A/N: This is an idea I've had in my head for a long time and I recently found the courage and time to make it a reality. This was really fun to think through and imagine and I hope you all stick around to read it. It means a lot.

Anyway, before I get carried away, I hope you all enjoy this lil' start to a new story! It'll be a ride, let me tell you.

-TheWriterGirl

Star Butterfly was a normal girl.

Scratch that, actually.

She was a weird girl with heart stickers on her cheeks that often were peeling from old age. She was a girl with a backpack full of comic books and notebooks that had pages after pages of drawings that only she understood.

She was fifteen and still loved imagining worlds of magic and evil, where she was the one rescuing others and beating the living crap out of monsters; it made her happy knowing she might be useful one day.

She didn't have low self-esteem, no, that was crazy, she just liked keeping things low for when the big day arrived. The big day in which she would fight against the forces of evil.

Her mother had sat her down several times to explain to her that the world did not have monsters or evil doings or even incidents that would trigger possible danger. Like an apocalypse of some kind.

Star knew better.

She often sat under a tree, reading novels and comic books from her backpack—it looked like a spikey turtle shell, it was awesome—detailing dystopian worlds and zombies and she knew it was bound to happen one day. Earth was a place where anything and everything was possible, denying the possibility of an apocalypse or a rise-up of evil was stupid. But, of course, no one believed her. Why would they?

Her father sometimes supported her ideas eagerly and made various plans on where to hide if the apocalypse was to happen. Star would correct him that not if, but when it would happen. Her mother would glare at her father and he would sheepishly drop all plans and tell Star that monsters weren't real.

She didn't have many real, loyal allies.

At her high school, most kids would ignore her. Though, sometimes, a girl with a nice beanie joined her but then would mysteriously disappear the next day. She didn't even know her name.

I think it's Janna.

Janna was cool. Janna believed her and her theories and even had some of her own. She was cool. Unlike that Tom boy who faked believing her and helping just to get close to her for some sick joke.

Dude, you should date that weird girl, Star.

Star didn't like remembering him.

So Star sat under her tree in the school's courtyard reading her graphic novel, well, she was half-reading it. Her mind was elsewhere, floating over the topic of lunch which was next period. With her free period before lunch, she often spent it outside doing whatever she was interested in doing that day.

The sky was a pleasant color above her and the sun was big and golden.

No signs of an apocalypse today.

Yay!

Star dug her nose deeper into her comic book when kids passed by, she didn't like hearing their snarky comments or seeing them point and snicker.

She flipped a page and stared at the dark-colored pictures of a man running through a broken city. In her opinion, he shouldn't be running, it could attract unwanted attention; Star rolled her eyes slightly at the play-out of the scene.

Poor Steve, hope he survives.

"Excuse me?" Star hunched over as a boy's voice hit her ears. She sighed and looked up to see a boy her age, his dark skin was coated in sweat and his brown hair was disheveled as if he had been running. He was wringing his hands as he stared at her.

Star blinked sluggishly, barely processing him, "Yes?"

His eyes darted to her comic book and he furrowed his brows, "Sorry if I'm interrupting b-but have you seen my backpack? And hoodie? It's red, this girl thought it was funny to take them." He was clearly annoyed at the girl who had stolen his stuff.

Red hoodie and backpack.

Star rubbed her chin and brightened suddenly like a lightbulb.

She pointed to her tree behind her, "They're up there. Janna came by earlier and put them there…" her voice trailed off as she realized what Janna had been doing. "Janna, you scoundrel." She muttered under her breath, deciding to give her a stern talking to the next time she saw her.

The boy peered up at the tree and made a sound of distress, "Ugh! How am I supposed to get to it?! I can't climb! That's dangerous...I should get a ladder, but that could have some potential trouble, too. Maybe I should ask the janitor to help me." He fell into thought and Star glanced up at the tree's branches.

She put her comic book in her backpack and stood up, "I can get them for you." She said easily, stretching her arms and shaking them to ready herself.

The boy blanched, "Oh, no! You could get hurt, it's okay—"

But Star was already on the tree, climbing it. She was good at climbing, her dad had often showed her how to survive in the wilderness and with that came climbing lessons.

She grabbed a branch and pulled herself up to it, she hoped it wouldn't break under her weight or anything. That would be embarrassing.

