Highschool of

the Dead

Chapter 1

The End of the World

(Day Z 1:33 PM)

Alone, that's how he had always felt. Every school he went to, every one he talked too, it didn't matter. It was always the same. The son of the man who was most likely the most paranoid businessman on the planet. That was what Cody was referred to. It didn't matter what he was, it was the same in the end. He was Sixteen years old, and was currently a Second year Student in Fujimi Highschool. He transferred in late as an exchange student from America, though technically he had come from Germany. He was on the school roof, just looking down at the parking lot. He hadn't bothered changing into the school uniform, as he had skipped class for the twelfth time that week. He was one of the best Archer's in the school, but even then, that didn't bring him any attention. The only friends he had were ones who liked him for him. His friend Nick, an American Exchange student was part of the Baseball team, so that was something they could talk about. His other friend Bishop was an Islander, but had grown up in Guam. He had always been a fighter. Then of course came his only female friend Rin. If anything, they were the only ones that kept him sane. In a school filled with people, he felt the most alone. He let out a chuckle, running his fingers through his spiky brown hair. He puffed on his cigarette, letting out a large cloud of smoke. They were prohibited in school, but he didn't give a shit. He just needed to be away from it all.

"Man, what a bore. I can't wait for archery. I'm dying to shoot something." he muttered to himself. He placed his cigarette in his mouth, letting it hang from the corner, just enough for him to drag from it. He was wearing a blue shirt, with matching black jeans and shoes. If the Gym teachers happened to look up to where he was, he'd be in major trouble. Of course they wouldn't recognize a face from afar. He took another drag from his cigarette, exhaling the smoke from his nose. He stood up, cracking his back.

"I'd better get my stuff together. If I'm late again, Wakaba-sensei is going to be pissed." he muttered. He looked down to the parkinglot, seeing a few of the Gym teachers heading to the gate. He had noticed a man a few minutes before. For some reason, he had been trying to get into the school. The gates we're usually closed until the end of classes, when students could leave for their homes, those who didn't live nearby stayed in the dorms. Cody was in that group. He could hear the voices of the teachers, before one of them grabbed the man's shirt, pulling him hard against the fence. He sighed.

"Man, leave it to these assholes to treat a bum like shit. Just give him a plate of food and water and send him on his way. This school gets more than enough funding from my father's wallet." he muttered dryly.

That's when everything went down. The man managed to bite the Gym teacher right on the arm, enough to draw blood. Cody chuckled, thinking that it was just karma for being a dick, but when the man fell down, and didn't move, he grew worried. He swallowed hard and kept on watching. After a minute, the man stood up again, looking just fine, until he bit the Girls Volleyball teacher right in the neck. Blood splattered on the ground, causing one man to scream. The other just barfed, before he too was taken down by the now hungry teacher. Cody's cigarette fell from his mouth. He snapped back to reality and turned heel, heading towards the door. He threw it open, not caring about the loud bang that rang through the stairwell. He took the steps two at a time, but just kept running. Making it to the second floor, he kept running, heading towards his Archery Club. He drew his phone from his pocket and shot a text to his friends, somehow, he was able to text and run. He didn't know how, but he did. He slipped, slamming into some lockers, but he kept running anyway.

In Class 2-D, another student was patiently folding a piece of paper. He had been working on this little project of his for at least twenty minutes. He had dirty blonde hair, and soft green eyes. He was dressed in the school uniform. A black long sleeved shirt, with black slacks and tennis shoes. He chuckled and finished the final fold, making the perfect paper football. He scanned the room for his target, finding him on the other side of the room. It was his friend Bishop. He was a tall tan teen, with short black hair. He was asleep on his desk, a bit of drool coming out of his mouth. He lined up his shot, getting ready to take it.

"Mister McCormick, are you paying attention to the lesson?"

"Yes." the teenager replied.

"Then answer the question."

"The theory of relativity states that.."

"This is Math." the teacher replied, making the other students laugh. He sighed. "Nick, we'll be having a talk after class." he said, heading back to the board. He sighed and leaned back into his seat. He felt his pocket vibrate. He rolled his eyes and reached inside to pull out his phone.

