WAKING UP DEAD
CHAPTER 1: THE NIGHTMARE BEGINS

Have you ever wished so badly for a nightmare to end? You're even aware it's a dream at one point and try to wake up. And when you do, you're greatly relieved that it's all over. But what happens when you can't wake up? When the horrible world around you... is actually real? I wanted so badly to believe I was in just another bad dream. That if I closed my eyes I would open them to the white ceiling of my bedroom, or the tan surface of my desk at school. My mom would yell for me to hurry up for or I'd be late for class, or my teacher throwing a piece of chalk at my head and assigning me detention.

...But the monsters never stopped coming, and time kept on going without pause...

No matter what I did, the scene before me wouldn't go away. As I stood on the roof top of my school, what was once beautiful, peaceful, Karakura Town, now was crawling with Them. Buildings burned and sirens and screams were everywhere. The smell of smoke and blood tainted the air around me. It was all straight out of a horror film, or some creepy video game. And no matter how many times I shut my eyes and reopened them, the nightmare didn't go away. The reality was, that this was the end. The end of everything we ever knew.

Life as we knew it, had fallen into blissful chaos...

.. Tuesday, April 2nd, 11:47am ..

"Oi! Minako!" Came an annoyed voice. A blond haired girl looked behind her. Her deep blue eyes rested on a tall young man in a grey school uniform. His short orange hair was messy, and his amber eyes were glaring at her. They were on an outer staircase that was facing the south gate to the school. Minako was leaning on the railing where the stairs bent to wind up to the second floor. The boy was standing a few steps below her. "Shouldn't you be in class?" he asked.

She arched a brow at him. "You're one to talk. This is my first time ditching this year. How many classes have you skipped out on?"

"Whatever." he said and finally joined her at the railing. She continued to watch him while he just looked out over the city. Before she could say anything he asked,"why are you ditching anyways?"

Minako looked away. Unconsciously she fixed her signature bow that held back some of her thick hair. He knew that was a sign that she was worrying about something. She never realized she did it though. "It's nothing. I was just spacing."

"About him?"

"No!" she snapped. "Keep your nose out of my business Ichigo!"

"I will when you keep it out of mine for good." he threw back.

"Ugh!" the girl cried and wheeled away from him. "This isn't about Hisagi... I'm worried about my becoming captain of the volleyball team next year."

Ichigo looked at her like she was stupid. "That's what you've been anxious about all this time? Why didn't you just say something?"

"I don't know... I just want to be liked and looked up to by my team. You remember how middle school was. You were my only friend then. They all thought I was a show off and stuck up."

Ichigo nodded, remembering how much those few years were hell for his blonde friend. Minako smoothed out her grey skirt and leaned back. She wanted to make a good impression her senior year. She was happy at this school, and had many friends. If she sucked as captain that could all go downhill. A hand rested on her shoulder and she looked up. Ichigo was giving her a stern look. She would have been worried, but having known him way back since they were both in diapers, she knew that look really meant he was concerned for her.

"Don't fret about this too much. And don't be a bad kid like me, go to class." She smiled at him and nodded. He left up the stairs after that, and she looked back out.

With a sigh she looked up at the sky. It was a nice day. A few clouds graced the sky and the weather was perfect. Spring had arrived after a harsh winter. Spring sports had started that week too. After school, all the fields would be filled up with teams practicing and students who would rather stay and watch then study. Minako thought about some of her friends. Makoto Kino, a very tall brunette with beautiful emerald eyes was in the kendo club. She was the best fighter the school had and had won them many awards. Ami Mizuno had joined a nursing program at her cram school. The blue haired, blue eyed girl was also nominated for student body present for the next school year. The winner would be chosen the day before classes ended in May. Last was Rei Hino, a very pretty raven haired girl, that had striking royal purple eyes. She was new this year, as she had attended an all girls school since junior high. She didn't partake in any school clubs though. She was a priestess at her grandfathers temple. That always took up a couple of hours after school.

