t/w - blood, suicide, death

There wasn’t much conversation as we continued onwards, eventually hitting the end of the forest only to be greeted by a tall hill. I blinked up at it, using my hand to block out the sun from my face.

“So, boss, what are the orders?” Sejeong tapped me on the shoulder, coming to stand next to me. I looked over and rolled my eyes.

“Let’s go around it. We’ll be too visible if we go on top.”

“Sounds good.” Sejeong grinned before taking lead and walking in front of me first. I stared at her figure as she walked and couldn’t help but let a small chuckle escape my lips. Jieqiong was the last person to pass me and that’s when I began to walk, too.

Even from the back of the group, I could see that what we were approaching was a small town. Somi had made a comment about us probably being in the countryside and we all just nodded our heads in silent agreement.

After going around the large hill, we stepped onto the road, staring at all the buildings. “Should we split up?” Sejeong asked towards the group although we all knew she was directing the question towards me. I shook my head, eyes scanning the area. Call it paranoia, but I didn’t have a good feeling about this place.

“No. We’ll stick together.” I said loud enough for them to hear me. “We’ll scavenge what we can and then we’ll leave. Something about this town seems off.” I walked to the front of the group and continued down the streets, peering into the empty shops. I stopped when the slight wind brought a certain stench my way.

The girls all recoiled back in disgust. I was about to turn around and tell them to get away from here but a few figures came around the corner of the street.

My eyes widened and I took a few steps back.

“What the ?” I heard Sejeong hiss behind me.

“Run.” I whispered seeing as the figures were going to keep going down the other street and they hadn’t seen us yet. The girls all still stood there and I got a bit annoyed. “I said run.” I said in a louder voice. That was when I heard footsteps rush away and I saw the figures all turn their head to look at us.

I didn’t stare at them longer than I needed to. I my heels and ran away, following the group of girls. Jieqiong was at the front of the group and we all naturally followed her. She had run further into the town and into an abandoned barber shop.

We were all gathered in the back room. It was small and was probably just used for storage - the eleven of us could barely fit in there. The girls all began to mumble among themselves, asking each other if what they saw was real and they weren’t just going nuts.

“He…” Chungha panted out of breath. “He had, like, eight of them in leashes.”

“Is he crazy?” Somi asked outloud. “He was just casually walking those things!” Yeonjung nudged Somi and told her to take it down a notch. Somi grumbled an apology in response.

“What now?” Sohye turned to look at me. I instinctively turned to Sejeong, who shrugged with an apologetic smile. I looked away.

“We just have to make it through this town.” I said quietly, standing by the door and holding the door knob closed. “Hopefully they don’t know where we went.”

Mina whispered something to Sejeong who immediately held onto her hand and patted it with her free one. My grip on the doorknob got tighter as I closed my eyes. I should’ve had the group turn back while we still could’ve. Now we were stuck in the same town as him.

Somi was leaning on the wall with her arms crossed and Chaeyeon was kneeled down in front of her, holding onto her ankle. “I’m fine.” I heard Somi murmur, going to swat away Chaeyeon’s hands. The other girl simply had to look up at Somi to get the girl to shut up. The interaction made my eyebrows quirk up.

My attention was taken away as Yeonjung stepped in front of me.

“We should go out at night.” I blinked at her. She continued talking. “He can’t be awake all day, right? We can just make it through the town.”

“But we don’t know the layout of this town.”

“I’ll go.” Yeonjung said. “I’ll find a way out of here and then come back by nighttime to show you.”

“You can’t just go alone.” I whispered, furrowing my eyebrows. “Besides, that lunatic is still out there. We’ll just go together as a group tonight.”

“Nayoung.” Yeonjung’s voice came out in a slight growl. “You never trust me to be on my own.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you.” I replied sternly. “It’s because I worry about your health.”

“But you don’t worry about your own health?” Yeonjung retorted angrily. Realizing our tones were getting too loud, I took a deep breath.

“Let’s talk calmly.” I said. Yeonjung looked away with a of her teeth but did as I told. She turned her gaze back to me.

“Having more than one person will make it difficult to navigate without getting caught.” Yeonjung explained to me. “I’ll come back before nightfall if you let me go right now.”

I stared at her for a few seconds longer before nodding. “Take the machete.”

Yeonjung shook her head. “It’ll cause light reflections. I’ll keep the screwdriver.”

I opened my mouth, impressed by Yeonjung’s thinking. It was then that she gave me a small smile, causing my jaw to drop even further.

