A/N: Hello there everyone, Celestial Sky Dragon Here. After spending the last four months writing Danganronpa fanfiction, I decided to go back to my roots a bit and try writing a new Highschool of the Dead story. I had been meaning to continue Classmates of the Dead, but I haven't written for it in such a long time, that I forgot the original plot. So, I hate to say it but, that story will be put in an indefinite hiatus. I will instead work on this one for the time being before starting chapter 16 of The End of Hope's Peak Academy. For those who have been patiently waiting for chapter 24 of Classmates of the Dead, you are in luck, because I am going to finish what I got, but it will be left in a cliff hanger due to me not continuing the fic. I did a lot of things good and bad with that story, and I hope to make up for it with this one. Its not that I don't like it, but now that I reread it, I cringed at several things, especially the parts where Cody had a lot of guns. In a realistic scenario, I doubt a teenager would have that much access to so many fire arms. It was just an experiment so it's alright I guess, but still I want to do my best when I am writing a story and I can say that certainly wasn't my best. But hey that's the beauty of writing, you can learn from your mistakes, and I can certainly say that I have learned quite a lot in the past year of writing.

I would also like to say that this story might skip a few events but I will run it as linear as I can to the Anime/Manga, I just recently finished the anime and reread volumes one and two of the manga, so the beginning parts will be alright, I was able to squeeze everything into the first five chapters, covering episodes 1-7 of the anime, however it will be an entirely different point of view from a character that doesn't even attend Fujimi Academy, so I hope you all like it, this is just a rough version but I am comfortable enough to post it. I hope you like it, tell me how I did in the reviews, or feel free to PM me with questions or suggestions, I'll try to answer them as soon as I possibly can, I'm still without internet so I'm trying not to burn my data.

Without further adoo, here is chapter one of, Those Who Walk Among the Dead...hope you like it!

As of March 25th 2017, this chapter has been re edited with minor dialogue sequences and edited paragraphs.

Highschool of the Dead

Those Who Walk Among the Dead

Chapter 1

The Beginning of the End

"I don't remember what I was doing the night before it all came to an end. I hadn't been paying much attention to anything, not in class, and not the world around me. Everything had blended together into one blurry mess that had just become my reality. A reality I had grown to hate. Who would know, that I would want that reality to come back to me, especially after the end of the world."

It was a nice sunny day in the city of Tokunosu. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and it was early Spring. Well, summer was still a couple months away, but people could hope it got there faster. The kids at school had bigger priorities, such as planning their getaways for the summer or speaking of the things they'd do with friends and family. Some even discussed plans for summer camp. For one teen though, nothing really appeased him other than a good nap. He was currently laying on his desk, resting his head on his arms.

His long black hair reached past his shoulders, and was ruffled at the top. He was wearing a short sleeved white shirt, with a matching red tie. He also wearing a pair of black slim straight jeans, which were faded around the knees, and was secured to his waist with a black studded belt. He was wearing a pair of black leather boots, which reached to his upper calves, and had thick black laces. A snore escaped his lips as he moved a bit. His name was Hinata Miyamoto, and he was a sixteen year old sophomore of Tokunosu West Academy. The reason he was mostly sleeping in class was due to the long hours he spent playing video games.

"Honestly, you play video games so much, I wouldn't doubt it if one day you were sucked into one."

Those were the words of his Ex-girlfriend. They had been dating for six months, and had the same interests, other than his game obsessed one. She had said something about spending more time on games than her and that was that. He could honestly care less. He jolted awake, as the teacher slammed a meter stick on his desk.

"Mr. Miyamoto, napping in class again?" the man asked. The teenager looked at him with hazy blue eyes. His hair was partially covering his left eye, which bore a long scar which he had gotten from an accident he had been in when he was younger.

"What was the question?" he muttered.

"Honestly, how can one as lazy as you be passing my class? You hardly do anything other than sleep." the teacher said.

"Well with all due respect sir, if you taught a better curriculum, maybe I would be more motivated to actually pay attention. I mean, I know all of this crap already." he replied none to gently. Several oohs echoed through the room.

"Oh, really? You think you know all of this? What's the circumference of Saturn's rings?" the man asked.

"Why the hell would I need to know that for? I mean is that going to help me out in a practical real world job? Am I going to be working a cashier position at some store and lie in wait for the dumb ass to ask a stupid question to which I can reply with this?" he asked.

"Mr. Miyamoto, you can take yourself over to the Principle's office." the teacher said firmly. Hinata sighed and got up, grabbing his backpack.

"Sure, I'll take myself out of this class room, but you can't deny that what I said isn't true. Other than scientists, who the hell is gonna care what the circumference of Saturn's rings are? Most of us are going to end up working at some store for a meager pay. It's a waste of time, maybe instead of this you should teach your students how to balance a check." he said as he left the room.

If there was one thing that Hinata hated, it was when he was kicked out of class over dumb reasons. It was an honest question, but perhaps he should have worded it better. It was however still a legitimate question.

