The Infected ⬩ (G)I-DLE

Three

The girl coughed, spitting on the gray concrete before pacing around the car. Her cherry scent was moving into the car.

"Pull up the window, what the hell?" Shuhua exclaimed, fanning away the smell of tobacco and burned cherry. She pinched her nose.
"Oh, you're that one annoying-pain-in-the-ass." The girl stared directly at Shuhua, who shrunk into her seat.

"Do you...do you know each other?" Yuqi questioned, examining the girl. Her black hair was flowing down her shoulders. Her clothes were ripped open in some areas. The girl spun the cigarette stick around her index and middle fingers. The slender fingers placed the cigar back on the tip of her tongue. She waved toward the window.

"What the hell are you doing? Wearing those shitty books on you. And what is that? A motorcycle helmet in the car?" Soojin laughed, cackling her hoarse voice. Surely, all of the smoking took its effects. Yuqi could feel a growl forming in her throat, it lumped. Shuhua placed a hand on Yuqi.

"Yuqi, keep yourself together." Shuhua warned, she looked back at Soojin and offered an apologetic smile. Soojin ignored it.

"Sorry for my friend, Soojin-unnie. But, we need to get–" Shuhua paused, her voice fading away as she pointed behind Soojin.

"First of all, I'm not your unnie..." Soojin looked back, and at the same time, Yuqi craned her neck. Trying to see what Shuhua was directing to. A loud growl interjected Soojin's complaint. Soojin could see a man near the end of the road, raising his two arms to the sky. He thrusted his arms forward and chased toward the car.

"Get in quick!" Shuhua ordered, clicking the rear car doors to unlock. The clicking was collapsed by the sound of growling crescendoing. Soojin did not wait any further and swung the door open. She landed soundly on the rear seats.
"DRIVE! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Soojin panicked, she had never seen a real life undead person before. Soojin started to pound on the leather cushion, the headrest of Yuqi's seat.
"Gosh, calm down. I'm starting the damn engine." Yuqi snarled, twisting the steering wheel as the car proceeded to move away from the man, his flesh revealed. Shuhua gasped as she saw the man's boney ribs. The yellow tint on them. Blood trickled on the road as the figure started to shrink in the distance.

"Where are we headed anyways?" Soojin said, breaking the silence. "What the fuck is happening?" She blew a puff of the cherry-scented stick. Yuqi scrunched her nose, annoyed.

"First, throw that cigar away. Second, we're going to my safeplace." Soojin glowered at Yuqi, then broke the contact. She lowered the window and threw the cigar out. It flew, spilling some contents on the concrete. Shuhua peeked at the girl through the driver's window. She nudged Yuqi, moving her head sideways. Yuqi looked back at Soojin.

"So...should we introduce each other?" Yuqi let the words roll on her mouth. "I'm Song Yuqi, Sophomore, Neverland Institute of Arts or NIA."

"Oh yeah, I heard of you. The nerd from the announcements. Seo Soojin. I'm a Junior." Soojin rolled her eyes massively, how come I had to be saved by a nerd? Shuhua smiled, turning back and offering a hand to Soojin.

"I'm Yeh Shuhua. I'm a Freshman. We all go to the same school! That's so cool!" She squealed, still waiting for Soojin to accept the embrace. The latter ignored her, crossing her arms around her waist.

"Yeah, yeah. I already know you both, alright." Soojin sighed, looking at the streets.

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"We're here!" Yuqi announced, stretching her legs from the long ride.

"This is your safeplace?" Soojin's voice was filled with judgment. Shuhua agreed, nodding her head.

"This place doesn't seem very safe..." Shuhua said, opening the cellar and propping herself in. She fanned herself. "Dang, it's hot here."

"It's underground, what did you expect?" Yuqi rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she closed the cellar shut. The cellar was small–correction, bigger. It seemed like one of those places depending on technology, a science lab. Yuqi smiled at her creation.

"Don't worry, babodeul, I made this place run on solar power and warmth." Soojin opened all of the doors, revealing a small bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom, a laboratory, and a storage room.

"Seriously, this is neat." Soojin complimented Yuqi. "You really planned everything out." Yuqi blushed as she opened her bag, placing the goods in the storage room.

"I made it for an emergency, not this. At least it works. I'm not sure if we could live like this forever."

"Oh, obviously, there's a catch." Soojin snorted, walking toward Shuhua. Shuhua grabbed locks of her ebony hair and covered her red cheeks.

"I think we should stock up on supplies," Shuhua suggested, trying to get out of the awkward situation.

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"We could raid the market near the school." Shuhua suggested, pointing toward the school.
"I'm not sure..I saw lots of the infection starting here." Yuqi answered, twisting the steering wheel as she looked in the distance. "But, I guess we could if it's the only one open."

"It is," Shuhua convinced, and she nudged Soojin to agree.

"Ugh, whatever. Why didn't you just give us something to wear nerd, why books?" Soojin scowled at the books wrapping around her arms and legs. It cracked each time she tried to move her arms.

"I didn't prepare. I mean, it does protect us from some of the biting." Yuqi bit her lower lip, causing it to rip the skin. "C'mon, we need to get some more food." Yuqi waved her hands as she gestured toward the back of the store. She hopped out as Shuhua and Soojin followed her lead. "Check the back, too." Yuqi ordered.
"Yea, yeah." Soojin stalked off toward the back of the store as Shuhua followed Yuqi.

"Where do we check?" Shuhua squeaked, cradling her long blade next to her.

"The front." Yuqi crooked her blade, pointing it in front of her. She started to sneak past all of the sections, hoarding preservatives and canned goods. Shuhua did the same.

"There must be none, I guess." Shuhua mumbled, crinkling the ramyeon packets, shoving them in her bag. A crash echoed the stalls.

"Shush." Yuqi placed a finger on her lips, and she peeked behind the shelves. Haha, Yuqi sighed. Shuhua jinxed it again.

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Soojin stalked toward the end of the bathrooms. She pressed her ear against the cold metal door. She could hear sniffling. Is that a child? Soojin quietly opened the door after she confirmed that there were no zombies in there. She quietly closed the bathroom doors, placing a trash can to block anyone from entering. Soojin crept toward the sound, she could hear it clearly.

"Hey, are you in there?" Soojin whispered, knocking on the stall. The person in the stall shuffled, frantically twisting the lock.

"W-who are you?"