t/n - stitching, blood, swearing, (brief mention of) torture

 

I had gotten paranoid because of the thuds coming from the attic. This resulted in me staying in the room with my hand gripping on the machete’s handle despite Sejeong telling me it was okay, my eyes trained on the closet door even after the sun began to rise. My shoulder was heavy with the weight of Sejeong’s head, the girl falling asleep after failing to stay up with me.

 

The noises had gotten quieter as time passed and eventually I didn’t hear a thing. The silence was eerie considering I knew something was up there. Sejeong had brushed it off with a few smiles but I could see the nervousness hidden in the wrinkles next to her smiling eyes. I let it go but was still wary, not wanting Sohye and Mina to be alone in the room if something were to happen.

 

And something did happen.

 

I was in the living room with Somi when I heard a loud scream followed by some curses, obviously from Yeonjung (because she was the only one I knew who had such a way with words) - and because I sent Yeonjung in there to watch over.

 

Somi handed me my revolver that she had been examining moments earlier and we both hurried to the room. I pushed through a couple of girls as they gathered around the doorway, rushing in.

 

Yeonjung had someone pinned against the wall, her forearm pushed against the person’s neck, stopping them from breathing. “Why the hell are you here?” Her voice was harsh.

 

My eyes analyzed the situation and I realized that this was a person - a tall girl with dark black hair and seemingly darker eyes. I focused my gaze on the very large gash on her thigh running down to her ankle. The blood was dry but the cut was still very much open.

 

“She’s injured.” I stated.

 

“She’s a ing is what she is.” Yeonjung growled, choking her even more.

 

“Yeonjung, stop.” I ordered her firmly after seeing the color drain from the girl’s face. Yeonjung shot me a look that would certainly bury me six feet under if looks could kill. She pushed the girl against the wall harshly and took a step back, coming to stand next to me.

 

The girl gasped for air, the veins in her neck bulging with each sharp breath she took as she placed her hands on her knees.

 

After she seemed to catch her breath, the girl straightened her back as much as she could, still a bit slouched over, and stared right at Yeonjung, a pained smirk emerging on her face.

 

“I taught you well.”

 

Yeonjung rushed forward in a rage and I was too late to stop her.

 

She landed a punch directly into the girl’s gut and sent her to the floor. I ran forward and pulled Yeonjung back, getting an elbow to the ribcage. The accidental hit irked me and I pushed her back with all the strength I had, causing her to stumble into Somi who caught her.

 

“Stop it!” I screamed.

 

Yeonjung was breathing harshly as she stared at the girl curled in pain on the ground.

 

“She’s done worse to me.” She gritted her teeth, brushing off Somi’s hands on her shoulders.

 

The comment made me wonder just who she was and where she came from.

 

The girl on the ground got up carefully, hands over her stomach and all of her weight on the wall behind her.

 

I eyed Sejeong, who nodded and escorted Yeonjung elsewhere - not without Yeonjung grumbling under her breath heatedly.

 

I sighed and looked towards the stranger.

 

“What happened to your leg?” I asked.

 

The girl breathed with difficulty.

 

“I got it trying to run away.”

 

“From the undead?”

 

The girl shook her head, looking up at me. “From the living.”

 

I wanted to ask more but I could tell that it hurt for the girl to even breathe. I turned my head to Chaeyeon, who widened her eyes at the eye contact.

 

“Can you stitch her up?”

 

She shook her head and I nodded, waving her over.

 

“Nayoung, I’m not medically trained. I don’t know how to-”

 

The mysterious girl interrupted.

 

“Relax, princess.” Chaeyeon stiffened up at the nickname. “I know what to do. I just don’t have the supplies to do it.”

 

Chaeyeon had a frown on her face as she exited the room. She came back moments later with the medkit and I helped the injured stranger to the edge of the bed. Chaeyeon kneeled in front of her to look at the cut as I sat next to the girl, revolver in hand.

 

The girls all went about their day except for Somi, who went from leaning on the doorframe to sitting next to me on the bed, looking at the girl with skeptical eyes.

 

Chaeyeon cleaned the girl’s leg and disinfected the cut.

 

For someone who had nearly no medical training, she was starting to get the hang of things.

 

“You got stitches in there?” The girl asked, peering into the mess that was our first aid kit.

 

Chaeyeon shuffled through the bag’s supplies and pulled out the roll of string and a needle.

 

The girl switched her focus between the three of us in the room. “Do any of you know how to stitch?”

 

After a moment of no response, the girl let out a little huff through her nose. “Okay, I’ll do it.”

