SURVIVE

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: ROLES AND SERVICE

“Jeon Minnie, Yoon Song Jin, Park Jaechan and Seo Soojin, Did I get the names right?” the man said, his gun resting on his side strapped onto him as he read the names on a piece of paper, his posture strict and unyielding as they nodded at that, standing up the best as they could.

“My name is Park Suho, the leader of all the officers, which are separated into two groups: The Patrols and The Pilgrims. The Patrols are the ones you see inside the premises; they are the ones who maintain law and order in the Paradise and help the leaders or the doctors in their tasks. The Pilgrims, on the other hand, are the people who risk and go outside the walls to find some safe land and get supplies from the city.” Suho explained, as the four nodded, understanding everything.

“Since you all are new, you guys would be assigned to the Patrols, and the next week you would be assigned to the Pilgrims, as initiation for both the groups. At the end of two weeks, you get to decide where you want to go, and you’d be assigned there permanently, unless other conditions affect your work.” Suho said, the others widening their eyes at that.

“What… What other conditions, sir…?” Minnie said, as Suho smiled at that.

“Sir Wallace formulated a policy that since we had too many Patrols joining the force, the bottom two at every month in the Patrols that are permanently assigned there would be forced to be assigned to the Pilgrims ranging from a month above.” Suho said, the others widening their eyes at the policy.

“What…?” Jaechan said, widening his eyes at the policy, fear settling in his throat.

“So, you mean that… If we wouldn’t work hard, we practically won’t have any choice?” Soojin said, Suho nodding at that.

“So, what is your initial choice? You would get to experience that group you choose first, and if you like it, you may choose to stay there and not finish the two-week initiation.” Suho said, as he handed out papers and pens to the four, letting them sit down on the ground as they filled up those papers.

Five to ten minutes passed and Suho collected all the papers he had given out, taking time to read what they had written, looking at the four of them who stood awkwardly, waiting for the decision.

“Three of you I expected where you would go, and one of you I was surprised that he chose this.” Suho said, his tone turning grim as he stared at them.

“Minnie, Pilgrims. Jaechan, Patrols. Soojin, Pilgrims, and Song Jin, Patrols. I’m sure you also expected him to join you in the Pilgrims, but he joined the Patrols first. Maybe you’d have a change of mind after the initiation, huh, Song Jin-ssi?” Suho said, crumpling the papers and tossing them on the fire, a grin on his face.

“You’ll start tomorrow, when the Pilgrims come back from their supply run. Come here at ten am tomorrow, on the dot. Be late and you’ll experience getting tased at five feet.” Suho said with a strict tone, as he dismissed the four of them.

“Why didn’t you choose the Pilgrims? I really thought you would join them.” Minnie said, as she cornered the man, letting Soojin and Jaechan go first, the two of them bickering and teasing about their groups.

“I just don’t want to be launched into that danger again, Minnie. Plus, I’d be able to protect us all if I stay inside the walls.” Song Jin said, as he smiled at Minnie, then went on his way, while Minnie regrouped with Soojin, tugging her towards the dinner hall.

“I find it odd too, alright? I know him, he’s a brave soul—”

“Hmm… I find it even more odd that you went to the infirmary last night with him, Soojin. Did he beat you up again?” Minnie said, Soojin widening her eyes.

“Him, beating me up? That’s absurd! Song Jin is a good guy, he wouldn’t do that.” Soojin said, making Minnie widen her eyes at what the man said.

“What? He beat you up, before we went here!” Minnie said, Soojin shaking her head at that.

“No, he didn’t. I don’t remember things, but I know I’m perfectly fine when we got here. If you’re mad at him, then tell it to his face, don’t involve me in all this, just to have me turn against him.” Soojin said, walking away as Minnie widened her eyes, watching the man walk away from her.

“I knew something happened between the two of them last night, when we were all gone.” Minnie said, as she walked away, not knowing that someone heard what she said, watching him walk away.

A grin settled upon his face, licking his lips as he decided to go—

“Song Jin-ssi? What are you doing here?” a voice said, as Rin Hayano smiled at him, looking even better than the first time they went at the place.

“Ah, nothing… I just came from the briefing of being Patrols and stuff.” Song Jin said, smiling as he tried to hide the tension in his heart, walking away with the man.

“Anyways… how did you even wind up in the hospital, huh? That wouldn’t happen unless…” Song Jin, looking at him, who widened his eyes.

“Of course. I’d recognize those eyes anywhere.” Song Jin said, as he stared at the man, Rin widening his eyes.

“I… I have to go.” Rin said, as he walked away, Song Jin grinning at him as he chuckled, clearly having something in mind.

