Chapter one:

Lupis

Death. The simple word that meant so much to the world. Death. The stench that lingered in the air ever since the dead came back to life. The thing everyone was afraid of;death.

"Lupis!" His owner snapped, making the blue-eyed Husky cower under the table. What had he done today? The woman who had called his name suddenly grabbed his collar and pulled him out into the open, popping his head. Lupis winced and narrowed his eyes, trying to back away.

"This is the last time you poop in my house!" She muttered, dragging to the back door. Lupis whined and squirmed, trying to run away before she put him out. He HATED being outside and his owners knew that, but the girl didn't seem to care whether or not he like it or not.

Get!" She pushed him out and slammed the door, stomping off. Lupis rolled his eyes and moseyed over to the shaded area of the yard. He plopped down in the dry, brittle grass and stared at the kitchen window. The blinds were partially opened which allowed him to see Cali, the one who had put him out, and her daughter Celestial chatting.

Lupis felt his irritation growing as he watched his owners exchange laughs and smiles at each other in the kitchen. Just because I'm out, she suddenly gets happy...He thought sourly, rolling onto his back so that he stared at the fence. The sun blared down in his exposed stomach and Lupis sighed. His eyes slowly closed as he allowed the himself to drift off and he tried to ignore the putrid smell in the dry air. He could tell that there was something...odd about the day, but there was nothing he could do about it.

~.~.~

A scream broke Lupis' peaceful sleep, making him leap to his paws and look around. There was harsh moans coming from inside the house and that smell was getting stronger. Lupis leapt forward and began to bark and snarl, hoping that his owners were alright. A scream seemed to get louder and louder when the backdoor burst open and Celestial barricaded out. Something seemed to be chasing her, but the dog was confused with what. Where was Cali?

Lupis ran forward as she tripped on the ground and he stood in front of her, waiting for whatever was attacking her to walk out.

There was a faint, in-humane snarl that made Lupis tense, staring in horror at what walked out. It was Cali, but there was something different about her. She had that mysterious smell on her clothes now and there was blood oozing from her neck. Lupis narrowed his eyes at the wound, inspecting it in pure interest. It was...a bite mark. Guts spewed out from the wound making Celestial's screams begin to become muffled by her sobs. Cali's green eyes were now faint, as if dead yet alive at the same time and her was arm extending as if reaching for something. Or someone.

Lupis snarled at her, digging his claws into the ground. He knew it would be hard to...kill Cali, but he needed to defend Celestial, the one who was alive. The blonde-haired teen sobbed as Lupis pushed her mom to the ground and scratched her arm. Cali tried to roll Lupis over, but the dog leapt back and bit her leg. The flesh felt oddly soft and tender, easy to bite and easy to tear. There was a pop before the lower knee disconnected from the rest of the body and Lupis stumbled back. He dropped the leg and stared at Cali in shock. She didn't even have seemed to notice it was missing.

Celestial moved behind Lupis, running off towards the tree where he had previously been layingg. Scared. Lupis supposed, lashing out at Cali again. She grabbed his paw and pulled him down, Lupis yipping and snapping at her hand. He nipped it and Cali released his paw, hissing and snarling at him. He ran off to Celestial, nudging her onto her feet and as she stood, Celes sobbed and ran to the gate, opening it and running out.

Lupis ran after her and caught up within seconds, running down the street and dodging the people and monsters that got in their way. Lupis snapped at the ones that reached for him or Celestial as they ran, but it was still challenging to run through.

People swarmed on the street, screaming and shooting and kicking and punching the creatures. But their fighting techniques didn't have an impact on the attackers. Whatever Cali had been was now biting and scratching anything and everything.

It was a living Hell on the street; guts and blood every where, darkness, and that stench. Death.

"Come here little girl!" Someone grabbed Cali's hand and lead her off. Lupis barked, running after her as she was put into a car. They slammed the door and ran to the front, ignoring Lupis' barks and yelps of desperation. Celestial swung the door open and Lupis leapt in just in time. The car wheels screeched and there was a small force that pushed Lupis and Celes against the seat as the car began to drive off.

