Day 1 – The Beginning

Part 2

        Kahi whacked the drooling man over the head with the nearest object she could find; a frying pan. While the man seemed to be down and out, she grabbed hold of Nana's slim wrist and pulled her out of the restaurant at which she worked. Nana was speaking incoherently behind her, walking as fast as she could to keep up with Kahi.

        Kahi's dark eyes glanced around the streets as she looked for the best route to take. The slow moving, almost inhuman things that were moving along the streets had taken notice of the two living girls. Kahi slipped into an alley and started up a fire escape. Nana watched Kahi climb up the metal rungs, unsure of whether or not to follow the older woman.

        “Kahi-”

        “Nana, just climb up here, before they catch up.”

        Nana nodded, her loose curls bouncing around her shoulders. She climbed up after the older woman, carefully placing her feet on the rungs as she stepped up the ladder. Kahi helped her over the top and then straightened out the younger girls outfit.

        “What now?” Nana asked, looking down at the zombified people that were converging in the alleyway. Kahi's eyes took in the scene below as well, fear building up in her. She would never let it show. She had to remain strong so that Nana would be more willing to keep her fear at bay.

        Kahi had been taking care of the girl since she had gotten into work. Things had been normal before the sun came up. It was strange. The change in the city seemed to happen so suddenly. It was really a mystery how it all came about.

        She wondered when the people had changed. What had caused it. And how long it would last.

        There didn't seem to be any cause for the change in the people. If it was airborne, then how come not everyone was effected? Kahi had been observing the going's on from the window of the restaurant. She had watched, horrified, as the 'changed ones' bit and devoured the living. She had planned on hiding out in the restaurant, since it seemed safe enough. But it seemed that with enough determination, the changed ones could break through the glass. They didn't care about becoming wounded.

        It hadn't been safe to stay there.

        “Kahi,” Nana said impatiently, bringing the woman out of her thoughts. Kahi slowly shook her head.

        “Let's just keep going up and hope they can't figure out how to climb up the ladder.” Kahi made it sound like a joke, but it wasn't funny. Not in the least.

        Nana forced a laugh anyways.

        Kahi took a deep breath when they reached the top of the building. She leaned over the edge slightly to stare down at the mess in the streets below. People were trapped in their cars and the Changed would pound on the windows, trying to get in. She could only imagine how frightened everyone must be, trapped in their cars with nowhere to go. Traffic was bad as well. It was hardly moving. Kahi guessed it was because a few zombies had managed to get into the vehicles or something.

        She had a feeling that those stuck in their cars were doomed.

         “Kahi,” Nana said. The older woman turned her dark eyes on Nana. “What do we do now?”

        Tablo groaned and rubbed at his tired eyes. He had spent the entire night awake, watching pointless movies and drinking. He regretted it though as his bleary sight took in the sunlight that was coming in brightly through his curtain-less windows. He cursed the sun. He cursed alcohol. He cursed bad movies.

        He heard a sound at the door. It sounded like scratching. Tablo's eyes closed as he listened to the sound, wondering who and the hell was ing up his door. He pushed himself to his feet and headed towards the front door. He pulled it open, ready to give the individual a piece of his mind, when he came face to face with a blood covered man with white eyes. In surprise, Tablo took a step back and slammed his door shut.

        “What the !” he shouted. He backed away from the door and blinked a few times, trying to figure out what he had just seen. He ran a hand through his hair and stumbled into the small kitchen. “Coffee... I just need some coffee. My brain can't function properly and now I'm seeing .”

        The sound of something hitting against a window made Tablo heave a sigh. He shook his head and told himself he was imagining things, though the knocking seemed to become more persistent the longer he ignored it.

        “Coffee,” he sang to himself repeatedly. When he finally couldn't take the sound anymore, he headed towards his bedroom, where he suspected the noise to be coming from. He pulled back the sheet that was used as a make-shift curtain.

        Staring back at him were two girls. He sighed and hung his head. He opened the window for them and watched as they climbed into his bedroom.

        “Do you want any coffee?” he asked them as he headed out of the room.

        “Do you know what's going on out there?” Kahi asked. She removed the rubber band from around her wrist and pulled her long, dark hair up into a ponytail.

        Tablo shook his head as he silently wondered what Kahi and Nana were doing outside his window. How hard was it to use a front door? Besides, he would have much rather seen their pretty faces than that of the slobbering, bloody man. Who was still scratching on the door.

        Tablo decided it was best to just ignore it. The thing freaked him out and he was too tired to deal with it.

        “Shouldn't you be at the restaurant?” he asked, watching as the coffee dripped into the pot.

        “There aren't any customers,” Nana replied. “Everyone's... not normal.”

        “Not normal? What? Are there more of those people?” Tablo pointed towards the door. Kahi and Nana exchanged a confused glance before heading towards the front door and taking turns looking through the peep hole.

         “Yes, there are more of those people,” Kahi replied.

        “Wonderful. What's up with them? Why is that guy all bloody?” Tablo wasn't really interested. He was more interested in when he was going to be able to lay down and go to bed. If Kahi and Nana were telling the truth, and more people were like the guy outside his door, he didn't think that he would have to go into work. “And take your shoes off,” he added as an after thought.

        With a groan, Kahi started to remove her shoes, Nana followed her example. “I'm not sure what's going on, but I hit a guy over the head with a frying pan and we've been running from those monsters all day, My feet hurt and I'm hungry.”

        “Then find something to eat,” Tablo said, pointing towards the cabinets that he knew were mostly barren. He rarely shopped, mostly opting to eat at the restaurant that Kahi and Nana worked at and that he happened to own. “You hit a guy with a frying pan, what was that like?”

        “It was just... a blur,” Kahi replied, pulling open one of the cabinets. Her lips pulled down in a frown when she saw that there was nothing inside. “Really, do you only ever eat at the restaurant? Why don't you have any food?” She looked over at Tablo who was pouring himself a cup of coffee, a pleasant smile on his face. He loved coffee.

        “Why would I buy food? All I need is coffee, if I want to eat I can just go down to the restaurant,” Tablo said. “Now, what are we supposed to do?”

        “About what?”

        Tablo sipped at his coffee, burning his tongue slightly. He didn't care though. “About those creepy things? We obviously can't stay here.” He waved towards his empty cabinets. They wouldn't be able to survive for long in his apartment.

        Kahi leaned against the counter and tilted her head in thought. Nana retreated to the door, curious as to why the noise from the other side had stopped. The apartment was quiet until a gasp escaped Nana and she hurried back to her companions.

        “There are more of them out there now. They're just wandering the halls,” Nana said, her voice a whisper.

        “Well, damn,” Tablo sighed. “I wanted to leave by the front door. Looks like we'll be traversing by fire escape.”

        Nana and Kahi exchanged tired looking glances. They had quickly become sick of fire escapes but from what they could tell, the 'creepy things' couldn't figure out how to work the ladder. They hadn't been followed to the rooftop before.

        “Let me just grab a few things.”

End Day 1 -- NEXT: Day 3