Madoka peeked around the corner. "Hello? Is anyone there?"
No reply.
She stepped out into the hallway, blinking several times as she tried to see through the dark. It wasn't working. It was the middle of the night, and she had been awoken by the sound of something crashing against the house's front door. Perhaps, she thought, it had just been her imagination. At worst, it was probably someone knocking on the door who had decided to leave after getting no response. She decided she should wake one of her parents before checking the door herself, just to be extra safe.
Opening her parents' bedroom door, she stepped over to the bed and shook her father awake. "Dad!" She whispered urgently at him. She couldn't wake her mother, who had to be well rested for work. "Dad, wake up. I heard a sound at the door."
After a few moments, she successfully waked her father. He got out of bed, only really half awake, and stumbled out to the hallway. She rushed ahead of him so he wouldn't stumble down the stairs. Leaning against the wall while he finished waking up, he blinked down at his daughter.
"Madoka... what time is it?"
Ducking her head back into her room, Madoka checked her clock. "Just after three."
He groaned. "Why did you get me up this early?"
Madoka dutifully pointed down the stairs. "I think I heard something at the door."
Tomohisa Kaname was a good father and a good man. Good enough to know why Madoka had woken him and not her mother. "Alright, I'll take a look."
They walked down the stairs to the main floor together, heading into the front room. As he was about to head for the door, Tomohisa noticed a light coming through the front window. Curious, he moved over to the window and drew the curtains apart. It took a moment for it to register, but when it did his eyes went wide. He turned to see Madoka standing right behind him.
"Where is the light comi-"
Grabbing his daughter, the man bolted back out of the room. A thunderous crash shook the entire house. A moment passed, and Tomohisa looked back into the room from the floor of the hall. Headlights beaming, a car now sat in the wrecked room. Standing, he checked to see that Madoka was alright. She was shaken, too stunned to speak, but otherwise fine.
Walking to the car, Tomohisa looked in through the shattered window. "Is anyone hurt in there?" The woman at the wheel of the car was dead, blood running off her face and dropping onto the wheel. Tomohisa backed away, talking to his daughter. "Madoka... go check on your brother." It was the only thing he could think of that made sense.
Even as Madoka hurried back up the stairs, the was a knock at the door. Tomohisa could see a shadow through the window, staggering about the front step. A low groan reached his ears. A sickly, dead-sounding groan. There was another groan from beside him. Looking over, he saw the driver of the car lifting her head. A dead look in her eyes, she opened her mouth and growled at him.
Some time in the night, the infection began. All over the world, the dead walked and hunted the living, feasting on flesh. This is the tale of the first night, when hell broke loose on Earth. These are the stories of those who survived.
...and those who didn't.