Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Hey.”

“What?” Jisung said distractedly, not bothering to look up from his phone.

“What’s a zombie’s favorite workout?” Changbin asked. Jisung lowered his phone, cocking his eyebrow as he looked at Changbin. “A deadlift!”

“Really?” The disappointed tone in Jisung’s voice prompted Changbin to flop back onto the bed with a groan. “I think your brain is fried from working on this song for so long.” Jisung stood from the desk chair he was lazily lying back in and walked over to his deflated friend. He earned an “oof” and a weak shove as he flopped onto Changbin.

“Once Chan gets back we should go out to get some lunch. Maybe getting some food in you will revive your brain cells” Jisung giggled.

“My brain cells are just fine, thank you very mu—“ A bone-chilling shriek cut off Changbin. The two shot up to look at each other as sounds of fighting, more screaming, and glass breaking had them scrambling to the dorm window.

Horror bubbled within them at the massacre that was occurring in the courtyard below. People were attacking each other, painting the school grounds with blood. It was like nothing they had ever seen before, nothing that they’d ever wanted to see. Bodies were colliding and whizzing through the open space. Their fellow students and campus staff got chased and tackled to the ground before getting absolutely mauled by madmen that just seemed to be growing in number, infesting their campus. The pair looked on from the safety of their dorm room, eyes glued to the scene of pure violence unfolding below them as they found it hard to look away.

The sound of the door swinging open and slamming shut had the two whipping their heads back to see an out-of-breath Chan standing there. With a panicked look on his face, he swiftly locked the door and strode across the room to rummage through his closet. Just as Changbin was about to ask what the fuck was going on, Chan spun around with two bags in his hands.

“We need to get out of here.”

“You want to go out there?” Jisung pointed shakily to the window.

Changbin hurriedly closed the blinds. “I really don’t think that’s a good idea Chan. Also, shouldn’t we call the cops or something?”

“Trust me Bin, the cops probably have their hands full right now.” Chan answered, emptying the contents of his backpack onto the floor and stuffing the two bags from his closet inside of it. “Check the news.”

Jisung opened his news app to find an emergency news bulletin. “Reports of mass hysteria have police urging citizens to stay indoors?” he read aloud. Changbin, who had been looking over his shoulder, turned to Chan. “According to this, we should be staying put.”

“We’re not safe here guys.” To Chan’s point, a sudden BANG traveled through the halls. “These doors can barely hold their own against drunk frat boys, how do you think they’d fare against whatever’s going on out there?”

Changbin and Jisung met eyes, nodding to each other before taking Chan’s lead and replacing the textbooks in their backpacks for whatever might be useful. They trusted Chan and his reasoning was sound enough. Chan zipped up his bag, getting up to peep through the blinds and get a better grasp on the situation.

Unfortunately, what he saw had him grabbing the trash can by the desk and spewing the ramen and coffee he had for breakfast into it. As Changbin went to Chan to rub his back, Jisung finished stuffing a hoodie into his bag and dashed to the window so he could get a good look for himself. “No freakin’ way…”

“What? What did you guys see?”

“They’re zombies!” Jisung turned around and said almost enthusiastically.

“We’re not in one of your little horror movies Jisung, zombies aren’t real,” says Changbin, handing a tissue to Chan for him to wipe his mouth.

“No, no. As much as I hate to say it, Jisung’s right.” Chan said, clearing his throat.

“See, I’m ri—wait a sec, what do you mean you ‘hate to say it’?” Jisung, clearly offended, huffed and crossed his arms.

“They’re eating each other out there, Bin.” Just saying the words nauseated Chan as he was reminded of the way the zombie’s teeth tore through the flesh of one of his deceased classmates. He had made the mistake of zeroing in on the odd movements of the crazed individuals. They hadn’t just been attacking people, they were eating them alive. Blood dripped from their chins as they chewed off people’s faces and skinned whatever body part they could get ahold of first. Chan could almost hear it.

The squelch of the meat being chewed off and scarfed down, not unlike a wild animal and its prey or even a starved college student at a bbq restaurant. Of course, that was just something supplied by his imagination, but the painful screams that did nothing to deter the starving ravagers were definitely real.

“Technically, they’re not eating each other,” Jisung clarified unhelpfully. “The zombies are eating the humans.”

“Okay, great. So we’re in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Isn’t that just swell.” Changbin plopped onto the bed, the strength in his legs wavering as he tried to process their situation. “So what exactly is the plan?”

“I mean… we’ll need weapons, right?”

“Seriously, Jisung? You want to fight those things?”

“I don’t have a death wish if that’s what you’re asking, Changbin. I’m just saying that we’ll need a way to protect ourselves if we go out there.”

“Hold on, hold on. First, we need to determine where we’re going. What’s the most secure place on campus?” Chan wasn’t exactly prepared for an apocalypse, but thankfully his dad taught him what to do in emergencies. They needed some kind of “base” for now, a place where they can safely plan what to do next. Sticking around in their dorm room seemed like it could go south very quickly. The cacophony of screams and steps echoing beyond their door seemed to be getting closer.

“If you want security, then probably the gym?” Changbin offered. “We can use the equipment to barricade the doors. Also, the walls are concrete with no windows.”

“Isn’t that all the way across campus?” Jisung couldn’t imagine getting there without a chunk bitten off at least one of them. “The student union would probably be our best bet if anything.”

“Doesn’t that place have huge glass walls at the front?”

“Well yeah, but I was specifically talking about the student store. The doors are these big metal shutters and we’d have food and stuff there too.”

After exchanging glances with Changbin, Chan wordlessly kicked in the legs of the chair at his desk. It was probably the only time he would be glad for the cheap furniture in their dorm. Picking up the splintered legs, he handed one to each of his two friends hoping that those would be enough to fend off any danger they’d come across.

“Alright, grab your bags and double knot your laces. Changbin, you’ll take the lead and I’ll watch our backs alright? We just have to stay close to the buildings and keep to the shadows.” The two of them nodded, gripping their impromptu weapons with a purpose. “We’ll have to take a shortcut through the science hall so we don’t stay exposed for too long. If you see something better to protect yourself with, pick it up fast but otherwise don’t get distracted.”

With that, the three of them stalked out into the hallway. Faint groaning in the distance allowed them to gauge whether or not it was safe to go forward. As they made it down the stairs and through the common room on the first floor without any encounters, they quickly went out through the building’s side entrance. Thankfully, the campus wasn’t that big. They kept to the walls of the buildings until they neared the science hall.

“The student union is just on the other side, we just need to get through here and get to the student store without running into any more zombies.”

“You say that like it’s easy,” Changbin retorted. They were closest to the south entrance of the student union, but the student store was near the front. “That place is usually packed around this time of day, it’s not like we’re ninjas or something.”

“Can we just get a move on?” Jisung harshly whispered from between the two.

Getting back on task, Changbin cautiously approached the building’s corner, his steps deliberate and measured. Just as he was about to round it, a voice appeared from behind them.

“I wouldn’t go in there if I were you.”

Jisung let out a sharp gasp. The three spun around to see another student, a smirk on his face showing the satisfaction he got from spooking them. Before they could say anything, someone jogged up to them from behind the stranger.

“I told you to wait for my signal, Jeongin.”

“Seungmin?” Jisung took a step towards the pair tentatively. Chan, matching their whispered tones and lowering his glorified stick, eyed the two suspiciously.

“You know them, Sung?”

“Yeah, one of them at least. He’s the one with the voice of an angel that I was trying to convince to record with us.”

Seungmin put a hand on Jeongin’s shoulder, “Seriously, I can’t with you Jeongin.” Facing the trio, he met eyes with Chan “But, he’s right. We just barely got out of there.”

