Born To Die Part One - The Case Chase

The Zombies

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?'