[CONTENTID1]Phoenix[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]Chapter Five[/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]

Seri awoke in an unfamiliar room and an unfamiliar bed. The pitter-patter of rain reached her ears as it drummed against the window. She rubbed her eyes and glanced around confusedly, wondering where she had ended up. The room was messy… did it belong to Sehun? Or maybe Chanyeol? She didn’t remember going to bed and concluded that she must have been so tired she had simply forgotten about it. Seri slid to the edge of the bed, hesitating before she got up.

Although she had been tired, she hadn’t slept well. Nightmares had plagued her and prevented her from resting properly. This was not a new occurrence. She had experienced it regularly since the infected had swarmed her former workplace and since she had seen her co-workers die right in front of her. Although over a month had passed, the pain in her chest didn’t fade. Sometimes, she was distracted for a brief period, but it always came back. Usually at night.

She hadn’t talked about her experiences yet, choosing to keep them to herself, but perhaps it was better to share them—her new companions must have endured similar hardships. Baekhyun had made a vague comment about losing an entire military base, not revealing much besides that. If she thought about it, she knew little about his life before the pandemic. Maybe she should ask him when the opportunity arose.

It was cold this morning. The few clothes she had brought in her backpack wouldn’t last very long… Seri inspected the options she had and picked a warm hoodie and jeans. After entering the bathroom, she was reminded that they didn’t have running water here either, but Sehun and Chanyeol had prepared several large canisters with water she could use to freshen up. It was not ideal, but certainly better than nothing at all. She brushed her teeth and put on fresh clothes for the day.

When she left the bathroom and entered the kitchen, her new housemates had already prepared breakfast—a pleasant surprise for the young woman. The soldiers weren’t as disorganized as the messy state of their apartment made it seem.

“You arrived right on time,” Baekhyun said and pointed to a chair. “Sit down. Do you want coffee or tea?”

Her eyes got so big they nearly fell out of their sockets. “Did you say coffee?”

“Steaming hot. Do you want some?” Sehun grinned, already holding the coffee pot in his hand. She nodded and held out her cup to him so that he could fill it for her.

“Thank you so much. You’re a lifesaver, Sehun!” She felt a little silly when her eyes watered in sheer happiness—she hadn’t had a cup of coffee in over a month. Finally, Seri had regained a shred of normalcy.

“Calm down, it’s just coffee,” Sehun joked and joined her at the table. He and Chanyeol sat opposite her while Baekhyun took a seat next to her.

“How did you heat it up?” she wondered, noticing several dishes on the table. They were hot as well and had been prepared moments ago.

“We have a gas stove. It was the first thing we acquired when the electricity was gone,” Chanyeol explained, stuffing rice in his mouth. They also had canned fish and a few random foods that didn’t fit together, but it was more than Seri had expected. She was grateful for it.

“It’s much better than eating everything cold,” Chanyeol added and his gaze darted to Baekhyun. “But the living conditions here are far from good, and I’m worried about what’ll happen when winter arrives. It would be best to leave Sokcho behind and look for a better place to stay. We should try to live self-sufficiently.”

“I agree,” Baekhyun said. “The cold months will be easier to endure if we find a suitable home. We should leave this town and move to a rural area instead.”

“Today? The sooner the better,” Sehun suggested.

“Why not? If we start packing right after breakfast, we’ll be ready to go by noon at the latest.”

“Sounds good,” Seri replied. Her stomach had been painfully empty, so she truly appreciated this breakfast even if it was small.

As she took a sip of her coffee, Chanyeol’s curious gaze lay on her. Seri sat next to Baekhyun—what a surprise. Chanyeol had a hard time holding himself back from teasing them. “We don’t know much about you yet, Seri,” he remarked and thus gained her attention. “Want to tell us more? It wouldn’t hurt to get to know each other since we’re a team now.”

“Ask away.” She smiled at the black-haired soldier whose grin looked impish.

“Are you single?”

She furrowed her brows and put down her coffee cup. “Um… that’s a strange question, Chanyeol. I am single, but why do you ask?”

“Oh, don’t misunderstand. I asked because the captain might want to know.” Dimples formed near his mouth. Baekhyun’s expression tightened.

“Why would Baekhyun want to know?” she wondered and looked at Chanyeol with question marks in her gaze.

“No idea,” Chanyeol chirped innocently.

“Can you mind your own business for once?” Baekhyun groaned and glared at Chanyeol.

“Look, he’s angry!” Sehun whispered to Chanyeol and snorted.

In Seri’s eyes, the two of them acted like siblings. They were close and shared the same sense of humor. “Did I miss something?” she asked.

“Should we tell her?” Sehun asked Chanyeol who contemplated and put on a dramatic expression.

“Hm… I don’t know. Should we?”

