Rain
The zombies were no small number, and now we were dragging a handcart behind us—one enormous, rattling burden. In a situation like this, the only sane call was to run.
"Fuck—move!"
The shout tore out of me on a ragged breath. I shoved the cart and ran, arms and legs burning as the wire and steel cable clattered and rang against the frame.
Grrrrrr.
The growling was closing in. My heart hammered like it meant to break my ribs.
"Ha—ha—I can't—I can't breathe!"
Lee Jaemin's gasping reached me. I glanced back. His face had gone white.
"Hold on a little longer! We just have to make that corner!"
Kang Hanna yelled it with everything she had, but the fear was plain in her eyes.
Then Lee Jia's voice cut through.
"Oppa, there's one right behind us—it's too close!"
I looked back. One of them had broken from the pack and was gaining fast. A rotting face. Clothes stiff with blood. And those awful eyes.
"Shit."
I clenched my teeth and drove the cart harder. Pain knifed through the muscles in my arms.
"Jia! Shoot!"
"Oppa, I can't aim properly while I'm running!"
Her voice shook. The bow in her hands wavered, and I could see she couldn't get a clean draw—not at a dead sprint.
"Goddamn it!"
I made the call in a heartbeat. I caught her around the waist and hauled her up.
"Jia, I'm sorry! This is the best we've got!"
Even as I ran I locked an arm around her and, with everything I had, heaved her up onto the cart. Her body left the ground.
"Kyaaah!"
The scream split the air. She came down hard across the bundles of wire and steel cable. The cart lurched under the impact, but it didn't go over.
"Ugh—!"
She groaned, but she didn't look badly hurt.
"Jia, you okay?!"
Hanna's voice was tight with worry.
"Y-yeah... I'm okay."
Jia barely got it out. Up on the cart she fought herself upright and lifted the bow.
"Now! Shoot!"
My shout snapped her back. She set her stance in a flash and drew.
Fwwwwip.
The arrow cut the air and punched clean through the skull of the zombie on our heels.
Kieeeek!
Thud!
"Nice!"
I shot her a thumbs-up. Relief flickered across her face.
Too soon to breathe easy. More of them were pouring in behind us.
"Go! Just that corner!"
I put my shoulder into the cart. Muscle pulled and burned in my arms and legs, and I didn't have a second to care.
We ran like our lives depended on it—because they did. The moaning crept closer. Jaemin's face had drained of color, and sweat beaded on Hanna's brow.
At last the corner came into sight.
"Almost there!"
At my shout, every one of us wrung out whatever we had left. We swung around the corner, and a familiar building filled my eyes. Our shelter. Home.
"Open the gate!"
Jang Sangcheol was in the yard. He stared at us, startled, then bolted for the gate.
Bang!
It swung open and we piled through. He slammed it shut behind us.
Thud!
The sound of the gate seating was the last thing I heard before we all dropped where we stood, chests heaving.
"Ha... ha... we made it."
Jaemin wheezed it out.
I let out a long breath and looked around. Everyone had come back. The fear and the tension, though, still sat on every face.
"Everybody... you all right?"
Hanna nodded.
"Yeah. I'm fine."
Jia was still up on the cart. She looked a little pale, but nothing about her said she was seriously hurt.
"I'm... okay too. Just startled, that's all."
Jaemin was still fighting for air.
"Ha... I really thought I was dead."
Mr. Jang came over, worry written all over him.
"What in the world happened out there? Zombies chase you?"
I got to my feet, slow, and answered.
"Yeah. We hit a horde while we were grabbing supplies at the hardware store. We all made it back, though."
Hanna jerked her chin at the cart.
"And we got everything we needed. Nearly killed us."
Mr. Jang's eyes went to the load. His face eased a little.
"Good. You did well. We'll be a sight safer for it."
I drew another deep breath and looked around—and in the very moment we'd scraped our way clear, thunder rolled across the sky. Black cloud swallowed the light in an instant, and rain began to patter down.
"Ah, shit... and now it's raining."
The sigh got out before I could stop it. The whole day felt like it was laughing at us.
Hanna burst out laughing.
The sound startled all of us. We turned and stared.
"Hahaha! Look at us. Aren't we just blessed? Chased by zombies, and now we get to stand here and get rained on."
There was hysteria under the laugh. The tension had finally snapped.
Jaemin gave an awkward little chuckle.
"Noona, what's funny about that?"
"Nothing. It's just... this whole mess is pissing me off."
The laughter thinned, and then it was gone. Tears gathered in her eyes instead.
I stepped in and put an arm around her shoulders.
"It's all right. We're alive."
That was when Jia spoke.
"What's that?"
We all looked where she was pointing. Past the wall, something was there.
"What is that...?"
I muttered it, and Mr. Jang answered.
"Ah, that. Put it together while you were out. Call it a rainwater tank."
Every one of us turned to him, startled.
"Wait—you built something like that?"
Jaemin asked.
Mr. Jang scratched at a sheepish smile.
"Figured water was gonna get precious. Didn't expect we'd be using it this soon."
Jaemin clapped him on the shoulder.
"Our Mr. Jang really is the best!"
We hurried inside as the rain on the roof grew heavier. Listening to it hammer the tiles, I let out a long sigh. The worst of the tension had finally let go, and relief was settling in—but even under that relief, a quieter unease kept creeping up.
"Everyone all right?"
I asked again.
Hanna gave her head a shake.
"Ah... yeah. Just dizzy. Adrenaline's dumping, I guess."
Jia was still pale, but she nodded.
"I'm okay too, Oppa. I just... think I need to rest a little more."
Jaemin had sunk down against the wall. His breathing was still rough.
"Hyung... mind if I have some water?"
I nodded. I wanted a drink myself, so I headed for the kitchen. Coming back with it, I glanced out the window. The rain was coming down harder than ever. Will this slow the zombies too? The thought drifted through and stuck.
Once I'd passed the water around, I looked at Mr. Jang.
"We should wait for the rain to stop before we put up the barbed wire, right?"
He nodded.
"Aye. Go out there now and you'll only get yourselves hurt. We'll set it once it lets up."
Hanna started giggling again, out of nowhere. The rest of us looked at her like she'd lost it.
"What's wrong?"
Jia asked, careful.
Hanna fought the laugh down.
"Nothing... I was just thinking. We're the leads in a zombie movie now. Except we're the pathetic cut."
That got a snort out of Jaemin.
"I think Noona's right. Aren't we kind of a mess? Ah—not you, Dohyun-hyung. Obviously."
A laugh got out of me before I meant it to.
"Hey. Just still being alive is already something."
Mr. Jang nodded along.
"Dohyun's right. All of you are doing fine."
That loosened something in the room. At the same time, thinking about what was still waiting for us put a weight back on my chest.
"By the way..."
Jia spoke up.
"How much food do we have left?"
The question made us look at one another. I answered.
"We've still got a cushion. But there's no telling when the supplies around here dry up, so we keep bringing more in."
Hanna sighed.
"Out again tomorrow... we barely crawled back alive today."
I patted her shoulder.
"I know. We don't get a choice."
Mr. Jang cleared his throat and pulled our attention back.
"Ahem. All right, all of you—rest. Once this rain quits, there'll be plenty of work waiting."
We drifted back to our own corners. I stood at the window and watched the rain run down the glass.