SURVIVE

CHAPTER THREE: DANGEROUS RIDES

Just the first minute inside the car Soojin stole, Minnie had already earned a red mark from a slap inflicted on her by  Miyeon, the girl glaring at her as she had tried to annoy her by making a very sexual and sarcastic comment about how they used to spend time in a car, which made Soojin chuckle silently, while Minnie sat silently in the corner, whimpering like a kicked puppy, Miyeon glaring at her silently, as if she had already killed her fifteen times with different methods inside her mind.

“Soojin, can I sit next to you? I can’t bear sitting here.”  Miyeon said as Soojin nodded, the girl immediately shifting places and went to the shotgun seat, leaving Minnie silently sitting near the window, while Soojin only chuckled at all that’s happening, focusing on driving silently to the nearest convenience store as they had planned.

“There, Soojin.”  Miyeon said, as Soojin brought the car to stop in the place Miyeon had pointed at, Miyeon immediately going out of the car.

Soojin was about to go out when Minnie grabbed her by the collar, discreetly pulling her down.

“I don’t care if you’re the one who saved Song Jin and Shuhua, because I don’t trust you one bit, since when you arrived yesterday. I also heard what Song Jin said to you last night, so I have a reason why I don’t trust you even more. If you lay a finger on anyone, I don’t know what I will do to you.” Minnie said, as Soojin chuckled, then suddenly grabbed Minnie’s collar, dragging her forward.

“If I could choose, I could leave you two here to die, right now, and take off with the guns I gave you. But I won’t, because I want to help all of you here, Minnie-ssi. Don’t push it, or I would make up a story where you got eaten by a stray pack of undead.” Soojin said, as she smiled and patted the woman’s back, then got out of the car, following Miyeon inside the convenience store.

Minnie sighed and got out of the car, going inside the convenience store and grabbing a single basket, grabbing everything she thinks is needed for survival, also grabbing some objects she could upgrade and use as a weapon and also give it to others.

She also grabbed some medical supplies (grabbed at least ten packs from every shelf, and twenty packs from the medicines that were always used) and some medical tools, including a machine that sanitized medical supplies, immediately running out of the store and putting it inside the car immediately whenever her basket got full, then going back again, this time picking out some clothes for everyone, and some supplies for washing.

It was a good choice that Soojin decided to steal a pickup truck for this raid, as the car she brought with her and the car Song Jin arrived in wouldn’t have been enough to fit all the things they raided up, as they must have emptied the whole store. Minnie was waiting for the two to finish when she heard someone crying nearby, as she grabbed his baseball bat and decided to silently follow the noise, the noise leading her to an alley near the store.

She widened her eyes as she saw a child sitting on the ground, leaning into the brick walls, crying as she clutched her shoulder, and from her distance Minnie could see blood flowing from her shoulder. She approached the girl silently, bearing some of the medical supplies as she knew how to administer first aid.

“Hey, little one… are you alright?” Minnie asked, as the little girl shook her head, crying even more.

“Hey, shhh… I’m here to help you, little one.” Minnie said, as she tried to put away her hand, and found it to be more intense than she expected, but with her experience in working with different weapons, Minnie knew that the wound wasn’t from a bite wound from the undead, or else the child would be dead by now.

“What’s your name, kid?” Minnie asked, as the child had already stopped crying, holding the sleeve of Minnie’s sweater tight, as she struggled to form an answer.

“Y-Yoona… My name is…  Jeon Yoona.” The girl said, as Minnie widened his eyes, nodding at that, as they had a same surname.

“Yoona-yah… what happened to you?” Minnie asked, as the child sniffled, gritting her teeth as Minnie dabbed a swab of alcohol over the wound, disinfecting it, the grasp on her sweater getting tighter.

“We… The convenience store is ours… A… A group of men suddenly came in and… they shot my mother, then shot me. I was able to get up and run here… when they were distracted.” Yoona said, as Minnie nodded, wrapping a sterilized gauze over the wound and putting a sling so she wouldn’t move it, as Minnie gritted her teeth.

