Sayaka sat at her desk, completely dumbfounded at the news her pink-haired friend had just relayed to her.

"WHAT?!" She screamed as she threw her arms up in protest, "What do ya mean Hitomi's not coming to class today?!"

Madoka giggled at her friend's overreaction, "I talked to her just last night over the phone when they got back from South Mitakihara. She came down with just the worst fever," She placed a hand over her mouth, concerned, "I think she has some sort of flu…"

Sayaka sighed, "Well, dang. Sucks to suck, I guess…"

"I hope she's okay…" Madoka mumbled, now even more worried.

"AW MAN!" The blunette yawned and stretched her arms, "What I wouldn't give to not come to class…"

Madoka sighed, "It's not like she's free from homework, you know. That reminds me, did you finish that Literature project we had?"

Sayaka's eyes widened as her stomach churned as she twisted around in her chair to give her a friend a questioning look, "What… project…?"

"You know, the speech on Current Events? The one that's due this period?" Sayaka blinked. "You forgot, didn't you?"

Sayaka scratched her head violently and screamed, "AAAAAGGGGHH! DANGIT!"

Madoka simply shook her head in pity, "One day, you're going to listen when I tell you not to stay up all night watching anime and stuff…"

"But AnoHana's just so gripping, Madoka!" Sayaka explained, complete with hand motions to emphasize her situation, "I just finished it last night and…" she gently placed a hand over her heart as a solemn look washed over her face, "I think it ripped out my soul…"

"That still doesn't help your assignment issue," Madoka deadpanned.

"Meh," the blue-haired middle-schooler stretched again, "Looks like I'm gonna have to wing it." She smirked as she glanced back to her friend, "I think I'll talk about the cannibalism reports, actually. I've legitimately been keeping track of those."

Madoka gasped, "Sayaka! That's just terrible!"

The blunette raised an eyebrow, "Wait, you haven't heard of the reports?"

"I-I mean… I have, but…" The pinkette admitted, "It's still horrible…" she added with melancholy, "Why would people even do something like that? We're all human beings, after all… I don't understand how someone could do something like that to another person…"

Sayaka shook her head and sighed, "Don't try to get into the heads of those gang members. They're just a bunch of rotten criminals who need to be brought to justice…" An evil grin cracked across her face as she malevolently stared at her friend, "Or, y'know… maybe it's zambies."

Madoka leaned back with a hand other her mouth, slightly frightened, "Z-Zambies?"

Sayaka stood up and locked her fingers crookedly, still smiling evilly as she deliberately and slowly stepped towards her friend, "Y'know, like, the Undead, comin' back to eat the living. Maybe one of 'em got Hitomi too."

Madoka gasped and shivered as her friend menacingly approached, "S-Sayaka… You shouldn't s-say things like that…"

Now directly in her friend's face, Sayaka chuckled wickedly, "Y'know, I'd bet money to say that…" she shoved her hands into Madoka's stomach and shouted, "WE'RE NEXT!"

Madoka doubled over and screamed as Sayaka laughed uncontrollably.

"AHEM." They froze as their teacher, Saotome Kazuko, glared coldly at them, irritably holding her teaching baton with both hands. It was then that they realized they had also garnered the attention of the entire class. The teacher cleared her throat, "If you are finished rough-housing, please sit down so we can start."

Both girls blushed in embarrassment as Sayaka sat back at her desk.

Madoka whispered, "You're terrible…"

Sayaka merely shrugged as she turned her attention to the front, "Meh."

"Now, before we begin," Kazuko cleared her throat again and threw on a smile as she pushed up her red rimmed glasses, "I'd like to introduce you all to a brand a new student who will be joining our class from here on out. Ms. Akemi?"

The class turned to see a black-haired girl through the glass wall of the classroom strut effortlessly through the entrance. Basically glaring at the class, she apathetically stated almost robotically, "My name in Homura Akemi. It's nice to meet you."

Sayaka snickered, "Well, she looks like a psychopath."

