t/w - mention of suicide, blood, guns

I was wiping the blood off of the machete when I heard a scream. My head snapped up and I got onto my feet and rushed over to the commotion. When I got there, Mina was on the ground with Sejeong staring down at her heatedly, a corpse with a screwdriver sticking out of its head just next to them. The other girls ran to gather around the two of them, all just as shocked and worried as I was.

“I told you to be careful, didn’t I?” Sejeong spoke through gritted teeth. She bent down to grab the girl’s hand but I quickly pulled her back, eyes scanning Mina’s body up and down.

The girls stared at me in shock.

“Nayoung, what the hell?” Sejeong asked me.

I clenched my jaw.

“Is that your blood?” I asked Mina, pointing down at her bloody ankle with my eyes. Mina’s eyes grew.

“N - No.” She stuttered.

“Be honest.” I said. “Is that your blood?” I repeated in a louder tone, pointing to her ankle. Mina shook her head, starting to cry.

“No.” She said, lips quivering.

Chungha gently shoved my shoulder and shot me a look. Sohye helped Mina up, the quiet atmosphere building up the tension.

I cleared my throat.

“That’s enough scavenging.” I said. “Let’s head back into the forest.” I ordered, kneeling down and pulling the screwdriver out of the thing’s head. They followed me into the forest with Mina still looking pretty shaken up.

Chaeyeon had wiped the blood off of her ankle before we continued on, revealing her pale skin.

The lack of a scratch on her skin made me feel relieved despite the heavy guilt I felt in my lower stomach. I made a mental note to talk to her later and apologize.

When the sun began to fall, the girls all settled down on the forest floor. I searched for Mina among the ten of them, finding her holding onto Sohye’s hand.

Before I could go to talk to her, Chaeyeon tapped on my shoulder.

“We should clean your cut.”

“It’s fine.” I replied.

Chaeyeon didn’t take no as an answer, pushing me down by the shoulders and making me sit. She placed the first aid kid next to her and began to unwrap the bandaging around my arm.

“I said it’s fine.”

Chaeyeon ignored me and practically drenched my arm in alcohol, causing me to curse and pull my arm back harshly. This caused some of the girls turned to look at us.

She glared at me and grabbed my arm again, pulling it back into her lap so she could continue washing it.

She spoke quietly under her breath. “Mina is completely terrified of you now.”

The statement was like a stab to my heart. “I was just doing what a leader should do.” I spoke through my teeth as she was being anything but gentle with me.

I knew the girls all adored Mina but they should at least look at things in my perspective, right?

“A leader wouldn’t completely…” Chaeyeon trailed off as she focused on placing a new bandage around the cut.  “A leader wouldn’t completely scare their member like that.”

“Okay, but what if she was scratched?” I asked Chaeyeon, causing her to look up at me. “She would’ve turned and she would’ve turned quickly.”

The girls were all listening into our conversation and I knew it.

I turned my head to look at the rest of them, catching Mina’s eyes.

“Mina, I’m sorry I scared you.” I apologized gently before running my gaze across the rest of them. “But if I had let Sejeong help you up... and have you turn and bite her, what kind of leader would I have been?” I stared at them, eyes connecting with ten other pairs.

“I did what I did because I care about the wellbeing of you all.”

“Would you have killed me if I really was scratched?” Mina asked me shakily. “When I became one of them?”

I looked down at the ground. “I wouldn’t have let you suffer through the transition.”

Silence ensued for the following moments before Mina headed my way. I stood up instinctively and felt her smaller body collide with mine.

My arms curled around her and I felt the girl’s shoulder shake as she hugged my waist. I shut my eyes tightly and rested my chin on the crown of her head, taking deep breaths.

“I’m sorry for being so reckless.” Mina murmured, voice muffled by my shirt. I rubbed her back.

“Don’t be sorry. You’re not at fault for any of this.” I whispered. She pulled back and wiped her tears. I gave her a small smile and saw her eyes widen just a tiny bit, making my smile grow even more. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

She pressed her lips tightly together and nodded, returning the smile before going back to her position with Sohye.

A few minutes later, all eleven of us were gathered around the pile of our bags, chatting quietly in the darkness. We hadn’t done a group talk since Yeunjung had gotten into the group, everything being too awkward with her around.

