Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy the vampire Slayer or any of it's characters just the ones that I create. This is also rated M for violence and death.

Prologue

Interstate 101 Highway

The Outskirts of Sunnydale

The abandoned highway was littered with burnt out cars and trucks. Each one seemed weathered and aged, letting one know that what happened here happened a while ago. Thankfully in our dimension we missed the apocalypse.

A strong heat wave was being kicked off of the asphalt and through it a small Honda Civic, slowly emerged. As it's driver stopped the car and looked around, she saw the local tv station that was on the edge of town. The lush grass and flowerbed that used to spell out the station name was long since dead. The sprinkler system choked with sand.

Pulling the car into the abandoned parking lot, the pretty blond slowly got out and smelled the air. Mmmm it smells like freshly cut grass and death. She thought to herself as she pulled up her shades and looked to her companion. Dawn's face was caked with sand and dirt and she knew that her own face couldn't have looked any better since they hadn't bathed in nearly two days. "Dawn, stay here." Buffy ordered. "I'll be back in a second after I check this place out for supplies."

"Buffy, I'm not a kid." Dawn whined. "You remember how we were trained. The both of us should sweep this place together."

Giving her little sister a long hard look, for the first time ever Buffy decided not to argue with her. She had to admit that the younger girl was right though. In the world they found themselves in now, especially by themselves, she couldn't afford to treat her like a little girl anymore or they could end up dead. God only knew that she wouldn't be around forever to protect her.

Shaking that last thought out of her mind, Buffy nodded her head. "Come on, let's make this quick." Happily getting out of the car, because she had gotten her way, Dawn nearly ran to the station. Matching her stride, Buffy put her hand on her shoulder and gave her a frown. Only fools rush in.

Staring back at the station, she saw that it was boarded up, and riddled with bullet holes and burn marks. It showed signs of a desperate fight but showed no signs of life. Taking a step forward, Buffy peered through the big opened window and saw nothing but darkness. Using the tip of her gun, she loudly tapped on the glass. After a full minute of waiting and not seeing a walker come up to the window, Buffy headed to the door, Dawn on her heel.

There was little natural light in the building, because the windows were all boarded up in defense against the undead. The station however clearly had it's own generator as there were electric lights working inside. Many of them were smashed however, and the generator was slowly dying, causing the lights to pulse and dim. As a result the interior was alive with shadows that crept and grew.

Going around a corner, they saw a stairwell leading down to a darkened basement. Giving each other a look and then back at the inky darkness that held untold dangers, they both cracked a grin. There was no way in hell they were going down there. Turning they decided to split up and go down opposite halls. Whispering to Dawn to yell out if she found herself in trouble, Buffy disappeared around the corner. If she was going to trust Dawn to be on her own it was now or never. Drawing her weapon of choice, a Colt M1911, she headed deeper into the station.

As her sister walked away from her, Dawn steeled herself and went the opposite direction. She knew how to blow someone or something's muffin cap back and she'd do it if she had too.

Buffy crossed the abandoned news studio and the place was a mess. Posters promoting new up and coming stars, still hung on the walls but were smeared with blood. This wasn't a smart place to be. It was claustrophobic, it was dark and anything could be hiding in here.

Overlooking the studio was a control booth where a director would sit. There were no lights on in the booth, but Buffy sensed a figure up there, watching through the glass. Pulling the slide back on her Colt, she took the stairs leading up to the room.

Walking into the room, a sour smell hit her nose, but she kept moving. Approaching the figure, she saw that it was sitting in a high backed chair, hunched over the control panel. The figure didn't move, but seemed to be muttering to itself. Approaching cautiously, her hand reached for the back of the swivel chair and as she turned it, saw a body, long since dead.

With a look of sadness, she saw a shotgun still gripped between his hands. It seemed that he took the preferred method of ending his own life rather then accepting and fighting through what life was now. The barrel of the gun rested in what remained of his mouth and looking behind him, she saw one of the TV screens playing an endless loop of old news footage. Figuring that that's what she heard when she came in, she stared at the body again and saw it's name tag that read Hank Chimley.

Thinking briefly about her father, since the two men shared the same first name, she picked up a notebook beside the body. It was a journal of some kind. Putting it in her backpack, she went through the mans pocket and pulled out a few spare shotgun cartridges and pocketed them. With one last look at Hank, she took the shotgun and walked out of the room.

Dawn shook with fear as she walked into the room and saw three naked men, with their backs to her, standing in a dark corner. All three of them were tall, bald, and had ghostly white skin. Taking a step back, to get out of there, her foot suddenly hit an empty can.

Hearing the noise, the three things turned around as one, and Dawn stared open mouthed at their faces. What little light there was, glinted off the glass in the room, making it briefly light up and show her more details of what she was seeing. These things lips drew back to reveal crooked, chipped but wickedly sharp teeth. Teeth stained with blood. They had glowing red eyes that bled and their faces seemed to be something demonic, almost like a vampire. But they couldn't be vampires. They had to be something else.

"Ummm... sorry, I disturbed you." Dawn whispered making them hiss at her. Weighing her options there was only one thing that she could do. "Buffy!" she yelled out as she turned and ran for her life, the things in hot pursuit. "Buffy!"

Dawn raced around a corner with the three Night Stalker zombies in close pursuit. She took another corner and then another, but her pursuers were gaining with every turn. She slid under a half fallen bookshelf and out of a door before closing it but the things burst through it like toilet paper.

Dawn was just moments away from being caught as she rounded another corner. As the vampiric zombies followed a split second later, they saw the little girl standing behind her big sister, who had her shotgun drawn.

"Naked zombies." Buffy quipped as she aimed her shotgun higher. "That's new."

With that said she opened fire and the deadly spray of lead tore into the flesh of the undead and as Buffy fired again and again she heard a distant clap of thunder.

A/N I hope you guys are in for some scares and some surprises.