The quick walk had soon turned into a desperate run for safety, as Momo's coughing had attracted the attention of a particularly athletic zombie compared to the others.

"Keep running, we're almost there!" Nayeon wasn't even out of breath though she was the one with the heaviest load on her shoulders "hold on if you want to live"

The time estimated by their savior had been respected, but they were stopped by another tall girl with dyed gray hair, who despite the low temperatures had left the building wearing short sleeves.

"Nay, what the hell is going on? Did they throw a horror event without warning?" she was scratching her belly, still sleepy and with pillow mark on her cheek "you also found some friends. Nice to meet you beauties, I'm Jeongyeon"

"Stop wasting your time and hurry back inside, imbecile" she was pushing her towards the door that was left wide open "this is not a game and we really are in the middle of a stupid zombie apocalypse"

The other three girls had stood there with their hands clutched at their backpacks, all too shaken to have the strength to rush the two litigants. Even if, on balance, the zombie, who had managed to reach them in the meantime, was taking care of that.

"One's coming, of course he's got his make up really good. Not to mention his great performance"

"Jeong, I'm telling you that it's all real and that filthy being is coming towards us to bite off our flesh or, even worse, to make us become like him"

"I've known you for many years, but it's the first time I've seen you really involved in a game. It must be very cool!" she patted her on the shoulder and then went towards the undead "of course you're really ugly, how did you do the fake skin? It seems like it's coming off your face and it's a remarkable result"

The man in his forties who had lost his humanity staggered at the girl, his bloodied mouth wide open to bite forcefully at a random spot on her body.

Feeling the stench emanating from that being, even someone like Jeongyeon could understand the gravity of the situation "oh , you really are a zombie!"

"Finally she figured it out, a brainless would have taken less time" Mina had rolled her eyes, making her personality prevail against the overwhelming fear.

Nayeon however was thinking of a way to get rid of that zombie before being able to barricade themselves inside the now empty building, but she only had a knife and she wasn't sure what she could have done with it.

Luckily Jeongyeon was quite agile, thanks to the boxing workouts she used to do every day, and she was easily avoiding getting caught by those putrid hands.

At that moment, as if the universe had decided to punish them for the sins committed by every person who set foot on earth, there was a sound of rapid footsteps that caused general dismay.

They belonged to two girls: one was very tall and seemed unsteady from fear, the other had black hair in front of her face and her expression was hard to see.

When the taller of the two ended up on the ground after having twisted, the other had immediately placed herself in the space that separated them from the zombie who had chased them for several meters "now you really tired me, you have to die"

She pulled one of her katanas out of the sheath she'd strapped to her jeans, making the blade glint in the sunlight and moving like she'd seen it done in some anime. The motion hadn't been reproduced entirely faithfully, but the undead's head had darted off smoothly, dropping the decomposing body to the asphalt.

"Are you okay?" her expression remained unchanged and, after helping the stranger she had saved to get up, she ran after the zombie eager to eat Jeongyeon, cutting his head in two without thinking for a second "I've already killed five, I'd say I'm in taking the hand"

"Where the hell did you come from?" the gray-haired girl had ended up sitting on the floor and her terror had blocked , leaving it open.

"We'll postpone the introductions until later, now we have to hurry and get inside" Nayeon was dragging her friend's hands like she was a sack of potatoes "you two come too, thanks to your arrival we got rid of a huge problem"

Once they entered the building they had made sure to close the old door properly and then, without further delay, they had shut themselves up in Nayeon's apartment.

None of them had dared to open their mouths except to breathe and they were all motionless watching the landlady as she put away all the food they had managed to accumulate. They had plenty, but being seven it wouldn't take long to finish everything.

Their water reserve was also considerable, but the real problem was given by the limited space they had available. If they had all stayed there sooner or later they would have felt like being locked in a small elevator.

"I have a double bed and the sofa can open to fit two more people, but I have nothing else for everyone to sleep" Nayeon was visibly sorry "I should have also taken the inflatable mattress I saw next to a nerd, I'm been a fool"

"You know what a mess to inflate it? You would have attracted a herd of zombies so it's better this way" Jeongyeon was still recovering from her fright, but she seemed quite lucid "I have a fold-out sofa, another big enough sofa and my bed so we could split up to have more space for each of us. I would host you all, but I only have one bathroom and I think that could become a problem"

Mina nodded immediately "we won't make any controversy because you are doing a lot for us, but I only ask you not to separate me from these two because they could freak out at any moment" she pointed her finger in the direction of her friends.

