RING!
The last bell of the day rang with a shrill metallic clang that echoed through every hallway of Eastway High. Students packed their bags while the hum of chatter and excitement filled the air.
At the far side in the seniors classroom, a teenage boy with lean
build and black hair slouched back in his chair, a lazy grin curling his lips as he watched the chaos unfold.
Across from him sat a girl. Short-haired, blue-eyed, and extremely beautiful. She flicked a rolled-up paper at him. "Yo, earth to Max," she whispered.
The boy, Max, caught the paper mid-air, turning to face her with a bored expression. "What is it, Maxine? I'm busy."
Maxine scoffed. "With what? You've been staring at the board for ten minutes. I was starting to think you were dead." she chuckled.
"If I were to die, Maxine," Max said. "It'll be from spending way too much time with you,"
Maxine smiled deviously. "Please, you love spending time with me."
"No, you do," Max retorted, unfolding the paper she threw at him. Inside she'd drawn a stick figure with his short hair and labelled it 'Max the bum.'
He couldn't help but chuckle. "Wow. It's nice to know that my best friend sees me as a lazy loser with no life."
Maxine giggled. "But that's what you are, Max. A lazy loser with no life," she laughed softly. "You didn't even write a single note in math class. Not one."
Max stretched his arms lazily. "I did, actually." he defended.
"Oh really?" Maxine said, peering over at his notebook.
"Yup," Max said, flipping it open. On the page was a single line scrawled in faint blue ink:
'Math sucks.'
Maxine snorted, loud enough to make the students in the next row glance over. "You're hopeless."
"And you..." Max said, tapping her forehead gently with his pen, "...are a nerd."
"I'm a graduating nerd," Maxine shot back proudly. "While you'll still be here, solving calculus and writing boring essays."
Max pretended to be fazed. "Oh, no. Not another year of calculus. Anything but that," he groaned dramatically, making Maxine laugh.
Max paused for a second to admire her beautiful smile, his own lips curling into a faint smirk. Despite their frequent banters, Maxine was the person he cherished the most. And he would do anything to make her happy.
They had grown up together...childhood partners in mischief, practically siblings in everything but blood. Born in the same week, named almost identically, and inseparable since infancy.
Their parents were close, two wealthy families of influential status. They vacationed together, dined together... heck, they even lived on the same street, two identical mansions sitting beside each other.
And for as long as anyone could remember, it had always been Max and Maxine. Their chemistry was effortless, the kind forged over seventeen years of shared secrets, laughter, and late-night calls.
They both shared a deeper affection for each other, one that surpassed friendship. But of course, neither of them was ready to say it out loud.
As the last of their classmates filtered out, Maxine slung her bag over her shoulder and said, "Come on, lazybones. Our chauffeur's probably already waiting."
"Our chauffeur?" Max raised a brow. "Last I checked, the limo was registered under my name."
"True," Maxine shrugged. "But what's yours is mine, remember?" she said, flashing a grin. "And besides, I like your car better. It has snacks."
Max rolled his eyes, gathering his things. "You only hang out with me for my snacks."
"And your charming personality," Maxine added with a wink as they walked out of the class together, heading out of the school.
The city air outside was warm, tinted gold by the afternoon light. Students still loitered around the gate; gossiping, laughing, making plans for the weekend... oblivious to impending doom approaching their world.
Max and Maxine approached their ride; a black limousine waiting near the curb, its surface gleaming like a mirror.
The driver gave them a slight, almost imperceptible nod as they approached.
"Evening, John," Maxine chirped with a smile. She always had a way of charming everyone.
"Good afternoon, Miss Evergreen, Master Caldwell," John replied, his voice a low rumble. He opened the back door for them.
"Can we stop at Boucheron's Jewelries on the way?" Maxine chirped, sliding across the leather seats. "I saw they got new pieces in this week."
Max sighed as he entered the car, a familiar sound. "Maxine, you have enough jewelry to open your own vault. Do you really need another..."
"Pleaseeee?" she cut him off, her lower lip pouting just enough to trigger his automatic surrender.
Max stared at her for a second. He let out another sigh. "...Fine," he conceded, already leaning forward to tap on the partition. He relayed Maxine's request to John. "Just make it quick," he added, settling back. "I'm starving."
John nodded and turned the ignition, driving them away. The car glided through the city's main avenue, past cafés and storefronts. Music drifted from passing cars; everything pulsed with normal life. A calm before the storm.
They turned down a bustling street, and the limousine slid to a stop in front of a small but elegant jewelry shop tucked between two tall buildings. Its windows gleamed with gold and silver displays.
Inside, the shop smelled faintly of perfume and metal polish. The air was cool, classical music playing softly in the background.
