Apocalypse is just a word to shorten, 'There's no way out of it. You're gonna' die.' yet in all those old movies and TV shows, they expect for everything to just go, poof! And there's no more problem. But yes, there's always problems.

Apocalypse. Doomsday. The End As We Know It. They all mean the same thing, and the way people bend the rule is just ludicrous.

But tonight is not the night to worry about that kind of thing, since it's Halloween.

You know, Halloween. The one day of year where girls make an excuse to dress in a single cloth, and call it an outfit. I mean, I'm not disagreeing with it. In fact, the very opposite. That's really the only reason I'd even bother to celebrate it. Especially in college.

"So, did you actually decide to get into the spirit?!" Avery Turner, my cohort of the night, questioned, entering into my humble abode, decked out in his costume for the night. And what was that costume?

"The devil? You dressed as the devil? I'm sorry bro, but that is so cliche, it's suffocating." I commented, giving him a little pat on the shoulder.

"But you see, Ashton, baby. That's where you're wrong." He joked. "I'm dressed as the devil, because girls know they shouldn't be going after me. I'm the bad boy type. Yet, for some reason, my unbelievable Channing Tatum level of sexiness is pulling them back in."

Giving him an exasperated sigh, I closed the door behind him, picking up the remote to turn the TV off. "Okay, chill the fuck out, Magic Mike, wait to get pumped until we get there."

"Where is your costume?" I shrugged, giving him a sheepish smile, causing him to put a hand to his head. "No, Ashton. Ashton, no. Don't do this to me! You didn't? Why? We planned for this all year! You're supposed to be the ship captain, to show the girls that YOU'RE boss!"

"Sorry. I'm just planning on drinking, eating, watching you fail at getting chicks, and keep myself from embarrassment."

"But we planned this. WE PLANNED THIS. I thought you loved me!" He shouted to high heavens, leaning back on the door.

"I don't know what to say, buddy. Why spend forty of my nonexistent dollars getting a used costume, when I could pull the whole, 'Oh yeah, I'm dressing up as this guy names Ashton.' They always laugh at that." I countered, studying his heartbroken face.

"Dude, that stage is over! Nobody laughs at that anymore!"

"Avery." I put my hands on his shoulders. "They always laugh at that." I pulled on my serious face, and he shoved me away.

"Yeah, whatever. By the by, I invited Candace!" He shouted, flopping on my cheap couch, fixing his shoes.
Candace. Avery's sister that just so happened to want to jump my bones. I mean, I would on any day of the week, but she's a bit...

"She's a bit controlling..." I said, shifting my weight from foot to foot. "And by that, I mean she's a bitch."

"Did you just call my sister a bitch?" He asked, obviously offended.

"Um, maybe." I retorted, adjusting my shoulders, a crack from my neck shooting the silence.

"Good, she paid me thirty bucks to invite her." He sighed, reapplying the horns on his head.

"Dude, you're wearing a headband." I broke out into laughter. He shot back up from his seat.

"How else do you expect me to keep my horns up?"

"Not a headband, that's all I'll say." I grinned, checking the time. "Whatever, we should go." Avery only followed behind me as I bounded down the apartment stairs, him jabbering on about how much of a disappointment I was in the name of 'bro', or how he was going to replace me with Alex, that kid in his social sciences class. But knowing Avery Turner, I was irreplaceable. And I was perfectly fine with that, considering the fact that I've always been there for the times he's failed at simple things.

"For some reason, I get the idea you're insulting me in your mind..." Avery accused, folding his arms across his chest, giving me a look, obviously peeved with the smug expression plastering my face.

"Well, don't get mad about it! I'm sure everyone does it." I countered, the air turning still as we entered the lot, ready to head off to wherever Avery's friend's house was.

"Ugh, when exactly are you getting a new car?" Avery whined, shifting his bum in the car's seat, obviously deeming me 'lame'.

"When I actually have money." I snapped. "I don't understand what's wrong with Cherry." My voice turned into a soft coo as my face hit the plush fake leather wheel.

"Have you seen James? He's getting all the chicks with his new BMW." He shot a disapproving look at me. "Just a heads up, the only cherries you'll be popping are the tires on your car."

Now, this would have made me choke on air from laughter on any other day of the week, but when he was insulting my baby like that, I was not cool with it.

