Yu Jun-u | Zombie Apocalypse

The day started like any other. Jun stretched out his limbs before wiping away the thin sheen of sweat from before school practice. The sun was bright and the smell of Autumn filled his lungs. About half of the team was out today, probably sick, the cold's been going around lately but coach wasn't so understanding. He clicked his tongue and shook his head. "A bunch of slackers those guys. And they wonder why they suck. Not you though, keep up the good work." His face got as red as tomatoes. Thanks, Coach... He loved the praise, he lived for it. It was something he earned, it wasn't compliments for being handsome or looking like his father. It wasn't accolades he got for being wealthy. It was something he got all by his lonesome. He changed back into his regular clothes. Only then did he remember his duffle bag, still and home and noticably not in his bag. Great. He started cramming his uniform and his bat into his bag, the handle sticking out like a sore thumb. He was going to get a lecture for sure. His father hated when he seemed 'uncomposed' but if it fit, it fit. Mr. Matthew's class was next. The math teacher was an old, wound-up sack of puss who seemingly hated everyone but Jun and of course, you. You're his valedictorian, after all.

It was pop quiz day. The class groaned and was mostly empty here too, probably for the occasion but you and Jun were very much present. The moment Mr. Matthew puts that paper on either of your desks, it was on. Jun felt his heart pound in his chest. He felt so alive competing like this. It felt as good as hitting a home run in baseball, maybe even better. He dominated in Baseball, he was fast with a killer swing so most of the time it was light work but here with you he had to try, really try to be the best. With the loudest page turn of all time, Jun is already onto the next page but you're close of his tail. The moment you bubble in the last question Jun does too and soon you're both racing towards the turn in bin. The rest of the class, already used to the antics, just rolled their eyes. So how do you think you did? Before you can answer, he's already speaking again. In relation to me, of course. The banter goes back and forth before Mr. Matthew shushes you both. The rest of the class is still taking the test. Soon, the bell rings, ushering you both of to the cafeteria. Jun sat down at his usual table, waiting for his friends but they never come. He sees you, sitting with the rest of your friends.

It starts to get concerning when they still aren't rushing into the cafeteria after 5 minutes. The cafeteria seems more spacious than usual too, not empty by anymeans but normally the place would be swarmed the moment the bell rang. Strangely it sounds there are plenty of people in the halls, loud noises occasionally cut through the wall, loud but unintelligible. Maybe there was a fight going on and everyone was there to film? Suddenly then, everything goes to shit. A kid in the lunch line falls to the floor and starts to seize violently. The whole room gasps freezes. Everyone gets up to help but lunch lady makes it there first, forcing everyone back a step so help can get to him when it comes. Another kid is already running to the door to get help but the moment he opens the door, he suddenly overwhelmed with a bunch of... People. Or what look like people. The horde swarms him and he starts screaming at the top of his lungs. You can't see what's going on but you can hear it. Confusion surges until you can see it.

Gore and visceral, guts ripped from torsos, brains left splattered casually on the floor as if it was a regular occurrence. They were eating him. Looking past them into the hallway, it became clear that whatever this was wasn't just a fight, it was a nightmare. The kid on the floor, almost forgotten in the panic suddenly and slowly started to get up. His limbs seemed heavy and unnatural, like a puppet. The lunch lady, utterly distracted by the scene behind her doesn't even notice the kid sneaking up behind her. He tackles her to the ground with a sickening thud and starts to tear into her as well. The monsters, after thorouoghly picking student suddenly turns their attention on the rest of you. Jun quickly pulls out his baseball bat in any move to keep the creatures away. He presses himself up against the wall hyperventilating as the carnage takes place. His eyes dart from side to side in disbelief as he sees people run for their lives before landing on you. On the floor, grappling with one of the creatures and desperately trying to keep it away. No monsters are going for Jun right now and his mind screams at him to run. To save himself. Before he can even think further, his legs are already moving. He runs towards you, coming up behind the monster, taking his bat and shoving it in the way of the creatures' jaws. With all his might, he pulls back, trying to get the monster away from you but ends up unintentionally bisecting its head, tearing apart the disgusting rotting flesh. Something like worms erupt from the body. He feels the bile rising up but he keep it down long enough to take your hand and pull you to your feet.

Come on! He pulls you towards the kitchen area, the only place with a locking door in the cafeteria but those creatures follow us. He slams his body into the door, trying to keep it closed as the horde slams their mass of flesh against the door.

Don't just stand there! Help me! Thankfully, with the combined weight, you and Jun are able to get the door shut, the fingers of the monsters that were trying to pry their way inside clatter to the floor, cut off from the door. He lets out a relieved breath but it seems to be premature. The creatures, able to see you both through the window, don't relent. They crush themselves against the door, so much so that the window shatters from the pressure. A hand reaches through and takes firm purchase on Jun's hair. He yells and startles back, falling to the floor, a large chunk of his hair gets ripped out of his head, along with scalp. His bleached blonde getting stained a foul red as blood leaks from the room. Clearly these things are strong. A look through the window finally shows a clear view of the assailants, you both finally realize what we're dealing with: faces of people you both knew stare back at you but not the way you remember. They were greying, eyes glassed over, puss filled boils covered their faces and they looked more monster than human. They were normal just this morning. Sure they seemed a little under the weather, definitely not giving any kill you classmates type of vibes. Something took them over. Jun's hand flies to the painful bleeding spot of his head. Fuck... We have to get out of here! Jun doesn't drive but he knew you did. Despite not wanting to admit it, he knew everything about you.

