Chapter 10: Nightfall
864 Words
The flames from the crashed helicopter painted the evening sky a deep crimson.
For several long seconds, no one on the rooftop spoke.
The explosion had answered the question they were all too afraid to ask.
No one was coming.
A cold wind swept across the roof, carrying with it the distant growls of the infected below.
Min-jae slowly lowered his arm, the jacket he had been waving slipping from his fingers.
"It... it was our last chance," one of the students whispered.
A girl buried her face in her hands and began to cry.
Another punched the concrete floor in frustration.
"We're trapped!"
"No..." Min-jae said quietly.
Everyone turned toward him.
"We're alive."
His voice was calm despite the fear clawing at his chest.
"As long as we're alive, we still have a chance."
The others stared at him.
They didn't know whether to believe him.
Truthfully...
Neither did he.
---
Several miles away, Seo-yeon, Ji-hoon, and Yuna reached a small neighborhood just as darkness settled over the city.
Without electricity, every street disappeared into shadow.
Only abandoned cars and flickering fires lit the roads.
Ji-hoon raised a flashlight.
"No."
Seo-yeon looked at him.
"The light will attract them."
He switched it off.
"We'll use the moon instead."
Yuna tightened her grip on Seo-yeon's hand.
"I'm scared."
Seo-yeon knelt in front of her.
"I know."
She gently tucked a strand of hair behind the little girl's ear.
"But being scared doesn't mean you're weak."
"It doesn't?"
Seo-yeon smiled softly.
"It means you're brave enough to keep going even when you're afraid."
Yuna nodded.
"I'll be brave."
Ji-hoon couldn't help smiling.
"She's stronger than most adults."
---
The streets were eerily silent.
Not a single zombie appeared.
That frightened Ji-hoon more than anything.
"They're too quiet," he muttered.
Seo-yeon noticed the tension in his voice.
"What is it?"
"I don't know..."
He looked around the empty neighborhood.
"I just have a bad feeling."
As if the city had heard him...
A piercing scream echoed through the darkness.
Then another.
Then dozens more.
The sound came from every direction.
"They're hunting," Ji-hoon whispered.
"Move."
The three hurried through a narrow alley until they reached a small convenience store.
The front door had already been smashed open.
Inside, the shelves were nearly empty.
Someone had looted the place before them.
Ji-hoon searched behind the counter while Seo-yeon filled her bag with the few remaining bottles of water.
Yuna wandered toward a shelf of instant noodles.
"Look!"
She held up two packets proudly.
Seo-yeon laughed softly.
"You found dinner."
Before anyone could celebrate...
CRASH!
Glass shattered somewhere behind the store.
Ji-hoon instantly grabbed his pipe.
"Get down."
Heavy footsteps echoed through the building.
Not shuffling.
Running.
Seo-yeon pulled Yuna behind a shelf.
A man stumbled into the store.
He wasn't infected.
His clothes were torn, and blood covered his face.
"Help..." he gasped.
"They're coming..."
Before Ji-hoon could reach him...
The man froze.
His body trembled violently.
Blood poured from his nose.
"No..." he whispered.
"I can hear them again..."
His breathing became ragged.
"They're telling me..."
His eyes slowly lifted toward Seo-yeon.
"They're telling me to kill you."
His pupils darkened.
Brown...
Dark gray...
Pitch black.
"RUN!" Ji-hoon shouted.
The man let out an inhuman roar.
He lunged across the aisle.
Ji-hoon swung the metal pipe, striking him across the jaw.
The infected crashed into a shelf, sending cans flying.
"Back door!" Ji-hoon yelled.
The three sprinted toward the exit.
Behind them, more growls answered.
The noise had attracted others.
They burst into the alley just as half a dozen infected rounded the corner.
"We're surrounded!" Seo-yeon cried.
"This way!"
Ji-hoon spotted a fire escape attached to an apartment building.
He boosted Yuna onto the lowest ladder.
"Climb!"
Seo-yeon followed close behind.
Ji-hoon was about to climb when one of the infected grabbed his ankle.
He kicked it away.
Another seized his jacket.
The sleeve ripped with a loud tear.
For a split second, the infected's black eyes fixed on the darkening scratch on Ji-hoon's arm.
It hesitated.
Then screamed.
Every infected nearby suddenly turned toward Ji-hoon.
"What...?" he whispered.
They weren't chasing Seo-yeon.
They were chasing him.
He scrambled up the ladder just before dozens of hands reached for his boots.
The group collapsed onto the rooftop, breathing heavily.
Below them, the infected gathered in the street.
They didn't wander away.
They remained there...
Staring up at Ji-hoon.
Seo-yeon slowly noticed his torn sleeve.
"Ji-hoon..."
He quickly pulled the fabric over his arm.
"I'm fine."
She wasn't convinced.
But before she could ask another question, a deafening roar rose from the street below.
The entire horde had begun climbing the fire escape.
Seo-yeon's eyes widened.
"They're coming up."
Ji-hoon gripped his pipe.
"Then we make our stand."
Far away, on the rooftop of Haedong Boarding High School, Min-jae stared into the same night sky.
For reasons he couldn't explain, his heart suddenly began racing.
It felt as though someone he loved was in danger.
He whispered into the darkness,
"Please... hold on, Noona."
Hundreds of zombies surrounded his school.
Hundreds more surrounded Seo-yeon.
Separated by only ten miles...
The siblings had never been farther apart.
- Writer