Cherry was a beautiful red '97 Dodge Neon, and it sure as hell beat Avery's old pickup, considering the paint was practically non-existent, and all that was left was rust.

"There you go again!" Avery shouted, snapping me from my consistent daze at the empty freeway.

"What?" I shrugged, spinning the knob on the radio, hoping he'd get drowned out.

"You're thinking again!" He groaned, leaning his head back in the seat. "You always zone out into your own world!"

"So do you..." The mumble came rising from my throat, and I said it quickly, finding myself settling on the alternative station.

"Yeah, but I only do it for the hot women in my fantasy."

"I apologize, considering that's the only tail you'll be getting." I retorted, letting a chuckle escape my system, listening as 'The Vaccines' began playing on the staticy radio.

"That was low." Avery pouted, opening his window, sticking his head out, the sudden wind disorientating him a bit. "I'm over it now, though." He sighed, defeated, returning back into his normal seat, tapping his fingers aggressively on the middle consul.

"Can you quit it?" I asked briskly. I was never one to handle incessant noise, like constant sniffling, or fingernail picking, or tapping.

"You're so touchy, Ash." Avery jested, poking my shoulder. "Lighten up! We're almost there!" He regained his excited composure, unbuckling his seat belt when we'd pulled into a heavily crowded neighborhood, cars lining the long and narrow street, deeming it almost impossible to drive down.

"Now, who's party was this exactly?" I leaned forward, peering out the windshield, seeing crowds of people I didn't know piling through the large house, loud beats vibrating the ground. "Because this looks really illegal." I was a bit unsure of this party, since this neighborhood was known for it's senior citizens.

"The old people don't hear a peep, it's cool!" Avery practically read my mind, pointing to the only empty spot on the block. That being done, we exited, and Avery attempted to straighten my hair, spitting on his hands a little. "Now smile big, wave to the ladies, and get laid." He patted the sides of my face. "But most importantly, don't mess with my game."

That being said, he ran forward, greeting those entering the house, those red plastic cups adorned all over the yard.

And so, I was left in my own thoughts. Whenever I was about to enter a party, I always gave myself the same speech. The whole, 'just think for a minute. If you do something stupid, it's all for a reason.'
This speech mainly kept me grounded, and helped me realize that if I made some kind of mistake, I only had an intoxicated mind to blame for that.

And before I went in, I stood still. For the moment, it was just me.
Just me, myself, and-

"Ashton! It's so good to run into you here!"

Candace.

xxx

Now, when the brunette ball of trouble came barreling my way, I had to find a way to escape conversation. But I was one to keep up a nice face and a nice attitude, so I mostly sat quietly on a stained love seat, listening to her talk. To be honest, Avery was a good-looking young man, so that of course meant that his sister was smokin'. But there was that one flaw...

"Ashton, you're not looking at me when I talk to you!" She grinned, a little bit twitchy since I wasn't doing what she said.

"Oh, uh, sorry Candace." This is what I meant by 'controlling'.

"It's okay." She pinched my right cheek. "I can't stay mad at you." The she devil cooed, to which started to piss me off a little, but keeping my eyes firmly planted on her chestal region, I planned for her to get offended and leave, but remember.

Candace Turner loves me.

"Ashton, my eyes are up here."

"Sorry." Candace followed my apology with a loud giggle, brushing her hand with mine, to which I retracted it carefully, placing it in my pocket. But that didn't stop her. Her hand reached out at me, and held onto my shoulder.

"It's fine! I'm just flattered that you enjoy the sight of my assets!"

Now, that was a little weird, but just like all of her other weird comments, I let them slide, and found myself in a daze once more.

The party had a lingering scent of beans, bourbon, grapes, and vomit all in one, and for some reason, putting it all together with my intoxicated mind at 1 in the morning, it all smelled wonderful.

But the night wore on, and Avery had finally managed to find me, and remove Candace from my lower regions, leaving me alone on that love seat, a large plastic bowl on my lap, almost halfway filled with tortilla chips.

"So, Avery tells me you guys are friends." A voice emerged from behind the seat, and I expected the comment to be directed at some guy next to me. But no, nobody else was there.

