- Chapter 01 -

It has begun

"Hello?"

Sakura dropped the knife on the floor and it bounced, landing a few meters away from her with a clattering sound. Her mouth stood agape as she stared at the now working device. Her breathing quickened, her hands became drenched with cold sweat and she wondered whether her mind was playing games with her.

"Hello? Sakura Haruno?" the voice from the other line called out, thing which immediately defeated Sakura's theories.

Without wasting any more time, she picked up the walky talky from the floor and brought it close to her mouth. She parted her lips and closed her eyes, pressing the button of the device.

"I'm here."

Someone breathed out from the other line, "Thank goodness."

Sakura let out a sudden sob and covered her mouth with her unoccupied hand. Tiny tears began slipping out of her eyes and creating a path from her eyes down to her jaw, her hands clutching the device close to her chest. Relief washed over her and she rubbed her eyes, wanting to protect herself from another sudden breakdown.

There was someone. There was someone out there, a living person who had saved her from killing herself. Her unknown savior from the walky talky.

"Who are you?" Sakura asked once she had regained her composure.

Silence followed after her sudden question and the only thing she could hear was her ragged breathing and that annoying buzzing sound in her ears.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha and. . . I'm alive."

The girl shook her head and chuckled softly, "Yes. . . You're alive. . . Alive."

Sakura had grown sick of death. Recalling her suicidal thoughts and her attempt to suicide moments ago was twisting her stomach, bringing up this morbid feeling which was threatening to spill off her mouth. Death had conquered their world, death had destroyed humanity. Being alive was reassuring and warm, a questionable intimacy in this ragged society.

". . . Has anyone else contacted you yet?"

Sasuke's voice snapped her back to her senses and she glanced at the device momentarily. His inquiry had hints of hopes deep inside it and Sakura was contemplating whether to tell him the truth or bluntly lie to him, just for the sake of not disappointing him. Ignorance was definitely not a bliss.

"Sadly no," she whispered and stood up. "However, if we manage to hit some radio studios or big centers, we may bring more survivors in the light. I have survived by a mere miracle. My cellphone was out of range after two days and the remaining battery soon dropped. The worst thing is that I had forgotten my charger in my car and. . . There was no way I would dare to step out of my apartment."

The pink-haired girl began waltzing around the room, a habit she had grown when she used to speak to the phone. The twisting sensation occupied her stomach for another time and she hardly tried to ignore it. Remembering mundane things she couldn't have anymore was jading her sensations.

"I haven't stepped out of my house either but today, I was ready to. I have ran out of supplies and it will be better if I'll try and find me some food. Better not to die from starvation. But. . . In order for our voices to be heard, we have to team up," Sasuke finished his own explanation and stayed silent, waiting for the girl's response.

Sakura licked her dry lips and plopped on her couch. There was only one way out and she knew it. She had to get out of her apartment and strive for survival. Was she going to step out or not, death was waiting for her both inside and out. Yet, the possibilities of survival outside where bigger than staying inside, as crazy as it sounded.

The girl stood up and rushed in her room, her hand immediately being shoved in the shelves and searching for the required items. Once she had found them, she placed the paper and her pen on the small nightstand and pressed the speaker button.

"Tell me everything you know about those. . . things."

Shuffling sounds were heard from the other line and it seemed like Sasuke was searching for something too. A few moments later, the sound came to a halt and soft breathing replaced it.

"I have observed some of them from my window and I think I have some information concerning them. It is not much though." A sigh escaped his lips and Sakura got her pen ready, lingering above the paper, "They react to sound and sudden movement. I advice you to be extremely careful where you're stepping- also, the best time of the day to move is early in the morning. It isn't completely obscure and they seem not to be that active. Other than that is that they move really slow. However, if there is some prey close to them, they can become runners in a snap."

When Sakura realized that Sasuke had stopped talking, she let down her pen and neared the device to her mouth, "Is that all?"

"There isn't much to see when your view is limited by a window," he snapped which caused Sakura to stifle a flinch.

"Got this," was all she replied before letting the device besides the paper. Her mind was taking turns and she was sure she could make out a plan which would be appropriate enough for her escape. "I will contact you in a bit."

With a faint affirmative sound, the small call was ended and Sakura fiddled with the pen in her hand. She tapped its tip on the paper and she huffed, catching her head which had began aching. She needed to make this plan work. She needed to get out of that hellhole and survive. Yet, her mind had gone blank in a matter of seconds and, no matter how many times she was restarting her thoughts, she couldn't seem to come up with anything.

"Wait."

She grabbed the paper in her hands and stared at the information given. The gears in her mind began moving again and the puzzle pieces slowly came together and formed the whole plan in her mind. It was risky enough but it could at least work. Nothing was impossible- not when the dead had come back to life.

