Infected

Chapter 8

Read at your own risk

Jeongin left the forest alone, Minho lingering behind to set a trap at the entrance to the forest. They were unsuccessful with their hunting, but with the trap a deer would wander into it sooner or later.

    Minho let Jeongin leave alone because no zombies could get up the hill. As long as he stayed at the top of the hill and away from the forest, he was guaranteed safety. The broken chunks of asphalt on the driveway prevented zombies from climbing up, and they had given up trying to climb the hill.

    The grass on the hill had turned yellow long before they had arrived. Now, some patches of grass had died completely, leaving unstable dirt patches behind. A few zombies attempted to climb the hill, but the dirt would give way, resulting in them falling back to the bottom.

    As Jeongin walked back to the house, careful to keep Minho in sight, he found his mind wandering to what life had been like before the apocalypse. Knowing that he may never get to do those things again made him feel a pang of sadness.

    Trips to the beach, stealing coins from underneath arcade machines to play for free, just hanging out at home. He deeply missed all of those things. He couldn't create a fantasy where all of this would soon happen again. There was no point in trying to lie to himself. None of those moments would ever happen again.

    Looking up at the house in the distance, he noticed that the guest room window was open. Hyunjin had probably opened it to let fresh air into the room. Not thinking twice about it, he kept walking until he saw a figure in the distance slowly approaching him.

    "Channie hyung?" Jeongin asked, a smile involuntarily forming on his face. "What are you doing out here? Aren't you supposed to be in the guest-"

    He cut himself off as he saw Chan growing closer, quickly realizing it was no longer the Chan he knew. Chan's pale lips were stained crimson with blood, crimson streaks also staining his chin and sides of his mouth. His skin had taken on a sickly gray tone and was beginning to decay in places. His cloudy, bloodshot eyes showed no recognition whatsoever. All there was, was an eternal craving for human flesh that would never be satisfied.

    Jeongin slowly backed away, pulling his knife from its holder. Chan was quickly growing closer and the only places for him to go were off the side of the hill or into the forest. All of his options had the same outcome. Death.

    "D-Don't come any closer!" Jeongin cried, pointing the blade of his knife at Chan. He knew it was no use but he had no other choice.

    Chan stopped in his tracks, seeming to understand what Jeongin had said. He sighed in relief, slowly walking around Chan, keeping his knife trained at him at all times. He was about halfway around when Chan lunged at him.

    "H-Hyung!" Jeongin screamed, driving the knife into Chan's chest.

    Chan had no reaction. He kept going with no sign that the knife had hurt him in any way. He bit down on Jeongin's right arm, tearing away a huge chunk of flesh. His knife fell to the ground, leaving him defenseless.

    "Hyung, stop!" Jeongin screamed, tears from the pain filling his eyes as he used his left hand to push Chan away. "P-Please!"

    He hoped that Minho had heard his scream and would be able to come to his rescue. His breathing became rapid as he struggled to pull air into his lungs. The bone on his right arm was clearly visible, pain putting a hazy filter over his vision.

    Chan continued to tear apart his arm, fresh blood splattering his clothes. Jeongin saw a blurry figure running at Chan from behind. Had Minho come to save him?

    "It hurts...It hurts so bad..." He sobbed, his fight leaving his body. It didn't matter that Minho was here. He was going to die no matter what he did.

    Chan grabbed Jeongin's arm and ripped it cleanly off his body. He sunk to the ground, screaming in pain, which was only silenced by him coughing up blood.

    A gunshot that rang through the air did nothing to silence Jeongin's blood curdling screams. The bullet tore through Chan's shoulder but once again seemed to have no effect on him.

    "Over here, dunce face," Minho taunted, pointing the gun in the center of Chan's head as he turned around.

    "H-Hyung?" Minho stammered, recognizing his friend's blood-stained face.

    They were still too far away from the house for the others to get to them in time. Minho kept the barrel of his gun trained in the center of Chan's eyes but his hands had begun to shake too badly to aim properly. Jeongin's cries had stopped, trusting the world into silence. He now lay lifeless behind Chan, blood soaking his white shirt.

    This isn't Chan anymore. Pull the trigger already.