But now as I stared at her, watching her eyes move from member to member as another person spoke one after another, my heart swelled up. I noticed this difference in her, the hostile aura had lessened, even if it was just by a tiny bit.

A tiny bit meant a lot in a world like this.

Group talks always started off happy before drifting into the sadder, more emotional talks towards the end.

“Chungha, did you have someone special?” Somi asked quietly, lightly tapping the girl’s thigh.

“Of course.” Chungha smiled at the question, though her smile was lacking any sort of happiness. She stared at the bags in front of her with a longing gaze in her eyes. “Two, actually.”

“Parents?” Sohye asked. Chungha shook her head.

“Roommates.” She replied, letting out a small chuckle before her teeth. “Those two… They were really something.” She shook her head. Somi took hold of her hand and Chungha leaned her head on the younger girl’s shoulder.

“What were their names?” Sejeong whispered, giving an encouraging smile to Chungha. She was the second to last addition to the group to be added so we all didn’t know much about her, just that we found her in an old dancing studio with the windows and doors boarded up.

“Haein and Suhyun... Those two were soulmates, I swear.” Chungha sniffled once, looking up at the sky as she blinked a few times, clearing her eyes and nose. “Haein got infected and Suhyun didn’t want to leave her.”

“And what about you?”

It didn’t matter who asked the question because Chungha didn’t look up at them, keeping her gaze solely on the sky.

“I left.” Chungha mumbled. “I wanted to give them privacy so I left… I wasn’t going to be gone forever but when I came back… Suhyun… She had....”

Somi let go of Chungha’s hand and wrapped an arm around the shorter girl’s shoulders instead, pulling her close. Chungha let out a shaky sigh. I stared at Chungha with sad eyes.

“We’ve all lost people important to us, haven’t we?” Sejeong tried to brighten the situation.

The girls nodded silently, agreeing in their minds and thinking about those they had lost.

I stared at Sejeong with curious eyes.

“What about your story, Sejeong?” I asked her, knowing nothing of her past except for the small tidbits Mina would tell the rest of the group when she wasn’t around. “You and Mina’s story.” I added on, remembering how we had found the two of them together in a bakery.

“There isn’t much to tell.” Sejeong said with a small laugh. “Mina wanted bread so we walked to the local bakery and found you three.” She pointed to me, Jieqiong, and Sohye.

“Bread?” Somi asked with a giggle. “Bread?”

“Yeah, well, neither of us realized that all the bread would be moldy so…” Sejeong laughed, embarrassed. Mina just smiled, her smile somehow allowing my stomach to flutter. Any time one of the girls would show a sign of true happiness, this would happen. I think I cared about them too much for my own good.

“How about you, Somi? Had it always been just you and Chaeyeon?” Chungha bumped her knee with Somi’s. Somi’s eyes glanced towards Chaeyeon’s direction before looking back at Chungha and raising one finger.

“We had one other person.” Somi said with a smile, her usual cheekiness nowhere to be seen. “My girlfriend, Dani.” If any of us were surprised, we didn’t show it. It was the apocalypse. Who cared whether you were heteroual or not?

My eyes landed on Chaeyeon who stared at her lap intently with Jieqiong holding onto her hand. Somi kept speaking.

“I didn’t realize people would turn that quickly.” Somi mumbled quietly.

“Did you…?” Chungha asked hesitantly.

Somi shook her head. “I wouldn’t have been able to. I was too shocked.” She looked over at Chaeyeon. “Chaeyeon actually had to drag me out of the house.”

The girl looked up at the sound of her name, eyes connecting with Somi’s.

“If it weren’t for her, I’d probably be infected, too.”

We spoke for what seemed like hours before finally deciding to sleep. I stayed seated, watching the other girls lay down to rest against and with each other.

With the revolver clenched tightly in my hand, I felt like a mother bear protecting her cubs.

“Im Na.” Sejeong whispered from her position next to Somi. I quirked an eyebrow at her calling me ‘Im Na’. “You never told us about your story, either.”

“I don’t really have one.”

Sejeong let out a small huff before sitting up and plopping herself next to me. “Don’t have one, my .” She teased. I hushed her, narrowing my eyes.

“Aren’t you tired? You didn’t sleep at all yesterday because of me.”  I asked.