He hated that teacher, with all of his might. The man never really helped him learn anything. When he asked for help, the man didn't give it, labeling him a delinquent. He hated the school, the student body, everything. Sure he acted lazy and like he didn't give a shit, but that was just a front. A front to hide the fact that on the inside, he was dying to beat someone to hell.

That he was a ticking time bomb ready to explode. He sighed, and walked down the hall, turning into the stairwell. He walked down the steps, reaching the balcony. The stairwell had been built with outdoor balconies on every floor, giving him a good view of the academy's surroundings. All of the trees had regrown their leaves, after the long cold winter, and the nearby Sakura trees were in full bloom, their beautiful light pink petals floating through the air, filling the air with the sweet scent of cherries.

Tokunosu West Academy was one of the largest academies in the metropolis that was Tokunosu city. It had four buildings, technically five if you counted the dormitory building. The buildings were all positioned in a diamond of sorts. There was a large courtyard plaza in the very center of the academy, a statue of the founder right smack in the center.

The North Building was filled with the Literature and Science departments, it was filled with several classrooms for all the subjects being taught in the academy. There were different language classes, science classes, Chemistry, Biology, Astronomy, you name it, it was there. The top floor even had it's own green house and observatory. The gymnasium was also located in this building, along with the cafeteria and outdoor patio. It was always a hassle getting there, especially around lunch time.

The West Building was where the Mathematics and Art departments were. It was the oldest building in the academy, and even had the original auditorium still in place, though inaccessible to the student body. Several high end math classes were taught there, Algebra, Geometry and Calculus to name a few, the bottom floors belonged to the Art department, and all of the Art classes, including Pottery and even Photography were held in that building. There was a tunnel that had been sealed off, which connected the West and East buildings, and had been used by the students during the winter, though the under ground parking lot had forced the tunnel to be filled in.

The East Building held the Civics and History Departments, along with the Computer lab, the Sowing department on the bottom floor and the Weight Room. It was the second oldest building in the academy, and the bottom floor had abandoned classrooms, which several students used as hang outs for their club meetings, and to do a lot of illicit things. He usually hung out there as well, since they had the only decent vending machines down there, and it was farther away from everyone else. All of the unpopular kids seemed to hang there as well, so it was welcome for him to be there.

The final building was the one he was currently in, the South Building, which was the active main building. The front entrance of the academy was facing outward, a large parking lot stretched out before it, filled with cars belonging to staff and students, further on was the front gates, thick metal gates that opened with electricity due to the sheer weight of them. This building held the Faculty offices, the Nurses office, as well as the Library, the Auditorium and the Music Department, which was on the top three floors above the Library, ironically enough, the idiots who had designed the school thought it best to have the Music Department above the Library, and that usually made tensions in the school that much worse.

So recently, the third floor had been closed down and the forth and fifth floors were the only ones actively used by students in music related classes. The third floor was used mostly for club meetings after school, and for the Remedial classes, and due to him having failed a class the previous year, he had been assigned to Remedial Mathematics, which absolutely sucked. All of the buildings were connected to each other with metal walkways, that cut across the other smaller plazas within the academy. One large section facing the Southern Building had been turned into a Tennis Court and he could see the Girls Tennis team practicing their serves. Sometimes he liked watching them, mostly because he could track the stray tennis balls and search for them on his off time.

He leaned against the railing, his eyes not really focusing on anything in particular. He sighed angrily to himself, knowing that at some point he would have to go talk to the principle, as his teacher had most likely reported him to the office, that was always a fun time. Last time he had spoken to the man, he had gotten himself dorm arrest for a week for calling him a retard. He really wasn't looking forward to it. He looked at the sky, seeing the puffy clouds.

"Maybe I could run off for awhile. Nah, that would also get me dorm arrest. Shit!" he muttered dryly. He looked back down at the parking lot, seeing a bright red fire truck parked near the entrance. He pursed his lips, looking at it for a few seconds.

"I forgot, there's a fire drill today. Perhaps I can run off then, no one would miss me anyway. It would get me away from Hide and his lackeys at least." he said with a shrug. He found it a little odd that there weren't any firemen around the area. Normally whenever there was a fire drill, several firemen were around the truck, keeping an eye on it and checking the surroundings.

He figured they had all split up to check the system before having the drill, but he hadn't seen a single one while he was in class. He leaned over the railing a bit, finally seeing one of the firemen. He was stumbling around a bit, and his coat seemed to be covered in some red liquid. He was moving around, as if he had a limp. Hinata grew a bit concerned and decided to get his attention.

"Hey fireman, you okay?" he cried out. The fireman looked up, letting out a loud groan, and started shambling in his direction. Hinata found it strange that he had replied with a groan, a groan loud enough for him to hear. On the third floor. He shrugged, rolling his neck.

"Well, might as well take my journey to the Principle's office, get this shit over with." he said turning around. He started walking down the stairs toward the second floor. He decided to take his time, as he entered the second floor hallway. He looked around at all of the fliers that had been taped onto the wall.