Their tousled appearance spoke for itself. Their clothes were in disarray and despite their calm demeanor, their hands were shaking. They didn’t seem to have any weapons either so it was likely that the only option they would have had was to run for it.

“Where are you guys going anyways?” Jeongin asked with his ever-present smirk.

“Jeongin, right? I’m Changbin and this is Chan and Jisung. We were on our way to the student store to barricade ourselves in it.”

“Sounds fun, we’re in.”

A sigh left Seungmin’s mouth as he shook his head, “Nothing about this is fun, but if you don’t mind we’d like to go with you. It’s a hell of a lot safer than staying out here.”

“Of course, but if what you said is true then we’re gonna have to go around the science hall to get there.”

Chan ushered their two newest members in front of him, taking his position at the back of their group as they moved forward. Just as Changbin said, they weren’t so lucky as to be able to take a leisurely stroll to their destination. When they stalked past the front of the science hall, a loud bang came from one of the windows, a zombie plastered against it as it tried to get past the barrier to the fresh meat walking in front of it. The sound attracted the attention of the other undead in the area inciting an urgent “Run,” from Chan to his friends that had frozen in place.

They thankfully snapped out of it before any of the zombies got close, but now that they had run into the student union without much thought, they were faced with a much bigger problem. The student union was usually packed around this time of day and it seemed like today was no different. Although they hadn’t run into a crowd of zombies from the get go, their rushed entrance and laboured breathing put a target on their backs. It wasn’t long before sounds of shuffling feet and groaning could be heard from all around them, getting closer until the first wave of them came into view.

Changbin was the first to act, taking Jisung’s hand and making a beeline for a staircase to their left. The others were right behind them, shoes squeaking along the tiled halls as they followed the signs on the walls pointing to the registrar and student store. “Shit, someone already closed the shutters,” Changbin said when they arrived, the glimmer of the metal feeling like it was mocking them.

“Try going through the side door before you give up on life, dumbass” Jisung passed Changbin, placing his hand on the handle only to find that it was locked. Jisung sheepishly looked at the group and tried again only for the door to swing open this time and bring him along with it. Jisung fell on his butt and found himself looking up at who might’ve been the most handsome person he’d ever seen.

“Either get in or stay out. I already regret opening this door.”

With that, the group rushed inside, closing and locking the door behind them. They collectively sighed a breath of relief, glad that they were no longer vulnerable to the creatures that, from the sounds of it, had been right on their heels. It was dark when they entered, only the light spilling from an open door in the back of the store illuminated the space. Whoever opened the door for them didn’t say a word as he walked to what was most likely a break room, not caring whether or not they followed him. As they got closer to the light, they heard two voices conversing.

“See Minho, it wasn’t a zombie trying to open the door,” an incredibly low voice called out as they were entering the room.

“I never said it was a zombie, I just said that it’d be dangerous to open it.” Minho grumbled, taking a seat next to two guys, one of which was already standing up to greet the newcomers.

“Don’t mind him, he’s just joking. I’m Felix, that’s Hyunjin, and if you didn’t catch it, the grumpy one is Minho.” The owner of the bass voice revealed himself as he presented their trio. Felix’s smile was radiant as he talked, it almost made them forget about the whole apocalypse situation they were in.

The group introduced themselves, Jisung being the last of them to do so. His name was almost secondary to his awe at the objects strewn on the table.

“Now those are weapons you’d want when fighting zombies.” Silver nunchucks and a fire extinguisher caught his eyes the second he walked into the room.

“So zombies is the general consensus then?” Hyunjin asks to no one in particular.

“Well, they look dead and eat flesh so I can’t think of anything else to call them,” replied Changbin. The damn things were already moaning and groaning so it wouldn’t surprise him if they started asking for their brains on top of it all.

“Seungmin and I actually saw one of them bite someone and turn them into a zombie too so I think it’s safe to say that we’re in the middle of The Walking Dead,” Jeongin adds. The light tone of his voice betrayed the grim atmosphere that his words caused. This whole thing was a nightmare they wished they could wake up from, knowing that they could end up like the rotting flesh-bags that tried to attack them. Despite this, Felix kept his air of positivity. Only letting his smile falter for a second before addressing the 5 in front of him.

“So did you all know each other before this? Or did you just kinda group together in the chaos and find your way here?”

Chan answered, appreciating Felix’s efforts to not let them fall into despair before they really got to know exactly what they were up against. “Well the three of us are roomates—“

“And we make music together!” Jisung interrupted.

“Right, that too. And Seungmin and Jeongin found us when we were on our way here.”

Seungmin straightened his back at the mention of his name “Well, Jeongin’s a freshman so we only became friends at the start of the semester, and I kinda knew Jisung so when we saw them we figured we should save them before they walked right into the death trap that is the science hall.” Looking to their saviors he returned the question, “What about you guys?”

This time Minho spoke up, with a fake annoyance in his voice that was only obvious because of how Hyunjin affectionately rolled his eyes at him. “I was only here to meet up with these two. I’m not even a student here.”

Hyunjin turned his attention to the group. “I met Minho at a dance workshop at the beginning of the year. We weren’t really close though, at least, not until I met Felix at the beginning of the semester and brought him with me to the workshops.”

“Yeah, I moved here a few months ago as a transfer and Hyunjin was nice enough to befriend me.” Felix said, slightly nudging Hyunjin with his elbow. The corner of Hyunjin’s mouth quirked up at that, he really hadn’t done much to cultivate their friendship. Yeah, he took the initiative to say hi to him first at the beginning of their contemporary modern dance class, but that was it. Felix was the one who really made their friendship. He even somehow did the same with Minho who Hyunjin had always felt a little too intimidated by to approach before besides the occasional compliment or question during workshops.

They were pretty fortunate to have been in the student union when the outbreak happened. Even more so to have Felix and his Taekwondo skills and equipment. Despite the short time they knew each other, they worked together harmoniously to get through the chaos before finding a safe place to hide.

It seemed that all eight of them clicked that way though, any wariness they might have had towards each other in the beginning seemed to melt away. They settled into the small space comfortably, their bodies relaxing as they got into a more comfortable atmosphere away from the blood and gore outside the shuttered doors.

Jisung quickly became chatty with Felix, in awe over the latter’s deep voice and freckles. Changbin was similarly in awe over Hyunjin and his beauty, subtly flirting until the other’s giggles incited a boldness within him that just made the laughter more boisterous. Between them, Jeongin was interjecting whenever he could with his witty insults. Seungmin seemed to be in discussion with Minho and Chan, recounting to each other what they had witnessed before they grouped together.

“There hasn’t been any news from police or government aside from the initial reports. We’re on our own for now.” Minho had been running various scenarios in his head ever since he had made sure that they weren’t in danger of a stray zombie getting into their hideout. With the new additions to the group, he needed a concrete plan on how to go forward before smoke started to pour out of his ears from how fast the gears were moving in his head.

“So are we just gonna stay here until we do get more news?” Seungmin asked.

“What if we lose power or internet before that happens?”

“Wouldn’t that take a while though?”

“Yeah, but if we really are a part of some kind of sci-fi novel right now then the military's not gonna be much help.”

“Plus, how long can we last in here anyways? We have food and water, but eventually we’ll run out. A lot of this stuff is perishable too,” Chan added.

“Exactly. That’s why we need a plan to leave soon.”

“Wait a sec, leave? Where would we even go? Unless one of you has a bunker somewhere and a tank to get us there, wouldn’t staying here be better?” Seungmin’s slightly raised voice brought the rest of the group’s attention to their exchange.

