Trigger ↬ [ P.JS ]

Chapter 26:

Mark had explained his plan, which was formed thanks to Astrid, to the rest of the crew. That means that they needed to move soon.

It was almost warzone outside, always needed to be alert, cautious and careful because if you won't, we all know what's going to happen.

Jaemin was afraid of just stepping out of the store. He didn't want to go, especially since he just experienced a life-death situation with them yesterday. As much as he's scared, he knew that he needed to go. They needed to get to safety and he's not going to drag the group down, is he?

After thinking the whole night, not getting even the slightest blink, he concluded a fact about the zombies. He had already acknowledged the fact that there are two types of zombies in terms of speed. The walkers and the runners. Both are explained just by the names.

The walkers tend to be more calm and slow, as it's name suggests but they can turn aggressive if a certain thing triggers them. This can be anything like the smell of fresh wounds or blood, pungent smell of sweat, or any other odors that suggests human existence.

Now, the runners. The runners are fast, like really fast. That's what they encountered before. They're attracted by motion, mostly sudden movements and sounds. Though they can put off an impressive speed, they're much more easier to trick and outsmart. The runners tend to act impulsively and they don't have motives like killing or harming people. They just want to feed themselves and satisfy their craving of human flesh.

Both type of zombies act rash and reckless. They are easy to distract. Their eyesights aren't that clear and they would have a hard time seeing in the dark. Though the runners' ears are a bit sharper, the walkers can sense noise too, they just don't respond.

He also came to a conclusion that the virus affects every people differently and it comes with different factors; health conditions, DNA, and age. This was proven by Gray.

People with chronic diseases tend to have weaker systems, explaining why some people die instead of turning into a zombie. Genes can also affect this. He didn't exactly know how, but he was sure that there's sonething about this area topic that takes place in the development of the turning. Age tends to be seen in the time of turning. Younger people last longer as humans before becoming a zombie while older people either take a day, or just a few hours before turning into one.

He's no theorist, but he somehow wanted to know how the virus was even created. He assumed that it was like in the movies wherein it was an experiment gone wrong but his gut told him there's something deeper about it.

He decided to shrug the idea off for now and just focus on their safety as they headed out in the open, bare for any danger.

He stood close to Jisung, somehow feeling safer when with him. "Hey," he started, gripping his weapon, a part of a disarmed chair, tightly. "I haven't spoken to you in a while." Jaemin looked at his friend, he treated Jisung like a younger brother.

Jisung smiled, "That's true, but I think that now isn't the best moment to have a casual chat, am I right, Jaem?" his tongue felt weird after saying the other's nickname for so long.

Jaemin furrowed his brows but he became surprised once Jisung pulled him to his side and switching places with him before puncturing a zombie's head with a sharp wooden stick.

"We should be more careful." The younger tapped his shoulder, continuing to march along with the group.

Jaemin stared at him thinking about how much he had changed since. "Thanks," he mumbled. "Didn't know you were capable of that now." he licked his bottom lip, suddenly feeling a bit nostalgic, though he knew that it wasn't quite the right time.

Jisung just laughed and slung his arm over the other's shoulder saying, "Bro, it's not like I chose to learn how to do that," he hummed. "We need to do this for our own safety."

The older nodded, focusing more on his surroundings.

Astrid saw that the two finished talking to each other. She wanted to give something back to Jaemin, not that he owns it, but she knows that he knows how to use it better than she does.

She smoothly approached the two, saying a quick greeting before tapping Jaemin's hands with the gun. "Hey, I think you should keep this," she said lowly, gently prying open his hands and putting the weapon in his palm. "You know how to use it and I don't." Astrid smiled and didn't let him respond. She immediately went back to her original position and sighed.

"You know, I used to think you were a bit dumb," Donghyuck started, he smirked faintly, knowing that he's already pissing the girl off. "Now, I know that you really are." he made a sarcastic face and laughed to himself.

Astrid didn't laugh along with him. She knew how he wanted to get a reaction from her, and she isn't going to allow him to get the satisfaction he wants. She just looked ahead of the line, staring at the back of the heads of her friends.

Donghyuck stopped his laugh when he noticed that she isn't doing anything. "Are you in a bad mood? Oh shit! I shouldn't have done that! I am so sorry, Astrid!" he looked away, guilty. He knows not to mess with girls if they're in a bad mood, especially if that girl is Astrid.

The girl just cocked her head upfront, signalling him to stay grounded and focus. She barely managed to keep a straight face on, knowing how terrified Donghyuck is of her. "Gosh, you are so... vulnerable."

Luckily, for them, they haven't encountered any runners yet. Only walkers, which they were very thankful for. They needed to get to a nearest shelter for supplies but they can take as much time as they need seeing that the area didn't have much runners.

Rina temporarily passed Hayoon to Mark. Her arms were giving up as she was almost carrying him for a whole, 24 hour, day. She offered to carry his bags but he declined. He took a hint that she needed rest. She was the most exhausted out of all of them.

Hayoon was behaved though, it was like he knew how to cooperate with the present events. He rarely threw tantrums and he just stayed quiet, letting the caretaker know if he's hungry or if he needed something. Rina almost thought that he was either deaf or mute but it turns out that he was just quiet.

They continued walking, not sure where the next stop is but they didn't worry that much. Only fate can tell what's going to happen. They were starting to be less worrisome but they can't afford to be that carefree since they have kids to take care of.

Honestly, it was just the kids who kept Astrid going. She didn't want to know what her state would be if she didn't have the mindset of protecting the kids, and them being her number one priority.

She's still keeping her promise.

........................................................................

eyy get it i guess
jk

uhm i just wanted to say that i am really mad at myself for how slow things are going but i cant really help it since they need all the interactions to get closer and its also for the development but i feel like theyre stuck into this adventure phase and- im gonna stop ranting ^^

anyways im currently trying to prewrite as many chapters as i can since we have a little break given by our school (though its a bit short, i can still get some rest) and you deserve many updates anyways

ok thats all bye