"Er, yeah." I mumbled, spitting the tortilla chip morsels from my mouth, into a nearby napkin awkwardly. But luckily, she laughed, taking a seat next to me, crossing one smooth leg over the other. "We've been friends since the 7th grade."

"That's sweet." She held out one of her hands. "I'm Libby." I returned her smile, though I was positive it wasn't as pretty as hers.

"Ashton." My response came out rushed, but she only giggled at my awkward tendencies. I wasn't exactly prepared for this kind of contact.

"Nice name." She gave me a sly smile. "I bet your girlfriend likes it." She smirked, her hand trailing to mine. I felt a lump in my throat.

"No girlfriend." I said choppily, most likely due to the fact that I was about to be sporting a partial any minute, just looking at the girl dressed as a raccoon in front of me.

"Hm..." She sounded content, taking a look at me, all the way down to my feet. "So, what's your costume?"
"I'm going as this guy named Ashton. He's pretty cool, I suggest you get to know him better." And just as I'd suspected, she busted into laughter.

A long arm snaked it's way around my shoulder, and I heaved a sigh, as I recognized the arm hair. "Ashton baby, I hope you're not cheating on me..." Avery whined softly, leaning closer to my back.

Libby looked a little dumbstruck, and stood up. "Sorry, I didn't know." She mumbled, slipping away.

"No! I'm not-"

"It's too late." Avery sighed. "She's gone." This earned him a flick of the ear. Holding his hands over his ear, he scooted away. "What was that for?!"

I gave him a displeased look, baffled at how he acted so dumb. "You cock-blocked me! I thought we weren't doing that!" I flicked him once more. "I thought you said there was a specific rule not to do that!"

Avery only waved his stupid finger in my face, making a 'tsk tsk' noise. "But you see, you're all wrong. I said, 'Don't mess with my game'. That means that you can't mess with my catch, but I can surely mess with yours if I fall through."

"How many years would I get if I stabbed you in the throat?" I groaned, resting my head on the outer part of the couch.

"Probably more than ten, why?"

I felt his voice cause a loud ringing in my ear. This usually happened when he was being dumb, and his voice only echoed in obnoxious pangs in my brain. "I've never hated more than I do in this moment."

"Well, that's probably wrong. What about the time at summer camp when I ripped one in front of Jenna Catema and blamed it on you?" He pondered aloud, putting his disapproving finger back onto his chin, acting like he was deep in thought.

"I doubt that. I wasn't planning on getting laid that night, and I was hoping for something tonight, so basically, yes. Right now, I hate you."

He threw one of his hands onto my back, causing some of the liquor currently residing in my mouth to spew in front of me, onto the table, and my lap. "Chill out! Why don't you go and hang out with people! You're just sitting here all alone!" I was dragged to my feet, and his hands ruffled through my brunette hair, obviously making me look more decent than I had only seconds before.

"I wasn't alone." I grumbled, focusing on the white strings of the worn out sweatshirt I dressed in, wiping the food crumbs that had adorned themselves around my banana mouth. "I was with Libby." Avery only brushed me off, making his way back with some other girl who'd complimented his costume.

So I stood in a large crowd, making small conversation with people, letting out a small, 'Nice costume!' or things like that.

"CHUG!" The loud chanting hit my ears like a drum, so I turned to see a guy sitting on a table, a large bottle of Jack Daniels in his greasy palms, the liquid sliding loudly through his system.

After moments of quiet in my brain, I found myself chanting along with them, pounding my fist in the air, now dragged into the drunk crowd.

So I danced, I drank, I kissed random girls, got slapped in the face once or twice, and began wobbling through the house, leaning against a wall in the wide hallway, my brain throbbing. "I need to stop drinking." I groaned. "For good."

A loud grumble awakened my senses, and I looked up, a man walking towards me. He seemed to be dressed as a burn victim or a zombie or something, and since he caught me looking at him, I had to say something so I didn't look creepy. "Uh, nice costume, dude."

The guy just sort of gave me a look, before stopping dead in my face, his breath sickeningly rank. I waved my hand in front of my face. "You really need some breath mints or something. But nice effects." I said, gesturing to the realistic blood on his mouth, and in some splotches around his face.

