“What do we do?”  Tiffany asked with panic in her voice.

“We run.”  Taeyeon knelt down and searched the unconscious man on the ground.

“Tae… What’s that?”  Tiffany pointed to a handkerchief which was hanging out of his pocket.

“It looks like some sort of symbol.  Maybe it’s the symbol of a gang he belongs to.”  Standing up, Taeyeon put the handkerchief in her backpack and slid the handgun into her belt.

“Do we…  Do we really need that?”

“In case of emergency, yes.”

“Shoot or be shot, huh?”

The two left the room and proceeded to the small alley between Tiffany’s house and the neighbouring house.  Due to the explosion and recent chaos, most windows were shattered, allowing the pair to safely travel from house to house without being exposed in the open street.

“Tae.  There’s a gas station over there.  Maybe we can grab a bit of food there.”

“I have a really bad feeling at this gas station.  I feel like one of THOSE guys is in there, waiting for us.”

“You have a gun, don’t you?”

“Yeah, and they might have guns too.  Let’s try the back door.”

Taeyeon quietly ducked under the front windows and made her way around to the back door, which was already open.  She closed her eyes and listened carefully for any movement before slowly making her way inside.  She motioned for Tiffany to keep a small distance and to watch the back.  Eventually, she made her way behind the counter and looked around the room.

“Alright, Tiffany.  The coast is clear.  Just be extra quiet in case the other guys arrive.”

“So what do we need?”

“Water, food, tools, batteries, jackets…  Anything that looks useful, really.”

“Well, I think I found the- OH MY GOD.”

“What?!”  Taeyeon ran to Tiffany and looked in the direction that she was pointing in.  Her eyes traced the trail of blood until it stopped at the fridge area, where a body was found.  “Oh… man…”

Tiffany hid behind Taeyeon, as if the body could stand up and attack at any moment.  Carefully, the two shuffled towards the lifeless man.

“There’s that symbol again…  drawn in his own blood.”

“He had a gun.”

Taeyeon picked up the revolver and checked the ammo.

“He didn’t fire a single shot.  Well, we could make use of it.  Here.”  She handed Tiffany the gun and noticed that she was a little shaky.  “… Fany, are you okay?”

“You knocked a man unconscious without a second thought and the sight of a dead body doesn’t shock you at all.  How are you not scared?”

“At times like this…  You kinda have to keep-”

“I’m going to wait at the door.  I-I can’t look at this.  I feel sick.”  Tiffany handed the gun back to Taeyeon and ran around the corner of the aisle.

“Wait, Tiff-  Aish…  Poor girl.”  Taeyeon stared at the dead body and searched inside herself for any signs of disgust or fear.

Nothing…

She looked over the rack of tools at Tiffany, who was sitting on the floor, staring at the ground, deep in thought.  After searching the store while stuffing a few packs of beef jerky into her bag, Taeyeon walked towards Tiffany and sat down beside her.

“Are you alright?”

“I guess…”

“You’re lying.”

“Of course I am.  The average person doesn’t just look at a dead body for the first time and walk away unaffected.  I’m scared, Tae.  What if…  What if next time, that dead body isn’t just another victim?  What if it’s me?”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“How do you know that?  We already had two close calls.  What if our luck runs out?”

“This is one of those times where you just look ahead and keep going.  There’s no room for hesitating.”

“The attitude of the hunter…”

“No, it’s the attitude of survival.”

“No room for fear in your heart, hm?”  Tiffany chuckled.

Taeyeon sighed and stood up.  She looked outside and stood in the doorway.  “You know…  It’s not that I’m unafraid.  Truth is I’m terrified.  But sometimes you can’t show it.  Sometimes…  You have to be strong for someone else.”

“Oh, really?”  Tiffany stood up.  “Like who?”  She said in a teasing voice as she put her hands on Taeyeon’s shoulders and followed her outside.

“Like you.”

“Thanks.”  Tiffany’s lips curved up into a smile.

“For what?”

“Everything.”  She walked in front of Taeyeon along the street towards the direction they were originally headed.  “Now c’mon.  We have to get to Seo’s house.”

