Siyeon screws the cap back on the bottle after taking two small sips, returning it to its place beside ten others. Gwangju, Busan, Jeju, the words echo in her head, bugging her every now and then. Where could the transporting areas be? Releasing her grip on the handle of the kitchen cabinet, she strides into one of the rooms, walking into Jieqiong twiddling with Nayoung’s fingers.

“Nayoung, can I have a moment with you?”

Siyeon sees the way Nayoung tenses up, a slight nervousness flashing across her face. “Of course,” she says, nodding her head slightly. She gets to her feet, but Jieqiong stops her.

“I’ll just go outside,” she smiles sheepishly towards Siyeon, and scurries out of the room. Nayoung pats the now empty space beside her on the bed.

“What’s up?” she asks with a tremulous smile.

“I think we might have a way out,” Siyeon’s words are soft as they are enunciated clearly, “There’s somewhere we have to go for the government officials to provide us with transport buses to Gwangju, Busan, and Jeju, but I don’t know where that is.”

“How,” Nayoung’s eyes narrow in slight suspicion, “How did you get all these information?”

“The internet,” Siyeon avoids the older girl’s gaze, “I saw it on the internet before my phone shut down.”

She hears Nayoung release an exasperated sigh. “Okay,” she says as her lips dip into a slight frown, “So all we have to do is find that place, right?”

Siyeon nods, and watches as Nayoung runs her fingers through her hair in thought, still frowning.

“Let’s find the place, together,” Siyeon offers, her tone a pitch higher, but Nayoung only nods in response, her vexed expression unchanging.

Suddenly, a squeal – Jieqiong’s – interrupts their conversation, before they both hear Eunwoo’s voice.

“Shut up!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Jieqiong says in between giggles, “It’s all your fault, you shouldn’t have tickled me!”

They both hear Jieqiong release an expected huff, and they can almost imagine her hands on her hips, stomping away, a scene they’ve witnessed too often. And when Siyeon hears a small laugh erupting from Nayoung, a part of her wishes to be Jieqiong, to be able to have the ability to make others around her happy without the slightest effort.

Siyeon thinks she feels Nayoung’s hand on her knee as she continues to chuckle, but her eyes are too busy trying to ignore the sting and blinking back the tears for her to see through her blurry vision.

//

“Do you have the knife?” Kyungwon asks Minkyung, a thing she makes sure to do every single night they’re on patrol, although they’ve never once encountered any danger.

“Yeah, baseball bat?”

“Right beside me,” Kyungwon replies, tapping the weapon.

“Then what’s this for?” Minkyung points to the rifle on her side, slipping the knife into her pocket.

“Extra safety, I don’t know.” The night is dark and quiet, almost empty from the absence of any activity, “But Nayoung says not to use it unless it’s emergency.”

“Why?”

“The sound, silly,” Kyungwon takes the opportunity to lightly smack Minkyung’s forehead, “We don’t want more zombies coming after us after killing one.”

Minkyung chuckles softly. Hands still locked with Minkyung’s, Kyungwon starts to think that night patrols are so much easier for them than it is for Nayoung and Siyeon, who has to go through the entire night alone. Although the time through the nights goes by faster than expected, it doesn’t make it any less tough for them. They don’t talk through the night like Eunwoo and Jieqiong do, they don’t play scissors, paper, stone like Yebin and Kyla do, and neither do they hum to random song melodies like Yewon and Sungyeon. But many a time Kyungwon manages to search for Minkyung’s hand in the darkness, and that alone serves as a form of comfort, even as their hands get clammy with sweat. And when Kyungwon starts to think of all these little things, the world suddenly isn’t that bad a place to live in anymore. A voice snaps her out of her reverie, and in other situations she would’ve been glad, but not this time, not when the voice is laced with fear and worry.

“Did you hear that?”

There was a momentary rustling of leaves above the sounds of the crickets and the howling wind, striking fear and suspicion in the hearts of the two girls as they clutch onto their weapons tightly, eyes and ears on full alert as they guard the house.

“Yeah,” Kyungwon whispers back, heart racing and hands shivering. “Do you see anything?”

Minkyung shakes her head fervently, a part of her doing so just for the sake of self-assurance. She squints her eyes, however, in the direction of the woods, slightly expecting someone, or something to appear.

“Minkyung, ,” Kyungwon mutters under her breath, fingers pointing a little towards the left of Minkyung’s side. A woman is heading towards their direction, feet staggering and unstable, her head slightly craned towards the back. They keep their eyes fixed on her, as Kyungwon reaches for the baseball bat with stealthy hands. Just when she touches it, the woman sprints towards them at full force, hands outstretched and jaw hanging, and Minkyung lifts the rifle subconsciously.

