Chapter 1: Ragnarök Descends

 

Jung Hoseok had been doodling on his class worksheet when it started, a low, strange noise in the distance. It sounded odd to him, not exactly a buzz, but nothing he could seem to place, though a strange familiarity nagged at the back of his mind. Slowly grew louder, the noise seemed to be approaching his classroom. Screams began to sound outside and his friend, whom had been sleeping at his own desk, jerked awake, falling out of his chair.

 

Kids were scrambling to the classroom windows to investigate the increasing shrieks. Wails of terror reached the school itself as Hoseok rose from his seat to investigate. Racing to the classroom door, the weird noise became all to clear. Gruesome reality was that the sound was the result of dozens of low moans blending together, originating from the hoard of people invading the campus. Stomach clenching at the sight, instinct told him that these individuals hadn't looked quite... normal…

 

Comprehension for their current situation finally reached him in that moment, all of the pieces to this grotesque puzzle falling into place. Years of horror movie marathons with his friends had ingrained this sight into his memory. Pale, festering skin, the blood on their hands and faces… Bathed in crimson, the path of destruction left in their wake could only be his unfortunate classmates. Fear began to grip him at the very real situation.

 

"! Yoongi get the up! We need to get out of here!" Running back to Yoongi, Hoseok tugged at his arm, trying to fight back his growing dread.

 

"What's even going on?" Irritation was predominant in Yoongi’s voice, not bothering to mask his unhappiness at his nap being interrupted. Screeching and groaning were getting closer and Hoseok had to do something, had to get his tired friend to move. Grabbing Yoongi's arm roughly, he pulled him out of his chair and to the classroom door, hissing one word.

 

"Zombies…”

 

 

Min Yoongi watched the undead approaching in absolute horror. Turning to Hoseok for support, he found that his friend was already gone. Frantically looking around, he was momentarily worried that Hoseok had abandoned him to die without so much as warning or a goodbye.

 

"Yoongi, you better move your !" Shouting as he came back from the desks, Hoseok held a cellphone in his hand. "I texted the others. Get to the roof." With a nod, Yoongi followed Hoseok out of the classroom, relieved not to have to face this alone.

 

As the hoard was closed in, Yoongi could smell the stench of rotting flesh and fresh blood. Daring only one look behind him, they ran in the opposite direction, heading for the staircase. This was like a nightmare, he was still sleeping because there was no way all of this could be real. Yoongi would wake up any moment now, he just had to, because this couldn't be true.

 

"Hoseok!" A voice echoed from the top of the staircase and his friend made a noise of excitement as Taehyung, Hoseok's boyfriend, leaned over the railing. Even Yoongi was happy to see him safe and sound thought that excitement was short lived as the zombies were closing in. Unaccounted for were still four others from their group.

 

"Where are the others?!" Someone called out and Yoongi glanced down the opposite end of the hall see Seokjin and Namjoon join them.

 

"They're already on their way up! Hurry!" Taehyung and Hoseok were already headed up the stairs and the undead were less than a classroom away. Waiting for Namjoon to send Seokjin up after the other two, he caught the other man’s arm, a plan forming in his mind.

"Namjoon." Nodding at the trophy case against the wall, his friend seemed to understand his idea and they both started pushing it. If they could to get it to fall, they could block the staircase from the hallway and buy them sufficient time..

 

 

Jeon Jungkook stood at the edge of the roof, looking down at the mass of bodies invading the school. Dropping his backpack to the turf below, he watched as the monsters ripped it apart, making noises of disappointment when they realized they weren't tearing into flesh. Grimacing, he shook his head at the surreal scene below him.

 

"Disgusting..." Whispering to himself, Jungkook turned to face the boy pacing the roof top behind him. He could hear a muffled thud somewhere deep inside the school, something big being taken down.

 

"WHERE ARE THEY!? THEY SHOULD BE HERE BY NOW!" Jungkook's part time stalker, full time best friend, secret crush, Jimin was close to a nervous breakdown. Unable to blame the other man for his hysteria, Jungkook silently admitted that the situation was unbelievable at best.

 

"They're coming. I know they are. Just hold on. Have faith in our friends." Sounding confident for Jimin’s sake, Jungkook was getting worried.

 

"We're here!" Loudly shouting, Hoseok, along with Taehyung and Seokjin burst through the roof top door, breathing heavy, eyes wild with fear.

 

"Where are Namjoon and Yoongi?" Jimin's voice was higher than usual, strained from terror.

"I... I thought they were right behind us..." Seokjin looked horrified, turning to try to run back down. And Jungkook couldn't blame him for rushing back toward danger. Namjoon and Seokjin had been dating for over a year and it was probably soul crushing to realize he hadn't followed after him. Glancing at Jimin, he wasn't sure how he'd have felt, waiting up here for the person he loved...

 

 

Kim Seokjin ran back through the door to the roof, his heart pounding. Horror made his hands shake and worry made his stomach churn. Despite all this, he wasn't leaving Namjoon or Yoongi behind. Bravery wasn’t he strongest feature but he’d do whatever he had to for the people he cared about.

 

"What are you doing?!" Concerned, Hoseok had been calling after him but he ignored it, though the thought of upsetting that soft man left him feeling guilty. Apologies would be made later but his priorities were Namjoon and Yoongi's safety.

 

"Seokjin!" Familiar, the voice brought a sigh of relief to him as Namjoon grabbed his hand and started leading him back onto the roof, Yoongi following close behind. Slamming the door shut, he used a belt to tie the handle tightly to a nearby pole.