The same group of men might still be in the store, she thought, as she carried the child up, putting her in the back of the pickup truck, then proceeded to grab a gun from Soojin’s stash, hiding it under her shirt.

“Stay here, Yoona, alright? I’ll come back with the people I am with, and we’ll go to safety.” Minnie said, as the child nodded, Minnie putting a blanket over her, hiding her as she approached the store.

“Miyeon?” she called out, her hand hovering above her gun while her other hand dragged the baseball bat to the ground, being extremely attentive over the little sounds she hears. She soon sighed, relieved as she found Miyeon crouching over the ladies’ section, pouting as she looked at different products for the ladies, Minnie sighing in relief as she saw that Miyeon was safe.

“What are you standing there for? Don’t tell me you also want this?”  Miyeon said, breaking her train of thoughts as she shook his head, his face dead serious, which made Miyeon drop the antics and raise a brow at her.

“What happened to you?”  Miyeon asked, noticing that her sweater was splattered with some blood, but Minnie was focused on trying to find Soojin.

“Where’s Soojin? We have to go.” Minnie said, as Miyeon widened her eyes, taking out her gun.

“Why, is there a horde outside?”  Miyeon asked, as Minnie shook his head.

“I found a girl outside, wounded, she was shot by a group of men, which also killed her mother. We have to go back and have Yuqi see her, and we have to go back fast because the men who tried to kill her might still be here—”

A gunshot rang out from the other part of the store as Minnie widened her eyes.

“Go back to the car, Miyeon! Tell the child that you’re my friend, and keep the both of you inside the car, alright? Me and Soojin will also come back and we’ll go home.” Minnie said, as Miyeon nodded, going back to the car, while Minnie went to the deeper parts of the store, to where she heard the gunshot.

Minnie widened her eyes as she found Soojin leaning onto one of the shelves, clutching her shoulder, blood coming out of her split lip, and Minnie also mentioned the bruises on her face.

“Soojin? Let’s go.” Minnie said, as Soojin only chuckled at her, pushing her away.

“Go on… leave me here. I’m about to die, anyways.” Soojin said, but Minnie stubbornly got her to stand up, supporting her to stand up and walk outside, towards the car, as Soojin sighed.

“I said leave me here, Jeon Minnie!” Soojin shouted, as she pushed Minnie away, dropping down the ground.

“They’ll come back for me, I know it, and if you take me, they’ll track down our house and kill even all of you, Minnie-ah. So please… go.” Soojin said, as Minnie sighed and tried to get her up, but Soojin just pushed her away again.

“Why can’t you just leave me here, huh?” Soojin said, as Minnie chuckled at her.

“Because I am giving you a chance to prove to us and to yourself that you aren’t just a cold-blooded murderer, Soojin-ah! We’re giving you a clean slate. Otherwise, Song Jin could have left you to die when he had a chance, and not introduce you to all of our friends. Now, come on, let’s survive together, shall we?” Minnie said, as Soojin did not push her away anymore, helping her into the car as she drove.

“Yoona, are you alright?” Minnie asked as she looked behind the backseat, seeing the child leaning onto Miyeon.

“Yes, unnie…” Yoona said faintly, as Miyeon worriedly checked her temperature, looking at Minnie worriedly.

“She’s burning up, Minnie.”  Miyeon said, as Minnie drove faster, while Soojin shot at the undead they encounter, groaning with pain as she forced her shoulder.

They soon arrived back to the apartment, driving to the garage as Soyeon had instructed them to do, Soyeon and Chan waiting for them to arrive. Her sister’s eyes lightened as she saw her sister maneuvering the car inside the driveway, but frowned as she saw Soojin struggled at the shotgun seat.

“Chan, call Yuqi, quickly!” Soyeon said, as Chan nodded and disappeared back to the apartment, Soyeon helping Soojin get out of the pickup truck.

