The night wasn't any less chaotic than the day ; it was just wetter, louder, and somehow more dramatic, like the apocalypse had decided to hire a sound designer. Rain poured down in sheets, lightning cracked across the sky, and zombies moaned in the distance like they were auditioning for a horror remix.
Classic Luna moment ;she crashed into the dusty pavement again, face-first, yelling,"WHY DOES THE GROUND HATE ME PERSONALLY!?"
Behind her, Tim slipped on the same muddy patch, performed what could only be described as an Olympic-level fall, and took Pluto down with him like a bowling strike.
The three of them ended up in a tangled heap, soaked, angry, and very much regretting being alive.
"Tim!" Pluto groaned, shoving him off. "You literally body-slammed me into the apocalypse!""It's not my fault! The road attacked me first!""The road can't attack you!" Luna yelled."WELL, IT DID!"
Lightning flashed ; and in that split second, Tim's eyes widened. "Uh… guys… funny story…"
Luna groaned. "If that funny story involves zombies, I swear I'll personally throw you into them."
"Yeah," Pluto said dryly, "tell the zombie your story, maybe he'll die of boredom."
But Tim didn't answer. Because standing two inches in front of him was a zombie.A tall one. Missing half its jaw. Breathing way too close for comfort.
Tim screamed — a high-pitched, glass-shattering scream that could've summoned dogs from another dimension."AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
Luna grabbed his hoodie. "BRO, SHUT UP, YOU'RE GONNA--"
But before she could finish, the zombie jerked back. Its eyes flickered bright blue. The rain hissed against something metallic ... and then… it glitched.
The zombie's entire body shimmered, glitching like bad Wi-Fi before transforming into… a guy.
A very confused guy. With silver hair. Holding a glowing metal wristband.
The three of them froze.Luna blinked. "...Did that zombie just respawn as an anime protagonist?"Pluto rubbed his eyes. "Nope, I'm done. I'm hallucinating from stupidity."
Before they could process, two more figures stumbled through the rain behind him ; a girl with short purple hair and another with electric-blue streaks and a sword longer than Tim's attention span.
"WHAT THE--" Luna started. The purple-haired girl cut her off, . "Okay, who screamed like they were being eaten alive? You nearly broke our sensor readings."
Tim raised a shaky hand. "Uh… that would be me."Of course it was," Pluto muttered.
The silver-haired boy brushed off his jacket, giving them a once-over. "Name's Tango. These two disasters are Tanya and Asuka. And you three just made first contact with people from 2067."
Rain dripped down Luna's nose. "2067? Bro, we just survived a zombie mosh pit ..." Tim blinked. "Wait, so that means... you guys... like.... future people?"Asuka sighed. "Congratulations, Einstein."
Pluto crossed his arms, deadpan. "Cool. Six people. Zero sanity. Unlimited zombies. This'll go well."
Tango grinned, clearly unfazed by the sarcasm. "You guys from the past sure are dramatic."Luna snorted. "Oh yeah? Says the dude who spawned mid-thunderstorm wearing glow-in-the-dark tech."
Tim, ever the chaos magnet, stepped forward. "So, uh, do you guys… have food? Or like… emotional stability? "Tanya smirked. "Neither. Welcome to the future."
And just like that ; under flashing lightning, ankle-deep mud, and the distant growls of another zombie, six absolute disasters stared at each other, realising they were now one team.
Not by fate. Not by destiny.Just by sheer, stupid accident.