He sort of sniffed my face before moving away, making his way through the hallway, away from where the front door was, entering the crowd of almost strangers, his expression deadpan and frozen. Though small snarls escaped his lips. Then the thought hit me. He was probably one of those weird people that goes all out when they do their costume, and refuse to go out of character.

A loud staticy noise entered my ears, and I found myself drawn to the bedroom next to the front door, where a radio lay -speakers face down- on a cherry wood desk, to which I flipped over, examining the buttons, changing it to the next channel.

Static...

Static...

"Attention-!"

Static...

Wait!

I turned the station back, and apparently there was some kind of announcement. "-so please stay inside your homes, keep your doors locked, and stay off the roads." The channel went blank after that. Why were all the stations gone? Something seemed to be happening outside the confines of this large, socially filled, house. But what was it? I had no clue.

Until shrieks blared from the next room.

2: Night 1

Now, if someone were to ask me, 'What the hell is going on?', I would be utterly speechless, and there would be no possibility of getting an answer out of me.

But what else was there to say besides, 'Some guy is getting eaten in the middle of the living room, and everybody's trampling each other to get away from the premises'. But that's a bit of a problem when it's not just one guy eating people.

"Avery!" I shouted, cupping my hands around my mouth. No response. No. No no no no no.

Shit.

Where the hell is he? Stumbling through the hallways, I moved past screaming civilians, trying to get to the main living room. For god's sake, I was definitely not leaving without my friend.

"Avery!" I yelled, stopping in a small empty space of the room, as if waiting for him to see me. Things became quiet, and I realized I was the only one in the room. Well, not the only one.

"Blech..." The groan came out as more of a mumble, and I stayed still, the repulsive breath going down my neck. But why wasn't he eating me? And what was 'he' anyways?

I felt myself step forward, turning to look at him.

It was the man from the hallway, and apparently he'd brought friends. Yet for some reason, even though I was the only living meat in this room, I wasn't being focused on.

"H-Hello?" I fumbled with my words, and looked around at the dead eyes of the possible undead. No attention.
Grabbing the nearest weapon I could, I ended up with a soot-covered fireplace poker. and hell, that wasn't too bad.
What seemed to be the leader of their little group stepped forward, and I felt him look straight through my eyes, as if a bit suspicious, but turned quickly to the corner of the room, spotting a whimpering boy, who of course, wouldn't be whimpering for long.

"Eurgh!" This monster growled, leaping forward, both him and his pack ripping the flesh straight from his body, no sense of hesitation as they looked back up at the only host in the room, skin in their teeth.

And it was only at this second had they decided to leap at me. What else was there to do when in panic mode? Stab the poker through it's skull before it ate through mine.

"Oh..." I moaned. "Jesus." I felt my stomach bile rise to my throat, stinging as it spewed onto the ground, and all I could do was throw up as the zombies neared towards me. I had to get out of there.

Cutting off during mid-spew, I stood up shakily, walking away from the cannibals, my legs trembling. But I managed to get out of that house, closing the door tight behind me.

Everyone was outside, whether scrambling to their cars or being eaten alive. But all the same, it seemed that people were eating people, and I was not going to be a part of that.

But Avery? It seemed he was a goner, and as I wiped a stray sweat bead from the side of my head, I ran forward to my car, my keys in a death grip in my clammy palms.

Why did I have so many keys?! They jingled in my hands, which of course drew more attention.

But the key finally turned up, and I opened Cherry in the speed of light, placing myself quickly in the seat.
Turning my rear view mirror, I looked in it, making sure none of those things were in my backseat. I was really gonna' need to think of something to call them...

Studying their mannerisms, I noticed they had limps, and most of them were a pale skin tone, as if almost grey.
Taking this all into account, I decided on just keeping with 'The Wasted'. Hm, sounded like a band name. but it definitely was NOT the time to be thinking up names for a band I was never going to create.

"ASHTON! ASHTON OPEN THE DOOR!" I heard the loud shriek from outside my car, and quickly snapped my head back to the driver side window, starting up my car. Oh thank god.

"Avery!" I called, unlocking the door for him quickly, pulling out of that parking spot swiftly, even before he shut the door to the passenger side. "Dude you're okay!" I was ecstatic that he was alright. But not as much for... what happened to the others.

"Yeah! I was trying to find you!"

