Undead's Embrace. (Woosan)

12. Journey

Wooyoung took a deep breath before he opened the door, slowly but surely. The sun had an orange glow, indicating it would go down soon.

Not good.

The darker it is outside, the more active those zombies would become.

He looked around at the empty parking lot and all of its surroundings. The barbed wire fences had no effect on the zombies. The gate was open anyways, and if they were that desperate they'd climb over it in a heartbeat.

A small group of them were on all sides. Luckily, none were blocking the way out through the hole in the fence back into the tree line. But the "small" groups of infected were only a fraction of how many there truly were. As Wooyoung stepped out a little more from behind the door, he saw this.

Knowing he saw enough, he closed the door slowly in order to not make any loud noises.

"So, what did you see?" Mingi asked.

"They're surrounding the building. But, there's none blocking the way to the exit. If we're super lucky, and if no one makes a mistake, we could make it out." Wooyoung said.

"Alright then. I'll lead the way. If anyone gets stuck behind, I'll hold the fence open for you. If the zombies hear us, run for your life to the fence and anyone there will pull you through. After that, run as fast as you can following me. The infected can climb the fence. They'll chase after us forever, so be ready to run long distances." Hongjoong said with confidence.

The boys nodded in agreement and lined up at the door, Hongjoong in the front. He opened the door with care and made sure to make no sound at all. Seonghwa stayed behind to hold the door open for everyone. Both of them seemed so selfless, they were perfect leaders.

As the boys walked out one by one, each one walked slowly and watched every single step they took. Most of them looked straight down at their feet, knowing that if they saw the infected they'd probably get scared half to death.

It was only about a 100 foot distance, but any wrong step would alert the enemy.

Most of the boys had taken their weapons out of their packs and had them ready to fight. It wouldn't hurt to be prepared.

Hongjoong reached the fence first, as expected. He stepped through the opening and held the fence from the other side, motioning each of the boys through.

Yunho, who was 4th in line, had stepped on a stray soda can near the edge of the fence. You could heard the aluminum scratch the concrete like nails on a chalkboard.

Run.

That's all the boys thought to do.

Hongjoong yelled that exact same word as dozens of infected ran after them. Yunho quickly jumped through the opening and Mingi followed behind. Jongwoo grabbed Wooyoung's hand and guided him through the opening as quickly as he could. At this point, Hongjoong abandoned his role of keeping the fence open, but San still hadn't made it through.

"SAN! COME ON WE HAVE TO GO RIGHT NOW!" Jongho yelled.

San reached the fence and pushed it open, but his duffel bag got caught by the metal wires. Wooyoung rushed to save him, but the infected were closing in fast...REALLY fast.

Wooyoung yanked the bag as hard as he could and a stunned San fell through the opening and onto the ground.

Wooyoung grabbed his hand and pulled him up as San caught his breath. The boys began to run as fast as they possibly could. The sound of the rattling fence behind them made their adrenaline rush. They knew those stupid monsters were climbing.

"DON'T STOP RUNNING. FOLLOW ME, I KNOW THE WAY!" Hongjoong screamed.

The infected had made their way over the fence in a record amount of time, and their running footsteps only made the boys run faster.

Wooyoung held San's hand as they ran through the thick woods together. I'm sure it was hard enough for San to be running with a packed duffel bag across his shoulder.

They ran for what seemed like hours. The sound of infected slowly died down, but they never stopped. The sun was setting and the temperature dropped, which meant even more trouble. They needed to get home.

Hongjoong slowed down and eventually stopped, resting by putting his hands on his knees and trying to catch his breath.

"We fucking made it." Hongjoong said with a breathy tone.

Up ahead was the gate, with the padlock still in place and everything as it should be.

Hongjoong ran and put the key into the lock to open it, and pushed the door open as quickly as possible. Everyone rushed inside and just sat down. They don't know how in the hell they made it.

"We've only been with you guys for a little over two days, and I think it's the most adventure I've experienced these whole 2 years." Yunho said, clearly struggling to breathe.

"Welcome home." Seonghwa said with a smile, catching his breath as well.

They boys just sat there as they drank their water supply and tried to recuperate from their escape from the armory.

"San how in the world did you run with that heavy bag all the way home?" Wooyoung asked.

"I'm a lot stronger than you'd think. Trust me." San smirked.

"Was he flirting?" Wooyoung thought to himself.
"Surely not, but at the same time he might've noticed my stares at him and caught on the fact I'm admiring him. That's embarrassing."

Wooyoung blushed at the thought. San lied down in the dirt with his hands crossed behind his head, looking for relaxed than ever.

"Guys, I think we should just sleep at this point. My whole body hurts from running so long and I miss the bed." Mingi said.

"Of course you do, when do you not miss your bed?" Yeosang scoffed jokingly.

"I agree with him. We should all get rest." Seonghwa said.

It was already dark outside, so the boys headed to their rooms for the night, but before Wooyoung walked into the house, San stopped him.

"By the way, thank you for saving me at the fence. I guess you paid me back for me saving your life..twice."

Wooyoung smiled.

"I thought I should at least return the favor, especially to you."

San laughed and looked at Wooyoung, from head to feet. He saw how caring he was, and how truly beautiful he was. He never thought how he could have hated someone like him. He just never knew him.

"Can I say something? Without it sounding weird?" San asked.

"Yeah, go for it." Wooyoung replied and leaned on the door of the house.

"I don't know how I could have hated you. I never realized how beautiful of a person you are." San smiled and his face turned red.

Wooyoung froze at the statement.

"What the hell?"
He thought.
"Did he know I was checking him out earlier? Is he trying to gain my trust by flirting? This is so confusing."

"T-Thanks. You're a pretty cool guy too." Woo replied nervously.

Shit that was terrible. He thought.

"Well, goodnight Wooyoung." San said.

"Goodnight San."

Wooyoung walked into the house, confused as hell, but oddly happy. Did San mean he was beautiful on the inside, the outside, or both? None of it made sense to him.

But, the boys had all collectively agreed that they would stay here permanently. Hongjoong was very open to it, and so were Seonghwa, Jongho, and San. They had never met people who were so friendly to them like they were, and who took them in as if they were best friends. They agreed, it must have been...

Fate.