“Whoa, this is easy!” Soyeon said, fiddling with the thermometer that recorded Yuqi’s temperature, Yuqi still shocked that she showed up so early in the morning (even came to the infirmary earlier than Yuqi, who already woke up and went there at five am.

“Let me ask you again. You didn’t sleep, did you?” Yuqi said, as Soyeon sheepishly smiled.

Soyeon shook her head, smiling at the girl as she rushed and hugged her tight, Yuqi chuckling as she hugged back.

“You two are too sweet, this is a professional workplace.”  Miyeon said, without her usual make up and dolled up face, dark circles under her eyes as Soyeon rushed and hugged Miyeon tight, the half-asleep girl almost falling down as the three of them chuckled.

“What happened to you? You look awful.” Yuqi said, pacifying her hyper girlfriend, making her sit down and holding her hand like a child.

“Ooh, did something keep you up last night?” Soyeon said in a singsong voice, Miyeon blushing at that.

“What… How did you know?”  Miyeon said, Soyeon chuckling at that, her morning hyper demeanor slowly wearing off.

“I’m her sister, and I’m a great observer. Do you think I wouldn’t notice you and Minnie unnie sneaking away last night after dinner, and your happy face when I saw you in the hallway?” Soyeon said, her usual demeanor back, folding her arms over her chest, grinning at Miyeon who sighed at that.

“Fine, you win. Minnie and I talked last night, and… I think we’re okay.”  Miyeon said, Soyeon smiling widely as she pulled her best friend for a hug.

“So… No more slaps, Yuqi…?”  Miyeon said, Yuqi chuckling as she nodded.

“Hey.” Minnie said, kissing Miyeon’s cheek as Soyeon chuckled at the sight at that, hugging her older sister as him and Yuqi nodded at each other.

“So… why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to have your Patrols stuff today?” Soyeon asked, Minnie grabbing a stool and sighing, smoothing her hair up.

“I did, we’re starting tomorrow. You guys might not see me and Soojin for a week cause we volunteered to do the Pilgrims tomorrow, which means we’d go out the walls—”

“What?! We just came here for safety, and you would go out again? No. Absolutely not, unnie.” Soyeon said, as she knocked on her head with her knuckles, Minnie groaning in pain, the two girls laughing at that.

“Plus, I thought we would have some investigating to do, right? So why are you going outside?” Yuqi said in a low voice, as Minnie sighed, nodding at that.

“I have a plan, of course. After all of the things Suho-ssi, the leader of all the officers here, explained to us earlier, I concocted a plan that would still let us have the upper hand in everything, and I’m sure Soojin would…” Minnie trailed off, Soyeon knowing that Minnie was hesitating on something.

“What is it? What about Soojin, Minnie unnie?” Soyeon said, Minnie shaking her head.

“I talked to her earlier… She must have that amnesia thing again, because she doesn’t remember all of the things that she said against Song Jin before. She said she doesn’t remember the time from being in Soyeon’s apartment up until waking up earlier, which is weird, because the one other time she’s like that is when she —”

“When she almost died, right?” Soyeon said, as Minnie nodded at that.

“Which means that… something must have happened to her last night, right? Something that made her close to death, triggering that mechanism in her head and making her forget her memories. But we won’t know that, because she would be the only one who knows what happened last night, and her memories aren’t exactly that usable—”

“There is someone that was there with her last night, I think.” Soyeon said, Minnie widening her eyes.

“Last night, when we were on our way to the infirmary, Song Jin was there, carrying Soojin on her back. I examined her without Song Jin realizing, and she had bruises on her stomach and her chest, as if she was kicked multiple times, and she certainly had hemorrhages inside her, but they went off without letting me even see her, saying that he just passed out.” Yuqi said, as Minnie sighed at that.

“And then the next day, Soojin emerges with amnesia, and I saw her earlier. She doesn’t have any bruise or wound on her chest.” Minnie said, Yuqi nodding at that.

“It’s best if we keep her away from Song Jin Oppa at the moment. Let Jaechan know, because the two of them are roommates. Keep her on sight, and if possible, she should see Shuhua and have her examine her, as a psychologist, right?” Soyeon said, Shuhua nodding at that, arriving on time to hear everything.

“Well, go home, Minnie and rest. Talk to Song Jin if you can.” Soyeon said, Yuqi nodding at Miyeon as the girl accompanied her towards the dorms, while the three of them stayed inside the infirmary.

“So… Have you thought about it yet?” Shuhua said, Soyeon sighing as she shook her head, clinging onto Yuqi as she sighed, the reality hitting her again.

“Do you think I should?” Soyeon said, Shuhua sighing as she shrugged, knowing that the decision is beyond her.

