Chapter 15: A Night in the Camper Van (1)
The engine roared as Kim Jun floored the accelerator and plowed straight into the oncoming zombies.
Crunch! Squish!
The reinforced steel bumper rattled violently from the brutal impact.
The leaping zombies were smashed against the bumper, their bodies shredded under the tires, painting the ground red with blood.
Making a left turn to head home was impossible now. With no other choice, he yanked the wheel right to escape the massive horde first.
As Kim Jun kept his foot planted on the gas, the remaining zombies chased furiously, but they couldn’t catch up to the vehicle.
Emily glanced behind them and let out a long sigh.
“Weirdly enough, my luck’s been pretty good today…”
“Hey! Is that really what you’re gonna say right now?”
“What, you want me to talk about something else? Like how every great story needs a little early success before the scale blows up…”
“Shut your mouth. Right now!”
Kim Jun reached over and clamped a hand over Emily’s chattering lips, then scanned the darkened road for somewhere to hide.
They were already on the national highway. Taking side roads to loop back would take four or five times longer. A trip that normally took an hour could easily stretch past dawn if they had to fight through zombies the whole way.
But they couldn’t just stay here either. Kim Jun brought the camper to a brief stop and forced himself to think.
If they kept going straight, they’d hit Dongtan. Further north would take them through Anyang all the way to Seoul. The deeper they went, the more zombies they’d run into.
Emily spotted a road sign that read Seoul 86km, Suwon 34km and nodded in understanding.
Kim Jun watched the sprinting zombies closing in from behind and shifted gears once more.
“If it’s there… it has to be!”
Vroooom!
“!?”
Kim Jun suddenly slammed the accelerator again. Emily, who hadn’t buckled her seatbelt, lurched forward violently.
“Where are we going?”
“Quiet!”
He drove like a madman, smashing through every zombie that lunged into their path.
Emily clicked her tongue at the rampaging vehicle and stared into the side mirror.
Kim Jun had turned the pursuing zombies into bloody smears on the asphalt. Then, without warning, the camper drifted sharply and shot underneath an elevated railway bridge.
Once they emerged on the other side, the world plunged into total darkness. Not a single streetlight was visible. The utter blackness made her skin crawl. It was hard to believe this was still the same world she used to live in.
Aside from the occasional chirp of crickets and the rustle of grass, there was no sound at all. The only light came from the camper’s headlights.
…
Kim Jun relied purely on memory and instinct, navigating without GPS. He recalled an old route he’d taken years ago.
“Under the railway bridge… two blocks down the alley… then a farm waterway… turn right at the hill… there should be a milling lathe factory next to it… Okay!”
He pieced the route together from memory and accelerated again.
Emily stayed quiet, gripping the handle above the passenger seat.
Just as they headed toward their destination, more zombies appeared in the headlights.
“Graaaawwwwr!”
“Eek?!”
At Emily’s scream, Kim Jun spotted the zombie caught perfectly in the beams and simply ran it over.
From now on, every zombie—regardless of size—was nothing more than a deer or raccoon. Roadkill. That was the new rule.
Bang!
The vehicle jolted and shuddered. No matter what he hit, blood and gore splattered across the windshield. The once-white camper now looked like a blood-soaked tank.
Relying only on one headlight and his memory, Kim Jun charged forward until something blocked their path.
A chain-link fence.
“…”
“It’s blocked… wait, no—the padlock’s open?”
“Listen to me very carefully. Do not move a single finger until I say so.”
Kim Jun gave Emily strict orders, then grabbed his high-powered flashlight and pistol before stepping out of the camper. He approached the metal gate.
Blood was caked everywhere. He spotted the loosened chain, took a deep breath, and opened the gate.
Creeeeeak—
He immediately jumped back into the driver’s seat and sped inside.
At that exact moment, a massive swarm of zombies came rushing from behind.
Kim Jun drove in quickly, jumped out again, and swept the area with his flashlight.
“Graaaaahhh!!!”
Zombies charged through the darkness lit only by moonlight and the flashlight beam.
He slammed the iron gate shut with all his strength, then frantically wrapped the chain around it. The entire process took less than ten seconds.
The moment he stepped back, two sprinting zombies grabbed the fence.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
“Gwaaaaaah!”
Bang! Bang!
With machine-like precision, Kim Jun dropped both zombies with his pistol. Then, through the flashlight beam, he saw dozens more shambling toward them.