“Let’s say that we have enough stuff in here to last us months, which is already generous. Within those months, there’ll probably be zombies crawling all over this place. Half of us don’t even have the decent means to protect ourselves, we wouldn’t make it off campus alive when the time comes that we can’t stay anymore.” Minho’s words weighed down on them all, clear frustration in his voice as his eyes darted to each of their faces before landing back on Seungmin’s.

Chan raised his hands placatingly “Alright, alright. Let’s calm down. You guys both have a point here. I think we should just let it be for the night and we can continue this tomorrow. I don’t know about you guys but I’m still kind of in shock with this whole thing. Before we start thinking of leaving, what do you guys think of taking inventory of this place and doing another once-over to make sure everything is secure?” Murmurs of agreement filled the room, each of them slowly rising up to find something to do as Chan rested his hands on the two in front of him. “We have time, not a lot of it, but a clear head is needed for any productivity to happen. Thanks for thinking ahead, though” His smile showed the sincerity in his words, it doesn't leave his face as he turns to the guys leaving the room so he could direct them on what they needed to prioritize.

“He’s totally acting like he’s our leader or something” Minho said with a smirk, it felt easy to just place his trust on the eldest member of their make-shift group. Seungmin seemed to feel the same as he thought of how Chan might react to being called that from now on. At the very least, even if they couldn’t get a plan together yet, knowing that they had someone to look to felt reassuring.

“Hey leader!” Seungmin called out. “Where do you need us?” He walked towards Chan with Minho in tow. Chan’s eyes widened at the title, his eyebrows raised as he stammered denials.

“Yeah, leader. Tell us what to do.” Minho’s teasing made Chan blush, but it was clear to him that the two of them were actually serious about making him their leader. The others made it known that they were on board as well, the laughter that bounced around the room made it feel like it was just another day, like the whole world hadn't come to an end in just a second.

-

Seungmin crossed off another date on the desk calendar displayed on the shelf. It had officially been a month since the outbreak started. The eight boys had grown quite close already. It was easy considering they could do nothing but get to know each other after they established their shelter.

The power had gone out on the 5th day, the school’s emergency generator kicking in for only 12 hours after that before it fizzled out as well. The only source of power they had left was a crank power bank courtesy of Chan. They were also smart enough to conserve the batteries on their phones in hopes of any kind of news that would tell them help was on the way. Unfortunately, there was no such thing.

“You’re joking,” Jisung said in disbelief “You’ve won 63 medals? No way!”

“Yes way! I stopped doing competitions in high school, but I still did Taekwondo for 12 years.” Felix’s nunchucks had Jisung fawning over him, asking all kinds of questions about his experience fighting.

“Didn’t you also say you played League of Legends for 12 years, but you’re still at bronze rank?” Hyunjin couldn't help but bring that tidbit up whenever he could. Felix’s reactions were always so cute and even if Hyunjin never played LoL he at least knew it meant that Felix was nowhere as good at games as he was at dancing or martial arts.

Chan came up behind them, hanging his arm on the shaking shoulders of Jisung who was unashamedly laughing at the boy he was just praising. “Lunch is ready,” he said with a smile. They were still doing okay with their food preserves, the student store having plenty of ramen packs, canned soups, granola bars, water bottles, and snacks for them to ration. Of course, this was only possible by eating 2 meals a day and getting creative with what they made. Luckily, they had a culinary student in their ranks to make sure they didn’t just end up making something inedible and wasting their limited stocks.

“Woah! We’re eating noodles today?” Changbin asked as he eagerly took a seat. “What’s the occasion?”

Minho handed him his share in one of the university logo mugs they had been using as bowls. “I made Jisung crank the power bank to full power last night so we can actually boil water.”

While the hideout was secure and had a good amount of resources, it’s not like they could just safely make a fire in there. They had been getting by using the cheap electric water kettle and hotplate that they found, but it took so much power to use them that it was rare for them not to just be eating cold canned soup or granola bars.

They gathered around the flashlight that they put a water bottle on top of to act as a lamp and got to eating. They were thankful for the soft light illuminating the space that otherwise would’ve been pitch-black due to the lack of windows in the store.

“It’s a good thing you had that emergency pack ready-to-go,” said Seungmin. “We probably wouldn’t have lasted this long without it.”

“Nah, we probably would have. We’d just be going mad having to stay in the dark for so long after the power went out” Jisung said with a mouthful of noodles.

One of the bags that Chan had shoved in his backpack before leaving their dorm was full of emergency supplies: A first-aid kit, flashlights and batteries, rope, matches, pain meds, etc. He was glad that they had been at the dorms when this all happened. Of course, even what he had wasn’t enough to make up for the lack of heating and running water.

They had enough to last this far, but that didn’t mean they would last for that much longer. Chan eyed the pile of supplies that they had gathered on top of the register counter and sighed at how much smaller it had gotten within the past week. They needed to leave and they needed to do it soon. It was time to administer their plan to abandon their hideout and get out of the city.

-

The fire alarm rang out as flames engulfed the battered gym equipment and bleachers within minutes. The heat that radiated from them snapped Cassie out of her stupor as the red glow reflected in her widened eyes. With this, all she had to do was shove through the doors and hope that her captors would burn down with the rest of the building.

The dozens of other prisoners were running out with her, scattering into the streets as shouting from further within the building could be heard just beyond the raging fire. She hoped they were suffering, she hoped they were experiencing pain like no other. Though, even if they had, it still wasn’t enough in her opinion, but this was all she could do. She didn’t even know how long they had been in there, but she knew that her efforts to escape took longer than she wanted. It was to the point that she was scared she might’ve broken before she got the chance to put her plan into place.

Chancing a glance over her shoulder as she continued to run, the image of smoke rising from the building only prompted her to run faster and as far away as she could. She furiously wiped at her face when her vision started to blur. The tears were a burden, but she couldn’t help them from falling as relief washed over her at the realization that she made it out.

She was free.

Chapter Text

“Alright, you guys, one last thing before we go out: do not hesitate to protect yourself. I want everyone back here before sundown safe and sound. Got it?” This was now the third time they had heard Chan recite that reminder. While they were all adults with good enough survival instincts and common sense, their leader’s urges to keep their safety as a priority were now a kind of good luck ritual.

It was also a bit more for Chan than them in a sense, just so he could have a bit more peace of mind.

They all nodded, used to the authority in Chan’s voice that now had a cut of wariness in it. He had taken to his role as leader quickly and with ease to the point that he was starting to act more like a parent (not that any of them minded much).

They’d be coming up on the 2-month mark soon enough and that was already much longer than any of them thought they’d last staying there. The plan was simple: one group would go to the nearest police station, and the other group to the hardware and convenience stores located down the street from the university's main entrance.

The two other times they had braved the outside was to do a quick sweep of the campus grounds to see if there was anything useful lying around. The search was fruitless, though; other than some snacks from the bashed-in vending machines and a metal bat, it seemed they were fresh out of luck. Of course, it was safer to sneak around and avoid the zombies, so it’s not like they did a very thorough search.

In the end, they had to make do with what they could find lying around, their makeshift weapons being just enough to defend themselves when needed. At the very least, their two groups now had at least one person with a somewhat lethal weapon (at least when Seungmin was swinging it).

Minho slowly opened the back door leading to the employee parking lot with Felix, Jisung, and Jeongin in tow. After making sure the coast was clear, they weaved through the cars and made their way off-campus to the police station. Chan’s group was going the opposite way, Changbin taking the lead again with Chan at the back as they exited the student union building the same way they came in at the start of the outbreak.

The streets were weirdly empty. It was off-putting how they hadn’t come across a single soul, either dead or alive. “I thought this place would be crawling with zombies,” Felix wondered aloud. “Why have the only ones we’ve seen so far been on campus?”

