"Is the real enemy the zombies, or is it the people in power, the ones who make the rules and pull the strings? Sometimes, I wonder if the real monsters are the ones we were supposed to trust." — Daniel
■
The end was coming, and everyone in the Force knew it. The soldiers' boots pounded relentlessly as they kicked and shoved the wounded survivors into lines. The pain from the explosions was still fresh, every movement sending sharp stabs through their battered bodies as they were dragged toward the military aircraft.
Those who tried to flee were met with merciless gunfire, their screams echoing through the chaos. Heeseung closed his eyes, trying to block out the sight of his comrades falling, their lives cut short in an instant. Every fallen body felt like a knife twisting in his gut. Jay and Jake, at the front of the line, exchanged grim looks, their faces pale with dread.
K, meanwhile, remained eerily silent, his eyes locked onto the soldiers carrying Y/N's unconscious form. Every moment they took her further away was a blow to his heart. His gaze followed her as she disappeared into the second plane, a chilling void filling the space where she had been.
A voice interrupted his brooding. "Long time no see, Patient Z."
K’s blood ran cold as he turned to see the Chancellor, Kim Namjoon, standing before him. The man’s eyes gleamed with a disturbing mix of joy and madness as he watched the scene unfold with a sick fascination.
“You thought you could run from us forever?” Namjoon mocked, his voice dripping with derision. He approached K, his fingers closing around K’s neck, squeezing just hard enough to make him gasp for air. “We’ve been hunting you for months. Did you really think we’d let you go?”
Before Namjoon could tighten his grip, a small voice squeaked from the black van. K’s heart skipped a beat as he saw Jungwon and Hara in the driver’s seats.
"Get her out of here! Now!” K shouted, desperate to save Aecha, the innocent child caught in the crossfire.
Jungwon slammed his foot on the gas, the van screeching into reverse. Hara ducked under the shattered mirror as gunfire shattered the air around them. The van roared out of the gates, with Aecha hiding under the seats, her face pale with terror.
Namjoon’s gaze followed the van’s escape with dark satisfaction before turning back to K. His expression twisted into a sinister grin. “Did you know how important that little girl is to me? Do you know the lengths I’ve gone to for her? She’s the key to everything we’re doing.”
K’s blood boiled as he faced Namjoon’s venomous glare. “If anything happens to her, I swear I’ll make sure every test you run on me is the last thing you do.”
Namjoon’s face darkened. He spat in K’s face before driving his fist into K’s stomach, sending him to the ground in pain. With a brutal, final swing, he smashed the butt of his rifle into K’s face, blood splattering across the dirt.
Heeseung, Jay, and Jake tried to intervene, but the soldiers held them back, guns trained on their heads. The soldiers dragged them inside the plane, each step a reminder of their powerlessness.
As Namjoon continued his relentless assault on K, a helicopter descended beside the aircrafts, landing with a thunderous roar. A woman in a pristine lab coat emerged, her face a mask of cold authority. She slapped Namjoon hard, her expression a mix of anger and disappointment.
“Is this really necessary?” she snapped, glaring at her husband. “You’re jeopardizing the entire operation. We need K intact for the tests.”
Namjoon recoiled, his bravado faltering under her intense gaze. “I was just...”
“Save it,” Claire interrupted sharply. “Start loading them up. And be extra careful with K. He’s already in bad shape.”
The soldiers sprang into action, quickly herding the remaining teenagers onto the aircraft. Claire watched with steely control, her professional facade cracking only when Namjoon’s words pierced through.
“The only two who managed to escape have our daughter in their hands,” he said, his voice filled with a twisted satisfaction.
Claire’s eyes widened in horror. The veneer of her composure shattered as she realized the gravity of the situation.
The daughter they’d been protecting was now a pawn in their ruthless game, and the consequences of this betrayal would be dire.
_______________________________________
White House Memorandum, Date 2020.08.19, Time 0524
TO: Partners And Presidents of the States
FROM: Kim Namjoon, Chancellor
RE: Final subjects
Subject: Project Update and Directive for Final Phases
We are pleased to report that one of the most critical phases of our project is now complete. The installation of brain-electrifying devices, including the orbitoclast for transorbital lobotomies, has been executed with precision. The necessary manipulations to achieve the same outcomes as observed with Subject Sunghoon have been successful, and various chips have been implanted without significant complications. Remarkably, only seven deaths were reported during these procedures.
In addition to this, we have disturbing news regarding The Force. The facility has been decimated, with numerous individuals captured and only two having escaped, leaving them to fend for themselves in an increasingly perilous environment.