“Uuuuurrrgh…”
“Urr… uuuurrrgh…”
There were easily several dozen. With no escape route, Kim Jun calmly twisted the chain tighter around the gate, then pulled cable ties from his pocket and secured every weak point he could find.
“Phew…”
It was a huge relief that only two of them had been runners.
He sprinted back to the camper, grabbed a Molotov cocktail filled with gasoline, lit it, and hurled it at the approaching horde.
Crash!
Fwoooooosh—
The bottle shattered against the fence and erupted into flames. The zombies trying to climb over were instantly engulfed.
With the first wave repelled and the gate barricaded, Emily quietly opened the glove compartment, gathered some supplies, and slipped out of the vehicle.
“Hey, why the hell did you come out?”
“How are you supposed to see anything with just that flashlight? Besides…”
Since they were already here, turning back could take hours. She figured she might as well help with the looting.
But Kim Jun clearly didn’t see it that way.
“You really don’t listen, do you? Who told you to do that?”
“…”
“Get back inside. And stay put until I say otherwise!”
At his stern warning, Emily shook her head with a pout and obediently returned to the camper.
The flames from the Molotov outside provided some visibility, but the danger remained.
This wasn’t on the way home. It was a remote gun shop next to an abandoned factory.
When the roads back from the shopping district had been blocked, he’d remembered this place in a moment of desperation. It had always been heavily guarded, and now it was fenced off. He decided to check the gun shop first.
Creeeeak—
The power had been cut long ago. The interior reeked of gunpowder.
“Hoo…”
The place was a total mess after the zombie outbreak.
Kim Jun searched thoroughly, mentally noting every bullet and firearm worth taking, then stepped back outside.
Right next to the gun shop was a warehouse. He’d sensed movement coming from inside.
He quietly shone his flashlight through the window.
“Boss?”
Silence.
He considered opening the door but inspected the interior more carefully first.
Suddenly, a blood-covered face lunged into view.
“Grrrrraaaah!”
“Fuck!”
Startled by the sudden zombie, Kim Jun stumbled backward and raised his pistol.
Bang!
The gunshot dropped the creature. When he saw the slumped corpse, he realized it was the gun shop owner. His face twisted in disgust.
“God damn it…”
It was already over. He opened the warehouse door and swept the interior with the shotgun slung over his shoulder.
The place was filled with mold and the stench of rot. Rats and insects scattered when the flashlight beam hit them.
It was a bust. He closed the door and returned to the gun shop building.
Before going back inside, he checked the still-burning fence and spotted some metal barricades nearby. He dragged them over and reinforced the gate so nothing could climb over, then secured the entire perimeter to prevent easy entry.
Only then did he call for Emily.
“You can come out now!”
“Wow, it really looks like a bunker now.”
“From now on, you only do exactly what I tell you. Got it?”
“Got it!”
“Open the rear door of the camper. Just take whatever I hand you and pack it inside.”
“Yes sir!”
Kim Jun searched the gun shop and found shotgun shells and lead pellets for the air gun.
Then he discovered a rather nice air rifle and picked it up.
It was the kind used in Olympic and Asian Games shooting events. This model could load multiple pellets at once and even came with accessories.
“Okay. Taking this.”
Most of the other firearms were useless—there simply weren’t enough compatible rounds. They’d be one-use at best.
“Tsk.”
Still, the haul was excellent.
Today they’d gathered plenty of clothes, food, equipment, ammunition, and new weapons.
The only problem was they had no way to get home.
While searching the gun shop, Kim Jun found an infrared scope.
“Perfect!”
He grabbed it, returned to the camper, and mounted it on the air rifle.
“Oppa, can we make it home?”
“Not right now… it’s too dangerous.”
“Then…”
“We’ll have to spend the night here. Set up your own sleeping spot.”
“What about you?”
“I need to do one more sweep.”
After saying that, Kim Jun opened a side window and quietly aimed outward.
Through the infrared scope, he could see the zombies moving in the pitch-black night.
When the flames died down enough for him to confirm movement, he pulled the trigger.
Thwip.
Click.
Thwip.
He fired rapidly, dropping the remaining zombies one by one.
For the next ten minutes, he waited in complete silence, watching for any further movement. Thankfully, no more zombies came chasing after them.
