San slowly went about getting ready for school in his apartment, eating breakfast and packing his bags. He's never been too enthusiastic with education, not really getting the best grades which always annoyed his parents but he didn't really care. All he needed to do was pass, it didn't matter how amazing his grades were. It wasn't like in the future people will be asking about his marks and how well he did, they will only care that he passed. Going to his school had long become a chore but he found ways to make it better.

He and his group of friends often liked getting up to mischief as it made time pass quicker and be a bit more bearable. Today they had a very fun idea that may involve pick-pocketing, a key and an out of bounds rooftop.

He got changed into his uniform, tucking his white shirt into his black slacks before grabbing his tie and wrapping it around his neck, tying it up quickly. He glanced at himself in the mirror before frowning and grabbing the bottom of his shirt. He tugged some of it so it was half untucked, letting out a breath. It felt weird and looked so dopey to have it tucked in but it was school rules so he'd managed to find a compromise that would usually keep him out of trouble. Once his uniform was on, he put some gel into his hair and gave it a natural but slicked back style. He then packed his lunch into his bag before zipping it up and throwing it over his shoulder. He slipped his shoes on and tied them up before leaving the apartment and shutting the door, locking it behind himself. He yawned and stretched out his back, giggling as he heard it crack and pop slightly. He double checked the door before he sighed to himself and walked down the hall, heading to the elevator to go down to the first floor to leave the building.

When the doors opened, he went inside, startling slightly as someone sprinted inside the elevator after him. The man crashed into the wall before he spun around to face the closing door, leaving San startled. The man pressed the button for the first floor rapidly, panting harshly as it finally begun to move. San frowned and huddled himself into the corner uncomfortably as the man started to pace back and forth by the door. He stuck close to the wall to give the guy some space. He seemed like he was late for something and San knew better than to interrupt and engage with someone who is late. Lord knows those people can get snippy and rude and he certainly could not be bothered dealing with that.

As soon as the doors opened, the man sprinted out, vanishing within seconds around a corner. San rolled his eyes at the clearly disorganised man and walked out of the elevator into the lobby. His eyes went wide in confusion as he watched tons of people sprinting through the lobby, heading for the front door. Was everybody suddenly late for something? He went to step back to keep out of the way, not willing to risk possibly getting himself hurt from the erratic people, but someone ran into him from behind and he was jolted forwards. He stumbled slightly but regained his footing and quickly moved over to stand by a pillar.

His eyes flicked back and forth quickly, watching people run and scream in panic. Why was everyone so panicked? What was happening? He clutched his bag strap closer to his body, nibbling his bottom lip nervously. He needed answers so he quickly reached out and grabbed a passing persons wrist, stopping them in their tracks. They tried to rip their arm away but San held strong.

"What's going on? Why is everyone so hysterical," he asked quickly. The girl's eyes were wide and shaky, visibly panicked.

"Run," she whispered. San frowned and went to reply however he was cut off by an inhuman screech, followed by even louder human screams. The girl whimpered and ripped her arm away, sprinting off while San remained rooted to the spot. He turned his head to look down the other end of the lobby where all the noise had come from, scanning quickly to try and figure out what was going on as he still had no answer. The lady had seemed terrified and that screech was unlike anything he had ever heard before. Why did she say to run? Nothing seemed out of the ordinary apart from the amount of people screaming and running towards the exit. That was until he saw it.

There was a sudden outburst of five, things, coming from the hallway. The only word he could think of to describe the creature was, well, things. They looked like people but they were covered in blood, had black veins running down their body and were running very weirdly. He watched as one ran forwards and latched onto someone passing by. It's head tilted back, a screech leaving it's mouth before it swung it's head down and bit down onto the persons neck. San's blood went cold, a gasp escaping his lips as he continued to watch those things jump on top of people, biting them and ripping into their skin, screeching all the while. He was frozen on the spot, not knowing what to do until another body collided with his, knocking him off balance and onto the ground.

He finally snapped out of it and jumped up, turning around and running towards the exit of the building. He pushed through the crowd of people and out of the door, onto the street. Even outside, people were yelling, screaming and running. There was a sudden explosion down the street, the flames shooting up metres into the air and San jolted, watching as a building begun to burn, the flames engulfing it. Holy shit. San's eyes widened and he felt his breathing pick up. What the hell was going on?

He heard more screeches and he looked further down the street to see more things with blood all over them, stumbling around and attacking people. They were jumping on them and biting them, ripping chunks of their flesh off. It was disgusting and terrifying. San quickly spun around the other way and started to run down the street, away from everything that was going on. He dodged between people on the sidewalk, running as fast as he could. He needed to get to his parents house. He would get there and they would explain to him what was going on, they would protect him.