"Sayaka, that's not very nice…" Madoka sighed before adding, "…although she does scare me just a little…"

"Alright class, Ms. Akemi has been out sick for quite a while, so make sure you help her catch up." Ms. Saotome nodded to Homura, "You may take a seat now, Ms. Akemi." She pointed in Sayaka's direction, "I do believe there's one open next to Ms. Miki."

Sayaka gasped and shot a look to her left. The desk was indeed empty, or at least, it was before the Transfer Student claimed it.

The blunette's heart sank, YOU'RE KIDDING…


Sayaka sighed in satisfaction as she set down her now-empty bento box. She always loved coming up to the roof to eat lunch with Madoka. With the gentle breeze blowing through her hair, breathing the fresh air always seemed to help her digest her freshly eaten meals. She stood and stretched her arms high as she asked, "Hey, Madoka…"

Madoka politely covered her mouth with her hand as she chewed, "Yes, Sayaka?"

"Do you think, if you had to, you could kill a person?"

Nearly spitting the half-devoured onigiri from her mouth, Madoka exclaimed with wide eyes, "Sayaka! How could you even say something like that? What's gotten into you?"

"Hear me out," the blunette assured as she walked over the chain-link fence guarding the edge of the school's rooftop, "These cannibalism reports have really got me thinking: if it really came down to wire—like, really tooth and nail, you against him, his life or yours—could you kill someone?"

"I… I don't know… All life is precious but…" Madoka dolefully stared down at her lap, "Do we have to talk about this? I don't want to talk about this anymore…"

Sayaka grasped the fence and gazed upon the urban skyline of Mitakihara city, "I'd like to think that I could do it if I had too… But…" she took a deep breath, "I just dunno either…" She then glanced down at the school's courtyard and noticed something odd. It seemed to be a drunken man staggering onto school property.

"Uh, Sayaka?" Madoka apprehensively asked, "Are you seeing this?"

Without removing her stare from the man who somehow tripped over his own feet, Sayaka raised her eyebrow and answered, "Yeah. That doesn't look too good…"

"No, not that;" Madoka tried to explain, "This."

Sayaka nodded as the school principal approached the man, "Yeah, that's what I'm talking about! I mean, who the heck gets drunk in the middle of the day?" As the principal approached the man, they seemed to embrace each other. Sayaka commented, "Oh, I didn't know the Big Guy had a brother!"

"Hello, my name is Kyubey!"

Startled by the voice, Sayaka shot around and was immediately caught off guard by the white bunny-cat-space-weasel thing staring up at Madoka. She exclaimed as she jogged over and stared at it, "OH! So THAT'S what you were talking about!"

"Mm-hm," Madoka nodded. She then shot her friend a confused look, "…What was it you were looking at?"

The blunette waved, "Eh, just the principal hugging his drunken brother."

"Huh," the pinkette commented, "I didn't know he even had a brother."

"That's what I'm saying! Learn something new every day, I guess," Sayaka chuckled. She then placed her hands on her hip and cocked her head as she stared at the bunny-cat, "So, what the heck is this thing anyway?"

Madoka shook her head, "I'm not sure… It looks kinda like a kitty… It's kinda cute!"

"…And it talks?" Sayaka asked quizzically.

"Apparently," her friend affirmed.

The bunny-cat affirmed, "Indeed, I do. Like I said, my name is Kyubey. I would like to make contracts with the both of you to become Magical Girls!"

Madoka froze, "…What?"

Sayaka laughed at the ridiculousness of the prospect, "What."

Kyubey nodded, "I would like you to fight Witches for me as Magical Girls. In exchange, I will grant you one free wish of your choosing. What do you s-"

Without warning, Kyubey exploded into a mess of guts and gore, splattering all over the girls' brown school shoes.

Madoka shrieked in horror as Sayaka's eye twitched in shock. The latter—fighting back the urge to vomit—spoke, confused beyond all help, "…What?"

She lifted her gaze to see the black-haired exchange student, now wearing some form of cosplay outfit, glaring back at her. Her face twisted in anger as she clenched her fists, "What the heck, Transfer Student! You killed it! Why, I oughtta deck you one right now for scaring the crap out of us!" She motioned to Madoka, trembling in fear.

Akemi mocked apathetically, "I doubt you'd even get the chance."