“I’ll make it back. I’ve been in worse situations.” She said quietly before gently pushing me away from the door. She closed it behind her and I stared at it for a few seconds longer before feeling my own lips pull up in a smile, shaking my head.

“Where’d Yeonjung go?” Sejeong asked me, hands still holding onto Mina.

“She’s going to find us a way out of here.” I replied. “We’ll be moving as soon as she comes back so get some rest.”

“I’ll stay up.” Jieqiong raised her hand from her position on the floor, looking at me with a grin. “You need to get some sleep.”

The rest of the girls all nodded, muttering things about me staying up too late, and, considering it was nine vs one, I shrugged and went to sit next to Somi. Her ankle was now all wrapped up by Chaeyeon and the nurse of the group was talking with Chungha on the other side of the room.

“What happened to your ankle?” I asked.

“Sprained it.”

“Can you run?”

She hummed. “I’ll try.”

I made a mental note to myself to pay more attention to Somi during the move as I laid down on the dirty concrete floor.

-

“Hey, wake up. Yeonjung’s back.” A voice stirred me out of slumber. I opened my eyes, waiting a few seconds for them to adjust to the dark lighting. Sejeong was staring down at me, placing a hand on my upper back and helping me get into a sitting position.

I rubbed my eyes and waited for my senses to get out of the drowsy state they were in. I looked around and noticed that the other girls were all up and ready, including Somi who was leaning on Chungha.

Yeonjung stood at the door, screwdriver held tight in her grip.

“Is the way to the other side far?” I asked groggily, standing up and taking the revolver Sejeong handed to me. Yeonjung shook her head.

“No but we end up getting pretty close to the man’s home.”

“Is there no other way?” I questioned worriedly. Yeonjung frowned.

“I tried to look but he has it all blocked off. He seems to have some sort of system going on.”

“People will do anything to make things seem normal in the world we live in now.” Sejeong said and I felt her fingers curl around my wrist. “We should head out.”

I nodded. “Yeah, let’s go. Stay close, girls. It’s dark out and we really have to be careful.”

My eyes glanced over towards Somi and she nodded her head towards me.

“Okay. Yeonjung, lead the way.” Sejeong squeezed my wrist softly before walking to the front of the group with Yeonjung. I waited for all the girls to exit the room and took one last glance around it to make sure we hadn’t left anything behind before following them. We walked in crouched positions down the streets, waiting for Yeonjung’s signal to follow every time we had to go through an open street.

I stayed a bit farther behind than usual, making sure none of the girls strayed too far. Everything was going fine until we had to pass by a certain alley way. A hand reached out to grab one of the girl’s, causing her to yelp. Despite the darkness, I could immediately tell it was Jieqiong.

I went to come to her aid until I saw the man appear from behind the buildings, turning to face the rest of the group with a knife pressed to Jieqiong’s neck.

“Keep going.” He ordered the group. “I’ll kill her right here if you try to do anything.” He hadn’t seen me yet and I stayed crouched. The vein in my head was throbbing at the thought of his hands on Jieqiong’s skin - my stomach churning as I noticed Jieqiong’s struggles against his grip. “Go.” He growled.

I nodded my head as my eyes stayed trained on the back of the man’s head. Whoever in the group saw me told the rest of the girls to go. I could see Jieqiong’s struggles getting more desperate and I knew she was crying by now, heartbroken at the thought of her members leaving her with the man. She was scared and I hated it.

I waited for the group to get far enough down the street before making my move.

I took careful steps towards the man before grabbing his arm that was holding onto the knife and ripping it away from Jieqiong’s neck, making sure the knife didn’t cut into the girl’s skin. He let out a curse as I bent his arm and his knife fell to the asphalt. I raised my knee into his stomach and he fell onto the ground. I roughly turned him over and pointed my revolver at his face, fingers gripping his collar and eyes seeing red.

I realized that shooting him would make too much noise and I moved the gun to the side. The man looked up at me with wide eyes, still trying to regain his breath from the blow my knee gave him. I landed good punch on his nose, ignoring the pain in my knuckles that ensued afterwards. The man then had the audacity to try to reach for my gun, earning him another punch. And another. And another. And the punches all blended into one major beating.

It wasn’t until I felt someone pull me off of him that I came back to reality. I hadn’t realized I was crying until my brain started to clear up and I was no longer driven by pure anger. Yeonjung stared at me with wide eyes, hands on my shoulders. Suddenly all the pain I had ignored whilst beating the man came to me all at once and I tightened my hands into fists, clenching my jaw. Yeonjung placed a hand on my cheek.

