(Disclaimer for the Series: I don't own any part of the High School of the Dead franchise. Any of the characters seen in this story belong to me, and I reserve all the rights to them.)

Chapter 1: Anthony Ramierez

It had been like any other day for Anthony. He had worked the night before, came home and finished his homework, finally getting to fall into his soft bad at a little past 12. Anthony had felt as if he had only slept for a couple of minutes, waking up at 7am to get ready and catch the bus for school. He wore what he usually wore, a simple button up shirt and a muscle shirt underneath, along with his usual blue jeans. Since it was baseball season, he would also be packing an extra 25 pounds of gear, bring his baseball bag along with his book bag, am aluminum bat, a pair of mitts, one lefty and one righty, his baseball uniform, and a few unimportant things in his sports bag.

Just like the day before, Anthony scrambled to catch the bus, making to the stop right as the bus pulled up. Along the way, Anthony noticed that there were quite a few wrecks that forced the bus to take an alternate route. They actually had to drive through Times Square to reach the school, half the students sticking their heads out the window to try and be caught in the cameras of some of the early morning news shows. They arrived about ten minutes late, most of the students happy that they could show up late to class and have an excuse to cut the class any shorter. It was during first period that the incident occurred, the end of Anthony's dream and life as he knew it.

Since he usually had no first period class, Anthony usually used it to relax and get some fresh air, especially now, since it was the day of their first baseball game. He had snuck up to the top of the school, finding it as one of the best places to get a deep breath and above most of the noise from the big apple. Just as he arrived on the roof, he heard that blood curdling scream from about 3 floors down, one that would make even the toughest and most hardened man feel a tinge of fear for what caused it. Rushing to the edge, he saw it, something that made him fall backwards from edge of the guard railing and back on to warm cement of the buildings roof. Down below, one of the guards that watched the entrance of school was being attacked by another person, but it was strange, it seemed to be clawing at him, like a junkie would at someone with-holding their drugs.

But something wasn't right, rushing back to the edge, Anthony saw that the person was digging their face into the guard's stomach...like it was trying to eat him. Another guard rushed to fallen friends side, giving the seemingly drugged person a powerful kick to the stomach, sending it flying to the ground a couple of yards away. Kneeling down, the guard pressed his fingers to the other mans neck, or that is at least what it looked like to

Anthony from the height he was at. His head dropped and he moved away from the body quickly, grabbing what looked like a walkie talkie and rushing to the booth that the guards were stationed. As he entered, something strange happened...the fallen guard sat up, looking both ways, as if he was confused. From the distance Anthony was at, he couldn't quite make out the extent of the injuries the guard had sustained, but from the stains around his now rising body, he had lost massive amounts of blood.

Stumbling towards the station, the guard appeared woozy, most likely from blood loss. At about 5 yards from the other station, the second guard rushed out, surprised yet happy that his partner was still alive. As he moved to his injured partners side, the unthinkable, no the unbelievable happened. Just as he was putting his head under the injured friends arm, the injured guard wraps his arms around the unwitting guard's body and takes a huge bite out of his neck. "ARRRGHHHH!!!!" The man screamed, only to have a second bite taken out of him at the leg, the druggie now having snuck up behind him at a crawl and bitten the man in the back of the leg, just below the knee. Falling to the ground, the guard was now being chewed upon by both the druggie and the injured guard, only spazing a few times before going limp.

"Oh...oh...my...go-god." Was all Anthony could say, falling to his side as he began to hurl, nauseous from the gruesome display he had just witnessed. The main courtyard was empty of students, but from inside the school he could hear screams, most likely from those that had seen it through the windows of the classes. It was then that an announcement came over the PA system, one that would send the entire school into a panic. "ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS, WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY SITUATION OUT FRONT OF THE SCHOOL AND WE ARE GOING INTO AN OFFICAL LOCKDOWN STATUS. WE ASK THAT YOU.....BZZZT....WAIT.....WHO ARE YOU....NO....STAY BACK!!!! *SOUND OF BREAKING GLASS* NO!!! GET AWAY!!! HELP ME....AGGGHHHH!!!! *SOUND OF WET CHEWING SOUNDS*" His bag still on, Anthony crawled to the door, his stomach still doing cartwheels from the grisly sight. Little did he know that this was only the beginning the hell he was about to face.

Anthony grabbed the door knob and yanked it open; only to be greeted by what looked like one of the schools teachers. Anthony jumped back, scared shitless by the sudden sight of someone appearing on the other side of the door. "Oh my god... S-Sir!! We have to...*cough*...call the cops, the guards down stairs were attacked and someone is in the school." The man only shuffled forward, giving a slight groan as he made his way up the steps and onto the roof top. Anthony noticed the large tear on the man's right sleeve and what looked like a lot of blood, though it had appeared to have dried by now.

"Sir... are you okay?" There were only a few feet between them, Anthony sliding off baseball bag to lighten the weight on his shoulders. The teacher finally raised his head from its slumped and hung position, revealing something that terrified Anthony even further. His mouth was stained with blood, still wet and glistening on his teeth and lips. "Oh my god…" In an instant, the teacher became almost vicious, his groan turning into a hungry growl, lunging at Anthony who was still in a stat of shock. Luckily, the baseball bag was still in his hands, and instinctively, Anthony raised it to block, or at least hold the deranged teacher at bay. It snapped and bit at Anthony, who was strong enough to keep it held back, its teeth gnashing and trying to sink into Anthony's flesh. That's when Anthony felt it. The feel of warm leather, wrapped around cold, hard alumnium.

The handle of his baseball bat was sticking out of the bottom of the bag. He reached with his left hand , pulling the bat out quickly. "Push and pull then." Anthony thought as he shoved the zombie as hard as he could, sending it reeling backwards with the bag still in its hands. With the bat held up between him and the bloody teacher, Anthony issued the man a warning. "Mr. Monroe… please. Just slowly step backwards and head back down the stairwell, I don't wanna hurt you." The man stumbled forward again, now his hands reaching out, groping for the air for Anthony's warm flesh. He knew he had to stop the man, but wasn't going to kill him, or he didn't plan on it.

Feigning a run to the left, Anthony spun to the man's right, drawing back the bat, then swinging it down, the air being displaced and creating a soft swishing sound. The bat slammed into the teacher's left leg from the side, hitting it at the knee. A sickening crack came from the point struck, the teacher's leg buckling with a now shattered fibula. Anthony took a step back, his face a bit pale, almost disgusted with himself for doing such a thing. But then he heard it, the cracking of bones, the teacher trying to stand himself up on the trashed leg. Mr. Monroe continued to crawl towards Anthony, forgetting the broken bones and showing no sign of feeling any pain. "Stop, please...don't make me do this."

Anthony hit the railing, his middle back no pressed against the wall as it continued towards him, blood dribbling from its mouth, as if it were drool. Now terrified, Anthony did the only think he could think of. Raising the bat above his head, Anthony swung down, the head of his bat aimed at the crawling man's skull. There was a sickening thud as the bat meet with flesh and bone, blood splattering the ground around him and his clothes. Falling back, Anthony hit the low cement guard wall, and rose up to his now seated back. The man wasn't moving anymore. The strike had been hard enough to squash the brain, but Anthony didn't know that it was the only way to put one of "them" down. His knees against his chest, Anthony began to think, his mind racing and trying to figure out what was going on. It was only seconds later that a breathless and sobbing girl was on the other side of the roof top barrier. He recognized he instantly. "M-Marie!? Is that you? Here, gimme your hand." He said to the girl, reaching his hand over to her.