𝐖𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐇 || ᵇ.ᵏᵃᵗˢᵘᵏⁱ

LXXXIII

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Dex and Hongchul went out next after Dex had cleverly wrapped their arms with thick stacks of paper and duct tape to minimise the chances they'd get bitten. Hongchul barely even tried when they were out there, with Dex grabbing the case of water bottles, avoiding the zombies and trying to make sure Hongchul didn't get bitten too.

It was comical really, how this middle-aged man was screaming and running through aisles without getting any supplies because he was too busy trying to get back to the office. Dex made it back first with the water, out of breath from all the running he had to do, and then Hongchul who started dramatically explaining everything as if the group hadn't been watching on the cameras.

Next was Jonathan and Narae. Aeri and Tsuki tried to argue that the older woman was in no position to enter a zombie-filled supermarket in her condition but a few of the others insisted, and then came the idea to put her in a shopping cart with a second one stacked on top acting as a cage that Jonathan would push around.

Aeri muttered about how it was stupid to bring her if she was going to be stuck in there the whole time, and lo and behold, Jonathan ended up having to ditch her after the swarm followed the sound of the cart. They all watched through the CCTV as the cart was pushed around by at least 8 zombies and Heekwan rushed out with Dex, Jonathan and Hyoseop to retrieve her. They got her back but Heekwan ended up dying in the process after tripping and being tackled by four zombies, sustaining multiple bites.

Everyone sat in silence for a minute, catching their breath as they took in what happened. They knew it was just a game but it was still unfortunate to have someone knocked out so soon.

"Heekwan was so sweet..." Tsuki pouted. Aeri nodded along solemnly.

"We told you it was a bad idea to send Narae out." Aeri sighed. She struggled to understand how some of these guys were so incapable of thinking logically.

"It's unfortunate but we have to move on. We have all the supplies we need so we should focus on getting out of here." Siyoung said with a sigh, shoving everything into the two backpacks they had. Hyoseop slung the heavier one with the water over his shoulders, tightening the straps so it wouldn't slip whilst they were running. Siyoung took the one with the food and medical supplies, including the grape candy and chocolate Hongchul had managed to swipe.

The chatter was cut off when the zombies slammed against the windows and door and Narae yelled out in surprise.

"We need to be quiet, we can't get out if they're all right outside our only escape route," Dindin said. The group flowered their voices into whispers and watched the door, waiting for the zombies to lose interest so they could leave. Jonathan forced his body weight against the door to keep it closed.

Tsuki clutched Aeri's hand tightly as Siyoung and Dindin began splitting them into two groups—one that would take the route to the supermarket's automatic doors and the other that would take the high route to the back of the store and leave through the employee exit. Aeri was put into a group with Tsuki, Hongchul, Dindin and Siyoung and the five of them walked out of the room after dimming the lights to lower the risk of the zombies seeing them.

They walked towards the camping section as per Siyoung's instruction and quietly opened the door to the back rooms, flinching when they saw that even the storage rooms were swarming with zombies.

Aeri took the initiative and led them into the room, crouching down and making her steps silent. Tsuki was the first to follow her, then Siyoung and Hongchul. They climbed on top of the units and placed down a ladder to get to the other side. Aeri went first, stepping across with ease, followed by Tsuki, Dindin and Siyoung. Hongchul was last and opted to crawl over the ladder out of fear of falling into the pit of zombies below them.

"They're touching me!" He cried before rushing over, almost causing the ladder to topple over. The group hopped down and rushed out of the open door that led to the parking lot, running a safe distance away from any zombies before stopping with Hongchul falling to his knees, panting and Tsuki sitting on the floor.

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They were allowed another break after that seeing as they finished the first mission and Heekwan needed special effects makeup. Aeri was getting a little tired by this point and chose to sit inside one of the warm tents to text Bakugou just as he'd requested, even though he wouldn't answer. 

Just finished the first mission so we're on a quick break. Sleep well ♡ |sent

She went to the coffee station after that and downed an iced americano despite how much she loathed black coffee. She needed something stronger than her usual order to get her through the next two missions before they'd be allowed to go home and resume filming the day after tomorrow. Hyoseop walked in after she'd thrown her cup away and poured himself his own coffee, stifling a yawn. It wasn't even 11 PM and yet they were both exhausted.

"You'll be a front runner in the next challenge," Hyoseop said, sipping his bitter coffee with so much as a grimace.

"So will you." Aeri pointed out, digging into the selection of biscuits and cookies next to the coffee table.

"Well yeah but everyone knows what I can do already. This is your chance to show off."

Aeri hummed and passed him a shortbread to nibble on as they waited for the caffeine to kick in and the filming to resume.

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"No fucking way..." Aeri choked when they got back to the set. Hyoseop couldn't even bring himself to scold her for swearing, not when he was just as shocked as her.

Jinyoung was there in his hero costume with zombie makeup covering his face and neck, 11 keys strapped to his waist as he stared at the group unmoving. They would have to fight him to unlock the quirk cuffs.