"In a world gone to hell, the only gamble worth taking is risking everything for the ones you love. Everything else is just a death wish." — K
■
Every night, the faces of the dead invade your dreams, their rotting lips whispering accusations, their eyes wide with the horror of their final moments. The nightmares are relentless, dragging you through the agony of their last breaths.
The guilt that haunts you is almost as suffocating as the darkness of the abandoned hut you now find refuge in.
You left Nicholas and Taki, convinced that their anger and blame would be directed at you for Hanbin's death. Every time you close your eyes, you see his broken body and feel the weight of your failure. The desire for redemption is overshadowed by the hopelessness of your situation. You long for escape, to rewind time and undo the chain of events that led you here.
But in this apocalyptic nightmare, there's no rewind button—only the harsh reality of survival.
The thin moonlight streams through the broken window, casting eerie shadows on the damp walls. Outside, you hear the distant growls of zombies, punctuated by the occasional gunshot and the sickening sound of flesh being torn apart. The sounds of survival clash with the quiet resignation in your heart.
You clutch the revolver given to you by a dying old man, a symbol of both hope and despair.
A sudden crash breaks the tension. The flimsy door of the hut is violently kicked open, and a figure appears, shotgun in hand, eyes blazing with a mix of fury and fear. His clothes are stained with blood, and his face is a mask of desperation.
The sight is jarring, but the threat is immediate.
"Who are you!?" he demands, his voice a sharp edge of anger. The shotgun is aimed directly at your face, and his finger is poised on the trigger. "Why didn’t you help me out there?"
Your heart races, and you raise your hands in surrender. "Y/N. My name is Y/N. Please, don't shoot!"
The man's gaze hardens, and he steps closer, the shotgun still aimed at you. "Do you think I care about your name right now? I just fought off ten zombies alone. Why weren’t you out there helping me?"
His accusation cuts deep, but you can only offer a shaky response. "I was... I was waiting. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to risk—"
"Risk what? Risking my life while I’m out there fighting for yours?" he interrupts, his voice laced with frustration.
Desperation and fear bubble up inside you, causing your voice to waver. "I didn’t know how to help. I was scared."
The man’s anger doesn't wane, but he seems to be assessing you, trying to gauge whether you are a threat or not. "If you didn’t know how to help, why the hell are you still here?"
You swallow hard, your mind racing for a way to defuse the situation. "I’m alone. I was just trying to survive, same as you. Please, I don’t want any trouble."
A tense silence hangs in the air. The man’s eyes dart around, as if expecting another attack. The occasional moan of a distant zombie punctuates the quiet, reminding both of you of the ever-present danger.
"Are you alone?" he finally asks, his tone softer, though still guarded. He lowers the shotgun slightly but keeps it ready.
You nod, though your hands are still trembling. "Yes, I’m alone. I’m not with anyone."
The man studies you for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh. "Then you should come with me. There’s safety in numbers, and we don’t have much time."
His offer comes as a surprise. The shift from hostility to an invitation feels almost surreal. You can hardly believe it, but the alternative is facing the zombies alone. You need to trust him, despite your lingering doubts.
"What’s your name?" you ask, trying to ground yourself in the reality of the situation.
He hesitates, looking away momentarily. "K."
"K? Just K?" you ask, incredulity slipping into your voice.
He glances at you, a hint of a smirk playing on his lips. "Names have power. They can bind you or free you. Right now, I don’t need you to remember my name. I need you to survive."
Despite the harshness of his words, you sense a glimmer of shared humanity in him. "Why are you out here alone?"
K’s eyes darken with a shadow of pain. "I’m looking for my little brother. I left him in the basement to keep him safe, and when I returned, he was gone."
A chill runs down your spine as you recall Nicholas who mentioned Taki being left in a basement. "Did you find any clues about where he might be?"
K shakes his head, his expression hardened by determination. "No clues. But I have to keep looking. I can’t give up on him."
