Out of the grave!

"Are you insane?!"

The question loudly echoed in a small room of a hundred others.

"It's dangerous out there, you moron!"- The girl, who previously shouted from the top of her lungs, scolded another.

The other girl, the target of her lecture, was sitting at a small dining table, running her eyes up and down a list: it was a list of items she needed to pack for the upcoming journey.
She had dark brown, slightly wavy, shoulder-length hair, which she flicked out of her face as she turned her head towards the girl; revealing her face, which... well, let's just say had "self confidence" written all over it.

"You really think you would survive out there?"

"You don't?"- She asked with a cheeky smile, slightly leaning back in her chair.

The girl was baffled by her friend's courage. She wanted to tell her off right away, but she couldn't.

"Well... Okay, you'd probably do survive."- She surrendered in the end. -"But still-"

The girl at the table stood up and cleared her throat. She wore track leggings and a sleeveless top, which left her structure visible: Her body was fit; she had a well developed back, a modest six pack and pretty muscular, but still slim arms and legs.

"Now, let's start, shall we?"- She asked in a theatrical tone.

"...Start what? Are you even listening to what I'm saying?!"

"This is the story of Kana Asano, the totally boring, weird and crazy girl, who now leaves this hell of a grave she used to call her home."- she started with her own melodrama.

"Kana, I don't like this... at all..."- her friend muttered, gripping on the end of her knee-length skirt tightly.

She looked younger than Kana. Almost as if... she was stuck in time, being a kid.

"Oh, come on, what else can I do?"

Yun couldn't answer. She couldn't argue with that: there was nothing within those walls.

"So; one flashlight, some clothes, a bit of food, water..."- Kana checked the items on her list.

"Kana..."- The girl muttered helplessly.

Kana looked up at her and sat back down, crossing her legs.

"What?"

....

Again, she didn't answer.

"Yun, I made you a promise. And I'm going to keep my word."- She said, without a single bit of hesitation.

"...I never asked for that promise... Or agreed to it."- Yun, sobbed.

"I don't care."

"But I do!--"

Kana stood up and walked up to the large sliding door that lead to the balcony. They were in a small one room apartment on the 23rd floor of a huge, 50-storey block. There was barely enough space for a small kitchen, a table and a mattress to sleep on. The only room closed off from everything else was a tiny bathroom.

Outside of the building was no better either: it was dark and dire. Just a bunch of concrete blocks and rusty metal pillars with trash and grime all over the streets... But amongst this grayness, the moon shone bright and white, in its full glory. It was their only source of light this late at night. After 10pm electricity was shut off everywhere except for government building. It was all due to the 'crisis': The very reason Kana was locked up in this coffin for years.

"Kana, I... I'm just worried about you..."- Yun insisted -"that is all..."

"I know..."- She said, as she was staring at the moon.

"I don't want you to-"- Her voice trembled. -"...I don't want you to... end up like me..."

"I don't want to, either."

"Then--"

"But if I stay, I will. There is nothing in here. I don't want to rot away in this shithole."

Yun slowly collapsed onto the floor, leaning against the wall and hid her face behind her curled up legs.

"Don't worry, Yun."- Kana said as she walked up to the girl.

She squatted over to pet her head. Yun uncovered her face and looked her right in the eyes.

"I will avenge you."

"...What a shitty idea..."- Yun smiled, wiping her tears away.

"Hmm... You're right, actually. I should rather say... I will kill every single one of those monsters out there! All of them!"

Yun started laughing, as she kept wiping her tears away.

"You have nothing but shitty ideas..."

Kana just smiled at her. Then, without a word, she stood up and hurried back to packing.

"Kana..."- Yun stood up.

"Hm?"- She lifted her head as she threw on her zip-up hoodie.

"Whatever you do... I will be with you."

Kana turned around, leaning onto the chair behind her.

"And how will you do that?" - She laughed.

"D-Don't make fun of me! I made a promise as well! ... You probably don't remember it though..."

"You mean what you said when we were like... 10? I do remember, yeah."

Yun stepped closer and held her hand out with a stretched palm.

"Well, then. Let's both keep our promises!"

Though hesitantly, Kana reached out for Yun's hand and they touched palms.

"Deal."

She spun around, reaching for her backpack which she quickly threw on her shoulder, then slid the balcony door open. The air was chilly and fresh. Surprisingly fresh. It was exactly what she had been longing for: the smell of freedom.

