Chapter 7: No One Is Coming
784 Words
Morning arrived without birdsong.
Only silence.
A thick blanket of gray clouds hung over the city as smoke drifted from the remains of the military helicopter.
Seo-yeon stared at the burning wreckage in the distance.
The hope she'd felt only minutes ago vanished with it.
Ji-hoon gently rested a hand on her shoulder.
"We have to keep moving."
She nodded slowly, forcing herself to look away.
If the military couldn't survive...
What chance did ordinary people have?
---
Miles away, inside Haedong Boarding High School...
The library had become unbearably quiet.
The twelve remaining students sat in complete silence.
No one laughed anymore.
No one argued.
Every few minutes, the growls outside reminded them what waited beyond the barricaded doors.
A loud stomach growled.
Everyone looked toward the youngest student.
"I'm... sorry," the boy whispered, embarrassed.
Min-jae searched through his backpack.
He pulled out a chocolate bar that Seo-yeon had given him two weeks earlier.
He had never eaten it.
He'd been too stubborn.
She had visited the school unexpectedly.
He remembered handing it back to her.
«"I'm not a kid anymore."»
She had smiled awkwardly.
«"Keep it anyway."»
He had shoved it into his bag without another word.
Now...
It was all he had.
He broke it into small pieces and handed them to the others.
"We share."
The younger boy looked at him with watery eyes.
"Thank you..."
Min-jae smiled faintly.
"It won't fill us up... but it'll help."
For the first time since the outbreak began...
The room didn't feel quite so hopeless.
---
Meanwhile...
Seo-yeon and Ji-hoon carefully made their way through the empty streets.
The city looked frozen in time.
A bicycle lay abandoned in the middle of the road.
Coffee cups still sat on café tables.
Store signs flickered weakly.
It felt as though everyone had simply vanished.
Then...
A distant scream echoed through the silence.
Seo-yeon instinctively stopped.
"Someone's alive."
Ji-hoon grabbed her arm.
"It could be a trap."
Another scream.
This time closer.
Seo-yeon looked toward the sound.
"We have to help."
Ji-hoon hesitated.
He knew the risk.
But he also knew he couldn't stop her.
Together, they followed the cries to a small pharmacy.
Inside...
A father desperately held a shelf against the entrance while his little daughter cried behind him.
Three zombies slammed against the glass doors.
CRACK!
The glass began to splinter.
"They're going to get in!" the man shouted.
Ji-hoon didn't hesitate.
He rushed forward, grabbing a metal pipe lying on the floor.
"Seo-yeon! Take the girl!"
She scooped the frightened child into her arms.
The father joined Ji-hoon, pushing back against the doors.
Another impact.
CRASH!
The doors burst inward.
The first zombie lunged.
Ji-hoon swung the pipe.
The creature crashed into a display stand.
The father shoved another infected away.
"Run!" he shouted.
Seo-yeon ran with the little girl toward the back exit.
The father turned to follow—
—but another zombie grabbed his shoulder.
He screamed.
"Dad!" the little girl cried.
The father looked at his daughter one last time.
His face twisted with pain.
"Go!"
Ji-hoon grabbed Seo-yeon's arm.
"We have to leave!"
"No!"
"He was bitten!"
Tears streamed down Seo-yeon's face as the father forced the back door shut.
His final act was locking it from the inside.
His daughter's sobs echoed through the alley.
Seconds later...
A horrifying scream came from behind the door.
Then...
Nothing.
Seo-yeon dropped to her knees, holding the little girl tightly as she cried.
Ji-hoon looked away.
Some goodbyes were too painful to witness.
---
That evening...
The three of them found shelter inside an abandoned church on the edge of the city.
The little girl had finally fallen asleep on one of the wooden pews.
Seo-yeon covered her with a blanket.
"What's your name?" she whispered.
The girl rubbed her eyes.
"...Yuna."
"How old are you?"
"Seven."
"Do you have anyone else?"
Yuna slowly shook her head.
Seo-yeon's heart broke.
She gently stroked the child's hair.
"You'll stay with us."
Yuna reached out and wrapped her tiny arms around Seo-yeon.
"...Don't leave me too."
Seo-yeon closed her eyes.
"I won't."
Across the room, Ji-hoon quietly rolled up the sleeve of his jacket.
The scratch on his arm had changed.
Dark veins spread slowly beneath his skin.
He stared at it in silence.
Then he pulled his sleeve back down before anyone could notice.
Outside...
The growls of the infected echoed through the night.
Far away, at the boarding school, Min-jae looked up at the same moon shining through a cracked library window.
Without knowing it...
Brother and sister whispered the exact same words.
"Please..."
"Stay alive."
The night swallowed their voices.
But somewhere between them...
Hope refused to die.
- Writer