"Get out of class now. The Gym Teachers were murdered by some bum."

Nick's eyes widened in shock. He started texting back, to see if he could get an answer from his friend.

"That's the last straw Nick, you know the rules about phones. Give it here, you can have your parents get it back for you." the teacher said firmly. Nick glanced back at the text and smirked. He stood up and cracked his fingers.

"Fuck you, you can lick my gnards." he said. Everyone looked at him wide eyed.

"Attention all students."

Nick looked up at the PA speaker. He had no time to listen to it, he was already out the door.

"A violent outbreak has taken place on school grounds. All students are instructed to follow staff to safety at once. I repeat, a violent outbreak has..oh god..no please..save me..I'm gonna die..GAAAAAAAAH."

The whole room was silent. Bishop stirred awake, a bit of drool still on his on the corner of his mouth. He started clapping, filling the room with noise.

"Good Speech. Jolly Good Show." he said.

A sharp scream resounded through the room, and everyone got up in a panic. They all ran for the door, greatly confusing Bishop who didn't even know what was going on. He sighed and stood up, grabbing his backpack, which he slung onto his shoulder. He stretched his tired limbs and headed out the door. He pulled out his phone, checking his messages. His eyes widened.

"Damn. Someone died outside? That's hardcore. I hope its not Miss Hakeda. She's pretty cute." he muttered. He headed to his locker and started putting in the combination. Screams could be heard coming from every direction. The walls around him were splashed with blood. He tried opening the locker but it clicked locked. He grit his teeth.

"Damn it." he shouted, pounding the side of it. It flew open, making him roll his eyes. An infected reached for him and he stepped to the side.

"Yo what the fuck?" he asked, completely scared. He pushed the infected teenager back, knocking him to the ground. He looked back into his locker, finding his favorite pair of gloves. He reached for them, a smile on his face.

"So long as I have you, I'll be fine." he said, slamming the door shut. It crushed the arm of an infected girl that tried attacking him.

"Grab your bow man, we gotta get out of here."

"Cody, I can't just leave man. The others on the team, what about them?"

Cody looked back at his friend and fellow Archer. He didn't know what to tell him. He shook his head and kept screwing the broad-heads onto his arrows. One after another, he put the heads on and stuffed them into his quiver. His friend, Takeda looked at him wide eyed.

"Dude, your not allowed to put broad-heads on your arrows." he said, quite scared. Cody looked at him, hair covering his left eye. His Neon Purple Compound Bow was in his hand.

"Well, its either you don't and you die, or you do.." a loud snap was heard. Takeda looked behind Cody, seeing the body of a girl hit the ground, an arrow sticking out of her eye. "And you live." he said.

"That was the head...cheerleader." Takeda muttered.

"Yup. Was. Now grab your bow and get ready for hell." he said, looking back at his friend. He grabbed his backpack, and placing it across his back, making sure his quiver wasn't blocked.

"Man..I don't..think I can.."

"Then Good Luck." He said, heading towards the door. Takeda's eyes went wide.

"Dude, you can't leave me..Cody?...Cody.." he shouted.

Cody stepped out into the hallway, a stern look on his face. It was absolute chaos. Blood was smeared all over the tile floor. The windows were cracked or drenched in blood. Bodies littered the floor, some with their brains bashed in. Several infected were stumbling around. He sighed and fished a smoke from his pocket.

"Just a Normal Tuesday for Cody Von Beren." he muttered, letting his arrow go. It slammed into the furthest infected, knocking it to the ground. He pulled a new arrow from his quiver and let it fly, taking out the next one. He grabbed a third arrow and was about to set it up. He suddenly spun on his heel, driving the arrow through the side of the infected's head. He snapped the arrow in half and drove it through its jaw for good measure. He looked back, seeing few infected blocking his way. With a nod, he headed down the hallway. He reached for his shirt pocket and pulled out his lighter. Flicking it open, he light the end of his cigarette.