Their cautious formation broke apart as they casually strolled together shoulder to shoulder, still on alert but not anxiously so. None of them had an answer, as they had basically been blocked off from the rest of the world after all of their phones had died. Even before that, the cell towers had been down for a while. No one could get ahold of their loved ones let alone get any news on the situation in other places.

“It should be just around that corner on the left,” Jeongin said. He scanned the area as they walked, the once familiar scenery now littered with crashed cars, bodies he tried not to look at for too long, and remnants of the life that once filled the streets. They reached the police station, coming in through a smashed window and gingerly stepping on the scattered pieces of broken glass as they looked around.

“Alright, split up for now and try to look for anything that can replace these things.” Minho lamely waved the mini fire extinguisher in his hand. It wasn’t exactly a practical tool to use against zombies, but it did the job for now.

They wandered further into the precinct, looking through drawers and turning over fallen chairs and debris that blocked their path. Much like every other storefront in the area, this place looked like it had been raided through and through. Regardless, anything they might find here was better than what they had right now.

As Felix and Jeongin searched the offices, Jisung made his way up the stairs, sounds of metal clinking attracting him. Following it to find the source would either be really stupid or end up working in his favor. He tightened his grip until his knuckles turned white, creeping forward silently. He slowly rounded the corner, wielding his trusty (?) wooden stick ahead of him. A soft grunt had him automatically swinging out in front of him, just missing a head of purple hair.

“Whoa!” The would-be victim in front of him exclaimed. “Watch where you swing that thing.”

Jisung, lowering his weapon as she lightly pushed it away from her, felt the tension drain from his body. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. I thought you might’ve been a zombie or something,” Jisung hastily explained. At least now he knew he’d be able to react in time if a zombie ever came that close to him.

“Sung? What’s going on?” Minho, Felix, and Jeongin rushed up behind him.

“It’s nothing, just a girl.”

“Just a girl? I have a name, you know.”

“Wait—no. I didn’t mean—“

The girl chuckled at Jisung’s stuttering. “Relax, I was just messing with you. I’m Cassie.”

“Oh, right. Um, my name’s Jisung,” he sheepishly responded, rubbing the back of his neck and offering a small smile.

“And I’m Felix!” Cutting in from beside Jisung and with much more confidence, Felix flashed his own toothy smile. “By the way, what were you up to?” He asks as he gestures to the mess of wires hanging off the wall behind her.

“I’m guessing what you guys would’ve been doing if I didn’t get here first.” She said, nodding to the door with a small plaque on it.

“Evidence locker?” Jeongin reads aloud.

“Yeah, unless I somehow missed a stray gun or anything out here, the only weapons left in this place would be in there.” She turned back to the dismantled keypad, tinkering with the wires.

“Are you a hacker or something?” Felix asks, walking up next to her to get a closer look.

Not even sparing him a glance, Cassie yanked out two wires. “Pfft, this is nowhere close to hacking. I’m just trying to short-circuit it. It’s the safest option between trying to cut off whatever power source it still has and trying a bunch of codes that might just set off an alarm.”

As she touched the exposed ends of the wires together, electricity crackled, setting off a spark from the keypad and a subsequent click from the door indicating that she successfully unlocked it. To be honest, she had no idea if that was gonna work. It was just as likely that she could have electrocuted herself, but she was not about to go on a scavenger hunt for the inverter that was managing the building’s solar power.

Cassie dusted off her hands with a self-satisfied grin, picking a small backpack up off the floor and entering the evidence locker. Felix and Jeongin were immediately on her tail, excited to see what loot they could bring back. The other two, still in the hallway, looked at each other in silent conversation. She’d be a pretty useful member of their team if they could convince her to return to their temporary base with them.

“So, Cassie, are you alone?”

“Why do you ask, Minho? Are you gonna buy me a drink or something?” Cassie asked in an innocent tone.

Jeongin snorted, satisfied at his hand in Cassie’s antics. He had already pegged her to be a sarcastic little shit (much like him), so giving Minho’s name along with his own when he introduced himself seemed like a no-brainer. Cassie was more than willing to play along with the younger’s mischievous intentions.

“We wanted to ask if you’d join us.” Jisung cut in, not giving Minho a chance to retort.

Cassie paused, a flash of something Jisung couldn’t quite describe coming across her face before she set her hands down on the shelf she was rifling through to eye him suspiciously. “You guys aren’t some kinda weirdos that are trying to take advantage of the world coming to an end and putting together some freaky slave-shit community, are you?”

A beat of silence passed as her words registered in their heads. “What?! Oh my god, no! Absolutely not—we would nev—” Jisung’s panicked dismissals were cut off by Cassie’s laughing.

“Dude, calm down. I was just joking. You’re kinda gullible, aren’t you?” she said as she wiped a tear from her eye. “I don’t have anywhere to go, so I’m definitely not opposed to tagging along.”

She pulled out a black backpack that was in between two boxes on the shelf she was in front of, briefly inspecting it as she addressed Jisung again. “I kinda figured you guys weren’t the power-hungry types anyways since you weren’t trying to kill me or have me on my knees at first sight.”

“So… that’s a yes then?” Minho asked, Cassie’s comment falling flat of a joke. That last part felt a little too specific, but her nonchalance left no room for concern so he figured he wouldn’t question it just yet.

“Yeah, I’ll go with you. Though, now that I think about it, your guy there almost whacked my head clean off my shoulders before he even got a good look at me earlier,” she answered with a smirk, not dissimilar to the one Jeongin sported during his first encounter with Jisung. “You guys should start filling your bags with whatever’s useful. Felix over there seems to be way ahead of any of us.”

Felix was, in fact, ahead of them. He had gone through a good amount of boxes already, trying to find useful weapons that they could easily learn to use and that would be effective against the zombies. He had already found a karambit that he would be calling dibs on and a handgun zipped up in an evidence bag.

Jeongin, on the other side of the room, was looking around for ammo. What’s a gun without a bullet, right? Jisung and Minho quickly took to the task at hand. With the four of them at it, they even managed to grab some warm-looking clothes that didn’t have any concerning stains and walkie-talkies before heading back to their base. When they arrived, they found that the other team had gotten back first.

Three of their other group members were having what sounded like a pretty animated discussion of how effective it would be to set the zombies on fire.

“You do realize that they probably wouldn’t even feel it, right?” Seungmin pointed out, already done with the conversation after hearing Hyunjin and Changbin try to make the case that it would be their best bet if they couldn’t fight them off. “They’d basically just be a ball of fire with legs. Not to mention, the smell of burning flesh might even be worse than what they smell like now.” He made a face to further his point.

“They’d still die though, wouldn’t they?” Jisung cut in, causing them to turn their attention to the 5 entering the hideout.

“Hey! You’re back,” Hyunjin said before leaning back in his chair to get a better look at them. “And you brought someone back with you.”

“Yeah, guys, this is Cassie. Cassie, this is Hyunjin, Changbin, and Seungmin,” Felix said as he pointed each of them out.

Changbin stood up, the soft light of the candle positioned in the middle of the room now illuminating his bulky figure from the bottom up. “Hi, glad to know we weren’t the only ones left. Do you want to take a seat?”

The welcoming smile on his face betrayed the menacing first impression he had given off. Cassie relaxed at his politeness, a little surprised at how thoughtful he was being off the cuff. For all he knew, she could’ve been a narcissistic brat and yet he was treating her with respect that she thought she’d never get to experience again. Chivalry wasn’t dead even during the apocalypse.

She gratefully accepted the offer, her shoulders untensing as they all gathered around the light and started talking about what they saw on their missions.

Minho stayed standing, cocking an eyebrow at Seungmin and silently asking where their last member was. Seungmin only took a quick glance at the break room door left slightly ajar before tuning back into the conversation.

