Prologue

-Cirno-

"Curfew is now in effect. It is highly recommended you stay indoors and fortify as best as you can." Lily White floated in the air. Her hair had lost its color, turning from a bright blonde to a snow white. "Repeat: Curfew is now in effect. It is highly recommended you stay indoors and fortify as best as you can."

"Best we listen to her and start closing up the house." Wriggle started for the plywood, hammer, and nails. "Wanna help?"

I sat in the corner, still shocked about the events of yesterday. It was almost too much for me to take. "No."

Wriggle's arms slumped, I could tell I was bumming her out. Good. I was sick and tired of seeing her still carry on instead of mourn. "Look, we have to board the house up. We can go look for others tomorrow."

"Hmph." I had nothing to say to her. I didn't want to do anything.

"Cirno." Wriggle walked toward me. "I know you're sad about Mystia and Rumia. I am too. However, they'd want us to stay safe. So please, come and help me with this or else I won't get the boards up in time."

I got up and took a few planks of plywood in my arms along with a spare hammer Wriggle had. I didn't look at Wriggle, nor could I.

I placed the plank on a window horizontally and started to hammer the six-inch nails into the end of the plywood. Moving the end, I could tell the plank was on securely and I had enough room for about four more planks. I turned around and saw Wriggle working her side of the house. She was working twice as fast as I was. She had four windows secured when I had only two. The job went by faster with the two of us working and we were finished after 10 minutes.

...

Sure enough, a half hour after Lily made her curfew call, the moans were heard outside. I blew out the single candle we had lit and looked out the window. There was everyone we started with. Mai, Rumia, Keine-sensei, and all of the other Human Village children walking around clumsily in the school playground. Their teeth glimmered in the moon light and their pale white skin shone. Ghosts of what they once were.

"It's gotta be some kind of Youkai sickness. It's gotta be what's turning everyone into Manic Youkai." Wriggle said.

I didn't say anything. There was nothing to say. I didn't want to tell her that I agreed. It's the only logical explanation of everything that's happened. One day, the Human Village was bustling with activity and the next day, everyone started to kill one another. Manic Youkai is what Lily White started to call them when she started her curfew announcements, so it stuck with us. Two days after the disease reached the Human Village, Mystia was one of the first to die. This was before we thought about blocking the windows. One night, they broke into the lobby of the schoolhouse that he had thought was safely locked. Sure enough when they broke in more than half of the students we started out with died. We pushed further back into the already cramped schoolhouse until we only had one corridor left. By the time we reached the last corridor, only Wriggle, Keine-sensei, 2 students whom I didn't know, Rumia and I remained. Keine and those 2 students died when we reached the corridor before the one we ended up in now. The Manic managed to break through the plywood, not to my surprise. It was very weak in the middle so they didn't have to try so hard.

Yesterday...

Rumia went out to go and see the Village and see if there was anyone else who lived. There was no one else. The Human Village was empty. She made the stupid decision to go out by herself because Wriggle and I would be damned if we were going out there. She came back too late and was caught after curfew. She was just steps from the house before the Manic got her. After her, only we were left.

...

"Cirno." Wriggle whimpered.

"What?" I was half-asleep when she woke me up. It was pitch black and I could only see the faint silhouette the moon made of her body. It was only after I started to wake up that I heard the loud moaning that were the Manic and they knew we were in here.

"They're gonna break through." Wriggle grabbed my uniform cuff.

I listened and I wasn't too sure. They might very well break through.

"Don't worry. We'll be fine. Try to go back to sleep." I said, turning my pillow to the cool side.

Right after I said that, the glass behind the plywood shattered. "Cirno..!" Wriggle started to cry.

I had accepted the possibility of death right after I saw Keine-sensei get killed along with those two students she was taking care of. "Listen to me, shut up! They're not going to break in here!" I wanted to believe what I was saying but I couldn't.

The plywood started to make a sickening sound and started to crack down the middle. She was right, it couldn't take much more of the banging. We were as good as dead. "Shit!" I yelled. I got up and started to get some more plywood and nails, Wriggle followed suit.

"Put them vertically this time!" I didn't think she could hear me over the deafening moaning. One plank gave way, then another. "Hurry!"

Wriggle stopped hammering and instead focused on pushing the plywood to loosen the slack on it. She had given up all hope. "Cirno, we gotta figure out a way to get out of here!"

"There's no way out without getting caught up in the horde! We have to hammer!" I said, hammering more nails on the end of the plank.

A hand made it through the plywood, bloodied by the glass scratching against it. It grabbed onto Wriggle's hand and ripped skin. She let out a cry of pain and fell back. That was all that was needed to let the rest of the planks break open and leave the window free for the Manic to enter. Wriggle's hand quickly discolored. I focused on smacking any of them that tried to enter. The thick plank did a great job of breaking in the heads of them. I glanced over to Wriggle who was writhing in pain, holding her bloody arm. Her arm was grey and the color was traveling up. So this is what a scratch or a bite did to someone.

"Cirno. Help!" Wriggle's voice was raspy and labored. There was nothing to be done.

"Uh..! I'm kinda busy!" My arm started to feel sore from the swinging. More and more pushed through to the point where my swinging didn't stop them from coming in. More and more flooded in, falling on top of one another. It was over. They fell on top of Wriggle and all I could hear was the piercing scream of Wriggle being eaten alive. Her blood pooled around and underneath the Manic on top of her. More started to come in and made their way toward me.

I could barely lift my arms. This plank was heavy and thick as is and I had been swinging it for the better part of 5 minutes. I couldn't kill them all if I wanted. The closest one was Keine-sensei. Her dark blue tinged hair was black and her skin a sickening grey. Her hands reaching toward me as she walked.

What had happened?

What went wrong?

I closed my eyes and put my arms in front of my body to protect myself. If only I had my spellcards...

I hate that rule... No spellcards allowed at school.

I was as good as dead. I felt the sharp teeth of Keine's sink into my arm and another Manic bit into the left side of my neck. It bit that part of the body we learned in Science. The jugular. All I could feel is my hair being pulled and the sharp pains all over my body. I fell and accepted my fate. My face hit the floor and all I could see was Wriggle's lifeless eyes look toward my direction. I blinked and closed my eyes for the last time.

I didn't hear their moans anymore.

Teatime and wait...