'What the hell is the point of it all?' thought Rasine to herself as she glanced out the window of her classroom. She sighed a heavy sigh as her teacher continued to rant about whatever lesson he was teaching. Rasine didn't care. This useless knowledge was only being used to clog up her brain so there would be no more room left for anything really important… Like how to perform an exorcism in case someone becomes possessed by some sort of demon. Now that is useful information!

"Rasine…" said the teacher in a stern tone as he stops his ranting to interrupt Rasine from her daydreaming.

Rasine glanced over at the teacher with a blank look on her face as if to say 'what the hell do you want?'

"Would you like to rejoin the class? That is if you are done gawking out the window," said the teacher as he tapped his pointer finger on the chalk board behind him.

"You know, I would love to," starts Rasine as she turned in her chair to look at the teacher head on. "But since you teach nothing of any true value, I think I'd rather not."

"You better watch your mouth, young lady, unless you wish to be sent to the office," strictly warned the teacher as he narrowed his eyes on her. Many students knew this gesture as him meaning that he meant business.

Rasine smirked slightly as she got up from her chair by the window. Gasps and silent chattering began to fill corners of the room.

"Say no more, sir. I'd be happy to leave this hell hole," she curtsied to the teacher, thanking him for freeing her.

Rasine could hear an angry snarl in his throat as she walked past him and out the door.

"I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU AND YOUR SMART MOUTH! DON'T YOU DARE COME BACK TO THIS CLASSROOM!" yelled the teacher out the door as Rasine continues down the hall.

"My Pleasure!" Rasine waved over her head as she turned towards the Principal's office.

As Rasine stepped into the office, she waved at the secretary at the front desk. She looked up at Rasine as she hung up the phone, her glasses perched close to the tip of her nose.

"Hey, Ms. K. How are things going?" Rasine asked as she leaned up on the front desk.

"Rasine, did you get sent here by your teacher, or are you just visiting me while you skip?" asked Ms. K. with a half smile on her face as she continued to look up at her from behind her desk.

"My teacher disagreed with my thoughts of his teaching methods again," Rasine grinned with a slight chuckle to her statement.

"Rasine," Ms. K. sighed deeply as she shook her head slightly. "You can't continue to act like this. Your teacher will have you kicked out permanently before the third week of this semester is over."

"Yeah…speaking of that," Rasine spoke again as she turned away, still leaning on the desk. "Could you set me up with a meeting with my councilor? Sooner rather than later?"

"Rasine, don't tell me…" Ms. K. started, but the look on Rasine's face when she looked back over her shoulder said it all. "Your teacher already kicked you out then? Let me see what I can do…"

Rasine turned back around and watched Ms. K. type something up on her computer. Ms. K. then got up from her desk to collect the printed papers when she was done.

"Here you go, Rasine. I managed to place you in with a teacher that should be able to handle your attitude. The councilors would have been useless for you," said Ms. K. as she handed the freshly printed papers over the desk to Rasine.

"Thanks, Ms. K. I knew I could rely on you," Rasine smiled as she took her paper to a seat to look it over, as well as to wait for the principle to call her in.

'I may not be in a class with my friends anymore, but at least I don't have to listen to that mad man that calls himself a teacher' thought Rasine as she slid down in her chair.

Her glance got taken away from her paper as a boy with shaggy, black hair came into the office.

"Well, I didn't expect to see you here again so soon," said Ms. K as she looked up from her desk again. "Didn't we just register you in as a new student this morning?"

"Yeah, my first day and I'm already making a bad name for myself. I guess my teacher just doesn't like my ideas of how the class should be taught," slightly laughed the boy as he leaned over the desk.

'A new boy?' thought Rasine as she stared at the boy still talking to Ms. K. 'What the hell is a new kid doing here? Out of all places in Brighton, he chose here?'

Rasine quickly glanced back down at her paper again when the boy turned from the desk and sat in the seat right next to her. The boy glanced over at her every now and then for at least five minutes before he even spoke.

"So… what's a girl like you doing in a place like the office?" asked the boy with a smirk.

"Well, that depends on what you mean by 'a girl like me'," responded Rasine as she looked over at him.

"Well, I wouldn't expect to see very many girls in the principal's office. Truthfully, I didn't think it was even possible for a girl to get detention," stated the boy as he turned in his seat and leaned closer towards her.

"Then you must be from way out of town," said Rasine as she pushed her hand against his face to keep him at a safe distance. "I've been here at least 7 times in these past three weeks."