Minho just nodded and made his way over as he walked up to Chan, who had his back turned to him. “Hey, how’d it go?” Minho asked as he closed the distance.

A sigh left Chan’s mouth as he continued to look over the map taped onto the wall. “Everything was ransacked when we got there. Changbin found a hammer, but aside from that, a few drinks, batteries, candles, and some lighters, we’re pretty much empty-handed,” he replied, frustrated at their circumstances and simultaneously amazed at how fast the world had gone to shit. It was saddening to know that the city that he had been growing to love was becoming a wasteland.

“Well, I have good news for you.” Minho said cheekily, clearly satisfied with their haul. “We hit the jackpot at the police station.”

“Oh, yeah? What’d you find?” Chan asked as Minho led him by the shoulders to where his team was laying out everything they managed to bring back with them.

“For one, someone with a brain.” Minho gestured for Cassie to come up to the duo.

“Chan, this is Cassie. She was the one who got us into the evidence locker so we could access all the stuff locked inside.” Minho hooked his arm on Chan’s neck, bringing him into his side. “Cassie, this is Channie, our leader.”

A light blush blossomed on Chan’s cheeks; “leader” was the title they settled on after the rest of them kept calling him all sorts of variations like captain or boss. Evidently, he was still getting used to it. He cleared his throat as he ducked out from under Minho’s arm. “Hi. Yeah, I’m Chan or Chris if you prefer.”

Cassie smiled, holding out her hand for him to shake. “Well, Channie, I look forward to working with you.” Chan took her hand, giving it a firm shake before the three of them walked over to the bustling scene behind them.

The others were animatedly talking about how they met Cassie, Jisung standing with his stick the exact way he had been when he blindly swung it towards her. “I almost hit her right in the head, but thankfully she dodged it.”

“Imagine if you fell to your knees again like when Jeongin scared the shit out of you the other day,” Hyunjin snickered. “That would’ve been legendary.”

“Hey! He just caught me off guard, okay?” Jisung said with a huff, dropping back down in his seat and crossing his arms in front of him.

“You’re just lucky it was Cassie and not a zombie. She probably heard you coming.” Seungmin smirked as the others unsuccessfully tried to stifle their laughter.
“Now you’ve got her laughing at me again.” Jisung muttered.

Cassie cleared her throat. “I wasn’t laughing,” she said with a barely contained smile.

Taking pity on the pouting Jisung, Minho turned to Cassie. “Alright then, moving on. I actually wanted to ask you something, Cassie.”

Her eyes widened as the group’s attention fell on her. “What do you wanna know?”

“Well, you came back with us because you were alone, right? What has it been like out there?”

Her eyes fell to her hands, fidgeting with her bracelet and her mouth pulled into a straight line. Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to figure out where to start. “It was pretty crazy, especially at the beginning. I’m sure you guys know that much at least.”

They all nodded, letting her take her time to continue.

“I—I haven’t been alone this whole time.” She kept her gaze down, now picking at the skin around her nails and grimacing at the dirt underneath them.

Hyunjin elbowed Minho, muttering a “nice going” through his teeth and into the uncomfortable silence.

Cassie was quick to reassure them that it was okay. She had already made her peace with it and things like this were inevitable in these situations after all. “You guys probably noticed that there aren’t many zombies in the area. I’ve been just fine because of that, but they’ll probably be coming back pretty soon.”

“Wait, why did they leave in the first place? And why do you think they’re gonna be coming back here?” Minho inquired. While they were thankful to not have any zombie encounters the few times they left their hideout, the eerie silence outside of the campus boundaries was nothing short of anxiety-inducing.

“Do you guys know the high school near the community library?”

“Yeah, what about it?” Jeongin answered. He just graduated from there not too long ago and ended up meeting Seungmin pretty soon after.

“There was a big fire over there, it didn’t end up spreading, but it did attract a lot of zombies.” It had been around a week since then, and Cassie knew that they’d end up dispersing sooner than later. “They’ll keep looking for any survivors to… eat, so they’ll be wandering around again.”

“On that note, we should probably divide the stuff we found and get ready for tomorrow.” Felix said, slinging a heavy bag over his shoulder and unceremoniously dropping it on one of the tables they pushed to the side.

“Alright guys, take your pick. The rest of us already got first dibs so the rest is free for all.” Felix presented the weapons in a showy manner, displaying them on the table in a line. The others came forward, raking their eyes over their options.

“Whoa! Is this real?” Changbin asked, grabbing a spiked mace off the table and holding it up in reverence.

“Oh yeah, there was some medieval stuff. I didn’t bother checking why it was there, but this and the swords were the only things that were actually practical.” If Felix was being honest though, it’d be pretty sick if any of them wielded the giant scythe he left behind and was just slicing through the undead like the grim reaper.

Hyunjin picked up the swords, inspecting their sharpness as he unsheathed them. He had done a sword dance at the finals showcase in his freshman year, and although these were much heavier, the familiarity of the swords was welcome in his hands.

Seungmin ended up reaching for the gun, leaving a long-handled hatchet for Chan and enough switchblades and pocket knives that they could each get one. They studied their weapons, glad to have better means to protect themselves but anxious at the prospect of having to use them.

Two sharp claps called the group's attention. “Alright, before we start packing these away, we need to go over the plan again.” The warm glow of the candle's flame, their only source of light at the moment, enhanced the solemn expression on Chan’s face. “We leave in a few days. We’re getting low on supplies, so we need to move on before we run out completely.”

They would pack up tonight and leave in the morning, their first stop being Hyunjin’s family’s home. His and Changbin’s houses were the only ones close by, so they would drop by just in case. After that, they would try to make their way up to the mountains.

It would be a while before they could get there since they would need to get out of the city and the more urban areas first, but it was their best bet at a safer place to stay. Not only would it be more secluded, but they would also be able to forage and hunt or maybe even farm if they could find seeds.

The goal was long-term survival; hopefully, they could stay alive long enough for someone to figure out how to fix everything.

As they wrapped up, Cassie could feel that she was right to follow them back. She was wary ever since she got caught by Jisung, trying hard to stay nonchalant and trusting her instincts that they were trustworthy. Safe.

Of course, logically, she was always prepared for the other shoe to drop. She just wasn’t afraid, couldn’t be really. She knew better than anyone that there were scarier things than zombies or whatever the group of four seemed capable of when she met them.

Once everyone seemed to be clear on their responsibilities for tomorrow, they finished their tasks for the night and headed to sleep. They had all been worse for the wear, so most of them knocked out as soon as their heads hit the balled-up clothes embroidered with the university’s logo they had been using as pillows and bed cushioning.

Although they were safely hidden away this whole time, the mental fatigue was really starting to get to them. They had basically gone into solitary confinement to survive. While they at least had each other, almost two months in a small and dark space with small amounts of food and water made it feel like they were in there for even longer. They even carved small holes in the doors to try to let some light through during the day.

Cassie looked like she’d gone through a lot when they found her too. Her hair and skin were covered in a thin layer of dirt and faint scratches and marks. Thankfully, she was able to change clothes in one of the nearby boutiques before they found her. Gone were the thin shirt and torn long skirt that she had been wearing since the day this all started.

She sat down at the edge of the large makeshift bed, putting on the hoodie they gave her to use as a pillow since the blanket she had was pretty thin. Lying down with her arm under her head and her back turned to the pile of limbs in the middle of the bed, she closed her eyes.

After counting backwards from 100 almost 10 times already, Cassie turned onto her back. She couldn’t fall asleep. She couldn’t fall asleep, maybe it was because she had gotten used to having minimal amounts of sleep until now or because she was still on edge, either way, she was frustrated. She got up, crawling to a nearby wall and sitting against it with her knees to her chest. This was the position that she usually slept in while she was hiding in random stores outside. Wrapping her arms around her knees and ducking her head into them, she closed her eyes once again.

