The Beginning of the End

Chapter 2

Hinata held his sides, gasping for breath. Despite being quite athletic, he had never pushed himself this hard. The boys had kept sprinting until they were sure they were safe.

They had found their way to a gas station and hid behind the register counter. None of them having the energy to push the shelves against the door for security.

"What are we going to do?" asked Nishinoya nervously. "We don't know how many of those- of those things are out there!"

"Zombies" muttered Hinata. Everyone turned to look at him. "Speak up, we can't read your mind" glared Tsukishima.

"I- I- I said zombies." Hinata stated, looking up to meet Tsukishima's gaze. "That's what the news reporter said they were at least..."

Tanaka nodded "I heard them say that too."

"Zombies?!" repeated Yamaguchi "But I thought that zombies aren't supposed to be real, they can't be! M-maybe something else is going on?" He glanced at the others, trying to look for agreement.

Daichi shook his head sadly, wishing he could agree with the freckled boy. The others bowed their heads, also bewildered and scared.

"They're real" whispered Sugawara "We saw what happened, we saw what happened to Coach U-Ukai." Tears were silently streaming down Suga's face.

Hearing their coach's name created a somber mood around the boys. They too started to cry, even Tsukishima and Kageyama who normally wore blank expressions were pouring down tears.

"We'll be okay, we'll survive this" said Daichi, trying to sound confident. "I'm sure we've all seen a few movies about the undead... if we put our heads together we can think of a plan."

"We should look for weapons to protect ourselves!" offered Tanaka. "Like how you used a fire extinguisher! In the movies the survivors always carried around guns or swords.."

"How are we supposed to find any of that?" asked Kageyama. "It's not like there's weapons just lying around or stores carrying them, this isn't America."

The boys fell quiet once again, thinking amongst themselves.

Hinata started to feel nervous again. There wasn't a foolproof way for the boys to be safe. And even if they were to find guns or other weapons, none of them knew how to operate them. They were only volleyball players.... they shouldn't have to lay hands on such deadly tools. And if they learned how to use them, would Hinata have the courage to kill someone?

He started to feel sick again. "I have to use the restroom" he said, starting to stand up.

"We should all stay hidden here before we come up with a plan" said Suga, putting a hand on Hinata to make him stay.

Daichi peeked over the counter, observing their surroundings. There weren't any zombies in sight. He looked out the front door. The area was clear except for a few abandoned cars. They were alone.

"I think it should be fine" he muttered to himself. "Hinata, are you okay with going by yourself?"

"Wait I still don't think-" began Suga.

"Y-yes!" interrupted Hinata. He was scared to go alone but he felt extremely unsettled and didn't think he could hold it in. "I'll be careful Sugawara-san, I promise!"