The room filled with gasps as the door slowly opened while making an eerie creaking sound. The boys held their weapon tightly as the girls held each other and closed their eyes for what was about to happen.

Suddenly a long key wrench appeared then the door opened wider and both group stared widely at each other, obviously expecting something dangerous on each side. When they realized that both sides were humans and not zombies, the young guy on the other side lowered his key wrench and breathed deeply.

The boys and the girls did the same thing.

“Thunder is everything okay?” a young woman said on the far back.

Thunder looked back and then reached out for the girl behind him.

“Yeah, Hayi. Everything’s okay,” Thunder said as he looked at the group. “Who the hell are you? And what are you doing in this storage room?”

“The back door is unlocked so we got in before the zombies saw us in the alley,” Jin explained. “I’m Jin. These are my friends – Ksy, Mino and Hoon. The girls, we helped them escaped during the chase. The girl right there is Jennie, then Lisa, Jisoo and Rose.”

Thunder nodded his head to acknowledge everyone in the small room.

“I’m Thunder. This is my girlfriend, Hayi. We were staying upstairs but we needed food and other supplies so we went down here. We heard some commotions here.”

“There’s no food here? What’s this place exactly?” asked Jisoo.

“It’s a party store, mostly things you need in parties or any events. A gift store, too, it seems,” Thunder replied.

“This is the only place we can open. This floor isn’t safe because Thunder and Yunho had to break one of the glasses for us to enter. They just bolted it up with wooden furniture,” Hayi said as she looked back to see if the coast was clear. “I think we better go back upstairs and continue the discussion there. It’s making me feel unsafe here.”

“Yeah,” Thunder agreed. He looked at the guys. “Are you sure there are no foods in those boxes there?”

The girls started checking as well as the boys.

“Nah, most are just stuff,” Hoon said as he threw a bag of balloons on the side. “What’s upstairs?”

“A room probably meant for whoever was watching the store. Maybe he or she panicked and left,” Thunder. “There’s a bathroom, a kitchenette with a small fridge. It didn’t have much. We used the cup noodles and water that were left there.”

“How many are with you upstairs?” asked Mino.

“There are 6 of us. 5 adults and 1 child,” Hayi answered.

“Are you a family?” asked Jennie.

“Oh no, Thunder and I are with a little boy. He’s his nephew. We met the 3 others on our way home,” Hayi said.

“Home? What do you mean?” asked Ksy. “You didn’t meet each other out there.”

“Well technically, we did. But Hayi, my nephew and I found a school bus to drive. I was hoping to reach my parent’s home because I knew that’s where my sister and her husband will be. We saw the 3 on our way out to the congested street. They were hiding inside a truck. One of them is badly injured and is in need of medical attention. But the bus broke down before we even reached the highway. We came back here instead of staying inside the bus. But the good thing is there’s a docto with us here.”

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m getting hungry now,” Rose said.

“Yeah, I’m thirsty as well,” Jin added.

“The tap water isn’t good upstairs. But there’s still a little bit of water left in one of those water jugs,” Hayi said. “You just have to make it work for everyone.”

“Yeah, come on. Let’s go up there and meet the others,” Thunder said as he ushered Hayi to go up first before he followed. The rest of the group started following them as well.

When they reached the 2nd floor, Hayi opened the door. The room was large enough to occupy all of them but not safe enough for them. They all looked on the left side and saw a man in pain being treated by another man while the woman was trying to make the injured man relaxed. A little boy was sitting not far from them. He was watching something on a phone. They all looked up.

“We found them at that back door,” Hayi said as she pointed to the group.

“Aunt Hayi! Uncle Thunder!” the little boy said as he stood up. Hayi approached him and they sat together to continue watching something on the phone he was holding.

“Is that phone working? I mean the signal, at least,” Hoon asked.

“No. We all have our phones but this place has no signal for some reason. I tried calling my sister when we were on the bus. It rang several times but she didn’t answer. After that, I got nothing anymore,” Thunder explained. His voice was full of worries.

The man who was treating the injured one stood up and approached the newcomers.

“I’m Yunho. The couple are Hye Sun and Jaehyun.”

“Hi! I’m Ksy. This is Mino, Hoon, Jin, Lisa, Jisoo, Rose and Jennie.”

“Are you a doctor?” Lisa asked.

“Yes, I am,” Yunho said. “Anyone of you injured?”

The group shook their heads. He then looked at Thunder.

