The screams were still easily heard through out the school as two heads poked out of a classroom door, one looking left while the other right. Raph nodded as he could see bodies and a few of the zombies but they were far off where the two could out run them.

"Clear" Raph said as he took a step out of the classroom. He felt a hand grab his shoulder and then heard Mal so he knew it wasn't a zombie.

"Raph you gotta relax a bit" Raph could hear his friend suggest but when he turned around to face him he could see the decayed hand on his shoulder. The tall young man freaked out as he jumped and brought his table leg in defence. Mal just laughed as he waved around the arm he acquired from a deceased classmate.

Raph just bit his lip and counted to ten as he watch his friend walk towards the stairs. Raph just decided to stand still for a moment and cleared his mind until he heard a high pitch scream. Mal ran past his pal with all three of his arms waving in the air.

"What the fu-" He looked from where he just ran from as his eyes went wide. A large mob of the creatures made their way up onto the second floor. Most of those poor suckers must have been trying to escape through the lobby. The two "Brave" men ran down the hall like the devil was nipping at their heels. The only difference is that these devils take large chunks then just little nips.

"Mal! Take the stairs to the roof!" He said to the guy leading the two man team. He swung his table leg which connected over a zombies head. The table leg broke but so did the skull as blood and bone fragments splatted out against the windows and floor.

"The roof? Gimme a bloody break!" Mal said as he whacked a creature with the arm. It didn't bust the skull open but it knocked the thing over.

"We have no other choice!" Raph said as he did a wind up kick to smash the zombies head in. What he would kill for a crowbar or something that was sturdy enough to withstand a few good whacks against skull.

Mal groaned but decided not to fight the decision now. He leaped upwards by taking two steps at a time. Raph was directly behind him until he saw a fire hose and then a idea popped into his head. "Mal help me!"

Mal, confused slightly, did a u-turn and helped unrolling the hose. "Now turn it on full blast!" Raph actually had a smile at such a great idea. The water pressure should be enough to bowl most of them over which will grant them time.

"Uhhhh Raphael?" Raph heard a voice peep up behind him.

"What? Hurry up and turn it on!" He said in a rushed tone. He took a gamble after a few seconds of silence and turned around to see a small piece of paper.

Out Of Service

"For the love of god!" Raph cursed by slouching both his shoulders and his jaw in disbelief. Mal stood their with his hands out palm up easily saying in body language "What can you do?". Frustration went to a all new high as Raph turn and just threw the metal hose head. It collide with one zombies head that made him fall back.

With that attack option exhausted the two dim survivors made their way to the roof. The early sun shined down on them like a day at the beach. It was peaceful if not horrific all in one.

"Think Malcolm! We need to get out of here!" The two made circles as they both thought in deep concentration. Banging could already be heard on the door as the infected wanted their meal. Raph started to panic as he pulled on his hair while Mal on the other hand just quietly took a seat cross legged. Raph was about to unleash his panic attack on his buddy until he actually remembered how his friend thought. He could see rapid eye movement and his lips moving slightly as if whispering words.

Raph turned back to the door as he could hear the rusty screws which kept the door start to give away from the strain. This was not looking good for either of them. Raph suddenly knew what he had to do as he approached the edge of the building. He peered over the railing and could see the concrete parking lot below them. He could see a few people running in terror while a few unlucky ones were getting dragged down for meal time. Raph swallowed hard as sweat rolled down his head. He didn't want to turn into one of them so there was only one way out. He climbed over the railing and held on as he said his final words to his mother and father for raising them the best they could.

"I love you..."

He leaned forward just to be yanked back. No! He refused to get eaten by one of those things!

"Hey jack ass! Your jumping off the wrong side!" He could hear his good friends voice although a harsh one. He turned fully to see Mal jerk a thumb to the other side of the building. Raph gave him a confused look before jumping back over the railing to run to the other side. They both peeked over the railing to see the blueness of the pool.

