Not Part of the Plan

Chapter 1

"Whose f̸̬̱̩̖͈͙̈́̏̽̈́͝ư̸͍̈́̊͐c̵̢͋̎͌́̕͜ḵ̸̭͎̩̭̤̙͋̀̕i̴̧͍͔̱̖͆͋ń̴͇̖͕̠̪̃͑́͠͝g̵̬͇̑̚͜ idea was this?!" a glitchy and distorted voice rose above the chaos of the other pairs of feet running from a giant swarm of beasts.

There were so many bodies in the crowd that it didn't even look like there were individuals anymore- just mounds of flesh rolling through the broken and long-since abandoned streets of Brighton, breaking the few unbroken windows that were left intact, and tearing up the mossy pavements as they continued their hunt.

"Anti, shut up and run for god's sake, unless you want those bastards to gnaw your arm off!" an American-tinted voice replied.

The swarm moved faster upon hearing the shout, inhuman groans growing ever closer to their prey, using the voice as a beacon in the otherwise darkened area. Stars lit up the sky beautifully, but nobody was paying attention; they just wanted to escape.

"Would you keep it down, Chase?!" another voice chipped in. "You know they're attracted to noise!" it whisper-shouted at the American.

"I really don't think that matters anymore, Jackie!" Chase yelled back, frustrated and high on adrenaline. He made the mistake of looking back and saw that the grotesque creatures were gaining on them. "They're getting closer!"

"Since when could these fuckers run?!" a voice spoke from above them.

Long green hair flowed majestically above the men on the ground, but not too far up, for the owner of said majestic hair was beginning to tire, and fast. At a glance, he looked the most powerful among them, but that wasn't the case today.

"Like this is a problem for you, Marvin! You have magic!" Jackie retorted to the flying man above them.

"We've already been over this-"

"Guys, they're going to catch up-"

"Why didn't I get any flying abilities?"

"F̸̗͔̙̳̽u̷͔̥͗̀̆̎̒͘ç̴̛̛̠̩̤͗̽̓͗̂k̵̨͔̗̪̲͕̋̿͒̓̈̾̚͜ ̸̢̤̯̣͉̫̃͊̀t̷̛̯͖̣͋̀̄h̸̯̱̺̀̿̈î̶̧͈̆̃͆̽̀́ṡ̵̨͔͙͙̋!̶̜͕̓̀͗̔͜!" Anti's voice once again rose over the rest, drawing their attention just in time for the other tree to see him skid to a halt in the dirt and face the creatures chasing them. They were literally rotting lumps of flesh, with horrid gashes and missing chunks of skin and muscle here and there, and they let off the most overwhelming smell for miles around.

These were the infected ones- the ones that weren't as lucky as the rest and got bitten, transferring the virus, or disease, or whatever it was, to their own cells. Two years into this mayhem and nobody was sure how this had all begun, but everyone knew they didn't want to be the next to join the ranks.

"Anti, wait!"

But it was useless to try and persuade the demon; he was already running back to the hoard of zombies chasing them, his knives drawn and a maniacal smile on his face, shortly followed by a matching giggle. The other three had now also stopped in their path, each with varying expressions.

Chase looked more worried than the rest, his fatherly instincts still strong in his head, but he knew he had to act too otherwise Anti would get himself torn limb from limb. Quickly, he scanned the area for a way up to a rooftop.

Jackie seemed more determined to join Anti by the look on his face, but it was mostly out of guilt. If he didn't join Anti and he got hurt, it would be all his fault...

Deep down, he knew Anti could handle himself, but he still couldn't let him fight alone. Just as he was about to run into the hoard too, a hand stopped him and dragged him away, high into the air. He bumped bodies with someone else- Chase, he soon realised- as Marvin brought them both to the most tactically angled rooftop he could find.