SURVIVE

CHAPTER TEN: THE TRIP

“What the hell happened to your face?” Minnie asked, as Soojin shook her head, keeping her bruised jaw and her black-eye from view, Shuhua looking worried as she got some ice from the refrigerator and applied it on the man’s bruises, Minnie demanding an answer.

“Just bumped my head while waking up earlier. Nothing much, don’t worry.” Soojin said, as Minnie sighed, raising her brow as she stared at the bruises Soojin had.

“That doesn’t sound like just an accident to me.” Minnie said, before finally letting the topic go as she walked away, leaving Shuhua taking care of the man who managed to smile at her.

“Why, what happened?” Soyeon asked, Minnie raising her brow as he noticed that Yuqi was with Soyeon since the morning they woke up, the two holding hands, which made Minnie smile, making a mental note to ask her sister later.

“Jin got a bruised jaw and a black-eye. Said it’s an accident when he woke up, but that doesn’t look like an accident to me.” Minnie said, Soyeon looking at Soojin who was being treated by Shuhua.

“We’ll ask the others later. From the looks of it, that doesn’t look like he was hit by a girl or something.” Soyeon said, as Minnie nodded at that.

Soyeon got up, gathering the attention of everyone, who nodded at her as it was time to go soon.

“Everyone should go to their respective teams now, please.” Soyeon said, as the others agreed on that, walking over the room until they found their respective teams, the child carried by Shuhua.

“The leaders for each team would be the ones who would hold the radio and must communicate at all times. The leaders would be me, Miyeon unnie and Jaechan. You guys need to be on the radio at all times, updating us with your position at about five minutes or so. It would be very important, alright?” Soyeon said, as they turned on the radios, bearing little to no sound at all.

“The two teams in charge of the supplies would ride the pickup trucks, while we would bring the other car with us. We only have a full tank and a full canister of gas, so strategize on how you could go to your respective places and go to the port. Understood?” Soyeon said, as the others nodded, grabbing their weapons as Song Jin and Minnie unlocked the door, Minnie swinging her bat onto the heads of the undead that were loitering around, sending them reeling down the ground, as the others went to their cars.

“See you soon, Soyeon.” Yuqi said, kissing her forehead as Soyeon nodded, hugging her tight, Yuqi patting her head as she went to hers, smiling at Minnie who chuckled at her.

“Didn’t notice you’re with my sister, Yuqi.” Minnie said, as Yuqi just sighed, pinching her arm that made her groan in pain, Miyeon smiling slightly as she sat on the back, into the trailer of the pickup, hugging her knees as the vehicle soon drove away first.

“Since when?” Minnie asked, her tone suddenly getting serious, Yuqi chuckling at her.

“What, you’re going to be like those super protective brothers to Soyeon, Jeon Minnie-ssi? I know I didn’t recognize you and you also didn’t recognize me at the day of the pandemic, but I’ve known your sister since high school, so don’t worry about me. You should worry about yourself, and how Jin got those bruises when it was Shuhua he was with last night.” Yuqi said, as Minnie sighed.

“Why unnie, you think he didn’t get those when he woke up?”  Miyeon asked, Yuqi nodding at her.

“If it did, then it would be tender, and fresh, but just by taking one look at it, he must have gotten it last night, or probably six to seven hours ago.” Yuqi said, tying her hair up, as she brought up a list of the things they should get, Miyeon smiling as the doctor did her best to write legibly for the two of them, as they neared the hospital.

“Can’t we just… get all the drugs from there?”  Miyeon said, Yuqi shaking her head.

“We don’t know if the doctors involved in the research stuffed unknown drugs in the supply to hide their research, so we’re going to just get the things we need and go to the port.”

 Miyeon sighed as she nodded at that, going silent as she stared at the places they were passing by, reminiscing how she passed by them whenever she would go to schedules as an artist before, as she remembered wishing to visit some cafes she saw, hoping to go there when she wasn’t busy.

“What would have happened if I didn’t go to Soyeon’s studio that day?”  Miyeon said, as she hugged her knees, wondering as she tried to think of something—

“Don’t waste your time wondering about things that did not happen. Just be thankful that you were with my sister that day, not with someone who would have abandoned you so that person could save themselves.” Minnie said, as Miyeon looked back to her, surprised that she suddenly answered, as tears fell from her eyes.

Silence further enveloped the vehicle as they neared their first destination, Yuqi sighing as she felt that the list was complete, giving it to Minnie and Miyeon, who stared at it and tried to read the contents, nodding at Yuqi.

