Chapter 11: The Rooftop Siege
926 Words
The first infected reached the top of the fire escape with a guttural growl.
Its pitch-black eyes locked onto Ji-hoon.
Without hesitation, it lunged.
"Down!" Ji-hoon shouted.
He swung the metal pipe with all his strength.
The impact sent the infected tumbling backward into the others climbing below. The narrow staircase erupted into chaos as several bodies crashed into one another before disappearing into the darkness.
"They'll just keep coming!" Seo-yeon cried.
"We have to move!" Ji-hoon answered.
The rooftop wasn't very large. Rusted water tanks and broken air-conditioning units offered little cover. There was no safe place to hide.
Yuna clung to Seo-yeon's jacket, trembling.
"I'm scared..."
Seo-yeon knelt and cupped the little girl's face.
"Listen to me, Yuna."
The child looked up with watery eyes.
"No matter what happens, stay behind me. Do you understand?"
Yuna nodded.
"I don't want you to get hurt."
Seo-yeon's smile was small but reassuring.
"I'll do everything I can."
Another infected climbed onto the roof.
Then another.
Ji-hoon backed toward Seo-yeon.
"We can't fight all of them."
"What do we do?"
He scanned the surrounding buildings.
His eyes stopped on a neighboring apartment.
The gap between the rooftops wasn't wide.
Maybe six feet.
"We jump."
Seo-yeon stared at him.
"Are you serious?"
"We don't have another choice."
A deafening screech echoed behind them.
Nearly a dozen infected had reached the roof.
Their heads twitched unnaturally as blood streamed from their noses. Some laughed. Others whispered to invisible figures standing in the empty air.
The sound sent chills down Seo-yeon's spine.
"The voices..." she whispered.
"They're still hearing them."
Ji-hoon grabbed Yuna.
"I'll carry her."
He stepped back, took a deep breath, and sprinted toward the edge.
For one terrifying second, all four of his feet left the rooftop.
He landed hard on the neighboring building, rolling across the concrete before pulling Yuna safely into his arms.
"I'm okay!" he shouted.
Seo-yeon exhaled in relief.
"Your turn!" he yelled.
She looked behind her.
The infected were only a few steps away.
She ran.
The edge came closer.
Closer.
She pushed off with every ounce of strength she had.
Time seemed to slow.
For one heartbeat she was suspended between two rooftops.
Then—
A pair of strong hands grabbed her wrists.
Ji-hoon pulled her onto the other roof just as the first infected reached the edge they had jumped from.
It stretched out its arms.
But it was too late.
The gap was too wide.
The infected shrieked in frustration.
More gathered at the edge, staring silently across at them.
"They're not following..." Seo-yeon whispered.
Ji-hoon frowned.
"No..."
"They're waiting."
---
At Haedong Boarding High School...
Night settled over the campus like a heavy blanket.
The remaining students huddled together on the rooftop.
Their stomachs growled with hunger.
Their throats burned with thirst.
Min-jae sat near the edge, unable to sleep.
He thought about Seo-yeon.
He remembered every call he had ignored.
Every message he had left unanswered.
Every birthday she had somehow managed to celebrate despite working late into the night.
He had never thanked her.
Not once.
A quiet voice broke his thoughts.
"Can't sleep either?"
It was Soo-bin, one of the surviving students.
Min-jae shook his head.
She sat beside him.
"My older brother used to tell me that no matter how dark the night gets, morning always comes."
Min-jae looked at the smoke-covered sky.
"I hope he's right."
"So do I."
Neither of them noticed the movement below.
Hundreds of black eyes slowly lifted toward the rooftop.
---
Elsewhere...
Seo-yeon, Ji-hoon, and Yuna climbed down through the apartment building.
The hallways were deserted.
Family photographs still hung on the walls outside several doors.
Children's drawings decorated one apartment entrance.
Life had stopped in an instant.
As they reached the second floor, a faint cry echoed from behind a closed door.
"...Help..."
Seo-yeon stopped.
"Someone's alive."
Ji-hoon gently caught her arm.
"It could be dangerous."
"What if it isn't?"
The cry came again.
Weak.
Desperate.
Seo-yeon stepped toward the apartment.
"I can't ignore it."
She slowly turned the doorknob.
It was unlocked.
Inside, the apartment was dimly lit by moonlight.
An elderly woman sat on the kitchen floor with her ankle trapped beneath a fallen cabinet.
When she saw them, tears filled her eyes.
"I thought... no one was left."
Seo-yeon hurried to help lift the cabinet while Ji-hoon checked every room.
"Clear," he whispered.
Together, they freed the woman.
"Thank you," she said, struggling to stand.
"My name is Park Hye-jin."
Seo-yeon smiled gently.
"I'm Han Seo-yeon."
Before anyone could say another word...
A loud crash echoed from downstairs.
Ji-hoon's expression changed instantly.
"They found us."
Heavy footsteps thundered up the stairwell.
One floor.
Then another.
The infected had entered the building.
Ji-hoon tightened his grip on the pipe.
"There are too many."
Seo-yeon looked around desperately.
"There has to be another way out."
Park Hye-jin pointed toward the balcony.
"There's an emergency ladder... but it only reaches the alley."
The growls grew louder.
The apartment door began to shake.
BANG!
Another impact splintered the wood.
Ji-hoon looked at Seo-yeon.
"Get Yuna and Mrs. Park to the ladder."
"What about you?"
"I'll hold them off."
Seo-yeon's eyes widened.
"No."
He smiled softly.
"You still have a brother waiting for you."
Another crash shook the apartment.
The door cracked down the middle.
Ji-hoon lifted the pipe and took a steady breath.
Outside, the emergency ladder swayed gently in the cold night wind.
Inside, the first zombie hand punched through the broken door.
The siege had begun.
- Writer