The highlight of our recent activities is the capture of the perfect subject. This individual has willingly surrendered for the sake of the girl named Y/N, who has also been secured. It is believed that Y/N possesses valuable information about additional subjects still at large. Extracting this information is now imperative, regardless of the measures required.
Furthermore, a new lead has emerged from our informant within the castle of Bang Shi Hyuk. This potential subject, reported to be immune and in exceptional health despite being infected for over a month, presents a significant breakthrough in our research.
The final subjects are now to undergo a more extreme and savage series of experiments. The stakes are high, but this is the only path forward. The pursuit of the cure demands relentless and brutal methods.
The endgame is upon us.
Kim Namjoon’s finger hovered over the button as a six-year-old boy screamed in agony. The orbitoclast’s ice-pick-like tip pierced the delicate space between the child's brows, burrowing deeper with each turn, slicing through the brain’s gray matter.
The clinical precision of the procedure contrasted sharply with the raw pain etched on the boy’s face, his cries of torment echoing off the sterile walls.
In the adjacent glass cells, Sunghoon and Daniel could only watch in horrified silence, their hearts pounding in terror as the boy writhed, desperately trying to free his strapped limbs. Each moan was a plea for mercy that went unanswered, each thrash a futile attempt to escape the cold, unfeeling apparatus.
As the orbitoclast finally reached its intended target deep in the boy’s brain, his body went limp, his chest no longer rising and falling. The clinical efficiency was stark against the brutality of the scene.
The younger doctor, her eyes flicking nervously between the lifeless child and the two prisoners, asked, “Mr. Kim, who’s next?”
Namjoon’s cold gaze shifted to Daniel, who pounded on the glass, his voice a desperate shriek. “Sunghoon! Do something!”
But Sunghoon’s face betrayed the truth he could no longer deny—the hope was gone. He mouthed an apology, a hollow gesture of remorse for the betrayal that led them here. The weight of his own failures pressed down hard as he watched the horrific ends of Taeyeong and Yoonwon unfold.
Taeyeong and Yoonwon had met their end earlier that day, their pleas for help drowned out by the rising chemical sludge in their tank. The liquid climbed slowly, mercilessly, enveloping them in a caustic embrace. The agony was palpable as their skin dissolved, their desperate cries turning into guttural growls as the transformation began.
Their once-human eyes, now pools of pain, looked for salvation that never came. Namjoon’s final, pitiless shots silenced them, ending their suffering with grim efficiency.
Namjoon’s sadistic glee was evident as he approached Sunghoon and Daniel’s glass cells, his laughter a chilling soundtrack to their despair. He slammed his gun against the glass, relishing their fear.
“They’re gone,” he taunted, his voice dripping with venom. “Nothing you do can save anyone now, especially since the one who truly matters was taken from me.”
With a flourish, he signaled for the door to the lab to open. A shroud of mist swept through the entrance, obscuring the view. As the first figure emerged from the haze, Sunghoon’s stomach dropped, a cold sweat breaking out across his body.
The figure was familiar, a ghost from a past now lost to the apocalypse.
The memory of her—their last moments together before the world unraveled into chaos—flashed before Sunghoon’s eyes.
The park was bathed in the soft, golden light of the setting sun, casting long shadows across the grass. Sunghoon and Y/N sat on a bench under an old oak tree, their previous conversations gradually trailing off into silence.
Sunghoon noticed Y/N's distracted demeanor. Her eyes kept darting to her phone, her fingers fidgeting with its case. The usually vibrant spark in her eyes seemed dimmed.
"Hey, Y/N, what's wrong?" Sunghoon asked gently, trying to catch her gaze.
Y/N glanced up, her expression a mixture of irritation and weariness. "Nothing, Sunghoon. Just... some stuff I'm dealing with."
Sunghoon’s brow furrowed. "You’ve been like this for days. If it’s something bothering you, you can talk to me."
Y/N shifted uncomfortably on the bench, her fingers gripping her phone tightly. "It’s not that simple. It’s just—there’s things I don’t want to drag you into."
Sunghoon’s frustration began to build. "You always do this, Y/N. You shut me out when you’re upset. I want to help, but you won’t let me."
Y/N’s eyes flashed with anger. "It’s not about shutting you out! It’s about me trying to handle things on my own. I don’t want to drag you into my problems."
Sunghoon’s voice rose slightly, his frustration palpable. "I’m your friend, Y/N. Isn’t that what friends are for? To share the load and help each other?"
Y/N’s face hardened. "You don’t get it, Sunghoon. You think you can fix everything just by being there. Sometimes, I need to deal with things in my own way, and you pushing won’t change that."
The tension between them crackled like electricity in the air. The serene park, once a place of comfort, now felt heavy with unresolved emotions and unspoken truths.
