Chapter 4: Trapped
671 Words
The screams never stopped.
Min-jae shoved another desk against the classroom door, his hands trembling as the infected continued slamming their bodies against the metal.
BANG!
The hinges groaned.
A girl in the back of the room sobbed uncontrollably.
"We're going to die..."
"No," Min-jae said, though he wasn't sure he believed it himself. "We have to stay calm."
One of the boys peeked through the shattered window.
"They're everywhere..."
The hallway was flooded with students and teachers.
Some staggered aimlessly, their heads twitching.
Others chased terrified survivors through the corridors.
Every one of them had the same pitch-black eyes.
A loudspeaker crackled overhead.
"...If anyone can hear this..." the principal's shaky voice echoed through the school.
"Lock every classroom door... Stay away from anyone showing symptoms..."
A loud crash interrupted him.
The microphone picked up screaming.
Then...
Silence.
The announcement ended in static.
No one moved.
The principal was gone.
---
Across the city, Seo-yeon and Ji-hoon sprinted through the university campus.
Students pushed past them in every direction.
Some cried while desperately calling their families.
Others stood frozen in shock.
A security guard shouted through a megaphone.
"Everyone head toward the main gate!"
Before anyone could obey...
A young man stumbled into the courtyard.
Blood streamed from his nose.
He laughed so hard tears rolled down his cheeks.
Then, without warning, he grabbed the nearest student and sank his teeth into her shoulder.
The courtyard exploded into panic.
"RUN!"
Ji-hoon grabbed Seo-yeon's hand.
They ran.
People fell.
Others were trampled.
The sounds of sirens mixed with terrified screams.
Seo-yeon's heart pounded against her chest.
"My car..."
"It's in the parking garage," Ji-hoon shouted.
They raced down the concrete ramp.
The underground garage was almost empty.
Only a handful of people remained, desperately trying to leave.
Ji-hoon unlocked his car.
"Get in!"
The engine roared to life.
Just as they reached the exit...
A city bus crashed into several abandoned cars.
The impact blocked the entire road.
Ji-hoon slammed on the brakes.
"...We're trapped."
---
Back at Haedong Boarding High School...
Electricity suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed the classroom.
Several students screamed.
Only the emergency lights remained, casting the room in an eerie red glow.
Min-jae pulled out his phone.
No signal.
No messages.
No internet.
Nothing.
He stared at Seo-yeon's contact for several seconds.
His thumb hovered over the call button.
"...Answer..."
The call failed immediately.
He lowered his head.
For the first time in years...
He wished she were here.
---
Outside...
Rain began to fall.
Not heavily.
Just enough to wash streaks of blood across the streets.
Police cars sat abandoned.
Storefronts were shattered.
Smoke rose from burning buildings.
Television screens in shop windows all displayed the same message.
NATIONAL EMERGENCY
Remain indoors.
Do not engage infected individuals.
Military assistance is being deployed.
Seconds later...
Every screen went black.
The power grid had failed.
Night fell over Seoul far earlier than anyone expected.
And with the darkness...
The infected became harder to see.
But their growls echoed through the empty streets.
---
Inside the parking garage, Seo-yeon leaned her head against the car window.
Tears blurred her vision.
"I should've gone to see him."
Ji-hoon reached over and gently squeezed her hand.
"You're going to."
"What if I'm too late?"
"You won't be."
"But what if..."
Her voice cracked.
"...what if he thinks I abandoned him?"
Ji-hoon looked at her quietly before answering.
"Then you'll prove him wrong."
Before Seo-yeon could respond...
A deafening roar echoed through the garage.
They turned toward the entrance.
Several infected had found them.
Their black eyes glowed under the flickering emergency lights.
One by one...
They began walking toward the car.
Slowly.
Relentlessly.
Ji-hoon's grip tightened around the steering wheel.
"Lock the doors."
The zombies broke into a sprint.
"Hold on!"
He slammed his foot on the accelerator as the first infected threw itself onto the hood.
The windshield cracked with a thunderous bang.
Seo-yeon screamed.
The world outside had become a nightmare.
And there was no waking up from it.
- Writer