“Don’t… Don’t help me, help the child.” Soojin said, as Soyeon momentarily became confused, then saw the shivering child in Miyeon’s arms, widening her eyes as she saw the bandage on the child’s shoulder, patches of blood present upon it.

“What’s happening here—oh my.” Yuqi said, as she looked at the state of Soojin and the child, unsure of what to do first—

“Treat… Treat the child first. I can still withstand this.” Soojin said, as Yuqi nodded at her.

“Chan, you do first aid to Soojin-ssi, and I’ll treat the child thoroughly. I hope you got me some medical supplies, Minnie-ssi.” Yuqi said, as Minnie smiled and nodded, bringing out a basket full of various medical tools and supplies from the back of the pickup truck, helping Soojin inside the apartment while Miyeon carried the child inside.

“Minnie unnie, call some others to help me unpack this.” Soyeon said, as Minnie shook his head.

“Don’t… I’ll explain later. Just come with me upstairs.” Minnie said, as Soyeon nodded, following them upstairs.

The child was now asleep as Yuqi started pouring on alcohol onto her wound, making her wake up and groan, gritting her teeth as pain ravaged her senses. Soyeon and Miyeon held the child down, while Soojin bit onto a clean cloth, trying to block out the pain as Chan had poured alcohol all over her gunshot wound, while Minnie dabbed some antiseptic onto the bruises on her face.

“What happened to her?” Yuqi asked, as she wore some medical gloves and began to suture the wound, the child whimpering as she held onto Soyeon’s hand tightly.

“I found her after I loaded the last supplies in the truck. She was sitting down, leaning into the wall of an alley, clutching her shoulder. She told me a group of men suddenly trespassed the store which was their property, then proceeded to kill her mother and shot her, but she got out and went to where I found her.” Minnie said, as Soyeon nodded, taking note of the details.

“And what was the thing you would tell me, unnie? Why wouldn’t you let us unload the supplies from the truck?” Soyeon asked, as Minnie pointed at Soojin.

“Soojin faced the same group of men that tried to kill Yoona. If what she said is correct, those group of men would most likely go back to that store to check if she is still alive, and if she is nowhere to be found, they might track us here and kill us all.” Minnie explained, as the others gasped, while Soyeon made a straight face.

“Then if that is true, we must be ready at all times to leave this place. The cars we have outside must be enough for us to leave, right?” Soyeon said, as Song Jin nodded.

“But where should we go?” Soojin said, having some difficulties to speak because of his split lip.

“Any suggestions? I honestly don’t have any place to go to, since I’m either here or at the studio—”

The radio that was open since earlier suddenly buzzed with a faint noise, as Song Jin raised a brow and turned the volume up, the message filling the room.

[“…calm. I repeat, this is coming from one of the safehouses we built secretly outside the city, away from the influence of the government and the Masterminds, the ones behind all of this. We named this Paradise, safe from the undead, a chance to rebuilt life again. If you want to find us, go find a military radio and reply to the frequency of the virus. We wish you good luck, to remain calm. I repeat…”]

 Song Jin turned down the radio as the message was now just repeating, looking at Soyeon who only was silent, while Yuqi and Chan still continued to treat the child and Soojin, who was also silent, trying to make sense of the message given to them.

“Who… Who is in favor to go there?” Soyeon suddenly said, as she raised her hand, having no choice as they knew that time was running out, and the people who murdered Yoona’s mother and almost killed her and Soojin might be set to finding them.

“It’s worth a shot… It’s either we go there or get killed tonight by those rebels who kill for fun.” Song Jin said, as the others nodded, and slowly more hands went up, in favor of the solution that Soyeon had presented for them.

“But we can’t move the child now, the wound might get worse if we do so.” Yuqi said, as Soyeon sighed, trying to think of another way.

“Then we defend ourselves for the night or so, or up until the time where we can leave.” Song Jin said, as he picked up a gun.