"Can we survive that?" Raph asked as new hope filled his body rejuvenating it.

"Yes but we have to hit the deep end unless you want to break your legs or worse" Mal suggested pointing to the darker side of the pool. Raph was practically jumping now as he saw a way out of this hell hole until a hand turned him around. A fist collided with the side of his face which sent him into a small case of shock. After pulling himself back up from the surprise blow he looked at his one true friend in confusion.

"Don't ever think of going down suicide! Never!" He was about to strike him again before he regain his cool. Raph could see moisture was gathering in the smaller man's eyes. Malcom breathed deeply before walking past his buddy with his fist clenched tight.

Raph knew he probably did look foolish by thinking of jumping off without a word to his friend. It must really scare him to be alone in the world since his parents are both dead. Raph thought about it a bit deeper as he followed his friend. Now that he thought about it, Raph had no idea how Mal's parents died. Maybe they went down suicide?

His thoughts were dismissed as a crash was heard behind them. The roof door finally collapsed as the undead mass stumbled forward. Some even started to trample over the others who were knocked down.

"If were going to do this then now would be a good time" Mal suggested while climbing over the railing. Raph nodded in agreement before climbing over as well.

"Ready?". "Yup!".

"3..

2..

1..

Jump!"

The two lowered on their knees first then leaped forward towards the deep end of the pool. Before Raph had even left the building he instantly thought this was a bad idea as he sailed through the air. He peeked to his friend but was hardly surprised at what he saw.

"CANNON BALL!"

The two figures plumeted to the ground within seconds. Mal straightened his body and crossed his arms like how he would watch on the military channel praying to the gods of war that this would work. Two large mounds of displaced water shot upwards. A mass of bubbles were everywhere around the impact area but so far no sign of the two jumpers.

A few moments passed until two figures rose from the depth with deep intakes of air. Mal just did the doggy paddle in one spot while Raph brushed some of his hair out of his eyes. Mal just gave a few howls skyward as they both grew big smiles.

"I can't believe we made that!" Mal said out loud as he turned to face Raph.

"Your telling me!" Raph said as he let the jitters leave his body. The impact with the water was rough but it helped with his position as it was a tiny area of contact. Must have worked with Mr. Cannon Ball as well.

The growing mass of zombies surrounding the pool was unwanted however. The two survivors examined the dire situation as a wall of corpses were around the pool now. Mal dipped under the water line as large amounts of bubbles escaped to the surface. Raph knew the amount of swear words that just escaped his friends watery lips were many but they would need more then harsh language to save them.

A few zombies started to drop into the pool unknowing exactly what they were getting into. Seemed like they were not to smart when it came to sight as both ex-students examined.

"Now!" A female voice ordered behind the zombie mass. Both swimmers arched their eye brows in curiosity until they saw one zombie after the other being pushed into the deep end. It was almost like one of those fancy swim dances when one person dives in after the other except this one had flesh eating monsters. Mal and Raph watched what seemed to be their rescuers use a large round poolside table to push over the line of zombies. Raph recognized one of them as the new student which Mal gropped early yesterday morning. The other however most be another new girl to the school as she wore the school uniform but ditched the jacket for just the white sleeve shirt.

"Hurry and swim over! Watch that you don't dip to low or they will drag you down!" The unknown girl warned them as the two girls hurled the table at the rest of the lumbering corpses. The girls helped the boys out of the pool but none of them really traded thanks or phone numbers. The horde was gathering around them.

"Come on! My boyfriend has one of the school shuttle buses ready for us!" She said while making a dash to the glass doors. The classmate followed after her followed by the two soaking wet jumpers.

The main lobby was somewhat full but it was a mix of feeding zombies and corpses on the floor. A few of the dead bodies moved which meant that they were to join the ranks of the undead. Raph and Mal both had to wipe some hair out of the way before ditching their own school jackets on the floor.

