please don't be a silent reader 😭⚡

⚠️ THE DUOLOGY MENTIONS ⚠️
gore (sm), death (smh), violence, horror (if ur scared of zombies?), angst (omg sm!),  lily×alec, lily×yohan, road rage.

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"is anyone else willing to go with me?" the shuffling of footsteps around the room, growling and banging noise from outside makes lily gulp all her fear down, staring at the class president like the rest of her classmates. it's obvious that everyone is scared right now, seeing the atmosphere outside this room, seeing people turn into dead beings who are hungry for more.

if someone told lily a few months back that she would be stuck in her classroom, having sick people banging at the door to transfer their sickness to her and others, she would've probably laughed. the prion spreading among animals earlier, suddenly found home within human body and things have been escalating horrifically since then. the first case was reported a month ago, and now the illness is just spreading like plague.

it's scary how many people have lost their lives and became like the many infected ones. according to the news, the prion had completely taken over south-west of the country, now proving morbific to the rest of the parts. the media houses have spent their breath warning the people about the illness, to beware of any infected person even if it was a dear family member or friend.

until yesterday, seoul looked normal. felt normal. even in the morning when lily came to school, she had no idea the proteinaceous nature of pathogen could be so deadly. her school has announced an urgent lockdown with all the cases and terrible scenes being telecasted of the infected beings. today was supposed to be the last day of school until things get better. however, by lunch a boy came screaming, saying that a group of girls had been hiding their friend who was bitten by one of those monsters.

the word spread like wildfire without knowing whom to avoid and whom to trust, resulting in a rampage ruckus and death of a few students and two teachers, turning into brain-hungry beings as well. the school administration first told everyone to go back their classes with respective homeroom teachers (if were alive) and keep the doors and windows locked untill further notice. it didn't work, for the announcing headmaster himself got attacked, which created more panic.

those who tried to run and escape, failed and joined the army of the walking dead, while the ones who have managed to stay hidden are still safe. it's late afternoon now, and the situation has only gotten worse outside.

a loud noise from the back of the classroom, startles everyone up, angering the boy who's standing in front of everyone, "why can't you guys see it these things are eventually gonna break the damn windows and doors! we need to get out of here!"

"and go where?" a girl asks, "they're right outside the very door. we'll be done for the moment we unlock it."

"she's right. let's just stay here!" a shaken voice cries, followed by a chorus of yes's.

lily looks down, folding her legs to her chest, not saying anything for she's scared, too, unable to decide which way is better to become a zombie. sighing, she stands up slowly dusting off her skirt, all eyes following her as she walks up to the friend, flinching when a glass from the windows shatters.

taking a deep breath, she nods, "i think we should go. we're gonna die here anyway. let's give it a shot."

"and why do you have a say in that?" a guy barks, standing up with a glare for the girl. "you've never cared for anyone, why would you do now? we're not going out of this classroom. if you and this hero wanna leave, then go ahead and die."

"no! are you fucking dumb?! we'll have to open the door if they wanna go out!"

"he's right! nobody's leaving!"

"yeah, no one's leaving!"

alec hisses at the people around, junping down from the table and smacks a guy's head, "shut up. i think they're right. we should give it a try. even if it's barely, we stand a chance that we'll make it out alive."

"yeah," yohan nods, "just need to fight and avoid getting bitten or scratched."

"not all of us take martial art classes, you dumbfucks!"

alec gives the guy an unimpressed look, nodding his head towards the door, "i'll throw you out as a bait if you open your mouth again, understand?"

"alec." yohan shakes his head, "i have a plan. if we all can work as a team, we can make it to the buses, and then leave the school."

"and go where? do you think anywhere out there is safe?"

"we can figure that out later." yohan sighs loudly, trying to ignore another shattering noise from the back of the classroom. "what's important is to get out of here right now. look, those of us who can fight stay in the front and back. those who can't will stay in the middle. cool?"

"okay." a couple of voice mumble together, and yohan nods looking around, when his eyes land of jenny and yana, both talking to alec in a low voice, almost crying out of fear. "hey, girls. we need to move quick. just stick close okay?"

alec nods as well, patting his sister's back and moves back, climbing up on a table and whistles to get everyone's attention, "wrap your arms with something, tie, duct tape, spare shirt, whatever. just wrap it up. and pick up anything that might act as a weapon." he says, showing his own hands as he's wrapping them with bandages that he uses during boxing. most of the guys and a girl along with lily, obey the instructions, while the rest of them just stand their, eyes moving fearfully from the windows to the door.

"those who don't fight, if you need to punch, make sure your fist remains tight. if not, you'll just end up hurting yourself." he announces, finishing up with his hands and arms, and cracks his neck, "hannie and sooyun will be at the front with half of your guys. i'll take of the back with the other half, done?"

"and what about us?" lily asks, staring up at him with the other girl.

alec grins, jumping down and wraps his arm around her, kissing her cheek, "keep the girls safe, fighter."

"cool." lily shrugs, staying towards the left while the other girl takes a spot of the right of the non-fighters.