“Can you stop fooling around? How did you make it through the military academy?” Seri pouted, wondering why these grown men suddenly acted like gossiping teenagers.

“Beats me,” Baekhyun sighed.

“Tell me what you’re talking about!” she demanded when the two squad leaders continued to exchange amused glances.

“Well, Seri, you’re a very lucky woman! Do you know why?” Chanyeol asked.

“No idea.”

“You got tucked into bed last night by the captain himself,” he explained with a massive grin. “He carried you like a princess, you should have seen it!”

Sehun’s and Chanyeol’s snickering filled the silence that had spread over the group. Seri was too stunned to speak. So that’s how she ended up in a bed… but why would he… carry her… like that? Her cheeks flushed and her heart jumped. Why was he so sweet to her? Although he wore constant frowns and scowls, his actions were nothing but caring. She raised her head and looked at Baekhyun with wide eyes. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and curled his lips in annoyance, but otherwise seemed unfazed by the revelation.

“Thank you,” she told him, feeling the need to voice it since she didn’t take it for granted.

“You fell asleep on me. It’s no big deal.”

“I appreciate it. If I can return the favor somehow…”

Sehun snorted and cut her off. “What, you want to tuck him in too?!” The poor soldier nearly fell off his chair, body shaking with laughter. “No way, you can’t be serious!”

“T-That’s not what I meant to say! You didn’t let me finish!” Seri defended herself. “Baekhyun, why are they acting like this? It’s embarrassing!”

“I don’t know. They weren’t like this before,” he muttered and furrowed his brows. “Maybe they went nuts after the outbreak.” He sounded dead-serious, but the twitching of his lips and the glimmer of mirth in his eyes showed his true thoughts.

Hours later, they sat in a military jeep and headed further south. The back of the car was crammed with as many supplies and weapons as possible.

While the three soldiers chatted about their experiences within the past month, in some cases bragging about their confrontations with zombies, Seri took in the scenery outside. She hadn’t seen this particular part of South Korea before. It looked different than the metropolitan areas she was used to. There was more greenery, less concrete and steel, fewer people. From time to time, she spotted indications of other survivors. Smoke rising from a chimney for example, or the silhouette of a person behind a window. Nobody ever showed themselves—they were as careful as Seri liked to be when encountering strangers.

Unfortunately, the group came across several hordes of zombies blocking the street, but Chanyeol either drove right through them, or the soldiers took them out with their guns and thus cleared the way. Seri was impressed at how well they worked together. Every order Baekhyun gave was executed flawlessly. They helped or warned each other when necessary and formed the perfect team. It was evident they trusted each other blindly. Seri felt like a superfluous addition to their group since she had not received military training and lacked experience. Even though they had brought enough equipment, she didn’t dare touch one of the soldiers’ weapons. Not without knowing how to use it.

After about an hour of driving, they found a gas station at the roadside behind a small town. They were running out of fuel, so Chanyeol decided to stock up on it here. As they drove closer, they came upon a harrowing scene. Burned cars blocked a part of the driveway. Ash blackened their bodies and the asphalt beneath them. The ground was covered in strange dark puddles—Seri didn’t want to know where they came from. The soldiers tensed, instinctively readying themselves for a confrontation. Chanyeol parked the car and turned off the engine.

“We’ll fill two canisters with fuel and then we’ll move on. Lingering here is too risky,” Baekhyun said while he eyed their surroundings warily. It was quiet although they were not far from a residential area, and the lack of zombies made him suspicious. He spotted a few dead bodies in the parking lot—they had been infected before someone had killed them.

“Bring your guns, we might need them,” Chanyeol said and opened the car door. They left their jeep, Seri bringing her baseball bat instead of a gun. Sehun fetched two empty canisters from the trunk and followed the others. The soldiers were suspicious, not trusting the odd silence that hung over the area, and their cautious behavior made Seri’s pulse race. She followed Baekhyun closely.

“Let’s take a look at the store too. If there’s food left, we’ll take it,” Chanyeol suggested. The small building behind the gas pumps had been ransacked. Its windows were smashed but the shelves inside were not empty yet.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea?” Seri mumbled. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Perhaps she was paranoid.

“We shouldn’t waste this opportunity,” Baekhyun answered.

She wished she could be as calm as him—the look in his eyes was steely and exuded resolve. Nothing she would say could change his mind. Seri sighed and followed Baekhyun and Chanyeol to the abandoned shop while Sehun stayed back to fill the canisters with fuel. They entered and looked around, not encountering any zombies in the small building.

“Is someone there?” A deep voice suddenly sounded from behind the register, scaring her. Seri had expected many things, but not this. The idea of encountering other survivors filled her with dread.

Chanyeol and Baekhyun exchanged a glance and came to a silent agreement, approac