You nod, understanding the drive behind his search. "I’ll help you find him. I need to stay alive anyway."
K's expression softens slightly, a mix of relief and wariness in his eyes. "Good. Let’s move before the zombies find us."
You follow him into the night, the darkness of the woods enveloping you as you move cautiously. The moonlight offers little comfort as you approach what K calls the Safe Haven—a fortified compound with high walls and watchtowers.
The sight of it is almost too good to be true.
As you approach the gates, guards peer out, their weapons at the ready. K waves to them, and the gates creak open, revealing the relative safety within. You step inside, feeling a tentative sense of security. The guards look at you with suspicion but lower their weapons once they see K.
K turns to you with a small, hopeful smile. "Welcome to the Safe Haven, Y/N."
You look around at the compound, realizing that this might be a new beginning. For now, at least, you have a chance to survive and help K find his brother.
As you enter the haven, you feel a flicker of hope, something you thought had long been extinguished.
_______________________________________
Nicholas stared blankly at the walls of their temporary refuge, his mind racing. He had no idea where you had gone or how you had managed to slip away, but one thing was certain: the drive in his heart demanded he find you.
The turmoil of the past few days had left him questioning every decision and action he had taken.
Hanbin’s survival was nothing short of miraculous. Despite a ghastly zombie bite that should have turned him into one of the undead, Hanbin had defied the odds. He had suffered a high fever and was gravely ill for a week, a period that had strained Nicholas and Taki’s nerves. Their days had been filled with anxiety and sleepless nights, nursing Hanbin back to health with whatever meager resources they could scavenge.
Now, Hanbin was up and about, cooking a modest meal of canned goods in the kitchen. His movements were cautious, his every step calculated to avoid making unnecessary noise. Nicholas and Taki, sitting at the table, watched him with a mixture of awe and relief.
"This is a miracle, isn't it?" Taki asked, his voice tinged with a sense of wonder as he observed Hanbin.
"An impossible miracle," Nicholas agreed, his gaze fixed on Hanbin. "But as long as we have him alive, I don’t care about the reasons behind it."
Hanbin placed the meager meal of canned food on the table, trying to make the most of their limited supplies.
He joined them at the table, glancing at Nicholas with a hint of a smile. "Speaking of miracles, could we wish for one more?"
"Yes, one more, please," Taki echoed, eager to dig into the food. Hanbin swatted Taki’s hand away gently.
"It’s still hot. You need to wait a minute," Hanbin chided, his tone gentle but firm.
Taki huffed in annoyance. "If my big brother were here, he’d be angry if you swatted me again."
Nicholas’s thoughts drifted back to the day he and Hanbin had found Taki, huddled and crying in the basement. The boy’s desperate pleas for his brother had left a mark on both of them.
They had taken Taki in to protect him, but the boy’s longing for his sibling was palpable.
Nicholas decided to shift the conversation. "Taki, what do you think happened to your brother?"
Taki’s face fell, his lips trembling. Tears welled in his eyes, his voice cracking as he spoke. "I don’t know. He said he’d only be gone for a short time to get food for me, but he never came back."
Nicholas and Hanbin exchanged worried glances. Taki’s devotion to his brother was clear, and his belief that his brother was still alive gave him a glimmer of hope.
It was a belief that Nicholas and Hanbin both respected and understood.
"Do you… want to find your brother, Taki?" Hanbin asked softly.
"Yes. Yes, I do," Taki responded with fervent determination.
"Then we will try to search for him," Hanbin said, his voice filled with resolve. He glanced at Nicholas, who had a puzzled expression on his face. "And… her. Y/N."
Nicholas froze, his fork halfway to his mouth. Y/N. Her memory lingered like a shadow over their travels, a reminder of their brief but significant connection. She had been a fleeting presence in their lives, but her impact had been profound.
Despite their short time together, she had represented hope and compassion in a world that had become increasingly desolate.