"i'm going to open the door!" the class president announces, and lily takes a firm step sideways with her arms ready to punch any zombie that might come at her.

the door opens, unraveling louder noise from the infected mass, as they try to push forward, but yohan, sooyun and two more guys with them, do a good job hitting and pushing them out of the way. lily gasps, swinging back when a bloody man, with his mouth nearly ripped with how wide he's opening it, pounces at her. she kicks him away, screaming involuntarily, earning a glance from her classmates, making the other girls scream after her, horrified with the scene unfolding.

"shut up!" alec yells over the high pitched voices, "shut the fuck up! you're getting them this way!"

it shuts up some girls and two boys, but a few are still screaming and crying their last words to their deities. lily has tears threatening to fall as she just keeps punching and kicking off dead people. she gets the hang of it eventually, although a painful scream from the other side of the group, makes her head whip in the direction, staring with wide eyes as their protective circle breaks with chaos.

a girl is crying and thrashing under another, who has turned into a zombie. "lily!" yohan's voice, brings her out of her little break, as she ducks down quickly and elbows the dead on his side, knocking him down and kicks him a few times, tears streaming down her face, for she recognises the boy from her geography class. she paired with him for a project just a few weeks back.

"hey, let's go." a hand on her wrist, pulls her forward, "run!" it's sooyun, the class president, as he dodges a zombie, pulling lily with her following the rest of the classmates, running along the hallway.

rubbing her eyes, lily gathers herself for the moment at hand. she needs to stop feeling bad and fight to protect herself and her friends. sooyun is good at what he does, and lily tries to be useful to him, to yohan and alec, to the rest of their classmates. voices screaming and wailing make it to her ears, however she slows down with a frown for it sounds closer than it did before.

"what?" sooyun breathes out, "let's go, lily. we don't have time."

"there's someone... around- there!" she gasps, running in the opposite direction, however her feet come to a halt as she finds two zombies by the next door. behind a broken water cooler there's a boy hiding, who glances at lily and tries to stand up. "no..." lily whispers, gesturing him to stay hidden and keep quiet, while she turns to face sooyun. "we have to help him."

sooyun nods, pulling lily behind a bench and crouches down, "i'll go and distract those two, so you can get the boy and run towards the emergency exit. but make it quick."

"okay." lily nods, staying hidden for a moment longer than sooyun, who steps out quietly, picking up a soft board that's fallen down and kicks it to break into half, getting a handy piece of wood and attention from the two infected girls.

"hey, come this way." lily whispers, motioning her hand for the younger boy to run up to her quickly, "are you okay?"

"yes... i hid." he mumbles.

"good. let's run now." lily states, glancing back once giving sooyun a nod as she grabs the younger's hand and sprints in the direction of their plan. just around the exit door, she looks back again, finding sooyun running after and she holds the door open, when suddenly another one of the zombie kind appears from the side, blocking sooyun's path.

lily steps ahead, punching him a few times and kicks him away, having nothing else at hand to hit him with. he's bigger than the ones she has fought until now. she looks around panting hard, her eyes land on a fire extinguisher cylinder. "bring that closer to me!" lily asks the boy, who is scared but obeys. lily pushes the large dead man away, picking up the cylinder and swings it in the air, hitting the zombie, making him fall down at a distance.

"that was cool, lily." sooyun says, exiting through the door with her and shuts the door close. "fuck..." he pants, pulling himself straight slowly, eyeing around the parking, when they hear the engine of a vehicle. "it must be them. let's go." he gulps, stepping forward, still having the wooden board to fight off any unwanted thing.

"we need to make it to the bus." lily instructs the boy, patting his back, while her eyes and ears are on alert, making sure they weren't going to be attacked by any zombie. sooyun does the same, walking beside lily, keeping his eyes scanning around themselves like a hawk.

the sight of the school bus sends some relief to lily, jogging faster towards the bus, when an ugly roar startles her from the side. thanks to sooyun, she's left untouched but the commotion has drawn attention from more zombies.

"okay, fuck." sooyun mutters, "guys, run."

"but-"

"just run, lily! get on the bus and tell them to move!" sooyun says, hitting the zombies with the board and kicking some away.

lily huffs at him, pushing the younger boy towards the bus, "go and tell them what he said." she instructs clearly, earning a hesitant nod before the boy sprints towards the bus. "we'll fight them until he makes it to the bus..." lily pants, picking up a broken sign board from the ground to keep the zombies away, earning a look from sooyun. "then we'll leave them and run, okay?"

"okay." sooyun replies, knocking one off so hard that it falls back at least two meters away.

lily glances back, hearing the boy's voice, gasping on seeing him on the floor while a zombie advanced towards him. although before she sprints to help him, alec is there for the rescue, helping the boy on the bus after fighting off the zombie, pushing him under the bus's tire. lily sighs in relief, which doesn't last for her own body crashes on the ground with a grip on her leg, climbing up her body.

she screams as an immediate response, kicking her feet to get the infected guy away, but it doesn't work. tears stream down lily's face, clutching the sign board tightly and hits the guy a few times along with some strong kicks. she gets up quickly as soon as the weight shifts from her, crawling away and stands up, stumbling back in fear. sooyun's holding back three zombies, looking exhausted as he glances at her, "go..." he lets out.