“But what if we’re overpowered, Jin Oppa? What if they outnumber us? Yoona would waste her time fighting for her life if we would just lead her to her death.” Soyeon said, as Song Jin sighed, out of suggestions.

“But we don’t have any choice left, right?” Soojin said, his stitches done, her shoulder already covered in bandages, her face also patched with bandages.

“Then we devise a plan where we don’t die, right, Soyeon?”  Miyeon said, smiling at her, as she looked at Soyeon, who only smiled back.

“We need to barricade ourselves here, for the meantime. Then in any open spaces, we would man them, firing a gun to the trespassing men if possible.” Soyeon said, as Soojin nodded, uncovering the blanket, revealing their stash of guns, tossing one to each person present in the room, except for Yuqi and Shuhua.

“You two, stay upstairs. I’ll also give you a gun in case one of those men are able to go upstairs, but you need to stay and monitor Yoona.” Soyeon said, as the two nodded, Song Jin assisting in carrying the child upstairs.

“Let’s use the furniture here to block the doors, and utilize everything we can find in case we run out of bullets. Don’t hold back—if they try to kill you, kill them as well. We don’t have time for remorse when they’re trying to murder us. This would just be… self defense.” Soojin said, as Song Jin nodded.

“They are rebels, alright? I don’t know if some of them might be the people that we know before this pandemic happened, but they might use that to turn it into their favor and kill us all. If you can’t bear killing people, then go upstairs and help Yuqi and Shuhua defend themselves.” Soyeon said, Minnie and Miyeon could see that she is slowly removing every bit of remorse and mercy in her eyes, turning it into coldness, unyielding, and Minnie is reminded that her sister had a duality that even he was scared of.

“Don’t be afraid of blood. Am I clear?” Soyeon said, stepping up to becoming a leader, as the others nodded.

The remaining hours before nightfall were spent fortifying the apartment, Minnie finding a tool out of nowhere and welded the doors, using some of the steel he found, and also upgraded the melee weapons, maximizing everything.

“I forget that this is actually what you do, unnie.” Soyeon said, as she helped her cover the windows, Minnie only chuckling.

“And you’re like the master of the orchestra, Soyeon. You’re the one who brings us all together, unites us into this one great tune.”  Miyeon said, putting down the things Minnie had asked her to bring.

“Ooh… I see you two are talking now.” Soyeon said, chuckling mischievously, as Miyeon sighed, patting Minnie’s head out of nowhere.

“She saved Yoona, and I think that’s a minus point in the jerk points I had earned of her.”  Miyeon said, chuckling, as Minnie raised a brow.

“And how many points did you collect?” Minnie asked, as Miyeon chuckled.

“At least a thousand points, and a hundred added on that by that sarcastic comment you made earlier. Saving Yoona only decreased fifty points on that.”  Miyeon said, chuckling as she left, Minnie pouting.

“You should see the look in your face—”

Soyeon widened her eyes as she heard multiple cars arriving outside, turning their engines off as Soyeon cautioned everyone, grabbing her gun and slowly peeking out of the window, widening her eyes as she saw what was happening outside.

Men and women were outside, wearing black clothes, blood splattering their clothes, wearing grim expressions on their faces shouting for death, bringing out various weapons suited for quick death.

A man who seemed to be their leader went out of the final car, wearing a smug smile on his face, as he rested a hand on a machine gun attached to his car, and he had the most blood splatter on his face and his clothes, as he had a samurai for a weapon.

“SEO SOOJIN! I know you’re in there… mind if we have a little chat, and I’ll finish what you started and collect your head as an ornament?” the man said, as Soyeon looked back at Soojin who had an emotionless expression on her face.

“Oh, and if your companions do not know me… My name is Seo Soo Jung, your older brother, right?” the man said, as Soyeon saw the striking resemblance the man and Soojin had.

“So, would you get out of that hiding place, or should I rain bullets all over this little paradise you think you have?”