It took her nearly an hour to finish the whole sketching and walking in and out of the room, only to gather what she needed from closets and shelves. She was nearly out of paper when she finally finished writing and drawing lines. She fanned herself with her hand and decided to talk to Sasuke again, seeing that her plan was only going to work if she had a second opinion on it.

Before she could even touch the device, the same shuffling sound came out from it which was soon replaced with a now familiar noise for her, the quiet voice of the male savior of hers.

"Are you done yet?"

Sakura expected something more than this but she simply huffed and glanced at the papers. The button of the device was pressed, "Yes, but I would like to listen to your opinion about it."

Silence followed after her request yet his voice occupied it once again, "Go ahead."

Sakura arranged her papers in front of her and placed the walky talky in front of her mouth like they were doing in spying movies, ready to talk.

"Since you said that the wanderers are more inactive at early in the morning, I decided to start my operation from there." She paused momentarily until she heard his affirmative signal and moved on with it, "I have checked the perimeter. There is one of those things trapped in the balcony but there aren't any other sounds coming from inside the room. I even dared to open my door and checked if there was someone out there; guess what, no one was standing in the hallway. Since the apartment complex is like one of those motels*, I had view of the parking lot too where a few of them were wandering around."

[ *Sakura means the classical Japanese apartment complexes which are shaped like a Greek P (Π) and the hallways are like balconies, open in a way you can see the outside. ]

"Sounds good to me. At least there aren't many in your level. Have you heard something from the other levels?" Sasuke inquired from the other side of the phone.

Sakura shook her head negatively, "I didn't dare to do this. However, I'm living on the second level of the complex so there shouldn't be any problem with heading down to the parking lot."

"But what happens in case you encounter one of them? What will you do then? You must have-"

"I know what I'm doing," Sakura replied irritably, slightly angered from the wave of questions which had crashed on her in a split second. However, it was true. She hadn't found any kind of 'weapon' she could use in order to survive, only her kitchen knives. "After successfully arriving in the lobby, I will stand beside the door and take out one of those small fire crackers I found in my Christmas accessories. I will throw it away from my position in order for the wanderers to be distracted while I will be heading towards my car. I have left the keys on the machine and what will be left for me to do is to drive off and. . ."

Sasuke waited for the female to reply but, when she didn't, he chose to ask the question he had wanted to ask from the very start of her plan, "And then what? Where are you going to go?"

Sakura bit her lower lip, "Where are you living?" The words fled out of her mouth like a hungry lion struggling to escape from its cage. Indeed she was embarrassed to ask him in such an abrupt way where he lived but there was no other place she could go. Her parents were living in America and her friends were . . . She couldn't even bear the thought of it.

"Akita."

Sakura's breath hitched in her throat as disappointment and despair overtook her. She was living in the center of Tokyo and Akita was miles away from her current position. Was she really going to make this happen?

"I-Is a kitchen knife a trustworthy weapon against them?" she muttered with a quivering voice and clutched the device in her hand like it was her savior.

"Yes."

"Very good," Sakura stated and swallowed her breath. "Goodnight, Sasuke."

Sasuke waited for a second before replying, "Goodnight, Sakura. Keep safe."

The call was ended. Sakura stared at her masterpiece and her body began shaking, her vision beginning to blur from the tears which had began forming in her eyes. Without wasting any more time, Sakura dropped the device on the table and ran in the kitchen, searching the drawers. When she found the item she was searching for, she walked back in her room and closed all the lights.

Once she lied on her bed, the tears she was holding back this whole time spilled out of her eyes, slowly rolling down her cheeks to make the torture less bearable. The knife she had sneaked out of the drawer was held close to her together with her pillow which was pressed again her chest. She snuggled in it as silent sobs began escaping her mouth and images from the outside invaded her mind.

Truth was that she was truly afraid of going outside and coming face to face with those creatures. She wanted to be kept somewhere safe, somewhere warm, close to Sasuke. Because she felt as if he was the person she could trust the most at that moment. However, she had to fight them in order to gain that security and warmth. Earlier in the day, she had faced death once and she was sure she could face him once more.

This was a dog-eat-dog world right now, a game which had just began. And she wasn't intending on losing.

Sakura bit down her lip and wiped off the rest of her tears.

"I'll keep searching until I'll die . . . Sasuke."

。。。＊ 。。。＊。。。＊。。。

WARNING: Sasuke will be slightly OOC in this story, seeing that his original personality for this work of fiction was taken from RTN (Road to Ninja). Since the apocalypse began, he became more responsible but his RTN personality stayed.

Dedicated to Peggy (Peggychan15) for being one of the greatest friends ever, one of the best and for supporting me throughout my writing trip and reading this story. I love you <3