"What the fuck?!" The driver screamed, staring at Lupis through the mirror. "Why is there a dog in my car!?" The man boomed, swerving slightly as his eyes left the road.

"He's my dog!" Celestial defended. "He saved me and I was not going to leave him to-to those monsters!"

"They're not monsters kid." The man stated bluntly. "Have you ever seen a movie like...uuuhhh...How about I am Legend? With Will Smith?"

"No..?"

"Oh. Well you wouldn't get the reference. But, those things you call monsters- just call them Walkers."

"Walkers?" Cali was obviously confused by his nickname.

"Walkers." The man grinned. "They're dead but can still move around."

"That's what Mom was?" Celestial questioned was a moment of silence before the man gave a short nod.

"Yes, that's what your mom was." Celes began to whimper at the answer, wrapping her arms around Lupis and burrowing her face into his white fur. Lupis felt something wet slide down his fur and onto his skin and he knew she was crying. Celestial's fear made Lupis cringe, her grip tightening on him as her tears got stronger. Lupis knew it was a mixture of her shock and the loss of her mother that had driven her to tears, but he also knew she was happy to have him with her still.

"Why don't you two go to sleep?" The man suggested and Cali gave a faint nod. She rested her head on Lupis' stomach, a few tears still trickling down her pale face.

Lupis couldn't sleep though. A new amount of energy pulsed through his veins; his aching muscles now tense, blue eyes keen, claws digging into the seat where he sat. There was muffled voices in the car coming from the radio. They spoke frantically and usually ended with a terrified scream and the ripping of flesh, making it so the man in the front had to change the station frequently.

"Bullshit" He'd mutter each time the messages were interrupted. Lupis couldn't really understand what the man was saying, but he knew that he was the guy was worried. He probably had a family. Lupis supposed, feeling little sympathy for him. Lupis didn't really have a family minus Cali and Celestial. Sure he had brothers, sisters, a dad and a mom but he never really got to know him. He was basically born then sold, but there was no problem with that.

The man finally sighed, slamming his fist on the radio to turn it off. "Useless piece of junk.." He muttered. The car swerved to the right gently, stopping briefly. There was a small noise and the door flung open.

"Get in!" The guy in the front hollered which made Celestial shift. Two small bodies crawled into the car and sat down next to Celestial. Another crawled into the front.

"Thank you so much sir." the one closest to Celestial said.

"Don't mention it. I shouldn't have picked up your sorry..." The man replied, trailing off.

"I'm Jackie and these are my sons Charles and Jeremiah." Lupis gave a low moan and the woman looked back at him. "This your kid?"

"Nah and it ain't my dog either." He spat. "The mutt jumped in the car with the girl." Lupis snorted as if about to bark, but the man glared at him through the mirror hanging in the front. Lupis dipped his head, his eyes widening to give a look of pure innocence. Celestial gave a low moan and he allowed his innocent act to end, sniffing his friend's shoulder instead.

"Are we there yet?" Celes asked, slowly opening her eyes and gasping at the sight of new people. "Who are they?"

"Companions." The one closest to her smiled. "I'm Charles, this is my brother Jeremiah, and my mom Jackie. I don't know about the guy in the fr-"

"Ethan" He interrupted. "My name's Ethan."

"Oh... well I'm Celestial. Call me Celes. But this is my dog, Lupis." Lupis looked at her as she said his name. He blinked slowly and she gave him a small smile. "Now, can I know where exactly we're going?"

"Chicago. Not too far and its big, so it may have plenty of useful items.

"And monste- I mean walkers."

"Lets just hope for the best." Jackie sighed, resting her head against the window. Lupis looked down at Celestial's lap, moving around so that he could lay down. She rubbed his head gently, letting him calm down and drift away into a light sleep.