“Do not take anything that you don’t know, or isn’t in that list, understood?” Yuqi said, as Minnie parked the vehicle near the entrance, turning it off as they alighted the car silently, Minnie helping Miyeon go down from the back of the pickup truck silently as they neared the entrance of the hospital, cautious as not to attract any unnecessary noise.

“Where would we go again?”  Miyeon said, as she held the radio and the pistol with a silencer on it, also carrying magazines of ammo in the little bag she brought with her, as Yuqi pushed the doors open, as silent as she could.

“The medical vault is near the emergency room. If we assume where most of the people stayed in before the chaos broke, it would be the emergency room. We don’t have any proof that silence works against the undead, but we have to try. Do not engage until needed, alright? And Miyeon, keep your eyes on that radio.” Yuqi said, as she gripped her pistol tight, hoping that the times Minnie taught her how to use a gun would prove sufficient.

“Where to?” Minnie said, as he aimed the flashlight down the ground, seeing some of the undead loitering around, not seeming to mind them.

“They’re not good in the dark?”  Miyeon said, noticing that as Yuqi nodded, taking note of that, as she silently pointed to the left, the two nodding as they walked silently, cautious on their surroundings as they tried to make absolutely no noise, Yuqi feeling a wave of nostalgia as she walked onto the familiar halls of the hospital, doing her shift as she sighed, focusing on the mission at hand as they walked past the emergency room,  Miyeon gasping softly as she saw a minimum of ten undead inside the emergency room.

“Shhh, try to eliminate any undead that comes close silently, I have to input a pin code and it would be a little noisy. Stay on guard.” Yuqi whispered, the two nodding as they stood next to Yuqi, taking guard of her left and right.

The doctor sighed as she remembered her number, keying in those numbers as she felt nervous every time the machine emits a loud beep with every tap she makes, as she finishes keying in her code—

The passcode lock emits a series of loud beeps as it unlocks the door, Yuqi gritting her teeth as the three of them hear groans and shuffling going towards their direction, the undead inside the emergency room banging their bodies against the glass door, trying to go to the direction of the noise, other undead from the inner parts of the hospital shuffling and u=running towards them, snarling and gnashing their teeth as Minnie swung her bat into one of their heads, knocking that man away but another came crashing forward, crashing into Minnie—

 Miyeon shot the man’s forehead with a clean shot, Minnie pushing the man’s corpse away as Miyeon shot a few more, Minnie wiping away the blood that splattered into her body as Yuqi pulled the two of them inside the vault, locking them inside as the undead banged their bodies unto the glass door of the vault, wanting to go inside.

“Ugh… “Minnie groaned, removing her jacket and tossing it away, using her shirt to wipe away the blood off of her face, cursing under her breath.

“We have another exit from this vault, which is the other door from here. It would lead us to the operating room, and we can take that to go to the back exit of the hospital and just circle back to the front entrance.” Yuqi said, as Minnie sighed, Miyeon nodding at that and began to pick up a garbage bag from her little bag, then picking up some of the medicine that Yuqi listed earlier.

“We can take the operation room route and go straight to second floor, where they keep the files to the research, as Chan had said in the letter, he left for me in the study room, where he also left some of his contaminated blood for me to test on. I haven’t touched that, because we need the research, they made to know what we have to see in the blood.” Yuqi said, as Minnie nodded, looking over to Yuqi and seeing Miyeon who was still doing the task.

“We have to tell Miyeon now, Yuqi.” Minnie said, Yuqi nodding and pushing her forward, Minnie raising her brow.

“What? I thought you would tell her?” Minnie asked, Yuqi smiling and shaking her head, pushing Minnie towards Miyeon’s direction.

“Think of it as a chance to talk to her, you coward. I’ve seen you ignore her for a whole month, and you might as well kiss and make out here, we have time.” Yuqi said, Minnie grumbling at her.

“Fine, I’ll tell her.” Minnie said, scratching her nape awkwardly as he approached the girl, moving closer.

“Miyeon, me and Yuqi have something to tell you.” Minnie said, as Miyeon nodded at that, waiting for the thing that Minnie would tell her.

“We would go to the second floor later, gathering some information about the research Chan made. Would it be fine to you if you will wait in the car, telling the others that we’re alright?” Minnie said, as Miyeon tilted her head.

“And why can’t I join you in whatever you would go to?”  Miyeon said, as Minnie shook her head.

“It’s dangerous—”

“You don’t know that yet, and I can protect myself, thank you very much. Don’t forget that I saved you earlier, if I haven’t shot that zombie on its face you would be one of them now.”  Miyeon said, raising her brow as she waited for an answer from the man, while Yuqi gave them space to talk as she also got to work, gathering some of the medicines they needed.