Nick wasn't sure of what to do. He saw almost everyone he knew, either gnawing each other apart, dying or killing someone else. He held his baseball bat tightly in his hand. He was one of the best hitters the school had. He had bashed some heads in, but that was to get away. The promise of killing wasn't on his mind. He reached an empty hallway and peeked around the corner. Empty. He saw the stairwell at the far end and decided to go for it.

"If I make it to the faculty room, I can grab some car keys. Guess those driving lessons payed off." he muttered to himself. He passed by a vending machine, feeling the need for a drink, he turned back and looked at it. He eyed the Mountain Dew that was held behind the glass. He licked his lips, almost tasting the drink. He pulled out his wallet and opened it, pulling out a dollar bill. He put it in the dollar slot, and the machine pulled it in. he was about to dial the number when the dollar was spit out.

"What the?" he muttered. He pulled the dollar out and straightened the corners out. He slipped it back in, getting ready to dial the number, when it was spit out again. He grit his teeth and shoved the bill in his jacket pocket. He dug his hand in his pocket and pulled out loose change. He counted it in his head.

"Damn, I'm a dime off."

"Dude, are you seriously buying a drink right now?"

Nick looked up, seeing his friend Bishop, wearing a leather jacket and his favorite gloves. He was also wearing jeans and combat boots. Nick chuckled.

"Thought it would be a great time to fuel up you know?"

"Idiot. Don't you see what's going on? People are dying, and here you are, buying a fucking soda." he said.

"So?" the baseball player asked, raising a brow. Bishop rolled his eyes and dug into his pocket.

"Might as well grab myself one. How much?"

"A dollar. You wouldn't happen to have an extra dime right?" he asked.

"No. we can only get one if I give you a dime. I'm 20 cents off. If only there was a way I could bust this open?" he said. An infected stumbled toward them. Bishop smirked.

"Oh word, I can use this." he said, grabbed the infected from the back of his head. He slammed its face into the glass, cracking it a bit. He pulled the infected back and slammed the face harder into the glass, causing it to break. He dropped the body and grabbed his soda of choice.

"I think that was Klein." Nick said, grabbing his Mountain Dew.

"Eh, I hated the kid anyway. Thinking he was all high an mighty because he banged the head cheerleader. Fucking Pleb." he said.

Another infected lunged at him, causing him to jump back. He pulled his fist back, ready to strike it when an arrow slammed into its throat. It stumbled back a few feet. They heard a sigh behind them.

"Honestly, you two are hopeless." Cody said.

"So are you, you say your the best shot in the school, yet you missed your target." Bishop said, pulling the arrow from the infected's neck. It tore through its Jugular, splashing blood all over the floor. It groaned loudly. "Everyone knows, you have to get them in the head." he shouted, driving the arrow through its eye. The body fell down limp. Cody puffed his cig.

"I purposely aimed at the throat. I was trying not to hit your big ass head. Now lets move, before we're swarmed."

"Don't need to tell me twice." Nick said, grabbing his bat. Cody stopped at the machine and grabbed all of the bottles of water he could. Stuffing them in his backpack, as well as a few sodas.

"We can live a week with just water. This won't be enough, but we can at least make it a few days before having to worry." he said.

"So whats the plan?" Bishop asked.

"The Faculty room. The teachers have their car keys there. We'll grab a car and drive into town. I have to make sure my sister is fine." he said.

"Pfft, Rin will be fine. After all, she's a black belt in Tae Kwan Do. She can take them."

"Martial Arts are good if your assailant's are plain old rapists. These guys are different, one bite and your as good as dead." he said.

"So, its like Dawn of the Dead?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, Cept this ain't a movie. This is real life."

"Don't gotta ruin it Bish." the baseballer muttered. Cody swung his bow into an infected, sending it tumbling down the stairs. Its head slammed into the concrete wall, spewing blood all over. They moved down the stairs, being careful not to make noise. Cody opened the door and peeked outside. The hallway was filled with them. He clicked his tongue.

"What the fuck do we do?" Bishop muttered.

