Before The World Ends

Yoshiya Kiryu had never been a normal kid. That was the name that his parents had given him, yet they preferred to call him Joshua. That was one thing; his parents didn't call him by his real name. Not that he minded, of course. But what had made him really stand out was that he could see ghosts. Well, not exactly ghosts and not exactly zombies, but they were definitely dead.

Joshua sighed as he walked nervously down the street. He knew that he couldn't go home because Shoda and his gang would be waiting to beat him up again. Joshua was a small, frail boy. The kind that a bully might beat up for their lunch money. And that's exactly what Shoda would do to him.

"'Ey, there he is!" one of Shoda's friends called out from around the corner.

Joshua froze, his mind racing. How had they found him this quickly? Without thinking, Joshua took off in the other direction as fast as his legs could carry him. He didn't dare look back. For all he knew, Shoda could be right behind him. The mere thought made his heart pound even faster. He clenched his eyes shut and kept running.

Looking around, Joshua realized that he had never set foot on this street before.

"Cat Street? What is this place?" Joshua asked aloud, brushing his ash-blonde hair out of his eyes. He walked around absentmindedly, he stopped in front of a café. "Huh," Joshua shrugged. "'guess I'll stop here."