“Fine. Just don’t interfere, alright? We’ve been wanting to go there ever since the pandemic started and after reading Chan’s letter, alright?” Minnie said, as Miyeon nodded, Minnie hugging Miyeon as she widened her eyes for a bit, a little surprised as Minnie smiled at her then proceeded to get the garbage bag from her, resuming her task.

“Did the cold princess’ heart finally start beating again for the handsome prince?” Yuqi whispered, Miyeon sighing as she went and grabbed another bag, gathering other medicines as Yuqi chuckled at that.

[“This is Soyeon from Radio 1, over. How are the others holding up?”] the voice on the radio said, crackling to life, Miyeon pressing a button as she started to speak.

“This is Miyeon from Radio 2, we’re alright. We’re at the vault at the moment, doing our mission and gathering medicine from the vault. We’d have to go somewhere to gather the medical tools but it would just be quick, is that alright?”  Miyeon said, hoping the others listening on the radio wouldn’t notice her blatant lie—

[“That would be alright, over. Resume your tasks, Radio 2.”] Soyeon said from the other line, as  Miyeon sighed and stopped pressing the button, doing a thumbs up as Minnie and Yuqi nodded, resuming their tasks, also grabbing some medical supplies that were really also in the vault, grabbing everything they can plus multiple boxes of medical gloves, sanitizers and others, just in case Yuqi had to do a surgery or other things at the refuge.

“You guys all set? Shall we go?” Minnie said, as Yuqi nodded, while Miyeon was hunched over some boxes that had fallen down while she was trying to get that last bottle of pills. She smiled in relief as she found the last bottle, kneeling down and reaching over those boxes, as she finally got that damned bottle—

 Miyeon shouted in surprise as a hand grabbed her wrist, the former singer staggering back as the hand stubbornly held onto her wrist, not letting go.

“Help… me…” a voice said, as Miyeon raised her brow, getting up as she moved forward, widening her eyes as she noticed a man sitting down at the back of the pile of boxes, his face bloodied and ragged, Miyeon putting away the boxes as she stared at him.

“What’s your name?”  Miyeon said, as the man looked at him wearily, as if contemplating whether to answer or not.

“You’re safe here, with us. I have a doctor with me that can help you. Now, tell me your name so I can help you.”  Miyeon said, taking his hand, as the man nodded at that.

“My… My name is Rin Hayano. I… I’ve been staying here in the last two weeks, living off of the dextrose I found somewhere there, putting it in an IV and pumping it in my body. Help… me. Please….” Rin said, as Miyeon nodded, calling onto Yuqi and Minnie who approached the scene, the doctor surprised as she immediately examined the man, who obliged and told everything she needed to know.

“No bites or gashes that could possibly be made by the undead, he’s just starved. I think we can take him with us to the Paradise.” Yuqi said, as Minnie sighed at that.

“We only told the people there that we have ten people. Bringing him with us might make that eleven, and the people there might not be too happy about it.” Minnie said, as Miyeon sighed at that.

“So, you’re not gonna try at all? Just leave him here to die, is that what you want?”  Miyeon said, helping the man get up, as Minnie sighed at that.

“I’ll take him to the vehicle with me. Where should I pass to get to the back exit and get to the front to go to the car?”  Miyeon asked, Yuqi nodding as she gave the girl directions, Miyeon nodding at that as she took the boy, opening the back door of the vault and disappearing, leaving Minnie and Yuqi inside the vault, Minnie sighing as he shook her head, grabbing the two bags full of medicine and swinging it onto her shoulder, Yuqi chuckling at her.

“What, are you afraid that the man would steal Miyeon away from you? She’s just helping the man, Minnie.” Yuqi said, Minnie sighing at that.

“Something tells me that man shouldn’t be trusted or anything, Yuqi.” Minnie said, sighing as he held her baseball bat on one hand and the bags on the other, as the two of them went out of the vault, going to the second floor as they silently opened the door to one room and entered, the one labeled ‘DOCUMENTS AND RESEARCHES’.

“Are you sure it’s here?” Minnie said, Yuqi shrugging as she searched the different labels and shelves, trying to find something related to the virus---

PHANTOM X-75: A CURE TO HUMANITY, A STUDY BY SONG C. ET.AL.

“They even made Chan the primary author, to push all the blame to him. What the hell?” Yuqi whispered, pulling out the thick hardbound book with that title, flipping it open—

A loud alarm sounded off as Yuqi widened her eyes, Minnie gritting her teeth as the two of them rushed and went out of the room, Yuqi firing blindly behind her as the undead began to chase the two of them, Minnie swinging her baseball bat to the front, knocking away some of the undead that rushed to the two of them, wanting to either hunt the both of them or go to the source of the loud noise, emanating on the hospital.

