outbreak | bts

017

The next morning, the sound of hard thumping shocked everyone in the main hall of the terminal awake and they flinched. Who was creating such a ruckus out there? One of the gentlemen who had asked them to call him Uncle Kang rose from his position in the massage chair he had slept in and paced toward a small room off the main hall, with some of the youths following him cautiously.

Uncle Kang entered the security room near the terminal's entrance and sat down, scanning the screens. Baekhyun, who had come with him, pointed at a screen. It was live footage from a camera outside the front of the Bus Terminal. There was man with torn and bloody clothing banging desperately on the outer door of the terminal, which had been covered with paper and then boarded shut by Baekhyun and Byunhyun when they had gotten there. Hoseok, who had also gone to see, balked.

"Th-that's...!"

"What is it?" Baekhyun asked him, concerned at both the sight of the person and Hoseok's behaviour. His own journey to the Terminal with the schoolbus had been relatively uneventful on account of Jin guiding them through the most isolated routes and the fact that they hadn't been able to see the outside world at all due to the paper covering the windows. The thought of outside survivors hadn't even crossed his mind.

"That's the zombie that chased after us yesterday!" Hoseok finally choked, distressed and confused at what he was looking at. This person definitely didn't seem to be displaying the same behaviour as other zombies but he recognized that chewed ear. The image of that face grinning at him with blood dripping down its face and mouth as it chased after them was ingrained in his mind.

Namjoon, who had been deliberating quietly by himself on a chair just outside the security room, finally stood up, drawing everyone's attention from within the room and the main hall.

"We can't let that person in." He decided firmly. Uncle Kang cocked his head to the side, a small frown appearing on his lips.

"But what if he's a survivor?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"And what if he isn't?" Namjoon insisted. Uncle Kang's frown deepened.

"What if he is the exact zombie that chased after us with intent and purpose yesterday?" Namjoon recalled his thoughts the night before. Why weren't the authorities trying to find survivors? Were they possibly already aware of the existence of zombies that could blend in as normal people? If so, then that meant that they would likely be left in this lockdown for a considerable period of time.

They would be fine if they rationed their supplies, but what of the students and teacher at Jin's school? And it would only be so long before the children would be unable to handle staying in such a tense space.

The immanent fear hung heavy on everyone, not just the children, so nobody spoke above a certain decibel - even though they were indoors with the doors and windows shut. Yoongi paced forward and replaced Hoseok's space behind Uncle Kang, gently ushering the heckled young man out of the security room.

"Namjoon's being reasonable. That guy is making all that racket but none of the zombies around are even paying attention to him." He observed as he watched the camera feedback footage from not just the door but along the side of the building too.

"If we had so much as stepped on a fallen leaf, they would have been onto us like bloodhounds." Taehyung, who had heard him from the door, mused without humour. Uncle Kang looked around at these young men who had clearly seen more than himself of the situation yesterday. Surrendering, he nodded.

"Alright, we won't let anyone in if they don't have a vehicle. If they do come in one, please be fair and allow them inside."

"Thank you sir, we'll be sure to do it that way." Namjoon gave him a small bow of thanks. Uncle Kang gave his shoulder a light pat and ambled to the other gentleman, Mr Son. The banging continued for several minutes and everyone froze in place. It was almost like the zombie could sense that they were in there. At this rate it would break down the glass door. Would the reinforcements that they made to the door be enough?