"Dude, what are you doing?" John's roommate, David McCollum, asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Uh, studying for finals..." John looked at him like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Psh. Screw that. Come with me tonight. Jenny's throwing a party! Everyone's going. What do you say?"

"I say that if everyone's going, then I'm going to be the only person to actually pass their tests." 

"Dude. Take one night to take a break from school and just have fun. You've been studying for days!"

"Well..." He thought about it for a moment. "I guess I could go for an hour or so..."

"Yes! C'mon, get dressed. We're gonna have so much fun!" David cheered, happy John was actually going out for once.

John sighed and closed his textbook. Standing up from his bed, he walked to his closet. He opened it and took a look at his wardrobe before selecting a teal flannel shirt and a nice pair of jeans before quickly changing. He had no idea why he agreed to go, but there was no backing out now. He looked in the mirror and decided to let his hair down for the event. So he pulled out the ponytail and let his hair fall to his shoulders. He came out of his room, and David looked at him.

"Whoa. Dude, with that style, you're gonna get laid."

"No I'm not. Because I have no intentions of having sex."

"Man, you're just no fun."

"Hey, I'm going to the party, aren't I?" John raised his eyebrow at his friend.

"Yeah, lets go! It starts in, like, five minutes!"

Again, John sighed, but followed David out the door. Why exactly was he doing this? Well, one party couldn't hurt, right? Surely, he was allowed to have at least a little fun. College wasn't all about studying and classes. He'd be lying if he said that he wasn't at least a little excited as they neared the door with music blaring so loud, that it could be heard from the far end of the corridor.

David grinned at him. "I think you'll enjoy yourself. Just relax and be yourself."

John nodded and watched as his roommate knocked on the door. A girl with long, brown hair and bright blue eyes opened it with a grin, the music automatically getting twice as loud. "David, hi!" She turned her attention to the other boy, and her eyes widened. "Whoa, you actually convinced him. Well shit, I owe Becky ten bucks. Come on in, guys!" She opened the door a bit wider and gestured for the boys to step inside, which they did.

Looking around at all the people in the room, John's excitement started to vanish, and he started to wish he had declined the invitation. He was never one to fit in with people. He admitted that he was a bit of an introvert, but had decided to shake things up a bit today. He observed all the people dancing, drinking, and smoking. He was going to just turn around and go back to the dorm when David grinned at him and brought him over to a group of friends.

"Hey guys!" he chirped happily.

"Whoa, how'd you get him to come, David?" one of them asked. John recognized him as Carlos, a scrawny kid with sandy blond, short hair, and dull green eyes. He had... quite a unique personality.

"I dunno. I just asked him, and he said yes for once!"

"Well it's great to see him here," another friend John had never met before said.

"Yeah, you know, without a book in his face, he's actually kind of cute," a girl that John remembered as Meghan giggled, twisting one of her red curls on her finger, sea blue eyes sparkling. He knew her from the countless "study groups" David would hold in their dorm.

"Meghan, back off. I want him," another girl John didn't know said.

"Uh, no, Jess. I call dibs."

Before anything else could be said, John managed to slip away from the group and started walking around. Some people tried to talk to him, and a few even flirted with him, but he just declined every offer to "go to a bedroom and have a good time" or every request to "come hang out with my group of friends." He honestly just wanted to go back to his dorm. So after staying for about half an hour or so, he made his way to the exit, pulling out some earbuds and playing his own music as he walked back to his dorm. Now, at least, he could give a reason as to why he never wanted to go to any parties: they were over-hyped and overrated.

Getting back to the comfort of his room, he turned off his music and turned on the TV to listen to the news as he studied, hoping to catch some intel on the situation between America and Russia. He cracked open his text book and barely got halfway through the chapter he was on before the news got his full attention.

