After having dabbled in what had been yet another race for salvation, the six girls had sneaked into the garden of a villa, then entering the two-story structure to stay away from the zombies and the rain.

Some of them threw themselves down on an apparently expensive sofa to recover from the effort they had just made, while others seemed on the verge of letting any pent-up emotion explode.

Tzuyu hadn't stopped crying even for a second and the only action she was able to perform besides the tears was to hold the katana that Dahyun had left her close to herself.

Having that in her hands gave her the awareness that she would never again have the chance to see the girl who had fascinated her so much, the one who despite her seemingly cold character had managed to break through her heart in such a short time.

She was shaking and some sobs had been impossible to hold back, so much so that they had attracted the attention of the other girls and had distracted them while organizing a new plan.

It was Jeongyeon who approached her, intending to make her feel her presence with a pat on the head "I know it's hard and that the easiest choice would be to drop everything, but you can't throw Dahyun's efforts to the wind. You have to be strong, if you can survive you will have plenty of time to mourn her death"

"She died because of me, she sacrificed herself to protect a useless person like me" her hands were white as she was clutching the sheath that enclosed the blade of that lethal weapon "she should have left me to die, she committed an unforgivable stupidity"

"I hope you can forgive me" Mina had whispered before approaching the taller girl to slap her face "wake yourself up and stop belittling what Dahyun did for you. She sacrificed herself for your sake and you want to repay her so? You really are a stupid little girl"

Tzuyu stood motionless, her eyes wide open from which salty tears continued to come out "it wasn't me who asked her to get killed for me, I never wanted to"

The blonde felt itchy on both hands: she had an immeasurable desire to give her more slaps, but she held back because it was neither the place nor the time to do it. And then she didn't like violence "what you just said denotes a great immaturity and, forgive me if I say it, an incredible dose of stupidity. If she chose to save you it is because she cared about you more than anything else and this is called love"

"You have no right to insult me for something you don't understand"

"You say I can't understand a situation like this? So let me enlighten you" she pointed at Sana, without taking her eyes off the person she was talking to "that's my girlfriend, the one I love with all my heart and for the which I would throw myself into the fire if needed. Don't you dare tell me I don't understand how you or Dahyun's feelings are because it would be okay for me to turn into a lousy monster to protect the one I love. As long as my heart is beating I will allow nothing and no one to hurt her"

"Stop it, don't say it" the pink haired girl, at that point, was no longer able to keep from crying. Just imagining her girlfriend's death was hurting her immensely.

Mina was sorry, but by then she was tired of everything "unfortunately life is made up of losses and gains, but I'll swear to whatever you want I'd rather die a hundred times than live without her and this, my dear Tzuyu, it is the same thought that Dahyun had towards you"

Silence fell, which was broken from time to time by sobs and Sana's words "why do we have to hurt each other?"

"Mina is right, we need to tell it like it is or we won't go anywhere" Jihyo seemed to have lost all trace of emotion, even if you only had to look at the way she held the rifle to understand that it was only a facade.

Even Momo agreed with the speech made by her best friend "as sad as it is it is natural to put the life of those you love before ours, I would be able to do it too despite being a coward of the first category" her gaze was addressed to one person in particular and was relieved that her possible sacrifice could not have hurt her as much as Chaeyoung's.

“Girls, we have to stick together if we want to survive” Jeongyeon was rubbing her face hard in an attempt to keep the little clarity she had left. Losing Nayeon had broken something inside her, but added to the other two losses it was giving her a burden she never wanted to take on "we have to figure out how to move, at this point I don't think we should go back to the hospital"

Gathered in what had probably been a lunch room, eating some of the things they'd managed to grab at the supermarket and thinking about their next move.

The proposal of the older of the group was immediately accepted by all of them: considering the danger given by the distance between the villa where they were hiding and the hospital, the best choice would have been to go directly to the school mentioned by the army chief and take refuge on the terrace until their arrival.

The pouring rain and the cold would certainly have been difficult to manage, especially when combined with the threat of the living dead that they would have found inside the school building, but they were aware that they had to risk everything they had in order to survive.

"We are well armed and now we are recovering our strength, but we must bear in mind that the corridors of that school are not who knows how wide" Jihyo was pulling her hair into a low ponytail, her cold gaze directed at the drawing they had made on the table "we couldn't move freely even on the stairs"

"In case of danger, I propose to throw objects to distract them, it will soon get dark and the only source of light we will have will be that of the moon" Momo was looking around, looking for something useful to take away.

Sana had remained silent the whole time and she hadn't listened to even one of the words that came out of the mouths of her companions, she was so lost in hypothetical futures in which her girlfriend would not have been there because of a sacrifice.

They finished that brief meeting to rest a bit, now decided to move through the dark of the night, and each of them took advantage of the countless beds present in that rich house.