“No.” Sejeong hummed. “I’m actually quite awake now that I’m thinking about your story. So, what happened?” She leaned on my arm as she asked the question. I pushed her away.

“Nothing.”

Sejeong clicked her tongue. “You and Jieqiong are just naturally awkward, then?”

I leaned over and clamped a hand over Sejeong’s mouth. “Shut up!” I whispered harshly. She mumbled something that I couldn’t understand and I sighed, removing my hand from . Sejeong glared at me, narrowing her eyes.

“So, there is a story.”

“There isn’t.” I denied.

“What? Are you two enemies? Did one of you steal another one’s boyfriend?” Sejeong whispered excitedly. “What are the details?”

“It doesn’t matter.” I muttered. “All that matters now is surviving.”

“Tssk. So stingy.” Sejeong grumbled, crossing her arms. “To think, a leader being uncomfortable around one of their members.”

I gave her a look. “That’s a low blow.” I said.

“A low blow is not being on good terms with your own team.”

“Tell that to Yeunjung.” I retorted, receiving a slap on the thigh moments later. I hissed and glared at the other girl.

“You are the leader.” Sejeong scolded me. “Whatever past you and Jieqiong have together, either talk it out and become closer or forget about it and just live on.”

Her words stuck to me even as she patted my shoulder and went to lie down next to Somi. I sat up, waiting for the sun to rise even though my eyelids were feeling heavy.

My eyes were starting to close but I pinched my thigh to keep myself awake.

If anything were to happen, it’d be on me.

I heard a groan and my eyes snapped towards the noise, relaxing once I realized it was one of the girls. Jieqiong sat up, gently lifting Chaeyeon’s arm off of her stomach. I looked away as the girl stood up and stretched her arms, letting out another quiet groan.

She noticed me moments later.

“Have you slept yet?” She asked groggily. I shook my head, turning my head to look up at her. Jieqiong frowned and sat down next to me, causing me to stiffen up. The words Sejeong had said to me last night were replaying in my head.

“There’s eleven of us.” Jieqiong mumbled. “We could’ve taken shifts.”

“It’s fine. All of you deserved rest.”

“You deserve it, too.” Jieqiong replied almost instantly. My eyes widened just a tiny bit as I looked over at her. She lowered her gaze to her lap. “I heard you and Sejeong talking yesterday.”

I mentally cursed Sejeong but I didn’t show my aggravation. “She was right about what she said.” I mumbled. “It’s not good for a leader to be in bad terms with one of their members.”

“But we aren’t really in bad terms, are we?” The younger girl asked me, eyes meeting mine. “We’re just… sort of… all over the place.”

I gave her a small smile. “All over the place is bad, Jieqiong.”

Jieqiong hummed. “I suppose so.” The morning birds chirping filled up the silence between me and her. She spoke up again. “Then, let’s forget about it.”

My expression turned to one of shock. “What?”

“Let’s forget about whatever happened between us before this happen.” Jieqiong said with a smile as if she weren’t telling me to completely throw away our past together - with the good memories included. “All that matters now is surviving, right?”

I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. Jieqiong placed a hand on my knee and patted it twice. Her touch felt like fire and I stared at her pale hand on my skin. My eyes travelled up the length of her arm to her face, gazing into those eyes I had fallen for years ago.

I forced a smile. “Sure.” I nodded stiffly. “Let’s forget it all.”

-

3┊ “Did your parents touch you? Are you scratched or bitten?” Nayoung asked the smaller girl, shining the flashlight up and down the girl’s body. Sohye shook her head. The taller one didn’t know whether to trust her but she ended up doing it. “Okay. Go get a bag and fill it with supplies. Clothes, water, food. Quickly.”

Sohye nodded and stood from the corner, wiping her tears. Something about Nayoung just screamed business and Sohye wasn’t one to disobey. She followed the girl’s orders and did as she was told. Nayoung kept peeking out of the window, seeing more and more infected pile out of the houses through broken doors and windows.

Her eyes scanned the street until she noticed something odd. There was one figure that wasn’t dragging its feet but was sprinting - an uninfected. Nayoung’s eyes widened as the figure ran up to the front door of Jieqiong’s house. Nayoung’s shock tripled when she realized it was Jieqiong.