"I have an idea. Its a theory mostly. When people die, their eyes get cataracts. If these things die and come back, they won't be able to see, just hear." he said.

"How does that help us?" Nick said, rather impatiently.

"Faculty Office is to the left. All these guys are hanging around here, so we draw them to the right. I got just the thing." he said, pulling out an arrow from his quiver. He pulled a Firecracker from his pocket and slipped it through the broad-head's space. He rose the arrow to his face and lit the fuse with his cigarette. He looked around for a target before firing his arrow. It went straight through a teachers throat, making the infected gag a bit.

"What was the point?" Nick asked. Cody merely waited for his cue to run. The firecracker finally exploded, the echo of it bounced off the walls. The infected turned around, stumbling to the source of the noise. Without missing a beat, he ran down the opposite direction, towards the office.

"Damn, your good kid. Props for thinking ahead."

"Thanks Bishop. You know how I am." he said, discarding his cigarette butt. They continued in silence, moving at a steady pace. They all suddenly stopped when they heard a scream coming from the opposite direction. Cody stopped moving, looking back at the source of the scream.

"That sounded like a girl." Bishop said.

"Or a prepubescent teenage boy." Nick said, earning a punch from the older teen. Cody shrugged off his backpack and tossed it to Nick.

"I'll be right back. If I can save someone, then I'll do it. Secure the faculty office, don't let anyone else in." he said, running off.

"That idiot is going to die." Nick said.

"No he's not. He's Cody Von Fucking Beren. If anyone can survive through this, its definitely him. Come on." Bishop said, pulling his friend along. Nick matched his pace, putting the backpack around his shoulder. He gripped his bat tightly.

"Hope to hell you're right."

Cody made it back towards the stairwell. The Infected that had been hanging around had moved on towards the hallway. He slipped on some blood and slammed into some lockers, making him scream in pain. He grit his teeth and stood up, setting up a new bolt. Cody shot at the nearest one. He ran passed it and pulled the bolt out of its head, dropping the body to the ground. He set it up again and fired it, hitting the nearest target. He slammed his bow into one of them, snapping its neck. He swept another one off its feet. The others fell over it. He sighed.

"That'll buy me some time." he muttered. He turned a corner, seeing some blood smeared on the ground. He heard another scream and quickened his pace. "If there was only a way to draw them elsewhere. That would save me the trouble." he said. He stopped, seeing another hallway. The one he had reached would lead through the trophy displays and swing around to the faculty office. He looked around for something, anything that could help. His eyes landed on the flashing fire alarm. The strobe lights had been engaged, but the alarm itself hadn't been activated. He drew a bolt and some fire crackers. He tied one onto the arrow with some scotch tape and lit it with his lighter. He set the arrow and took aim.

"God, I hope this works." he said, releasing the arrow. It all went slow motion for him. The arrow sailed through the air, heading towards the red speaker box near the ceiling. The arrow hit the ceiling tile, embedding itself there. A second later, the firecracker exploded, the smoke from the gunpowder was enough to engage the alarm system. Thankfully, it was only for the west side of the school, away from the faculty office. He fist pumped proudly and ran down the hall.

"Yes. I am so the best." he said to himself. Another scream tore through the hallway, this time much more defined. He quickened his pace, finally reaching the trophy hall. He almost slammed into another teenager who had burst from the stairwell. He gave a sheepish smile and then a firm nod. Cody looked in front of him, seeing a girl drilling straight through an infected teachers head. She looked around Sixteen, and was wearing a long white dress shirt, with a green cape and matching skirt. She had on plain white socks and regular sneakers. Her shirt was drenched in blood.

"Somebody fucking kill it." she shouted.

"You take the left, I'll take the right. Bowman takes the furthest one." the black haired teen called out. Cody nodded and drew and arrow from his quiver.