Sayaka growled as her face burned, "WHY YOU…"

Madoka reached out and called, "Sayaka, please don't-"

Her plea fell on deaf ears as Sayaka immediately charged the raven-haired girl. But before she knew it, she felt a metal object smash the back of her neck and she instantly hit the ground with a thud.

"OW!" She cried out, rubbing the area of impact, "How the heck did you do that?!"

Akemi flipped her long, black hair and glared down at her adversary, "Remain silent." She then spoke loud enough for both girls to hear, "If you two value your lives in any way at all," she pointed to the bloody mess that was Kyubey, "you will not pay any attention to what that creature has to say."

"It's dead! You killed it, remember?" Sayaka hissed, "What are you, some kind of demented Sailor Moon? What's wrong with you?"

Akemi huffed as she turned to walk away, "There's no time to play games. Farewell."

Sayaka just glared and continued to rub the back of her neck, "…WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED?"

Equally shocked as her blue-haired friend, Madoka blinked, "I… I don't know…"


The class started getting antsy. Twenty minutes had passed since Ms. Saotome had been called to an impromptu meeting in the teacher's lounge. Sayaka drowsily lifted her head from her makeshift textbook pillow and stared at the clock hanging above the whiteboard. Reading 3:29, she sleepily turned her head to Madoka, "…What's happening again?"

Madoka placed her hand over her mouth, worry now becoming immensely clear on her face, "Ms. Kazuko still hasn't returned…"

"Dang…" Sayaka commented as she yawned, "Something serious must be going -"

What she saw next shocked her wide awake. She stared out the glass wall at the principal's drunken brother shuffling towards the entrance of the class. An urgent sense of dread weighed on her heart the longer she looked at man with the purple, blood-stained shirt and torn, gray skin. Something was wrong. Horribly wrong. As he shambled closer to the entrance, Sayaka called out to the class as she slowly stood up, "Everyone, we need to go. Now."

Madoka nervously replied, "B-But, shouldn't we wait for Ms. Saotome?"

Homura interjected as she stood up as well, "No, Miki is right. We need to evacuate immediately. Whatever you do, keep your distance from that man. He is not safe."

With terror now tangible in the air, the entire class slowly stood up and made their way out of the exit opposite of the man. Both Sayaka and Homura, with Madoka close behind the two, led the group away from the man and down the hallway, searching for the emergency exit. Sayaka asked, "So, you felt it too, eh Transfer Student?"

"That uneasy feeling that something horrible has happened?" Homura asked.

The blunette acknowledge, "That's the one."

The raven-haired girl nodded, "I did. It wouldn't be the first time either."

Sayaka squinted, "Oh? How so?" Homura merely remained silent. Sayaka sighed, "Not much of a talker, huh?" she paused, "…Hey, what do you think caused all this?"

Homura shrugged, "I am not certain. I feel it may be connected to the virus discovered a few months back. While researching a cure, those afflicted escaped from testing."

"Wow…" Sayaka commented and shuddered slightly. She pondered, "I wonder why the principal didn't warn us about the intruder-"

Her thoughts were cut off by the horrified shriek of a fellow female classmate. The trio gasped and turned to the back, only to see their principal tearing out the throat of the girl with his teeth. The entire classes' faces twisted in grotesque horror.

In that moment—that one silent moment—the world died.

Chaos reigned supreme as all the classmates screamed in panic. That caused the principal to raise his bald, gray head with raw, bloody flesh still dangling from his jaw.

Terrified, Sayaka grabbed Madoka's hand and whispered, "RUN."

They quickly raced away from the discord behind them. Fear and horror prevailed in their faces as their hearts ran faster than their feet. To Sayaka's relief, they quickly found the exit. She kicked open the door, then stopped in her tracks. People that looked just like the principal and his brother shambled all over the courtyard.

Sayaka gasped and shouted, "BACK INSIDE! BACK INSIDE! BACK INSIDE!"

They quickly dashed back in the way they came. To the girls' horror, the student that had been bitten by the principle had gotten back up and started biting other students, ripping the flesh from their bones.

Madoka cried, "Sayaka, what do we do?"

