If the morning air was cold, the evening air was terrible to say the least for a cold-prone person like Momo, who, in order to cover herself as much as possible, had worn a horrible woolen hat that the other girls had kindly defined as vomit-coloured.

Nayeon, on the other hand, almost looked like a robot: she didn't even show a shred of fear and the cold wind apparently didn't bother her "stay close to me and if they were to attack us I advise you to cling to me like a monkey would, but be careful not to impede my movements or I wouldn't be able to climb anywhere"

"Are you seriously talking about free climbing like it's a trifle? Did you happen to work at the circus?"

"I've been parkouring for some time and luckily I still look in top shape in regards to some things, although I hope you're not too heavy as I'm way out of practice on having to carry anyone else"

The sun was about to set and the road they were traveling was getting darker and darker, giving the girls two different perceptions: thanks to the little light it was difficult to see the multitude of objects and human remains fallen on the asphalt, but right there the absence of it made it difficult to walk without tripping over something.

The older of the two had her eyes attentive to every little thing and practiced every second to grab the hammer she had hooked to her backpack "in case of danger, it would take me a second to be able to act, even if I must admit that this thing weighs a lot"

"You look so calm.. How are you doing?"

"To tell the truth, I have no idea, I've always been an apparently imperturbable person but I assure you that inside me there is total chaos. Maybe I can manage to keep myself even in a situation like this because I have a goal to achieve"

"May I know what it is?" Momo's body was getting closer and closer to that of the brunette, shaking like a leaf.

A sad smile had darkened Nayeon's face even more "I would like to save you all, by doing so I could give meaning to my life"

The blue haired girl looked down, feeling a grip on her chest "do you think your life is worthless?" she had said it in a low voice, without the slightest tremor between one word and another.

"No, I wouldn't put it on this level. Let's say that I haven't done anything yet that can give it meaning, maybe it's more correct to say that. I believe that every life is precious, even that of a misfit like me"

"You must have been through a lot to think these things, hearing you talk makes me feel even more immature than I actually am"

"A person's maturity can be measured in many things and the fact that you came with me without making a fuss is proof that you are not an immature girl"

To shorten the journey they turned towards a small abandoned park, finding themselves having to put their feet in real puddles of blood, causing Momo to cover so as not to scream.

There were also some human bodies in pieces, which had been eaten by some animals, and the danger of that place was immediately clear. The screams of the zombies were not far away and, mixed with the darkness that was getting thicker and thicker, they reached levels of terror that the two girls had never experienced before.

"Stay next to me, we don't know how many there are and we'd better avoid them as much as possible" Nayeon had shaken the younger girl's hand, her back to instill peace of mind "are you ready? We have to walk fast"

"If I survive this hell I will never leave Japan again" Momo's eyes were full of tears.

The situation in the apartment was not the best, but at least the cause of the general concern was waking up from her sleep full of nightmares "what time is it?"

"It's almost time for dinner, Sleeping Beauty" Chaeyoung was the one who had been in charge of pressing a bottle of water to her forehead "you got everyone worried because we thought you had a bad infection in your wound, but I checked and your fever is from fact that you just caught cold"

"Can you really understand these things?"

"Only an imbecile would have a hard time seeing that the horror on your knee is squeaky clean, Nayeon did a great job"

Mina was immediately behind the green haired girl, a look that was so scary to change her face "you insulted us all, rude little girl"

"Uh, that's the worst insult I've ever heard" Chaeyoung put her free hand to her chest and pretended to be about to cry "how am I going to survive with the knowledge that you think me uneducated? It's too much to bear"

At that point Jihyo intervened since she was the only one able to keep the youngest of their group at bay "let's go over there, I want the revenge at cards"

The green-haired girl totally changed her attitude, going from being arrogant to being in love "I'll be right there, my love" she let go of the bottle, not caring that it would inevitably end up on Tzuyu's nose.

Which fortunately didn't happen thanks to Dahyun's quick reflexes, who had taken the now empty seat next to the sofa "how are you feeling?"

"I'm a little tired and sore, but I'm fine" Tzuyu blushed and she, she was sure, it wasn't because of the fever "how are you?"

"I've had a better time, but it's not every day that I get involved in a zombie apocalypse and I'm trying to show my enthusiasm" her intent was to make a funny joke, but her firm and immutable expression didn't reflect her want to joke.

Despite her poor expressive ability, or rather thanks to it, the girl lying on the sofa could not hold back a sincere laugh "you're really funny"

Dahyun raised an eyebrow, looking a little annoyed "I'm not at all"

"You act tough, but you're much more human and fragile than you want to believe" she searched for her hand with her fingers, smiling shyly as she gently caressed her rough palm "by dint of using the katana your hands are getting ruined, you should take better care of it"

"I don't think it matters now, what matters is being able to protect you"

That sort of statement had made them both blush, but luckily for them Jeongyeon had arrived to interrupt that embarrassing moment "it's dark now and those two idiots forgot to take the flashlight, so I propose to meet them and take the opportunity to go to the sporty shop"

"Okay, give me a moment to put on something warm" the improvised swordswoman had left immediately after gesturing for Mina to take care of Tzuyu.