 

"What took you guys so long!?" Half screeching, Jimin’s delirium caused Jungkook to hug the shaking boy tightly in an attempt to sooth him.

 

"I had Namjoon help me shove the trophy case down to block the hallway and give us more time." Shrugging, Yoongi explained the loud sound he had heard before reaching the roof earlier. Unsure if he wanted to kiss Namjoon or punch him for being so reckless, Seokjin caved and did the first option.

 

"It was a close call too. I could see the popped blood vessels in their cloudy eyes and smell the stink of their breath. Lucky for Yoongi and I, the display case came down and is too high for those shuffling bastards to easily crawl over." Seemingly unphased by facing potential death, Namjoon chuckled as Yoongi let out a shrill laugh, clearly more bothered by the encounter. Hissing in anger at Namjoon’s reaction, Seokjin punched his boyfriend in the shoulder.

 

Park Jimin hadn't believed the text from Hoseok at first. Skipping his morning classes to follow Jungkook around, when that fateful text came in he had been waiting outside the gym while Jungkook and Taehyung. At first he rolled his eyes at his friend's terrible sense of humor but then the sounds of screaming finally reached him.

 

Jetting inside, he had yelled Hoseok's message out to his friends. The class looked at him like he had lost his mind but the two he was most concerned for moved forward, spurred by the urgency in his voice. Heading immediately toward the roof, they were lucky enough to avoid any of the corpse assailants.

 

"How're we getting down from here?" Questioning, Namjoon’s words brought Jimin back to the moment.

 

"There's a tree on the parking lot side we can climb down." Informing them of their best escape route, Jungkook nodded toward the tree. Creeping toward the edge of the roof, Jimin peeked over. Knees feeling weak as he peered down at the swarm of half rotted creatures still spilling into the school.

 

"But they're down there..." Pointing down at a cluster of bodies feasting on something he preferred not to recognize, Jimin was queasy. Reluctant to get off the roof, he was dreading losing the only shred of safety he currently had.

 

"I have a plan." Confident, Hoseok took the lead, gesturing across the parking lot to the school van used for club events. "I'm going to hotwire that. If we climb down quietly enough we can get in the van without being noticed and I can have it started before they reach us." Unsure about this, he still supposed it was better than waiting on the roof to die.

 

 

Kim Namjoon gathered up some loose pipes from the roof, mildly wondering why they were up there. Maybe the janitors would have had some explaining to do if he wasn't 97% sure their intestines were soaking in their mop buckets at the moment... Not so much out of amusement as just to try to hold together his sanity, he let out a dark chuckle.

 

"Here." Tossing the bars into the plush grass below the tree, he sighed in relief when the clanging metal failed to alert the zombies. "Now we have weapons. Just in case." His friends gave him a grim look before Hoseok led the way onto the tree, climbing down first to help the rest with their descent, Namjoon bringing up the rear to keep an eye out for danger.

 

Sneaking through the parking lot toward the shiny blue and gold school van, Namjoon kept Seokjin close to his side. Gaze darting at every small noise, they made their way as quickly and silently as they could between the cars. Lucky for them, they reached the van without incident, though Namjoon was mildly disappointed that he hadn't had an opportunity to bash a zombie's skull in.

 

 

Kim Taehyung made an excited noise when they reached the van undetected, finding the doors unlocked, the keys waiting in the ignition. Unfortunately for them, the loud yelp of happiness he had released alerted the undead that hadn't entered the school of their location. All those clouded eyes turned toward them, noses sniffing at the air. Sick, slack jawed grins spreading across their putrid faces.

 

". . . Everyone in! Now!” Demanding, Hoseok urged them before they could be consumed with panic. They quickly followed directions as doors were slammed and locked behind them. Shuffling, the hoard was slowly moving in their direction, crossing the short distance a lot faster than Taehyung was comfortable with.

 

"Start the van!" Hollering from the very back of the vehicle, Yoongi was sat beside Jimin and Jungkook. Holding a shaking Seokjin to him, Namjoon and his boyfriend were in the seat in front of them. Realizing he had scored the front passenger seat, Taehyung was thankful to be so close to his love. If he was going to die, at least he'd be able to touch Hoseok one last time.

 

"I'm trying!" Growling, Hoseok turned the key, the engine making a whining noise. "! It's out of gas!"

 

"I've got this." Scrambling to the back of the van, Namjoon pulled out the gas can, fortunately kept full just in case. Looking scared to death, Seokjin quivered as Namjoon got out of the van to fill up the tank.

 

"Hurry up!" Watching in horror as the leading members of the rotting swarm reached the front of the car in front of them, Taehyun gripped the dashboard hard enough to make his fingers ache. Panic was a palpable thing inside the van, Jimin and Yoongi were screaming, Jin was whimpering.

 

"Done!" Diving back in the van, Namjoon tossed the gas can into the back as Jungkook reached out to slam the van door, locking it as the first set of blood coated hands pounded against Taehyung's window, causing him to jump and let out a whimper.

 

"Hoseok..." Nervously whimpering, Taehyung moved away from the window as more zombies surrounded the van.

 

"I'm working on it, baby..." Turning the key again, Hoseok chewed his bottom lip as the engine let out another complaint before roaring to life. "Hold onto your , boys. 's about to get real." Placing the van in reverse, Hoseok stomping on the gas as he skillfully navigated out of their parking space, putting it in gear again before speeding out of the parking lot, away from the carnage and into the unknown destruction that was once their home town.