Amongst the soft snoring and even breathing filling the room, a whispered call perked Cassie’s ears.

“Psst.”

She looked over and immediately found a wide gaze locking eyes with her. Just a few feet away, cocooned in a blanket, Changbin sat up. They stared at each other for a few seconds, eyes adjusted to the dark but not enough to accurately read each other's expressions.

“Can’t sleep?” He whispered, breaking the silence.

Cassie shook her head, getting up to sit as well and hugging her knees to her chest.

“Do you wanna talk?”

After some brief contemplation, she shook her head again. “Thanks, but it’s fine. You should go back to sleep though.”

Instead of lying back down, Changbin came over to sit beside Cassie. “If you don’t wanna talk, that’s fine, but I’ll keep you company until you can fall asleep.”

She gave him a grateful smile before she leaned her head back on the wall and stared up at the ceiling. The warmth radiating from Changbin gave her a comfort that she hadn’t been able to afford till now. Her eyelids became heavy and the last thing she remembered before finally succumbing to exhaustion was the feeling of a blanket being draped over her.

-

When Minho woke up, he was surprised to find Changbin and Cassie sleeping away from the group. They were sitting up against the wall, leaning on each other and sharing a blanket. Just as he was about to wake the others, a sharp gasp came from across the room.

Cassie had woken up with a start, her eyes darting around the room in confusion until they fell on Minho crouching over a sleeping Chan. As the memories of yesterday came back to her, she visibly relaxed and squeezed her eyes shut. She took deep breaths, only opening her eyes again when her pulse steadied.

“Here.” Minho appeared at her side with a water bottle in hand, a simple gesture of support.

Cassie accepted the water, bowing her head as she did since the dryness in her throat wouldn’t have allowed for a proper ‘thank you.’ Taking care not to wake Changbin, she took careful sips from the bottle and watched Minho walk to the others to wake them up.

As several yawns and clearly dissatisfied groans filled the once silent space, Cassie gently nudged Changbin until he lifted his head off her shoulder. He groggily rubbed his eyes and gave Cassie a quiet morning greeting before a pillow hit him square in the face from across the room.

“Yah!” Changbin grumbled, suddenly fully awake and at full volume.

He sprung up, going on his way to smother whoever threw the pillow as the younger members of their group scrambled to get away.

Cassie laughed, amazed at how they could still be so… happy. Chan suddenly appeared by Cassie’s side, similar to how Minho had earlier. He shook his head as he watched the others with an endeared smile before turning to Cassie and offering a hand.

“They’re not usually this hyper, but I think they’re just excited to get outta here.” Chan remarked, helping Cassie to her feet.

“Yeah, I get it. Though I feel like they’d be much rowdier if we weren’t at danger of attracting zombies.”

“Oh, absolutely. Changbin alone would be enough to get our ears ringing.”

Eventually, everything got packed up and they were ready to venture out again. They all stood by the door, tightly gripping the straps of their bags and the weapons in their hands. Chan placed his hand on the knob before nodding once to the group. With a click of the door, light flooded into the room and they left the first safe place they had made for themselves behind.

Chapter Text

By bus, Hyunjin’s house was 2 hours away from campus. On foot, however, it was almost double the amount of time. Not to mention, they might have to make a few detours if they encounter any zombie hordes or the like. They had been walking for about an hour now, due for a break as loudly voiced by the youngest.

“These shoes were not made for walking this long,” Jeongin complained. Wearing one of his favorites from his sneaker collection, he was definitely the most stylish of them all, but his feet were screaming to be put in the same orthopedic sneakers half the group seemed to be sporting.

Changbin scoffed gloatingly, “Jealous now, huh?” He could still remember when the other had made fun of his worn-in footwear just weeks before. As Jeongin grumbled about how he couldn’t have predicted an apocalypse would break out when he was curating his outfit that morning, Hyunjin slung his right arm around Jeongin’s shoulders, ruffling his hair and cooing as he watched the younger’s face scrunch up in fake annoyance. 

Minho slowed down his pace from the front of the group to walk beside the two who were one minute away from wrestling. He snaked the bag hanging off Jeongin’s arm. “Weaklings, all of you.” The others donned half-offended expressions as Chan led them to a nearby bus stop.

The further they got from the university, which was basically the city center, the more spaced out things were becoming. The buildings got shorter, the sidewalks wider, and the number of zombie sightings fewer. 

They had managed to maneuver around any zombies they saw thus far. Jisung claimed it was because his luck and stealth rubbed off on them despite him being the one to almost give them away after tripping over nothing when a small horde crossed their path. 

They sat down, most of them on the benches, with the rest sitting on the ground beside them. Felix was the only one standing, leaning on the outer post of the graffitied bus stop shelter. Even as the others told him he should rest his legs, he just smiled and said he was fine before taking a sparing sip of his water and motioning for them to do the same. 

While they were all on high alert ever since they stepped out into the open, Felix had a subtle air of tension that constantly seemed to thrum under his skin, leaving him uneasy even as he conveyed an image of calmness to his companions.

After a few minutes passed, they begrudgingly continued on. The streets grew narrower the more they walked; large trees and abandoned cars suffocated their view, the eerie silence amplifying any noise they made as it echoed down the space before them. 

“So…” Jisung began, “I know you said you’ve handled swords before, but can you actually use them properly?” 

“If you’re asking whether I’ll be able to kill a zombie with them, then yes, I can use them just fine.” Hyunjin answered with a huff, slightly insulted by Jisung’s doubts. 

“Hey, I was just wondering since sword dancing isn’t exactly the same as sword fighting.” Jisung raised his hands in surrender, not wanting a repeat of the scolding they got from Minho about there being a time and place for stupid arguments. 

Hyunjin scoffed, “I know. But it’s not like I’m fighting zombies that also have swords. I’m just stabbing and slicing at them.”

“Hard to imagine those pretty hands stabbing anything,” Changbin quipped. “Then again, I guess with your princely features, even shitting would look graceful.” The exaggerated wink was only met with groans of disgust and laughter from the group. His playful (and frankly gross) flirting no longer surprised any of them.

“That’s right,” barked Cassie. She swiftly took the hand Hyunjin had tucked into his pockets, ghosting a kiss on his knuckles with a sarcastic smirk and a flourishing bow. “Our prince is the definition of elegance and regality.”

He pulled away with a yelp, swatting her away as she giggled at the sight of the soft blush blooming on his. 

“Very smooth, Prince Hyunjin,” Seungmin laughs, “very s—“

Seemingly out of nowhere, a hand, shriveled as though it had been drying in the sun all day, grabs Seungmin’s shoulder. Only making a groaning sound once its target is in grasp, the zombie behind Seungmin opens its mouth wide.

Before Seungmin can even scream, Felix throws his nunchucks at it, narrowly missing Seungmin’s shoulder and terrified face. The zombie crashes backwards, its hand now detached and still hanging off of Seungmin’s shoulder. Felix wordlessly rushes towards it, snatching the mace out of the stunned Changbin’s nearby hands and finishing the job. 

The disgusting squelch that comes from the action snaps everyone out of their daze, Seungmin hurriedly shaking off the rotting limb and brushing off his shoulder. 

“Are you ok?” Felix asks Seungmin, a small spray of almost black blood on his hands and face as he collects his nunchucks and tries to shake the pieces of zombie off Changbin’s mace. 

“Uh, yeah? I think so…” Seungmin answers as Felix is turning him this way and that to check for injuries.

“Sorry, I couldn’t warn you beforehand. I kinda just reacted.”