"Is everything okay?" The boy's voice squeaked below her, clearly worried. It was funny how he was worried when they were complete strangers to one another in this world.

"Yep! It's all cool!" She jumped onto another branch and balanced herself with her arms. She looked down at the boy and realized something, she cupped her mouth and shouted, "What's your name anyway, dude?" She needed to know his name if she was climbing a tree for him.

The boy cupped his mouth, his hands went around his mouth, and he loudly said, "Marco Diaz! What's yours?"

Star swung up to another branch and rested there for a moment, seeing which way was better to get to the hoodie and backpack. "Star Butterfly! NICE TO MEET YOU!" She yelled back before climbing again.

"Ohhhhh, so you're the Star Butterfly I keep hearing about!" He mentioned, his voice full with recognition.

"Yep!" Star said as she got on a perfect branch and extended her hand toward where Marco's stuff hung; she reached them and hugged them to her chest. "Got them!" She told Marco as she made her way back down.

Marco let out a whoop as she planted her feet back on the Earth, she handed him his stuff and Marco eagerly put on his hoodie and shrugged on his backpack. Star itched to get back to reading but that was rude at the moment, she thought to herself, to just ignore him.

"Thank you!" He said happily, a smile on his lips.

Star returned his smile and nodded simply, "No problemo! Just keep your guard up when Janna's around, don't worry I'll give her a talk on stealing later." Star sat back down on the tree's bank and pulled out her comic book. She opened it back to the page she was at and stopped when she knew Marco hadn't left.

She eyed him and quirked an eyebrow, "What's wrong?" She said.

He raised his shoulders in a small shrug of some kind, "Nothing, it's just that…don't you get lonely? From what I've heard—"

"Marco, you shouldn't believe rumors." Star cut in.

Marco was quiet when a bell suddenly rang in the school. He turned around and looked at his phone, "Want to go get lunch?" He asked her.

Star's stomach growled and she thought about the school's food. Not good food obviously, but food was food in her opinion. She tucked her comic book away and stood up, dusting herself off.

"Sure."

She made a friend that day. A best friend that she would come to regret and yet not regret making.

It was a month later when alarms—like those that would show up on TV or on phones and would scare anyone—rang at two in the morning. Star was startled and bolted up from her bed, she sat up with wide eyes and big bed hair; she looked at her small phone on the other side of the room and made a note to make her way towards it. She hopped off her bed and grabbed it from its plug on the wall.

A big red message—a biohazard alert, to be exact—shone on its surface followed by a short description. Brain Parasite Has Escaped Labs, Find Cover

A parasite that has been rumored to turn rats into mindless corpses/slaves was being tested for a year running and was recently injected into the body of a human volunteer—to see what was the possibility of it entering the complex system of a human. Results went wrong, it seems to have become an evolved version of toxoplasmosa. Seek cover from this immediately as we find a cure.

Star's breath was labored and she felt faint. She didn't feel ready or determined, she didn't feel like she could kick ass easily without breaking a sweat.

She felt like a scared little girl who was home alone. Her parents had gone on a business trip and she was alone during a possible apocalypse that she had been preparing for. Turned out, she was not ready.

She did the only thing she could think of and called Marco.

She sat down on her bed and pulled her knees up to her chest, "Pick up, pick up, pick up." She whispered, the dark walls in her room seeming bigger and threatening, they leered at her.

"Star!" He picked up and his voice was normal and worried.

He was okay.

Star was scared and she knew it showed, "M-Marco did you hear?" She said.

"Y-yeah, stay where you are okay?" He pressured, clearly not wanting her going out.

Star shook her head even though she knew he couldn't see her, "N-no, I'll be over in a sec. M-my parents aren't home and I'm scared. We're really close. Don't worry." Marco said something about it being a bad idea but Star hung up.

She looked around her room and gathered several items. She grabbed a pair of flashlights, an old first aid kit from the bathroom drawers, some snacks, water, comic books, an extra sweater. The necessary essentials.

She quickly undressed from her pajamas and put on a pair of jeans and pink hoodie, she slipped on her shoes and slung her backpack over her shoulders. She pocketed her phone and was soon out her house and in the streets. It was oddly still and quiet, with the exception of the distant alarms.