The pair followed the street until they reached a park.  After studying the map from the hospital, they continued walking until they reached another street of houses.

“It’s awfully quiet…”

“Yeah… This street is usually quite busy.  You don’t think…”

“Oh  crap.”

“Where’s your friend’s house?”

“It’s five houses from the end.  There’s always a silly looking gnome in the front yard.  You can’t miss it.”

“Well, let’s go then.”  Tiffany continued walking.

Eventually Taeyeon and Tiffany reached the house with a red hatted gnome in the front lawn.  They walked up to the door and knocked which caused the door to slowly swing open.

“That’s weird…  They always lock the door…”

“Tae, I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Me too.  Okay, stay behind me.  Let’s go inside.”  Taeyeon quietly stepped inside and made her way up the stairs.  “I’ll check out the bathroom.  You stay here, okay?”  As Taeyeon continued to walk down the hallway, she looked into each room.  As she passed the railing, overlooking the living room, a noise was heard.

“Uhm…  Tae?  Did you hear that?”

“Hear wha- WHOA.”

Taeyeon attempted to escape the grasp of a muscular man who proceeded choke her and pinned her against the railing.  With a push, she was sent over the top and landed on the ground below while Tiffany was tackled to the floor by a younger girl.

“AH!”

“... Who?”

“... Seohyun?”

“What are you doing here?”  Seohyun stood up and helped Tiffany off the floor.

“Agh…  Tae!  Are you okay?”  Ignoring Seohyun, Tiffany immediately made her way downstairs the help Taeyeon sit up on the ground.  “Are you hurt?”

“I don’t think it’s anything serious.  I’ll live.  My head kinda broke the fall.”

“Thank God.”  Tiffany sighed in relief as she helped Taeyeon stand up and return to the second floor.

“So what are you two doing here?”  Seohyun questioned with a confused look.

“We were hoping that we could maybe… group up with you?  Those guys… Judging by the empty houses and quiet neighbourhood, I’m guessing they came here too.”  Tiffany surveyed the room.

“Yeah, they barged right into our house and tried to kill us.  We hid in under the counters in the kitchen.  Apparently they’re searching for two girls.”

“Uhm…  Well, here’s the thing…  They’re looking for us.”  Taeyeon cracked a sad smile.

“What?! W-”

“We don’t know why.  But they’re after us.”  Taeyeon cut Seohyun off.

“Alright, well.  You’re welcome to come with me if you like.  We have supplies downstairs.”

“You have a basement?”  Taeyeon pouted.  “You never showed me when I came over.”

“It’s kind of our secret hide out.  Since dad is a little paranoid, we don’t usually show anyone.  This way.”  Seohyun led the girls into the bathroom as her dad closed the front door.  “Here it is.”  She opened the cabinet and pulled a lever that was hidden behind assorted care products.  Slowly, the wall, next to the shower, opened up and the two halves receded, leaving an opening.  The three girls followed the path until they reached a dark room with a small circular hole in the ground.  Seohyun removed the cover and revealed a ladder, which appeared to continue forever.

“Uhm…  I kind of have a fear of heights…”  Tiffany backed away from the ladder.

“Don’t worry.  If you fall, I’ll catch you.”  Taeyeon smiled as she followed Seohyun down the ladder.  After climbing down for what felt like an eternity, the trio reached the bottom.

“Whoa.  I expected it to be a small underground wooden shack with tools.  I didn’t think I’d see all this in YOUR house!”  Tiffany gasped.

“This is my dad’s stuff.  Pretty cool, huh?”  Seohyun the second set of lights, revealing an entire wall display of different types of guns and explosives.  “This wall has everything, from the exact same revolver that Taeyeon is holding, to a classic AK47, to grenades.  Miscellaneous weapons are in that room, over there.”  She pointed to a smaller room with racks of steel baseball bats, machetes, axes, crowbars, and unfamiliar weapons.

“So…  What are we doing?”  Taeyeon’s eyes shifted from the weapons to Seohyun.

“Well, I’m not going to sit here and let those guys come try to kill me again.  We can’t stay here.  So, we’ll stock up on weapons and go downtown.”

“Why downtown?”