"It's show time boys and girls." he said, letting the arrow fly. He didn't waste time to set another one. He rapidly turned around, firing the arrow at point blank into an infected teachers face. Several had been drawn by the screams of the pink haired girl. To many for him to shoot. Luckily, he had his Tactical Knife attached to his belt. He drew it from the sheath, the blade glistening in the little light that was left in the hall. He pulled his hand back and drove the knife through the first infected's temple. He pulled it free from its skull, splashing blood all over his shirt. He slung his bow across his back and moved forward, stabbing the knife through another infected's eye. He slammed a third into the wall and stabbed the blade through its forehead. With each kill, more blood was drawn, it was as if he had fallen in a trance. He swept on off its feet and stomped on its head as hard as he could, spilling its brains out on the floor.

"Of all the fucking things in the world." he said. He grabbed another one and slammed the blade of his knife through the side of its head. "It had to be fucking zombies." he shouted, pulling the blade free from the infected's skull. Blood splattered all over the wall, and on his face. He turned back to the others, who all had hardened looks on their faces. Blood dripped from his knife, each droplet staining the once clean floor.

"Um..are you alright?" the black haired teen asked. Cody nodded.

"Just peachy."

"Well, guess introductions are in order. I'm Saeko Busujima." the purple haired girl said. She was holding a Bokken in her hands, most likely from the Kendo club.

"Takashi Komuro, Second Year, Class 2-B."

"Rei Miyamoto."

"I'm Khota Hirano, Class 2-B, if anyone cares." the third teen said. He was a short boy, around sixteen who seemed a bit overweight. He had long hair that fell down his shoulders, and square rimmed glasses. He was holding a modified nail gun.

"Cody." the young archer wiped his knife free of blood and placed it in his sheath.

"Why is everyone acting to warm and fuzzy all of a sudden?" the pinked haired girl asked. Cody narrowed his eyes, finally recognizing the girl as Saya Takagi, a fellow rich girl, only she was more popular than he himself was.

"If we're going to survive, its better to know each others names." Takashi said.

"You don't get it do you. I almost died, I am smart, I shouldn't be here with any of you." She shouted.

"Takagi." Kohta muttered.
"Shut the hell up...look at me..I look like a mess. I'm going to have to get this dry cleaned." she said, looking at herself in the reflection. Saeko suddenly hugged her, startling her a bit. She gave her a gentle smile.

"You've been through a lot. Its okay now." She said. Takagi burst into tears, her cries echoed through the halls. Cody once again grabbed his bow, this time grabbing one of the Self Deploying Broad-heads.

"We should move on to the Faculty office. I got friends there that secured it, and water from the machines. Its not much but I'm sure as hell beat after that." he muttered.

"This hallway will lead us there. Come on." Shizuka, the school nurse said, leading them down the dimly lit hall. Cody decided to stay in the middle, next to Saeko who was scanning the area. Kohta was busy reloading his nail gun, and Takashi had taken point, holding his bat ready to strike.

"Where did you get those arrowheads?" Saeko asked. Cody smirked.

"I carry them everywhere. Never know when someone might try to kill you." he said.

"Aren't modified arrowheads illegal in Japan?" Kohta asked.

"Hell if I know. My Dad...nevermind." he muttered.

"Oh..I remember you, you're that kid with the paranoid father. Bet he made you carry those around with you right? Glad he did." Rei said.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't bring him up Miss Miyamoto." he said firmly. The tension in the air seemed to grow a bit thicker after he said that. Rei remained silent after that, content with scanning the area for more infected. The made it to the faculty office a minute later. Cody knocked three times, paused and then knocked twice, a secret code he had created with his friends. Nick opened the door, allowing him entry.

"Damn son, we thought you were a goner, ooh, you've brought guests..this way ladies, tea is almost ready."

"Cut the crap. This is serious." Cody said, pushing him back. As soon as everyone was inside, he closed the door, and locked it for good measure. He dropped to the floor, finally being able to rest.

"Man, that was worse than any training exercise or capture the flag game I have ever played." he said.

"Fatass." Bishop muttered. The young archer flipped him off, earning a chuckle from him. Takashi introduced himself to the two, wanting to get that out of the way. Cody by now had opened his bag, and had begun passing out the water bottles he had collected from the machine.

