ISOLATION | JinLia FF

Chapter 4 Stay Alive

"I think that's everything" After cleaning the club room and organizing some tools, Chaeryeong decided to end her day from her duties as part of the science club. The room was filled with silence that one movement can echo all over the room. The lights that passes through the windows, the shadows it creates and the stillness. It's so cunning from the young science club member's view. Upon hanging her bag on her shoulder, Chaeryeong decided to walk out of the room with a smile.

As usual, stepping out of the room presented a vacant and voiceless hallway. It was normal for her to witness such view whenever she goes home after club duty. She was about to close the main door of the club room when she heard rustling sound making her turn to the direction. There she saw a student standing at the end of the hallway with head hanging down. "What the! You almost killed me." Feeling the sudden nervousness, Chaeryeong expressed to herself as she let out a sigh of relief holding her chest.

But as she turned the key to finally locking the door, she noticed at the side of her eye, how the guy moved closer making her looked at the said direction. Unsteady walking and weird groans resonating from the student. "Is he drunk? He better not shows up in front of our student president or he'll be doomed." Chaeryeong stated still examining the guy who's walking on her direction.

The moment the student looked up at Chaeryeong, the guy ran towards her and grabbed her shoulders resulting on both dropping on the floor with Chaeryeong under him.  She was speechless and can hardly blink from what she's seeing. His eyes are almost white with visible eye bags, and his mouth drooling. Chaeryeong resisted, pushing him as much as she can. She knew the moment she stopped withstanding this person, she will end up in a great trouble.

Due to the adrenaline she's feeling, her survival instinct heightened making her strike the keys she's holding on the guy's face consecutively until it struck on his eyes, followed by using all her strength to push him which was successful. Chaeryeong hysterically crawled until she was able to stand up and ran far from him but when she was about to reach the end of the hallway, she saw a couple for students passed towards the right followed by another student who has similar description to the one she encountered a while ago. Unfortunately, that thing caught sight of her and turned to her direction.

"What the heck is happening here... I... I must be dreaming." She exclaimed to herself, turning back just to see another thing that made her gasped.

The student that assaulted her was lifelessly walking with keys struck on his eye and blood flowing down on his body. She tried to calm herself and went to the window on her left. Jumping out of it led her to the school garden in the middle of two school buildings, she ran to the next one not wanting to witness more of what she had seen. She later ended up inside the student council office.

"If this door turned out be locked, I...I think it would be the end of me" Due to reliving the moment, Chaeryeong can't helped but cry. She can't stop her tears from the horrifying event. Hearing the story, Ryujin and Lia comforted her until her sobs faded.

After a while, Ryujin remembered her childhood friend. She can't believe how she forgot her. Quickly dialing her number, she placed her phone beside her ear only to hear a no signal tone. "wha... what?!" was all she could say as she stares at her phone.

"Don't waste your time. The signal is out." Lia explained failing calling her parents and friends a few minutes back. Ryujin can feel the weakness on her knees upon hearing Lia's words. Leaning back on the wall, she slowly sat on the floor being frustrated of not reaching Yuna.

"What should we do now?" Hesitantly, Lia asked. The room filled with silence noticeably to the lack of answer to the question. Then Ryujin remembered the old radio they kept in the office. Pulling out the radio in one of the cabinets beside her, she immediately tried to turn it on and hope for a reception on what's happening.

She kept on turning the channels but still nothing.  "Please" Ryujin pleaded as she walks around the room to find a signal until she finally got a weak signal but audible. She turned the volume just enough for them to hear.

"Breaking News, the town X just outside Seoul has the most reported cases of the surging new flu..."

"Wait. Isn't that where we are?" Lia interrupted but Ryujin and Chaeryeong continued focusing on the news.

"The government decided to force an urgent lockdown on the said town at midnight. Citizens who'll pass the screening can leave the town before midnight. Those who displays symptoms shall be placed on quarantine by the military present"

"What?!" Lia reacted. They only have a few hours left for them to reach a checkpoint to finally get out of there. But Lia was fully aware that it won't be that easy.

"So far, the National Medical Research Institute has few confirmed symptoms from the said virus. In general, it shows flu symptoms for a few hours of exposure until the infected to be heavily sick, some even collapses after an hour. Some are directed to comatose or a few days of unresponsive sle---"

And there, the signal was cut and only static can be heard from the radio. Hearing the news, the student president let out a small smile. She slowly stood up while taking her eyeglasses off, loosening her necktie revealing a cool image than the prim and proper side of her then blurted "Then all we need to do is survive until we reach a checkpoint before midnight. No matter what"

"But the news doesn't have connection on what's happening here" Chaeryeong interrupted. Ryujin turned to the science club member with a serious face and a cold stare.

"This is the flu."

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Hey! how's the reading going? I haven't really thought of writing an apocalyptic story before. It's just that, what's happening recently in the real world gave me some ideas.

Don't forget to vote and comment :)