"Oh no!"   

     Kris shot up, already preparing for the worst. Someone had gotten bitten, they were trapped, zombies were inside. He looked to where it came from, and he saw Lancer looking out one of the windows on the front doors near the entrance.

   "What? What is it Lancer?" Martha called, running to his side.

   "There's no snow! I thought we'd have a white Christmas!"

   "Jesus Christ, Lancer!" Kris let out a heavy sigh, his body relaxing and his heartbeat slowing down. "I thought that we were in actual trouble!"

   "Well, I mean I do have actual good news!" Lancer replied, turning to look at Kris. "The army's coming!"

   "REALLY?" Noelle shouted, standing to her feet and running to the window. She wiped off the cold frost with her furry hand and squinted hard so she could see. Far out into the city, they could see what looked like miniature tanks rolling across roads and firing in random directions. They could see bombs being set off far into the distance. Yes, it was true, the army was coming. Certainly not fast, but it was coming!

   "We're saved! All we need to do is wait here and by tomorrow they'll be here to rescue us!" 

   It might have been the first time since this whole sh** show started, that they ALL smiled. Finally, a thing they could grasp onto. That help was coming for them. 

   "Let's just stay calm and relaxed and we'll hopefully be fine!" Lancer suggested, which all of them agreed to. They all rested easy, closing their eyes as they rested and drifted off to incredible dreams, fantasizing about them being lifted into the tanks, or them back in school in which everything was now normal. 

   "Hey Kris!"

   Kris turned his attention to Ralsei, who was now in front of him. There was something different though...he had gotten a new shirt? Instead of his normal school uniform, he was now wearing a Christmas sweater and a pair of jeans. The sweater had a big Christmas tree on it, some small un-lit LED's dotted the sweater.

  "Where'd you get the new outfit?"

  "It was lying in a Lost and Found basket in the arcade area, under the air hockey table!"

  "Is there anything else to change our clothes out of? If so I will gladly replace mine."

  "Hah! I grabbed the last one!"

  "Lucky!" Kris whined, as he scooched to the reception desk and rested his head against it. Ralsei sat next to him, his hands drenched in sweat for some reason.

  "And guess what?" Ralsei asked. He pressed an almost invisible button at the bottom of the shirt, and immediately the LED's lit up into different colors. "It glows!"

  "Oh god, get it away from me!" Kris laughed, pushing himself away from him. Ralsei giggled too, blushing lightly.

  "Oh, you're just jealous!"

  "Why would I be jealous of something that looks atrocious?"

  "Becuase it's not atrocious!"

  "You could literally place 'I'm high on Christmas' across this and it'd fit perfectly,"  Kris argued, pointing right at his chest. "Or, 'I'm Addicted to Christmas to much'."

  "JEEEEALOOOOUS!"

  "Sure, whatever you say!"

  They both got comfortable, awkwardly looking away as an awkward silence started to grow. Determined to keep the conversation going, though, he continued to talk.

  "So how are you holding up?"

  "I'm doing fine. At least, I hope. I really hope I don't snap at another person..."

  "It's fine if you do. I'd forgive you!"

  "But everyone else wouldn't..."

  "Whatever they think is whatever they think! Don't let them make you think you're terrible! Besides, they don't hate you anyway!"

  "Not now at least. I just only hope and pray that I can keep my cool!"

  "Yeah, also about that...yeah, um. So I found someth--"  

   BANG!

   Noelle, who was still near the doors, immediately jolted to life when she heard a loud screeching from the other side. She didn't dare even look to see what it was, but just from the screech, she could tell what it was. The doors started to bang, only being shut by the arcade game toppled on its side. Hands banged on the windows of the doors, blood smearing across them as well. Kris got up, seeing what was happening as his mind raced into action.

  "Everyone grab something to use as a weapon! That door won't last long!" Kris barked. Everyone ran off in search of something. Kris looked through the window of the back door, nothing was there, then he grabbed the broom that barricaded it. Nothing opened the door when he did. 

    Martha grabbed a skillet, that she found in front of a window, off the table, holding it like a baseball bat. Lancer ran and grabbed a lightning covered bowling ball. 

    Noelle grabbed another, lighter, bowling ball. While Susie still had her axe, ready to go for action.

   Ralsei didn't want to get a weapon, he really didn't. But he knew if he didn't Kris might get hurt and he wouldn't be able to stop it. Or worse he could get bitten. So he ran to the reception desk and grabbd a pair of shoes.

    Once everyone got something, they all conjoined in front of the door, getting ready to beat anything that would come at them.

    There was another loud screech, and then a bang. Then more bangs and more bangs. Before they even knew it, the door was now wide open, and standing there were at least a dozen, twitching, bloody, zombies. All clad with coats, sweaters, boots, and hats.

    With that, they were off, running at them about to attack. The first one was Susie, slashing her axe across one of their necks, decapitating it clean as blood spewed like a fountain as the zombie body dropped to the cement, dead.

    Martha ran next, smashing her little skillet into the side of one of the zombies. It fell onto its side, as it lay there motionless. The loud bang of the skillet across the cheekbone of the zombie still ringing out.