"Hmm, maybe I'll join some club this year, get my mind off the shit this school spoon feeds me. Find the circumference of Saturn's rings, the fuck kind of question is that?" he muttered, turning the corner, heading into the next hall. He saw a few lockers had been left open, several sheets of paper littering the ground. He saw a red splotch on the ground and quickly went to inspect it. He knelt down, looking at it closely, touching it with his finger tip.

"Is this...blood? No...it can't be."

He looked around for a few seconds, shivering a bit. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end and he quickly stood up, turning around. He took a step back, seeing another student behind him.

It was a young woman, and she was wearing the female version of the school uniform. A navy blue blazer, with bright golden buttons, with a white blouse underneath. She wore a red stripped tie around her neck, loosened a bit. She was wearing a pleated blue skirt, with a plaid design on it. She wore black socks on her feet, with formal black shoes.

While this would be the normal thing he would see on the girl's at the academy, what he did notice that was the fact that she was drenched in blood. Her face was pale, and her head was tilted back a bit, eyes unfocused. Her jaws snapped at him, flesh stuck between her teeth. He saw the large laceration on her neck, the source of the blood. He swallowed hard, taking a step back.

"What the fuck happened to you?" he asked, his heart beating a mile a minute. The girl groaned, limping toward him, he saw that her ankle was swollen, most likely broken. He didn't even understand how she was able to stand on it. He walked back, his fists raised in defense.

"Get back, I don't want to hurt you!" he said. The girl didn't care about his warnings, she just kept walking toward him, her groans getting louder as she got closer. Her hands reached for him, almost grabbing his arm. He pushed her back as hard as he could.

"Get back!" he cried. He heard the loud thud of her head hitting the nearby fire extinguisher.

She didn't move for a few seconds, blood pouring out of a thick cut on her head. She wheezed loudly, but started to sit up, the same unfocused look in her eyes, jaws still snapping at him. Hinata gagged, as he tried to hold down his lunch.

"This cannot be happening, she should be unconscious. Fuck! She should be dead with that fucking hole in her neck. I gotta get out of here."

He slipped his way around the girl as she stood up, and made his way back the way he came, toward the stairwell. He spared a glance outside, pressing his face to the window.

The fireman he had been talking too had pinned a young man to the fire truck, and had taken a literal chunk out of his neck. Blood was pouring from his neck, but he didn't stop. He just took a bigger bite, the young man fell to the ground, clearly dead. The fireman grabbed the arm and took a bite out of it, pulling chunks of flesh right off.

"What...what the fuck?" he cried out.

A groan filled his ears, and he looked back, seeing the girl inching his way toward him. He grit his teeth, and gave her a firm kick in the chest, sending her sprawling back. Her head slammed into the lockers, a loud bang echoing through the hall. She fell to the ground in a sitting position, but still tried to get up. He shook it off and took off up the hall, opening the door to the stairwell. He ran back up to the third floor, heading toward the classroom he had just been at.

"I need to get out of here, but I am not leaving her behind. Nozomi, please don't go with that douche bag." he said, praying silently to himself.

Nozomi had been his childhood friend, they had known each other since the first grade, and had gone through their entire lives together. She was the Student Council Vice President, but had been suspended after being placed in Remedial Mathematics for focusing too much on her Volleyball team instead of her classes.

He slammed the door opened, forcing the teacher to stop what he was saying. He panted for breath, leaning against the wall for a few seconds. The man glared at him, chalk still raised as he had been in the middle of writing another equation.

"Do you not get enough enjoyment from disrupting class? I sent you to the Principle's office for a reason Hinata!" the teacher said.

"Shut the hell up you pig faced fuck!" The black haired teen snapped, glaring at the teacher. The man looked at him wide eyed, shock written on his face. He walked toward the back of the room, where his friend was currently sitting, and watching him with her full attention, much like the rest of the class.

She stood at around five foot four inches in height, and had long violet colored hair, tied into two ponytails with bright green hair ties. She had ivory skin, without a single blemish. She had a cute face, bright green eyes, a small nose and full lips. She had a beauty mark next to her bottom lip, adding to her overall cuteness.

She was currently wearing a long sleeved sweater vest, which was blue and black in color, with thin red lines on it. Even though she was wearing a sweater, it did little to hide her bosom as it was quite big for her age. She was wearing a short plaid skirt, which was a dark blue in color, and had white frills at the edges of it. She wore long black stockings and black sneakers, something that often times threw off her outfit, but she didn't seem to care. Her bright green eyes were filled with worry as he stood by her desk.

"Nozomi, we need to go, now." he said firmly.

"H-Hinata, we're in the middle of class, I can't just leave." she said quietly. He shook his head.

"You don't understand, some people died outside. The fireman tore apart some random kid, and there's a girl on the second floor with a hole in her neck." He said, remembering what he had seen.

"Pfft, are you fucking serious man?" a voice said. Hinata looked to his right, glaring right at the person who had said that, a person he absolutely detested.