"I got held up in the living room." I grumbled, recalling the mangled body of the college boy who had been having the night of his life only less than an hour before hand.

"You got held up?"

"That's what I just said." I grumbled, aggravated with the whole situation. Avery noticed this, and shut his mouth.

"But dude, I'm glad you're okay." I gave him a quick glance, noticing his wide smile, and only briefly did I reach over and hug him tightly, glad my best friend was safe.

"It ain't a party without Avery T." He jested.

"That, it isn't." And it really wasn't. Without Avery along by my side, I'm not sure I would have made it to my car without dying.

xxx

"Ash, do you have any idea where you're going? Or how you're going to get gas? Or how we're going to supply ourselves with food? Food!?" Avery was clearly in panic mode, so questions were being fired non-stop at me as I drove peacefully down the highway. Well, peaceful on the outside, but on the inside, my brain was in turmoil with all the confusing thoughts. Avery was basically the same, but he let his thoughts free.

"Well, all I know, is that we're getting out of town until this clears up." I sighed. "And god knows when that'll be."

"Do you have supplies and money and stuff?"

Giving a groan of grief, I went off the closest exit, pulling over on an empty road, clearing off the middle consul. "Put your money there." I ordered, a bit briskly, Avery complying easily, placing his bills on the surface. "15, 20, 30..." I counted aloud, my voice in a bit of a mumble.

"How much do we have all together?" He tried, eager for our spending total.

Coming to a conclusion, I stuffed the money in my over sized wallet. "We have $140. And this money is to be used for food, drinks, and a motel or something."

"Are the motels even safe?" He asked glumly, leaning back in his seat, as I drove once more.

My grip tightened on the wheel. "Avery, I don't even know what's safe anymore."

That was the last time we spoke during that drive.

The only real supplies we had with us were some old t-shirts of mine, a pair or two of pants, all of which found in an old gym duffel bag, along with a half-eaten granola bars under the seats, but a quick stop for food wouldn't hurt, right?

Wrong.

"It's boarded up. I think it's boarded up for a reason!" Avery latched onto my sleeve, stopping me from ripping the old wood from the convenient store doors.

"Yeah, because there are PEOPLE."

"Or because the zombies are locked in there..." Avery retorted, leaving me to do what I needed to do.

"They aren't zombies." I said angrily, giving him a stern look. "Zombies mean 'apocalypse', and apocalypse means 'we all die'." I put my hands on his shoulders. "And we aren't dying anytime soon."

Things were quiet as my eyes were open wide at his, my lips in a thin line, waiting for his reaction.

He stumbled with his words. "F-Fine." He shrugged. "Then what are we calling them?"

I began tearing boards, Avery helping only after a few seconds. "I've chosen to call them 'the wasted'."

"Lame." He mumbled, a small grin on his face.

"Look who's talking?" I smiled back, ripping the last of the boards off. Who knows when we'll be able to smile on reflex again? "Let's go in." He nodded, sweeping his curly brown hair behind his ears.

"Sometimes I wonder how long it's gonna' take for you to go crazy without your hair gel..." Avery teased, referring to my similar brown hair, except shorter, and gelled.

"Shut up. I look fine without it." I asserted, opening the glass doors. "Now we gotta' be really quiet. The waste could be anywhere." I nodded, the fireplace poker in my right hand. At the party, Avery had managed to grab a metal coat hanger, which didn't do him much good, but in his words, 'it put them at bay while Big T booked it outta' there'.

The place was completely empty. No humans, no waste, just shelves and shelves of food.

"You know, Ash..." Avery began, his voice excited about our new abandoned area. "I think we've just hit the-"
The sound of a gun being loaded alarmed our ears, and shut up, as we heard someone stand behind the coutner.

"Drop the weapons now." The husky male voice demanded, to which we complied easily, our flimsy weapons falling to the floor with a clank.

"We're not them." I reasoned, but he stepped from behind the counter, and we turned to who the voice belonged to. "You have to believe me."

A man, looking about our age, dark skin, green eyes, and a shaved head stood in front of us, holding a pistol in his fingers, pointing on it's side, like people did in the movies. "I don't know what to fucking believe anymore, man." He looked me dead in the eyes, a glare ensuing. "The last time I 'believed', my co-worker got bit." He pointed with his free hand to the back room. "Had to blow his brains out." His voice had a hint of a snarl in it, as he gestured to the bruised and bloody man, lying on the ground in a small supply closet.