“Jaehyun is getting worse. If we can’t find a pharmacy, there’s nothing I can do for him. He’s in pain. He’s still bleeding. That fracture isn’t just a simple one,” Yunho muttered to Thunder quietly. “She’s also hysterical so let’s try not to make her worry even more.”

Thunder nodded. The rest of the newcomers heard it, too.

“The back storage room is useless,” Jin said. “There’s nothing you can use there. Not even food and water.”

Yunho sighed. He walked to the window and checked the street below. It wasn’t safe to go down because there were still zombies walking around the area. He wasn’t sure they could last a night without food or water for everyone especially not now that they’ve increased in numbers. He was also worried for the kid who might be hungry after some time. He knew it would be difficult to look for food at night. He went back to the group.

“I need to go out there. I need to find a pharmacy. There’s got to be one in this area. Most pharmacy sells water. They have refreshments, too. We need that, at least,” Yunho said as he looked at Jaehyun and Hye Sun. “He needs something for the pain. I need to get it.”

“I’m going with you,” Thunder said.

“No,” Yunho replied. “You’re tall. If anything happens here, you can push them up to the rooftop.”

Yunho pointed at the window skylight.

“The furniture we used to block the broken window will probably work as long as we’re quiet but if this place is being attacked, it’s not going to hold. That’s our only escape,” Yunho said.

“You can’t go alone,” Thunder said. “You need someone to watch your back and then another one to help you carry the stuff we all need.”

“I think we can help,” Ksy said as he looked at his friends who nodded. “I’ll go with you, Yunho. Mino and Hoon, too. Jin will stay here with Thunder and the girls.”

“Wait,” Jennie suddenly said. “We also need something that you might not know. I mean…um…girl stuff, you know. We don’t know how long we’re going to be stranded. There are 6 women here who might need something in the coming days.”

The girls nodded. The guys understood what they were trying to say. Hayi volunteered to join Thunder to look for food a while ago in hopes that she could find a pack of feminine pads for her.

“If it’s okay, I’ll go with you guys,” Lisa said.

“Me too,” Jisoo said.

“Okay…if you’re all sure then be ready. We need to go. Let’s just hope we can find what we’re looking for before night time,” Yunho said to the group.

“I’m a little familiar with the stores here. I do know that there’s a convenience store at the next block. It’s small but definitely there’s food, water and other stuff we might need,” Mino said. “But when we were running away from zombies hours ago, I saw some in that area. I don’t know if it’s safe now.”

“We can check that out,” Yunho said. “How about a pharmacy?”

Mino shook his head but then he remembered something.

“Is a clinic okay? There’s a bunch of clinics – dental, medical, child health, vet – near that same block,” Mino said.

“Yeah. Yeah! That’s good. I’m sure we can find something useful there,” Yunho said with a hopeful voice. “Let’s leave now.”

The boys started going down with Yunho while the girls hugged each other. All were praying for each other’s safety. Once they got to the 1st floor, Yunho decided to skip the front door and go to the back. Ksy stopped him.

“There are zombies at the alley,” Ksy said.

“We’ll check,” Yunho replied. “We have no choice. If we go out in the front, we have to remove all the furniture. It will leave them vulnerable to possible attacks. At least here, we can close the door. I don’t think zombies can open it.”

The boys and girls nodded. Yunho instructed Jennie and Lisa to stay at the back and watched it. Yunho walked in front while the boys were on each of his sides. He slowly turned the knob of the door and opened it. The back alleyway was empty.

As they walked out the storage room and closed the door, Yunho signaled Mino to lead them to the direction of the convenience store. They walked quietly for several minutes. Each one of them watching their surroundings for possible threats. It was still daylight but they didn’t want to take things for granted. Every corner, store, open door could be their end if there were zombies lurking. Yunho couldn’t help but laugh sarcastically from the inside. He wanted to die but now he was trying to survive with these young ones. He knew he was needed by Hye Sun and Jaehyun. His professionalism and desire to help others deterred his plans of ending his own life.

God truly has a sense of humor – a bit mean but still funny, Yunho thought. He wanted to die, to give up on life but instead God gave him the undead to chase after him and everyone else.

After several minutes, they reached the block that Mino said. They all took a peek if the coast was clear on that area. Luckily, it was. There were no zombies around, just cars, blood and broken stuff. The group started walking faster. Mino checked the convenience store. It was indeed small but it was packed with food. The group entered and started getting what they need. Yunho asked Mino to point him to the direction of the clinic. He told him it was just a few short walks from here. Ksy decided to join him. Once they reached the clinic, Yunho took all the things he needed while Ksy watched his back. He didn’t waste time. He grabbed whatever he could instead of perusing each cabinet for all the things he needed. They had no time to waste.