Taki’s face lit up with renewed hope. Nicholas’s heart tightened as he looked at Hanbin and Taki, their faces reflecting a determination that matched his own. The promise of finding Y/N and Taki’s brother became a beacon in the encroaching darkness.
Nicholas took a deep breath, setting his jaw with newfound resolve. As he ate, observing the hopeful expressions of his companions, he made a silent vow.
He would find Y/N, and he would find Taki’s brother. They would not be another lost memory in this unforgiving world.
As the trio finished their meal and prepared to set out, the sense of purpose they carried seemed to imbue them with strength. They were driven by more than just survival; they were driven by the hope of reuniting and rebuilding what had been torn apart.
Outside, the air was thick with the tension of the unknown. The world remained a hostile and unpredictable place, but Nicholas, Hanbin, and Taki faced it with a shared resolve. With every step they took, they moved closer to uncovering the fates of those they had lost and finding the missing pieces of their fractured lives.
The journey ahead would be fraught with challenges and dangers, but for the first time in a long while, hope was a tangible force, propelling them forward through the bleak landscape of their new reality.
_______________________________________
The day began shrouded in a grim twilight, the sun still hidden behind thick, dark clouds that seemed to reflect the melancholy of the world.
Nicholas, Hanbin, and Taki were already awake, their preparations punctuated by tense interactions and unspoken fears. Nicholas, ever the meticulous leader, reminded them sharply to check their packs one final time.
He gave Taki a disapproving look, his gaze fixed on the boy's bright green and yellow jacket.
"Seriously, Taki, are you trying to get us all killed?" Nicholas scolded, his tone harsh but not unkind. "That jacket is a beacon for zombies. Change it before we get out there."
Taki, however, was defiant. "But what if my brother sees me? What if he's out there searching for me?" He dashed around Hanbin, who stood as a barrier between Taki and Nicholas, trying to keep the jacket on despite Nicholas's efforts to remove it.
Hanbin, smiling down at Taki, attempted to mediate. "Let him be. Kids will be kids, Nicholas."
"I'm not a kid!" Taki shot back, but his voice wavered with the sincerity of his concern.
Nicholas, his patience wearing thin, intervened before the argument could escalate. "Enough! We don't have time for this. We need to be on our way. If you two can’t manage to behave, I'll leave you both behind."
With that ultimatum, Nicholas stormed out of the door, leaving Hanbin and Taki to follow in his wake. The two boys, chastened, trailed behind their leader like dutiful children. Despite Nicholas's stern demeanor, his leadership was a lifeline in the chaos of the world.
His tough exterior masked a heart that truly cared for his companions' well-being.
As they emerged onto the streets, the scene before them was apocalyptic. Ruined skyscrapers loomed like skeletal remains, heavy smoke swirling ominously in the air. The streets were littered with the decaying bodies of those who had once lived, their lifeless forms a stark reminder of the world's descent into madness.
The first sight of zombies sent Taki recoiling, his bravado replaced by fear. The grotesque creatures, feasting on the remains of the fallen, turned their hunger toward the new intruders. Their guttural growls and shrieks pierced the eerie silence, signaling the beginning of a new hunt.
Nicholas, hardened by loss and battle, turned to Hanbin and Taki with a steely gaze. "You know what to do."
The young fighters, moments ago at odds, now readied their weapons with grim resolve. Hanbin gripped his lacrosse stick, its wooden surface stained with the blood of earlier skirmishes. Taki, holding a hatchet, nodded fiercely, his earlier defiance replaced by determination.
Nicholas, wielding a baseball bat with an intensity born of rage, led the charge. The battle was a brutal dance of survival, the trio moving with practiced coordination despite the chaos surrounding them. Each swing, each strike, was driven by the unyielding desire to stay alive and to protect one another.