Mina had chased her girlfriend, even if she had expressed the desire to be alone "are you going to sulk forever?"

"No, I just need to be away from you for a while. I can't get the images of you getting yourself killed to protect me from my mind and the more I look at you the more I fear it might happen"

"Satang, perhaps you misunderstood my words" she sat down next to her, gently brushing her hair away from her face "I didn't say that I would let myself be killed at the first opportunity, but that I would willingly sacrifice myself to save your life. Dying is not an option for me, we still have many things to do together"

Sana literally threw herself on top of her to hug her both with her arms and legs "you still haven't accompanied me shopping in the new mall near my house"

"I didn't because I know that a whole day wouldn't be enough to make you buy everything you want" she was her back, a gesture that she knew how to calm her at every opportunity "but if you care so much we'll go as soon as possible"

"I love you, you know?" the pink-haired girl had moved away a little to be able to chain her eyes in those who managed to captivate her every time "I love you even if you have several poor person tendencies"

Mina let out a laugh "what's wrong with being poor?"

"To tell the truth nothing, living in these conditions I understood that luxury isn't everything in life" she was staring at her lips "although I can't wait to see you again in excellent condition because, I must admit, I have a crazy desire to make you scream my name"

"Damn me and my goddamn habit of not knocking" Momo had her hand on the doorknob and seemed about to vomit "Sana, you're really disgusting and a maniac too. If I were you I'd get myself checked once you get back in Japan"

"Momoring, if you feel excluded we can make a small exception and welcome you during one of our wild sessions" Sana's gaze was mischievous and, as her girlfriend often said, dangerous.

The blue-haired girl's mouth was hanging open and her eyes bulging, as well as the blush clearly visible on her cheeks. She gave a desperate look to Mina "you don't say anything?"

"Since I was a child I have often practiced using my left hand, so I should be able to please two people at the same time"

Seeing her best friends laughing at her reactions made her very embarrassed "let it be clear to both of you that I will never participate in any pajama party again. I'm going to Jihyo's, her killer gaze makes me less afraid than yours. Have a good rest" she closed the door with a snap, running into one of the rooms furthest away from the one her best friends were occupying.

"Do you think we scandalized her too much?"

"Don't worry, Minari, it will pass" they let out a liberating laugh "good heavens, I love to embarrass her"

After resting for a few hours and having refreshed properly in what Jeongyeon had kindly called the last supper, the six girls had taken some blankets found inside the wardrobes and their weapons before leaving the villa.

The rain had stopped swooping down from the sky, giving them at least some relief despite the slippery asphalt, and the moonlight was shining like never before.

The air was so cold that it anesthetized Tzuyu's injured knee, facilitating her movements a lot thanks to the absence of pain. They all noticed the improvement and were immensely grateful, even if the newfound mobility wouldn't be enough in a fight.

They filed forward, with Jeongyeon leading and Mina following along with Jihyo. Momo and Sana were in the middle together with Tzuyu, even if they were afraid that she might slice them with the katana.

They never spoke to each other, using a few gestures to communicate in moments of greatest need, and it was easy to get to the school without having to fight once.

Crossing the courtyard hadn't been difficult even though there were some of the zombies running around, but luckily they had learned not to take anything for granted and weren't too disappointed to find the inside of the building completely overrun by these monsters.

They managed to reach a flight of stairs and climb it without being seen, moving quickly to limit any possible damage, and then stopping on the last steps to let two zombies pass who seemed immersed in a fight, looking at them with eyebrows raised upwards.

Momo instead was distracted "what's on my ?" she had just whispered, since she was talking to herself.

"It's my hand" Jihyo was crouched behind her and, to confirm what she had said, she gave a firm squeeze "it's really good, congratulations"

"Merit of the gym" she was blushing.

Mina was looking at them with disgust "girls, it doesn't seem ideal to flirt in the presence of two hunks fighting for the love of a zombie with a skinless face" she pointed to the two undead who were awkwardly fighting each other "you must not throw your love in the face of those who suffer"

"Look who's talking" they both answered without emotion and with annoyed looks.

"It's time to go" Jeongyeon left the stairs first to go to the next ramp, but the noise caused by the two fighters falling attracted their attention "run!"

They ran and the blonde, fed up with those constant situations, let herself go to her beloved sarcasm "of course these monsters are really ugly, I can believe that zombie with the Chanel necklace doesn't want to have them around. What a horror"

"Do you think it's time to be sarcastic?" Tzuyu was making a huge effort to keep running.

"It's always the right time to insult someone"

The older of the group, seeing that they were about to be surrounded, reached one of the classrooms, after which she waited for everyone to be inside before starting to move the desks in front of the door "now what do we do? We are trapped"

~~~
We are almost at the end! If you notice any errors or nonsense tell me, writing with the flu is a challenge.