 

I spoke as the girl the end of the string and slipped it through the needle. “You never told us your name.”

 

There was a moment of silence and the hesitance instantly made me wary.

 

“I’m Ki Heehyun.” She answered before hissing as she touched the cut. “I used to go by Cathy.”

 

I had to look away as she pushed the needle through her skin.

 

“Why did you stop going by Cathy?” I asked, eyes focused on my revolver rather than the little surgery happening beside me.

 

“I ran away.” The girl’s reply made me glance towards her. Heehyun cursed repeatedly as she tightened the string and pulled. I heard Somi let out a small ‘Ew’ and even I winced at the scene. Chaeyeon furrowed her eyebrows and peeked up at Heehyun.

 

The girl held her breath as she continued to stitch herself up and I mentally applauded the girl for being so tough.

 

We were all silent as she worked. Minutes and minutes passed by until she finished.

 

“Can you cut it?” Heehyun asked in a quiet murmur, gesturing to the string. Chaeyeon did as she was told and Heehyun took a deep breath before inhaling sharply and hissing. “Yu Yeonjung did me a number with just one punch.” She groaned as she closed her eyes shut.

 

Chaeyeon began to wrap the girl’s injury with careful hands.

 

“Who were you running from?” I questioned the girl.

 

“Yeonjung didn’t tell you?” She opened her eyes and stared at me.

 

I shook my head. “She always avoided the questions.”

 

Heehyun let out a small scoff before regretting it as her face contorted in pain. “I don’t... blame her.” She said between shaky breaths.

 

“She needs rest.” Chaeyeon said as I opened my mouth to ask another question. My jaw closed and I nodded, agreeing. The girl looked absolutely spent. Heehyun grunted as she sat up straighter.

 

“I’m fine. I don’t intend to stick around.” She grumbled. “I was only hiding until you people left but... you all seemed to be getting pretty comfortable... and my leg was starting to really hurt.” She looked over at me. “Are you the leader?”

 

The word still made me cringe. “Yes.”

 

“Nice.” Heehyun nodded. “I hated being a leader. Too much responsibility.”

 

“Bull.” Yeonjung’s voice came out as she rounded the corner with a few water bottles in her arms. She set them onto the bed. “You loved torturing us.”

 

“It didn’t go to waste though, did it?” Heehyun retorted as she gestured to her stomach.

 

“Stop it.” I cut the two’s bickering off, eyes flickering between the two. “Where did you two come from? What happened and why did you have to run away?”

 

As I asked those questions, I realized these girls were all strangers. These girls who I have been living with for more than a year were all just... strangers.

 

Yeonjung huffed and crossed her arms, looking away.

 

The tense atmosphere built up until Heehyun decided to speak.

 

“Yeonjung was in my group.” She said into the stillness. Heehyun met Yeonjung’s eyes and there was a look of familiarity in their eyes though Yeonjung masked it quickly with cold hard hostility.

 

“We were essentially a gang - a large gang. We lived in a secure area with food and shelter - anything you would need in a zombie apocalypse, really.” Heehyun spoke slowly, taking pauses when she needed to. “In our gang we had different groups to make it easier to control, or something. I was the leader of our group.”

 

I nodded as she spoke to show her that I was listening.

 

“We weren’t any better than the zombies.” Her voice lowered. “We took people in who did us wrong and…” a pause, “tortured them.”

 

“Tortured them…?” I trailed off, trying to get details. Heehyun didn’t seem to want to say it, avoiding my eyes.

 

It was then that Yeonjung cut in. “We fed them to zombies.” She answered bluntly. “Piece by piece.”

 

Somi mumbled something under her breath that made Chaeyeon nudge her. I ignored the two and focused my attention solely on Yeonjung, who was staring at the floor blankly.

 

“I ran away after deciding I could survive on my own - they try to kill anyone who escapes.” Yeonjung said. “I guess... Cathy - Heehyun - got sick of it, too.”

 

“I was always sick of it.” Heehyun replies, pupils shifting towards Yeonjung who was still standing idly in front of the bed.

 

“Didn’t seem like it.” Yeonjung spoke through her teeth, crossing her arms and scanning the girl’s face. Heehyun dropped her gaze.

 

“I was.” Heehyun mumbled. “It made me sick to my stomach. I cried every night.” She whispered. “I still do - but at least I don’t have to fear being dead in the morning because of it.”

 

Yeonjung’s toughness wavered - her arms uncrossing and her hands falling to her sides. opened a little to reply but nothing came out. Heehyun met her eyes once more and gave a little smile.