"we-"

"i'm not coming." he says, jaw clenching in pain, his eyes pooling with tears and veins popping on his neck and forehead.

"sooyun..." lily whispers in horror, helping him push the zombies away and holds his hand, taking him towards the bus that's waiting for them.

"i said i'm not coming...!" sooyun yanks his hand away, "please, just leave... leave before i..." he groans, doubling down in pain. lily holds back a sob, watching him with pained eyes as his body shakes, deep red veins appearing under his skin and he coughs aggressively, vomiting out blood.

"lily!" she didn't even notice the voices calling for her until now. she looks back, finding alec on the door, motioning his hand for her to come.

"sooyun..."

"come on, leave him! he's infected!" alec's voice grows closer, making her gasp when he stops right beside her, pulling her back away from their infected friend. "we need to leave him." he declares, ignoring the way her eyes move back towards sooyun, but she forces herself to nod, running up after the bus that has started moving now.

a guy at the door kicks away a zombie, clearing the way. alec gets in first, then holds out his hand to pull lily in, although the scene inside is just as crazy as the one outside. anger bubbles up in his veins, glaring at the girl who just dared to push lily off the bus. "what the fuck is wrong with you?! she could've fallen out!" he yells.

"she's probably infected!" the girls shouts desperately. "get her off the bus or she'll kill all of us!"

"she's not infected." alec announces, standing beside lily, making an eye contact with the others, which is when he realises that most of them think lily is infected. with a glare he turns to the girl, close to taking the matter in his hands when yohan steps in.

"lily, are you okay?" he asks.

"yeah..." she mumbles, eyes fixed outside as the bus keeps moving away from the school.

"heard her?"

"we don't trust her! why would anyone tell they're infected?"

"she's not infected." alec declares, "whoever has a problem with her being in the bus can gladly jump off." he steps out of the way, too, smiling bitterly at the first girl who introduced the idea of lily being infected. "want me to help you, darling?"

"alec, stop it." jenny mumbles, "everybody's just scared..."

"she's right." yohan nods, closing the doors of the bus and pats lily's back, "sit down."

she says nothing and quietly makes her way to the seats at the very back, sitting by the window, tears blurring her eyes. cursing herself for not being more mindful, lily breaks into a silent sob, hoping she'd have been stronger and braver enough to be able to help sooyun. she can't even imagine how much that might have hurt him. she could've saved him, if only she paid more attention and didn't get attacked herself.

"hey," yohan sits beside her, offering her a bottle of water, which lily doesn't show any interest in leans to his side quietly, sniffling to herself. yohan sighs softly, wrapping his arm around her for he pulls her into a hug, stroking her side with a gentle hand, "it's gonna be okay." he whispers.

"sooyun got infected..." lily mumbles, staring down at the bloody tie wrapped around her right hand and forearm. the left one has a vest torn and tied tightly in a similar way. "he became like them in front of my eyes... i could've saved him..."

"it's not your fault, lily. you both were trying to protect each other, that boy and the rest of us. if you didn't stop those zombies they would've easily reached the bus."

lily looks down, shutting her eyes as tears flow down from her face. she says nothing and starts untying the fabrics from her hands, hating the blood staining them, which did not belong to her, the way it reminds her of all the bad things going on outside, people dying and killing others because of a disease. sobbing silently, she unwraps the tie and the vest, pushing them aside with her shoe and wipes her hands and arms on her uniform, which is when she notices traces of blood and dirt staining her white shirt and blue skirt.

"lily," yohan shakes her, pulling her out of the panic stricken state. she breathes heavily standing up from the seat and turns to the window, sliding the glass to get some air, however the a sudden noise of a man wailing as he turns into a zombie, shakes her again.

the moving bus doesn't help lily either, making her stumble, when yohan holds her steady, "calm down, flower." he says, pulling her down on the seat with him and gives her a hug, "please, just try to calm down. i know it's hard, it's scary and eveything... but we need to stay strong, right?" he assures her, rubbing her back and kisses her cheek, peeking down to glance at her crying face.

"i- i'm scared, hannie..." she lets out, hugging him tighter.

yohan hums at that, caressing her waist, "i know, baby. all i can say right now is, hold on. no matter how scared you are, you have to gather yourself up and fight with us. you're the only girl who can." lily looks up at him, frowning at the words, suddenly sitting straight as she scans around the bus, not finding the other girl who had volunteered to fight with them.

"no..." she gasps, covering her mouth, glassy eyes staring at yohan.

"she saved jenny, but got bitten herself." yohan shakes his head, hugging lily again and strokes her head, "please, just stay strong. we need it right now, flower. because if we need to fight again, i need someone to put my trust on, that when we meet again we'll find each other alive."

lily closes her eyes, crying silently as she nods her head, "i love you, remember that." he smiles softly, before pulling away and blinks his own tears away, so that lily wouldn't see him crying. he takes a breath and wipes the tears off her face, suddenly remembering that she was attacked too. his eyes travel down her legs, nibbling on his lip as he decides that she needs something to cover them up. she cannot step out again with just a little skirt and knee high socks.