"-disease has already taken the lives of millions of people all over the continent," the reporter was saying. "The doctors have no idea where it came from, though some of the best minds think it's some mutated form of cancer, or even just a new cancer altogether. Others, however, believe differently, saying that this has nothing to do with cancer. All they know for sure is that the effects are quick and disastrous, shutting down the body in just under twenty-four hours. The sickness can look so innocent at first too, starting with nothing but a simple cough. Our recommendations are to stay clean and separate yourself from any sick person, for it can be very contagious, requiring as little as the infected coughing on you. For the moment, imports and exports have been halted, to keep from infecting other countries with this deadly disease. Back to you, Garret."

John just kind of stared at the screen in shock. A new disease? Damn. Was it some sort of virus? He kind of wished they had stayed on that topic for a little while longer. However, he just went back to studying for his History final.

Later that night, he heard his now drunk roommate come into the dorm, coughing gently. His mind went back to the news report. He got up and locked his door before getting back in his bed. David didn't go to class the next day, and he passed away that night. While John did mourn his roommate, he still never knew him that well, so it's not like they were close or anything. He didn't shed any tears. His friend's body was taken away the next morning, but as they carried him out, with his arm dangling out of the sheet, it could have just been John's imagination, but he could've sworn he saw David's fingers curl just a bit. 

The day after, John was watching the news again, wondering if he'd catch any updates on the disease that had taken his roommate's life. There was indeed a report, just... not one he was expecting.

"Doctors kept one of the bodies of a deceased to see if they could find anything on this new disease. But as shown in the security footage, it seems that the dead patient just sat up and stumbled away." And sure enough, that's exactly what the footage showed. "Scientists and doctors alike are puzzled by these events. And to add on to the strangeness, people working at morgues have reported that many of the bodies are missing. More to come after the break."

Once again, John just stared at the screen in shock and confusion. This just wasn't possible. Dead people couldn't just come back. John went on YouTube and searched up the a video of the footage, knowing it would already be online. He just watched it over and over again until he noticed something. The patient looked... strange. He paused the video at a moment when the man's face was visible to the camera, and he took a screenshot. He pulled up the picture and zoomed in on the face. It just looked blank, completely void of all emotions. All in all, he looked dead. Except for his eyes. They were filled with what only looked like hunger. A dangerous hunger.

He looked at the picture in horror for a good five minutes. This was just messed up. It wasn't possible! How was this happening? Surely, this was just some dream, right? He'd wake up in the morning and everything would be fine again. This video will have never existed. He'd walk into David's room and shake him awake. 

But days turned into weeks, and he didn't wake up. All classes were cancelled as everyone was getting sick. And dying. It got to the point where John had left his dorm for once, going to the store and purchasing a .480 Ruger, also known as a very powerful pistol. He also bought as much ammunition for it as he could afford. He didn't care if weapons weren't allowed on school grounds. He felt that it was better safe than sorry. 

A few days later, schools closed all together, as did hospitals. Knowing this was serious and he couldn't fit all of his belongings in the car with just one trip, he packed his clothes, bathroom necessities, money, phone, flashlight, batteries, and the weapon, calling that enough. Getting in the car, he tried to get ahold of his family so he could talk to them and make sure they're okay. But he just got a busy signal with everyone he tried. That only made him really worried. 

He started driving, but there were so many people stumbling around in the streets. He honked his horn, but they just ignored him. One of the pedestrians looked right at him, and John almost screamed. Right in front of him, staring him in the eyes, was David. But... that was impossible. He was dead! But so was the person in the video. And just like the person, David's face was blank with hunger shining in his eyes.

Out of panic, John drove forward, running his deceased roommate over. Dead people were supposed to stay dead. And now that he noticed it, all of these people in the streets seemed to wear the same expression. These were all victims of the new disease. 

~~

Someone take away my "Create New Story" button. I'm going to end up having, like, 15 stories. I just rrreeeeaaaalllllllllyyyyy wanted to write this one though. And I honestly feel really happy about this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, because I had a lot of fun writing it. I'm going to go update one of my other many stories now. Adios, Mishamigos.

~MishaIsOurOverlord1