“Go! We have to get out now—”

Minnie grabbed a small canister from her bag, tossing it aside and grabbing Yuqi’s gun, firing onto the canister, causing it to explode as they got tossed outside by the large explosion, Minnie pulling Yuqi to her, protecting her as the two of them crashed into a car, the structure of the hospital collapsing, blocking off the exit.

Yuqi immediately got up, checking Minnie who chuckled while lying down into the car, a hand over the back of her head, somehow preventing her from getting a concussion, Yuqi helping her up.

“You alright?” Yuqi said, Minnie nodding as he stretched her muscles, sighing as he brushed off some of the debris that went to her clothes, clutching the two bags again, Yuqi clutching the research book close to her chest, as the two of them walked back to the car.

Minnie sighed as he saw Miyeon and the new boy sitting on the back of the pickup truck, Miyeon smiling as the man laid her head onto the bag that Miyeon brought with her, Minnie seeing Miyeon in relief as the two of them neared the car.

“Soojin’s team would just go straight to the port, so we should do the same. And remember, no one talk about Sungwoo, alright?”  Miyeon said, Yuqi nodding, Minnie raising her brow.

“Why, what happened to him?” Minnie asked, Miyeon’s face turning grim.

“He turned, Minnie.”  Miyeon said, Minnie widening her eyes.

An hour ago

“Hyung, you can sit here.” Jaechan said, pointing to the shotgun seat, Sungwoo shaking his head as he climbed up onto the back of the car, Soojin smiling at that as he went to the driver’s seat, starting the car, Jaechan sighing as he climbed onto the shotgun seat, closing the door as Soojin drove away.

“So, you guys are part of a band or something?” Soojin said, Jaechan nodding as he stared at the surroundings.

“Our band’s name is the Aces, signed to Eclipse Entertainment, the rival of Soyeon’s company.” Jaechan said proudly, Soojin chuckling at that.

“Is Sungwoo also part of that? What’s your role in the band, Sungwoo?” Soojin asked, Sungwoo chuckling.

“I’m the bassist of the team, and occasionally the one writing the songs along with JC.” Sungwoo said, patting Jaechan’s shoulder, Jaechan chuckling and nodding at that.

“And I assume Jaechan is the singer or something?” Soojin said, Jaechan nodding at that.

“I’m the vocalist and the leader. The one we’re supposed to bail out in the precinct a month ago was our drummer, while the one we’re trying to find, Jin, is the guitarist of the band.” Jaechan said, as Soojin nodded at that.

“So, you guys and Miyeon often meet when you’re promoting your songs and stuff?” Soojin said, Jaechan nodding at that.

“Sometimes, but Miyeon noona is more famous than us, so she sometimes only promotes for a week or so, then go to other countries sometimes for promotion or concerts and stuff.” Jaechan said, Soojin nodding at that.

“Anyways… Who knows, maybe that person you’re trying to find went to Paradise already.” Soojin said, Jaechan sighing at that.

“I’m still regretting that I didn’t bring him with the two of us, but I hope he’s there, like you said.” Jaechan said, as he clutched the gun and the radio, Soojin nodding at that as they sped towards their destination, towards the big mart in the middle of the city.

“Hey, by the way, you alright?” Jaechan said, as Soojin raised her brow, flinching in the process as he groaned CHAPTER at the wounds that was on her face.

“Ah, this on my face? It’s nothing, don’t worry. I can still shoot the undead square on their face and bust up their faces, if you’re worried about it.” Soojin said, Jaechan laughing at that.

“Anyways, we’re here. Be cautious, alright? Don’t shoot until it’s necessary. We gave the silencers to the girls, so our shots would be very noisy, alright?” Soojin said, as he stared at the undead roaming around the big mart, getting the katana on her side.

The three of them alighted the car, as they stepped into the place silently, Soojin killing off the undead that roamed silently onto the parking lot, their bodies dropping on the ground without a sound as Soojin slashed among them with her katana.

“Grab everything you can and come back to the pickup, load them off and come back, alright? Use the baseball bat and the machete that we got from the raids we did last month to kill off the undead you might encounter while doing so. And Jaechan, monitor the radio, alright?” Soojin said, as the other two nodded, the three of them turning on their flashlights as they went inside.

Jaechan grabbed a basket and put the bat on it, as he went to the nearest aisle and grabbed the things they thought they need, including some of the things the females need (Jaechan knew that because Soyeon always had him buy those things for her), having so much that it took him three to four trips in and out, grabbing everything he could.