He was a young man of seventeen, with lightly tanned skin and buzz cut hair. He had a lean build, with slight muscles on his arms, which bulged a bit through his blazer. He was wearing black skinny jeans, stuffed into his Nike Air shoes. On his wrist he had a thick gold bracelet, with a few black markings on it, and around his neck was a golden chain with a cross on it.

This young man's name was Bryce, he was on the Boxing team in the academy, and was Hinata's most hated person in school. The reason why, he was currently dating his best friend.

It wasn't the sole fact that they were dating that pissed him off, it was the fact that he was a fucking dick head to her. He always yelled at her, and insulted her, and mistreated her. Nozomi being the kindhearted person she was, always gave him a second chance. He would behave himself for a few days and then go back to his usual attitude. It didn't help that he was friends with his tormentors, Hide and Tate two other students in their class. Hinata clenched his jaw, taking a deep breath.

"I wouldn't joke about that you roid chomping Jag. Take a look outside that window. I assure you, you'll see what I mean." he said.

"Hinata, if you are going to keep causing a distraction in class, then I'll have to call security to come escort you to the Principle's office. You know it's an automatic suspension if I do." the teacher said.

"I could care less, call who you must, but we are leaving." Hinata said, grabbing his backpack off his desk. He grabbed Nozomi's, stuffing all of her notebooks into it and zipping it shut.

"Hinata, I can't just leave. If I do I'll never get my position as the Student Council Vice President back." Nozomi said. Hinata didn't care, he grabbed her by the arm and forced her to stand.

"I don't care, I am not going to let you die here." he said firmly. Bryce got out of his seat, cracking his knuckles.

"Let go of my girl asshole, before I knock your teeth in." he said.

"I'd like to see you try dick head. You ain't shit, and I don't care if you are in the Boxing club, I'm her best friend first foremost so I'm more important than you will ever be." he said.

"Hinata, stop instigating him. Please I don't want you two to hurt each other." Nozomi said, pulling her hand from his grasp. He grit his teeth, clenching his hand.

"Nozomi, please listen to me. Two people are dead, and there's the fact that we were supposed to have a fire drill, half an hour ago! The fireman was eating someone, please just come with me." he pleaded, looking right into her eyes. She looked at him, and back at Bryce, who was shaking his head, telling her silently to sit down. Instead, she grabbed her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder.

"O-Okay, I'll trust you." she said. He sighed in relief, taking her hand again.

"Come on, we need to get out of here." he said, leading her out of the room. Bryce, not wanting to be left behind, followed suit, already planning on cracking the smaller teen's head.

Hinata lead Nozomi to the stairwell, which would be taking them to the Eastern Building's walkway. That building had the Woodshop room, and he would need a weapon of some sort if he wanted to avoid running into people like that girl he had seen.

"Alright, we'll need to find some weapons. The woodshop should have a few things we can use." he said.

"Weapons, dear me Hinata, I don't think we need to get that alarmed." Nozomi said.

Hinata opened the door, leading to the walkway, and they slowly started crossing. Screams filled their ears, and they both looked down to the plaza, seeing a few teachers, tearing apart one of the girls from the Tennis team. She let an agonizing scream as blood burst from her neck and abdomen, on man pulled out her intestine, and took a large bite from it, smearing the blood all over his face and shirt.

"Jesus Christ!" Bryce cried out, having caught up to them. Hinata looked back at him, a smirk on his face.

"See, I wasn't fucking around was I?" he asked. As he was about to reply, the intercom came on, a loud buzz filling the entire area around them, the shaky voice of their principle echoing through the speakers.

"Attention students and faculty. The school is now under evacuation! Please follow all safety protocols and exit the building immediately! An unknown virus has made it's way onto the campus and we don't know it's origin. I repeat, all students and staff..."

The intercom went silent for a few seconds, shuffling could be heard on the other line. Loud groans and screeches could be heard, followed a sharp pained scream. The line went dead shortly after, throwing the room once more into silence. Hinata grit his teeth, grabbing his backpack straps tightly in his hands.

"We gotta move, the halls are going to be crowded with people trying to get out, who knows how many of those things are inside the buildings." he said, pulling Nozomi along with him, heading toward the Eastern Building entrance.

"What the fuck are we gonna do? Those people, they tore that girl apart." Bryce said.

"I don't know what you are gonna do, but me and Nozomi are getting out of here, we're gonna go home and meet up with our parents." Hinata said.

"Maybe you should let her decide for herself yeah? Instead of deciding for her." the teen snapped back.

"I decide for her because I know what's best for her, she's my best friend and I would die before I let one of those fucks tear her apart."

"Please stop fighting. I can take care of myself." Nozomi snapped angrily, pulling her hand from Hinata's grasp.

The black haired teen nodded, and kept slowly moving toward the Woodshop, taking notice the smeared blood on the windows, and the fallen bodies on the floor. He tried not to gag at the smell of copper, and did his best to ignore it. Nozomi had gone pale, and was clenching her jaw, her hand over her nose and mouth to block the smell. Bryce didn't seem to be bothered by it, but he was sweating bullets, clearly unable to understand what was going on.