"Really?" the boy gasped in an over dramatic manner, pretending to be surprised. "You truly are as much of a 'rebel' as my new friends say."

"Rebel?" questioned Rasine. "What the hell does that mean? It's not like I beat up people that look at me the wrong way, I just think that what they teach here is pointless."

"Well, I guess we all have our rights to think what we believe," stated the boy. "And I'm sure that there are much more important things to learn about. I mean, who needs math when you have basic survival skills, right?"

'Who the hell is this guy? He sounds like a masculine version of me, and it's kinda creeping me out…'

"Rasine," called Ms. K from the desk. "Mr. Pigman will be seeing you now."

'Thank God!' thought Rasine as she got up from her chair and headed towards the office.

"Excuse me, Rasine was it?" called the boy from behind her.

Rasine was too scared to look behind herself to see what he wanted.

"Since I'm new here, I was wondering if you would have me the pleasure of being my first date out to dinner this evening?" he asked, him trying to sound as kind as his voice would allow it.

The boy heard Rasine laugh slightly to herself.

"I'm sorry, that was insensitive. But if you know so much about me, then you should know that I would never go on a date with a guy like you," Rasine smiled as she turned and went into the office, hearing the boy slightly chuckle behind her.

"Rasine, take a seat…" said Mr. Pigman, the principal, as Rasine closed the door and stepped closer into his office. "Why are you here, Rasine? Haven't you learned your lesson already?"

"I refuse to listen to that bitter old man that you claim to be a teacher explain right for wrong," Rasine stated as she slide down into her seat.

"Rasine, Rasine, Rasine…" sighed Mr. Pigman as he got up from his chair. "When will you ever learn? You should be thinking about your future. Give up on your pointless fantasies and come back to reality."

"Or what?" Rasine asked, instantly questioning why her mind would allow her to say something like that right afterwards.

"OR, I'll have to expel you," grinned the principal. "If you're not willing to learn what this school has to offer, I'm sure someone else would gladly take your place. And I'm also sure that your poor mother wouldn't want that, with her condition and all..."

Rasine sat in silence. How could this bastard even say such a thing when so much is on the line? With her father dead, and her mother drinking her way into complete madness each and every night…

"So, what do you say, Rasine? Going to change your ways?" Mr. Pigman asked as he went to his seat again.

"…Yeah…" Rasine groaned as she folded her arms and turned her gaze away from her principal.

"Good girl," Mr. Pigman smiled. "You may go now."

'What a perverted, creepy asshole! Who the hell does he think he is, bringing my family into this!? Whatever. Things will get better now that I've switched classes' thought Rasine as she slammed the door to the office. As she looked up, she noticed Gracie and Darcy, her two closest friends, standing at the the entrance of the office with an expression of worry on their faces.

"What happened?" asked Darcy as she ran up to Rasine, dragging Gracie close behind.

"Oh, nothing. I just got moved into a different class, that's all," said Rasine as if it was no big deal.

"But, that means we won't be in the same class," Darcy stated, almost sounding as if she was forcing herself not to cry.

"Aww, Darcy, its ok. It's not like we're gonna die or anything, we'll just be in different classes during the day."

Gracie came up between the two and lightly smacked Rasine on the forehead.

"Way to go, stupid. Look at what you got us into now," she stated as she shook her head.

"Ouch, meanie. I have feelings you know," Rasine joked with a smile. "Besides, it's like I said to Darcy, we're not going to die because of this."

"You're still an idiot," smiled Gracie as she looked up at Rasine.

"I know, and you love me for it," Rasine laughed as she put her arms around her two best friends and started to head out of the office.

Rasine spotted the boy that sat next to her earlier was still there, looking at her as she left…Creepy…

2: Chapter 2: The New Guy

The boy continued to watch the girls as they continued down the hall. A smile appeared on his face as they laughed at some weird joke.

"Yo, Slate!" called one of two guys that ran towards the other guy sitting in the office. "Slate, what the hell are you doing here?"

"What does it look like? Getting into trouble on my first day, trying to make myself known for who I am," said the boy sitting in the seat.

"I'll never understand you," says the same boy from before. "What do you think you're really gonna gain from this, besides getting on the bad side of every teacher in the school?!"

"Whoa, calm down, Todd. It's not like I'm going to murder someone, I'm just having a little fun on my first day," Slate grinned, him being the boy in the chair, as he spreads his legs out in front of himself.

"By getting detention?" asked the other boy that came with Todd down the hallway.