Once they were done, they met the group at the convenience store outside. Their arms were full of plastic bags. They walked towards the same route they came from. They walked faster when they heard noises not too far from them. Everyone was alert. When they reached the back alley, Hoon and Mino checked if the back room was still safe and it was.

When Thunder heard them, they all went upstairs. All of them were happy that everyone was safe. Yunho started unpacking the things he needed for Jaehyun. The girls and boys started eating their food. For now, they were safe.

But for how long?

++

Bom screamed loud as Junsu tried to push the old woman away from them.

“Junsu, be careful! Don’t let her bite you!”

Jae with Minguk and the puppy as well as Jun arrived. Jae saw his brother trying to free himself from the zombie’s grasp.

“Bom, hold Minguk. Watch him,” Jae said as he ran towards his brother.

Jae couldn’t use his gun because Junsu and the zombie were so close from each other. He didn’t want to risk it. He can shoot but definitely not a marksman. He looked back and saw Junsu’s weapon, a fire iron steel that he got from the Park’s. He took it and hit the old woman from the head. Her head snapped a bit but she was still coming after them. The zombie changed course and ran towards Bom and Minguk. But before she could reach them, Jun hit her with the golf club. She fell hard on the floor with her head half attached to her body. She was crawling but very slowly.

“Come on! Let’s leave here,” Jun said as he looked outside.

They obviously made a loud noise to attract zombies nearby. They could hear growling and snarling coming at them.

“Come on!”

Jae and Junsu ran out of the house with Bom, Minguk and Jun leading the way. Outside they saw a couple of zombies slowly walking towards them but there were some who were running. Jae saw the fast ones.

“! We need to leave here for a while,” Jae said. “We can’t go back in the house. These zombies will attack us there.”

Jun ran towards his car parked out front. Luckily, his keys were always in his pocket. He opened it and yelled at the others. Jae carried Minguk and ride shotgun while Junsu and Bom entered the backseat. The minute they closed the doors, the faster zombies reached them and tried to break the windows. Bom and Minguk started screaming. Jae covered his son’s eyes as he yelled for Jun to start the engine.

“Jun, drive!”

“Jun, hurry!” Junsu yelled as he tried to prevent the window from breaking on Bom’s side.

When the engine finally roared, Jun drove as fast as he could away from the Park’s residence. The zombies were still trailing them. Bom was screaming in panic as Junsu comforted her. Jae cuddled his son who cried nonstop while holding the puppy.

All of them were scared. All of them were out of breath.

“Where to?” Jun asked after a few minutes.

“I don’t know, man. Just drive for a while. Just drive away from this hellhole,” Jae said as he looked at the surrounding and hugged his son tightly.

++

“How is she?” Yoochun asked Dara softly as he approached her.

“She’s still not talking. She’s been crying for a while,” Dara replied as they both looked at Hyori.

The group was now cooped up in a private office for travel tours. It was good that the place had a small kitchen at the back. Yoochun and Min used all the furniture to blocked the entrance way. They also closed the blinds. It was a miracle that they escaped the horde of zombies.

When Se7en was killed, Yoochun and Min took advantage of the back streets to get into Hyori and Haru’s location. They ran back using the same alleyway towards the other women. From there, Yoochun and Min searched for a place to hide until they saw this travel tour office. It wasn’t a secure location, but at that moment, it was what they needed. Hyori was in no condition to run. She was distraught after losing Se7en. Haru also cried a lot. It took Dara a while to calm the little girl. Now both she and Daehan were sleeping on the couch. Hyori was still in the other room just sitting there and crying. Yoochun and Min were still busy securing the place. While Minzy and Chaerin were making sure they all had something to eat.

Dara looked at Hyori again. She felt sad for her. She didn’t know her but somehow what happened to her made Dara sad. She knew that if it was Jae, the reaction would be the same. She hoped, though, that he was safe with Minguk. As well as Manse, Thunder and Hayi. It hurt her head just thinking about everything and everyone. She didn’t even know if her parents were okay. She borrowed Minzy’s phone but the battery was already empty. Chaerin’s phone got lost somewhere. Yoochun forgot his on the car just as she did. It also didn’t look like Hyori still had her phone with her. Min was the only one with phone but his battery was almost out, too. Dara tried to search for a landline but the lines were dead. Technically, any form of communication wasn’t an option for them at that moment.

