EIGHT.

—

While Min Gyu and Jeong Han fought the undead like there was no tomorrow,

Won Woo faced the aftermath of his failure.

—

Woo Woo looked back at Vernon and a rush of dread shot through him. A realization suddenly dawned on him and he quickly dragged himself toward the edge of the rooftop. As soon as he cast his gaze downward, his breathing hitched, the color draining from his face. Objects farther away appeared blurred and had unclear shapes in his eyes, but this time he wouldn’t mistake what he saw. His heart clenched.

Masses of ferocious, undead corpses were now running toward Section C4—the building that was at first thought to be the only one unnoticed and safe. And he just learned it a hard way that a single human standing conspicuously on the edge of the rooftop was enough to attract the zombies on the ground. No one was prepared for the consequence. The contagious, groaning, and man-eating creatures came from all directions toward the other side of the building where they could see and hear Kang Ji Ae.

Unable to say a word, Won Woo felt his guts tighten. His logic told him that the zombies wouldn’t be able to reach the rooftop, but they came in very large numbers. Too many. Countless. And he had indeed severely miscalculated the situation. The sinister reality shocked him to his core as he learned one more thing about what those monsters were capable of doing.

Jin Joo’s last warning—stay quiet, stay unseen—should have never been made light of. But regrets were almost always useless. The zombies had climbed up to their hideaway in double-quick time. And there was no way they could stop the approaching living dead now.

When the survivors finally realized what was happening, unfortunately, it was too late already.

Kang Ji Ae was forcefully pulled down by a filthy, bloodied hand that suddenly emerged from below her. Seo Yeon saw that and screamed in horror. But again, it was too late. Seung Cheol managed to grab Ji Ae’s arm but he alone couldn’t win against time and the mob of zombies. Just in a matter of seconds, Ji Ae disappeared from their visions and the policeman fell along with her.

Seung Cheol felt blood violently rush to his head, both from his upturned position and immense fear. His eyes widened unblinking at the horrifying sight of a pyramid of countless hordes of zombies that were climbing up toward the rooftop. And he knew he was done for. They were all done for. But to his surprise, a strong grasp on the back of his uniform shirt immediately stopped him from falling further down.

Seung Cheol glanced up to see who had helped him. Coming into view was the tall guy whom the blonde-haired pretty guy hit straight in the face. The repeatedly-mentioned guy who seemingly had a terrible relationship with Jin Joo.

Kim Min Gyu.

“Aaarrgh—!”

Screaming himself hoarse, Seung Cheol shifted his gaze back down to the girl he was still tightly, frustratedly, holding. His worst nightmares instantly materialized before his eyes. Fear rippled through him as he powerlessly watched Kang Ji Ae pulled further down, strangled, bitten, ripped apart by the voracious mob of zombies. At that very moment, he knew that it was no use trying to save her, but he still couldn’t let her go. Hot tears began to sting his eyes as something raw and destructive awakened inside him. Guilt.

Eventually, after the pointlessly determined struggle to not repeat the same mistake again, Seung Cheol had to swallow the bitter and deadly truth. Ji Ae’s hand slipped out of the silently grieving policeman’s grasp as the dreadful swarms caught her body.

Almost at the same time, Min Gyu gave all his remaining strength to pull Seung Cheol up. And as soon as the devoured girl was separated from the policeman, Min Gyu, holding back his emotions at seeing her life end tragically, could finally pull the older one away from the inescapable death at the mouths of zombies. Both men fell backward onto the hard rooftop floor with heavy thuds.

Grunting in pain, Min Gyu opened his eyes and tried to catch his breath. His left elbow and the back of his left forearm were terribly scraped against the hard surface. But he ignored the unsightly wounds and then moved to check on the policeman’s condition. And suddenly, he froze again. His eyes widened, fixed on Seung Cheol’s right bloody hand. “... .” A breathless mutter escaped his lips.

Seung Cheol was ed up indeed. His right hand had been deeply bitten, bright red blood gushing profusely from the torn flesh.

All staring eyes were fixed on him. Shocked. Horrified. Hopeless.