"Okay, then the three of you will go to Jeongyeon's apartment, but it would be preferable if there was someone armed with you" Nayeon was staring at the girl with the katanas "is it okay for you to go with them? You have to walk a few steps to reach the door"

"No problem, as long as they let me sleep in peace" she was trying to clean the bloody blade she had used earlier, using a wet handkerchief that was losing its usefulness.

While the two hosts were organizing the division of supplies, Sana had approached the impassive girl "what's your name?"

"I am Dahyun"

"Why do you have two katanas? Are you passionate about samurai?"

"No, my father was a fanatic of all these ancient things. I was lucky to have found them sharp, although I don't think it's legal to have weapons hidden inside the house. In any case, I don't think it matters anymore, after all the world is going to ruin"

The tallest girl of all had knelt in front of her savior out of respect "I really don't know how to thank you for saving my life, I owe you a lot"

Dahyun hadn't changed her expression, always keeping impassive, yet in her eyes there was a hint of what seemed like tenderness "you don't have to thank me, lift your head and tell me your name. Are you in one piece? You fell with the elegance of a rhino that has eaten too much"

"My name is Tzuyu and I thank you for the comparison you made, really kind" she blushed with embarrassment, but she wasn't offended as usual "unfortunately I'm very clumsy and I tend to get hurt easily, I hope I don't create too many problems"

There was a quick round of introductions, since they had decided to face any danger together, and after dividing the supplies for the two apartments they had all worked to prepare the beds and to share any task to keep from going crazy.

Night had come and the silence had deepened by the time dinner was over and the girls had all gone to bed. Tzuyu was alone in the living room, wrapped up in blankets up to her hair to feel safe.

She snapped whenever she heard the slightest noise, uncovering herself to cast her eyes in the direction of the front door to make sure no zombies were trying to enter.

She was also worried about the girls in the other apartment: from what she could see the three Japanese women weren't able to fight at all and, in case of danger, Dahyun would be the only one who could resolve the situation.

That seemingly petite girl was the strongest of their group alongside Nayeon, the most athletic and the best at reasoning in moments of sheer terror, but the rest, including herself, couldn't be much help in moments of crisis.

"I'm only eighteen, I've barely learned to cross the street by myself and now I'm in a mess created by who knows what that could kill me at any moment" she had muttered with her forehead resting on her knees before checking her cell phone, which it didn't have any signal "I wonder how extensive this phenomenon is, will it have spread all over the world?"

Soon they would also have to give up running water and for that very reason they had all taken a hot shower before going to sleep, imprinting that brief moment of normality in their minds.

Tzuyu slowly got up from the sofa to go and check if the girls in the bedroom were still awake and, in her heart, she hoped so much. She feared she might go crazy at any minute with no one to talk to.

Unfortunately for her they were both in the world of dreams and, with envy mixed with fear, she had moved away from them to circle in the small living room.

An almost imperceptible noise had made her jump and approach the front door, shaking like a leaf with every tap and checking the peephole even though she was terrified at the thought of what she might see outside.

She didn't think twice about opening at the sight of Dahyun, who had one hand tight around the hilt of her bloodstained katana "I wanted to make sure you were okay"

"I'm just terrified that a zombie might come and eat me in my sleep, aren't you?"

"I can't rest during the night, I only do it from sunrise until lunchtime, so try to stay calm and sleep because I'm on call"

Tzuyu was studying her with interest "aren't you scared?"

"I'm not afraid to die, if that's what you mean" she leaned against the wall, looking in front of her "my life has no value, just like anyone else's. We were born to cease to exist for the various causes and the very fact of being mere mortals should make us stay in our place, instead there are people who believe they are divinities and who enjoy crushing those who have no power"

"You have a really pessimistic view of things, not all people are bad and it's not true that everyone's life is meaningless. If you hadn't been there I would have surely died, so your existence is invaluable because you can save the weak like me"

“Maybe it is as you say, but I am convinced that there is someone with a God complex behind this apocalypse. This individual definitely wanted to clean up and was able to move without a hitch, as far as we can see”

The taller girl had widened her eyes "do you really think all this mess could be somebody's work?"

Dahyun was staring at the blood on her katana blade "I can't be sure, but I don't trust anyone and my sixth sense is screaming at me to look beyond what I can see with my eyes"

~~~
The first few chapters will be quite "quiet", a bit like it happens in TV series and movies (or at least I try), but later on we move on to action and therefore to the part that scares me the most. I hope you won't get bored🤍