Sunghoon leaned back, his eyes filled with hurt and confusion. "I just don’t understand why you can’t trust me with this."
Y/N’s expression softened for a moment, but she quickly masked it with a stubborn resolve. "Trust has nothing to do with it. I just... I need space. I need to figure things out on my own."
The sun dipped below the horizon, casting a shadow over their conversation. The warmth and comfort of their previous moments together had dissipated, leaving behind a stark reality of strained friendship and unspoken pain.
As the memory faded, Sunghoon was thrust back into the harsh reality of the lab, where the distant echo of their last argument became a haunting reminder of the personal distance that had grown between them.
The bitter contrast between the warmth of their past and the cold, clinical present underscored the depth of his current suffering.
The pain of her loss, intertwined with the relentless horror of his current reality, struck with renewed force. Namjoon’s cruel game had brought them to this point, a cruel reminder of what had been stolen from him and what he had lost.
The real nightmare was not just the horrors of the lab but the relentless, agonizing reminder of a past that could never be reclaimed.
_______________________________________
The backyard was aglow with strings of fairy lights and the soft laughter of family and friends celebrating Sunghoon’s birthday. The warmth of the gathering stood in stark contrast to the biting chill of the early spring evening.
Sunghoon, amid the revelry, noticed an empty space where Y/N should have been.
Excusing himself from his friends, Sunghoon ventured to the front porch, where he found Y/N standing alone, her posture rigid with frustration. She leaned on the railing, the cold night air making her breath visible as she exhaled sharply.
“Y/N?” Sunghoon called out, approaching her. The moment she saw him, her face contorted with anger, and before he could react, she slapped him across the face.
Stunned, Sunghoon rubbed his stinging cheek. “Why did you just hit me? What did I even do?”
Y/N’s eyes blazed as she turned her back on him. “Do you even know why I’m angry?”
Sunghoon followed, his tone calm but concerned. “No, why are you angry?”
“They were making fun of me. Your friends. And now you’ve invited them here,” she snapped.
“Making fun of you? How?” Sunghoon asked, confusion etched on his face.
She turned to face him, her expression a mix of hurt and resentment. “Look at me, Sunghoon. They said I’d be the end of you if you kept hanging out with me.”
Sunghoon’s gaze softened. “Look at you. There’s nothing wrong with you but your own mind.”
Y/N shook her head vehemently. “Everything is wrong with me. My life, my father leaving, and now being friends with someone who’s always trying to reassure me that everything will be okay when it’s not.”
Sunghoon’s voice grew cautious. “I think you should go home now before you ruin the mood here.”
Y/N’s eyes welled up with tears, her voice cracking with desperation. “I don’t think I should see you again, Sunghoon.” She was visibly trembling, her hands gripping the railing so tightly her knuckles turned white.
Sunghoon reached out, his concern deepening. “Running away from everyone isn’t the solution to your problems, Y/N.”
But her anxiety had already spiraled out of control.
“You don’t understand! I was taken by the government. They did things to me, Sunghoon. Things that changed me forever!” Her voice broke as she cried, her tears mingling with the cold air.
Sunghoon’s eyes widened in shock. He had never fully understood what she had endured during her time with the government, only that it had left deep scars. Her distress was palpable, her strength in pushing him away a stark reminder of her suffering.
In the present, as Sunghoon and Daniel watched through the glass walls of their cell, Sunghoon’s gaze locked onto Y/N's. The connection between them was intense, fraught with unspoken pain and realization.
In the lab, the memory of that night was a haunting premonition. Y/N, once the victim of cruel experiments, was now being prepared for the same kind of invasive testing. The virus, which had been a distant threat, was now being reintroduced to her body with grim precision. The thought that she, one of the earliest and most resilient subjects, was about to be subjected to further torment made Sunghoon’s heart pound with terror.
The lab’s cold, sterile environment was a brutal contrast to their once-warm interactions. The realization struck Sunghoon like a hammer: Y/N’s torment was not just a relic of the past, but a present nightmare. The hovernment’s experiments had only begun, and now, as she faced reinfection, her suffering would be magnified beyond comprehension.
As the procedure began, Sunghoon’s mind raced with the weight of their shared history and the bleak future awaiting Y/N.
The chilling realization that there would be no escape from this cruel cycle only deepened his despair.
_______________________________________
Nicholas jolted awake, a stabbing pain in his left arm dragging him out of a restless sleep. The cold darkness of the room in the castle pressed in on him, amplifying his dread. As his eyes adjusted, he noticed an overpowering stench.
