Kristoffer turns his pocket knife over in his hands. A whole five days since he'd arrived, and he still feels rather nervous in the judgemental presence of Alexis and Ashton. A knock comes on the door. He quickly shoves the knife under his pillow. Ashton pokes his head around the door.

'Hey, you okay?' He asks, an eyebrow raised.

'Yeah, I'm fine.'

'I wanted to say something,' Ashton sighs in regret, sitting down next to him. His wings are held into his back, 'I'm sorry for being so.. I guess uptight with you. I'm still pissed off at you, sure. But I shouldn't take it out on you.

Kristoffer takes a deep breath out, ignoring the apology, 'I missed you.'

'Really?' Ashton asks. He raises an eyebrow, skeptical of the claim, 'Missed me so bad that you left?'

'I'm still sorry for that you know.'

'Four years, Kristoffer,' Ashton sighed and pinches the bridge of his nose, a weird habit he had been doing since the first day Kristoffer knew him, 'I loved you, but I can't just forgive and forget.'

'Okay.'

*

Alexis rests her head on her hands, a tired look on her face. The vintage clock on her wall reads 7 pm. Ashton was still in his room. She could sense the anger and bad vibes escaping his room like smoke. An ear-piercing alarm begins to play, shocking her away from the screen of her laptop. A message pops up on the screen.

"AMI attack on Greenmoss Avenue: Zombies!"

I should explain why the AMI uses zombies. Surely they're magic. Well, no. Just the dead coming up from their graves, employed with the promise of as much flesh they can eat - a kind of pay.

Alexis's door bangs open. Ashton stands in the doorway, his face a mix of rage, confusion, and preparedness, 'What is it this time?'

'The zombies,' Alexis mutters, scrambling to grab her weapons, among which were a golden dagger and a smoke bomb. Ashton swears under his breath.

'What the hell is going on?' Kristoffer asks as he comes swiftly down the miniature staircase. Alexis rolls her eyes and tuts at him, slamming the laptop lid and taking a large jump over her bed.

'Do you have any weapons?' She yells over the shrill siren shattering their eardrums.

'Yeah, self-defense stuff,' Kristoffer replies with a nod. Alexis points up the stairs in a manner saying, "Go get them".

He returns down the stairs within seconds, holding his pocketknife, 'So, what's going on?'

'We're gonna go fight off some dead people.'

*

The echoes of three sets of gravelly footsteps echo softly off the surrounding buildings. An unnatural, tense, terrified silence envelopes the space, making the deep blue night sky seem like the bottom of the ocean. Keeping squished together in a group, creating a shadow together, the trio skulk close. A strangled, wet gurgling sound comes from an undeterminable place in front of them. Ashton's breath halts, tapping Alexis's hand softly. She nods softly, her hand reaching toward her pocket.

'Keep quiet for your life,' He whispers back to Kristoffer, 'Just watch.'

He holds out his hand, and Alexis places her dagger in his hand. He closes his fingers around the small hilt of the blade. The sounds get closer at a swift pace.

'Go,' Alexis hisses. Ashton sprints forward briskly, extending his wings and soaring into the air. Alexis quickly turns to Kristoffer.

'Can you run?'

'Yes.'

'Can you stab?'

'Obviously, why would I have a pocketknife if I couldn't? I think everybody can!'

'Okay, quit rambling.'

Alexis quickly turns into an enormous mouse, and scampers away, her large halberd strapped to her back. Kristoffer stands frozen, as he sees a zombie coming towards him. Despite working for the AMI, he had never seen one of the ghastly creatures.

An appalling, gangly creature comes limping toward him. One of its arms has no flesh, simply bones covered in dried blood. The teeth in its mouth are sharp and yellowed, and unnaturally large in its mouth. The clothes on its body are ripped, muddy, and have splatters of blood covering them. The skin is green, yet has rips around the jaw, making the teeth visible. Hair was ripped out in patches along its red raw scalp, and a deep gash on its left leg. It lets out a gargled groan of anger and rages further.

'Oh no, this isn't good,' He mutters. His feet feel as if they are stuck to the floor with superglue, unable to move himself from the spot he is in.
He acts on pure courage, swiftly grabbing his pocketknife and flicking it open, rapidly digging the knife into the remaining arm of the beast. The creature howls in agony, blood that looks almost black beginning to seep from the wound. Kristoffer smiles proudly.

Ashton flies above, his eyes roving for something to stab. For him, bloodshed was a satisfying thing when done for good. It might seem like a psychopathic virtue because it mainly was. His fingers tap along the handle of the knife, looking for an unattended group to rampage on.
A large clump creeps up behind Alexis, all with a manner of missing limbs. Alexis seems not to notice, instead throwing a rather broken-looking undead to the floor. She stops to grab her halberd from its shaft on her back, but the creatures grab her and claw at her arms and hands with their yellowed, bloody nails.
Ashton swiftly swoops down, giving a sharp kick in the head to the one closest to Alexis. Its head falls to the floor.
The body remains, toppling into the others like a domino. Alexis pulls it out of the hilt, and chops off the long neck of the floored zombie, struggling to get up.