"Not exactly, but you can meet some pretty interesting people in the office. Riven, you remember the girl you and Todd told me about this morning, right?"

"Rasine?" questions Riven as he cocks his head to one side.

"Yes… Rasine…" Slate sighed happily as he slumped even more into his chair.

"Whoa, wait! You met Rasine? She actually spoke to you?" asked Todd as he sat down in a seat beside Slate.

"Indeed she did," Slate smiled, feeling like a god.

You see, to all the guys in this school, they see Rasine as some sort of strange goddess that only talks to her closest friends, and possibly the men she likes. Many guys try to talk to her, but she just shuts them down. So when she does talk to a guy, they start to treat him like a saint, believing that he is 'worthy'.

"So, what is she like?" asked Riven.

"Well, she is definitely not like many of the other girls in this school. She may seem shy and innocent, but she is mean in her own little way," stated Slate.

"'Mean'? Mean how?" asked Todd, interested in learning more.

"Well, I tried to be 'smooth', but she shut me down by saying she would NEVER date me," Slate exclaimed.

"OH, this reminds me of another story I heard about this sort of situation. A guy asked her out and she said the same thing, but when she said it, she had a smile on her face. The next day, they were dating," Todd said with great excitement.

"Really? What happened next?" Slate asked, this peaking his interest.

"The boy disappeared two weeks later and no one has seen him since… but that's not important," said Todd, trying to switch back over to the good side of the story again.

"The main thing is that you may have a chance with her and everyone around you will be jealous, thus, you making a name for yourself," added Riven.

"Perfect," Slate smiled as he got up from his chair and started to head down the hall.

"Wait, Slate! Don't you have to wait for the principal to speak to you!?" called Todd down the hall after him.

"I'll have to call a rain check on that one, good buddy. Maybe some other time," Slate waved behind himself as he continued down the hall and out the front door.

3: Chapter 3: This World Has Really Gone To The Dogs

"Alright, Rasine, don't do anything stupid when you get inside, like tell your mother about your detention!" called Gracie as she and Darcy start to walk down the street, leaving Rasine at the end of her driveway.

"Thanks, Gracie. You always have to be a smart ass, don't you?" laughed Rasine as she waveed at them.

"Bye, Rasine, see you tomorrow!" smiled Darcy as both they turned a corner and were gone from Rasine's sight.

Rasine sighed as she made her way up the driveway and through the front door to her old, ratty looking house.

"Where the hell have you been!?" yelled Rasine's mom with a bottle of Scotch in her hand.

"I've been at school, Mom…" Rasine sighed as she put her bag down on the couch and trudged her way towards the kitchen.

"You didn't get attacked did you? YOU BETTER NOT BE LYING TO ME!" her mother continued to yell as she started to follow her daughter around the house.

"I'm fine, Mom," Rasine sighed again.

"How was school today, sweetie?" asked Rasine's Mom, going from crazy bitch to sweet, kind lady in the blink of an eye.

"Ok, I suppose…"

"Have any homework?"

"No…"

"Could you make dinner for us tonight? I've got the biggest headache you wouldn't believe."

"Mom, you've been home all this month and all you do is either sleep or drink. It would be nice if you actually made a meal for once."

'…Stupid, stupid mistake…'

"Excuse me?" Rasine's mom asked as she went into temper mode again. "Who the hell do you think you are to boss me around like this!? My life is fucking terrible enough as it is without you and your lazy ass being useless around here!"

"Well, maybe if you stopped drinking and actually got a fucking job, you could actually do something!" Rasine yelled back.

"I've had it! Go to your room before I beat you, young lady!" Rasine's Mom threatened as she pointed her finger towards the hallway to Rasine's room.

Rasine stormed down the hall and slammed the door shut behind her.

"And do your fucking homework!"

"I DON'T HAVE ANY!"

Rasine slid her desk in front of the door so no one could get in or out through that way. She threw herself onto her bed and began to breath deeply into her pillow. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you…" Rasine continued to repeat between each breathe.

Rasine deals with this kind of thing at home a lot. But she is probably better off than most. Some parents beat their children while her's just yells and threatens. The alcohol doesn't help things though…

Rasine laid in silence for a couple of moments before she heard voices outside her window. She quickly sprang up to see who it was. It unfortunately turned out to be the boy from the office and his two friends.

"That's the place, right here," she heard one of them say as they came closer and closer down the street.

'Wait, what if they're coming here to see my house? No, that's just paranoia. Why would they come here of all places?'

In the middle of her self-argument, she saw them look up at her in the window. She quickly ducked down with her eyes only slightly popped up so that she could continue to look.

