Day 6 -- Part 1

Running

        Daehyun ducked under the broken fencing. The sound of his own harsh breathing spurred him as he ran for his life. As he ran from those monsters that had been breathing down his neck just moments before. His heart was racing before he ever started to exert himself. The city was a terrifying place made even more terrifying once he was alone. He had succeeded in his mission in gathering supplies but he wasn't sure it would even be worth it. In just a matter of minutes he might very well be dead, devoured by monsters only to maybe become one of them. The thought of joining their ranks made him pick up his pace. He was sure he was losing them. They were moving sort of slow, slower than the first few days.

       They had been so fast when it all began; he remembered it well but he didn't have to time to linger on that now. No, now he needed to get away. He needed to get back to the hideout, the place where his friends were waiting for him.

       Daehyun took a sharp turn only to halt immediately. His eyes widened the size of saucers as he raked in the mass of shuffling zombies that filled the street. They wove through the mess of parked cars, others stood still, nearby to others so it looked like they might be friends, casually talking to one another. At the thought of zombies being friends with one another Daehyun shook his head. He was tired. He hadn't slept a wink the night before, much too afraid of being violently awoken by someone gnawing on his leg.

       Daehyun took a step back, his tennis shoes scrapping the ground and sending a small spray of loose rocks backwards. The sound caught the interest of a nearby zombie. Before the zombie had a chance to register Daehyun was a living, delicious food source, the boy whipped around and headed in the other direction. He'd have to find another way around but when he turned into a wide alley he was met by another sentry of zombies.

       He let out a sigh before escaping into an abandoned Etude House shop. He pressed his back to the door and listened carefully. If any zombie had followed him or was wanting to eat him for lunch he would have heard them. They would no doubt pound on the door and try to force their way inside.

       When several silent minutes passed without interruption Daehyun allowed himself to truly breathe. He took in a deep breath, exhaled and then repeated, calming his frazzled nerves as he did so. His shoulders slumped as he stepped away from the door. He turned around and watched as a small clique of zombies shuffled by, each wearing a school uniform and donning backpacks. They were students, high school kids like himself. How had he managed to survive when they hadn't?

       Daehyun looked away from the zombie students and shuffled to the back of the shop. He silently eyed the products on the shelves. Nothing would be useful to him. Now was not the time to be worrying about skin care. He needed a plan, a way to get back to his friends. With a sigh, he walked around the counter and sat on the floor, hiding himself from view if anyone should peer into the store.

       He stretched his legs out in front of him and shrugged off the heavy bag he had been lugging around. Inside was food, bottled water and basic first aid. Everything one would need to survive and everything that had been on his mental checklist. He had been lucky to get his hands on it all without getting killed. But his luck had seemed to have gone dry. He wondered how Himchan had fared on his own quest for supplies.

       Daehyun was pretty positive that Himchan had done well. The man was full of surprises after all. But just because he had done well in getting the supplies didn't mean he had survived. Daehyun hit his head against the counter, mentally berating himself from splitting up with Himchan. It had been idiotic to think they could survive all on their own. Look where he had ended up! Hiding out in Etude House had never been part of the plan.

       His eyes had begun to droop, his exhaustion finally taking over. He tried to fight off sleep but was doing a bad job of it. He yawned and promised himself just a few more minutes of rest and then he'd be on his way and back to his friends in no time.