Vengeance

thirteen

Wooyoung and Yeonjun did their best to stick close to Changbin as he pressed forward at a staggering speed across the empty lobby. They were supposed to check on the south side of the building, where they'd spent the most time.

They kept watch to both sides but it seemed like all of the zombies in the lobby were teenage fans. And none of them seemed to be looking their way.

They weren't exactly being quiet at their accelerated pace.

But neither of them dared to question Changbin.

They soon reached the mechanized lobby doors, grimacing at the sight as human residue littered the doors from their previous escape efforts.

"Come on, let's keep going. There should be more through here," Wooyoung said softly, trying to keep his eyes away from the carnage before them.

Yeonjun nodded, stepping up beside him but Changbin didn't move.

"Bin, what are you doing?"

Changbin looked around, his eyes wide.

"Felix could be anywhere. He probably didn't stay in one spot," Yeonjun offered, trying to calm him down as the longer his eyes searched the room, the more wild his expression grew.

"No. No, no, no, no, NO! I shot her!"

Wooyoung jumped at his words, eyes glancing around anxiously in case any of the mindless zombies suddenly sensed their presence.

"What are you talking about? Shot who?" Yeonjun asked, turning to Wooyoung.

That's when it hit him.

Wooyoung looked towards the stairwell door, at the blood spatter against the wall. As his eyes shifted down to the ground, he began to tremble.

"Shit."

"What?!" Yeonjun looked between the two in fear.

"She's gone. Her body...it's gone."

"Who!?"

"The girl who brought the zombies here. I shot her. I killed her. She was dead."

Yeonjun looked at the bloody wall, his eyes widening.

"Are you sure? There's now way she could've survived your shot?"

"I shot her in the head! She went down and she didn't get up! I took the syringes straight from her pocket!"

"Then how the hell is she go—"

Just as they were about to reach yelling volume, Wooyoung threw his hands over their mouths, eyes wider than either of them.

He was looking behind them. Back into the lobby.

"It's him."

The two turned to look and nearly gasped as Wooyoung lowered his hands.

"It's Jongho."

He fell to his knees, tears already spilling from his eyes.

"It's him."

He almost started laughing as a smile broke across his cheeks. Changbin followed suit, taking a knee as he stared in disbelief.

Though he looked nothing like the sweet-hearted maknae they knew and loved, it was him.

It was really him.

"I'll take him back. You two keep looking for others, okay? I'll come find you when I've gotten him on safely," Yeonjun grinned, seeing that the other two were too stunned to move.

They simply nodded, slowly rising to their feet as Yeonjun took off, restraints in hand.

"We're going to get him back," Wooyoung whispered.

"Yeah," Changbin smiled—really smiled. For once, in the past few days.

He felt hope.

He truly, felt hope.

But it started to falter as they turned back towards the stairwell.

She was alive.

She might be anywhere.

If the zombies were staggering around mindlessly, it was likely that she'd left the arena. But it could be a trap.

They had to keep their guard up.

"Come on, Woo. Let's keep going."

They finally began to move again, knowing the mission was the most important thing right now.

As they rushed down the hallway, they kept pausing to check every room. They needed to be thorough if they wanted to do this fairly.

At best, they might find a group of survivors. At worst, a room full of zombie teenagers.

But they needed to check every room thoroughly.

They slowed to a halt as they stood before the control room door. Wooyoung wasn't sure he could step back inside.

He wasn't sure he could face the closet.

The smell.

"I'll take this one. You go ahead."

Wooyoung turned to Changbin, nodding in gratitude as he pushed forward toward the next room.

He forced himself to keep his mind away from the bodies and focus on the mission. In the next room, there was only one zombie, hardly even a teenager. He made sure to search around but her incessant thumping around the room was the only sound in the small space.

He quickly stepped out, shutting the door and pressing forward. But just as he started to run a firm hand gripped his back, and his blood ran cold.

He gripped his gun tightly, whipping around to point it.

"Stop! Stop! Stop! Jesus! It's me!"

Wooyoung's lungs collapsed in an exhale as he met Changbin's wide eyes. His hand fell back to his side as he leaned back against the wall in relief.

"God, what the hell Changbin!? You scared the fuck out of me!"

"I found something and I couldn't exactly yell to get your attention."

Wooyoung slowly rose from the wall, stepping close.

"What do you mean you found something?"

"You need to see for yourself."

Wooyoung hesitated, trying to read the expression on Changbin's face.

"Just tell me."

Changbin turned, grabbing Wooyoung's arm and dragging him along behind him.

"Changbin! Why can't you just—"

His words were cut short as his eyes locked on the control room door.

What had Changbin found inside? What was so important he would make him go back? Back to the place where he'd lost two of his members. Only a few feet away from him.

"Please don't make me go in there."

"Just trust me. You need to see it."

Changbin gripped Wooyoung's hand tightly, reaching for the door handle. He could feel Wooyoung's body shaking, feel his pulse rising.

He slowly led him into the room.

And that's when Wooyoung understood.

As the door closed behind them, he could make out a faint growling, soft thuds echoing through the room as two zombies struggled to fight their way out of captivity from the locked closet.

"Someone's alive in there."