Apocalypse (AU)

Maka never expected things to get this bad.

On Day One, she had scarcely believed the radio announcement that played as she drove home from school. Summer Break was only a week away and she had just gotten her driver's license not too long ago. So why were they putting the town on a Code Orange lockdown procedure?

Maka sensed the sincerity of the radio host in cutting into the middle of the Biggest Hits of the 90s broadcast, so she moved with haste. She owned a 2008 Ford that had not been taken care of properly—her Dad rarely knew how to care for anything, she was sure—so it protested loudly. The engine sputtered as she had just gotten on the highway.

Maka tapped her finger against the steering wheel.

"I repeat," the radio host continued, "Death City is under a Code Orange lockdown. Please return to your homes immediately and do not allow anyone to enter or exit the premises. There will be no travel outside of the city permitted at this time."

Exit 54 appeared on the horizon. Luckily for Maka, taking this exit would mean that she was less than five minutes away from her home. Unfortunately, she lived alone and would have to navigate the emergency protocol on her own.

Newer and older models of cars alike zoomed past her in excess of twenty miles per hour over the speed limit. Maka's heart pounded in her chest, as if rising to the challenge of a race.

The roads following the exit were usually not very busy. Today, however, was an anomaly; As Maka rolled up to the stop sign, there were no cars or people to be seen. Strangely, businesses along this street were left unattended. Some even had their doors wide open without anyone in sight.

Maka's skin crawled. Ever since she could remember, she had always had something of a sixth sense. She could read others' intentions just as easily as if it had been written into a book—it was almost as if she were peering into their souls. Her increased perception of otherworldly happenings hinted at something being very, very wrong here.

Maka's pushed down further on the accelerator. She was no more than two minutes away from where she lived. Certainly she could get there before whatever terrible event was happening reached her, right? And besides, she figured, she lived on the 9th floor of her apartment building. That should provide enough of a buffer against intruders, plagues, or natural disasters.

Hopefully.

Finally, Maka was pulling up to her apartment building's parking lot. It was packed more than usual at this time of day. She jumped out of her car and slung her bookbag onto her back. Manually, she locked each door of her vehicle before racing toward the building.

Strangely, the entrance to the common area was left open. Typically the building required a secure access by way of a keycard to prevent unwanted entities from entering the premises. This coupled with the fact that the receptionist's desk was left unattended put Maka on high alert.

She tiptoed inside the building and checked her surroundings. The lights were still functioning, so it seemed as if there were no signs of a power outage. After looking around the front entrance and finding no sign of a living being, Maka finally made her way toward the elevator. The red sign above indicated that it was on the 5th floor. She pressed the call button and waited.

Maka tapped her foot on the ground as it seemed the elevator was making no progress. Even two minutes later, it still read that the elevator hadn't moved at all.

"What the hell," she cursed. Finally, she gave up on it and jogged toward the stairwell. She hadn't planned on walking up nine flights of stairs when she woke up this morning, but at least it would help make up for her missing a workout later today. Her bag weighed heavily on her back, as inside she had three textbooks (English Literature, Calculus 1, and Biology) as well as her laptop.

As she reached the third floor platform, Maka finally heard the unmistakable sound of a human being.

"Please… Help…" it rasped, coming from somewhere above her. Maka froze. An ominous air filled the stairwell and seeped into her bones.

Nevertheless, she couldn't ignore a cry for help even if every muscle in her body resisted. Maka raced up the next flight of stairs three steps at a time. On the fourth floor, a woman had fallen back onto the cement ground and was hunched over.

Maka kneeled in front of the woman at once and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Ma'am, are you alright?" she asked at once. "What's going on?"

The middle-aged woman raised her head up feebly, causing the stray hairs covering her face to shift. Blood seeped from her lips and dripped down onto the floor. Her shoulder looked as if it had been chewed up by a rabid dog. Her eyes were weak but frightened.

"Please," she repeated, "I'm… scared…"

The woman then coughed loudly, causing more blood to spurt out and further dirty her clothes. Maka's gaze drifted to the side. Could what have done this still be around here?

The door that gained access to the fourth floor was left ajar, but when Maka checked there were no people in the hallway. That being said, there were blood smears across the walls and on several door handles.

Maka's eyes shifted back toward the woman, determination glinting within them. "Don't worry, I'm here to help. I'll take you up to my apartment and treat your wounds, alright?"

The woman's eyes seemed faraway. Her eyes were fixed over Maka's shoulder. "They're… coming," she said vaguely, teeth clenching. At first, Maka furrowed her brow—what could she possibly be talking about? Perhaps she was delirious from the blood loss?