"Well,-"- She took a few steps back.

"-Goodbye!"- She shouted and began to sprint towards the streets at full speed.

She sprung forward and jumped over the balcony's metal railing, throwing herself out into the air.

"WOO-HOOOOO!!~"- She screamed with happiness. The air hit her lightly as she started free-falling in between the buildings.

'Gosh-! This feels amazing!!'- She thought with a wide smile on her face.

She kept on falling for a few floors, but eventually her velocity became a problem.

'Oh, yeah I almost forgot. I'd probably die from a fall this big.'- She turned around and grabbed the railing of the next balcony to slow her fall.
By constantly repeating this action, she slowed her fall bit by bit until she was only dropping from balcony to balcony down the side of the building.

'This is awesome! I haven't done any parkour in ages!'

Every swing came with a sudden rush of adrenalin from the drop, then a quick and short span of relief as she caught the next railing.*

'Damn~... I almost forgot how it feels like to live!'

Repeating this over and over and over again... She quickly got used to it. Due to her past experience her skills were slowly returning to her, as well as her immunity to such minor thrills.

"Mmph... not enough..."- She mumbled between two breaths.

As she caught onto the next railing, she looked down: She was still far from the bottom; So, why not enjoy it until it lasts?

'But... how?'

As she stated the question, she noticed her chance right away.

'Has the other block always been this close?'

She quickly ran her eyes through it after the next drop.

'It's not really that far... Will I make it if I jump for it?'

In this moment she came to: Hesitation...

'What do you mean 'will I make it'?'- She grinned.

...was never an option!

At the next balcony, she pushed her feet onto the thin concrete railing and slightly pulled back.

'I haven't done this in a long time, but... I DOUBT my senses have dulled.'

She took a deep breath:
The world slowed down. The wind was light.
Her body filled with warmth coming from her core.

'This feeling...-'

A slight shock occurred in her brain.

'The feeling of near death...!'

Her pupils narrowed and her breathing slowed.

'NOW!'- She gave the sign to go.

She leaped with as much power as there was within her. As she let go of the rails, she felt a sense of freedom she haven't been able to feel for a long time. 
Freedom between life and death.
Her head completely cleared. She glided in the air relaxed, but focused. As she was getting closer to the balcony on the other side her body instinctively shifted into position: Her feet curled up in front of her and she reached out with open hands.

'Don't die now, Kana!'

She landed, rolling forward, then quickly standing up with her arms raised in the air.

"WOOHOOOOOOO!!!"- She shouted with thrill.

"I MADE IT!"

However, she couldn't have her moment for long. The lights inside the apartment turned on and she heard rustling from inside.

"Oops, too loud..."

She walked back to the edge of the balcony and looked down: The ground was only a few levels below.

"Well, guess it's time to go."- She said to herself and jumped over the railing, advancing down to the next balcony.

As she dropped further and further, her mind started to calm down.

'New life, I'm only a few levels away!'

The thrill starting to wear off, her body abandoned instinct. The end was getting closer and closer. Yet she only got more excited.

'Yun...'

She grabbed the final railing, flipping down the last balcony. She dropped below... landing on her feet, squatting in order to ease the fall. She quickly stood up, straightened her posture and shifted her chin upwards.

'I did it!'- She thought, as if she was in front of a crowd on a stage.

But suddenly, a cold breeze ran through the narrow street, stirring up the dust. She covered her face with her forearm to protect her eyes, but as the wind eased and she looked up, her gaze was instantly attracted by the moon, shining right onto her. The big orb shone through the hovering dust, which cleared before her, slowly. Kana raised her hand and reached for the glowing sphere.

'Up until now... Every second...-'

She clenched her fist.

'-Was for this very moment.'

"Huh? Wait, you! Who are you?"- A voice spoke from behind her back, shortly followed by a bright light shining at her.

It was a guard. In the late hours, these guards roamed the residential areas watching out for any quarantine escapees. Unfortunately, Kana was one of them.

'Well, shit!'- She quickly spun on her heel and bolted.

"W-wait! Stop, you brat!"- The guy shouted and ran after her.

She was sprinting down the narrow street, desperately looking for any potential hiding spot.

'It's okay, just keep calm. You just have to get to an alley.'- She thought as she took a dep, controlled breath. -'As long as he-'

She heard the guy cock his gun behind her.

'Well, fuck...!'

Fortunately, she finally spotted an alley to the right.