Sayaka grimaced. She didn't know. However, she knew one thing. They weren't going to get out of this unless…

"Come on," Sayaka pulled.

They dodged the students who had been bitten and they dashed down the hallways of the school, until finally making it to her planned destination: the boys' locker room.

She quickly locked the entrances and began searching through the piles of sports equipment. Repulsed by the smell of sweaty clothing and other things she dared not think about, Sayaka gagged as she rummaged through the piles of dirty uniforms, stinky gym shorts, and used towels.

"What are you looking for?" Madoka asked.

"A weapon."

Madoka gasped, "W-What are you going to do with it?"

Sayaka turned and stared at her with all seriousness, "I'm gonna get us out here and find some help."

"O-Okay…" The pinkette reluctantly replied. She let go of Sayaka's hand and aided in the search, "H-Here, let me help you…"

Sayaka nodded, "Sounds good. I'll check on the far side, you continue looking over here."

"Gotcha," Madoka delved underneath the disgustingly dirty laundry before finding a jock strap and showed it to her friend questioningly, "U-Um, Sayaka? W-What's this thing?"

"Hmm?" Sayaka returned her attention to her friend. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she instructed, "You… You don't want to know… You're gonna wanna put that back down."

"Okay…" Madoka obeyed and continued to look.

Returning to her section, Sayaka scourged the lockers, flinging them open one by one. Each held useless items, like lost water bottles, sports tape, and smelly gym socks. Luck finally shined on her as she pulled open the last locker. Inside, the locker held captive a shiny, steel baseball bat. She grinned as she snatched it up, "YESSSSS…"

"Find something?" Madoka asked.

Sayaka nodded and approached the exit, "Yeah. And it's time to go. Stay close to me."

The pinkette nodded and obeyed. The blunette grasped her new bat tightly and took a deep breath before unlocking the door.

She threw open the doors and made a break back down the hallways and corridors of the school. To her horror, the bodies of the students who were being eaten were now gone. One of the straggler students that stayed behind turned to her and growled. She quickly bashed the head of the girl so she would fall on the floor, then brought the bat down hard and smashed the skull open, staining the blue tile crimson.

Madoka gagged, "M-M-Mikoto…"

Sayaka nodded to the direction of the entrance, "Come on… We… We can't think about that right now…"

Madoka sniffed.

They swiftly ran back to the entrance of the school. Sayaka quickly kicked open the door again, and stepped out. To her dismay, the number of sickly looking shamblers had nearly doubled. She groaned, "You gotta be kidding…"

"HEY!" The two girls shifted their gaze to the voice calling to them from the driver seat of a big, white SUV across the courtyard, "OVER HERE!"

Confused, Sayaka stared at the man and questioningly pointed to herself and Madoka. The man nodded and waved, "Yeah! You two! It ain't safe out here! We got a place where y'all can hold up!"

Madoka latched onto her friends upper arm and whimpered, "Sayaka, what should we do?"

The blunette bit her nervously lip. The shamblers moaned and shuffled quickly to their position. Seeing this as the only option, she nodded, "Madoka, I'll distract the sick people. You get in the van and get to safety."

Madoka tightened her grip, "Are you sure?"

Sayaka clenched her fists around her bat, "Absolutely not."

"Will you be okay?"

She gave her friend a reassuring smirk, "Don't worry about me; I'll be right behind you." She shook off her friend's hand and commanded, "Now, GO!"

Madoka nodded and made a break for the van, garnering most of the attention from the shamblers. Sayaka shouted, raising her bat high, "HEY! SICK PEOPLE! I'M OVER HERE!"

The shamblers removed their attention from the pinkette dashing towards the vehicle and turned to the screaming blunette.

She bashed her bat on the asphalt repeatedly, trying to create as much noise as possible, "Come on! Come on! Come on!" She shouted, luring them to the far left of the courtyard, "This way! This way!"

When she felt they stumbled close enough, she quickly dashed up and exploded the first one's knee backwards with a powerful swing from her bat. Racing past the fallen foe, she clocked another in the temple and it tumbled like an oak. She juked out the remaining ones and made a mad dash for the escape vehicle.

She stopped in her tracks. To her dismay, another group of shamblers had the van completely surrounded.