“Hey, look at me.” She ordered.

I lifted my glossy gaze to hers.

“Calm down.” She said.

“Breathe.” She said.

I nodded and gently pushed her hands off of my shoulders, still a bit out of breath.

“Is he dead?” Somi asked.

I picked up the knife and the gun, trying hard not to stare at the man’s disfigured face. “He was dead long before the last hit.” I grumbled, standing up straighter and handing the knife out to the group, waiting for someone to take it. Chungha took careful steps towards me and gripped the knife.

“You reopened your cut.” She stated.

I looked down at my bandaged arm and noticed that she was right. The bandage was soaked in red blood. My gaze dropped lower and I noticed my bloody knuckles. I gulped and looked away.

“Let’s keep going.” I said shakily.

We were silent as we continued through the town.

-

4 ┊ Happiness was a scary thing. Sejeong of all people knew that the most. Sejeong, the one everyone knew as the happiest, brightest girl they knew, was scared of happiness. How ironic.

But it was such a vulnerable thing, something that came and went as it pleased. Sejeong tried her hardest to stay happy because she knew she could impact those around her. If she was cheerful, the others would be cheerful.

It was hard to do, though. That’s when Sejeong found her happiness in one thing - one person.

Kim Nayoung.

She met the older girl in her first year of college and ended up being her roommate. The girl found Sejeong’s brightness intriguing and Sejeong found the girl’s mature silliness attractive, thus causing the two of them to connect like magnets.

And so, when the world turned to and Sejeong had lost her entire family in the blink of an eye, Nayoung helped her through it. Nayoung helped her continue to laugh and helped her maintain the brightness she had before the world caved in on itself.

-

“Did you hear the news?” Nayoung’s worried voice rang through the cell phone. Sejeong let out a breath as she stared at the television with her younger cousin, Mina, watching live footage of people getting eaten alive.

“Yes.” She held onto the phone tightly.

“Where are you?”

“I’m at home.”

“.” Nayoung hissed.

“Why? Where are you?” Sejeong asked.

“I’m at the dorms.”

“Stay inside.” Sejeong warned. “Don’t go outside. Please.”

“I want to get to you.” Nayoung said, a shuffling going on in the background, indicating she was packing things up. Sejeong ran a hand through her hair.

“Nayoung, stop.” Sejeong shut the television off seeing as Mina was starting to tremble pretty harshly. She held the younger girl’s hand with her free one. “The highway is a mess. Those things are everywhere. You’ll… You’ll die if you try to go out there.”

“I want to be with you.” Nayoung replied defiantly. “Just wait there.”

“Nayoung, I said don’t!” Sejeong snapped, terrified for the wellbeing of the older girl. “You’re going to - “

The call ended.

-

“You ing…!” Sejeong hissed as she pulled Nayoung into the house, closing and locking the door. She dragged the girl towards the bathroom and flickered the lights on, anger coursing through her veins. It was somewhere close to three in the morning and Sejeong had been awake the whole time, biting her nails nervously as she waited for Nayoung’s arrival that was not definite.

The blood curling screams of her neighbors definitely helped on keeping her wide awake, though.

“Is this your blood?” She asked the other girl, thumbs reaching up to wipe the dry blood off of Nayoung’s cheeks.

“No.”

“Is it bad out there?”

“It’s total chaos.” Nayoung mumbled, turning the sink on and washing her own face. Sejeong crossed her arms.

“I was worried.”

Nayoung rinsed her face before using the bottom of her shirt to dry it off. Sejeong sighed and looked away, still angry that the girl was reckless enough to go out in conditions like this but relieved that she was alright.

“Where are your parents?”

“Not here.” Sejeong grumbled. “My dad is at work and my mom is at the market.”

“Your brother?” Nayoung asked in a soft tone, staring at her lover.

“At camp.” Sejeong murmured. “My cousin is here though.”

“Oh, Mina?” Nayoung brightened up. “I love Mina.”

Sejeong her teeth but smiled anyways. “She loves you more than she loves me.”

“Not true.” Nayoung grinned, leaning in and placing a kiss on Sejeong’s cheek. The two took a few moments to stare into each other’s eyes, well aware of the chaos going on just outside the house. Sejeong flinched when she heard another scream from another one of her neighbors.

Nayoung took hold of Sejeong’s hand and squeezed it. “We’ll be okay.”

Sejeong believed her.

She shouldn’t have.