“Haaaa…”
He had layered the barricades two and three times deep. After closing all the interior doors, he drew every curtain in the camper.
“The kids back home must be worried sick.”
“Mm…”
This was a first for Kim Jun too. With cell phones useless, there was no way to contact them—until Emily rummaged through her belongings and pulled something out.
It was a walkie-talkie. Rana had brought it back before. It was also the same one they’d used to contact each other through the door during their first time having sex.
“You still have that…”
“Can this reach the house?”
“Give it here!”
Kim Jun quickly tuned it to the frequency he’d used with Rana and slowly powered it on.
“Hello? Hello! Can anyone hear me?”
Static—
Static—
“Is that a walkie-talkie? Answer me!”
In the tense silence, a response finally came.
Static— Jun… oppa?
“Yes! It works!”
Emily clapped her hands in delight while Kim Jun breathed a sigh of relief.
“Phew. This is Kim Jun and Emily. We’re inside the camper right now. Can you hear us?”
Static— Oppa… this is Gaya. How… static— are you?
“Sorry! We might have to spend the night here. We’ll come back as fast as we can!”
Static— What? Then today… static—
“Lock the doors properly! And wait for me until I get back!”
After Kim Jun spoke, only static came through the speaker. Nothing more.
“Phew…”
“She probably understood.”
“At least we managed to use this thing.”
Kim Jun plugged the walkie-talkie into the camper’s battery to charge, then turned on the interior lights at their lowest setting and opened the fridge.
“Alright. Let’s rest here for now.”
“Want something to eat?”
“…Yeah.”
Come to think of it, all he’d eaten during today’s looting run was a bit of water and some candy.
He pulled out kimchi and instant ramen from the fridge.
Emily neatly packed away the day’s loot and grabbed two bottles of soju.
“Hey, are you crazy? Alcohol…”
“You think you can sleep like this? You’ll probably stay up all night anyway.”
“…”
“We’re not going back tonight anyway. Might as well have a drink and rest properly, right?”
“You’re not wrong… but you drink. I’ll stay on guard a little longer.”
Kim Jun prepared the instant ramen, packaged kimchi, and a can of tuna.
While the noodles cooked, Emily poured soju into paper cups and drank. Kim Jun remained tense, never letting his guard down.
It wasn’t until the early hours of the morning that he finally stepped outside one last time to inspect the barricades. After confirming there were no living zombies nearby, he returned.
Just in case, he set the safety on his guns and placed them within easy reach.
“Pour me a glass.”
“Should I reheat the ramen broth?”
“Yeah.”
He ate only a few noodles, then added the cooled broth and the entire can of tuna to the pot. The camper really shone in moments like this. It was basically a mobile studio apartment.
Emily, her face already flushed from the alcohol, poured Kim Jun a drink and brought out more side dishes from the fridge.
Every time she moved between the fridge and the table, her tight leggings clung to her curves, gradually drawing his eyes.
The drinking continued. Even so, Kim Jun occasionally flicked on the flashlight and peeked outside.
“Is it really that bothering you?”
“Would you be able to relax in this situation?”
“Hmmm~ I think everything’s already over though? They’re all dead.”
Just as Emily said, the zombies that had clung to the fence were now charred black—some burned alive by the Molotov, others riddled with lead pellets from the air gun.
But there was no telling when more would show up. Right now, that barricade was their lifeline.
Still uneasy, Kim Jun took the empty tuna can and soju bottles, smashed them in front of the fence, and scattered the shards.
“If only we had Claymores. I’d have laid them all out in front.”
Emily watched him with flushed cheeks and asked,
“Want to touch my breasts instead?”
“…”
She brushed her blonde hair behind her ear and gently caressed her own chest.
She had the best body out of all eight of them. There was no denying that.
Even though the alcohol had hit her a little, Kim Jun let out a small chuckle and turned his head away.
“Hmmm~ It’s just the two of us right now, you know?”
“…”
Emily continued kneading her breasts for a moment before standing up.
She untied the hairband holding her hair up and quietly walked toward the shower stall.
“Wait just a little. I’ll wash up and be right back.”
“Hey, how much water do we even—”
But she had already stepped into the camper’s tiny shower.
They had stocked up on water before leaving, but still—her entering the shower in this situation was bold.
The sound of running water started. Through the silhouette on the curtain, he could see her taking off her top.
Kim Jun pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
“This is seriously fucked up…”