“It’s all up to you, Soyeon. If you want, then go, but if not, then don’t. It’s completely your choice, if you want to be a leader or not. We’re just here for you.” Yuqi said, patting her head and putting a kiss on her forehead, Soyeon nodding at that.

“If you would be given a choice to go as leader, would you say yes or no?” Soyeon said to Shuhua, who raised a brow at the question.

“If I’m given the choice to do that, I’d say no, because you guys know that I can’t do those sorts of things. But it’s you, Jeon Soyeon, you’re leader material. Remember, you lead us and helped us survive in those days that we’re near the center of the city, and you took us in refuge—”

“But Chan and Sungwoo Oppa—”

“Do not think of the deaths that you did not cause, Soyeon. You absolutely did nothing to cause those deaths, so don’t blame yourself. What’s important is that you lead us here, in a safe place, where we would be away from danger. Without you, we probably wouldn’t have survived this far.” Yuqi said, as Soyeon nodded, smiling at that.

“Anyways, you still have three or four days more before you have to decide, so don’t get pressured—”

“No, I think… I think I know what I have to do, or what I should decide. I’ll go to the leaders now, alright?” Soyeon said, as she left, Yuqi smiling at that as she continued doing her work, which was unloading the supplies that they brought to the place two days ago.

“What about you, unnie? What happened to that book you brought with you from the hospital?” Shuhua said, as Yuqi put a finger over her mouth, looking around as she sighed, nervous that someone may be around.

“I read it, and it seemed normal for me. Just some notes about cancer of the blood, and that they haven’t found any clue or cure for that.” Yuqi said, as Shuhua nodded, then tilting her head.

“But isn’t it too easy that you got the book in the library of the hospital? If it indeed has the answers to the events that are currently going on, then it would be in a safe, protected place, or it wouldn’t have a printed copy at all.” Shuhua said, Yuqi raising her brow at that.

“But it did alarm when I got the book from the shelf, and we had to bomb the hospital so that they wouldn’t tail us. The backdoor that is closest to the library is completely sealed off, and the main entrance would mean a longer way—”

“Don’t you understand, unnie? Whoever it is that’s behind all of this also planned the intrusion of the hospital. Meaning, they would also most likely plan out anything or try to foresee any event that would happen after they release the virus, which would mean that they knew someone would come and take the research that they had worked on over the years.” Shuhua said, as Yuqi raised a brow at that, still skeptical.

“Which means that they probably guessed who would be the person that is most likely to tell people about that secret research they would be working on.” Shuhua said, Yuqi widening her eyes.

“Then that means…” Yuqi said, as Shuhua nodded.

“They must have known that Chan would tell you everything he did with them, and in turn tried to trap you in the hospital by giving you a false copy of the research they were working on. But then they would still assume that you still hadn’t died by that attack, and to know where you are…” Shuhua said, as Yuqi widened her eyes, realizing it.

“Oh my God, the book!” Yuqi said, removing her lab gown and her gloves in a rush, ignoring the officers that came to greet her in the morning as she went to the dormitories, rushing as she arrived at her room with Soyeon, sighing relieved as she found the room untouched—

She widened her eyes as she saw that the door was slightly ajar, and some of the dust on the floor wiped, footprints barely visible coming from inside the room, but Yuqi saw it, as cold sweats rolled at her nape, breathing heavily as she nudged the door open with her foot, raising her brow at the faint smell of blood and rotten flesh.

Yuqi gasped in shock as she found an undead snarling and gnashing its teeth, wearing the clothes that the officers wear, a gun holstered on its side as it growled, as if searching for food. Yuqi breathed heavily as she whimpered, fear settling on her heart as she backed away, trying to escape—

The undead suddenly turned around on her direction as she widened her eyes, falling down the ground as she felt powerless, trying to crawl backward as the undead let out a snarl and attacked, lunging forward as Yuqi rushed and grabbed the doorknob, pulling it close as the undead banged its body against the door forcefully, trying to get to Yuqi as she felt her tears fall, fear flooding her system as the undead wanting her flesh was just a few inches away from her, separated by a wooden door—

“Unnie! How’s the book—”

Yuqi widened her eyes as the wooden door shook and cracked with the loud bang that came from the door, the wooden door threatening to give way to imminent death, as the undead banged its body again and again, desperately trying to destroy the door, as Yuqi held onto the door knob, trying not to let the undead out.

“Call an officer, quick! There’s… There’s an undead behind this door!” Yuqi shouted as Shuhua nodded, disappearing outside as Yuqi gritted her teeth, discernible cracks and damage already on the door as she gritted her teeth, trying to buy some more time, isolating the monster in her room—

[“Yuqi?”] a voice said, as Yuqi widened her eyes, realizing that she still had the military radio that Soyeon gave to her when they arrived at Paradise, remembering that it was her call for help or emergencies.

