Plague 2024 [Plague 2022 Season 3]

Episode 5

Sae Joon Hyun chuckled weakly, his forehead damp with sweat. "Is it my fault the floor decided to break apart like that?" He mock-scoffed, his breath still coming in ragged bursts. But his heart was still racing, and he could feel the fear lingering, just below the surface.

They all sat for a moment, catching their breath, the cold air of the corridor pressing in around them. What lay beyond that final door was still a mystery, but they knew one thing for sure: nothing about this place was going to let them leave easily.

ECHOES OF TERROR: FACES OF THE DAMNED

The atmosphere was thick with tension as they stood in the sterile corridor, Jaeyeon’s brush with death still fresh in everyone’s mind. Hailey broke the uneasy silence, her voice barely above a whisper. “What if all the floors open up like trapdoors?”

Sae Joon Hyun and Jaeyeon immediately stood up, their nerves on edge from her words. Jaeyeon glanced down, eyeing the floor as if expecting it to split apart again at any moment.

"Don’t jinx it, kid," Yuri breathed deeply, her words an attempt to calm her nerves, though her tone betrayed the anxiety gripping her. Despite the fear, they stood together as close to the door behind them as possible. But it wasn’t a solution—they knew it. The floor beneath them was just as much a potential trap as the one in front of them. They had no choice but to press forward.

"Isn’t there a scanner? Some kind of keypad to type in the password? A secret button, maybe, to open this door?" Yuri muttered, more to herself than to anyone else, frustration evident in the way she pounded her fists against the sealed door. Her words seemed to echo off the cold, white walls, a hollow reminder of how trapped they were.

Hailey, refusing to stand idle, placed her palms on the wall next to the door. Sliding her hands along the surface, she searched for any small indication of a way out—something, anything that could release them from this unnerving hallway. Yuri followed suit, mimicking Hailey’s actions as they both scoured the walls for a clue.

Jaeyeon, ever cautious, kept his eyes glued to the floor, as though staring at it would somehow prevent it from opening beneath them again. But right now, all they had were their instincts and their shared fear to guide them.

"The sirens probably went off because unauthorized people entered this place. Which would be us," Sae Joon Hyun said after a long pause, his voice calm, but the weight of their situation was unmistakable.

Eunhye, arms crossed, gave a slight nod. "So, these trapdoors are meant for intruders. Which means us."

"Tch, of course, they’d have this kind of tech in a world that’s already run down," Jaeyeon spat bitterly, the frustration in his voice rising with each passing second. The idea that such advanced security systems still existed in the remnants of their world made the situation feel even more hopeless.

"I wonder, though. How?" Yuri muttered as her fingers continued to trail across the walls, her mind racing with possibilities.

Hailey’s next words came in a rush, full of dread. "What if random guns pop out of nowhere and shoot us because we’re intruders? It’s a security system, you know…"

"Girl, you better learn to talk less," Eunhye sighed, though she couldn’t fault Hailey’s logic. The idea wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. Still, it was better not to stress everyone out more than they already were.

Just as the weight of their tension seemed unbearable, Yuri’s hand brushed against something—something that wasn’t just smooth wall. She froze for a second, her fingers grazing what felt like a soft bump, almost like a cushion embedded into the surface. It wasn’t anything visible, and if she hadn’t been so intent on finding something, she might have missed it entirely.

As if responding to her touch, the door let out a sharp hiss and slid open.

"Oh, good. I don’t know what that was, but the door opened!" Yuri exclaimed, her voice laced with relief. Without a moment’s hesitation, she jumped through the threshold, her mind still on the possibility of more trapdoors. The others, hearts pounding, followed quickly, grateful to be out of the corridor.

But the doors didn’t close behind them, leaving an open path back to the hall. For a brief moment, this seemed like a stroke of luck—they could run if they needed to. If anything went wrong in the next room, escape was still an option.

Inside, the room mirrored the sterile, clinical environment of the rest of the building. The walls were an unbroken white, illuminated by soft green and blue lights that lined the ceiling and floors. The lights cast an eerie glow on the strange capsules scattered across the room—capsules filled with swirling, liquid smoke. Medical equipment was strewn across the floor, some carts overturned, as if in a rush.

They exchanged brief, tense glances, their expressions mirroring the apprehension everyone felt. This place was wrong. Everything about it screamed danger, yet they had no choice but to move forward. Whatever answers they were looking for were here—buried behind these sterile walls.

They moved cautiously toward the first door on the opposite wall. It stood ominous and heavy, the only barrier between them and whatever waited beyond. Each step felt like a gamble, their weapons clutched tightly in hand, ready for whatever lay ahead.

As they approached, the hum of machines and the faint hiss of air filled the space around them. Their eyes darted around, searching for any sign of danger—another trapdoor, an unexpected enemy, anything that might spring upon them.

"Alright," Jaeyeon whispered as they stood before the door, his voice low and steady. "Time to find out what’s really going on."

Jaeyeon took a steadying breath, his hand hovering over the heavy door before giving it a firm push. To his surprise, it swung open effortlessly, with no scan required, no hidden security checks or trap triggers. The simplicity of the moment was unnerving, leaving them all on edge. Nothing in this place was supposed to be easy.

Hailey’s reaction was immediate. In one fluid motion, she lifted her gun, her body tense, muscles coiled as if ready to spring. The others followed suit, instinct kicking in as they raised their weapons. They were prepared for anything now—anything lurking behind the door, waiting for them in the shadows.

The group filed in behind Jaeyeon, moving cautiously, weapons trained on the darkness ahead. Their senses heightened, every creak, every flicker of light seemed amplified, pulling them deeper into the room’s eerie silence.

As their boots crossed the threshold, the familiar green and blue lights flickered to life, faint at first, but growing stronger as they moved further inside. The soft glow reflected off the metallic surfaces and strange glass capsules scattered around the room. The lights cast strange, rippling shadows, giving the impression that something—some things—were alive within those capsules.

A chill ran down Hailey’s spine as her gaze landed on one of the capsules. The liquid inside it bubbled gently, a sickly green-blue hue swirling like smoke trapped in water. But it wasn’t just the unsettling liquid that caught her attention—it was what was inside the capsule.

Her breath hitched.

Zombies.

They weren’t like the wild, feral creatures that usually roamed outside. No, these were different. Contained. Almost peaceful, floating in the liquid, their bodies suspended as if frozen in time. But that wasn’t the worst part. Hailey’s heart pounded harder as she took a step closer, her eyes narrowing to see through the haze.

The faces of the zombies… they looked disturbingly familiar.

It was a gut punch to each of them as they realized. The faces staring back from within the capsules were eerily like those of their friends. Faces they had fought alongside. Faces they had mourned. But here, they were twisted, lifeless versions, locked in a state of undeath.

Jaeyeon’s grip tightened around his weapon, his knuckles turning white. His jaw clenched as he took in the sight before him. "What… the hell is this?" he muttered, his voice low and full of disbelief. He took a cautious step forward, trying to understand what he was seeing.