She gasped in terror as her pupils shrunk to pinpricks, "NO…"

The driver of the van called out, sorrow evident in his voice, "Sorry kid! We can't stay no longer! We gotta go!"

As the SUV's engines roared and the wheels spun on the pavement, Sayaka reached out and screamed, "MADOKA!"

For a brief moment as the van passed out of view, the girl caught a glimpse of Madoka's face and hands pressed against the rear window, crying out her own name.

"Madoka!" Sayaka screamed again as she dashed across the courtyard after the vehicle. She ran as fast as she could past the shamblers and away from the school, but the van just kept going and going. "Madoka…" Sayaka's face twisted in sorrow as she realized she had no hope of ever catching that truck.

Exhausted and breathing heavily, she collapsed and cried, "Madoka…" She punched the ground in hopelessness, "…Dangit!"

Just then, a cold hand grasped her shoulder. She turned and gasped as she saw, brown, diseased eyes and an unhinged jaw pushing its way to her flesh. With a burst of adrenaline, she screamed, kicked the creature away and stood up, readying her bat.

She swung on the creature, a sickening snap resounding from its neck as the steel bat made contact with the side of its grey face. It fell to the black asphalt with a thud. As she stood over it ready to smash its head in, the smell of rotting flesh-something she hadn't noticed before-assaulted her nostrils. Knowing the smell emanated from her downed prey, her eyes grew wide as she stared at the moaning shambler, "No way… YOU'RE KIDDING…" She trembled slightly as she gasped, "The d-dead are… w-w-walking?"

She had no time to think on the notion as the Walker attempted to get back up. Sayaka didn't allow it as she quickly crushed its face with her bat, splattering shattered bones and crimson blood behind the flesh-eater. She lowered her bat and gasped as she stared at the deformed Walker.

"HEEELLLLLPPPP!" A male voice screamed out, startling Sayaka.

She gasped, "That's Nakazawa!"

She quickly raced back towards the school only to stop just inside the gate. She covered her mouth and her faced twisted in horror as she witnessed her fellow classmate Nakazawa being torn apart and eaten by a Walker in a short-sleeved pajama top and equally purple, fleece pajama pants.

"Wait minute…" Sayaka choked out, "I-I recognize those pajamas…" as she stepped closer to predator and victim, she begged, "Please don't be her… anyone but her…" she hesitantly called out, "Hi… Hitomi…?"

The Walker paused and stood up. It slowly turned to face her, revealing itself to be Sayaka's green-haired childhood friend, Hitomi.

On the verge of tears, Sayaka gagged and trembled. She couldn't help but stare at her friend's blood stained pajamas and the gore seeping from her mouth down her rotting, grey chin. Sayaka then noticed her bare feet were calloused and bruised, meaning she walked all the way here without bothering to slip on her shoes. Worst of all, Sayaka stared at the chunk of flesh missing from Hitomi's right bicep. She had been bitten.

As Hitomi stumbled closer, Sayaka croaked, tears now falling, "Hitomi… I-I was only joking… I didn't… I…"

Hitomi merely replied with a hungry moan as she reached for her.

"Hitomi…" Sayaka cried, "I'm so sorry…"

Tightening her shaky grip on her bat, Sayaka allowed her friend to stumble within arms' reach, then stepped in and smashed her face, sending Hitomi sprawling to the grass.

The blunette screamed as she brought her bat down hard on her friend's head, bursting it like a grape. She screamed again, and again she crushed Hitomi's head further.

Again,

And again,

And again.

Breathless, Sayaka gasped for air as she stared at the gory mess that once was her friend. Her arms started shaking violently as her tears streamed from her face. She dropped her bat in the pool of blood and collapsed, crying into her hands.

She wept as her memories with her friend flashed in her mind:

The first time they met when Hitomi had shared an ice cream sandwich back in Kindergarten… The times when Sayaka stood up to the bullies for Hitomi and Madoka back in the Third Grade… The many, many sleepovers they had shared over the years… The long, extensive conversations about who's crushing on who at any given week…

Sayaka sobbed, knowing that those memories would never happen again. Hitomi was gone, devoured by the dead.