"Oh..sweetie, your arm is bleeding." Shizuka said. He looked at his arm, seeing trails of blood running down it.

"You..you're not bit right?" Rei asked. Cody shook his head.

"When I was running towards you guys, I slipped on some blood and hit some lockers. Must have cut myself on then." he said.

"Let me take a look at it. I promise it wont hurt." the blonde woman said, a smile on her face. He nodded and rolled his shirt sleeve up, showing her the deep cut. He heard the TV turn on, and looked up at the screen.

"The Deadly Outbreak that has hit the world has taken out over a million people world wide and the death toll will increase to Ten Million by morning. Already, the President of The United States and the Cabinet have abandoned the white house, headed for a carrier out at sea." the reporter said. Nick scoffed.

"Pussy. Save yourselves and leave the Americans to fight for themselves. Bless the USA." he said, taking a swig from his water.

"Reports of mass hysteria keep coming in. We have lost complete contact with Moscow. Beijing has been set on fire. London has managed to keep some order, but reports of looting run rampant. Paris and Rome have both fallen to rioting and looting as well."

"Man, this shit is nuts." Takashi muttered.

"I can't believe its everywhere."

"Don't be stupid." Saya snapped. Cody looked at her curiously. She had been busy wiping the blood away from her face. She put on a pair of glasses.

"Glasses?" Kohta asked.

"My contacts keep slipping out. Anyway, this thing is more like a Pandemic, its going around everywhere."

"So..its like a flu?" Takashi asked.

"Yes, remember the Spanish flu? It infected 600 Million people, and killed 500 Million. Remember the Swine Flu outbreak? That killed hundreds if not thousands, and that was a few years back." She said.

"If anything, this fits the Black Plague of the Fourteenth Century." Cody muttered. Saya looked at him, a bit impressed. "What? Just cuz I'm the biggest loser in the school doesn't mean I can't read."

"The Plague killed half of Europe in the time that it was around." She continued, unaffected by his comment.

"How..did it just..disappear?" Takashi asked.

"That's the thing. No one really knows. I guess after a certain amount of people die, it just disappears. Its just a theory though." Shizuka said.

"So eventually, this will die too?" Bishop asked.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. This virus kills people, and then brings them back to life. If that's the case..it wouldn't necessarily stop." Saeko added.

"Which means, as long as the living are still living, the dead will be there." Cody replied.

"But what about decomposition? If their dead..then their bodies will rot, right?" Rei asked.

"True, but it will take a while." Nick muttered.

"In the summer, it would take about 20 days..in the winter, it could be months."

"Its gonna get warmer soon, which means we have to blow this place." Bishop said, clenching his fist. Shizuka finished patching Cody up and looked at the young islander.

"Well, my car keys are in here somewhere." She said.
"Can it fit all of us?"

"Um..no."

"What about the buses? The ones that are used for field trips? We could take one of those." Kohta said, looking out the window.

"That's an awful lot of infected to mow through."

"What..scared?" Cody asked, glancing at his friend. He pulled a cigarette from his pack and put it in his mouth.

"Pfft, as if. If I recall, your the one that was running around, saving damsels." he said. Cody lit the end of his cigarette and took a long drag.

"You know, I'll shoot you in the knee, that way, you wont be able to run."

"Stop fucking around, what's the plan?" Saya shouted.

"We head into town and check on our families to see if their alright. Then we find a place to hole up, simple." Takashi said.

"Good plan. My sister is a Nurse, surely we'll need her help." Cody said, standing up. He checked his bow to see if it had taken any damage. Luckily, it didn't.

"Not all of us have weapons you know. What do we do?" Bishop said.

"Pick up anything you can. Also, if we can find survivors, all the better. No one is left behind." the black haired teen said, grabbing his bat. Cody looked at his new team. He didn't know them well, other than his friends, but they looked reliable.

"Those without weapons stay in the middle. I'll take the back, Takashi, you take point." He said, reaching for an arrow. He nodded and turned back to the door. He threw it open, and everyone filed out the door.