One by one, the unarmed survivors who knew what was going to happen next to the now infected victim backed away.

Hit by the gruesome reality of an inescapable apocalyptic disaster and the death of her childhood friend, Seo Yeon lost all the positive energy that made her resilient and hopeful. She was sobbing hard while looking at the policeman, her both hands pressed against . Others were shaking with incredulity and fear, their faces deathly pale as if their souls had just left their bodies, now realizing that the rooftop of Section C4 was no longer the safest hideaway.

But where else could they go?

Seung Cheol coughed dryly and looked down at his bitten hand. Random flashbacks of his unforgiven failures swamped her mind and an agonized sigh then escaped his chapped lips. His vision began to blur as he lifted his eyes in the direction of the petrified and wordless college students in front of him.

Seung Cheol could feel his body heat rise rapidly in a painful way. His breathing ragged. His head ached awfully. And suddenly, he remembered what the guy named Won Woo said before: some people somehow remain human for some period of time after getting bitten by the living dead.

Like Hwang Jin Joo. Like the girl who bit her.

Although it was still a mere assumption, Seung Cheol was certain he didn’t belong to that category as he felt weird things begin to wreak havoc inside him. Taking his gun out of his holster, Seung Cheol shifted his weak gaze to Min Gyu who still didn’t move away from him. Either he had become recklessly stupid or too shocked to react. What he said about Jin Joo to the blonde-haired guy earlier was unwise and cold, and a jerk truly deserved a punch on the face. But when Seung Cheol looked at the younger guy again, more closely, he was a bit surprised.

Kim Min Gyu might not really be a heartless jerk as he thought. There was fear in his eyes. But there was also compassion. And an unspoken sorry.

“There are... three bullets left,” Seung Cheol told the tall student who had bravely jumped into the life-and-death situation to save him, his hand trembling. “I will… leave… the last two bullets to you…”

Min Gyu didn’t say anything, as if assuring him that he wouldn’t leave him; that he would faithfully listen to him until his last breath as a human.

“... thank you.” A faint smile flashed for a moment over the policeman’s face. “I truly hope all of you survive until rescue comes,” he said. “Godspeed.”

Seung Cheol took a deep breath, pointing the gun at his own head. He was ready. But a few seconds before he closed his eyes, an intimidating shadow fell across his face.

“Min Gyu, move aside.”

Min Gyu quickly turned around. A gasp left his mouth as he lifted his eyes.

“Do you still want to live?” Jeong Han asked, straight-faced, carrying an axe in his hands. Unsurprisingly, he got no response. Just a flustered look from the policeman. “Right. I shouldn’t have asked that dumb question.”

“Jeong Han hyung, what are you—!”

“Min Gyu,” the blonde-haired guy instantly silenced the younger one using a peremptory tone of voice. It was obvious what he was thinking of doing with the axe, but it was more terrifying to see how dauntless and threatening he looked. “Keep his mouth tightly closed. Make sure no sound escapes him.”

“Jeong Han hyung—”

“Let’s see what in’ happens next.” Jeong Han shut the younger one up again, not even turning to look at him. “If he doesn’t transform, then we can know how to save a victim. At least, one who is bitten in the hand.” It was the way he talked that sent chills down everyone’s spine. It was the other side of the gentle and lovable Yoon Jeong Han that no one ever saw. He stepped forward, his gaze nailing the policeman’s weak one. Something dangerous and unfathomable clouded over his angelic face. “But if he does, I’ll shoot him myself.”

That being said, blood was then spilled with no hesitancy, splashing all over the place and people nearby.

Gasps and screams of the witnesses were heard.

In an instant, Seung Cheol’s mind went blank. Eyes squeezed shut, he writhed uncontrollably in agony against the strong arms that imprisoned him, veins swelling on his fair temples and along his neck, violent tears bursting forth. For a moment he couldn’t breathe, screaming behind the hand that wrapped around his mouth. And when he could finally get used to the pain that spread throughout his body, he in a long and deep breath and opened his eyes. A bloody axe and fair-skinned hand entered his field of vision, thick and richly red liquid dripping from the sharp tip of the axe.