The woodshop room was large, with several tables serving as each station in the room. The large windows allowed a great deal of sunlight into the room. Coiled cords extended down from the ceiling, for the power tools to be plugged into.

The floor had been painted green, and had been made of cement rather than tile. Large red lockers and tool boxes were lined up around the room, each holding several tool kits within. Abandoned projects littered the room, bird houses and benches had been tossed aside or left on the table, one piece of wood still had the hand saw still in the wooden board. The scent of freshly cut wood filled the room, along with saw dust and scattered wood chips that littered the area.

"Close the door." Hinata said, turning to Bryce, who did so without question. He walked toward the nearest table, grabbing one of the abandoned benches. He sucked his teeth, placing it back on the table.

"What the fuck are we doing here? Bad time to make a bird house." Bryce said.

"Jeez, do you use your brain or is it there for show? What does it look like we're doing here? There are tools here, which we can use as weapons." Hinata said, visibly annoyed. He walked to the large red locker in the back of the room, throwing it open.

"Why bother with this shit? Why not just get a baseball bat from the Gym?" he asked.

"Bryce sweetie, the gym is across the plaza in the North Building. If we go over there, those things could end up mobbing us. There must be hundreds by now." Nozomi said quietly.

"You catch on fast, as expected. Whatever is going on, it's turning people into mindless eating machines. Enough for them to forget about morals and shit, I mean you saw that girl getting torn to shreds. All of the bodies in the hallway. The count will only increase as this goes on."

"That's bullshit! The world was normal a few minutes ago, everything was fine, there is no way some virus can just turn people into...whatever those are!" Bryce said.

"Well believe it dumb shit, people are eating each other, dying, and we can't hang around here to turn into one of them. I for one will not be staying here for long." Hinata said. He grabbed a Monkey wrench from within the locker, slipping it into his belt loop. He grabbed a short crowbar, handing it to Nozomi who looked at it oddly, swallowing the lump in her throat.

He opened his backpack, and tossed out his textbooks and notebooks, grabbing a couple hammers, a screw driver and an adjustable wrench. There wasn't really anything else he could grab that would be useful, he didn't see how a power drill could be useful, unless he planned to drill into a person's skull. By the time he pulled it out, he would be mobbed.

"Bryce, babe grab something...it would make me feel better." Nozomi said.

"Why? My fists are enough of a weapon to defend myself." he said, ignoring the scoff from Hinata as he zipped his bag.

"Please, I don't want you to get hurt." the purple haired girl said, placing her hand on his arm. He sighed, grabbing one of the unfinished benches. With a firm tug, he pulled one of the legs off, the nails bent in all directions. Hinata nodded, peeking out the window.

"Alright then, we need to head back to the Southern Building to grab some medical supplies from the Nurses office...if we see someone we can help, then let's help them." he said firmly, earning a nod from Nozomi.

"Pfft, fuck that. It's every man for himself." Bryce said.

"Sweetie, I am the Student Council Vice President! If there are people to be saved, I will save them." Nozomi snapped angrily.

"But...that's.."

"No buts! Soshun is probably dead or something, and he's the Student Council President. If he were with us he would definitely help people. So we are going to help, no questions asked." she said firmly. Hinata chuckled, shaking his head.

"She's got you by the balls Bryce, best listen to what she says. I know her best, and a pissed off Nozomi is someone we don't want around." he said, walking toward the doors. Bryce muttered a few swears under his breath, not really saying anything. Hinata slid the door open, taking a peek into the hall. He saw a few students shambling around the hall, and as soon as they heard the door, they started heading their way.

"Shit...I was so quiet." he muttered, grabbing his wrench.

"Um...what do we do?" Nozomi asked.

"Hit them in the chest, that should be able to stun them." Bryce said, slamming the club into a nearby student's chest, the nails going right through the skin. He pulled it free, swinging it full force, right into their heart. He smirked, thinking that would have been enough to take him down, only for the student to start walking at him, using all of his strength to push the taller teen back.

"What the fuck? How is he this strong, he's pushing me back...this thing is stabbing his heart!" he cried out.

"Jesus, I knew there was something wrong with them. That girl that I ran into in the hallway, she had a hole in her neck, these things aren't alive anymore, they're dead...they're dead and they're alive." Hinata said.

"What?" Bryce asked.

"Swing for the head, that will take it down." he simply said. To prove his point, he rose his monkey wrench above his head, bringing it down onto the skull of a nearby girl. A sickening crunch filled the hall, her body dropping limp. He moved over it, swinging the wrench at the next student, slamming it right onto their jaw, sending teeth and blood flying in all directions. He knocked it off its feet, slamming his boot onto its head, killing it instantly.

"No...get away from me!" Nozomi cried, clutching her crowbar tightly as a female student walked toward her, jaw snapping at her.

"Nozomi!" Hinata cried, reaching out for her, he pulled his arm back, almost being bitten by one of those things. He slammed his wrench into it's forehead, sending blood flying. Bryce was busy taking down several others, swinging his club hard, using his strength to kick the bodies back, making several students fall to the ground. Nozomi took a step back, hitting the back wall. She shook wildly, raising her crowbar up.

