Chapter Text
The sky over Seattle was the kind of gray that never really left. It just sat there, heavy and quiet, like it was waiting for something to happen. Sam Banks leaned against the cold metal railing outside the school, earbuds in, music loud enough to drown out everything else. That’s how she liked it–loud enough so she didn't have to think.
People passed by her like she wasn’t there. Some glanced. Some whispered. Same as always.
Weird kid.
Scene girl.
Does she ever talk to anyone normal?
Sam didn’t care. Or at least, she was good at pretending she didn’t.
She tapped her fingers against her arm in rhythm with the song, her bracelets clinking softly. The wind tugged at her short hair, messy like always. It felt normal. Almost too normal.
Which was the strange part.
“Sam!”
She pulled one earbud out, already knowing who it was.
Aiden jogged up, slightly out of breath, his backpack slung over one shoulder. “You’re gonna miss first period again,” he said, like he always did.
“Im already missing it,” Sam said flatly.
He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, at least try to look like you care.”
Sam smirked a little. “That sounds exhausting.”
Before Aiden could respond, Lila appeared behind him, her expression softer, more worried. “Did you guys hear what’s going on?”
Sam raised an eyebrow. “Depends. Is it actually interesting , or just school drama?”
“It's not a drama,” Lila said quietly. “People are getting sick. like …really sick.”
That got Sam’s attention.
“Sick how?” She asked, straightening up.
Lila hesitated. “I don’t know exactly. My mom was talking about it this morning. Something spreading fast. Hospitals are getting crowded.”
Aiden shrugged. “Probably just another flu thing.”
“Yeah,” Jordy cut in, walking up with his usual half-grin. “The world’s ending. We’re all doomed. Guess, I don't have to turn in my homework.”
Sam snorted. “You never turn in your homework.”
“Exactly. I’m consistent.”
Marcus showed up last, taller than the rest of them, scanning the area like he always did. “What are we talking about?”
“End of the world,” Jordy said.
Marcus didn’t laugh. “Doesn’t feel like a joke today”
That made Sam pause.
Marcus wasn’t the type to say things like that unless he meant it.
The group fell quiet for a second. Around them, the usual school noise carried on, lockers slamming, people talking , teachers yelling. But something felt…off? Like everything was just a little too tense.
“Okay,” Sam said finally, pushing off the railing. “Even if something’s going on, standing here isn’t going to help. Let’s just get through the day.”
“Normal day,” Jordy repeated, though it sounded less convincing.
They headed inside together, moving through the crowded halls like they always did. For a moment, it felt like any other day. Same people. Same noise. Same routine.
But Sam noticed things.
She always noticed things.
A girl leaning against a locker, pale and shaking.
A teacher whispered urgently into their phone.
Two students arguing about something on the news.
Small things. Easy to ignore.
Except Sam didn’t ignore them.
By lunch, the tension had grown thicker. Phones were out everywhere. Videos. Messages. Rumors spreading faster than anyone could keep up with.
“Look at this,” Jordy said, shoving his phone in their face.
The video was shaky. Someone running. People yelling. Then a glimpse of someone on the ground, twitching. It was a young girl and it looked like she had been bit by an animal or something.
Sam frowned. “That’s fake.”
“I don’t think it is,” Lila whispered.
Aiden crossed his arms. “People post stuff like this all the time.”
“A lot like this,” Marcuse said quietly.
Sam didn't say anything. She just watched.
Something about it felt real.
Too real.
“Alright,” She said after a moment, handing the phone back. “Even if something weird is going on, we don't panic. We stick together. Got it?”
Jordy raised an eyebrow. “You’re already going full apocalypse mode?”
“I’m going full ‘don't be stupid’ mode,” Sam shot back.
Aiden smirked. “Thats fair.”
Marcus gave a short, firm nod. “Together.”
Sam looked at all of them–really looked this time. Her friends. The only people who ever actually stuck around. The only ones who didn't see her as just the “weird kid.”
Something tightened in her chest.
She didn't know why.
“After school,” She said, her voice a little more serious now, “we meet up. Same spot. No one goes off alone.”
Jordy tilted his head. “You’re serious.”
“Yeah,” Sam said. “I am.’
For once, no-one argued.
The final bell rang later than usual. Or maybe it just felt that way.
As students poured out of the building, the sky looked darker than it had that morning. The air felt heavier. Sirens echoed faintly in the distance.
Sam stepped outside and paused.
Something wasn't right.
Not just a little wrong. Not just weird.
Wrong.
Aiden came up beside her. “You feel that too?”
“Yeah,” She said quietly.
Lila and Jordy joined them, Marcus right behind them.
For a moment, none of them spoke.
Then, somewhere in the distance, someone screamed.
Not the kind of scream you can just ignore.
The kind you can just laugh off.
It was the kind that makes your blood go cold.
Sam’s grip tightened on the straps of her backpack.
“Stay close,” She said, her voice low but steady.
Her friends moved in without hesitation.
That was the moment. Not when the world ended. But when Sam knew that nothing will ever be the same as it was.