A Meaningful Sacrifice || All of Us Are Dead

1. Regeneration

When the zombie bites his hand, Oh Joonyeong knows it's all over for him.

He gasps in pain due to the strength of the bite, and he falls to the ground. Staring at the bloody mark, he's in disbelief. How could he have let this happen to him? Maybe the senior he argued with earlier, Park Mijin, was right. Maybe they should've covered the top of the barricade.

Well, it's no use wondering now. He's a dead man walking.

He barely pays attention to Mijin when she drops down next to him, frantically asking if he's okay. Instead, he decides to assess the situation to see what he can do in his last moments.

He observes his friends, none of whom look at him because they're rightly focused on keeping the zombies at bay. Cheongsan, Onjo, Suhyeok, Namra, Daesu, Hyoryung, and Woojin. They were such good friends to him. He's going to miss them so much.

Finally looking at Mijin, who's calling for him, he suddenly realizes what he has to do.

If I can't help them here...then maybe I can help from the outside.

"Shit," he finally says, wishing he had been more careful. "I shouldn't have said I'd take responsibility."

Then, without a second thought, he stands up, runs to the barricade, and jumps onto the wire.

"Yah! What are you—"

"Hey, wait!"

"Joonyeong!"

"Hey! Stop!"

"What the hell?"

"Joonyeong!"

The cries are expected as Joonyeong finally tumbles onto the ground, rolling from the zombies' outstretched hands. He quickly pushes them off and runs back to the barricade, wrenching the rabid zombies off of it.

"Get off, fuckers!" he yells, hissing as more zombies scratch at him. "Get off, you bastards!"

He grabs onto the barricade.

"Push!" he begs, trying with all his might to help pull the barricade towards the door. "Hurry! Push!"

A zombie tries to pull him, but in angry desperation, he shoves it off.

"Let's go! Let's go home!" Joonyeong yells, his voice ripping to shreds as another zombie clamps down on his shoulder. Mijin shouts for him, and Joonyeong's heart breaks as he sees how desperate she is. Daesu is sobbing heavily while Cheongsan looks on with horror.

"Let's go home!" he yells again, trying in vain to boost the morale of his friends. The zombies manage to drag him down, but he's determined to get them out. He has to.

Jumping back up, he pulls the zombies off and grabs back onto the barricade.

"A little more!" he encourages, now feeling the full weight of the fact he won't make it. "Just a little more!"

But there's no time left. Mijin grabs Joonyeong's hand in a desperate bid to keep him longer, but the zombies are too strong. They pull Joonyeong off the barricade, overpowering him as they each fight to get a piece of his body.

Mijin's screams fill the air as the scent of rotting corpses overwhelm Joonyeong's senses.

Suddenly, he realizes something.

Oh God, what if the door's locked?

That's the last thought Joonyeong has before he blacks out.

—

Growls.

Steps.

A faint scent of rotting corpses.