"You wouldn't shoot." I glared daggers back. "You don't have the guts." I sure was being a daredevil at the moment.

"I don't have the... guts?" His voice became more threatening, as he readied his index finger on the trigger. "Are you feeling lucky or something?"

"No, not lucky. Just assured." I smirked. By the look on his face, I knew I'd shaken him, and I looked at his gun. "You know, holding your gun like that could lead to a broken wrist, what with the drawback practically bending it in the opposite direction."

"So you expect me to believe a couple of gelled up snobs like you? You expect me to just give up, and welcome you in here with open arms?"

"Well, yeah..." Avery whimpered from behind me.

"Well shit happens, pretty-boy." The man growled, pointing at Avery now. "Marcus ain't so nice anymore."

"Then shoot." I egged him on. Avery elbowed me, trying to get me to shut up.

"What?" Marcus questioned angrily.

"I said, 'shoot'. If you really have the guts, then blow my fucking brains out."

He answered with a smirk, but instead shot the wall behind me. His face contorted with pain as I watched his wrist pull back from the draw back, the bone stretching his skin as it flew back the wrong way.

"Ah-SHIT!" He croaked, falling to his knees, the gun now conveniently placed in front of me. I took hold of it, and Avery grabbed some food for the road.

"Get the money from the register and we'll leave." I ordered, Avery giving me a quick nod, walking behind the counter, raiding the register. While he wasn't paying attention, I squatted down in front of Marcus, the pained man scowling back at me.

"So what, you're gonna' kill me now?" Marcus boomed, to which I only gave a nod.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure what's going on right now, but for now, you'll be accompanying us, considering you'll get eaten in a minute, what with your newly broken wrist." I dragged him back to a standing point by his collar, and Avery and I escorted him out to Cherry.

"Lame ass car if you ask me." Marcus piped up as I unlocked the doors.

"Exactly. Nobody asked you." I sassed back, running into the store to look around for something.

"What're you grabbing?" Avery asked, still frightened of our new found 'friend'. This was answered with my actions as I exited the doors of the convenient store, a long and sturdy chain in my hand. It probably was used for the doors in case of emergencies.

Pretty convenient for a convenient store.

xxx

"So, you're keeping me fucking tied up in here?!" Marcus blurted, gesturing to his two hands being tied together, then tied tightly around one of the grab handles of the backseat.

"Yes, I'm determined to keep it that way." I quipped, my pace on the road even.

"And what if I gotta' take a leak?" He questioned, and I stiffened, realizing the hole in my plan.

"We'll, uh... untie you, then tie you up again, I guess." I shrugged. "Or we won't let you go at all." But I quickly took back that thought, realizing the harm it could do to Cherry.

"So, I'm Avery." My right hand man stated proudly, turning around to shake hands with him. "Oh, it seems your hands are tied right now."

"I will kick your jaw out of place." Marcus threatened, moving his foot in the air.

"Calm down, buddy, I was just joshing you." He laughed.

The car ride was quiet for the most part, until our guest spoke up. "So, where'd you fools come from?"

"We were at a party in St. James." I answered back.

"Are you talking about the one at Owen Holdt's place?" I only nodded at this.

"Maybe, why?"

"I was supposed to be there." He sighed. "Got held up at work, so thank go I never showed. That place must've been a fucking wreck." I gave a scowl, driving a bit faster.

"You know, Marcus, this whole town's a fucking wreck." I assured, the silence wearing on after the awkward silence.

Our temporary guest had fallen asleep at about the time the sun began to peek over the horizon, and only Avery and I sat awake, eyes wide like deer in headlights, sitting quietly. That is, of course, until Avery broke it.

"Ashton, I don't see how making friends with a murderer is going to help our case."

"Avery, he is the farthest thing from a friend right now." I looked back at the sleeping giant. "But you never know. He could benefit us in the long run."

My friend only gave a simple nod, reaching for a granola bar in the bag. "I feel like it's been forever since we've had food." He moaned happily, digging in.

I only shook my head. "Avery, it's only the first night. Just you wait."