Many of Ichigo's friends had joined programs too. Minako was already back into volleyball. They had a game next weekend that she was stoked for. She also had an audition. It was her dream to be famous after all. She loved acting and singing. The blonde hoped she could get a career as both. Though she had to keep up her grades in school though. Her mother and her had a deal. If she continuously got good grades she could keep auditioning. She also could not take on any jobs if they interfered with her schooling. Rolling her eyes, she figured she ought to head to her next class. The bell would ring pretty soon.

"Can't skip too many classes. If my grades drop my ass is history." she muttered as she stretched.

A noise drew her attention to the closed gate as she was about to turn around. A man was there shacking it and groaning. He was being really loud, and it actually sounded very inappropriate. Minako was grossed out and was going to go get a teacher when several came out. One was her volleyball coach, the two others were some teachers she had seen around the campus. They called for the man to stop his antics and leave before they called the cops. The man didn't, he kept rattling the gate and was now reaching for them. He looked sick Minako realized. Even from where she was, she could see he was very pale. In fact he was slightly... grayish.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked aloud. An ominous feeling trickled in the back of her mind. Something bad was about to happen, but she couldn't move from her spot. A mixture of curiosity and fear held her in place.

She heard her coach curse at the man, then grabbed him through the gate and slammed him into it. The female teacher told him to stop, or he too would get in trouble with the police. The coach turned to her, the man's shirt still clutched in his fist. He said something... then screamed. Minako's hands flew to her mouth. The sickly looking man had bitten a chunk out of her coach's arm. All stared in shock as he fell back, clutching his arm, and screaming. The two teachers rushed over to his side. The male whipped out his cellphone and began dialing a number. The female knelt beside the coach. The coach thrashed around some more then ceased all movement. Both stared in shock.

"Wha-what?" stuttered the blonde as she had watched this scene unfold.

Minako couldn't believe it. Was he dead? How could someone die from a bite? Though a large chunk was missing, he hadn't bled out enough yet. Perhaps he had fallen unconscious or something. The female teacher thought the same. She checked his pulse, and went pale. Turning with wide eyes, she shook her head at the other man. No, it couldn't be! She just didn't check right. It was hard if you weren't trained to find a pulse. Coach couldn't have died just from that!

Movement.

"Coach!" Minako yelled, though not loudly enough for them to hear. She rushed forward, grabbing the railing with both hands and leaning slightly over it to get a better look. Tears welled up in her eyes. He was alive!

His hand was moving up slowly. The teachers turned back to him. The female smiled hugely and asked if he was alright. He grabbed her shirt and pulled his face up to her. The next thing any of them knew, he bit down and tore out the woman's neck.

Hello all, and welcome to my second story on this account. I really do hope it has caught your interest. Now for some info about it:

1) This is mainly Inner Senshi and Hotaru centered. I haven't found a way to incorporate Usagi so I'm not so sure she'll make an appearance. Same with Rukia. Speaking of the Bleach side, for them this will focus on Ichigos gang and the vizards. A few Shinigami will tag along, but I dont know about the Arrancar. Maybe as side characters.

2) There WILL BE character death amoung all parties so I'm sorry if anyones favorite gets killed, but I promise most deaths that I have planned out aren't lame... at least not to me. Most of the crew will go out epically if I do kill them.

3)I'm not sure if I want to reveal the pairings or just have you guys wait and see. All of the senshi will be paired up with a guy. They may not have full, blown out romances... but this is sort of the end of the world they're dealing with. So, let me know if you absolutly Must know the pairings. Some will be obvious, some I'll make seem like they're obvious, but then do a 180.

4) And lastly, for those of you finding this beginning a little familiar, well that's because you've probably read/watched Highschool of the Dead like I did. This story will be loosely based off of HOTD's plot. But don't worry, I wont be copying anything verbatum, and the main plot will soon become my own as I want to take it in a different direction.

Well, that's it. Let me know what you think either by a review, fav, or follow! Thank you so much for reading!