"i'm fine," lily clears her throat, trying to calm her breath down as she sips some water, glancing at yohan when she feels his soft touch below her knee.

"is she hurt?" alec joins now, crouching down in front of lily on the floor, inspecting her leg, when a small cut on the sock catches their eyes. lily pulls the fabric down, sighing in relief for her skin is fine and the scratch, so it looks, wasn't bad enough to harm her. "you need to wear something to cover your legs."

"i was just thinking the same." yohan nods.

"i- i don't have anything right now." lily says, glancing at the two, "don't worry. i'll be fine."

alec sighs, nodding his head, about to say something when suddenly the bus screeches to an abrupt stop. he holds himself steady and so do the rest of the people, staring ahead with confused frowns. alec walks forward, followed by yohan and lily, as she holds onto the latter's hand.

"we can't go ahead..." the guy driving the bus says, gesturing towards a crumbled mass of cars and fallen electricity lines blocking the road.

"there should be another way, right?" jenny asks, standing up from her seat, earning a glance from alec as he thinks for a moment, then turns to face yohan. "i can go and check if the road behind the mall is free? it's not that far and we can make it before sunset if hajin can accelerate fast enough."

"i can do that." the boy nods.

"right, it's important to get to a safer place before it's gets dark." yohan nods.

"is it true that their hearing senses heighten in the dark?"

"i've heard so..."

yohan shakes his head, ignoring the girl and her boyfriend talking, and glances at alec, nodding his head, "how will you go?" alec grins in response, pointing at a motorcycle outside, lying on the street behind the car crash. "alright. stay safe, though." he says, stepping forward to hug his friend.

"i will." alec assures, patting yohan's back. "take care of as many people as you can."

"don't say it like that." yohan sighs, watching as alec gives his sister a hug, too, for she's scared for him and tells him not to go.

"i'll come back, okay?" he promises jenny, glancing at lily and then at yana as well, for they were just as worried about him as jenny. taking a deep breath, he flashes them a smile, stepping towards the door.

"i'll go with you." lily blurts out, standing after him with a determined look on her face. "if anything happens there should be someone to help you, right?"

"no." alec frowns at her, "you're staying here with everyone."

"but-"

"no, lily. it's dangerous outside. i'll go alone."

"i- i wanna go with you..." yana speaks up, earning looks from the boys around.

"can you fight?" one of them asks, making her look down, shaking her head. "lily suggesting to go makes sense because she can fight. why do you wanna go with him?"

"i don't know! i just don't wanna let him go alone!" she cries, "i... i'll go with him and-"

"easy there, hero." alec shakes his head, glancing between the two girls, "neither of you need to come with me."

"i do." lily declares, going back and picks up the clothes she untied earlier, wrapping them around her arms again. "i couldn't help sooyun... i don't wanna repeat my mitake."

alec exchanges a glance with yohan, who seems to be in deep thoughts, but ends up nodding for lily looks too determined to go with alec. "alright," alec gives in, too. "we'll try to come back soon. all of you stay inside the bus, try to contact anyone who might be able to help us right now. think of a plan."

"i'm ready." lily lets out, tying her hair into a bun, before following alec out. the streets are awfully quiet, other than some failing noises from afar. lily looks around with her sharp eyes, picking up a rod among many broken things on the road, while alec inspects the motorcycle. fortunately the keys are still stuck in the keyhole, making it easier to ignite the engine after checking for any possible damage. the two-wheeler is mostly intact, as though the owner just left it behind and ran away or got attacked.

"c'mon," he says, testing the engine as he roars it strong accelerations, humming to himself. "not bad. are you ready?"

"yes." lily replies, sitting behind him and wraps her one arm around his waist, while the other holds a metal rod for emergency. alec speeds up over the pedestrian, driving away from their friends towards the mall from where they can follow the railway lines and reach the south of the city.

according to what alec had heard from his father on a call a few days ago, the military bases have large underground bunkers that they use to keep citizens safe during war time. seeing the severity of the deadly pandemic, the government and military has decided to use those bunkers to keep unaffected citizens safe from the prion creating havoc outside.

as they drive farther away from the heart of the city, the silence is broken with many voices shouting and crying, and the affected ones growling in hunger, searching for their next victim. "can we help them?" lily asks, glancing at the store where a woman is stuck with her daughter, who barely looks around ten years old.

"i'm afraid we can't." alec sighs against the wind, although lily gasps right then, plunging the rod in her hand to her right, pushing the zombie away that just tried to jump at them. "wow, thanks." alec glances back, seeing the bloody and broken man thrashing on the ground, before he stands up again. alec drives faster, meeting a blocked street, having no space for a vehicle big as a bus to pass.

he stops for a moment, looking around and takes a right turn, driving into an alley which leads to some narrow passages, that lily has never seen before. the decision of finding the main street again, is shattered when they are met with a bunch of blood-hungry infected people. lily gasps in horror, while alec backs away slowly.

lily gulps down her saliva, holding her breath as she looks at the side, finding a couple of long bamboos resting against the wall behind a dumpster. she taps on alec's shoulder, whispering to him, "turn the bike around, i'll try to stop them." she whispers, getting off the bike, which makes the zombies growl, advancing towards her.