Mal reached around for something before grabbing a hold of a baseball bat. The previous owner however still seemed to clutch on it by the hand alone. The rest was eaten away by a zombie it would seem. He pried it open and tossed it to the more muscular young man who got used to the grip. The girls took note of their rescued companions as they searched quickly for something. The Asian girl went with a broom stick from a closet while the blonde rescuer grabbed a heavy wrench from the same closet. They lined up with their weapons until the girls looked at Mal and his weapon.

"I'm going to be sick..." The blonde mention as bent over with hands on her knees. Dry heaves could be heard while the Japanese girl just gave Mal a glare with her intense eyes. Raph didn't want to turn to look at the revolting thing Mal was carrying but turned all the same.

"Oh grow up you guys. It's like you never seen a leg before..." Mal shook his head and rolled his eyes before moving forward as he relaxed the severed leg against his shoulder like he might do with a baseball bat.

Raph just counted to ten as he rubbed his temples.

"Is he always this messed up?" The blonde asked as she stood up straight again, the question obviously directed at Raph. It was apparently obvious that Mal and Raph were friends but he really, really wanted to say that he never meet him before in his life.

"Apparently only in a zombie apocalypse..." Raph answered as he followed after his friend.

"No saying the Zed word!" The girl's voice erupted behind Raph as he felt something hit him on the back of the head. He looked down while rubbing his head to see a bloody shoe. "No saying the Zed word, got it?" The Blonde asked again as she waved her wrench around a bit menacingly.

Raph couldn't belive it. He was with a disbeliever, a hidden swords master and a guy who uses detached body parts for weapons. Life is awesome.

"Yeah, yeah I get it" He said holding his hands up to in surrender. For being a dienier of certain circumstances, she was pretty cute. Her curled blonde hair was about shoulder length if not longer and it bounced with every step she took.

At least his company was good looking as long as you didn't count Malcolm. It also hit him at how cheerful he was. Total hell was driving everything he knew into utter chaos and all he could do was shake his head and chuckle. Was he going insane?

"Hurry up Goldilocks" The blond said waving her wrench around again to snap Raph from his thinking. He may be going insane but if anyone was particularly sane during these events he wouldn't want to be them. Mal took point with Raph but was only pushed aside by the Asian girl.

"Baka" She muttered towards Mal before the two ran forwards. Raph knew what the word meant as he grinned but he was sure that Mal was in the dark. Probably for the best too.

The baseball bat swung forward which connected against one rising zombies skull. The head moved along with the baseball bat to crash into the wall. The skull split in two as blood and brain sprayed all over the wall. The broom pole did as much as damage as expected from Raph. Although Kendo is different from the spear it wouldn't be surprising to see her somewhat useful with it. She stabbed forth and caught one in the gut but she didn't stop. Her goal was behind the zombie as she pushed the corpse out the glass pane window. The glass shattered with a loud crash as every corpse turned their attention to the rather loud noise.

"We gotta go now!" Raph ordered in a yell as he held the door open for the rest. Mal just whacked the secretary in the face with his leg before dashing out the door behind the blond and and Japanese girl. Raph let the door closed as the group ran behind the blond who lead them towards the utility parking lot. A baseball bat cracked against another skull sending it flying to the side while a wrench gorged a deep hole into a skull. Raph recognized a few of the boys they passed which really placed him in his spot. It only took one bite to lose every thing in life you count as precious.

A dark haired guy with a few freckles across his nose opened the bus doors. The group managed to get aboard easily enough but their problems were not done there. The presumable boyfriend tried the ignition which only caused a sputter.

"Fred! What's wrong the Blond ran to his side as she examined the bus dashboard. She could see the hoard was getting closer and soon they would totally surround the bus. No way out.

"It's something with the engine!" He pushed her aside and quickly moved to the front of the bus, opening the hood.

"Mal! We gotta go cover him or he won't have enough time!" Raph said as he made for the front of the bus with Fred. Mal groaned but stood and chased after before being pushed aside by the most cheerful girl. She held her pole with a solid grip while getting off the bus to help Raph and Fred to prep the bus.