"I said get away from me!" she cried, bringing the crowbar down onto the girl's head. Her head caved in, blood splattering all over Nozomi's sweater vest and her face. The crowbar was dripping with it and she immediately gagged. Hinata took her hand, pulling her toward the doors.

"Come on, this way." he said firmly. Bryce was on his heels as the three doubled back toward the South Building.

It was worse than they thought in there, because of all of the people that had been in that building during the announcement, bodies of trampled students now littered the hall, along with those who were being eaten alive. Hinata grit his teeth, and pulled Nozomi along, reaching the stairwell that would lead them down to the first floor.

Thankfully, it was empty, save for all of the blood and guts that littered the entire area. The walls had been drenched with the red liquid, and the scent of death was already filling the enclosed area. While he would have normally gagged at something like this, he had rapidly grown used to it, something told him he would be smelling something like this for a lot longer.

Reaching the first floor hallway, they immediately ducked out of the stairwell, with Bryce slowly closing the door as to not make a sound. Several of the first floor classrooms had been left wide open, several students lingered in the area, all bearing that same dead look on their faces, jaws smeared with blood. Their skin was gray, black in some areas where bruises most likely happened.

"What is happening man? These kids...they look dead." Bryce muttered, as they all quietly walked toward the Nurses office.

"That's because they are. When a person dies, their skin starts turning gray, as the system's homeostasis is no longer active, meaning they have no body temperature. You stabbed them through the heart and they kept moving at you, them being dead is the only plausible explanation." Hinata said.

"But that's asinine...this isn't some George Romero flick Hinata, this is real life!" Nozomi added. He shook his head, ducking behind a trophy case. The area that lead to the foyer, where the Nurses office was located was filled with them. The entire entrance hall was just dead, blood spilled all over the floor. He swore he saw a severed leg near the lockers. He took a deep breath, gauging the situation.

"They haven't seen us yet so I'm willing to bet these things are blind. In which case we can just sneak past them." he said quietly.

"Are you insane? Walk past them? They'll kill us." Bryce hissed angrily. Hinata looked at him, glaring right into his brown eyes.

"Well if you have a better idea than you can share it with us. I didn't think so, now let's move." he muttered quietly, slowly inching his way toward the office. Nozomi matching his pace, steadying her breathing. Seeing her fellow classmates like this, people who she walked past every day, people who she saw at assemblies and school events, it hurt. But she couldn't focus on that, especially if her life was at risk.

"Hey dweeb, I have an idea. If they can't see us, maybe we can throw something to distract them." Bryce whispered. Hinata narrowed his eyes in annoyance at his chosen name, but he did bring up an interesting idea. If they didn't see them, there was a a chance they could hear them, and that would be bad, especially with them being surrounded. He looked around for a few seconds, unable to find anything.

His eyes widened and he quickly shoved his hands in his pocket, pulling out several coins from within. He held them tightly in his grasp, as to not make a noise. Looking around, he spotted the door to the back plaza was open, he aimed in that direction, throwing the coins as hard as he could, all of them hit the glass, sharp metallic dings rung through the hall, as the coins hit the ground. All of the deceased students looked in that direction, and started walking toward the sound. One bumped into his shoulder, and didn't even react, just kept walking.

"Holy shit, I thought they would be able to smell me, but I guess that's also wrong. They do listen to sound." he thought.

They waited until the hallway was cleared out before speeding toward the Nurses office. Hinata quickly threw it open, and they dove inside, closing the door after them.

"The gurney, hurry." Hinata said, pulling the locks from the large gurney. He and Bryce pulled it toward the door, using it as a barrier of sorts. They both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Man, what a day, and it's only been a couple hours since shit hit the fan." Bryce said.

"Trust me, shit hasn't hit the fan yet, what's happening here, that's just the sprinkles that slip from the diaper. We best start..."

"Kyaaa!"

The two looked toward the other side of the room, where the bathroom was located. They saw Nozomi on the floor, looking up at something, eyes widened in fear. When Hinata got to her side, he saw that it was actually their school Nurse. Doctor Yuriko.

The woman had a large bite wound on her arm, the sleeve of her coat having been ripped open. Her shirt had been torn a bit, and she had a hole in her neck. He also saw a huge chunk had been ripped from her left breast, making him swallow the lump in his throat. Bryce reacted quickly, bringing his club down on her head as hard as he could. Her body dropped to the ground, fresh blood spilling onto the floor.

"You just killed the nurse!" Nozomi cried in surprise and anger.

"She was already dead you dumb shit. Jesus Christ she could have killed us." He snapped, glaring at the purple haired girl.

"Don't talk to her like that asshole. She was just startled, and with good fucking reason, out of all the people in this academy, surely the nurse would have been able to live, but clearly she didn't. We can't wait around anymore." he said firmly.

"Um hey, is it safe?" a voice called out, from within the locked bathroom. It made Hinata wonder where the hell Nurse Yuriko had even been hiding. He glanced toward the door, the voice sounding a bit familiar.