-

They had a daily routine going on. They lived in the basement of Sejeong’s house - the end result of Sejeong wanting to wait to see if her parents would ever return home but to no avail. They stayed, though - because they were too scared to travel elsewhere.

Nayoung was the tough one between the three of them whilst Sejeong was the bright one. Mina, on the other hand, was only tough when Nayoung was and was only bright when Sejeong was. Sejeong’s dear cousin was already a mess before the virus outbreak, having to deal with the death of her mother and her sick father, so this hadn’t done her anything.

Sejeong promised herself to keep Mina alive and healthy. Nayoung promised Sejeong to help her with that promise.

Nayoung was talking quietly with Sejeong when Mina spoke up to the two of them in a whisper.

“I can hear footsteps.” She pointed upstairs. Nayoung turned to look at Sejeong and let go of the girl’s hand as she stood up. Sejeong was quick to grab onto Nayoung’s wrist.

“Don’t.” She shook her head. “It’ll leave eventually.”

“Mina will never be able to sleep if she hears those footsteps.” Nayoung replied with a smile. “It’ll be quick.”

Sejeong kept her grip on Nayoung. The older girl leaned down and kissed the girl’s lips softly. “I’ll be right back.”

Sejeong shook her head again. “It’s fine, we don’t need to go up there anytime soon, anyways. We have plenty of food and water. It’s not safe.” Sejeong tried to reason with her girlfriend although it was like talking to a brick wall.

Nayoung sighed and sat back down on the floor. “Don’t whine to me if Mina wakes you up in the middle of the night because of the footsteps.” Sejeong was quick to snuggle up against Nayoung’s shoulder, nose nuzzling the girl’s skin.

“I love you.” Sejeong whispered.

“I love you, too.” Nayoung hummed as she watched Mina scribble something on the wall.

-

“Okay, now it’s starting to piss me off.” Nayoung grumbled as she heard a particularly loud stomp from above. Sejeong sat next to Nayoung with Mina’s head on her lap, staring at her with wide eyes. “It’s dark. Don’t try to go now.”

“Sejeong, do you hear this?”

“I’d rather hear this than hear you die.” Sejeong replied quietly.

“That was pretty dark.” Nayoung joked. Sejeong wasn’t joking around, though. “I’ll be fast as lightning.” Nayoung grinned, leaning over and pecking Sejeong’s nose.

She was going up the stairs before Sejeong could even try to stop her.

-

“There were two.” Nayoung said with a small smile as she walked back downstairs.

Sejeong’s heart stopped as she saw Nayoung holding out her arm, a large gash running down the length of her forearm. Mina was awake by then, unable to sleep. The youngest girl started to cry. “Nayoung.” She whimpered.

“I got them, though.” Nayoung said with a smile. Sejeong stood up hastily and cupped Nayoung’s cheeks.

Nayoung didn’t allow her to speak. “Please get out of here. Quickly. Pack the necessities.” Sejeong shook her head, tears running down her cheeks.

“No. No, no, no, no, no.” She cried. Nayoung spoke over her pleas.

“I’ll take care of myself. Please, you have to be quick.” Nayoung was crying, too. She struggled to keep her voice steady. “I love you.”

Sejeong’s vision was blurry with tears as she kissed Nayoung once last time, crying out her ‘I love you’s whilst Mina sat in sad terror. Nayoung pulled away.

“Quickly.” She sniffled, wiping her eyes. “You don’t have much time.”

Sejeong nodded and her shoulders were still shaking as she gathered as much water bottles and cans of food as she could with two bags. Mina watched silently as Nayoung tied a cable cord to the top of the ceiling fan, using a chair to reach it.

“Mina.” Sejeong called out in a raspy voice. “Mina, come on.”

Nayoung stared at the two with a sad smile. “Take care of each other.”

Mina took the bag Sejeong handed out to her and could barely see through her tears. Sejeong was having a hard time breathing as she stared at her lover.

“I love you.” She whispered.

“I love you, too.” Nayoung smiled. “And I always will.”

She turned her gaze to the cord. “Now, go.” She said. “Before I turn.”

Sejeong took hold of Mina’s hand and held onto it tightly as they walked up the stairs. They both froze as they heard the metallic chair hit the concrete ground.

that was pretty emotional, huh? ;_; thank you for all the sweet comments! it’s cute to see who you guys are rooting for because they’re mostly in the path of what i want to write this story but some i’m like… o. LOL. i’ll try to reply to all of your comments! please keep leaving the feedback and do give the story an upvote if you like it! thanks for reading! <3

-dd.