Then, a shadow of a touch alerted her to another presence. Maka whirled around to spot a shambling man reaching toward her, his fingers bloodied and bruised. Perhaps worst of all, from what Maka could glean, he lacked a soul.

Maka stumbled backwards toward the injured woman as the soulless man lurched toward her. All she could think to do was to shift her bag to the side and slam it into him, pushing him back.

"Shit," she grinded out. The beast barely stumbled from the impact. Maka felt a strong sense of obligation toward the woman behind her, but she wasn't sure she was capable of stopping this brute. In fact, she wasn't certain she could get past him at this point either, as she was now pinned between the dead and dying.

As he raced forward again, Maka braced herself. She reached her arms up to protect her face and vital regions, clenching her eyes shut.

Thankfully, the pain of teeth digging into her flesh never came. Alternatively, a screeching sound that could have only been a massive explosion rang out. Maka peered between her defenses to see that the soulless man had fallen to the side, blood oozing out of his skull. There were now two dime-sized holes there.

To the right, a boy now stood. He was panting slightly, two pistols held loosely in each hand. Although Maka sensed he had good intentions, the intensity with which he stared at her was unrivaled. Golden eyes pierced hers and left her frozen in equal parts fear and fascination. Even so, his soul felt different than any she had ever sensed before. The pistols dissipated of their own accord.

He jogged toward where she was seated and grabbed her arm. "Come on, we have to go."

Maka resisted at once. She stood up but pulled away from his touch. "I'm going to save her!" she cried, attempting to wrestle her arm away from the boy who had clearly just saved her life.

He did not relent, his fingers digging into her arm. "There's nothing you can do now," he spat. "She's gone."

Maka whirled toward the woman who had only moments ago been begging for her life. Her eyes were now permanently affixed to the sky and lacked any soul. The blood she had coughed up had dried on her skin.

Anger and sadness filled Maka to the brim. She gripped her bag tightly and glared at this new stranger. "What is going on here? Tell me what you know."

He sighed, relaxing his grip on her arm. "My name is Kid, and I'll tell you more once we get to your apartment on the 9th floor."

"How did you…?"

His hand slid down her arm and gripped her hand instead. It was gentle, yet firm. "If we don't hurry up, that woman will become just like that man. We need to move."

Any sane person would never follow a stranger's commands under these circumstances, but some force compelled Maka. Clearly he had saved her from a painful encounter, maybe even prevented the robbery of her life if his words rang true. And yet, the composition of his soul interested her and she was sure he would be worth keeping around, if only for information.

It was with this conviction in mind that she allowed him to drag her up the remaining flights of stairs. They ran into two more human beasts, with which he dispatched with ease given his ability to call forth his firearms at will. Strangely, he used both guns at every encounter.

With his help, it didn't take long to get to her floor. She began digging around in her bag looking for her keycard. The adrenaline coursed through her body and caused her hands to shake, increasing the retrieval time by nearly ten seconds.

Thankfully, the hallway where her room resided was unoccupied. By the time she had gotten her keycard out and unlocked the door, no other people had appeared. She threw the door open and slammed it shut after Kid had entered. Immediately Maka initiated every locking mechanism available to her.

When that was accomplished, she sighed and leaned back against the door. Her heart thudded loudly, possibly strongly enough to emulate a person knocking on her door. Kid had already begun rummaging through her kitchen cupboards. The home phone was blinking, indicating a message had been left.

After settling her nerves some, Maka made her way toward the phone and began the recording. Her father's voice cut in.

"Maka honey, there has been a huge emergency at Daddy's work. I will have to stay here with the Mayor and protect him while we try to figure this out. The mayor's son should be on his way to protect you—his name is Death the Kid. He is the only person you should trust. Please stay safe, baby, Daddy will try to be there with you when he can. Daddy loves you."

The prerecorded message ended, a hollow feeling causing the words to bounce around in her torso. A swarm of emotions fought over her—dread for what could happen, sadness for the fate of the woman she was unable to save, and fascination for this boy she had just met.

How long would this last? What was this cute boy really capable of? Would anything ever be the same again?

In the kitchen, Kid had already gathered some nonperishable goods. There were energy bars, water bottles, some canned goods, and a few other necessities. He was incredibly focused on the task at hand, leaving Maka wondering whether getting to her apartment really was the final stop for this dreadful nightmare.

Author's Note: This will likely be Part One of a two-part one-shot. The next iteration will build on the set-up I have created here and will definitely focus more on the Kid/Maka dynamic given an apocalyptic situation. Thanks so much for reading!