“Hey, I have no problems with whatever method you use to save my life.”

The others let out a startled laugh, Seungmin’s deadpan tone drawing it out of them before they too begin to fuss over him.

“That’s crazy, I didn’t even hear it coming,” notes Jeongin. 

It really was odd. All the zombies they had come across thus far (and not so skillfully avoided) were all pretty loud in one way or another. The group always got alerted of their presence long before they would feel the need to engage in any sort of slaughter to get away. 

Seungmin takes the opportunity to revise his observations of the zombies in a notepad he keeps in his pocket, the list of behaviors and his own inferences on the zombies growing longer.

Zombies (?):

• Inhuman strength and speed
• inconsistent exhibition of these traits 
• Conscious use or instinctual?
• Only seen during extreme bouts of aggression 
• Influenced by emotion? (Are they conscious??)
• Influenced by hunger? (Like predatory animals)
• Brains as food
• Stereotypical diet, only humans (so far)
• Insatiable
• Do they actually experience hunger, or is there more to their obsession with brains?
• Dysfunctional 
• Mindless yet persistent in the pursuit of living beings 
• Only killed by destroying the head/brain
• Loud*
• Stereotypical moaning and groaning
• Not communicative with other zombies, yet they tend to travel in varying sizes of hordes
• Alert to sounds but not necessarily sensitive to them
• *Not applicable to all zombies, inconsistent behavior suggests the reasons why many of them are so loud may vary (must stay alert)

Cause:

• supernatural events (unlikely)
• Biological infection/illness
• “spreads” through bites (?)
• possibly through saliva contaminating the bloodstream
• Venom?

“Let’s try to stick a little closer to each other. I don’t want anyone getting hurt because I couldn’t get to you in time.” At the moment, Felix was still the only one who stood a chance against those things in terms of fighting prowess and reaction time. 

“That means you, Jisung,” Jeongin snickered, completely ignoring the fact that he was the most clumsy in the group and just happened to have better timing.

“Wha—I have been sticking very close to you guys, thank you very much,” Jisung says matter-of-factly, “and Seungmin was the one that almost…” 

The group’s attention turns back to Seungmin, who’s still going over his notes. “What?” he says as he raises his head, the feeling of their eyes on him taking his attention away from his formulating thoughts.

“You know what? Let’s just keep moving, yeah?” Chan suggests. They all huddle a bit closer to each other, heeding Felix’s words and keeping their eyes and ears open to avoid any more jumpscares. 

Within the next hour, they had arrived at the halfway point to Hyunjin’s house. A little park he used to go to as a kid and would always pass by whenever he visited home. 

The last he saw, the hills were a luscious green, and the sunlight bounced off the play structures in a way that just made you want to let go of your worries and hang off the jungle gym to watch the world turn upside down. This time, though, the world had flipped them on their heads without anything to hang off of. Now it was chilly, the grass was lifeless, and the cloudy sky washed the scene before them in a tint of gray. 

After another quick break and a thankfully uneventful rest of their journey, they found themselves at the gate of Hyunjin’s parents home. Hyunjin came forward, bringing a slightly trembling hand up to punch in the gate code and lead the group inside. 

Hyunjin had been quiet since they came across the park, simply smiling or giving short remarks as the others made small talk around him. His thoughts, on the other hand, had been buzzing in his mind the entire time. 

They stepped through the gate, walking up an empty driveway and to a seemingly undisturbed, but well-lived-in, home. As much as he tried not to, he couldn’t help but imagine all the different scenarios that might’ve occurred in his neighborhood. To his parents. 

Picking up a fake rock along the path to his front door, he took out a key and slowly approached the front door. As he inserted the key into the lock, the others watched tentatively from behind him. The turn of the key was smooth, making Hyunjin’s breath hitch in the back of his throat. 

It hadn’t even been locked.

While he had been preparing himself for the worst, Hyunjin still had hopes that his parents had escaped somehow or were able to survive in the safety of their home. 

The seconds it took to swing the door open felt like hours, the familiar hallway coming into view in slow motion as his heartbeat found its way up to his throat. Hyunjin felt the blood drain from his face. It was like time had stopped, yet his mind was going a mile a minute. He had always been told that he had a wild imagination, and now he cursed himself for it. His brain unhelpfully pieced together different scenarios that might’ve resulted in the scene before him.

There was blood everywhere: splattered on the walls, trailing across the floor of the hall, and in small dried puddles further into his home. The home he had left behind that day was now a ruin, a monument to the devastation. 

Gone was the familiar scent of lavender and coffee that once flooded his home. A must, almost rotten odor wafted through the air instead, prickling the back of their throats. Warily, they crept further inside, their senses on high alert as they followed Hyunjin. Chan’s hand felt heavy and grounding on his shoulder, reminding him that he wasn’t alone even if the warmth of what was once his safe space was now lost. 

It was as if he was seeing everything in tunnel vision at this point, the edges of his sight blurring as he tried to take in the wreckage. Remnants of what he presumed was his dad’s favorite coffee mug were scattered across the white living room rug. The coffee stains, difficult to tell apart from the oxidized blood, gave him the distant thought of how hard it would be to clean them out. Their once meticulously organized photo wall was now in disarray, broken frames and shattered glass littering the floor beneath it while the ones that managed to stay up were horribly misaligned. 

A weak breeze made its way through the space, giving a slight flutter to the floor-length curtains by the sliding doors. Hyunjin’s attention was suddenly on a hand lying right outside, its owner hidden from sight until Hyunjin hastily strode across the room and shoved the curtains aside. He took a step through the shattered sliding door with his eyes wide and his heart beating in his throat. 

It wasn’t them. The body on his back porch was neither of his parents; it was a bit hard to make out his face, but he was sure it was their overly friendly neighbor that he never really cared to know. His backyard looked just as bad as the inside of the house, complete with a part of the fence separating their properties looking like it had been run down at one section.

He shakily ran his fingers through his hair, letting out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. He was simultaneously relieved that his mom or dad wasn’t lying dead outside but worried that they might’ve met a worse fate if they hadn’t been able to get away. 

Coming back inside, he saw his friends cautiously wandering around his home. Obviously curious, but respectfully so, as they made sure not to disturb anything (at least any more so than it already was disturbed).

It was then that Jeongin heard a quiet rattling from down the hall. His curiosity getting the better of him, he investigated the noise. He came to a stop outside the door at the end of the hall. Raising his hand slowly, he placed it on the knob, distantly aware that this was probably a bad idea. 

The second the lock clicked out of place, the door swung open, and Jeongin was knocked into the wall behind him. He lost his balance and was now frozen on the floor, looking up at a zombie in the doorway. In a split second, Jisung was in front of him, basically having launched himself onto Jeongin to shield him with his body, clutching onto him tightly. Right as Jeongin was about to watch the zombie grab his friend, the undead in question was kicked down.

Jeongin heard a ringing in his ears, like the one people in movies get when an explosion happens nearby. Everything sounded muffled to him. Even Jisung's rattling concerns as he worriedly looked Jeongin over (as if he hadn’t just acted as a human shield himself) mixed in with the alerted screams and cries of the others. 

Turning his head slightly to the left, Jeongin was met with a front-row view of the swift slash of Hyunjin’s sword as it passed through the zombie’s neck. As it was on all fours trying to get up, the beheading caused it to fall back down with a thump. The only sound left to penetrate the space was Hyunjin’s heavy panting, a result of him running into action and the rush of adrenaline from wielding his weapon. 

His arms fell to his sides, heavy with the swords decorating his hands and the weight of his first zombie kill. He sheathed his swords again, about to turn back to check on the two idiots with a death wish on the floor, when a glint of light caught his eye.