"what are you doing?" alec calls.

"just turn the bike, alec." lily assures him, kicking away an infected guy. she dashes from the side, punching one and pushes him back, before kicking the dumpster. the big bamboos lose their balance, falling over the zombies. lily steps back, hopping on behind alec quickly, "let's go, let's go! quick!" she gasps, suddenly feeling something tugging on her skirt so hard, that she can't help but fall down. it's another of the infected kind, biting down on the skirt, making lily scream in fear, punching and kicking the man, which works slowly, however her skirt is never set free.

"take it off!" alec yells, roaring the engine.

lily obeys quickly, unhooking the skirt from her waist, leaving herself in just her training shorts from gym class. the zombie keeps biting onto the skirt, while lily manages to escape and get on the bike. alec accelerates quickly, tugging on a rope on one side, which makes a lot more bamboos, rods and bricks to fall down on the zombies, for the building was under-construction.

"are you okay?" he asks lily.

"yeah..." she mumbles with a wince, touching the side of her forehead where she had hit the ground on falling from the bike. even her left arm stings with man, blood dripping down slowly after the harsh impact with the incomplete concrete ground.

she breathes slowly, blinking her teary eyes to clear the vision, but it constantly proves to be a tough job, for lily can feel the the thick, warm liquid flowing down her arm, from the side of her face and even her leg. the amount of pain she's feeling right now is worse than anything she has felt before, and it makes her head feel lighter and floaty.

"lily, are you listening?" alec's hand shakes her a bit, placed on her left thigh, making her blink again and hum in response to whatever he was saying. "are you okay?" he asks, his hand slides down to her knee, which is when he meets the thick wetness, and lily winces in pain.

after making sure there was no one around, especially not zombies, alec pulls over by the mall, "get off for a bit." he mutters, hopping off soon after and faces lily, gasping at the sight of her being half covered in blood. unfortunately, this time it's her own blood. "did you..." he cups her face, using the sleeve of his shirt to wipe off the blood from the side of her face.

"no no, i... got hurt when i fell." she mumbles, shaking her head and touches the side of forehead, "it hurts. the ground it was too rough..."

"oh, baby." alec sighs, hugging her tightly and presses a kiss on her shoulder, before pulling away. his eyes land on a departmental store across the street, deserted now. "let's go, we need to get some bandages to cover your wounds." he says, holding her hand and walks up to the store, pulling out his phone at the same.

he makes her sit by the counter and hands her his phone, dialling yohan's number, "tell him to take the old street from the central park and head towards the railway station for now." he says, "you can do that, right?" lily nods response, bringing the phone closer to her ear. "good. just stay here. i'll come after getting the supplies."

with that lily waits for alec, telling yohan exactly what alec told her, and also that they'll probably meet them at the railway station. yohan asked if they were fine, and with a forced voice, lily promised him that she was okay, that alec was okay. a sound of something falling from the side, makes lily frown, whipping her head in the direction and stands up carefully.

"alec?" she calls.

"yeah?" he replies, but from a different direction. lily's eyes widen with the realisation as she takes a step away, wiping the blood off her locks for it had starting to enter her eye and make it difficult to see clearly.

"i think there's someone..." she says, finding alec already heading towards her with a bag that he probably found around here. looking back in the direction of the sound, she can't help but scream, seeing a lady with her head barely attached to her body, dragging herself on the ground, leaving a bloody trail behind her.

"let's go!" alec takes lily's hand, pulling her out of the store and jogs up to the bike. getting on quickly, alec accelerates away from the most dreadful creature they've ever seen, as lily holds him tightly, trying to ignore the excruciating pain on her body.

the sun has found home behind the tall buildings far away, lighting the sky up in fire and rage, mimicking the misery on the land. in a few more minutes it will be completely dark, and until then they need to get somewhere. the nearest military bunker should be roughly about two-hundred kilometres towards the outskirts of busan. with roads blocked and poor internet, the only reliable method is to navigate like they're just doing.

while waiting for the bus outside a deserted railway station, alec helps lily clean up her wounds and wraps the bandages nicely. when it's all done, lily heaves out a deep breath, leaning back on the advertising wall as they're sitting at a bus stop. alec stares at his calloused hand that lily's holding, resting on her lap, her soft fingers brushing over his bruised knuckles gently to soothe his pain as well, for no matter what alec said, lily knows it must be hurting him, too.

"when they arrive i want you to get on the bus, so you rest your body a little." he says, pulling her hand up with his and presses a kiss on her knuckles.

"what about you?" lily asks, and follows his gaze towards the motorcycle that answers her question. "wouldn't that be too long? and also unsafe for you?"

"i'll be fine." he assures, right then the engine of the bus and a loud honk is heard. lily stands up with alec, frowning at the rash driving, but then they realise it's because two zombies are holding onto the window bars, hanging from the bus, trying to get inside. following the bus, is another army of these monstrous zombies, all growling and groaning in need of flesh and blood.

"fuck, just get on." alec mutters, sitting on the bike and lily follows quickly, clutching onto his shirt as they drive ahead. alec glances back at hajin, motioning his hand for him to follow him. the boy in the bus nods, accelerating after the
motorcycle.