Although his entire body was still convulsing with pain, Seung Cheol gradually regained enough collectedness to understand the situation he was in and forgive what was done to him. His mind was then filled with thoughts again—whether he was still human, whether the brutal method worked, whether everyone was okay. And while he was silently thinking and catching his breath, the hand that smothered his screams before was slowly pulled away.

Holding onto his consciousness, Seung Cheol looked up to see the blonde-haired guy whose face wore an emotionless expression and then turned his head to look at the sickening reality on his right side. There lied the lower half of his right arm, separated from his body.

“Will this really work? Should I ask them to just kill me instead?” Seung Cheol asked himself, but a moment later, he fainted.

Min Gyu caught the powerless body in front of him. Panic shot through him, but he was quick and ultra-careful when taking off his blood-stained white uniform shirt and wrapping it tightly around the policeman’s severed arm, hoping it could slow down the massive hemorrhage. He then darted a look at the blonde-haired older guy, half questioning him and half condemning him.

But Yoon Jeong Han didn’t seem the least apologetic nor was he appalled, staring down at the dismembered lower arm before he flabbergasted Min Gyu by picking it up. A deep frown crossed his angelic face, but he had no chance to further investigate what he noticed when Seung Kwan suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs.

Not just Seung Kwan.

Loud cries of terror also came from the others at the same, piercing through the stifling air. They stepped back and got close to one another at the center of the rooftop—enemies, friends, and strangers—looking around helplessly, realizing that nobody could be the hero to save the day.

“Jeong Han sunbae! Min Gyu hyung! Look!”

Seung Kwan shouted at the two older guys, tremblingly pointed at the alarming sight around where Kang Ji Ae was standing to commit suicide before. More and more hideous hands and faces were emerging from the escalating vicious tumult at the east side of the Section C4 building, moving unstoppably toward them.

“THEY’RE COMING UP!!!” Seung Kwan made the reversal of fortune clear to everyone in a louder voice, completely losing his calm as he pulled Vernon back up onto his feet. “WE CAN’T STAY HERE ANY LONGER!!!”

Won Woo and some of the unknown escapees turned around and dashed toward the metal door, but through the thick glass panel, they could see that a horde of the living dead had poured into the corridor, coming toward them.

“, , …” muttered a guy, nauseated. His legs gave out on him and he fell on his backside.

“We’re doomed,” said another guy dryly. “Now what?”

Within seconds, all hell broke loose—literally— on the rooftop of Section C4 building.

Ambushed with no way out, the group of mostly defenseless young civilians of Cheon Yang city reacted in instant panic and they scattered wildly in all directions trying to save their mortal lives. But all attempts they could think of seemed to be of no avail. They were quickly outnumbered as more and more zombies reached the rooftop and lunged at them.

Suppressing his own fear, Yoon Jeong Han fought the incoming mob with the same axe that he used to chop off the policeman’s arm, putting himself on the line to protect his juniors. Sadly, he couldn’t save them all. Each time he looked around, he saw some of them fall victim to the ferocity of the living dead. Bitten, torn, eaten alive.

The rooftop floor was soon drenched in blood.

Dead bodies. Torn skin. Ripped flesh. Countless bits of chewed limbs and organs.

It was a dead end.

At the sight of Won Woo who stood unaccompanied a few meters ahead of him and seemed so stupefied, Min Gyu was suddenly filled with a dreadful worry. He called the older guy’s name to snap him out of whatever thoughts that made him freeze, rising swiftly to his feet while carrying the unconscious body of the policeman on his back. He rushed in Won Woo’s direction, calling him again, completely clueless about a feral zombie that was running right behind him. It was when Won Woo suddenly shouted back at him that he realized he and the policeman were in fatal danger.

A hungry, monstrous groan was just a hair’s breadth away from them.