    Lancer heaved forward, preparing to bash the heads in of any zombie that came forward. One of them got a glimpse and made a full sprint towards him. Luckily, Lancer managed to raise his bowling ball right as the zombie was about to bite him. The ball hit underneath its jaw and the zombie fell back and smashed its head on the cement outside. It laid there, crippled and defeated.

    Kris came next, he kicked a zombie hard in the shins with his foot, before stabbing the zombie's head with the end of the broom. The end emerged the other side, as the zombie stayed kneeled down and now truly lifeless.

    Ralsei prepared for the worst, as he readied himself, he took one of his shoes and pummeled a zombie with it. The zombie laid broken and bruised, but still alive. It was already starting to get up to attack Ralsei again.

   "God dang it...here goes nothing I guess!" Ralsei muttered, as he then carried out his plan. He took the other shoe and gave the zombie the hardest hit he could give. The head flew off, rolling down the parking lot as a trail of blood followed. 

   "This is disgusting!" Ralsei cried, as he backed up and let the others continue to attack. Susie ignored his plead for this to stop, and slashed again at another one of the zombies. Martha smashed her skillet onto the top of one of their heads. Kris pushed one zombie out forward with the bristle end of his broom. Lancer proceeded to throw his ball at, and kill, the zombie. The ball rolled down the parking lot, hitting a tire of an abandoned car.

   "HELL YES!" Martha cheered with excitement. She bashed one more zombie across its cheek, before backing up with Ralsei into the bowling alley. Susie continued to slash her axe, blood spraying all over her used-to-be fresh clothes. She continued slashing the zombies until none were left in front of her, or the others, and they seemed to be all in the clear.

   Until there was another loud screech. Susie turned her head to the left of the parking lot, and charging at her was what looked to be another zombie. This one had long chestnut hair and was wearing a small beanie that didn't quite cover her head. She wore a dark green coat, with black gloves that were ripped at the ends. Its eyes twitched, its arms shaking and spazzing out violently. Susie got ready to slice, but before she even knew it the zombie was there, grabbing her shoulders and leaning forward to bite.

   Susie screamed in surprise, as she now couldn't strike it with the axe head, but she could do another thing. She pointed the handle of the axe, grabbing the end of it, then brought it up quickly to its jaw. The handle smashed through the lower jaw and into the brain, this time not emerging the other side. She kicked the zombie down, before grabbing her axe. No more zombies from the looks of it.

   "EVERYONE GET IN!" Kris barked again, waving his hand back inside. The rest that hadn't already backed right back inside, as Kris walked forward and closed, as well as locked, the doors. They all took a deep breathe, more blood on all of their clothes. 

   "So much for new clothes..." Ralsei mumbled as he looked at his bloody clothes. Noelle was relieved that it was over and turned to Susie.

   "Thank god that was over! Susie, how are you doing?" Noelle asked. Susie, however, wasn't paying attention to her and was instead looking down at her hand. Her left hand was a fist, as the other hand roamed around the other. Noelle's face dimmed from excitement to worry, as a million thoughts entered her head of what she was doing.

  "Susie...what happened?" Noelle asked, reaching a hand out to her. She grabbed her left hand and pulled it down, but was stopped when Susie covered her arm with her right. She did manage to see one thing though...blood. Everyone turned their attention to Susie and Noelle, as Kris walked forward to examine. Noelle's eyes began to well up from what she saw.

  "Susie?" Kris stopped next to Noelle, he could already almost tell, though, what had happened. "Do not tell me that you got..."

  "It's just a flesh wound I got from cutting myself with my axe! No need to worry!" Susie denied as she looked down at the ground. Her eyes looked teary, almost scared.

  "Oh my god, she got bit," Kris whispered.

   Everyone covered their mouths and gasped. Everyone. They hadn't expected it to be so soon, and out of everyone who could, they did NOT expect Susie to be the first. Noelle walked backward, not fully excepting this.

  "No! No no no no! That can't be!" she told herself.

   Susie sighed, as she drooped her arm. Right there, near her thumb, was a large bloody bite mark. She couldn't hide it even if she tried to.

   "NO!" Noelle cried. She ran up to Susie, giving her a huge hug. "NO! HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN! WHY DID IT HAVE TO HAPPEN TO YOU?"

   "It was going to happen one way or another. Yeah, I'm surprised I was the first one but...it was still going to happen sometime. Better sooner than later!"

  Noelle cried, it looked like two rivers were emitting from her eyes. Martha ran up to Susie and gave her another big hug, followed by Lancer. Ralsei slowly walked to Kris, still shocked and unable to process what had happened.

  "Hey, hey it's okay guys! I really don't need this much love!"

  They didn't stop hugging her, it only made her hug her tighter if anything. Susie looked down at them, as her grin turned into a frown. Her eyes watered with them, as she slowly patted Noelle's head. 

  "PLEASE DON'T GO SUSIE! WE NEED YOU! PLEASE S-STAY! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE US! D-DON'T LEAVE ME! PLEASE! PLEASE!"

  Susie was silent, she rested her hand on her hand and closed her eyes. She lowered her head down to Noelle's, and both touched. 

  And just like before when she felt genuinely happy when Martha and her became friends, she also was doing something for the first time.

 This was the possibly first time she was crying.

 And surely the first time she cried this much.