"hold tight!" alec's hand tightens lily's grip over his stomach, before leaning down with the girl following the instructions, realising that they're speeding up. lily holds him firmly, although she can't help but look back every once in a while. "see that baseball bat, lily?" his voice has her searching for the said object, nodding her head when she spots a store with sports items, having a bat outside on display with a wax statue.

"grab it when we get close enough, okay? don't miss it." he says and lily hums, holding her right hand out, ready to grab whenever alec brings the bike close to the statue. he applies the breaks, turning the handle swiftly, then accelerates again, "now!" lily leans forward, breathing heavily with the adrenaline rushing in her veins, as she successfully holds the bat in her hand. but oh, that little drift from alec has them going in the opposite direction now.

they face the bus with full speed, "hit that fucking thing as hard as you can!" alec instructs over the wind, turning to the right at the last minute before they collided with the bus. lily hits the first zombie, a groan escaping her lips with the sudden jerk she feels, but the job is done. the zombie is off the bus now, flying back and even takes the other one of his kind.

"good job, fighter." alec caresses her leg briefly, before gripping the handle again, approaching the army of zombies that are left far behind by the bus. "hold me." lily does as told, sticking to his back, and he wastes no time and making another dangerous turn, that would've killed lily if she didn't listen to him.

once again, they're with the bus in a blink of an eye, and alec drives by the doors of the bus, letting lily do a little wave for yohan, who's more busy registering the bandages around her head, arm and leg. "do you wanna go in now?" alec asks.

"uhm, i like bike rides." lily shrugs, "but i guess i'll go. my leg hurts."

alec nods once, motioning his hand for yohan to stop the bus. alec slows down with it, stopping finally and looks back, seeing no sign of any zombie following them from a few minutes ago. lily hops off first, taking the bag with whatever supplies alec brought from the store, and limps her way to the bus. alec follows closely, supporting her a little, only letting go when a boy sitting nearby gives up his seat to lily.

"what happened with you?" yohan asks worriedly, kneeling down by her, inspecting her leg and arm, then cups her face to look at her forehead.

"it attacked me and i fell on hard concrete. it was so rough i got hurt." lily shrugs, "but that's not important. alec got some bandages here," she says, pointing at the bag.

alec sighs, nodding his head, "there are bandages, some antiseptics and well, snacks and water. i figured we'll need them until we make it somewhere."

"yeah, good." yohan hums, glancing at alec, "we were talking about where to go. the bunkers are still too far, and we do not have enough gas to last the entire journey. so, let's just stop by somewhere safe for the night, because running out of gas in the middle of nowhere when there are zombies roaming around isn't ideal."

"right," alec agrees instantly, "so where do we stay the night?"

lily thinks for a moment, looking up at the boys, "uh, instead of going anywhere, why can't we just stay inside here? leaving the bus and going to an unknown place could be dangerous. the windows and doors are fine, so i think if we don't turn on any kind of lights and keep quiet we should be fine."

"so, we stay in the bus?" a girl whispers, "i mean... it sounds scary, but i see the point. going anywhere can cause more trouble."

"they're right." hajin nods, "we know how much struggle we had to put up with to get to the bus today, we can't risk it like that again."

"yes, we can just stay silent and keep the lights out." another boy agrees.

"okay, then. it's decided we'll stay in the bus." yohan announces.

alec nods at that, jumping down on the ground and gets on the motorcycle, gesturing hajin to follow him. meanwhile, lily shifts towards window as the bus starts moving, closing her eyes for a while, as she uses the time to repeat eveything that happened today. from the first zombie attack at school, numerous deaths including sooyun's, fighting the zombies, getting hurt, and now they have to spend the night in the bus.

"lily?" it's yohan's voice and his presence beside lily, that triggers some tears from her eyes. she shifts towards him, going for a hug when her eyes land on his shoes. black sneakers. lily moves away in an instant, frowning at the guy who is not yohan. for some reason it makes her cry, and the boy, not-yohan, stares at her with a perplexed gaze.

"lily?" she blinks a few times, rubbing her eyes and nods slowly. "are you okay?"

"yeah..." she mumbles, breathing heavily, "yes. i'm- i'm okay. i'm sorry, i thought you were..."

"i'm... sorry," the boy whispers, standing up from the seat and moves to a different one, leaving lily alone. she clutches the handle at the back of the seat just ahead of her and leans against the window, closing her eyes again. although, in just a moment, she sits up again, looking around until her hasty gaze stops on yohan a few seats behind her.

he's with jenny, his right arm wrapped around her and the left one is probably holding her hand as he talks to her. she seems to be scared just like anyone else on this bus, and yohan is trying to comfort her. sighing softly, lily averts her eyes from him, on the seat just beside yohan's, there's yana. alone. she staring out of the window with a blank expression, probably wishing that someone would hold her, too and tell her not to be scared.

lily blinks her eyes, standing up from her seat, hoping to keep their differences aside tonight and give each other the comfort they need. yana doesn't even look at her, for she probably didn't think lily would stop by her seat and sit down to accompany her. with a frown, the girl turns to lily, arching up a brow. lily just shrugs, looking down and hushes out, "you looked like you could use some company..."