'Oh shit, they did come here for me!' thought Rasine as she felt the room get increasingly warm.

"Ah, Rasine!" called the same guy that she met in the school office earlier. "The boys told me that I could find you here."

"Quit stalking me!" Rasine yelled back as she sat underneath her window frame.

"You truly think I came to stalk you? Please, get over yourself. I just came to tell you that we are going to be seeing a lot of each other this year," the boy called back.

"I'm scared to ask… what do you mean?" asked Rasine as she popped her head up.

"Well, I found out while we were talking in the office that you just transferred into my class," stated the boy as he and his friends started their way past her house. "See you tomorrow," he said, blowing a kiss towards her house.

'NO!' Rasine screamed inside her head as she found herself lying on her floor. 'I can't handle all of this crap. I don't know what would be worse: my old, boring teacher, or my new stalker?'

Rasine sighed as she pulled herself off the floor and into her bed once more. There is nothing she could do about it now, she would just have to wait and see what tomorrow would bring…

The next morning, Rasine sprang up from her bed and went to her window. She glared up at the sky outside, it glowing a bright red.

'… strange…'

But she turned away and started to head into the kitchen, thinking nothing more of it.

Her mother wasn't passed out on the kitchen floor like she had expected. Oh well, she must have either gone to bed or left the house for the night. Nothing she could do about it now. Best to just have breakfast and leave for probably the worst day of this week so far.

Just before she left out the door, she stuck her pocket knife in her boot like she usually did. Best to be safe, right?

Many people were walking along the sidewalks, cars zooming by on their way to work. Things seemed pretty normal.

Rasine pushed a crosswalk button at an intersection and waited for the light's to give her the right to continue on her way. She stood in her own silence, nothing really on her mind as she swung back and forth on her feet. She looked around at all the people walking by, minding their own business as they continued on their way.

Rasine's silence turned into a slight panic as an elderly man came running out of an alley way, him slinging his arms as if some sort of caveman. The man ran up to a woman nearby, grabbed her arm and threw her to the ground.

"Someone, help me!" she shrieked as the crazy man jumped on top of her and started to gnaw at her face. Everyone in the area that heard the woman's screams looked over at the scene and started to run away. Rasine stood completely still as the cannibal stood up from the body.

It looked around in a rush.

The cave man figure glared over at Rasine, blood dripping from his mouth, as she slowly started to reach down for the knife in her boot. She stopped, completely motionless as the creature started to creep her way. She began to step back, her heart racing, as the beast's head started to twitch. Rasine quickly grabbed her blade from her boot, leaving a small scar on her leg, and bolted in the opposite direction as the monster started to lunge after her.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she ran for her life down a back alley, but no matter how hard she tried to lose the damn thing is still followed until she was cornered in a caged, back alley, basketball court. She turned around to find out that the creature had already started to circle around her. She was trapped.

4: Chapter 4: What Do We Do Now?

The creature hissed as it continued to circle around Rasine. She held out her blade in front of her, her hands trembling in fear. Rasine closed her eyes and turned her head away, screaming, as the monster lunged towards her. She felt the contact of the heavy body against her blade. A loud screech quickly died into silence. Rasine slowly opened her eyes and looked at the dead man at the end of her blade. She could feel her stomach start to churn as she stepped back and let the body fall and bleed on the ground. She couldn't believe that she actually killed someone… something...

"Excuse me, little girl…" she heard a scary, male voice as a hand gripped onto her shoulder from behind. "You're a far way from home."

Rasine quickly turned to see that the man was some sort of predator, praying on the weak. He smirked as Rasine continued to quiver. His gaze went away from her face, down her body, and then to the bleeding body behind her.

"W-what the hell is going on here?" he asked, a small amount of panic in his voice as he spotted the bloody knife in her hand.

Rasine looked down at her blade and then back up at the scary man. In panic, she quickly rose the blade above her head, threatening to attack.

"You better fuck off!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" the man yelled in panic as he fell over backwards onto the ground. "What the hell are you doing!?"

"You leave me no choice…" murmured Rasine. "I'm sorry…" Just as she went to stab the man, her wrist was grabbed by a figure standing behind her. Her eyes opened in shock, the man on the ground had the same expression.

"Tsk, tsk…" sighed a calm voice coming from behind her. "Is this really necessary? I suggest you get out of here before things get out of hand."

The man on the ground quickly nodded as he scrambled to his feet and ran down the alley and out of sight.