The sight that greeted him twisted his stomach into knots—Hanbin stood before him, a grotesque fusion of human and zombie.
Hanbin’s once-kind face was now a nightmarish mask of decay, the zombie transformation clawing at his sanity. Tears streamed down his pallid cheeks as he fought the monstrous urge surging within him. His eyes, once bright, were now hollow voids, reflecting the last remnants of his humanity slipping away.
Nicholas’s gaze shifted to the floor where Taki should have been resting. Instead, the youngest’s body lay lifeless, blood pooling around him. The sight was horrific—Taki’s skin was torn away, exposing raw bone, and dried blood marred his open mouth. The grotesque scene made Nicholas’s heart race, the chilling realization striking him hard: Hanbin, even in his deteriorated state, had succumbed to the virus’s control and unleashed unspeakable violence.
Hanbin’s voice, though strained, reached Nicholas through his anguish. It shifted from a sorrowful murmur to a guttural growl, a final testament to his internal struggle. “Nicholas, you’re the kindest person I’ve ever known. I’m grateful for your friendship in this fleeting life.”
Before Nicholas could react, Hanbin moved with a sudden, unnatural speed. He lunged toward the window, his face a mask of sorrowful resignation.
Another flash of lightning illuminated Hanbin’s tragic smile, a beacon of his final act. As the darkness reclaimed the room, Hanbin leaped from the window, plunging into the waiting horde of zombies below.
The thunderous crash of his body against the ground was a brutal punctuation to his choice—death over destruction, an escape from the horrors he could no longer control. Hanbin had chosen to end his suffering and spare Nicholas the unimaginable trauma of killing his friend.
Nicholas remained frozen, paralyzed by the horror and grief. Hanbin’s sacrifice hung heavy in the air, a dark testament to the brutality of their world and the depths of their bond.
The chilling reality set in—survival in the castle came with an unbearable price, and the loss of Hanbin was a cruel reminder of the relentless nightmare surrounding them.
_______________________________________
Nicholas jolted upright in bed, his heart racing from the haunting dream that had plagued him since their arrival at the castle. No matter how hard he tried to dismiss it, the ominous feeling that something terrible was about to happen clung to him like a shadow.
The door to the room burst open, revealing Taki, who looked unusually bright and alive. Following him was Ni-ki, whose youthful face was clouded with a deep remorse, as if burdened with news he wished he didn’t have to deliver.
"Join us on the top balcony of the fourth floor," Ni-ki said with a grim tone. "You need to see what's coming."
He turned and left, his footsteps echoing ominously against the cold stone floor. Nicholas turned to Taki, a sense of dread tightening in his chest.
"Where’s Hanbin?" he demanded, grabbing Taki by the shoulders, panic evident in his eyes.
Taki’s confusion deepened. "He’s down in the basement with Zico, helping him with the van."
Nicholas's mind raced, his worst fears igniting. "Why does Zico need Hanbin’s help?"
Taki’s brow furrowed. "They’re working on the van. He didn’t explain much more."
Ignoring the breathlessness as he bolted from the room, Nicholas dragged Taki with him down the spiral staircase. They reached the ground floor in record time, urgency driving them forward. His worst nightmare felt imminent, and he had to reach Hanbin before it was too late.
Outside, chaos erupted. Rain sprinted toward them from the gates, clutching a submachine gun. His face was drenched with sweat, and his eyes were wide with panic.
"Four black vans from the government are heading this way!" Rain shouted, his voice hoarse. "They’re bringing every zombie horde from the surrounding areas!"
The vastle’s defenses, though formidable, would not withstand an all-out assault. Reinforced doors and barbed wire were no match for the gpvernment’s ruthless tactics. Desperation fueled their strategy, and Nicholas realized that Hanbin’s life, along with everyone else's, hung in the balance.
"Get inside and alert everyone!" Nicholas commanded Taki, shoving him toward the stairs. He turned to Rain, who was already leading a group up to the higher floors to prepare for the onslaught.
In the basement, Zico emerged with scratches on his face, clearly shaken. Nicholas’s rage boiled over as he confronted Zico, his fists landing heavy blows. "Where’s Hanbin? What did you do to him?"
Zico’s face was bloodied, and he barely had time to react before Nicholas’s fists rained down upon him. Taki, frantic, tried to intervene, but Nicholas’s fury was all-consuming.
In the midst of Nicholas’s rage, a deafening explosion shook the castle. Smoke and debris billowed through the air, and the front doors crumbled under the force of the blast. The guttural growls of zombies filled the night, the horde surging through the shattered entrance.
"Help! Nicholas! Taki! Help me, please!" Hanbin’s desperate cries echoed from the basement.