"Yes, it's safe." he called out. Shuffling could be heard from the other room, and a distinct click filled their ears and the door swung open, revealing a young man.

He was a bit taller than Hinata, and towered over Bryce as well. He had a lanky build, pale skin and long arms. He had short brown hair, that fell to the nape of his neck. He had light colored eyes, and a bit of a boyish look on his face, with a bit of stubble on his chin.

He was wearing a tee shirt, his blazer being tied around his waist. He wore a pair of slim straight black jeans, and black Chuck Taylor Converse shoes, the bright blue star on the sides of the shoe were a bit faded. He had a white backpack slung on his shoulder, and was holding a baseball bat. He gave them all a wave.

"Hi...I don't mean to startle you or anything. I was stuck there, way before the announcement. I worked with Nurse Yuriko as her assistant for the lunch break and a few students came in with bite marks. When they started turning into those things, she held them back while I filled this bag with stuff, next thing I know, she's trying to eat me, luckily I was able to get a hold of this bat, but I locked myself in the bathroom. I couldn't bring myself to kill her." he said.

"You look familiar, you on the baseball team?" Bryce asked, looking the teen over.

"Yeah, names Nicholas McFay, I'm number 9 on the Tokunosu West Crusaders." he said proudly.

"You had a baseball bat in your hands and you couldn't kill the bitch? Man what a puss." Bryce replied, shortly after the boy's introduction.

"Bryce! Don't be that way, if I were in his position, I wouldn't have been able to kill her either." Nozomi said, finally standing from her spot on the ground. Nick looked at her, a frown on his face.

"You're Nozomi Fujika, the Student Council Vice President, what are you still doing here?" he asked curiously.

"Um...well.."

"No time for explanations. For now, let's just pack up all we can so we can get out of here." Hinata said, glancing at the clock, it was already a quarter to five and it would be getting dark soon, the faster they got out of the academy, the better.

"Sure, what's your name stranger?"

"Hinata Miyamoto, just call me Hinata." he said simply, walking to the back of the room, where the cupboard were still opened. He set his bag down on the counter and opened it, shoving the tools he had salvaged aside to make space for the medical supplies. He grabbed a couple bottles of antiseptics, rubbing alcohol and some peroxide. He grabbed several packs of gauze, ointment and all of the pill bottles he could find.

The sound of a television turning on filled his ears, and he looked over his shoulder, seeing Nozomi reaching up for the buttons. The television had been mounted up high, and would normally turn on on it's own thanks to the automated system, but you could still get local channels on it. She flipped through them for a few seconds, finally finding a news station.

"Reports are coming in from the unknown virus that has struck the country of Japan. All around the country there have been reports of the recently deceased coming back to life. The number of infected individuals has risen over a thousand, and scientists believe the count will double by tomorrow.

News is coming in from all around the world. The White House staff and the President are being evacuated and taken to a safe zone aboard the airship carrier George Washington. We've lost all contact with Moscow, and there are reports of fires being set in Beijing. London has been able to maintain order, while Paris and Rome have fallen to looting."

"Jesus Christ, this is all around the world." Bryce said.

"Makes sense, this thing is a viral outbreak. Infectious disease that spreads like a plague...no...this is a plague." Hinata said, returning his gaze to the medical supplies.

"But that's impossible...there's no way the world can be suffering from the same thing...at the same time." Nick said.

"Believe it man, you just saw it. Moscow, Beijing, London, Rome, Paris, Washington D.C, all places around the world in the biggest countries of the world, all experiencing the same thing, all of them loosing the fight to maintain order, and in the absence of order, chaos arises, and when that happens...well you might as well just hand it over the walking corpses." he replied bluntly.

"You don't have to be so blunt about it." Bryce snapped angrily. Hinata chose to ignore him, further talk with him would be a lost of breath and brain cells.

"Reports are coming in from the Saitama area, it seems the death toll has risen over ten thousand, the local coroners office has reported that..."

Gunfire filled the screen, the camera man shifting the view toward an ambulance, where a couple of body bags had been placed. They sat up, and started moving, the police officers had no choice but to shoot them.

"Gunfire! The police have started using firearms. It seems that...oh God, Noo!"

The live feed cut off, the camera having fallen to the ground. It cut back to the News station, where the news anchor was handed a stack of papers.

"It seems we have lost the live feed from Saitama. We will continue coverage from here in the studio. The Prime Minister has declared a state of emergency for the nation of Japan. Stay within your homes, board up your windows and do not leave unless absolutely necessary. A State of Martial Law has been declared, I repeat, a State of Martial Law has been declared." the reporter said firmly, looking directly at the camera.

"Martial Law?" Nozomi asked curiously.

"It's a state of governmental law, basically all normal judicial, legislative and executive laws are abolished, leaving the Military in full control of what happens. When this happens, anyone can do what they want, and no one would be able to stop them. The military also has full power over the citizenry, and can even shoot civilians should the need arise. If it's come down to this then..." Hinata said, stopping mid sentence.

