Munchers eventually wandered away from the tower, but we needed to move. We couldn’t leave Ki Seok where Riah had died. We didn’t know where to go next. We just had to get out.

“Hyung.” Hyun Min grabbed Kangnam’s arm and tried again with the plane.

“There is a plane on the runway. The pilot is inside and was going to Japan before this all happened.” Ji Hwan whispered in my ear. “He has been radioing with his people in Japan and is going to fly out soon. He has a safe pass.

“Japan is green. They have had zero deaths there?” Ji Hwan stopped translating, but I could understand enough. Hyun Min wanted to find the pilot again and go with him to Japan.

We were ready to leave within the hour. Han Kil took Ki Seok and they watch the back. Jong Su and Hyun Min took the lead with Kangnam and Su Joon in the middle. The others kept their eyes on the outside. We went light and we went quickly. Half of our supplies were left in the tower with a note to anyone who found it. There was too much to carry and Kangnam wanted to be able to move fast. Thankfully we got to the building before any munchers got our scent, however the inside was another story.

The pilot was holed up in a stock room just past gate three. Gate four was swarming with munchers and in our way. We stopped in gate five to figure a way to get there. Jong Su took watch and I sat with him.

“You… Ok?” He sat next to me and dropped a metal bat in my lap.

“Ne, are you?” He thought for a second before nodding. “What ever happened? How did the world end up this wonk?”

“Wonk?” I laughed quietly.

“Messed up. Wrong. Falling apart.” A muncher ran into a turn table across from Gate seven and another tripped over his own feet.

“Ah.” Silence fell, but it wasn’t awkward. It was comfortable quiet.

Jong Su pointed down a small hallway and when I leaned down I saw what he was pointing at. Somehow a cat had gotten into the building and it was walking past with three little kittens following close behind. Somehow, in all this darkness something sweet and soft came about.

“Haneul…”

I lifted my head from Jong Su’s shoulder and rubbed my eye. The cat was long gone and the sun had moved substantially in the sky. I had to have been sleeping for hours.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” I stretched my hands to the sky, but froze when he said my name again.

“Haneul…” He pointed his staff down the hall that the cats were in. Too many munchers to count were shuffling towards us. “Stay.” He whispered.

A stronger smell hit me in a wave when they spilled out of the hall, but they seemed to not notice the two of us. Something was pulling them in the direction of Gate four so they streamed past us with no glance at us. In the five minutes it took for the swarm to pass us, we didn’t move a muscle. One got close to us and Jong Su’s hand on my arm kept me from running.

“We need to go, now.” I crawled over his lap before scurrying back to the others. The door was open and the store room was bare. Jong Su sank to his knees before slamming his arms to the floor and screaming something.

“They left us.” I had to have heard him wrong. Ji Hwan would not have left me behind.

“Ya, Jong Su.” I went to touch him, but I smelt a muncher behind me. Without thinking I kicked back and slammed the door.  It didn’t make a sound until it banged on the door. Thankfully the door opened out and they couldn’t pop the latch.

“Jong Su.” I touched his back lightly, but he pushed me away. He slammed his hands on the floor again before getting back up. His eyes danced around the room before landing on me.

He grabbed my arms and yelled in Korean. Something about the plane.