Nicholas’s heart sank. He had to choose: save Hanbin or defend against the encroaching horde. The zombies poured in, their relentless advance threatening to overwhelm them all.
"What do we do now?" Taki’s voice trembled with fear as he looked between the advancing zombies and the basement door where Hanbin’s cries continued.
"Help!" Hanbin’s voice was filled with anguish.
Rain, face grim, spoke through gritted teeth. "We need to get Hanbin and Taki to safety. The government is closing in, and if we don’t comply, they’ll destroy us all."
The realization hit hard. Taki stumbled back, eyes widening as he understood the gravity of their situation. "Are you saying that you’re betraying us?"
Rain’s face hardened. "We don’t have a choice. If we don’t deliver Hanbin, they’ll kill my daughter."
Zico’s eyes widened with horror. "They’ve found her?"
Rain nodded solemnly. "She’s back in their hands. They’ll use her to extract information from us. We have no choice."
Nicholas, now with Hanbin freed from his bindings, joined Taki. The urgency of the moment pushed him to make a grim decision. "So, in the end, our only choice is to sacrifice them?"
Rain’s expression was cold, devoid of any remorse. "Only Hanbin and Taki are the immune ones. They’re the key."
The weight of their situation settled heavily on Nicholas as he watched the horde close in. His mind raced, torn between the desire to save his friend and the crushing reality of their impending doom.
The government’s insidious reach had forced them into a corner, and the true horror of their predicament was just beginning to unfold.
_______________________________________
At the fourth-floor balcony, Ni-ki’s eyes were locked on the chaotic scene unfolding below. The once-pristine castle grounds were now a battleground, with zombies pouring out from every corner. He glanced at the torn-down gates, the makeshift barricades barely holding against the onslaught.
“This is it,” Niki thought, his fingers tightening around his AR-K rifle. The weapon felt heavy but comforting in his hands. He had always been the youngest, the one who was underestimated, but now he had to step up.
The noise was deafening—the groans and snarls of the zombies growing louder, mingling with the frantic shouts and clanging metal from inside the castle. Ni-ki’s heart pounded as he took in the enormity of the threat. The zombie horde seemed endless, with more emerging from the back, converging on the castle in a relentless wave.
“Ni-ki, come help us down here or we’ll all die!” The desperate voice from the doorway snapped him from his thoughts. The urgency in the voice was palpable, but Ni-ki knew that mere reaction wasn’t enough. He needed to act decisively.
He sprinted down the stairs, the sound of his feet pounding against the stone steps mingling with the growing cacophony of the undead. He reached the ground floor just in time to see Nicholas grappling with Rain, their fight a chaotic dance of fury and betrayal.
“Stop it!” Ni-ki shouted, trying to get their attention over the clamor. “We don’t have time for this! We need to focus on the real threat!”
Nicholas and Rain froze momentarily, their anger giving way to the immediate danger. Outside, the zombie horde was nearly upon them. The castle’s defenses, though formidable, were beginning to buckle under the sheer number of the undead.
Zico, caught in the crossfire of hesitation and despair, looked at Ni-ki with a mixture of relief and fear. The young boy’s bravery was both a beacon and a challenge.
Ni-ki didn’t wait for further approval. He took a deep breath, raising his voice to cut through the noise. “Listen up, everyone! This is not the time for hesitation or squabbles. We have a massive horde of zombies closing in, and if we don’t act now, we’re all done for!”
His voice carried over the chaos, cutting through the panic. “We need to fortify our defenses, set up barricades, and prepare for the onslaught. Follow my lead, and we might just make it through this.”
The crowd, momentarily stunned by Ni-ki’s resolve, began to stir with a newfound sense of purpose. Nicholas, Rain, and the others snapped into action, their personal conflicts momentarily set aside.
Ni-ki grabbed a makeshift barricade and began positioning it at the most vulnerable entrance. Sweat poured down his face, and his hands trembled with adrenaline, but he focused on the task at hand. The zombies were almost upon them, their groans growing louder and more frenzied.
As the first wave of zombies breached the outer defenses, Ni-ki’s heart raced. He could see the terror in the eyes of his companions, but he refused to falter. With every pull of the trigger, every shout to direct others, he fought to stave off the encroaching doom.
Outside, the battle was a brutal testament to their desperation. The zombies clawed and snarled, their numbers seemingly endless. The castle’s defenders fought with everything they had, but the tide was relentless.
In that moment, Ni-ki realized the weight of leadership and the cost of survival. His actions, his words, and his bravery would determine whether they could hold the line or succumb to the encroaching darkness.
The battle for their lives had only just begun, and the outcome remained perilously uncertain.