Star breathed in, "It's okay, Star. The parasite just got out, what're the chances you'll instantly get infected?" She told herself, trying to calm her racing heart.

She walked about, her sneakers' steps echoing down the streets.

She hoped her parents were okay.

Step, step, step.

The moon was up in the sky still, but it wasn't comforting or calming. It was eerie and creepy.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket and made her jump slightly. She grabbed her phone and looked at the new message shining in red.

Parasite Becomes Stronger, Please Do Not Go Outside

The Parasite has been proven to be difficult in containing and seems to be spreading. Though, it is nothing to worry about, experts say. It's almost like a common cold. Don't panic, government employees have it all under control.

Star bit her lip and put her phone away. She hurried down the streets and eventually was at Marco's door, she knocked quietly and it swung open. Marco answered and pulled her inside with a hug, "Don't you dare do that again." His muffled voice said as he embraced her.

Star parted from the hug and wrung her hands. "Marco, an apocalypse—"

"I-I know…" He said.

Star was quiet.

"What do we do?" She said, eyebrows wrinkled.

"I don't know. How is this even spreading?" Marco asked, his face contorted in concern.

Star shrugged and looked at her phone as she brought it back out, "I don't know. We all don't know—AHH!" Star screamed and stumbled backwards as something pounded the backdoor in Marco's kitchen.

Marco looked at the door, "It must be my dad, he went out to check on the shed's emergency supplies. Mom's visiting family." He was tense as he inched toward the door, alarms blaring from all electronic devices in the house.

Star followed him, wishing she had something to defend themselves.

Marco opened the door and surely enough his dad walked inside with a huge grin that unnerved Star for some reason.

"Oh, Star! It is so nice to see you again!" His eyes were vacant and the smile wasn't all there. She suddenly knew, in her heart, what was wrong.

Star grabbed Marco's arm and squeezed it tight, "He—he's infected, I can feel it…" How she felt it in her core, like some sort of sixth feeling was beyond her. But she felt it.

Marco's eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights, "But, he's my dad!"

Star turned to him as Rafael sat down suddenly, groaning, "Anyone can change, Marco. Even our closest friends and family." She said, her voice and hands trembling.

Marco jerked his head and Star knew he was stubborn, "You're being ridiculous. You're okay, right, dad?" Marco reached for him, his hand inches away from touching his shoulder when Rafael suddenly screamed and sharply looked up. His eyes were white and dead, a trickle of blood poured from the side of his head.

A smile graced his lips but the emptiness of it didn't earn it the term of a smile.

Marco tugged his hand back, horror on his expression. "D-dad…? No, no. Y-you're okay, we have a first aid kit. W-we'll patch you up." He said quickly, as if trying to reassure himself more that his father was fine and well and okay.

Marco went to the kitchen's drawers and pulled them open, he dug through them like a madman.

Star approached him attentively, "Marco, w-we…" What was she going to say? "We have to l-leave." Great, he's definitely going to agree, Star.

Marco glared at the drawers and didn't bother looking up to face her, "He's my dad, Star." He growled.

"Yeah, but—"

"I can't leave him."

"Marco—"

"Just because you don't have the best relationship with your parents and you could care less about them doesn't mean the same for me." He hissed, distressed and angry.

"MARCO!" Marco finally gazed at her with tearful eyes. Star felt horrible at what she needed them to do. "We have to leave him behind, M-Marco. Look at him, I think…I think your dad's not here anymore." She said sadly.

They looked at Rafael who had more trickles of blood coming from his head, his face was whitening into a deadly shade of paleness. It was as if he was dead and the color of his skin was fading. He was breathing heavily and twitching and convulsing.

Marco said nothing but stared.

"Marco," Star whispered gently, "W-we have to go."

Marco walked over to his dad and bowed his head. "…Okay…" He said, almost mutely at how quiet it was.

And they did.

A note was stuck to the front door with Marco's signature, it was like their last trace.

I'm sorry mom, Star and I left but I love you and dad. I always will. I'm so sorry. We didn't want this but I couldn't do anything to dad, the best option was to leave. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

The handwriting was wobbly as if Marco's hand had been shaking when he was writing, a couple of tear stains were on the paper's surface, blurring the letters and the signature.

Marco Diaz, your son.

P.S. I'll always remember you guys