She held onto the knob with one hand, pulling it with her body as she grabbed the radio with the other, pressing a button to let her speak.

“Soyeon! There’s an undead inside our room, I don’t know how this got in—”

[“Let go of the door you’re holding and get out of the dormitories, alright? Help is already outside, but we can’t go in. We don’t wanna scare the other people living inside, alright?”] Soyeon said, Yuqi widening her eyes at that.

“Are you crazy? The undead might catch up to me!” Yuqi said, as she felt that the door would be destroyed any minute, and the undead would enclose its filthy mouth around her flesh, devouring her—

[“It’s crazy, I know… but trust me, you’ll be safe. You’re scared, right? You don’t have to… I’ll be waiting for you outside.”] The radio said, Soyeon’s voice strangely comforting her as she calmed her nerves, taking her heels off and tossing it aside, gritting her teeth.

She felt her fingers leave the cold, metal knob as she ran away, running with all her might as she heard the deadly growl behind her, wanting fresh blood and flesh—

She felt her legs tire as she ran faster, trying to escape as tears fell from her eyes, trying to escape to the light, towards outside—

She heard a gunshot and felt a whizz sound go past her cheek, then a familiar sting as she fell down to the ground, the undead lying down dead a few meters away from her, a bullet hitting it square on its forehead, dropping down dead immediately.

Her thoughts clearing, Yuqi saw a figure just standing in front of her, holding a revolver with smoke still coming out of it, the figure holding out its hand for her to take, which she did.

“Are you alright? I wounded you, it seems.” Wallace said, as Yuqi quickly retracted her hand.

“Don’t take credit for shots that you totally missed, Woo Chan.” A voice said, as Soyeon went forward with a  sniper rifle on her head, looking alarmed as she went closer to Yuqi, who had a cut on her cheek caused by the bullet that shot past her, as Yuqi smiled at Soyeon, who held her so she wouldn’t fall down, Yuqi mentally thanking her girlfriend for that for her legs would soon give out.

“You even wounded my Yuqi by your bullet, didn’t you?” Soyeon said, Yuqi pulling her sleeve.

“Ah, but we wouldn’t know that, because we both fired, right?” Wallace said, as he chuckled and put his revolver back on his holster, Yuqi noticing that the leader had the same revolver as the undead.

“Are you alright?” Soyeon asked, Yuqi smiling and nodding as she shook the dust off of her clothes, then remembered why she went there.

“I’m understanding that because you have a rifle, you’re one of the leaders now?” Yuqi said, walking back to the dormitories with Soyeon following her, as the girl nodded, strapping the gun on her shoulder while she followed the girl towards their room, finding the door cracked and damaged, Soyeon reminding herself to have the officers repair the door later.

“Shuhua told me that you were rushing to go to our room, unnie… why?” Soyeon said, Yuqi sighing as her hands went under the bed, searching for some hardbound book that she put under the bedframe on their first night at the place, wanting to get rid of it—

Her hands found none.

“Shuhua hypothesized that the whole hospital incident and the retrieval of the research book made by Chan was entirely orchestrated, which could probably mean that there was a tracker in the book. I was hoping to destroy it, but then I arrived here and the door was open, with that undead man inside the room.” Yuqi said, Soyeon sighing as she scratched her nape nervously.

“And I’m guessing that it isn’t here anymore? Stolen, perhaps?” Soyeon said, Yuqi nodding as she dusted her hands off, sitting down the bed as Soyeon tried to think of something.

“Then the one who must have stolen that book must be one of us, who knew that you and Minnie got the book. Then there must be a spy from whoever it is that is behind all this, and that person is keeping the book from getting destroyed, so the people behind this would track where we are.” Soyeon said, Yuqi nodding at the idea.

“But if they are planning to kill us, then they would have done that back at the port, or just when we were still in my apartment.” Soyeon said, pacing back and forth, trying to think of something as Yuqi sighed, nodding at that point.

“Or they are psychopaths that just want to play with us, and would just kill us at the end.” Yuqi said, Soyeon chuckling at that as she touched Yuqi’s wounded cheek, the girl wincing with stinging pain as Soyeon pulled her up to her feet.

“You should get that treated, at least. I’ll tell Wallace to stay away from you if you’re uncomfortable, love.” Soyeon said, Yuqi nodding as the two of them left, parting ways at the center of the place as Soyeon went to the leaders’ building, while Yuqi went back to the infirmary.

None of them noticed the man leaning near the building, watching them leave, a vial full of blood on his pocket and an injection on the other, with a revolver on his holster as he chuckled, putting the vial and the injection on the ground, then walking off.