The figure behind Rasine took her by the hand, and turned her around so that they would face each other. Before her stood Slate, smirking. Rasine's shocked face turned into disgust as she pulled her hand out of his grasp. She frumpased as she folded her arms over her chest.

"Oh, don't look at me like that," he said, patting Rasine on the top of her head. "I couldn't just stand by and allow that creep to have his way with you."

"I had things under control," protested Rasine as she went to walk away, but Slate stepped around in front of her.

"Oh yeah, killing him was the best thing you could have done," he smirked. "You should know better."

"Whatever," she responded irritably as she pushed Slate to the side.

"Where are you going now?" he asked as he started to follow her.

"Well, I won't be surprised if there are more of these cannibals around, so I need to find my friends to make sure their alright," she responded.

"Wait, you have friends?" was the only thing that came out of Slate's mouth.

Rasine stopped in her tracks and sent a glare over her shoulder at him. He could feel a burn from her stare that made him regret his words. He backed up a step, and looked down at his feet.

"Yes, I do have friends…" she sneered. "And I would die if I heard that they were in danger," Rasine continued out of the alley and out into the middle of the street. There was no more traffic anywhere in site. Slate quickly ran out of the alley and came up beside her.

"Well, I should come with you," he urged.

"Don't you have any friends that need saving right now? I don't need you," said Rasine coldly as she shrugged him away.

"Ow, of course I do, but I think that you need me more than they do," said Slate, not leaving her side no matter how much she pushed him away. "Besides, there is a huge chance that my friends are with yours."

Rasine had already gotten tired of arguing. No matter how much she pushed this weirdo away, he kept bouncing back. He wasn't worth the time.

The two of them continued down the street in silence until they reached the local park. A high pitched scream was heard near the playground. Someone was being attacked. Rasine and Slate rush over to the scene to see two girls run towards the center building of the park.

"Gracie! Darcy!" Rasine called as she ran after them, Slate following close behind.

"Wait, Slate!" two masculine voices called from behind them. Slate stopped and turned around to see who it was, while Rasine ran off and out of sight. The two boys came closer and stop at Slate's feet. It was Todd and Riven.

"W…was that Rasine?" Todd asked as he tried to catch his breathe. "What is she doing with you?"

"That's not important; the real question is why you two are here? I was certain that you two would be at school," said Slate slightly confused.

"We were there," started Riven as he straightened himself out, and stretches his back. "That is until zombies came out of the school's office and everyone started to get attacked."

"Zombies?" asked Slate. "What the hell is going on here?"

Their attention was taken away from their conversation as screams were heard from the building that Rasine had ran into to catch up to Gracie and Darcy.

"Rasine!" yelled Slate as he ran towards the building, Todd and Riven trying their hardest to keep up.

"Fuck off, you creep!" they heard Rasine yell, along with a high pitched shriek of whatever creature that was in there getting stabbed. The three guys turned around a corner in a hallway to find Rasine protecting her friends, trapped in a corner.

Darcy was on the verge of tears, while Gracie just sat in the corner with her usual blank expression when something was going wrong.

Surrounding them was a crowd of at least ten zombies, all of them wearing the uniform of the facility.

"Die, you bastard!" Rasine yelled as she crushed the skull of one of the zombies crawling along the floor with her boot.

The three guys stood in slight fascination as Rasine flicks her hair out of her face. She noticed there expressions and signalled over to them in a way that said 'what the hell are you doing?! HELP!'

Slate instantly noticed her expression and quickly looked around for something to be use as a weapon. How handy that he managed to find a fire axe in one of those 'in case of an emergency, break glass' cases on the wall.

"Hey, fuckers!" yelled Slate, getting the attention of the few remaining zombies. "Come get some," he smirked, gripping onto the fire axe; prepared to fight.

The zombies moaned and groaned as they trudge over towards him. Todd and Riven slightly stepped back, wishing they had something they could use.

Slate's smirk never vanished as he started to hack and slash his way through the six remaining zombies.

Rasine looked over in amazement as blood continued to fly. Darcy was clinging onto her shoulder, while Gracie peered out from her corner.

Slate slung the axe over his shoulder as the last zombie fell to the cold floor. He looked over to spot Rasine's amazement, her cheeks burning a light pink.

Rasine looked up to notice Slate's smirk was facing her and quickly turned away, with a humph that said 'what are you looking at'.

"Thanks for helping, I guess," she murmured in slight irritation.

"My pleasure," Slate faked a light bow as if to royalty. Rasine was not amused by this action.