 

“But, hey, I’m glad to see you’re alive. They really went wild when you escaped. Even made me try to find you.”

 

Heehyun held her breath as she stood up slowly. Chaeyeon stood with her and placed a worried hand on her back to keep her from falling back. Somi and I also stood.

 

“What are you doing?” Chaeyeon asked in disbelief. “You’re too hurt to be moving.”

 

Heehyun took painfully slow steps, resembling the walk of an undead. She brushed off Chaeyeon’s hands.

 

“Where are you going now?” I asked her as we all watched her struggle to get to the door.

 

“Anywhere.” Heehyun gave a small chuckle, finally reaching the doorway. She leaned on it and spoke over her shoulder. “Staying put in the zombie apocalypse is a death wish.”

 

I felt the three girls in the room glance towards me. Thanks for the indirect, ladies.

 

“You’re injured.” Chaeyeon called out. “You shouldn’t be walking with such a bad injury.”

 

“Just let her go.” Somi murmured. “If she wants to die then let her.”

 

“Somi.” I chided her.

 

The young girl took one look at me before walking out of the room. At the doorway, she turned her body so she wouldn’t come in contact with Heehyun - probably more than she needed to.

 

“Seriously.” Chaeyeon mumbled under her breath before going after Somi, passing by Heehyun hurriedly.

 

Heehyun pointed towards the two who were going down the hall and peered over at me. “Lovers’ quarrel?”

 

I shrugged. “Something like that.”

 

“Huh.” Heehyun raised her eyebrows and looked back down the hall.

 

My eyes went to Yeonjung and saw the girl’s gaze focused on Heehyun’s injured leg.

 

I brushed my hand against hers and watched her eyes snap up to meet mine. For a millisecond, I swore I saw some pity in her eyes.

 

I spoke while keeping my eyes on Yeonjung. “Stay with us until you’re a little better.” From the corner of my eye, I saw Heehyun’s head snap towards me.

 

Yeonjung didn’t seem to look like she was going to oppose, so I kept talking.

 

“We need more living people who aren’t dead.” My head turned to look at Heehyun. “It’ll be one less monster to kill.”

 

There was a smile on Heehyun’s lips.

 

“I…” She trailed off. “Yeah - sure.” She nodded. “Thank you. I’ll be gone before you know it.”

 

-

 

Heehyun was in one of the bedrooms, sleeping whilst the rest of us gathered in the living room to talk. I cleared the air about the questions thrown to me about the girl who came down from the attic. Everyone seemed to steer clear of questions pertaining to Yeonjung’s relation to the girl, which I knew Yeonjung caught on to.

 

She cleared after a moment and caught the attention of everyone. She took a deep breath and looked over to the side, not looking at any of us.

 

“I just wanted to say that I’m sorry.” She spoke firmly but there was a slight quiver between some of her words. “You all have been nothing but nice to me.” moved as she gulped. “I appreciate it.”

 

Yoojung, who was sitting next to Yeonjung, placed a hand on the girl’s shoulders and shook her gently. Yeonjung brought her attention to the shorter girl and all of us were surprised to see Yeonjung smile at Yoojung.

 

I had noticed it long before, but Yeonjung was particularly close to Doyeon and Yoojung, always next to them or near them.

 

“We appreciate you, too, Yeonjung.” Doyeon leaned over Yoojung to rub the girl’s shoulder.

 

Yeonjung’s gaze flickered down to her lap and I heard Yoojung release an ‘aww’ before hearing Yeonjung sniffle. We all sat in stunned silence as Yeonjung wiped her tears. Sejeong was the first besides Doyeon and Yoojung to reach over and comfort Yeonjung.

 

It started a chain reaction, all of us giving small words of reassurance and gentle pats on the back and knee to the girl who would always have a wall put up in front of her. When Yeonjung’s tears subsided and Yoojung got the last drop off of her cheek, Chungha gave a quiet clap of her hand.

 

“I think it’s bedtime for us now.”

 

We all let out light laughs and stood from the ground. I watched the girls walk down the hall and nearly had a heart attack when I noticed Jieqiong standing next to me.

 

“It’s nice to see Yeonjung something other than angry.” She commented before sitting on the couch. I sat down next to her and nodded in agreement.

 

“Definitely.” I murmured as Jieqiong’s head went to lay upon my shoulder. “What did you do today?” I asked her because I didn’t really see her at all during the day despite being in the same house.

 

“Talked to Chaeyeon and Somi.”

 

“Together?” I raised an eyebrow.

 

“Oh God, no.” Jieqiong shook her head, her hair tickling my neck. “Separately.”

