| Z+1 — THE SCHOOL'S ROOFTOP |
The students of Hyosan High watched as the soldiers rappelled down the roof, making an entry into the school.
Daesu and Joonyeong neared the lone soldier by the rappelling gear, trying to figure out what in the world they were trying to achieve by entering the zombie-infested school.
"Hey," Daesu called out to his friend. "They plan to kill all the zombies before they take us, right?"
Joonyeong shrugged. "I doubt that. There are only four of them," he responded.
"Isn't Special Mission the best?"
"They are looking for something, I think." Joonyeong was skeptical. "Isn't the science lab that way?"
The two returned to their friends, stating the observation they made to the others.
"What could they possibly be looking for in the science lab?" Wujin asked. "What even is in there?"
Namra closed her eyes, trying to single out the sound of the voices coming from the earpiece of the soldier a couple of feet away from them.
Do you have the package? Target has not yet been obtained. Decrypting device. Decryption complete. Heading out.
"They are decrypting some device," Namra said, repeating what she heard. "That is their target. That device."
Hyoryung raised her brows, mouth agape. "How can a laptop be more important than saving children from an apocalypse?!" She exclaimed.
"That laptop probably has information more important than us," Gyeongsu stated.
As the teenagers chatted amongst themselves, the other soldiers returned to the rooftop, taking their positions.
"Come to the pickup position. Over," the soldier announced. "Master Sergeant. Go up first."
"We'll pull you up one at a time," another soldier explained. "Stay still, even if you're scared. Okay?"
"Aren't you landing the chopper?"
"We can't for safety reasons. He'll pull you in, so don't worry."
The students nodded, waiting patiently for the soldiers to tell them what to do.
Jimin was the first to leave, getting pushed forward by her friends to be the first one of them to get in the chopper.
The teenagers cheered happily as they watched their friend get carried away. It wasn't long before Hyoryung followed suit, wearing the gear for the ascent.
Just when they thought they were saved, Soojin gripped onto Junghwan's hand, overhearing a conversation that was happening over the earpiece.
Don't rescue anyone. We just discovered an asymptomatic infected person.
"They found an asymptomatic person at the camp," she muttered loud enough for her boyfriend to hear. "They are telling the soldiers not to rescue us."
"Asymptomatic?" Namra repeated. "Is that someone who is like me?"
"Like us," Soojin corrected. "Someone like us."
All our agents will be in danger if one turns in the chopper. Open fire if they resist.
Namra pulled Suhyeok back, having heard the orders over the earpiece. "He's ordering them to shoot us if we resist," she stated.
"Operation canceled!" The soldier announced. "We'll take only the package and pull out!"
The students were overwhelmed, not knowing why their rescue was suddenly cancelled.
Everyone, except for the ones who knew the reason, was near tears, begging the soldiers to save them — to take them some place safe.
"Why? What's wrong? Why is she coming down?"
"What do you mean, it's canceled?"
"Why won't you take us with you? Ahjussi!"
They were in utter panic; all the hope they had gathered stripped away in a millisecond. They trusted the first responders to save them, but things had changed now.
What are you waiting for? Open fire. Do you not hear me? This is an order. Open fire!
Lee Soojin and Choi Namra felt chills down their spines at the stern order, quickly pulling their friends back.
So Junghwan and Lee Suhyeok followed their girlfriends, realizing something was wrong upon seeing the terror in their eyes.
"Oppa, don't." Soojin pulled on her brother's arm. "They'll shoot us. Don't approach them."
"Wujin. Daesu." Namra tugged at her classmates. "Just listen to them and back off."
The teenagers managed to get their friends away, watching as the soldiers got pulled into the chopper — their only chance at getting to safety.
Hyoryung sobbed. "They abandoned us, right? No one will come to save us now, right?" She cried, wiping away her tears.
"Shit." Gyeongsu cursed. "Why would they do that?"
"Maybe they fucking thought we were zombies," Wujin responded to the question.
Joonyeong shook his head. "Then they would've killed us," he clarified. "They wouldn't have left without killing us," he said.
"They could've," Nayeon mumbled, looking at her feet. "They hesitated, but they could've killed us."
Namra spoke, telling the others the actual reason they were left behind. Someone from our school didn't show symptoms and got into the camp, and killed over four people. The students felt hopeless, not knowing from whom to ask for help now.
Lee Cheongsan let out a frustrated groan, kicking away the signs they made for help. Onjo held the elder by his arm, stopping him from getting hurt as he trampled over the burning embers.
"What are you doing?" She pulled him away, making him still. "Stop it, Cheongsan."
The brunet fisted his hands. "It's useless. No one's coming. No one is coming now," he muttered, feeling hopeless.
He was right; if the Special Forces soldiers couldn't help them, then there was nobody else that would.
| Z+1 — THE SCHOOL'S ROOFTOP |
The students scattered around the rooftop, waiting for what seemed like their probable deaths, considering no one would help them.
Lee Soojin watched as Namra winced before covering her ears, wondering what was wrong with her. She trained her ears to try to hear what she was hearing, startled by the crackle of thunder she heard.
This was a new skill Soojin found out she had; blocking out the zombification of her senses.
Instead of dealing with the heightened senses, Soojin found herself 'turning them on and off' as she pleased, not really knowing how it worked.
She noticed how her side effects weren't as strong as they were before, as if they were slowly disappearing.
She didn't know what exactly went on with her, but she knew she wasn't affected like the other hambies.
Drop after drop, the students looked at the sky as the rain fell, cheers going around the rooftop in unison.
"Hey, it's raining!"
"It's so refreshing!"
"It's fucking raining!"
She watched as her friends cried while the rain fell down their faces, not having the energy to feel the emotions they did.
Soojin was sick and tired of being able to do nothing but cry.
Cheongsan approached his sister. "Soo-ya, if we move every time there's thunder, maybe the zombies won't hear us," he explained his theory. "No one is coming to rescue us," he added.
"It is better to die trying to get out than die waiting like sitting ducks," Soojin mumbled, not really seeing another way out for them.
If no one was coming for them, then they should be the ones to save themselves.