Feeling the blood draining from his face, Min Gyu glanced back and his heart missed a beat as soon as he saw a bloody rotten face coming at him. At that very moment, he knew he would die. But suddenly, the hideous face burst like a watermelon struck by a sledgehammer. Drops of dark purplish blood—and bits of a smashed brain—splattered across his face. When he blinked his eyes open, he was surprised to find himself still alive.

Jeong Han jumped to his rescue perfectly in time, swinging his axe with deadly precision. Their eyes met for a few seconds, and the blonde-haired senior then moved to fight the undead monsters again after secretly making himself sure that the junior and the policeman were unharmed.

With his quickly returning senses, Min Gyu ran again toward Won Woo and managed to seize a baseball bat lying unnoticed near a water tank. And using that bat too, he crushed the skulls of the zombies that got in his way and saved a few students before finally reuniting with Won Woo. Behind them, another mob of zombies glared at them through the glass panel and fiercely banged on the metal door, but so far it seemed strong enough to keep them from barging onto the rooftop. After leaving the policeman’s body with Won Woo, Min Gyu then joined Jeong Han, Seung Kwan, and a few others who had no choice but to pick up anything they could use as a weapon and fight to survive.

“There! The storage room!” Someone shrieked. “GET INSIDE THE STORAGE ROOM!!!”

“Damn it! It’s locked!”

The small storage room was now their hope. Their last stronghold. But the locked door was an ominous sign that luck wasn’t on their side.

Frustrated and angered at the harsh reality that made it seem like Jin Joo would die for nothing, Seung Kwan kicked and body-slammed the door. Again and again. To everyone’s surprise, the door only rattled a bit but it remained shut despite the furious force. Another male student then helped Seung Kwan to break the door open, but none of their attempts worked.

Won Woo’s fists tightened as he watched the depressing situation. His range of vision was limited, but he was sure that the black object lying on a pool of blood ahead of him was the policeman’s handgun. There were three bullets left. And he told himself not to die and let them go to waste.

Woo Woo took a deep breath, shaking off the numbing fear. He only had one shot to see if they could reverse the situation. During his middle and high school years, he was always known as the best batter whose hits were feared by the opposing team, and a home-run maker as well as a record-breaker whose speed was nearly unstoppable on the field. Remembering those victorious days again, he charged headlong toward the blurry black object despite the sharp pain that shot through his injured ankle, unwilling to stop, unwilling to give up, relying entirely on the slim chance that he could pick up the gun before the living dead caught him.

Finally noticing Won Woo’s suicidal action, Min Gyu stopped swinging his bat and then froze completely, his heart sinking in horror. “WON WOO HYUNG!!!” he screamed. “STOP! DON’T GO THERE!!!”

Won Woo ignored that horrified, warning voice. “I got this!” he mentally slapped himself, almost tripping over his own feet as he forced himself to run. A vivid memory of Jin Joo badassedly fighting and killing the zombies flashed through his mind, fueling his determination. “I in' got this!”

Plan 1, pick up the gun.

Plan 2, run back as fast as possible to the storage room.

Plan 3, shoot the door open.

Out of random luck, Won Woo managed to slickly avoid a furious zombie and pick up the gun. But when another living corpse suddenly blocked his path and jumped on him, he had half expected it and prepared himself for the worst consequence of his crazy decision.

Unsure if he had been bitten or not, Won Woo literally wrestled with the stinking rotten zombie and not long after, he heard a sickening sound of a skull breaking open. Not his. The zombie instantly fell off him, killed on the spot. When he turned his head, he squinted his eyes to see who had saved his life this time.

That was a familiar, bob-haired female figure. Seo Yeon.

“Won Woo sunbae, are you alright?!” Seo Yeon asked, her voice trembling as she helped him to his feet.

Won Woo accepted her kindness, reaching her hand. If she was a few milliseconds late having the idea to throw the terracotta pot of sunflowers at the vicious zombie that attacked him, he would never be able to answer, “I’m alright. Thank—” But his tired voice suddenly turned into an abrupt, dead pause. His eyes widened with shock.

A zombie pounced on Seo Yeon and bit voraciously into the flesh of her neck.

Right before his eyes.

.