 

I hummed. “Sounds fun.”

 

“They’re so complicated.” Jieqiong sighed. “If they like each other, what more is there to it?”

 

I tapped Jieqiong’s knee. “A lot more.” I replied softly.

 

“Of course you’d say that.” She shoved me playfully. I laid down on the couch and Jieqiong was quick to lay down next to me. “You like Sejeong, don’t you?”

 

My heart skipped a beat as my arms curled around the girl’s waist from behind. “What makes you say that?”

 

“I’m an observant person.” Jieqiong stated which made me scoff. She elbowed me in the stomach. “I am - and you’re avoiding the question.”

 

“...I don’t know.” I murmured. “What about you? Don’t you like Chaeyeon?”

 

“Wha - Do I like Chaeyeon?” Jieqiong repeated the question in disbelief, turning her head so she was speaking over her shoulder. “You really at the whole ‘feelings’ thing.”

 

“Thanks.” I grumbled.

 

“I don’t like Chaeyeon.” Jieqiong said. “Besides, even if I did, that girl is head over heels in love with Somi, so, no thanks.”

 

My reply was a simple hum that drifted off into silence. Only our breaths could be heard for a few minutes before I felt Jieqiong’s hand touch my own.

 

“If you really like Sejeong, I want you to know that I’ll be okay with that.” Her voice was sincere and I held my breath. “Sometimes it’s better to let go of the past.”

 

No other words were spoken that night as Jieqiong fell into dreamland and I, on the other hand, fell into a world of confused thoughts.

 

-

 

“I beat you again. Give me your forehead.” Somi snickered as she lowered her fist. Chaeyeon lowered her scissors with a pout and bowed her head a little towards Somi, who flicked her.

 

There wasn’t much to do in the zombie apocalypse; there was no electricity and much less wifi. Thus, they resulted in playing rock, paper, scissor, shoot as they walked down the emptied streets with no definite destination.

 

They bumped into the occasional half-bodied zombie but usually walked past it without needing to stomp on its head. Somi and Chaeyeon usually fled instead of fought, always hand-in-hand to keep each other closeby. They already lost enough of their loved ones - they weren’t risking losing any more.

 

“It’s getting dark.” Chaeyeon stated, eyes glancing towards the darkening sky. Somi squeezed the hand she was holding.

 

“Thanks, Captain Obvious.” She let out a laugh that made Chaeyeon’s cheeks warm up. Really, how could a person still be so bright and bubbly after the world turned to ? It didn’t make sense to Chaeyeon. “Let’s go in that shack thingy.” Somi said before tugging Chaeyeon towards a backyard.

 

Somi opened the little gardening shack slowly and was relieved to see nothing but various tools inside. She let Chaeyeon walk in first before closing the door behind them, even more relieved to see a lock on the inside of the small shack.

 

They’re engulfed in the darkness but Chaeyeon had a hand on Somi’s wrist - just to make sure the girl was still next to her.

 

She felt the girl start to sit down and followed her. They took off their bags and set them down. Somi’s left hand rested on her bare thigh as they watched the light seeping in through the cracks of the building lessen and lessen before it was pure darkness.

 

Sometimes when it was silent like this, Chaeyeon feared Somi could hear her rapidly beating heart. She hated her body for reacting like this towards the younger girl but the hate was only so intense because Somi was her dead bestfriend’s girlfriend.

 

How ed up is it that she had feelings for her deceased friend’s girlfriend?

 

Chaeyeon thought it was very, very ed up.

 

“I think about going back sometimes.” Somi mumbled into the silence. “To Dani.”

 

Chaeyeon was pulled out of her own thoughts. She stared at the girl, eyes finding it easy to make out the girl’s profile considering their close proximity, and furrowed her eyebrows.

 

“We should’ve…” Somi murmured, “should’ve put her out of her misery.”

 

Chaeyeon didn’t know how to reply so she simply placed her hand over the hand Somi had on her thigh and squeezed.

 

“Sometimes I talk to her in my head, like, pray to her,” Somi spoke quietly, shakily, “but then I remember she’s not really up there.”

 

She turned her head to look at the older girl next to her.

 

“She’s still down here, Chaeyeon.” She stated. “She’s suffering.”

 

Chaeyeon’s hand loosened and she bit her lip, trying to think of how to reply. Somi let out a huff.

 

“Whatever. It’s too late. We’ve travelled too far.” She looked away, adding a lightness to her voice that pricked Chaeyeon’s heart.

 

“You’re right.” Chaeyeon said. Somi’s eyes snapped towards hers. “We should’ve.”