"i'm fine." yana states in a firm voice, that's still low, wanting only lily to hear it. lily nibbles on her lip, following her gaze outside the window and realises that she's looking at alec, who's driving beside the bus for now.

"do you really love him?" lily asks, earning a look from yana. "do you love him a lot?"

"what are you-"

"i wanna know..." she shrugs, "understand, maybe..."

yana looks down, gulping down a sob and smiles sadly to fight her tears back, nodding her head, "i do..." her voice is shaky, on the verge of breaking down. "everyone can see it, except him. you know why, lily?"

lily shifts in her place, tearing her eyes off alec, startled by the swift movement of yana's hand on her wrist, grasping it tightly as she forces lily to loosen her grip on the handle, "because of you. he has eyes only for you... he looks at you like he's running out of breath and you're the only last hope of oxygen for him. he's..." she scoffs, tears flowing down from her eyes.

"he denies it whenever anyone mentions it. but deep down we all know he'll gladly give his life for you... might even take a few, all for you, lily. but- but you know what i think?" she glares at lily, "i hate that it's you. i- i hate that he won't cry for me if i die tomorrow like i know he will for you... i hate that even at a time like this he wouldn't even hold me once... sometimes i just wish you'd leave him alone. so he'll finally focus on other things, on himself, on his sister, on... on me..."

a tear slips down from lily's eye, and she's about to leave, when yana throws some last words at her, rendering her immobile for a split second, "spare jenny the pain you give me every day. don't take yohan from her." lily's breath hitches on listening that, eyes automatically moving to her side across the narrow aisle where jenny seems to have fallen asleep on yohan's shoulder, and he has his eyes closed, too.

choking back on a sob, lily stands up hastily, heading to the last seat where she had sat earlier before leaving with alec. she sits down, folding her legs up, crying to herself until it all becomes quiet and dreamy. falling asleep is always better than falling apart.

when lily wakes up next, it's because of the temperature that has dropped low enough to make her shiver. she shifts more to the corner, letting out a soft groan due to the stiff posture. looking around, she realises everyone is sleeping. they're in a parking lot, with a few more vehicles which have been abandoned now. there's no electricity around tonight, leaving it only for the moon to illuminate the place with its borrowed light.

lily shifts on her seat, glancing at yana, who isn't alone anymore for jenny is with her. it makes lily frown, for yohan, and even alec, aren't anywhere around. she sits up straight, looking for them on the front seats, but they just aren't here. outside the window something moves, making her jump in her place, turning to look out, however she doesn't spot anything other than a faint shadow that disappears behind the bus.

the door of the bus opens after a few seconds, scaring lily, although before she wakes anyone up, a sigh works out of her lips on seeing it's alec and yohan. the two talk to each other in hushed voices, glancing at jenny and yana, which has yohan chuckling silently to himself. lily sighs softly, forcing a smile when they make their way to her, waving at her.

"slept fine?" yohan asks.

"hm," lily nods, "where'd you go?"

"just to the garden behind." yohan shrugs it dismissively.

"what?" lily frowns, "it's not safe outside. why would you take a walk right now?"

"piss." alec corrects. "we had to take a piss."

"oh..." now that lily thinks about it, she hasn't used the toilet since morning. not like she drank any water, but still a few sips from earlier and with the stress going on, it just slipped out of her mind.

"by the way, there's a toilet behind the parking. if you wanna... go." yohan says.

lily shakes her head, drawing in another deep breath, she stretches her body sitting properly with her legs down now as she gives the space for yohan and alec to sit. yohan accepts the kind offer, reaching out for her injured leg, just to see if she needed to redress it. however, the small gesture makes lily jump in her place, pushing his hand away from her knee subtly.

"i'm okay." she says, hoping that she wouldn't get caught dodging his concern or his hands. skinship and being physically loud about their shared affection is what both the boys like to flaunt, just like lily.

"are you?" yohan asks.

"she must be hungry." alec nudges yohan with a subtle smile, picking up the bag from the next seat and places it between lily and yohan. "we saved you some cookies and a chocolate flavoured milk."

"thanks." lily nods, taking the food items out of the bag, glancing briefly at the two. "have you guys eaten?"

"yeah, we all did, actually. you were sleeping, so we didn't wake you up." yohan answers, ruffling her hair. "eat up, now. you couldn't even eat your lunch."

"thanks to this pig here." lily squints at alec, who rubs the back of his neck. there's no hint of guilt as he displayed earlier while lily slept on a hungry stomach, as he squeezes himself past her to sit on her other side by the window. "you're such a dick, alec." she hisses, shifting a little to make space for him for he hurts her wounds in the process.

"i'm sorry." he says, suddenly not grinning anymore on hearing her wince. "c'mere, let me make it better." he's snaking his arm around her waist, earning another annoyed curse under her breath, which alec ignores and sits comfortably, taking all the space he needs after pulling lily on his lap. "now, where did i hurt you?"