'That's it!'

She made a quick turn, but simultaneously the gun was fired. Her heart skipped a beat, but she instinctively ducked mid-turn. Behind her she heard the bullet hit the wall: She dodged!

'Nice dodge, girl!'- She praised herself and quickly snapped back to examining her surroundings. At first nothing caught her attention, but above her, an old, rusty metal ladder caught her eyes. It was hanging from the wall, leading to some kind of emergency escape door. Though it was pretty high up.

'If I can't go forward... go up!'

She gained more momentum, pulled the breaks and jumped, using the wall to launch herself even higher: still, she was way off.

'Ffffuck!'- She cursed inside her head as she fell back down to the ground.

"Stop! Stop running, fucker!!"- The guard's voice came from behind.

She managed to gain a little advantage, but his voice was getting louder and louder by the second; Yet, she hesitated.

'What should I do, what should I do.... what should I...'- She then spotted a route cutting the alleyway's walls to the right.

'I have no other choice.'

She quickly got up and sprinted for the escape route.

"I see you, motherfucker! Stop right there!"- The guard's voice rang again.

'I can make it! Just don't stop!'- She launched herself forward, using every bit of her strength to run. As she got to the opening, she stopped for a moment to look at the path ahead: there was a long staircase, leading upwards, to who-knows-where. It was uncertain, but for her, perfect.
She took off again, taking multiple steps at a time in order to get out of the narrow passage. She ran without looking back and without giving a second thought to it: After all, the small space wouldn't let her dodge another bullet.

Eventually she reached the end. She found herself in a tight, inner square between the buildings; It was basically a junction joining three alleyways and the staircase that led her up there. There was debris and trash all over the place, the walls were crumbled and overgrown with vegetation and the broken streetlights faintly flickered.

'Wow... Was it always this run-down around here? This is... right behind my block I think. I had no idea... I mean... not like I ever had the chance to look around, really...'

Further in the alleyways were no lights; There was just complete darkness, not even the moon shone there. Although it was perfect for staying hidden, it was also dangerous to blindly run into them. All in all, 3 uncertain routes and a guy going for her head behind her.

"I found one hell of a place, huh..."- She whispered to herself.

She didn't feel tired, yet her breathing was getting heavy.

'At least I have a second of safety.'

*blupb*

The sound of something dripping broke the silence.

"What the....?"

Her heart skipped a beat when she realized:

'Blood.'

Although uncertain how, she was sure of it. Maybe it was intuition, maybe something else... Whatever it was, she had no time to think. She ran her eyes along the place in search of the source. But the sound was coming from way closer.

'W-where is it... coming... from.....'- She looked at the ground, noticing the little puddle right next to her.

*blupb*

Another drop fell in the puddle.

'D-don't tell me it's...'- She looked at her left hand: it was dripping from the ends of her fingers.

'Wh-wha-!'

She followed the deep red trails on her arm... right up to the wound on her shoulder.

'It's... my blood!'- She got shocked at the sight.

"Shhhit...! But how...? Did the bullet graze me...?"- She hissed.

She started to hear the sound of someone stepping up the stairs behind her. Although he was still far, he was definitely in a hurry.

'I have to hide, QUICK!'

She reverted her gaze back at the three paths up head: One in front and one to the right and left. But... where to go? All alleyways were wide enough to leave her vulnerable to the guard's gunshots and they were all dark as each other. She didn't time to get far either; So, what to do? While contemplating her choices, she took out a roll of bandage from her bag and applied it onto the wound. Though it was twirled around her shoulder poorly, it did hold up and cover the wound. But she was nowhere near an answer yet.

'Well... I have to think with their head, don't I?'- She concluded after realizing she couldn't afford to hesitate.

She examined the paths thoroughly.

"If I was them, where would I go investigate?"

She thought about it as hard as she could; Leaving her with the answer, that the guard is certainly going to choose: One of the three paths!

'Ahh... That doesn't help at all...'*

However, sometimes it's the simple ideas that reveal the best options.

'It doesn't... help... or.. does it? Wait!!'- She reverted her gaze back onto a pile of grimy, old wooden crates and rubbish dumped in the corner to the left.

She took off her bag, opened it and threw it into the passage up front: A few things such as her bottle and some pieces of clothing fell out of the bag from the impact.

'Perfect!'

She then pulled off the top of one of a crate: a terrible smell and a fog of dust spurted out of it, right into her face.