 

-

 

It began to physically hurt Chaeyeon whenever the feelings would creep up on her in surprise. No matter how hard she tried to suppress them, Somi was an inevitable constant in her life now. She couldn’t just get rid of Somi.

 

She could, however, further herself away from the girl.

 

They didn’t hold hands when they walked down the streets anymore - they didn’t even brush shoulders. Somi had given her an odd look the first time Chaeyeon had pulled her hand away from hers, their fingers slipping out from each other’s lock, but she didn’t say anything. Chaeyeon figured it was obvious to Somi by then.

 

Somi understood and allowed Chaeyeon to do what she needed to do despite the ache in her heart.

 

Even if the weather was warm, nights were spent cold without Chaeyeon curled next to her.

 

Though neither of them had outwardly spoken of Chaeyeon’s feelings, they both knew and they both had the same thoughts. Their minds always went to Kim Dani.

 

“We’re running a little low on water.” Somi said to Chaeyeon. The girl missed her voice. They didn’t talk anymore - they didn’t comment on random things or ask random questions to each other. The only time they spoke was when it came to survival.

 

It was for the best, Chaeyeon tried to convince herself.

 

“There’s a store up there.” Chaeyeon pointed. “We can check there.”

 

“Okay.”

 

The two syllables felt like a stab in Chaeyeon’s heart.

 

They rummaged through the store after finding it empty of any zombies. They met up with each other at the front counter after rummaging through shelves and getting supplies. They placed their items on the counter and split it between them.

 

Chaeyeon paused as she zipped up her bag. She couldn’t take it anymore.

 

“Somi,” she said, causing the taller girl to look over at her, “I’m sorry.”

 

“Sorry?” Somi questioned. “For what?”

 

“For making it awkward.” Chaeyeon mumbled, eyes only able to focus on Somi for one second before shifting away. “I tried to ignore it for so long but…”

 

“I understand.” Somi smiled. “Really, I do.”

 

Chaeyeon looked at her. “It’s not fair to you.”

 

“It’s not fair to you, either.” Somi countered, her smile softening.

 

“Still, I’m sorry.”

 

“Do you feel guilty?” Somi asked after a moment of silence. “For… the feelings?”

 

“Yes.” Chaeyeon answered. “Extremely.”

 

“But… why?” Somi’s forehead was wrinkled in genuine confusion. “She’s gone.”

 

“Not technically.” Chaeyeon shook her head. Somi’s pupils wavered before she looked away.

 

“She is. She’s gone.” Somi slipped on her bag. “But I understand.” She patted Chaeyeon’s shoulder before pulling away. “Let’s go before it gets too dark.”

 

-

 

Sejeong and Mina had gotten close to the three other girls pretty quickly, already feeling comfortable around them. They travelled as a group down the street in small chatter, not trying to attract attention from any of the nearby lurkers who were minding their own business.

 

Nayoung, who was at the front of the group, paused as she saw two silhouettes down the street. The rest of the girls also stopped walking.

 

“There’s two people. Two girls.” Nayoung said quietly, squinting her eyes to get a better view on them. “They look young.”

 

“And awkward.” Jieqiong commented.

 

Sejeong nudged Nayoung’s waist. “Can we add them to our group?” She whispered. Nayoung watched as the two girls got closer and closer, not aware of the group’s presence.

 

Mina, who was holding onto Sohye’s arm, watched with curious eyes. The group stayed idle and watched as the two girls stopped watching, one of them reaching for the other’s hand to stop her from walking.

 

“We’re friendly.” Nayoung spoke loud enough for the girls down the street to hear her.

 

She saw the girls exchange glances before they continue walking towards the group, hands no longer touching. Nayoung examined them with keen eyes.

 

“I’m Somi.” The taller girl said as they neared the group. “This is Chaeyeon.” She gestured to the girl next to her.

 

“Are you two alone?” Nayoung asked.

 

“Yeah.” Somi answered. “Are you looking for more people?”

 

Connecting eyes with Sejeong who just nodded with a small smile, Nayoung hummed.

 

“I suppose so.”

 

 

LOL WHAT. hi peeps long time no see i’ve had literally no inspiration for a while BUT HERE YA GOOOO HERE IT IS!!!! i’m currently trying to get an archive of our own acc so i can start uploading on there but for now i am stuck at aff asdfghjk but I NEED TO REPLY TO UR COMMENTS. ILL DO SO IMMEDIATELY! I HOPE YALL LIKED THIS CHAPTER! <3 MUCH LOVE!!!

 

- dd.