Quincy Agent Arc: The Story Starts Anew

High School of the Dead
''BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!''

The alarm clock's wail was unmistakable. Geoffrey Oscar rolled over, folding the covers, that were blanketed over his head, back, so that he could reach over and nonchalantly shut the annoying, yet blaring, noise off with a touch of a button. Silence reigned again, and Geoff rolled over on his back, propping himself up with his arms, and sighed. 6:30 am. How he despised that time. Time to prepare for another day of classes; the third day of the new school year. Another day of having his nose stuck in a book, stuck in a desk, in a classroom, until 4:00 pm rolled around. With a heave, which took most of his strength, Geoff managed to roll out of bed, standing with his bare feet onto the cold, wooden floor.

Half an hour later, he was well on his way to class. The sky was clouded that day, and the scent of rain was heavy in the air, though no precipitation had fallen just yet. The overcast was welcome. Rider City had been engulfed in a drought for the past seven months. Plus, Geoff liked the rain. Turning the corner, he finally entered the Northern District, and his school, Rider High School, stood off in the distance; at the end of the street.

Cars rushed by, busy adults on their way to work. Geoff paid them no heed. So far he had seen not one of his schoolmates. Most had their parents drive them, but Geoff preferred walking as it built up his stamina and allowed him a brief time outdoors, which enjoyed greatly, as it relaxed him prior to the many hours of stressful classes he had ahead. Upon reaching the grounds, he was immediately confronted by his best friend, Ronald Frank, or "Ron", as Geoff referred to him. The two exchanged greetings, as per the usual, and proceeded to walk in together. Ron was two grades above Geoff, who was a freshman, but the two had been friends ever since Geoff was twelve, so they managed to get along very well despite the age gap.

"So, I heard you got Mr. Ishida this year for homeroom." Ron chatted as they approached the side entrance. "Class B-3, right?"

"Yeah." Geoff causally replied, his head still in the clouds.

"What's he like? I've heard he's pretty weird." Ron continued, without missing a beat.

"Eh, he's alright." Geoff snorted. "He's kinda eccentric, but I'm getting used to it."

"I see." Ron mused. "I heard his grandson is starting this year too. What was his name? Sasaki?"

"Sakaki, Ronny." Geoff correct. "Sakaki Ishida."

"Yeah, yeah." Ron moaned mockingly, swinging his backpack off of his shoulder as they reached the locker room within the building. "I'll never get used to those Japanese names."

"Speaking of that," Geoff continued, following suit with Ron, "I wonder what made them come all the way from Japan. Where are they from again? Some place called Karakura Town?"

"Sounds about right." Ron replied, collecting his supplies for his first class before slamming his locker shut. "There's no telling what made them come to this shithole of a city."

"You really don't like this place, do you?" Geoff teased, flashing Ron a sneer.

"Damn straight." Ron snorted.

"Oh well. We should get to homeroom. I'll catch you at lunch period." Geoff replied, waving before turning to walk down the hall.

"Later, dude!" Ron called out as he too ventured off.

The morning continued uneventfully. Upon reaching homeroom, Geoff found himself a desk in the center of the classroom, and listened, halfheartedly, as Mr. Ishida read the class roster and took attendance; perking up only momentarily to reply after hearing his name get called. Then it was on to the morning lessons. Mr. Ishida is the school's head arithmetic instructor, so class began with Algebra — a subject Geoff despised with a passion, though he somehow found the motivation to take adequate notes. Midway through the class, the lecture was interrupted by a sudden arrival. It was a boy about Geoff's age, with short blue hair, looking much like Mr. Ishida himself.

"Ah, there you are Sakaki." Ishida announced. "Come on in."

Sakaki, the boy Geoff and Ron had discussed earlier, silently entered the room, taking a stand in front of the class, just behind Mr. Ishida's podium, awaiting his introduction and instructions.

"Class, this is my grandson, Sakaki Ishida. He is a transfer student from Japan, and he will be joining you all in this homeroom class for the time being. Please welcome him." Mr. Ishida announced. "Sakaki, find a seat. Perhaps over there behind Geoffrey-kun."

"-Kun". A Japanese honorific. Mr. Ishida still wasn't used to being in the United States, so he was still prone to referring to others with the honorifics he was so used to back in Japan. Most of the other students either found it annoying or amusing, but Geoff was indifferent towards it. He watched Sakaki take his seat, directly behind him, never losing the stone face he had entered the room with. Hopefully, the kid would lighten up.

The next two periods were uneventful. Geoff realized that Sakaki had every class the same as him, a fact which put him off moderately at first, but, by lunch period, he had forgotten all about it. In the courtyard of the school, on lunch period, Geoff met up with Ron, and the two went to the outside picnic tables to eat their meals. The two discussed their classes thus far, and Geoff vaguely mentioned Sakaki, though Ron didn't seem to be genuinely interested. The rest of the day went on like this; uneventful. By 4:00 pm, Geoff was ready to get home and relax for a bit. He walked along the side of the road, a light drizzle now pouring from the bloated rain clouds, and a cold breeze floating through the air. Geoff took note of the fact that he seemed to be completely alone on a usually busy street, but it didn't seem to bother him all that much. At first.

As he turned the corner back into the South District of Rider City, he noticed the clouds beginning to darken. Soon after, the street lights lining the road lit up, allowing him an expanded field of vision. The rain began to intensify, so Geoff took off sprinting towards the next street, eager to get home and out of the downpour. His rather uneventful day was shattered in the moment, when he seemingly slipped, faceplanting in the ground, causing him to skid several feet across concrete and grass, until he finally came to a stop just beneath a tree in one of the yards lining the street. Pain shot through his shoulder as he slowly made his way to his feet.

Immediately something was wrong. He noticed that what he had tripped over wasn't wet cement. It was a tail. A black tail. A black tail connected to a large monster. A monster with eight legs, and a large, skull-like mask on its head. The creature opened its mouth and let out a bone-chilling screech. Geoff's first instinct was to run, but immediately noticed he was unable to, because, during his fall, he had also injured his knee, which impeded his motion. Seizing the opportunity, the creature lunged, knocking Geoff down once again. This time, he was totally defenseless. The creature loomed over him like a predator over its prey. Geoff even thought he'd seen it salivating as it glared hungrily down upon him. With another roar, the creature lunged again, and Geoff closed his eyes, awaiting the inevitable sting of death. The last noise he heard was an explosion, followed by a hiss, as if something was being unleashed behind him. The creatures screams of pain followed that, and then, nothingness...