“Minkyung, don’t shoot! Don’t–“

A shot rings out through the soundless night, disrupting the silence, announcing a whole new level of danger. The owls stop hooting, and instead, the sound of the movements from within a distance grows louder, as the creatures approach them closer.

“I–“ Minkyung’s voice trembles as the rifle shakes in her hands. Her eyes are b with tears as she stares down at the now deader woman, limps laying sprawled on the muddy floor with a hole in the middle of her abdomen.

“Shhh, it’s okay,” Kyungwon takes the rifle from Minkyung’s hands, ing the baseball bat to her instead. Just then, someone pounces on her from behind, and Kyungwon hears Minkyung shriek before she has time to react, swinging the rifle backward and hearing the man fall to the ground with a grunt. Persistently, he grabs at her ankles, latching his bloody and filthy mouth onto her calf, letting Kyungwon drag him as she tries to retract her leg. She uses the of the rifle and repeatedly smashes his wrists, until the hands release their grip on her leg.

“Kyungwon–“

Blood pools at the hem of Kyungwon’s jeans, the fabric now torn into strips, long scratch marks decorating her once untouched calf. Minkyung gasps in horror at the sight, but Kyungwon ignores her and turns to the rest of the members who just got up from their slumber, rushing to gather outside.

“What happened?” Siyeon says through pants.

“We need to leave,” Kyungwon grabs Minkyung by the wrist and drags her into the house, “There are more coming.”

With simultaneous nods from the other members, they get to work, with Siyeon, Eunwoo and Yebin guarding the entrance while the rest pack the necessities with the quickest speed they can manage. Kyungwon hears the multiple gunshots fired outside as she packs her belongings, but even those sounds are unable to cover Minkyung’s whimpers and pleas.

“What the is your problem?” she hisses when the other girl continues to tug at her sleeve, anger coursing through her veins, a fury she’s never experienced before. Minkyung breaks into sobs, and falls to her knees as she lifts the hem of Kyungwon’s jeans, revealing a gory bite mark, her entire calf drained out of its original color. Kyungwon yanks her leg away, pockets a gun and zips the bag as she slings it over her shoulder. She walks out of the room, eyes scanning the house for Nayoung. When she spots the older girl, surrounded with the other members in a circle, she pushes past them and tosses her the bag.

“Leave, now.”

Nayoung shoots her an incredulous look, eyes narrowed and brows furrowed. “What are you doing?”

She doesn’t answer, but Nayoung scans her body instinctively, until she spots the rotting flesh. Jieqiong buries her head into Nayoung’s shoulder, and Sungyeon and Yewon lower their head, littering the floor with droplets of tears. Kyla only manages to stare back at her, but Kyungwon tells them that it’s okay, and Nayoung knows better than to bring her along.

“What are you guys doing?” Eunwoo shouts as she fires another shot.

“Go through the back door,” Kyungwon says in a hurry, “I’ll lock it after all of you leave.”

Nayoung chews on her lower lips, and nods her head slowly; her eyes welled up with tears. “Take care.”

She gathers the girls to the back door, and shouts for Siyeon, Eunwoo and Yebin to abandon their positions after an estimation of ten more seconds. Kyungwon slumps to the ground, her back resting against the wall, and she closes her eyes until she feels another body pressing against hers. Her eyes fly open.

“Why are you here?”

Minkyung hugs her legs to her chest, resting her chin on her knee. “I’m not leaving you. Plus, I can’t move that much with my injured left knee either, I might as well die sooner than later.”

Kyungwon rises to her feet, and tries to haul the other girl up, but she doesn’t budge.

“Minkyung!”

Eunwoo is the first to stop shooting, as she locks the front door with Nayoung’s instructions. Siyeon and Yebin halt their actions too, as they warily observe the creatures approaching them from a few miles away.

“We need to evacuate in half a minute,” Yebin orders when she walks past Kyungwon and Minkyung, only stopping when neither of them follows her.

“Yebin!” Nayoung hollers from the back door, the other members already escaping, with Siyeon in the lead.

“What–“ she turns around to see Kyungwon still attempting to get Minkyung to her feet, at the same time spotting the blood-soaked jeans of the former girl.

“What are you doing? Help me!” Kyungwon says to Yebin, gesturing at Minkyung.

“Kyungwon, for ’s sake, stop telling me what to do,” her glares are as certain as her tone, and there’s no changing Minkyung’s mind when she’s set her mind on something. “Yebin, I’m sorry, but go, now.”

“But–“ Yebin begs, fighting the emotions that are tearing through her.

Nayoung strides back into the house to yank Yebin by the arm, ignoring all sorts of protests. She spares one last glance at the other two girls, managing a soft, sad smile that conveys much more than it seems, before she’s sprinting out of the house. Kyungwon proceeds to lock the back door, before slumping back onto the floor with a loud thud.

