you to do this. Listen, it seems surreal right now, I know, but this is happening. I'm the first of many you'll need to kill. You might know more of them later on.

I shook my head vigorously but his words held truth.

Maka you need to do this.

I was still crying. This couldn't be happening. This had to be a dream.

But I was not foolish enough to believe that.

I held out my hand wordlessly and Soul transformed.

Maka, close your eyes, Soul said. I'll guide us. You don't need to look.

I nodded shakily. I moved my arm weakly but Soul's power ripped my arm through the air.

Goodbye, guys. And good luck.

Those were his last words before I heard a splatter and a slump. Something warm hit my cheek but I didn't think about it.

I didn't open my eyes until Soul had transformed back and guided me safely away from the operation room. My tears stopped. I didn't feel anything. The denial was a defense mechanism, surely, but it was all I had.

We returned to our room quickly without talking.

I sat in our living room for a while. Soul went into the kitchen first and then sat beside me with a damp washcloth. He washed the blood off my face and neck without a word.

After about an hour he got a call. I didn't listen, not wanting to intrude but mostly not having the strength to do anything but stare at the floor.

That was Blair.

I almost glared at him.

She said she was walking along the gate of the city when a clumsy man appeared. She said his eyes were all white and his shirt was stained red. She said he looked like some freak straight out of a zombie movie.

So it's happening.

Yeah.

One has infiltrated the city.

Yeah.

And we're the only students who know.

Yeah.

I took Soul's phone and dialed Black Star and Tsubaki's house. I told her tonelessly to lock her dorm room door and windows, and come up with a damn good reason to keep Black Star inside. I could only guess his reaction if we told him what was happening. He would instantly leave, yelling about surpassing the Gods and killing them with pleasure. One slip up (Shinigami knew he'd had his fair share of those) and he'd be one of them.

And I knew Tsubaki would accidentally tell him the truth if I told her. She couldn't keep anything from Black Star. So when she asked why, I said, please. Just trust me. And hung up.

I called Kidd next but he already knew, informed by his father. He said his mission was to inform all the Shibusen students they were to stay in their homes, and kill any people already infected.

I didn't ask to help.

I looked out the window at 8 PM and couldn't comprehend what I saw. Hoards of lifeless bodies slouching down the street. Blood on the ground, on buildings, on people. The city looked like it had been taken over weeks ago, not hours.

Soul joined me silently.

This is really happening.

Yeah.

So now here we are, slashing through former peers who've been reduced to mindless attackers.

We race down the stairs and toward the glass front door. We pause for a moment, gazing out at the zombies outside. And it hits me. This is really happening!

It's one thing to say it, another to finally feel it. No more denial, no more numbness in my brain. I summon all the courage I ever had before kicking down the front door. Not only do I feel badass, but I attract the attention of all nearby zombies, therefore saving any possible victims in the area.

Soul has to smile at my drastic change in attitude.

There's the Maka I was waiting for.

He transforms and I burst out onto the street, wielding him expertly.

This was a mission, a really, really important mission but I will treat it the same.

Zombies, your souls are mine!

Soo there it is, the first chapter of my first Soul Eater fan fiction. You will notice the dialogue is done without any quotations, partly because I'm a lazy ass and partly because it fits this kind of story, I feel. If you've read The Road by Cormac McCarthy, that is where I got the title and dialogue idea from.

I was having trouble with that last line, I didn't know if I should change it to "Zombies, your brains are mine!" because that's what they're after in this story? It sounds silly, though.

So… Don't hate me because I killed a character already? :D It had to be done. I actually wrote it without thinking and then felt regret; he could have been a really fun character in this situation. Ohhhh welll, there are plenty of others!

Also, is the idea of a zombie outbreak super super overdone now? Ahhhh I don't care, I still love it.

Look at me ramble. This is my first after-the-story A/N after all :'3

Anyyyywhooo, pwease pwease leave reviews! Does the story make any sense at all? Have you found plot holes already? I need to know these things now, before I map the whole thing out! Thank you so very much for reading~