"A-are they gone?" asked Darcy, her little voice quivering in fear.

"Yes, we're safe for now," smiled Rasine as she looked over at her terrified friend as she let go of her shoulder.

"Where are we going to go now?" asked Gracie as she stood up from her spot on the floor.

Rasine held her hand up to her chin to think. She started to pace back and forth in front of her friends.

"Well, where do people usually go to hide from zombies in the movies?" asked Darcy, her trying to help Rasine think.

"The mall!" Rasine stated loudly as she pointed her finger at Darcy. "There is always food, water and supplies at the mall."

"Then we should go there," said Gracie.

"Oh, but first we should find a gun store. We'll need all the ammo we can get," added on Rasine, her getting excited.

"Well, we're coming with you," Slate butted in as he came up beside Rasine and put his arm around her shoulder.

"Wait, we are?" asked Todd.

"Yes, we are," confirmed Slate with a nod. "These ladies will need us."

"WE can handle ourselves just fine without you deadweights holding us down," stated Rasine as she shrugged his arm off.

"Oh yes, you handled yourself so well today that I had to save your life twice," he grinned, looking down at Rasine.

Rasine turned her head away, dissatisfied with Slate's attitude.

"Rasine, who are these boys?" asked Darcy in a curious tone.

"They are boys from the other class in our grade," answered Gracie, her examining the three from afar. "Slate, Todd, and Riven…"

Todd and Riven stood there shocked at the fact that she knew their names though they had never met.

Rasine sighed as she rolled her eyes, and looked back up at Slate. "You better be of some use, or I'll get rid of you myself."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," he grinned as he turned to the side to allow Rasine to lead the way out.

Rasine gave a low, heavy sigh as she walked past Slate, glared up at Todd and Riven, who were amazed that Rasine was actually working with them, and led them out of the building.

Rasine led the others up and out of the park and down Main Street. As the group continued on their way, screams echoing from all corners of town. Slate came up beside Rasine and leaned in towards her to speak.

"Do you know where you're going?" he asked blankly.

"Of course," she sighed. "Conveniently, there is a gun shop on my route to school, so I know exactly where I'm going."

"Hmm, really?" he asked quietly as he leaned away and continues to walk at Rasine's side. "How convenient…" Slate backed up to stand between Todd and Riven again.

"I can't believe it!" Todd muttered. "I can't believe that were actually with Rasine. She even has cute friends!"

"Don't wet your panties, Todd," Slate sighed as he turned his head to his fan boy of a friend. "She won't talk to you if she hears you freaking out like this."

Todd lowered his head slightly, trying to regain what little pride he had left.

"Do you truly think that we can trust her?" Riven asked, him not leaving his forward gaze and with his hands in his pockets. "What if she's not kidding and she does kill us for being useless?"

"Calm down, my friend," Slate smiled, putting his arm over Riven's shoulder. "She won't kill us, because we won't be useless. Besides, I can tell that she likes me."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Todd chuckled. "She totally hates you."

"You obviously didn't see her expression when I was killing all those zombies back there," Slate turned his head over to Todd, him still having one arm around the back of Riven's neck. "She was practically drooling over my awesomeness."

"Alright, you keep telling yourself that," smirked Todd, rolling his eyes as he turned his gaze forward again.

Slate looked over at Todd with a smirk and lightly pushed him with his free arm.

"Oh, you want to fight, do you?" Todd giggled slightly.

"Yeah, I do, actually," Slate slightly chuckled back at him.

Todd laughed as he lunged at Slate, him almost falling over onto Riven. They continued to goof off as the three girls continued to walk down the street, Riven unexpectedly getting involved.

"Hey, dumbasses!"

The three boys look forward to see the three girls glaring at them.

"We're here…" Rasine said as she kicked in the no longer locked door to the gun shop.

Slate straightened himself out as he led the two other boys right behind him.

Rasine glowed with some excitment as they entered in to see many different types of guns and ammo lining the walls of the tiny store.

Gracie seemed to grin as she quickly ran over to a rack lined with Bren Machine Guns. Whenever the three girls hung out and played 'Left for Dead 2' together, this was the type of gun that she prefered.

Riven went up to Gracie's side to take a look.

"Do you think you can handle that big of a gun?" he asked with a slight tone of what seemed to be worry.

"How weak do you think I am?" Gracie asked back bitterly, as she handed him the gun in her hand and reached out for the newer model.

Riven sighed lightly as he turned his gaze over to the others.