“TV’s, the internet and radios aren’t working.  I guess the group of guys found a way to intercept the signals.  Some neighbourhoods don’t even have electricity.  We’re really lucky already.  Anyways, when we get downtown, we can ask around for information.  My dad once arrested a man who goes by the name of Ralph.”

“Is he American or something?”   Tiffany asked in excitement.

“No, that’s just a nickname they gave him in jail.  Surprisingly, he and my dad are now good friends.  He’s got a lot of street information with his gang connections.  Maybe he’ll be willing to help us out.”

“What kind of connections…?”  Taeyeon made a curious face.

“He’s a former gang member but got kicked out since he refused to murder a man who owed the leader money.  Criminals have hearts too, I guess.  After being pushed around in attempt to rejoin that gang, I’m sure he’d be happy to sell out his former leader.”

“Perfect.  I guess we’ll pack up.”

“Take anything you wish.  Really.  I doubt we’d be coming back anytime soon, so it doesn’t matter how much you take.”

“I’m going with the classic AK47 and my revolver.  I want to travel a little lighter.”  Taeyeon took the gun from the wall and hung the strap from her shoulder.  “Mind if I take the leg holster too?”

“Go right ahead.”  Seohyun gave her a thumbs up of approval.

“I guess I’ll take this one…”  Tiffany grabbed the M4 and allowed the strap to fit nicely on her shoulder and waist.

“I think I’ll stick with a silenced pistol, just in case we have to sneak around a little.”  Seohyun filled her bag with bullet packs and shoved two pistols into her shoulder holster.  “Ready to go?”

Tiffany and Taeyeon nodded in sync before the trio returned to the ladder and climbed back up.  At the top, they covered the entrance and closed the wall-door.

“Seo, is your dad coming with us?”

“Actually, he’s not.  His commander assigned him a position here to keep an eye on the neighbourhood.  We’re on our own.”

As if on cue, Seohyun’s dad appeared in the doorway.

“Be safe, okay, Seobaby?”  He hugged his daughter and left a kiss on her forehead.  “Now, you make sure that you hurt any of those guys if they bother you, alright?”

“Yes, daddy.”

“What’s the drill?”

“Punch, kick, and scream.”

“That’s my girl.”  He smiled and held the front door open as the three stepped outside and into the car, in the driveway.

“Tiffany, are you okay?”  Taeyeon grabbed Tiffany’s hand and felt it shake.

“She can’t drive…”  Tiffany whispered nervously.

“Nuh-uh.  I can drive.  As long as it’s during daylight hours with an experienced adult…”

“Close enough.  I don’t think the police are going to arrest us…  They have bigger problems to worry about since a group of men are murdering people across the country.  Just add zombies and we have ourselves an apocalypse.”  Taeyeon shrugged.

“N-not helping.”  Tiffany whimpered.

“Hey… Tiff, it’s okay.  We’re going to be fine.”  Taeyeon wrapped her arm around Tiffany’s shoulders in a protective hug.  “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Promise?”  Tiffany stuck out her pinky and smiled as her eyes disappeared into familiar crescent shapes.

“I promise.”  Taeyeon accepted the promise and couldn’t help but smile back.

Eventually, Tiffany relaxed completely and fell asleep.  Carefully, Taeyeon tucked Tiffany’s hair behind her ears and leaned her own head back.  As the world began to fade slowly from Taeyeon’s vision, her body relaxed when suddenly, the peaceful silence was interrupted by a high pitched clank.

“What was that?”  Taeyeon’s body jerked up in reaction to the sound.

“I think we’re being followed.”  Seohyun looked in the rear view mirror and found a white van following closely behind them.  “I drove in a circle and they followed suit.”

Clank clank clank!

“Well, okay, but what the heck was that sound?”

“Uhm…  Maybe bullets being fired the guy holding the pistol, sticking out their window…”

“Seo.”

“Yes?”

“DRIVE.”

Without hesitation, Seohyun turned off the road, into a field, and pushed the gas pedal to the floor.

Clank!

“Ahh!  What’s going on?”  Tiffany woke up in panic and sat up.

“We’re trying to drive away from those guys.  They’re trying to shoot us!”

