You bite down on the tip of your pen, the soft click of the ballpoint against the paper echoing in the quiet room. Your eyes drift back and forth across the English text, struggling to focus, the words becoming a blur as your mind begins to wander. The soft rustling of the curtains catches your attention, the breeze gently flowing through the open window, carrying the scent of fresh grass and something faintly metallic. Outside, cars speed past, their engines humming with the usual urban rhythm, while birds chirp in the distance, a strange contrast to the growing tension building in your chest.

Then, suddenly, a loud, unnatural screech shatters the calm, piercing the air like nails scraping across metal. You freeze, heart thumping, unsure whether it's just your imagination or something more. But then there's a low, wet gurgling noise, and that sends a shiver down your spine.

Your homework is forgotten in an instant, shoved aside as your curiosity pushes you to your feet. You move quickly to the window, your pulse quickening, as you peer outside. The street below is filled with people, but something is wrong. One figure stands out, limping and dragging their foot with an unsettling stiffness. Their skin — pale and sickly — clings to their bones in patches, as if it’s rotting away from their body. Dark streaks run down their arms, almost like old bruises or worse… like decay.

They let out a low, rasping cough, and the gurgling sound comes again, much louder this time. Your eyes widen in shock as the person stumbles forward with an unsettling, jerky motion, eyes wide and glazed. They lock onto another figure further down the street, and in a horrifying burst of speed, they launch themselves at the unsuspecting individual, teeth bared, arms flailing. There’s a sickening thud as they collide, followed by a series of wet, frenzied noises.

Adrenaline surges through your body, and before you know it, you’re grabbing your phone off the desk. Hands shaking, you dial the first number that comes to mind — Katsuki. The phone rings once, twice, three times before it picks up, his familiar voice gruff on the other end. “Yeah?”

“Look outside,” you almost gasp, barely able to keep the panic from your voice. “You have to look outside right now. Something — something’s wrong.”

There's a brief silence before he mutters something you can’t make out, followed by a sharp, “What the fuck?” The sound of a window sliding open on his end tells you he’s doing exactly what you told him to do. The silence stretches between you, and in the distance, the first screams echo through the air, adding another layer of dread to the already suffocating atmosphere. Katsuki curses again. “Holy shit,” he breathes.

Your mind reels, your grip on the phone tightening. The world you knew — so normal, so predictable — had just shattered in a single instant. You don’t need him to say the words aloud. You both know what’s happening.

Zombie apocalypse.