I've decided to start something new! The start of this had actually been sat on my computer for months, but here it is... I don't know whether it's any good, I can't say I've read much of this genre before, so I'll be making it up as I go along. So! Here begins the start of a project I am determined to complete. I have plans for the next couple of chapters already, but any tips are welcome. Thanks for reading!

Dull thuds could be heard from the hall. A groan. The slap of a wet hand against a wall. Wet with what? A shiver ran down Lovino's spine. Don't think about it. Stop thinking about it. He needed to look out for his brother. Feliciano let out a whimper of pain as his bottom lip trembled. His eyes were squeezed shut and his shaking hands were clamped over his ears, willing for this horror story to end.

Make it stop. Lovino was usually one to curse, but in this situation, words failed him. All he wanted was to be released from this nightmare. The footsteps were getting closer. The raspy breaths of the dead filled his ears. Tears sprung to his eyes. This was the end. There was nothing left.

The door handle rattled, slowly at first, then more violently. The old door and the small makeshift barricade wouldn't last forever, but Lovino couldn't find it within himself to try anymore. They had run but to no avail. His laboured breaths wouldn't steady, and his heart kept pumping faster and faster.

Was this how it was going to be? Would he never see his family again? His friends? Not that he had many friends. But now, knowing what was happening to everyone, it made him want to weep for even his enemies. People were changing. Lots of humans had died suddenly and came back, and not in a friendly ghost kind of way.

"L-lovi...?" Feliciano was staring him in the eyes. Brown eyes met light green, and they both shared the same terror. A second was all it took. A second of seeing the pain his brother was going through to make him decide that this wasn't it. This wasn't going to be where their lives would end. Not today, and not for a while.

Lovino broke eye contact and began desperately scanning the room. It was the upstairs apartment to a convenience store, in which they were currently locked in the bedroom. The room looked untouched; the bed was made and the desk was neatly arranged. It didn't look very promising. Lovino held the wall for support, his knees shaky beneath him. Stepping with purpose, who reached the wardrobe and swung open the door. His hands began searching on the shelf, and then below the tidy clothes draped on hangers, looking for something that could be used as a weapon. Feliciano watched, frozen with fright. The door continued to rattle and the wood had begun to splinter around the handle.

His hands hit boxes. In desperation, he ripped the tops open, pulling from one box in particular a stunningly bright yellow high heel shoe. Resisting the urge to comment on awful fashion sense, as now was definitely not the time to complain, Lovino picked up one for him, and then threw the other in Feliciano's direction. A whimper sounded, and Lovino turned on him.

"You have to try, bastard! We're getting out of here, one way or another!" Just as he finished, the handle was wrenched free of the door, and a frail grey hand pushed through the hole. The stench hit Feliciano's nose, making his eyes water and finally making him move from his position on the floor. The groans were louder now. It knew it was closer, the promise of fresh meat fueling its actions.

The two Italian brothers cowered together in centre of the room. If Feliciano had a white flag, Lovino knew it would be flapping a mile a minute in his brother's current state of panic. He set his features to a look of determination. He would save his brother. He would save himself.

The door was being slowly pushed forward, the feeble attempt at a barricade coming apart as the dead stepped over the threshold and faced the brothers, lifeless eyes staring and a rasping breath escaping its gore covered lips. It stepped forwards, its advance slow as its legs clearly weren't what they used to be, with lumps of flesh missing and the tattered remains of dress suit trousers dragging on the floor.

Lovino wasn't going to let it come closer. He lunged forwards, swinging his arm back to gain momentum and charged into the monster. The shoe came into contact with the dead man's neck, thick blood pouring from the wound, warm over Lovino's hand. The feeling made his head spin, but he couldn't lose concentration. It had flinched, but quickly recovered, and Lovino had only just managed to pull away before its strong jaws were crashing together midair. He yanked at the shoe, but to his misfortune, the heel snapped off and was left protruding from the beast's sticky neck. It turned its fierce gaze on the young man and Lovino's heart sank.

Feliciano had been staring in horror at the scene before him. It had lasted a few seconds, but it felt like hours. His brother's movements to save him had woken something inside him. He couldn't be his weak frail self. He couldn't just stand there. Lovino was stepping back, his facial expression changing from one of confidence to one of distraught. One step forward, then another, his arm raised and was slammed back down into the monsters head before he knew what was coming. It seemed to pause in midair, before falling heavily to the ground with a thump. More blood poured onto the floor, staining the carpet beyond saving.

The brothers' breathing began to slow, coming down from their adrenaline high. Lovino's hands were shaking, and silent tears ran down Feliciano's face. Feliciano stumbled over to his brother, locking gazes before wrapping his arms tightly around the shaking boys frame. There they slid to the floor, crying into each other's shoulders.

"We did it Lovi. We did it," Feliciano said in between sniffles.
"Yeah. One of those bastards down and –"
Lovino stopped talking. He could have sworn he'd heard footsteps just then. They didn't sound like those of the dead though. He glanced up and his eyes widened.

"Well well well! Look what we found."