“Sohye, stay here. I’ll be right back.” Before Nayoung could rush out of the bedroom, Sohye grabbed onto her wrist, eyes large with fear.

“I promise I’ll be right back.” Nayoung said firmly. “Just keep the door closed.” She pulled her wrist away and ran down the hall, out the front door. She sprinted down the street and, once she was close enough, called out to Jieqiong. The girl jumped and turned around, relieved to see a familiar face that wasn’t bitten.

“Come with me.” Nayoung gulped down the nervousness. Now was not the time to be thinking about their relationship status. They had much bigger problems at hand.

“But my family…” Jieqiong looked back to the front door. Nayoung took a look around and noticed that some of the infected that were wandering the streets had taken notice of them, heading towards their direction.

“Jieqiong, please.” Nayoung pleaded, eyes flickering back and forth between Jieqiong and the incoming bitten. It wasn’t until Jieqiong nodded that Nayoung took off back towards Sohye’s house, knowing that Jieqiong was following.

Once entered, they closed the front door and regained their breath. Sohye was standing just by the entrance, surprised to see another girl back with Nayoung.

“My parents are still in there.” Jieqiong panted, pointing to her house. At the mention of the word, Sohye’s eyes glanced towards the closed basement door. Nayoung tightened her grip on the knife in her hand.

“I was planning on going to the forest behind our high school.” Nayoung said, ignoring Jieqiong’s statement. The younger girl got aggravated.

“Did you not hear me?” She asked angrily. “My parents are still in there.” She hissed, shaking her pointed finger. “We have to get them!”

Nayoung stared at Jieqiong’s eyes before heading towards the front window, checking the streets. She noticed the group of infected huddled around the front of Jieqoing’s house, bloody hands banging on the wooden door.

“It’s too risky.” Nayoung shook her head. At this, Jieqiong pushed Nayoung to the side and went to open the door. Nayoung dropped the knife to the ground and curled her fingers around Jieqiong’s wrist, pulling her back and away from the door. “I said it’s too risky.” She repeated with a shaky voice. “Please listen to me.”

The other girl had hot tears rolling down her cheeks as she didn’t bother struggling against Nayoung. They were both thinking the same thing.

Jieqiong’s parents weren’t going to make it.

Sohye stood at the window, watching as some of those infected looked their way. She began to tremble.

“N - Nayoung. They’re coming.” She announced.

After hearing Sohye’s words, Nayoung let go of Jieqoing and picked the knife back up. “The high school isn’t that far from here. We have to be careful.” Nayoung spoke up. “Sohye, is there a back door?”

“Yeah.” Sohye nodded, leading the way to the other door.

“Stay close, okay?” Nayoung said over her shoulder before sliding open the door and hurrying out. As they jogged down the dark streets, Nayoung kept looking back every few seconds to make sure Jieqiong and Sohye were still behind her.

They had many close encounters but were able to run away. Those infected weren’t good at fast paces and Nayoung found that out pretty easily.

Nearing the school building, Nayoung slowed her pace as she noticed the police cars lined up around it, acting as a barrier.

“It’s a safe house.” Jieqiong murmured. “Nayoung, we should go in.” Nayoung stopped the girl from walking towards it. Something felt off.

“They can help us.” Sohye said quietly as Nayoung watched another group of survivors walk up to the car barrier. The survivors didn’t last long as the policemen shot them dead. Nayoung heard the other two gasp and she walked in a different direction.

“They’re not going to help us.” Was all Nayoung said as she walked the long distance around the school building, the two girls in shock at the scene they just witnessed. Nayoung was just as surprised and scared as they were but she didn’t show it, knowing that at least one of them should be strong for the sake of the others.

When they reached the forest, everything seemed to get quieter. The only noise they could hear was the distant screams and gunshots but those seemed like nothing compared to the branches crunching under their feet. When Nayoung decided they were far enough into the forest, she sat down.

Sohye and Jieqiong followed instantly, their legs burning from all the running and walking they had done. Jieqiong stared at Nayoung’s blank face.

“What’s the plan now?”

“I don’t know.” Nayoung shook her head. Sohye’s face had been drained of color ever since they’d seen the police shoot those survivors. “Let’s just stay alive, I guess.”

“Easier said than done?” Jieqiong asked. Nayoung nodded. “Yeah.”