“You don’t have to do this,” she says, and the first creature reaches their doorstep with a loud slam on the front door.

“I want to be with you,” Minkyung replies, and the second, third, fourth, and fifth creature follow, blocking their view of the outside world, once filled with nature and greenery.

“Me too, I’m sorry I can’t protect you.”

Minkyung laughs, her voice somehow calming and soothing despite the situation. “You’ve protected me long enough, I just want to stay with you till the end.”

A thousand thoughts flip through Kyungwon’s mind, and she sees Minkyung in all of them. The awkward gestures they exchanged when they first met at class; saying hi in the school hallway; riding the subway together as they travel to and fro; the subtle glances they stole at each other while studying at the libraries; feeling Minkyung’s hand in the darkness after the catastrophe struck; the terror they lived through since then; the fear they tackled together every single day. She’d been there with Kyungwon through it all. And here, at the end of the fight, Minkyung is in her arms.

“Tired?” Minkyung asks as she observes the way Kyungwon’s eyelids are drooping, her pupils dilating slightly.

“Yeah,” she says, ignoring the stabbing feeling as it crawls from her calf to her thigh, and soon her heart and her brain.

“I’ll be here, you know,” Minkyung taps her good leg, taking Kyungwon’s hands into hers. “I don’t go back on my words.”

“I know.”

The door is breaking down, the glass is cracking, and the creatures are more persistent than ever in trying to break into the house, but Kyungwon wants to relish in this moment forever, because she doesn’t know when is the next time they’d sit side by side and hand in hand, and she’s too afraid to try to find out.

“See you soon,” Minkyung says sadly, and Kyungwon sees the door bursting open, the windows shattering into tiny glass pieces, and the creatures pouring in from all directions. “And I love you, very very much.”

One of them jumps onto Minkyung, hands raking the girl’s shoulder as she screams. Kyungwon retrieves the gun from her pocket with every bit of energy that’s left within her, and aims it Minkyung’s forehead, the area just above her bright, sparkling eyes.

“I love you too.”

She pulls the trigger, and watches as the girl crashes to the ground, head soaking in a pool of reddish black liquid. The creatures turn to stare at her, their teeth baring, and she rests the tip of the gun to her right temple before another one manages to sink its fangs on her. She closes her eyes and flexes her right forefinger, and the last thing she remembers is the smell of the barrel and Minkyung’s indelible face.

//

Nayoung slows down from a sprint to a fast jog; her hands still gripping onto Yebin’s like superglue. The younger girl, however, stays mum after their escape, diligently running beside Nayoung.

“Clear!” she hears Siyeon shout from inside the gas station, so the rest of them follow suit. The front door has been destroyed, and the store is in a mess, with overturned shelves and floor strewn with empty boxes. There is a horrible stench of metal and rotted food, and the murky light pushing through the smudged windows made the dirt around the area much more evident. Nayoung pinches her nose in disgust, and watches as the other girls do the same.

“Okay, settle down,” Nayoung announces, and initiates by coming into a cross-legged sitting position on the stained floor. The girls huddle around her, forming a circle.

“We’ve lost our hideout,” she starts, making sure to scan the faces of every one of them, “So we have to find a new one.”

The girls nod in agreement, staying silent. The only one who doesn’t move her head is Yebin, but Nayoung can’t blame her, so she brushes it off.

“But, a new hideout wouldn’t be necessary if we manage to find the transporting areas first.”

The heads raise one by one, each of the girls staring at Nayoung confusingly. She goes on to explain their new finding, assuring the girls that there will be a way out, and while the rest of them breaks into tears of joy, Yebin doesn’t react the same way.

“How can all of you act like this when we’ve just lost two of our closest friends?” she says out of the blue through gritted teeth, her tone harsh and irate.

“Yebin,” Eunwoo places a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugs it off. Instead, she gets up and walks to the other end of the store, crouching in the corner as she folds herself into a paper crane.

“It’s okay,” Nayoung tells the rest of the girls, well aware that the sun is rising, signaling the start of another day, “We’ll make it out alive, for them.”

They decide to rest at the gas station for a day, to make up for whatever sleep they’ve lost through the previous night. Although the members fall asleep only after several hours of sobbing, Nayoung smiles in a sad satisfaction as she sees them now huddling close together at one corner of the store, eyes shut and lips slightly apart.

“You’re not sleeping?” Yebin asks coldly, startling the older girl.

“Not until you do,” she says, observing the puffy eyes and the red nose.

“I can’t sleep,” Yebin hugs her knees closer, “I can’t believe all of you can just ignore what just happened and act like it was no big deal.”