"F-fucking hell!"- She muttered between two coughs.

She climbed inside the crate and closed the top: Now, all that was left was to wait silently. The footsteps were getting louder and louder, until eventually the guard arrived.

"Where did you go, you brat..?! Oh, I see! You try'na trick me aren't you?! But I will find you! Eventually..."- The voice came from right next to her.

For a second, the man stopped. She heard him breathing heavily right next to her.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck! Did he figure it out?'

But the sound of breathing quickly turned into footsteps and by the second they got fainter and fainter. Finally, the noise ceased. Kana opened the top and peaked out. There was no trace of the guy to be found anymore.

'Did it... actually work?'

She quickly stood up, throwing the lid of the box to the side.

'Oh, I mean... Of course it fucking worked! I'm a genius!'- She took a few seconds to celebrate her victory.-"And a bit stinky now... Whatever..."

She jumped out of the box and ran for her bag. She could still hear the guy's footsteps from afar, but not for long.

'You dumb-ass!'- She stuck her tongue out in his direction. After reclaiming her bag, she turned around and ran back down the stairs, to the alley she came from. Then, she just ran.

She covered one or two kilometers, maybe even more, until she finally felt safe to stop.

"Phew! What a first night, huh!"- She let out a self-satisfied sigh.

She was ready to go further, but a sudden noise hit her ears.

"Huh? Who is-?"- She couldn't finish, as the next thing she knew, there was a knife held to her neck.

"My, my, aren't you a pretty one...? What is someone like you doing, wandering around here in at night?"- A wicked, disgusting voice spoke right into her ear.

'Yeah, I don't know how, but his voice is disgusting.'- Kana confirmed.

She could feel his breath uncomfortably curl around her ear. Not to mention the horrible smell of alcohol and rotting teeth.

"U-uhm.. Good evening...?"- She said between a few uncomfortable chuckles, trying to mask the fright with something "funny", but of course, it didn't do her any good.

"Well, well... You should be more careful, you know? There might be terrible figures out here at night."

'Well, yeah, I had the misfortune to run into one...'- she thought.

"But don't worry, I will take good care of you for the night~"- He bent even closer and slowly licked her ear.

She felt utterly disgusted.

"Then I will probably sell you... Heh heh..."

Not only was he breathing right into her ears, but also he pushed his hips tight to Kana's butt. Which, of course, didn't give him a better image.

"Gee~... When was the last time you brushed your teeth, asshole?"- She said, unable to control herself anymore.

"What was that...? Stop babbling, you bitch! Just move and I may not slit your throat open. Am I clear?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever... Would you mind letting me go now? It doesn't feel oh-so comfortable with your dick in my ass!"- She shouted out loud. His grip tightened on the knife and the cold blade made contact with her skin.

"One more word and you will be out cold on the floor!"- The guy hissed menacingly.

"Oi..."

A deep, harsh voice interrupted their "lovely chit-chat". That's when they both noticed the person up in front: A tall guy in a black jacket and a gray hoodie and jogger pants, the hood pulled up onto his head. A baseball cap and a gray cloth in front of his mouth helped to cover his whole body. Only his eyes were visible; There was nothing ordinary about those eyes. They were light blue, so light they were almost glowing and in his pupils... Their gaze got trapped by a seemingly endless vortex into the void.

In one hand he held a metallic bat, the other was deep in his pocket. His posture was lazy, with a slight arch in his back and his hips pushed forward.

'Wow... 10 out of 10 entrance.'- Kana noted to herself.

"What is your business here? Get lost, rat!"- The pervert told him, looking at the guy with sharp, anger-filled eyes.

"Let go of her."- The guy said.

"What was that? I didn't hear you clearly. You shy little shi-!"

"I SAID LET HER GO."- His voice was deeper and strongly commanding. It made the hair on their backs stand up.

He carelessly threw the bat onto his shoulder and straightened his back. The moonlight reflected in his eyes, scornfully staring down at them.

"O-or what, hu-"

"Or I will bash your skull to mush."

- Chapter 1 end -

'Am I saved? Yeah? Probably... Oh, well... It will turn out in the next chapter! Stay tuned! I'm the most lovable character so far, am I not? I said, am I not...? ...well... Forget it! Just stay tuned!!!'

*Ky: I really wanted to use the word 'edging', but I'd rather not...

*Ky: Such a perverted look... Kana: Oh, shut uuup!