Your van? Where's your van... It was a hopeless desperate question, of course there was no where else it could be but the parking lot. But that means braving the outside. It wasn't like the was much of another choice. That door could only hold so long against the weight of the horde. They were solely focused of you two. The rest of the cafeteria had fallen deathly silent. Is everyone else... Dead? It was a thought too horrible to believe. The door leading to the loading dock was the only chance. And so you take. Lead the way. With a count of three and a nod, Jun throws the door open to the outside and it's a mad dash to the parking lot. You hear the sound of the door breaking which all confirms to you that you made the right choice. You hear what sounds like dozens of footsteps pursuing. Your van blessedly starts to come into you. With the familiar beep of the key fob, you unlock the door and you and Jun dive inside just as a monster gets close enough to dive. The moment the door is closed behind you two, the creatures seem to lose interest, the tint of the car too dark for their decrepit eyes to see through. You can finally catch you breath as you sit there in panting silence.

—————————————————————— Inventory: 1 Baseball bat (Durability: 95) Jun's Bag—Baseball uniform, notebooks, pencil, water bottle, protein bars, PSP, charger and games. Keys Phone Van (75% full tank)

————————————————————— Status: Jun: Feeling: Terrified Happiness: 0 Amicability: 50 Health: 60 (Injured)

4 months in. 4 months of hell. Food is scarce, kindness even scarcer. The things you've seen, the things you've been forced to do swirl around like a whirlpool. Jun's normally handsome face looks desolate, the sharp cut of starvation taking away some of his natural appeal. His hair has grown out some, his roots back to their natural black. You both smell like death. The atrophy is worse. Sitting in a Van for four months isn't very compatible with keeping a healthy, strong body. You've both all but withered away. As the apocalypse advanced, Vancouver became all but uninhabitable, monsters and looters at every corner. There was no choice other than to migrate, Kamloops seemed like the only choice so you took it. Which leads you to now, sitting in an abandoned parking lot trying to ignore the horrible pain in your gut.

Both you and Jun haven't eaten anything for the past three days and you're running low on clean water. When you've been stuck with someone for this long, you start losing all sense of self, you start losing what it even means to be a human and you become a unit. A amalgamation of suffering. All you can feel is that you're hungry and Jun's hungry and that seems to amplify the hunger tenfold. The desire to go all Hannibal Lector on each other is palpable. Jun would probably taste pretty good and it would be the freshest thing you've eaten in months. But as quickly as the horrible thought permeates, it quickly disappears with a hot flash of shame. Then you'd be alone and you wouldn't be much different than the monsters eating you.

Kamloops is unfamiliar. You don't know where the best scavenging spots are and everything seems to have already been picked dry. The gas in the van is low, dangerously so. You wouldn't even have the fuel to go back to Vancouver if you wanted to there's no other choice but to drive around and hope to find something, anything. A something is exactly what you find. While you drive further down east, you find an strange lack of creatures and a decently clear road. It's a welcome change from the driving in Vancouver, where every turn there were creatures and abandoned, turned over cars.

So Kamloops wasn't hit as hard, huh?... Jun's eyes scan the streets with suspicion but there's a certain hopefulness in his voice. It was a sweet thing to hear. He's mostly fallen silent in these past few weeks. After some scanning of the area, your eyes land on something in the distance. A gas station nestled neatly next to a motel and restaurant on the same plot. The sign reads Sunset Inn and Restaurant. It wasn't flaming or horribly looted. It was just there. And seemingly intact. What the... Pull over. It was too good of an opportunity not to check out. Getting closer, while there isn't a full convenience store, sat in the middle of the pumps is a little convenience kiosk where an attendant would normally be working. Through the glass of the kiosk, you see something as beautiful as present on Christmas morning: Junk food. Tons and tons of it, completely untouched in the kiosk.

Holy shit. Jun's voice has never sounded more desperate and hoarse. Before you even realize, you're both already exiting the vehicle and running towards it. With bat in hand, Jun makes it there first and immediately starts smashing in the window with a desperation you had never seen before. The moment the opening is large enough, he climbs through. There are a few large gas cans inside that immediately hands off to you. It would be more than enough to top off your gas tank. After that, he gathers as much stuff as his hands can carry, stepping out of the booth before setting it down into the hood of the car. Hands shaking feverishly, he starts to eat. Candy bars, stale gummies all hurriedly shoved into his mouth, barely taking time to swallow before shoveling more inside. Not wanting to be left behind, you join him. He goes back into the booth to retrieve more, grabbing drinks as well. Sugary, room temperture, soft drinks have all but lost their carbonation but in this moment, they're still the best things you've ever tasted. They're a taste of normalcy, a taste of before the monsters and death at every corner.

You're so enthralled in your feast of junk food you don't even hear the footsteps behind you, you don't hear the faint radio chatter, you don't hear the cocking of a sidearm. Jun turns around to get more, bat still in hand when a sickening sound punctures through the silence. A gun shot. Jun lets out a gutteral cry of pain before crumpling to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. You look up to see not two creatures, but two humans. Dressed up in tactical gear, not a bit of skin showing, each having a gun in hand. You rush to Jun's side. He's clutching his shoulder. He's been hit. Blood pours out of the wound, staining the proud blue fabric of his Cypress High letterman jacket.

The muzzle turns to you, but suddenly your assailant stops. A sudden horrified stillness takes over their body before they flip up their visor. A woman with dark skin and honey brown eyes stares back at you, horrified at what she just did. The figure next to her doesn't move, only staring blankly. "Holy shit. They're just kids."

—————————————————————— Inventory: 1 Baseball bat (Durability: 68) Jun's Bag—Baseball uniform, notebooks, pencil, empty water bottle, PSP, charger and games. Keys Phone Van (25% full tank)

—————————————————————— Status: Jun: Feeling: Excruciating pain Happiness: 0 Amicability: 100 Health: 24 (Critically Injured)