“Dara,” Chaerin whispered.

Dara looked up and saw Chaerin carrying a bowl of cup noodles.

“Will you please give this to Hyori,” Chaerin said as she handed her the noodles. “She hasn’t eaten anything since we left the pharmacy.”

Dara nodded as she took the noodles to Hyori. She was hugging her legs as she sat on a couch facing the covered window. Dara put the noodles on the table and she sat on an empty chair.

“Hyori, here’s your food. You should eat,” Dara whispered softly to a crying Hyori.

Hyori looked at her with teary eyes. She closed it and then bowed her head.

“I love him, Dara. I love Se7en. I’m not planning on leaving him. I’m just tired of all the crazy things happening around us,” Hyori sobbed.

Dara moved closer to Hyori. She touched her arm.

“I know for sure that Se7en loves you so much, Hyori. I don’t think he would have wanted for you to be sad like this,” Dara said. She wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to say but she knew that Hyori needed comfort.

“How? If he loves me, he should have stayed with me,” Hyori cried out.

“Yes. But Se7en knew you were in trouble. If he didn’t love you, why did he risk his own life for you? Hyori, he loves you so much because he willingly went after you and Haru. He wanted you safe. He wanted you alive. And I know all that because if my husband is with me, he will do the same thing for me and I for him,” Dara comforted. “I don’t know what you’d been through with him but what he did for you and Haru…that speaks volume. Stop thinking that he left you. Stop thinking that he didn’t love you because Hyori…what he did…for you, for Haru, even if he doesn’t know her at all, that means a lot. It’s everything that he felt about you. That in spite of the things you’d been through in your relationship, he loves you so much. Please always remember that about him.”

Hyori cried and hugged Dara.

“I love him, Dara. I do. So much. Even when we were still young. Even when he had nothing. I just wished we could have settled our issues. I wished I could have told him how much I love him and that I will always stand by him,” Hyori cried on Dara’s shoulder. “I accused him of cheating me. But I know Se7en wouldn’t do that to me. I was just jealous. I wished I listened to him before we even left our condo. Maybe…maybe…instead of being cold to each other, we could have at least spent our last days together like we used to…when we were young and in love.”

“Some things are out of our control, Hyori,” Dara whispered to her. “We have too many what ifs in life – the shoulda, woulda, coulda…but in the end, we can’t control a lot of the things that are happening in our life. Sometimes we have to go with the flow. You have no idea how sorry I am for what happened to you and Se7en. I was with you since this all started. I saw how you tried to be cold to him. But still…there was love. With how you cared for him when we were at the pharmacy and with how he was protective of you even when you were giving him the cold shoulder. Se7en loves you. And that’s all that matters now. He saved you because he loves you. I think he preferred it that way than you getting hurt. Don’t let him die in vain just because you couldn’t handle this. Se7en obviously wanted you alive, to fight for another day. So Hyori, please don’t give up. Not now when you’re finally safe again.”

Dara felt Hyori’s hug tightened. She sobbed for a while but at least she stopped crying hard. She was responding, too. When Yoochun and Min first got to her, she was barely talking. She wasn’t functioning at all that was why the group decided to find a place to settle for a while. They didn’t think running from zombies was an option when one of them was still in shock and unresponsive. Dara hoped and prayed that Hyori would feel better after this. Though it was still too soon, time wasn’t a luxury at the moment. Until they were truly safe, they needed to run away from this zombie infested city.

++

Yunho was able to give Jaehyun painkillers. When it worked, he immediately fell asleep so Yunho started treating his injured leg the best he could. It wasn’t the best option but he had to settle with whatever he had at the moment. He knew that Jaehyun’s injured leg wouldn’t heal anytime soon because it needed surgery. He didn’t have that here. So a leg splint was the best he could do, and a lot of painkillers. Good thing he got a lot of it from the clinic.

At the moment, Hye Sun and Jaehyun were sleeping. Yunho felt sad for the woman. She was worried for him since he found them. Somehow he felt a twinge of envy, too, because no woman including his ex-wife, showed the same worriedness he witnessed from Hye Sun. Despite his injury, Jaehyun was a lucky man.

Yunho then looked at the group. He saw Thunder on the other side. He was sleeping. His girlfriend Hayi was sleeping next to him. She was h