It was a sharp jab to Nayoung’s heart, of course it was. Minkyung and Kyungwon had been nothing but two very precious friends to her, and will continue to be even as their bodies rot and decay. And she’s sure that they mean as much to the other girls as they are to her.

“Do you think Minkyung and Kyungwon would want to see us like this?” she snaps, “Like you? Brooding over them meaninglessly? If you knew them well, if you still care for them, then you should be strong, and accomplish the things that they did not manage to. The remaining ones should live harder, I’m sure that’s what they wished for.”

The younger girl goes silent beside her. Soon, small, tiny crystal beads creep out of Yebin’s swollen eyes, one after another, accompanied with the sniffling sounds as she tries to bite back her sobs, but it turns into a flowing stream of sorrow, tears streaking down her cheeks, dripping from her pointed chin into her shirt. Nayoung settles beside her, holding the small, fragile girl in her arms as she shakes uncontrollably.

“Be strong,” Nayoung says softly, “I’m sure they’ll be proud of you, Minkyung especially.”

Nayoung pats the girl gently on the back, and she doesn’t realize how long it takes before Yebin goes completely quiet, head resting against her chest. Carefully, she peels the body away, propping Yebin’s head at the corner of the wall. She hugs her own legs to her chest, and she makes sure to keep her pocketknife beside her, before she feels her own eyelids getting heavier and her consciousness ebbing away.

//

Yebin regrets skipping the previous physical education lesson to mug for her examinations. Now she’s left all alone under the scorching hot sun, in the middle of the running track, just to complete ten laps as punishment. She stretches her calves, does fifty jumping jacks, and in a breath before she starts jogging.

Her hair sticks to her forehead and her skin feels moist. She’s on her ninth lap and she’d give anything up for an iced cold shower. But, Yebin is a student of complete integrity, and she decides to stick to that title till the very end. Swallowing a lump down , she clenches her fists tighter and continues to move her aching legs.

“Hey!”

Yebin almost stops in her tracks when she hears the voice. A figure jogs up towards her from behind, and now that the girl is jogging beside her, Yebin can feel her cheeks warming. At least she has the exercising part for her to come up with a reasonable excuse.

“Didn’t know you’re the running type,” Minkyung says, smirking as she jogs lightly, with way less effort as compared to Yebin. She doesn’t mention that it’s a punishment, and only smiles back. The last lap feels much easier than the first few, and if it weren’t for her spinning head and wobbly legs, she’d volunteer to run a few more laps, just so she could be with Minkyung. When she returns home and dips her body into a bathtub filled with iced cold water, she smiles to herself contently and no longer regrets skipping the previous physical education lesson.

Yebin sees Minkyung the next day at the cafeteria, waving in her direction after she collects her food.

“Hey,” Minkyung says when she reaches the table. Yebin recognizes Nayoung – Eunwoo’s senior – and the other girl, Kang Kyungwon, another one of the popular volleyball girls.

“You’re Yebin, right?” Nayoung smiles at her.

“Yes,” she replies politely, lowering her head in embarrassment as the three girls stare up at her.

“What are you doing? Have a seat!” Minkyung points to the seat opposite her. Yebin almost drops her plate.

Minkyung’s eyes never left her during the ten seconds that she spent getting to her seat, staring at her with a warm smile that Yebin finds too glaring to look back at. And when she finally settles down and gathers the courage to look up at the other girl, her heart starts racing faster than before.

“How about we properly introduce ourselves? I’m Kim Minkyung,” she says, offering a handshake.

Yebin blushes when she holds her hand, feeling the soft skin against her own. “I’m Kang Yebin.”

And Minkyung smiles again; her smile endearing, intriguing, and arresting.

“Nice to meet you, Yebin.”

She grins like there’s no tomorrow, her food cold and long forgotten.

//

Nayoung wakes up to the shuffling of noises, unaware that she has fallen asleep. Turning to her right, she realizes that Yebin is no longer beside her, and the pocketknife that she placed on her left is nowhere to be found either.

The rest of the girls are awake, talking at the far end of the room, and Nayoung is unable to decipher their words. She stands up, her legs numb and wobbly, and it’s only then Eunwoo realizes the fact that she’s awoken, rushing towards her upon that realization. Nayoung doesn’t have a good feeling about this as she feels the alarms going off at the back of her head, and when Eunwoo opens to speak, she feels the alarms ringing in her ears.

“Yebin’s gone.”

//~//

A/N: If any of you feel that some chapters/ parts are a little too rushed, or some characters require more background story, do let me know! (Except for Sungyeon, Yewon, and Kyla, because there are already so many characters and I don’t really see the need to start new background stories from scratch, I’m sorry).

Aaaaand, I apologize for having sadistic tendencies, don’t hate me ;_;