“What do we do?!”

“We have to shake them off our tail!  This car won’t last very long with them firing at us constantly!”  Seohyun focused on maneuvering sharp turns and driving at full speed.

“Uhm… Tae?”

“What?!”

“He’s holding something grenade-shaped.”

“OH CRAP.”  As the grenade was thrown to the right side of the car, Taeyeon quickly rolled the window up but luckily, Seohyun was able to turn to avoid the explosion.

“Taeyeon, we need to do something!”  Seohyun rushed her for ideas.

“I have an idea!  Roll the windows down!”  Taeyeon tapped Seohyun on the shoulder in a not-so-gentle fashion.

“I can’t!  The right one is jammed!”

“Forget it!”  Taeyeon unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed over Tiffany.

“SEATBELT, SEATBELT!  TAEYEON!”  Seohyun screamed at the top of her lungs, over the sound of gunfire.

“SCREW SEATBELTS.  WE’RE GOING TO DIE.”  Taeyeon kicked open the window and stuck her upper body out.  As the car swerved on the road, she unleashed a clip full of shots at the car behind them.

“What the hell!  Their windshield is bulletproof!”  Taeyeon sat back down inside the car and reloaded her gun.

“Take this.”  Seohyun reached into her backpack and handed Taeyeon a box of special bullets.  “They can’t shatter the windshield but they can puncture any car tire ever made.  There aren’t many left, so make your shots count!”

Taking out the clip, Taeyeon replaced one standard bullet with the special one.  She returned to her previous position, keeping her balance under control as the car swerved left and right.

Steady…

…

Steady…

…

Bang!

“WHOA JEEZ!”  Taeyeon felt the recoil pulse through her entire body before curling back inside the car.  The three watched the car behind them uncontrollably drive into a tree and then burst into flames.

“These bullets give a lot of kick!”  Taeyeon curiously inspected the bullets before handing them back to Seohyun.”

“It’s the way they’re crafted.  It’s more aerodynamic and the pattern on the side actually causes the air to accelerate the bullet even more.  As it’s leaving the barrel of the gun, there’s a lot of pressure behind it too.”

“Would’ve been nice to know that sooner…”  Taeyeon stretched her arms.

“Sorry!  It kinda slipped my mind!”

“… Tiff, are you okay?”  Taeyeon looked over at Tiffany, who had sunken down in her seat with a petrified look on her face.

“Y-y-yeah!  No biggie.  We just almost died, but yeah, I’m fine!”  Her voice trembled.

“It’s okay now.  They’re not following us anymore.”  Taeyeon put her arm around Tiffany and reassured her.

“Hey, guys.  Look.”  Seohyun pointed at the passing sign.  “We’re almost there.”

“This place looks like a gross bomb went off.  I see tipped over buildings and a lack of sound.”  Taeyeon said as she yawned and leaned her head on Tiffany’s as she looked at the buildings in the distance.

“Well, let’s just hope it’s not completely deserted.”

“I kinda hope it is.  I really don’t want to deal with more of those guys.  But then again, we need to find that shady friend of yours.”  Taeyeon sighed.

“Until we get there, try to get some shut eye.  I know you two must be pretty tired since you didn’t sleep at night.”

After another hour of carefully driving around cars, scattered along the road, they arrived at their destination.  As the car passed into the downtown area, Taeyeon’s eyes slowly opened.  Seohyun looked behind her to find Tiffany, sleeping soundly with her arms around Taeyeon’s waist.

“Well, we’re here.  And it looks like your hopes of an empty area are coming true.”  Seohyun slowed the vehicle down.  “Aw shoot.  Uhm…  I think we’ll be walking the rest of the way.”

The pair looked in front of them, only to find wrecked cars and vandalized buildings.  Taking their time, they gathered their stuff and stepped outside.  Taeyeon walked around to the right side and lifted Tiffany out of the car.

“Are you seriously going to carry her until she wakes up?”  Seohyun questioned Taeyeon’s intentions.

“She needs her sleep.  We shouldn’t wake her.”

“Well, alright.  But you’ll really feel sore tomorrow.”

“That’s okay.  I don’t mind.”