As he was running, he heard more screeching, this time from up ahead. He yelped and stumbled back as someone suddenly ran in from the side, tackling the person running in front of him. His eyes widened in horror as it bit down on the persons neck. It shook it's head with a growl before ripping back, taking a chunk of flesh with it. The person on the ground let out a scream before the thing bit it's throat again.

San fought back a gag and quickly got back onto his feet. He ran out onto the road to dodge the crazy thing, glancing back in shock as he saw the person who was attacked just moments before, suddenly contorting. Their bones cracked before they got back to their feet and ran at someone else, attacking them as well.

Zombies. They were zombies. How the hell were zombies even real? They were just supposed to be fictional beings for horror movies. Just how much had he missed last night?

He continued quickly and hurried off, not wanting to get attacked as well. He was still having trouble grasping the situation but one thing he knew was that he could not let himself be bitten by these things, these zombie creatures. It's like the Train to Busan. He just needs to get to his parents apartment and they can barricade themselves in until they hear more news on what's going on. They're only a handful more blocks down the road, he can get there.

He ran quickly, not caring that he was on the road as there were many others running along as well. Everyone was in a state of panic, chaos erupting throughout the streets. It was fine yesterday, everything was fine. As he was running, there was a sudden screech right near his side before something collided with him and he went crashing to the ground. He cried out in pain as his back his the pavement but quickly glanced to the side to see a twitching body beside him. They turned their head with a snap and San whimpered as he saw their red bloodshot eyes, the blood dripping from their lip and black veins along their necks.

"Shit," he gasped, rolling over just in time as the zombie lunged for him. He jumped to his feet quickly and spun around, kicking the zombie in the head as it lunged again. It dazed the zombie long enough for San to run off quickly, panting as he sprinted. Another person in front o him was grabbed but he dodged quickly, climbing onto a car and running over it before jumping back down and pushing forwards. As he was running, there was a screech behind him and he felt himself get tugged back by his bag. He cried out but didn't even look back before he shrugged off his backpack. If it's between his backpack and his life, he'll choose his life. He made it another block towards his parents apartment before he skidded to a stop, freezing. The road ahead was overrun by zombies, attacking everyone around. There had to be at least 50 and there was no way he could get through that.

New plan, just run somewhere isolated so he can hide and not be eaten by cannibalistic, undead creatures. Hide for as long as he can until things die down or he gets rescued. He saw an alleyway off to the right and he turned, running towards it. He dodged a few people before slipping down the thankfully empty alley.

He was panting harshly, his heart pounding against his ribcage and his thoughts running wild through his head. This is stuff you only see in movies. It's not supposed to be real, it's supposed to be fiction. He heard more screams and screeching and retreated further down the alley. From what he has seen in movies, if you can't get to a safe location, it's best to find somewhere close to hide for a while. He scanned around the alleyway that was basically empty before his eyes landed on a large dumpster. He ran over to it and lifted the lid, looking inside. He let out a breath of relief as he saw that there was nothing inside, obviously having been emptied the night before. It stunk a little but a sight smell is better than being mauled by zombies.

He quickly climbed up and dropped down into the dumpster, quietly lowering the lid until he was engulfed in mostly darkness. There was still some light coming through however, as there were a few small holes in the side of it, allowing little amounts of light through. He leaned against the wall of the dumpster and curled his knees up to his chest, resting his head back as well.

He thought over everything he had seen since he left his apartment. There was no denying what they were. It's textbook zombies 101. They were attacking healthy people and then biting them, turning the once healthy into zombies as well. There were reports on the news about scientists working on bringing animals back to life a few months ago, one of his friends had mentioned it but as far as he knew, no one had actually succeeded. It's always the scientists experimenting in movies that creates the monsters that wipe out humanity. Why would anyone even think to try and do that in real life? Weren't movies supposed to help people learn what not to do?

There wasn't anything else San could do while he was stuck hiding so he quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He couldn't make it back to his parents but at least he could call them and make sure they were ok. He found their contact in his phone and pressed the call button, bringing it up to his ear as he waited for it to ring. He nibbled his bottom lip anxiously as it rung once, twice, all the way to six times before the call ended. He quickly redialled but once again got the same result. He groaned in frustration and worry for his parents, smacking his hand down in anger before immediately freezing as he heard a noise. It was a low growling kind of sound, like someone with major breathing problems. He clasped a hand over his mouth hurriedly, trying to keep a quiet as he possibly could. He slowly moved onto his knees and shuffled forwards, placing his face against the cold surface of the dumpster wall. He moved around until he found the right spot and looked out through one of the holes. He couldn't see much due to it being small but he could make out the legs of a person, only they were covered in blood and slightly mangled. The person was shuffling oddly down the alley and weird noises were coming from it.