The radio cackled to life while he was outside, so he climbed up onto the back of the pickup truck, turning the radio to life.

[“This is Soyeon from Radio 1, over. How are the others holding up?”] the voice on the radio said, as Jaechan cleared his throat, getting ready to speak after the second radio finishes.

“This is Radio 3, Jaechan reporting. We’re alright, the mission is underway, we’re in the middle of collecting the supplies to donate to the Paradise. We’ll resume the ride once done, meeting up with team 2 and going to the port together, as the plan suggested.”

[“Carry on, then, radio 3.”] Soyeon said on the line, the radio muting off as Jaechan sighed, putting the radio back on his pocket as he thought of the other things to do, or the other things they needed as he went back inside—

Jaechan widened his eyes as he saw Soojin using her body to close the door to the staff room, hearing the scratching and the groaning on the other side, as Soojin gritted her teeth, Sungwoo also doing the same.

The undead pushed the door with their bodies, trying to get in, as Jaechan didn’t know what to do—

Soojin pushed the door with all her might, successfully closing the door, Jaechan widening his eyes as he saw one of the undead from the darker aisles of the supermarket rushing in towards her, snarling as the undead wanted to bite onto Soojin’s flesh—

“Soojin, no!” Sungwoo said, as he pulled Soojin away, the undead sinking its teeth on his neck, Sungwoo crying out with pain as Soojin slashed onto the undead’s head with her katana, kicking the undead away from Sungwoo as Jaechan’s heart dropped.

Jaechan rushed in and removed his shirt, using it to cover the gaping wound on Sungwoo’s neck, Sungwoo getting paler by the minute as Soojin gritted her teeth, watching the scene before him.

“Jaechan, stop. You two have to go.” Sungwoo said, barely even getting the words out as he felt half of his body get paralyzed, his hands dropping down to the ground.

“Hyung… we can get Yuqi to help you, hyung, please…” Jaechan said, Sungwoo shaking his head, half of his face already twitching as he groaned, trying to control himself as he slowly coughed up blood.

He grabbed the gun on his side and gave it to Jaechan, pointing the end of the gun onto his forehead, Sungwoo managing to smile as he nodded at Jaechan, who widened his eyes, horrified.

“You have… You have to do it, Jaechan. Or else… I don’t want to be a monster who kills, JC. Please….” Sungwoo said, as he groaned, his eyes slowly becoming white and bloodshot, gritting his teeth as he stared at Jaechan, who had his finger poised over the trigger.

“You’ll always be my brother, Jaechan.” Sungwoo said, as he smiled, pulling the gun onto his forehead, the cold end touching his skin, closing his eyes.

Jaechan let out a guttural and angry shout as he pulled the trigger, a loud bang resonating onto the whole place as a corpse dropped onto his feet, his hands dropping the gun as he gritted his teeth, tears falling, his ears ringing as he couldn’t hear Soojin shouting his name, Soojin dragging him away.

Soojin saw the undead in the staff room break the door just in time, as he gritted her teeth and dragged Jaechan away, the man thrashing and fighting against his grip as the other undead broke out and began to fall onto their knees, feasting onto the fresh corpse, as Soojin dragged him into the car, throwing him into the shotgun seat, the man locking the door to the back of the truck and driving off, breathing heavily as he threw a blanket onto Jaechan, who kept screaming and groaning.

“Hey, man. You know you have to tell this to the others.” Soojin said as they sped away, Jaechan nodding as he still had tears in his eyes, pressing the button twice, the radio emitting a silent alarm.

[“This is Soyeon, what’s your situation?”]

Jaechan couldn’t bring himself to speak for one full minute, so Soojin picked up the radio from him and began to be the one to report the situation to them.

“This is Soojin, over. We’re going straight to the port, we’ve been compromised. Jaechan is here, we finished the whole mission, but at the end… Sungwoo got bitten.” Soojin said, Jaechan sniffling beside him as a long silence emanated from the radio, Soojin waiting for a response.

[“Alright, I’ll tell the other team that there had been a change of plans. Can I talk to Jaechan?”] Soyeon said on the line, Soojin giving the radio to him, Jaechan clutching it tightly.

[“Hang in there, Oppa, alright? We’re all here for you, alright?”] Soyeon said, Jaechan managing to croak out a small ‘yes’ before turning off the radio, staring at the window as Soojin put a hand on his shoulder, Jaechan nodding at that.

“I’m sorry, man.” Soojin said, Jaechan sighing as tears fell from his eyes even more, closing his eyes and wishing everything was alright.