Maxine drifted between the glass cases, eyes bright with interest. "Look at this one!" she said, pressing a finger against the glass. "It's beautiful."
Max smiled faintly, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "You said that about the last five."
"Yeah, but this one is really pretty," she said, before jumping to another display.
Max watched her quietly, the way her eyes lit up when she found something she liked, the tiny crease on her forehead when she tried to make a decision. She had that look... the same one she'd had as a kid when she wanted something shiny or sweet. It made him smile, though he'd never admit it.
He was about to tease her again when suddenly, the bell above the door chimed. He glanced toward the entrance automatically, and his smile faded instantly.
A woman had stepped inside... if you could even call her that anymore.
Her head hung low, hair tangled and covering most of her face. Her once stylish clothes were ragged and stained with what looked like mud... and blood. She walked stiffly, her feet dragging as if her bones had forgotten how to move. And low, wet growls kept escaping her throat.
Max's frowned, a familiar cold dread prickling his skin. There was something profoundly, terrifyingly wrong about this woman.
Following instinct, his hand found Maxine's arm. "Hey," he said quietly. "I think we should leave."
But Maxine was still admiring a gem bracelet, hadn't noticed the woman. "Give me a sec, Max. I'm trying to decide which bracelet to pick for mum."
Max tutted and kept his gaze on the woman, silently hoping she was just a normal person having a bad day.
One of the sales associates, a young guy in a crisp white shirt, moved toward her with practiced politeness.
"Good day, Ma'am," he said. "Can I help you?"
The woman didn't respond. She kept moving, her shoulder clipping a display case. The glass rocked and crashed to the floor in an explosion of crystal and gold.
Everyone in the shop turned to the chaos. The sound was enormous in the quiet space, like someone had dropped a bomb.
"Ma'am?" The sales associate reached out, touched the woman's shoulder. "Are you okay?"
In response, the woman's head snapped up unnaturally, and Max saw her face. His breath caught in his throat.
She didn't look human.
Her face was corpse-grey, mottled with livid purple veins. Dried blood caked her nostrils and chin. Her lips were torn back in a rictus snarl, revealing jagged, blood-stained rows of teeth. Her eyes were milky white, devoid of pupils, staring blankly at the sales guy, radiating a terrible, primal hunger.
The guy took a stumbling step back, but before he could even fully register the horror, the woman lunged at him with impossible speed, her head plunging forward. Her broken teeth sank into his shoulder, a sickening wet tear of flesh and fabric.
A spray of blood arced across the window and glass cases as the guy's scream shattered the boutique's tranquility, morphing into a wet, gargling shriek.
The elegant, hushed atmosphere of shop shattered. Screams erupted from every corner of the shop, a cacophony of terror and confusion. People recoiled, stumbling away from the gruesome scene, their faces contorted in disbelief. They didn't understand what was happening. No one understood.
The woman released the sales associate as she tore away a chunk of flesh, blood dripping from her teeth. The guy collapsed like a puppet with cut strings. Blood pooled beneath him, spreading across the marble in glossy rivers.
Then she looked up. Her eyes locked with Max's. She looked like something from a nightmare, something that had crawled out of an horror movie.
Max took a shaky breath. "Maxine?" he called out. But Maxine was frozen in horror, her face pale, her eyes wide and fixed on the writhing attendant.
"Maxine," he shook her arm. "We have to get out of here. Now!"
She nodded, her grip on his hand tightening. They ran toward the door, weaving between display cases. Around them, chaos spread. A woman in a red dress fumbled for her phone, hands shaking so badly she dropped it. An older man stood frozen, mouth open in a silent scream.
The dead woman... because that's what she was, lunged again. This time she caught the woman in red, teeth closing on her throat.
Shhhk! Spurt!
Blood fountained, splattering the ceiling. The sound was horrible, wet and tearing.
Max pulled Maxine faster. They were almost to the door when he heard it... the sound of movement behind them. He glanced back and his stomach turned. The sales associate was moving. His spine cracked, limbs twitching as he rose, face pale and blank.
His neck was twisted at an impossible angle, his eyes vacant, and a low growl tore from his throat before he lunged straight for a retreating elderly man, embedding his teeth deep into his arm.
"Run!" Max said, and this time Maxine didn't hesitate.
As they reached the glass doors, Max spared one last glance back. The shop, moments ago a haven of luxury, had become a slaughterhouse. With two undead creatures tearing at flesh, new victims screaming, falling, and then...rising. The scene was a tableau of absolute horror.
They burst through the door into the afternoon light... and Max breath hitched at the sight of the world outside.
It was pure chaos.