San's eyes welled up with tears as he realised there was a zombie walking right by the dumpster. If his hiding spot didn't work, he's be as good as dead. If the zombie could sense him, he would have no way to escape. He shuffled back quickly but quietly, covering his mouth tighter and trying to slow down his breathing, to keep himself silent. The tears overflowed and started trailing down his face but he still remained silent, not letting out a sound.

He didn't know how long he was curled up in the dumpster, not making a sound but eventually the weird noise got further and further away until he could no longer hear them. He still remained in the dumpster and quiet though, knowing the danger was most likely not gone. He could still hear the very faint sound of screams and screeching it saddened him, knowing that so many people weren't going to survive. His mind drifted back to his parents and all of his friends. Were they ok? Did they find somewhere safe to hide before everything happened? Did they even know what was going on? He hoped they were all ok, that they were safe somewhere and they could lay low until this thing hopefully gets resolved.

He remained there for a while longer before he jolted at the sound of padding footsteps. He tensed up, fearful that there was yet another zombie but then he heard panting. He moved back to the hole and looked out but wasn't able to see anything straight away. He waited a few seconds before the sounds of quiet whimpering drifted to his ears. They were human. There was someone else in the alley that was still human and hadn't been attacked yet.

He knew he should help them but he hesitated. He was safe where he was, he already knew his hiding spot worked. Stepping out of the dumpster, where it is safe, was a major risk. What if there was a zombie close by? What if it came and killed them both? What if they were too loud and the zombies found them? What if they were a bad person and used San as bait to protect themselves. San slowly lowered his hand down from the roof of the dumpster, remaining quiet.

The whimpering picked up slightly, getting louder and San heard some screeching getting closer than before. He looked out again and could vaguely see someone curled up in a ball the brick wall. They were out in the open with no protection. If a zombie were to come, they would be as good as dead. San cursed quietly, knowing he would never be able to forgive himself if he heard someone die right near him when he could've saved their life.

He quickly stood up and pushed the dumpster lid open, looking to the figure curled against the wall. He could see them more clearly by doing that and noticed they had light blond hair and seemed like they would be his height if they were standing. San heard more screeches and begun to panic.

"Hey, you're going to get caught if you stay there," he whisper-yelled quickly. The boy lifted his head, his eyes meeting San's and god San had never been so thankful for a decision he made in his entire life. He would never have been able to live with himself had he left that boy to die.

"Yeosangie," he gasped in shock.

"S-Sannie," Yeosang whimpered. The screeching got louder, meaning the zombies were getting closer and San jolted into action. He jumped from the dumpster, not being able to stop the lid from slamming closed and once again, the screeches got louder. Oh shit. He sprinted over to Yeosang and grabbed his arm, yanking him to his feet.

"Get in the dumpster now," he said quickly as he dragged him over. They stumbled back to the dumpster and San opened the lid, helping Yeosang in before jumping in himself and lowering the lid. Just in time it seemed as the grunts and screeches were finally upon them, multiple pairs of uneven footsteps. San could make out Yeosang's form beside him and he quickly pulled the frightened boy into his arms, hugging him tightly. Yeosang turned his head and buried it in San's neck, whimpering in fear.

"Shh, quiet Sang," San whispered. Yeosang curled closer to him and hugged him tightly. He moved his hand up to brush through his hair, trying to soothe him gently. The sounds from the zombies were now everywhere, meaning they were in the alley around the dumpster. San held Yeosang closer, feeling very much scared himself and hid his face in the others hair. He inhaled his familiar shampoo smell and calmed slightly, thankful to know that at least one of the people he cared about was safe.

He thought of what would've happened had he stayed in the dumpster. He would've listened to the cries of his friend and heard his demise. He ran a shaky hand down Yeosang's back, letting out a quiet breath of relief. That didn't happen though, he didn't stay in the dumpster. He got out and protected Yeosang. They're together now, so he's going to do everything he can to keep him safe, get him through this. They just have to stick together and get through things until it was over.

A/N

Hello everyone and welcome to my new book. Some of you may recognize this chapter as it almost identical to the oneshot I posted a while ago in my ATEEZ oneshot book. This has tiny bits altered a little bit but it's basically the same because it's the prologue and the rest of the fic is based from this onehshot.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the new fic

Let me know what your favourite parts where and if there is anything you're hoping to see later in the story!