Hyunjin squinted at the source, a gold band around the zombie’s left ring finger. Near it was the Father’s Day gift Hyunjin had searched meticulously for after getting his first paycheck. The simple but affluent design that he had chosen was now staring him back in the face. A watch with a silver frame, a navy blue face, and black leather wristbands hung slightly loose on the zombie’s rotting wrist. 

Goosebumps crept up Hyunjin’s entire body, the realization of what he had just done eliciting a raging panic as he ran to the guest bathroom. He hadn’t even eaten anything substantial that day, the shock forcing him to vomit what felt like pure stomach acid. 

“Jinnie! Come eat, I made pancakes for breakfast.”

“I’ll be there in just a second, Mom!” he shouted back. “Just need to put some finishing touches on this painting.” With just a few more strokes of white to highlight the reflections on the glass vase, he stood back from his creation, giving it one last glance before grabbing his bag and heading downstairs.

Greeted by the sight of his dad reading the newspaper with a fresh stack of pancakes in front of him and his mom plating what he presumed to be his share, Hyunjin smiled and made his way to the kitchen. As his mom took her seat, he poured himself a tall glass of milk and sat down to see a whipped cream face on his pancakes. 

“I’m not a kid anymore, Mom,” he grumbled amusedly, sneaking a quick picture of it before shoveling a big bite of it in his mouth. 

The crinkling sound from the newspaper his dad was now folding up caused Hyunjin to look up while trying to chew with his mouth full. “Let your mother have her fun. It’s not like you enjoy it any less than when you were a kid anyways,” his dad pointed out. Taking a bite of the pancakes just like Hyunjin had.

His mom giggled as she leaned over to wipe off the whipped cream that got smeared all over his lips. “Honestly, what am I gonna do with you two boys? Can’t even eat a simple breakfast without getting messy.” A radiant grin spread across her face, shrinking her eyes to happy crescents that gleamed with affection.

Licking the whipped cream off his own lips, Hyunjin let out an amused huff at his parents. He should probably think that their flirting was gross, but he loved how much they loved each other.

“Alright mister, hurry and finish your food before you miss your bus. We don’t want a repeat of when you ran after the bus crying because you missed it by a hair, now do we?” 

“That was one time!” he groaned right before shoving the last big bite into his mouth and chugging down the rest of his milk to try to wash it down. Grabbing his bag, he shouted a muffled “See you guys later, love you!” on his way out.

They chuckled as they waved goodbye to him, watching him close the door to walk down their driveway and make his way to the bus stop.

“-jin. Can you hear me? Hyunjin, look at me. Please?” 

Slowly, Hyunjin came to. His eyes came back into focus until he could register that someone was trying to talk to him. Was that Felix? His limbs felt heavy, like some kind of greater gravity was pressing down on him. Still, if Lix was talking to him, it’d be rude to ignore him. He slowly raised his head, locking eyes with Felix. He saw concern in the eyes of his friend before it melted into relief. 

“Hey, are you back with us?” Felix asked, using the damp tissue in his hand to gently wipe at the corners of Hyunjin’s mouth.

Us? The rest of Hyunjin’s senses rush back to him as he remembers what had just happened. On the floor, leaning against the tub, he found the control that had been slipping away. Feeling the brush of the bathmat beneath him, the coolness of the tile just beyond it leeching the heat from his skin, sharpening his awareness, and helping him come back to grips with reality. 

Finally looking towards the rest of the group behind Felix, he registers their looks of unease. No, that’s not the right word. They look almost apologetic towards him. As if the empathy they clearly felt wasn’t enough, it looked as though they blamed themselves for what had happened. 

That wasn’t right though, it wasn’t any of their faults. They were all victims of the same circumstances and it was Hyunjin’s choice to come home anyways. As Hyunjin opens his mouth to try to reassure them that he’s okay, a broken sob comes out instead.

Hyunjin hated how puffy his face got when he cried. He rubbed furiously at his cheeks to clear the tearstains gleaming in the fading sunlight. 

“…sorry,” he whispered when he finally got himself together enough to face the group. 

“You don’t have to be sorry,” assured Changbin.

He really didn’t. What he had witnessed and done was something that’d be difficult for anyone to handle. It saddened them that the only thing they could offer was assurance that he was valid in his sorrow, their softened gazes and downturned brows expressing a tender shared sympathy.

He gave a slight nod before looking back at the entrance of his house. “I’m ok now.”

The others exchanged looks. “Are you sure?” Felix asked hesitantly, “You don’t have to be ok, you know?”

“No,” Hyunjin replied resolutely, “I’m fine.”

He stood up, straightening his back and taking a deep breath as he stepped out of the crowded bathroom and back into the hallway towards his father. He kneeled in front of him, pressing his forehead to the floor in a deep and reverent bow. Gingerly, he held his dad’s hand, begging for forgiveness and offering his love and wishes for a peaceful rest.

Hyunjin mustered up the strength to gather his father into his arms and bring him back into the room. He shuddered a breath as he laid his eyes on the bed. 

There was his sweet mother. 

She looked as though she was just sleeping. Though the greyness of her skin and sunken features made it clear she was no longer here, Hyunjin couldn’t help but imagine her waking up then and there. If only she would slowly blink her eyes open, startling slightly as though she hadn’t meant to sleep so long before asking Hyunjin how his classes were and if he had eaten yet. 

The others hovered by the door, Han still holding onto Jeongin and Chan holding onto them both. They watched as he delicately laid his parents side-by-side on the bed. He unfolded a nearby sheet, placing it over their bodies as silent tears streamed down his face.

The sight started to become overwhelming, prompting him to turn away from his parents. He found himself in front of his mother’s vanity, still in the same “organized chaos” (as she would call it) but with a single addition: a note. He took the note in his hands, sitting down as he read it. 

To our sweetest Hyunjin:

Hi Jinnie, knowing the filial son that you are, I wanted to leave this note for you in case you really were able to come back for your dear old folks. 

With how crazy things are right now, your dad and I can only hope you’re safe and sound. You’ll probably use those beautiful brains and mysterious athletic abilities of yours while you’re out there navigating the chaos. It’s still a wonder to us how you got to be so athletic considering our lack thereof (no matter what your father says about his backstroke). 

It’d be great if things have gone back to normal by the time you read this, but I know life isn’t always the kindest. I know that you’ll cherish the memories we’ve built in this house, but if things are still bad, you need to move on from here. 

You can’t let yourself wallow in sorrow. Your dad and I were together until the end, so don’t worry about us anymore. 

We love you so very much, our precious baby boy. 

-Forever and always, mom and dad

Hyunjin clutched the note to his chest; the hollow feeling he was afraid would eat him up inside was getting filled with the love from his parents and the care of his friends. He made eye contact with them finally, letting his walls crumble down as he asked for help. The look in his eyes was enough to have them scrambling towards him. 

The grief crashes into him like a tidal wave. His vision was robbed from him for the second time that day, this time by someone pulling him into their arms. Strong arms holding him tightly in an effort to keep him together so that he doesn’t fall apart completely. 

The soothing brush of calloused hands through Hyunjin’s hair combined with consoling murmurs was all it took. He sagged against the familiar shoulder, surrendering to the safety of his unmistakable comforter. The fabric of Chan’s shirt grew cold and heavy, a damp patch spreading over his chest from Hyunjin’s river of tears. 

Another sob wracked through him, sounding distant and foreign. The raw ache in his throat being the only proof that the pitiful sound came from him. 

More hands started making contact with him. Hyunjin was being lulled into sleep through the patting on his head and the soothing circles being rubbed on his back and arms. The exhaustion was what really pulled him under, the world fading to black as he wept in a cocoon of warmth and love.