"Umm, Rasine..." muttered Darcy as she came up to her friend's side as she slung a 50 cal Sniper Rifle over her shoulder. "I don't really know much about guns, so I was wondering which one you think would be best?..."

Rasine grinned at her friend before she looked around the store.

"Well, you don't want anything to big or heavy, especially for a first time thing...hmm..." Rasine started as she walked up to a glass case at the front desk. She kicked it with great force that made the caseing shatter. "Here you go," Rasine said as she handed Darcy a tiny Taurus m617.

Darcy looked at it with amazment as she turned around to aim it at something.

"WHOA, hold on there," Todd jumped as the gun got pointed directly at his face. "I'm on your side!"

Dacry quickly aimed her gun down, her face burning red.

"I-I'm sorry..." she stuttered. "I didn't mean to..."

"It's ok," Todd giggled as he put his arm around her shoulder once he knew it was safe. "Let's just not make a habit of it."

Slate came up to Rasine as he turned his gaze from Todd and Darcy to her.

Rasine didn't pay any attention to him as she looked down the scope of Franchi SPAS-12. Slate tapped her shoulder to make her turn around for a moment.

"How is it that you know so much about this kind of stuff?" he asked with slight amazement as he watched the others looking about the store.

"Videogames, mostly. But my father used to take me hunting when I was a kid," stated Rasine as she watched Todd try and teach Darcy how to hold her tiny gun.

Slate nodded as he turned his gaze from the others once more back to Rasine, her also slinging another gun over her shoulder.

Rasine glanced over at him, Slate turning away when he knew she was looking.

"So... what are you waiting for?" Rasine asked as she started to load up her weapons with ammo.

Slate looked at her, confused and a bit red in the face. "Waiting for?"

"Yeah, are you gonna grab a gun, or not?" asked Rasine as she grabbed a SWAT Mini K from the shelf beside her and tossed it towards Slate.

He fumbled it around before he managed to securely catch it. He looked up at Rasine, eyes wide, her still loading up her weapons. He then turned to Riven who had decided to go with dual pistols, and Todd grinned maniacly as he picked up a Reminton M870 Pump Shotgun. He was realizing that 'wow, this is actually happening. We need all this stuff just to safely walk the streets.'

"Everybody ready?" Rasine called out to them, all of them nodding in responce except for Darcy as she ran up to her side.

"R-Rasine, I'm s-scared to go out again..."

Rasine faintly smiled as he held her friend close.

"It's going to be okay. We all have each other."

Darcy lightly sniffed as she backed up and readied her small gun in her hand.

"Let's move out!" cheered Slate as he kicked down the back alley exit and everyone began to file their way out, Riven holding the back.

5: Chapter 5: Not QUITE As We Planned Out...

"I-I don't like this! Not one bit!"

"Darcy, you need to be quiet or else they will find us..."

"But they have Gracie and Slate, Rasine! They are OUT THERE, SOMEWHERE!"

Rasine clasped her hands over her friend's mouth, causing them to shift in the small closet that they found themselves hiding in.

Riven looked at them with a blank expression. "I'm sure they are fine. Todd... he is one that I'm worried about. He doesn't handle being split up from our little group for very long.."

"He's a big boy," Rasine stated, still holding Darcy's mouth shut. "I'm sure he is just as okay as the others."

"I can only hope... When do you suppose this horde will subside?" Riven asked as the three now look through the small, vent-like cracks through the closet doors, watching as zombies began to trudge their way through the house to the backyard.

"Soon, I-I hope.." Darcy muttered, Rasine finally allowing her to talk.

"As do I.."

"We better get ready to get back on the move once they are gone. We can't afford to get stuck here again. Load up and get ready for anything," stated Rasine as she began to reload her only usable weapons.

Riven nods as he does the same and then helps Darcy with her small pistol.

"This is going to be bloody..." Darcy whimpered weakly.

"You're going the wrong way..."

"Gracie, please, I know what I'm doing. I have been know for my great sense of direction," Slate argues as he stops at another intersection to get his bearings on where they were.

"You have hardly lived here for very long, so how on earth could you know the direction the mall is in from here?" Gracie asked with a raised brow and her gun held firmly in her grasp.

"A man just knows, my dear," Slate started again as they made a left turn and continued to run down the road.

Gracie rolled her eyes as she followed after him.

"If we take too long to get there then they may think that we are dead. They can't wait for us forever."

"My Rasine wouldn't leave me, I mean US, behind," Slate chuckled with a smirk, not looking back at Gracie as they stopped at another stop sign to see which way they should go next.

