Plague 2023 (Plague 2022 Season 2)

Episode 13

THE CORRIDOR OF SECRETS

Yuri took the square-shaped thin card and a syringe, her hands trembling slightly as she did so. The card was a key, and the syringe held a sedative powerful enough to knock out anyone who stood in their way. She glanced back at Eunhye and Sae Joon Hyun, their eyes filled with a mixture of hope and desperation.

With a deep breath, Yuri inserted the card into the small slot next to the door. There was a soft click as the lock disengaged. She pushed the door open, revealing a brightly lit corridor.

Eunhye and Sae Joon Hyun were relieved with her idea. They left the room together, leaving their infected friends inside. The door closed with a finality that sent shivers down their spines. The infected were their friends, but right now, they were dangerous.

They walked into the long white corridor, its stark brightness almost blinding. The corridor stretched endlessly before them, sterile and silent. Every step they took echoed loudly, amplifying their anxiety.

Their thoughts were consumed by the friends who were not a part of the infected horde. They had to find them, they had to save them.

Sae Joon Hyun broke the silence. "All those who are missing have something special to them," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Eunhye and Yuri nodded in agreement. Hailey had the ability to time travel, Yon was half-zombie, and Su Yeong was definitely stronger than any average human. Eugene had some mysterious connection to Yon, though they didn't fully understand it. But the women were puzzled about Jaeyeon. Why was he not with the infected?

Sae Joon Hyun knew the reason but didn't say it. He didn't want to. He couldn't. The truth was too painful, too dangerous. It was a burden he would carry alone, at least for now.

Their goal was clear. They needed to find the woman in the white coat. She was the key to everything. They had to deal with her, save their friends, and find the missing ones.

They walked for several minutes, the tension mounting with each step, until they came across the white door where they had first entered. The memories of the zombies who hadn't hurt them, who had simply run past them, flooded their minds.

Sae Joon Hyun sighed at the sight of the door as they moved past it. The oddity of that moment still puzzled him. "Let's find the exit of this building," Yuri suggested. The others nodded. It wouldn't be easy because they knew they were trapped. But this was their only choice.

They continued their journey through the corridor, the silence heavy with unspoken fears. Finally, they saw it: a large, white, shining exit door. It seemed almost too easy.

They had grabbed makeshift weapons in their hands—poles, medical tools to fend for themselves—but nothing happened as they approached the door. No ambush, no traps.

They looked at each other, their expressions a mix of disbelief and cautious optimism. The three of them stepped closer to the door. It was the exit and the entry.

Sae Joon Hyun pushed his hand against it slightly, already thinking in his head that it wouldn't open. But it did open. It seemed like everything was going too easy.

The outside world welcomed them. Bright sunlight poured in, but everything was in ruins because of the zombies. The once bustling streets were now desolate, chaos and destruction everywhere.

They couldn't see any zombies, but the evidence of their rampage was all around.

They stepped out of the building, into the harsh reality of their world.

The outside was better than inside the building, and the three of them felt this collectively. The white building was so much scarier because there was nowhere to run, and they knew nothing about the place. The sense of confinement, of being trapped with nowhere to escape, had been suffocating.

They were all still in the white robes and shoeless, remnants of the deception they had endured. The flimsy fabric and their bare feet made them vulnerable, but they preferred fighting zombies over staying in that oppressive place.

"We'll save all of them," Sae Joon Hyun said, gripping the pole he was holding with renewed determination. His resolve sparked a fire in their hearts.

Their thoughts drifted back to what they last remembered. They had been surrounded by zombies in different places, separated from each other. The terror of those moments was etched in their minds. Then, everything went black. They didn't remember anything after that, only to wake up in the building where they were fooled into thinking it was a safety camp.

"There was no safety camp," Yuri said, her voice tinged with bitterness. The others nodded. They were completely sure that those people had been playing with their heads, manipulating their fear and hope.

"We have to go back to that place. Where we were surrounded by zombies," Sae Joon Hyun said, referring to the base they had taken refuge in during the early stages of the apocalypse. It had been their safe haven, but now, it was a place they had to reclaim.

Eunhye and Yuri nodded together. Eunhye and Sae Joon Hyun had been trapped there, while Yuri had been chased by burning zombies along with a handful of their friends. They had to return, to find answers and hopefully reunite with their lost companions.

They scanned the desolate streets for a vehicle, their eyes searching for any sign of transportation. The chaos had left cars abandoned, some wrecked and others with their doors open as if the occupants had fled in haste. They needed to find something that could get them back to their base quickly and safely.

Among the rubble and the abandoned cars, a glimmer of hope appeared. An old, battered van stood on the side of the road, its windows intact and its tires seemingly untouched by the destruction around it. Sae Joon Hyun approached it cautiously, testing the door handle. It opened with a creak, and he peered inside.

"It's not perfect, but it'll do," he said, turning to the others. Yuri and Eunhye climbed in, and Sae Joon Hyun slid into the driver's seat. The key was still in the ignition, a small mercy in a world gone mad.

He turned the key, and the engine roared to life. They exchanged a brief look of relief, and Sae Joon Hyun put the van in gear. As they drove away from the white building, the sense of freedom was almost overwhelming.