"Whoa, you mean to tell me that some soldier can come up to us and kill us on a dime without a single question asked?" Bryce asked.

"Seems so. We must be careful from now on, where ever it is that you guys are heading, I'm going with you. My father is a Marine stationed in Okinawa's US Base, so he won't be coming up here." Nick said.

"Our parents are in the city, in Eastern Tokunosu. That's where we'll be heading." Nozomi replied, earning a nod from Nick. Bryce scoffed, shaking his head.

"My father is in prison, hopefully dead as we speak, wherever my girl goes, I'll follow, and I guess I'll have to follow the dweeb too." he said, glancing at Hinata.

"Okay then, for now we should probably call someone, maybe get some help. Do you think the police would..."

"I'll stop you right there Nick. There's no way the police is going to help us. We'll have to get out of here on our own." Hinata said firmly.

"How the fuck do you propose we do that? There are hundreds if not thousands of those things outside, and we can't open the gates from the outside." Bryce said. Hinata smirked, glancing out the window.

"Bryce, you are making mountains out of mole hills, who the hell said we had to walk out of the academy? We can just go for a pleasure cruise on the Firetruck outside." he said, glancing at the red firetruck, the sides of it were covered in blood, but it looked large enough to barrel through the gates.

"Hinata, you and I are going to get along just fine, I can tell." Nick said, giving him a nod.

"Okay, but how are we going to get out? None of us can drive." Bryce said.

"Um...actually I can drive a little bit. My mom was giving me lessons earlier this month during the break, so I can get us out of here. It will be a little hard with the big steering wheel, but I can handle it." Nozomi said.

"Yeah, and I took driving lessons last summer from my uncle. I can definitely handle a car if I need too. I can help Nozomi with the steering wheel. But getting to it is another thing all together. Let's just all rest for a bit while I come up with something." he said, earning nods from everyone but Bryce. Hinata looked back out the window, focusing on the large red truck, eyes not coming off from it.

"I can't drive that thing out of here without keys. Firetrucks carry spares within the truck just in case as it is required by law, so finding it shouldn't be an issue. Getting out of here will be though, the truck is heavy enough to take down those undead freaks, but will it be enough to take down the gate?" he thought to himself.

The truck was parked at the bend of the entrance road, which curved around the main entrance. The road stretched out, at least two thousand meters or so, and that should have been enough space for the truck to pick up speed and barrel through it.

"Well...I guess we won't know until we try right?" he thought to himself, a bit optimistic. He looked toward the skies, large plumes of smoke billowed high into the air, and he swore he saw some helicopters, heading toward Tokunosu International Airport. His eyes narrowed a bit.

"The airport will be secured, and large planes will start taking off, probably toward Okinawa, Kyoto and Hokkaido. Tokyo must be lost by now, with over 13 million people in the metro area, there must be death running rampant there. Tokunosu only has 1 million, but that's still too many to be considered safe. We need to head out of the city, to somewhere rural, we'll have the best chance of surviving there."

"Why so silent?" Nozomi asked, standing next to him. He looked at his best friend, her face still dotted with blood, he reached into his pocket, pulling out a white and purple handkerchief from within. He wet the corner of it with his tongue, and brushed it on her cheek, wiping the blood away.

"I'm just thinking, I saw some Military choppers headed to the airport, Self Defense forces no doubt. If they secure it, there will be planes heading out of here toward areas with a heavy military presence." he said.

"Then that's our play, we head to the airport and..."

"Bryce, if it were that easy, we would already be there. The airport is going to be sealed off. You can only get there by boat anyway, and once the military is there, there will be safety protocols to follow, no one that is injured will be let through even if they got those injuries from something other than those freaks. On top of that, if we were somehow able to get into a plane, we would be sent to a military camp, and there's no way of knowing if they'll even let us in. We're better off on our own." He said.

"Do you hear yourself? Dude, there's a chance for rescue, a chance that the military can help us and your saying we're better off without them?" the boxer said, clenching his hands tightly.

"Hinata is right. My father told me a few of the protocols they follow when epidemics and world disasters happen. They are very strict when it comes to it, and in a world where the dead walk, they won't take chances. They might even line us up and kill us all, especially with Martial Law being enacted." Nick said firmly.

"No one asked for your input assface."

"Listen man, you are starting to piss me off, so if you don't want me to crack you skull open, you'll keep your mouth shut!" Hinata said, holding his wrench tightly in his hand. Bryce didn't question anything, instead he grabbed Nozomi's arm, hugging her close to his body.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine. I'll get you out of here, away from this jerk off." he said. Nozomi frowned, but nodded giving him a kiss on the lips. Hinata looked away, seething with rage.

"I don't remember what I did the night before it all came to an end, but at least I know now, that the Circumference of Saturn's Rings was something that would forever tie me to the life I used to have. That question, that sole question was what lead me to discover what was happening, what lead me to save the life of my dearest friend. It was the question, which I would forever try to solve, as the world around me descended into madness."