The Price of Sacrifice
In this novel, zombies are terrifying for three reasons. First, their physical capabilities are extraordinary. Second, even in death, they continue to spread the virus to their surroundings. Third, their hearing is hyper-sensitive. So, why couldn't the military defeat them? Military combat inevitably generates noise. Once drawn to that sound, zombies use their superior physical prowess to launch suicide charges at the troops, and naturally, the zombies are torn to shreds. However, because they possess abnormal physical abilities, some of them inevitably reach the military's position. And the virus spilled by the shredded zombies rains down upon the soldiers. The vicious cycle repeats as the virus-drenched soldiers turn into zombies themselves. Furthermore, the zombies generate noise on their own. That noise constantly echoes through the area, drawing in even more zombies. Because of this damned mechanism, Stairwell No. 1 began to be breached. The noise we made while fighting on the upper floors had started to draw the zombies toward Stairwell No. 1.
The sound of zombies scratching at the stairs and slamming their bodies against them attracted even more of their kind. The noise grew louder and closer. Jang Yeeun began to sprint down the stairs, and I followed, gasping for air, until we reached the 11th floor. The zombies were pushing against the thick barricade of Stairwell No. 1 with their collective mass. With the weight of dozens—no, over a hundred of them—the iron plates groaned and buckled. Even as the zombies at the bottom were crushed into pulp by the weight of those above, they kept pushing. The barricade couldn't hold any longer. At that moment, a good idea struck me. My AirPods.
Jang Yeeun looked at me as if asking what on earth I was talking about. "We don't have time! Gather everyone and get them to Room 1103!" With trembling hands, I pulled my AirPods from my bag and tried to connect them. My heart raced as my shaking fingers failed to pair them. But when the connection finally clicked, the barricade hadn't been breached yet. Still, we needed to buy time. I started running toward Stairwell No. 2. "Hurry!!!"
At that moment, the zombies' reactions intensified. Jang Yeeun nodded and ran up, pounding on doors and shouting, "Come out right now! If you want to live!" I threw one of the AirPods toward Stairwell No. 2 and cranked the volume to the maximum. Instantly, I heard the zombies peel away from the first barricade and rush madly toward the second stairwell. I then took the other AirPod and sprinted toward Stairwell No. 3. As the sound from Stairwell No. 2 grew distant and eventually cut out, I tossed the second AirPod and my phone into the nearly empty Stairwell No. 3. At that moment, I heard the sound of zombies rushing frantically toward the third stairwell. When one zombie slammed its body against the third barricade with a deafening crash, I was terrified by the horrific noise. ...But I told myself, *I decided to pull myself together!* I slapped my own cheek hard. Then, I approached Room 1103. Surprisingly, Jang Yeeun had already gathered everyone. Everyone above the 13th floor was already dead; only eight people remained. They were all elderly.
"...We can't hold out for long. Is everyone here?" I closed the door to Room 1103. I hoped this door would hold for a while. "We're going down to the lower floors right now. When I came up, there were no zombies in this Line 3." I held out the rope I had brought. After tying it securely, Jang Yeeun began to descend first. But at that moment, the sound of the barricade breaking echoed through the hall. I had chosen Stairwell No. 3 because it was the furthest from Room 1103, but it hadn't lasted long at all. A tremendous noise erupted outside, and I could see the zombies approaching one by one from the distance. I urged the people to descend quickly. But then, the grandmother and grandfather looked at each other, and a brief silence fell.
"What are you doing? I told you we have to go down quickly! We don't have time!" The grandfather slowly turned his head. "Young lady, you go first." I couldn't understand what he meant. "What are you talking about! There's no time, so hurry down!" A peaceful expression of resolve never left his eyes. Then, the grandfather suddenly pushed me. The force was so strong that I lost my balance, stumbling and nearly falling backward. "What are you doing?" Without a word, the grandfather slammed the balcony door shut. The sound was deafening. In the wake of that forceful motion, everything seemed to freeze, leaving behind only a strange, eerie silence as if the door had been sealed shut.
"Grandfather! Grandmother!" I wailed, shaking the door, but the only response was the echoing sound of thumping footsteps and the cries of monsters growing closer and closer. Amidst it, the grandmother's voice came through quietly. "We don't have much time left to live anyway. Our families are all dead, and we don't have many days left. If we can save you two young women, it's a good way to go. We'd only be a burden." With that, the grandmother silently pulled the curtains shut.
I had left them behind too quickly, and though we hadn't spent much time together... the thought that my own damned novel had caused their deaths pierced my heart like a blade. "Damn it!" I slammed my head against the balcony door. The pain, as if my bones were shattering, pressed down on my skull, but I didn't even have time to feel it. "What am I doing?" But there was no time to wallow in guilt. As the door to Room 1103 began to splinter with a grinding noise, I wiped the blood streaming down my forehead and scrambled down the rope, trying to keep my wits about me. In that dark, cramped space, all I could do was not look back. When Jang Yeeun reached the 10th floor, she was already crying. Of course, she must have heard everything.
"Why... why did it have to turn out like this?" I couldn't say anything. My heart ached, and I felt dizzy. I just held her. Then, suddenly, the sound of a door breaking came from the floor above. *Bang!* The sound of metal striking metal. Following it, the shouts of the grandmother and grandfather fighting the zombies mingled in the air. The grandfather's rough, trembling voice rang out. "Get lost! You bastards!" The sound of bodies colliding echoed. "Until this is all over! You won't kill us! Never!" Each time, the grotesque barking of the zombies mixed in. "Young lady, I'm sorry! This is all we can do!" Amidst the sounds of pain and fury, their voices faded into the distance. Then, screams rang out one after another, and suddenly, everything fell into silence. Unable to react to the sound, I untied the rope with trembling hands. But there was no more time to wait. I connected the rope to the floor below. "Yes, we can't delay any longer." Jang Yeeun kept following me down, sobbing uncontrollably. We descended one by one, supporting each other. Our breath was ragged, and our hearts were pounding.
When we reached the 4th floor, my home, we were completely drained of all strength. So, without a word, after confirming each other's presence, I guided Jang Yeeun to the bedroom. She was nearly out of energy, too. I lay down beside her. We just lay on the bed for a long time without a word, and Jang Yeeun closed her eyes, quietly steadying her breathing. I lay beside her, equally silent. Feeling each other's warmth, we could do nothing but breathe a sigh of relief. The subtle trembling in her fingertips suggested she was trying to relax, letting go of her body and mind bit by bit, but then, Jang Yeeun opened her mouth in a small, shaky voice.
I looked at her for a moment without a word, then pulled her into an embrace. In that moment, our bodies drew close, and the hearts trapped in fear and pain slowly began to unravel, leaning on each other's existence. A moment later, Jang Yeeun closed her eyes, let out a deep breath in my arms, and said, "Thank you... really, thank you." Just after Jang Yeeun drifted off to sleep, I closed my eyes quietly for a moment. ...The story in the novel, that was just an incomplete delusion. But now, we are in a reality where we must survive. There are no zombies on the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd floors, but the doors are open. We had to move quickly. The window of time for the zombies to invade was that short. And where should we go now? Mapo Station, that is the place. The surface is no longer a place for us to walk. We must move through the subway now. Of course, the trains aren't running, but the 'lines' are intact. All the way to Gwanaksan (Seoul National University) Station. This apartment is no longer a place to live.