The blonde suddenly looked shy "listen.. I wanted to apologize for the things I said, I don't really mean them. You were very good during our expedition"

"When Minari apologizes it means that the goodness hidden in her little heart has managed to prevail, I advise you to take advantage of this more unique than rare moment" Sana was filing her nails, a satisfied smile lighting up her face.

"I accept your apology and thank you for putting yourself in danger to try to save me, you didn't have to do it" Tzuyu seemed happy: having received confirmation of Dahyun's interest had been exciting and, followed by an apology, she had received all that she needed to feel better.

Momo was crouched on one of the pharmacy shelves, her face wet with tears and fear oppressing her stomach "I'm going to die in a pharmacy, I don't want to believe it"

"You won't die here, shut up or they'll hear us" Nayeon was looking for a way out with her eyes now accustomed to the dark.

Upon their arrival in the small structure they were immediately greeted by the disturbing sounds of the zombies, who had practically invaded every lane to the point of having dropped several medicines that were on display.

Luckily for them there was a shelf positioned in the entrance that apparently had no sense of being there, but thanks to that incorrect arrangement they had been able to climb up without attracting the attention of the undead.

"If I remember correctly, the medicines for fever, antibiotics and other things are at the back, while on the right there are other useful objects such as plasters, bandages and everything else. Maybe it would be safer to split up, take all we can and leave as quickly as possible"

The blue haired girl was crying again, understanding perfectly why Jihyo often dabbled in that activity "I hope you're just kidding, I have no desire to go around without you and the hammer"

"Then you take it, I can always climb anywhere"

"Maybe it's not clear to you that I won't let you go anywhere without me" she squeezed her arm tightly, until her knuckles whitened "don't abandon me, I already know I'm not able to look after myself"

"We can't stay here too long, we'll end up getting caught and then I won't be able to protect you" Nayeon reached out to caress the younger one's head, trying to smile reassuringly "I said I wanted to protect you all and it's what I'll do, if you really don't feel like it I'll take care of it, but you can't keep me here"

Momo gave herself an attitude, even stopping crying "where did you say I have to go?"

They agreed to divide the tasks, descending from the shelf with their backpacks already open to save time and moving slowly so as not to be discovered. Nayeon had to scramble to get to the area of her interest without running into the walkers, while Momo hadn't hit a snag.

The hands of both grasped every possible medicine with the utmost precision, but the younger had been distracted due to her proximity to one of those monsters, which had made her scream in fright.

Nayeon turned her head in the direction of her scream, feeling her fear take full possession of her as every zombie was rushing towards the blue-haired girl, who froze in place.

Her body moved on its own, completely engulfed in desperation, making her scramble onto a shelf as fast as possible to avoid wasting time running in the aisles, risking breaking her nose after slipping.

"Momo, run away!" fatigue mixed with fear was a deadly combo even for a trained physique like hers, who didn't want to respond to her commands and was making it difficult for her to complete her task "please don't get killed" at that point she was crying, resigned in her impotence.

An arrow stuck on the wall behind Momo, just grazing her head "damn, I aimed at the zombie in the suit and tie" Jeongyeon had a bow in her hands and a backpack from which several arrows were sticking out.

In Dahyun's instead there were some baseball bats, in addition to the katanas hanging by her side "luckily you didn't hit Momo, maybe archery isn't your thing" she pulled out one of her blades "go to Nayeon, I'm taking care of the situation here"

"Alright, see you out of here" she had grabbed one of the wooden baseball bat before running to the other side.

The general shock only left confused memories in the minds of the two girls who had found themselves in danger: Nayeon remembered seeing Jeongyeon's hair ruined by the dye, which had hit the zombies as if she were playing baseball; Momo on the other hand had almost passed out when she had splashed blood on her face.

Their saviors had dragged them out in what had been yet another desperate race for safety, but unfortunately for them they had a dozen undead on their heels.

"There are too many and we are luring them to our shelter" Jeongyeon was panting "but we can't run to infinity either"

"I have an idea" when they arrived under the building where they had all taken refuge Dahyun stopped to shoot between the eyes of one of the zombies, feeling a trembling in her hands for the umpteenth killing of her.

"Where did you get that gun?" Nayeon was slowly coming to her senses.

"Chaeyoung gave it to me, I hope it's enough for a alarm bell and come and help us"

One shot, quickly followed by another, knocked two of the decomposing beings to the ground. Chaeyoung sat on the windowsill, her rifle clutched in her arms and a serious look she hadn't shown anyone yet. She was ready to fire again.

The four girls immediately ran towards the door, taking advantage of that distraction, but they realized they had made a huge mistake when they were unable to barricade themselves inside: the zombies had managed to enter.

~~~
I inform you that with this we are officially halfway through the story and that from now on the real mess will begin. I hope I'm able to represent everything decently and, as usual, if there's something wrong, let me know 👉🏼👈🏼