'Thank Ash!' She beams, her breath heavy. He gives him a high five and steps on the only conscious zombie's throat. Ashton throws his fist with the dagger held in it backward, feeling the foul breath of a zombie on his neck. The hissing and gurgling of the incoming wave of ghastly beasts haunts closer to the two.

'Get ready, Alexis,' Ashton mutters. He moves the dagger out further in his hand, ready to pounce. His eyes open wide, searching for any kind of movement under the dim moonlight.
He spots a huge gang limping up, hands clawing forward toward them. Alexis drops one of her smoke bombs in front of the gaggle, making the group stop and look in confusion. It makes a muffled bang, creating a mushroom cloud of sweet-smelling smoke. The zombies cough and hack as it infiltrates their lungs. Alexis quickly runs at them, her halberd gripped between her two hands. She comes swiftly at them, so speedily that the zombies don't even see what is coming at them. Their second life is over before it is even in their conscience. Ashton shields his eyes and mouth with his wings, the soft, white feathers tickling his face.
Alexis suddenly yelps in pain. He uncovers his face and sees Alexis fighting off a zombie, clawing at her face and neck. Its sharp, yellowed teeth gnash wildly at her, wanting a bite of sweet flesh. Ashton acts on instinct, throwing the dagger like an arrow toward the hungry beast. It stabs almost perfectly into the eye of the zombie, making black blood spill.

Kristoffer struggles to pull himself off of the gravel. The creatures have him surrounded, and his desperate attempts at kicking the legs out from under them fail. He smells the combined breath of all the creatures, thick with dirt, grime, blood, and gum disease. Despite being a top assassin, he wasn't the best in combat. He frantically stabs into the thigh of a lone zombie, but the sheer amount makes his breath and heart quicken. That'd be quite the headline. "Kristoffer Piercebridge, top assassin of the AMI killed by creatures set on the magic". Wow. He'd feel pathetic, even from his grave.

'I need some rescuing over here!' He yells, the breaths he takes catching in his chest. The green creatures draw closer, pinning him in his spot. He holds his breath and closes his eyes. Is this how he dies?

Ashton hears the shout. Alexis pins the now one-eyed zombie to the floor.

'For God's sake,' Ashton huffs, unfurling his wings and boosting himself into the deep blue night. He flies high, seeing Kristoffer surrounded by the green creatures; a dangerous situation. He swoops down and scoops Kristoffer in his arms.

Kristoffer's breath slows down, a feeling of relative calm as he hears the beating of wings close to his face. He looks to Ashton's face, blood splattered and pale from shock. His hair blows in the wind like an unruly, unattended fire. His light blue eyes search for safety, the cool wind whipping around their faces. Kristoffer can't help but feel a hot rush cover his cheeks.

'Get in less dangerous situations, or fight better. I'm not always available,' Ashton sighs in a humorous tone, the tiniest smile at the corners of his mouth. He looks to Kristoffer, not noticing the pink flush on his cheeks. Kristoffer nods, understanding the words said, 'Okay, I'm going to drop you back down,' Ashton says, his eyes focused on a small spot next to the crowd of creatures, 'And you're going to properly fight this time, right?'

'Yes, I will. No more rescues,' Kristoffer mutters in embarrassment. The duo share a tender look before Ashton begins to fly low. He grabs Kristoffer's hands, swinging him down so his feet just skim the concrete. Kristoffer lets his feet fall flat against the floor, smartly flicking out his knife.
The group of zombies, still in confusion, hear the gravelly scrape of Kristoffer's shoes. He looks into the sky momentarily to see pearlescent white wings connected to a skinny, blood-stained body. Kristoffer looks back to the zombies, limping and howling in rage. He acts quickly, kicking one to the floor and stabbing another in the stomach. The beasts begin to recede into the night, hissing and howling as blood spurts from their multiple areas of injury.
The final one disappears into the dark, crawling along the floor with a trail of blood behind it. Kristoffer sighs in relief as the final dead breath rattles in the chest of the creature, the second life swiftly ending. Alexis looks over, giving a final zombie on her side a quick kick across the chest, making it fall to the floor.

'Solid fight, Kristoffer,' She pants, a wide smile across her face. She quickly stomps on the head of the creature, making blood splatter her smart trousers. Ashton stumbles over, a long scratch across his left cheek. He wipes the blood away from around the cut, which simply makes it bleed worse.

'I'll be fine, it won't turn me into one,'Ashton humours, his fingers covered in deep red blood, 'I'll patch it up athome