Plague 2024 [Plague 2022 Season 3]

Episode 6

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.

ECHOES OF HOPE: CLINGING TO THE UNKNOWN

Hailey’s eyes widened as her gaze swept over the capsules lining the walls, her horror mounting with each one she examined. Shakily, she lowered her trembling hands, her knuckles white from gripping her gun. Her breaths grew shallow, her eyes darting until they settled on one particular figure suspended in greenish-blue liquid.

“No… this isn’t right. This isn’t real. What is all this?” she whispered, her voice wavering. The figure inside the capsule looked disturbingly familiar, though twisted, almost defiled by something monstrous. Her heart clenched as recognition dawned. Yohan. He was unmistakable, yet horrifically transformed, his face covered in the telltale pallor of the undead, clouded eyes staring out vacantly from a once-lively face.

“Yohan!” she screamed, her voice thick with grief. She stumbled forward, crashing against the glass with her fists, her cries echoing through the sterile room. “No, Yohan, no!” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she banged against the capsule. The face was his, but his body had transformed into something unrecognizable. Every muscle, every bone was twisted, bloated—an abomination. Her friend had become just another zombie.

“Hailey! Calm down!” Yuri shouted from across the room, panic lacing her tone.

Hailey whipped around, her eyes flashing with fury, her face drenched in tears, her body trembling with a volatile mix of anger and despair. “Calm down?!” she spat, voice quaking. “You want me to calm down?” She turned back to Yohan’s figure, her fists colliding with the capsule again, this time so hard it left her hands aching. “They’re gone! Dead! This… it’s over!” She looked back at Yuri, her voice cracking, barely a whisper now. “We fought so hard, so long, and for what? Just to see our friends like this?”

She slumped down, her fists sliding from clenched into open, helpless hands against the glass, leaving smudges that seemed to echo her defeat. Behind the glass, Yohan’s cloudy eyes snapped open, and his body began to shift, moving in a jolting, unnatural way as he snarled, his mouth twisted into a grotesque grimace, teeth snapping as he tried to claw his way free of the capsule.

Eunhye, watching all this, gritted her teeth, her hands balling into fists. She’d seen this nightmare before—the transformation of friends into mindless zombies—but the sight didn’t lose its sting. Each time was a new torment, a fresh cut. Slowly, she pulled out her walkie-talkie, her fingers trembling as she pressed the button and brought it to her lips.

“Hamin,” she spoke into the crackling device, her voice cold and restrained, yet tinged with the horror etched into her every word. “Answer if you hear me. Over.”

A moment of silence stretched, then the walkie-talkie emitted a low burst of static before Hamin’s voice came through, distorted yet unmistakable. “I hear you, noona. Over.”

Eunhye gripped the walkie-talkie tighter, preparing to say something, but Jaeyeon stepped forward, placing a hand over hers, stopping her mid-motion. She shot him a furious glare, but he simply met her eyes with a calm intensity. His gaze shifted to the others, gathering them in, his voice low yet insistent as he spoke.

“Kaneisyeon,” he began, his tone solemn. “She’s not here.”

His words hung in the air, incomprehensible for a moment as they registered with his companions. Yuri’s gaze flickered toward him, confusion clouding her face.

“And…” Jaeyeon continued, his eyes sliding to the figure of another zombie in a capsule. This one, the creature that had once been Jeha, snarled and thrashed, pressing its decomposed face against the glass as if sensing their presence. “There are no scars on his face.”

Yuri’s brow furrowed, and she turned to face him fully, her own sorrow and frustration catching in her throat. “What… do you mean?” she asked, struggling to understand as her gaze went from Jaeyeon to the thrashing creature and back.

“His scars,” Jaeyeon clarified, voice firm. “The ones he had all over his face—the ones you misunderstood him for, remember?”

Yuri shook her head slowly, her lips pressed tight. “I know what scars you’re talking about, but why does that matter? They… they turned him into a zombie… maybe they’re hidden under all the burnt skin…” Her voice cracked, barely holding together, each word a struggle to get out as she choked on the pain.

Jaeyeon’s expression remained unmoved, analytical as he took in their surroundings and the figure before him. “No, Yuri. We’ve learned plenty about this godforsaken world, enough to know that when someone turns, their outer appearance doesn’t change much. Their wounds, the injuries they have from when they died—they’re still there, right down to the smallest scar. The only changes are their eyes turning cloudy and those veins popping out.”

Sae Joon Hyun shifted uneasily, folding his arms as he narrowed his gaze on Jaeyeon. “What are you trying to say, Jaeyeon?” His tone was steady, but his eyes betrayed the tension simmering beneath.

“What I’m saying,” Jaeyeon replied, voice steady, gaze unyielding, “is that those scars wouldn’t just disappear. And that means… that person might not be Jeha at all.”

There was a beat of silence, then Hailey surged forward, grabbing Jaeyeon by the collar, yanking him so close she could feel his breath. The force of her grip caused his hand to slip off the walkie-talkie, letting it dangle from his side.

“If you’re lying to me,” she hissed, her voice low, vibrating with fury and desperation, “I swear, I’ll kill you.” Her gaze was relentless, piercing, tears still fresh on her face, each one a testament to the fragile hope she was clinging to, however irrational.

Before Jaeyeon could respond, a crackling voice broke through the silence, filling the tense air. “Noona, is everything alright? Contact if you hear me. Over.” It was Hamin’s voice, his concern palpable even through the static on the walkie-talkie.

Sae Joon Hyun let out a sigh, his eyes narrowing as he turned to Jaeyeon, his expression a complex blend of hope and skepticism. “Jaeyeon,” he said slowly, choosing his words carefully, “I want to cling to any hope I can. To believe that somehow… we might see them again as they were. If what you’re saying is true, I’ll listen. But if you’re saying this just to escape the truth, to deny what’s in front of us…” He trailed off, his gaze hardening. “Then it won’t end well for any of us. False hope is the worst kind of hope.”

Jaeyeon met Sae Joon Hyun’s stare with unshakable resolve. “I’m positive,” he replied firmly, a steady calm in his voice. He gently took Hailey’s hand, loosening her grip on his collar, and looked directly into her tear-filled eyes. “I’m positive that these zombies… they aren’t them. This isn’t the end for us or them.”

He turned his gaze to Eunhye, a subtle nod passing between them, a silent confirmation of shared resolve. Eunhye raised the walkie-talkie, her fingers trembling slightly but her voice steady. “All is fine,” she said into the device, her tone carefully controlled. “Just checking in for updates. Over.”

Another bout of static crackled before Hamin’s voice came back, slightly clearer. “Copy that, noona. All good here. Just stay safe, all of you. Over and out.”

The silence that followed was heavy, filled with a mix of hope, fear, and the faintest glimmer of something else—a determination that hadn’t quite burned out.