Hours later, the streets lay eerily silent. Taki and Hanbin leaned against a storefront, their breaths ragged, their faces smeared with a mixture of sweat and blood. The aftermath of their struggle was a grim tableau. Nicholas stood a short distance away, his baseball bat still clutched tightly, its once white surface now streaked with dark red.
Nicholas continued to vent his anger on the last remaining zombie, his strikes becoming more frenzied, more violent. The sight of him, drenched in sweat and blood, eyes blazing with an emotion that was both fierce and sorrowful, was unsettling.
Hanbin, trying to calm the former, handed him a bottle of water.
"Nicholas, stop it!" Hanbin shouted, his voice tinged with desperation. "We need to find her faster. Your anger won’t help us find her."
The words cut through Nicholas's rage, and he turned to face Hanbin with a glare that could have frozen fire. For a moment, his fury was palpable, an almost tangible force. But then, as if realizing the futility of his current path, Nicholas took a deep breath, the raw emotion still evident in his face.
Taki watched with a mix of awe and fear, seeing Nicholas in a light that was both terrifying and admiring. The anger, the power—it was a side of Nicholas he rarely showed, and it was both intimidating and fascinating.
Hanbin, ever the voice of reason, continued, "We’re wasting time. We need to move."
Nicholas, with a final, vengeful swing of his bat, stopped and wiped the sweat from his brow. The fury in his eyes gave way to a grim determination. "Fine. We move. But remember, I’m doing this for all of us. We find her and we survive."
As the three of them moved forward, Taki couldn't help but think of his brother, wherever he was. Despite the chaos and the grim realities of their world, the hope of reuniting with his brother provided him with a flicker of determination.
Nicholas's struggle with his own demons mirrored the fight that Taki faced within himself, a fight to hold on to hope in the darkest of times.
Together, they continued their journey through the desolate streets, the echoes of their footsteps mingling with the distant groans of the undead.
The path ahead was fraught with danger and uncertainty, but as long as they fought together, there was still a chance, however slim, of finding what they were searching for.
_______________________________________
"What is it?” you blurted out, unable to contain your curiosity any longer as you and K wandered through the desolate streets, having been let out of the safe haven that afternoon.
The whole time, K had seemed restless, as if something was weighing heavily on his mind.
He halted before a music store, the shattered glass and broken door hinting at a past that seemed almost surreal. Inside, the once vibrant store was now a graveyard of memories, with vinyl albums scattered and dirtied on the floor.
“I have this sudden feeling that somehow someone is thinking of me right now,” K murmured, his eyes scanning the wreckage with a mix of nostalgia and unease. He stepped inside, and you followed, your gaze drifting over the remnants of a world that felt both alien and familiar.
“What do you think is making you feel that way?” you asked, your curiosity piqued.
K knelt down, carefully picking up a white album that had been discarded amidst the debris. A large number 7 was emblazoned on the cover, with 'BTS' written beneath it. He wiped away the grime with a reverent touch, holding it up for you to see.
“My brother, Taki. We both loved this boy band,” he said, his voice tinged with sadness.
The name struck a chord deep within you. Taki. It was a small world indeed, that you should encounter brothers separated in such dire circumstances. The knowledge that K’s brother was alive and in good hands—safe with Nicholas and Hanbin—brought a swell of relief.
But you struggled with how to break the news to K without shattering his hope.
“We’ll find him,” K said, gently placing the album into his bag. “I want to give this to him once we’re reunited.”
You stood there, unsure how to respond, your thoughts racing. The weight of the revelation you carried felt almost too heavy to bear. Before you could gather the courage to speak, a sudden, piercing hiss cut through the silence, followed by a frantic shout for help coming from the street.
You tensed, recognizing the sound of a child’s voice.
The urgency in the cry sent a chill down your spine. “Wait. That voice—it sounds like a kid.”
As you and K rushed toward the source, you stumbled over a half-buried object, and K's eyes widened in horror.
“No… it can’t be.”
The scream began again, more desperate this time, but the sound seemed to be coming from somewhere closer than you had anticipated.