Mal had no clue what was wrong with her but she needed to calm down before exploding. He was the last one off the bus as the group made a loose semi-circle around Fred. He only asked for a minute at the max but even that was seeming a little on the impossible side. The corpse were making their way closer and closer en mass.

A swing of the base ball bat sent one flying as he could hear multiple ribs and possibly the spine crack. A figure came from Raph's now exposed side he could see the torn flesh from the zombies last meal still in it's mouth as it lunged. It was sudden but a savior all the same. A broom pole pierced forward quickly to push the corpse over, denying it's meal. Raph looked to his saviour to see the Asian girl smiling for once but not at him. That's when it striked him, was she secretly enjoying this as much as Mal probably was?

He looked over to Mal who was bent over like a golfer lining up his shot using the leg as a club. He swung back and then forward to uppercut a zombie in the jaw.

Okay, maybe not as much fun as Mal was having. It was still obvious by her slight almost non existent smile that she enjoyed this in one way or the other.

"Done!" Fred inspected the hood before pulling the hood back down. The group didn't waste any time getting back on to the bus with Fred being the last one. With everyone on board Fred only got a chance to put one foot on before they grabbed him. It seemed for once that everything went in slow motion for Raph and Mal. They all turned to see Fred's smile fade and he was being pulled from the bus entrance.

The blond was on him in seconds grabbing his hand and trying to pull him in. The Asian dropped her make shift spear and grabbed a hold of the blond's waist pulling on her. It was odd but even Mal started climbing seats to grab a hold of Fred's jacket pulling on it. From his spot, Mal could see the creature pulling on him. It was under the bus the entire time and eventually crawled out to strike. Raph finally took action by wrapping his large arms around both girls and pulling with them. Both of them were surprised as Raph wrapped his hands in a bear hug of sorts.

It was working as the zombie lost it's grip on it's victim. Fred came flying into the vehicle as everyone crashed back. The blond was the quickest to react however by jumping into the driver's seat and keying the ignition. The vehicle roared to life but the blond forgot to close the door!

One of them climbed the small stairs only to get a meaty leg to the face knocking him clear off the bus. Mal threw his weapon over his shoulder and gave her a thumbs up. She swore to herself never to judge his choice of weapon again as she closed the door and and gunned the gas pedal.

Raph and the Asian pulled Fred back a few seats as the bus crashed through part of the front gate. "Fred are you ok?" Raph asked as he looked into the freckled man's eyes. It seemed like the guy was in a bit of shock but beyond that he seemed fine to Raph.

"Yeah I'm good. Thank you" He said siting up and using his arms to support his weight.

"Thank you" Came a female voice that had an obvious accent behind it. Raph turned to the origin of the thanks and found it was from the Japanese girl. The voice was small but it was there after all.

"No need to thank me... I'm sorry but I never caught your name?" He asked her as they both stood in the cramped aisle. Both of their faces went red as they found when they were pushed against each other due to no room. Raph quickly moved right and took a seat while she occupied the seat adjacent to his.

"Ikoma Yori" She answered his earlier question as she took her seat. "My name is Ikoma Yori"

"Yori? That's a nice name" Raph complimented her with a smile which got a small blush from her. She seemed to let most of her long hair block her face in some sort of blinds over a window which made Raph only chuckle.

"Sorry to break up date night but where exactly are we going?" Mal piped in at the worst possible time, like always.

This time Yori stood and wore her hard face and serious eyes. She pushed past both the guys and went to blonde who was trying her best just to keep on the road.

The group seemed to be able to relax for once but it was unfortunate that they didn't see the small blood trail when they dragged poor Fred into the bus.

Fred groaned quietly as he touched the bite mark and then instantly regretting doing so. He wasn't going to scare his girlfriend Cybele so he simply pushed his pants to cover the wound...