Slate face went straight when he heard Gracie scoff behind him.

"You make me sick, you know that? Rasine would never find appeal in a narcissistic prick like you," she stated in a rude manner as she purposely pushed past him to now lead the way.

Slate laughed loud and in a obnoxious manner. "And what? She has told you this? You may be her best friend but her little 'fanboys' back at school seem to know more about her than you do."

Gracie froze in her tracks, clenching tightly onto her weapon. "You have no idea..."

Slate tilted his head slightly as he watched Gracie tense up. He made his way in front of her and looked down, her not looking up to face him.

"I know your type..."

"My type, huh?"

"You're a scumbag, a player... a user... Well, I won't let you hurt Rasine. You're the last thing that she needs."

This time, Slate frowned down at her. Gracie looked up at him, her hair partially in her eyes.

"Do you honestly think that? I love how you jump to conclusions like that.. What made you think that I'm a player? Is it because I'm flirtatious, or happy? Maybe because of the way I dress? Gracie.. is it because I'm a boy? Cause if so.."

"Shut up..."

"Pardon?"

"I said, SHUT UP! I don't care, I can just tell one when I see one, there is no question about it. Now you stay away from Rasine or you will have to deal with me!" Gracie began to try and push through Slate once again, but got stopped by him gripping hard on her shoulder.

"Gracie..."

She didn't answer him. The sound of her trying to hold back tears made him lift her chin.

"I won't hurt her... You have my word," he faintly smiled down at her.

Maybe it was the soft look he gave her or the way his words flowed that made her believe what he said, but she couldn't help but smile back.

"Thank you, Slate. It means a lot..."

"Now, let's get going to the mall," Slate said happily, changing the mood of the whole situation.

"Alright, but I'M leading," Gracie replied back to him as she started to run ahead in the proper direction of the mall, Slate chuckling as he followed behind.

"Please be unlocked. Please be unlocked. Please, oh, please be unlocked," Todd tried to speak between each breath as he ran up to another door along the outside of the mall. He shook on the door handles to find them all locked like all the others he had come across so far.

"Fuck, fuck, FUCK!" he cried out, kicked the door and then leaned against it, sliding down to sit on the ground. "I only barely got away from that last horde and this is our only hope in the FUCKING WORLD!"

Todd sighed heavily as he wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. He looked up into the dark, red sky to see a light shining through from the other side.

"Please... If there is anyone up there... anyone at all. Please, oh, please... GIVE ME A SIGN!"

A long pause drew out before Todd curled his knees up into his chest and rested his head down on them.

"Figures..." he muttered aloud to himself.

Not a moment later, a bark was heard around the building.

Todd looked up and about at the sound, not certain on if he was hearing things or not.

The bark echoed around the building more loudly this time, causing Todd to get up onto his feet and turn to where it was coming from. Coming around the corner came a border collie, panting as he sat at Todd's feet.

Todd looked at him for a moment, tilting his head at the dog questionably only for the dog to make the same motion back at him.

He chuckled before crouching down and allowing the dog to smell his hand before putting it.

"Where did you come from, huh?" he asked playfully as the dog rolled over onto his back to allow Todd to rub his tummy. "You're a long way from home, aren't you?"

The dog barked in response as it stood up again and looked up at Todd happily.

"What is it?"

The dog barked as it began to walk back around the corner, peaking back around to look at Todd again.

"So you want me to follow you, huh?" Todd asked with a faint smirk.

The dog barked once more before disappearing behind the corner again.

Todd faintly chuckled as he began to follow the dog around the building.

He shook his head at the whole situation.

"God, I must be completely insane to think this dog is my sign..." he muttered as he continued to walk behind the dog.

The dog finally came up to a door and began to scratch at it.

Todd looked at the dog with an unamused face.

"Stupid... I've already tried that door and it's locked, just like the rest of them..." he sighed as he looked down at the dog that looked up at him.

The dog stayed silent before going around yet another corner alone, leaving Todd behind.

Todd stood there and listened to the dog pushing through rubbage around the back and came trotting back with a large set of keys on a giant ring held in it's mouth.

A big grin came across Todd's face as he crouched down to greet the dog back with loving scratches before taking the keys from it.

"What a good boy you are," he chuckled happily as he began to flip through the keys before finding the perfect fit for the door. Todd looked down at the dog one last time before opening the door and allowing it to walk in first.

"I believe this is the beginning of a BEAUTIFUL friendship." he smiled before following in after it, closing the door behind him and locking it so no one was to enter until his friends arrived.