"everywhere. idiot." lily huffs, sipping the milk, which is when she jumps in surprise, gasping out of reflex on feeling the boy's hand tickling hsr side. "alec!" she whisper yells, failing to hold the giggle even though she's mad at him. he knows her ticklish spots so well.

"i heard from hyung that you liked being tickled when you were younger." alec whispers, his smile evident on his voice and lily can just picture him adorning that sheepish, flirty grin that all the girls love.

"don't do that or i might spill this." lily mutters to him, nudging his stomach, which just earns a huff from him and he tickles her again. "don't -"

"shh!" yohan covers her mouth, smiling still but the shake of his head reminds her of the fact that they need to be quiet.

"oops..?" she tilts her head, breaking into a smile. a genuine smile after a long time, thanks to both of her idiots. she hands yohan the small box of milk and shifts on alec's lap, to sit sideways. "i was so scared today," she hushes out, fiddling with the last button of her dirty uniform shirt, "i still am, actually... but thanks for this. thanks for caring so much about me."

"i don't mind taking care of pretty girls." alec teases her, earning a slap in return, which makes him shut up instantly, while yohan presses his lips together to muffle the sound of his laugh.

he doesn't protest and places his hands around lily when she leans forward to hug him and places a kiss on his cheek, "i.." she clears her throat, pulling away from him and glances at alec, who looks fascinated for some reason and also a little bothered, (probably because he didn't get a kiss yet) lily says, "i know you both are very protective of me and you'll save me if i'm in danger, but uhm, actually i just... how do i put this..."

"simply?" alec suggests, stroking her back gently. "just say it. you know you can."

"i... yes, i can." she breathes out, but ends up shaking her head and leans back, about to say something more when a loud bang on the bus makes her yelp. alec quickly pulls her closer, hugging her protectively, while yohan quickly stands up to look what the noise was about.

"quiet, hm?" alec whispers, rubbing her back and gradually shifts away from the window. after a few minutes of the sound fading away, lily lets out a breath of relief, and so does alec, pressing a kiss on her shoulder. "well done. it's gone." he assures her, knowing that she's scared of everything going on. even when she had to fight these zombies, both the boys knew it wasn't because she wasn't afraid but because she knew she had to.

"if i die before reaching the military base, please tell my brothers that i loved them a lot..." she mumbles with a shaky breath, sniffling with a silent sob on his shoulder.

"you're not going to die, lily." alec says in a soft voice.

"it was a zombie. went away." yohan whispers, sitting down again and hands lily her drink, which she's not interested in anymore. "hey, what's wrong, flower?"

"i don't wanna die..." lily whimpers put weakly, trying to keep her voice on minimum, switching gazes between at both of her friends as tears spill from her eyes. "it's- it's so scary. i don't wanna become like that... you saw sooyun, right? he looked in so much pain."

"don't think like that, baby. you'll be fine, okay? we all will be fine." yohan emphasizes, cupping her face.

alec hums at that and smiles softly, "we promised each other in the morning that we'll stay alive, didn't we?" lily nods at that slowly and alec continues, "yes. then why are you thinking about dying? don't you wanna see your brothers?"

"i do..."

"i know. so, now no more talking about dying." he states, caressing her head and gestures towards yohan's hand. "finish it up so we can sleep."

"you can sleep." lily's about to get from his thighs, but it is stopped when alec shakes his head and hugs her securely. lily sighs, taking a sip of the milk, offering some to the boys, too, but they refuse and let her have it all. she eats two cookies out of five, letting the boys have the other three, before letting out a yawn.

"are you cold?" yohan asks, glancing at her bare legs other than the tiny pair shorts that she wore under the skirt usually like most girls.

"a little." lily nods.

"you're so cold." alec mutters on feeling her skin, which makes lily shiver more, pouting at the cold night. "let's correct your posture a little." he suggests, leaning back on the seat and grabs her waist, shifting her the way he thinks she would be the least cold. after a minute lily finds snuggled against his chest, curled into a ball with her legs folded and alec's atm draped over them. it does feel much warmer.

"will you be okay like that?" yohan asks with an amused smile.

"mm'hm," lily nods, making yohan laugh quietly, as he nods towards alec.

"i was asking him."

"yeah, don't worry." alec hums, "get some rest, too, bro. we might have to wake up early."

"yeah." yohan stretches his arms, sitting down next to alec, placing his feet on the seat diagonal to him and folds his arms behind his head. "good night, guys."

"'night," lily mumbles, hugging alec frowning a little as she looks up, earning a hum from alec. "the other arm... where's it?"

"here," he lifts it up to pay her back and lily nods. alec gets the message and wraps it around her back, resting it on her waist. "better?"

"mm," she nods, closing her eyes again.

___________

a/n: omggg i finally did a zombie apocalypse!!!! i hope you enjoy it, please vote if you do and comment to let me know your thoughts about the chapter. i'll put the second part soon, too! have fun! i miss you and i love you guysss 💗💗💗💗

(also, might even start calling me a doctor soon 🌚) just wanted u guys to know that i made it to a medical college now, and will be starting soon with my mbbs journey. you all have been an integral part of my life and i just wanted to share this awesome with you all 💜✨