Like Ooh Ahh but more Violent

Peace (Finale)

It had been five months since Mina had lost the last of her members. Five months of pain and grief. Life had slowly become a mere cycle for her in the cramped bunker, waking up everyday at daybreak, working the security cameras from 2pm and dragging on till the clock stuck 6. It was only bearable due to the one friend she had made there, Koong.

The girl walked through the grey hallways, making her way towards the security room which her fatigued self would be cooped up in for the next four hours. A strange feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. Mina couldn’t remember eating breakfast that morning, neither recall waking up in the first place. She brushed it off, thinking back to what the therapist had pinpointed a month ago.

“Dissociation.” A tall woman that had sharp eyes and strikingly blonde hair smiled. Mina immediately felt a sense of distrust. The doctor had barged into her room that morning, accompanied with a clipboard and a stuffed puppy. Tzuyu’s favourite animal…The toy was shoved onto Mina’s lap and the woman began talking, not a breath of hesitation.”

“PTSD patients disconnect from their surroundings, which can stem the trauma memories and temporarily lower feelings fear, anxiety or shame.”

The sentence made Mina’s mind wander. There was no doubt she’d gotten PTSD; who’d possibly stay sane after seeing your closest friends get ripped apart, eaten alive and shot. Maybe someone sent this lady over because she was acting distant the past few days.

The door to the security room swung open and the usual soldiers greeted her. Mina took her seat and began her shift, purposely avoiding the one camera planted right outside the base.

Five other people shared the CCTV room with Mina. Sometimes, after she had left for dinner, the group talked about her. Where did she come from? How did she survive out there? There was no way anyone could manage being alone out there. Rumours were exchanged, varying from “she probably abandoned her friends” to “Koong sent a search team out for her.” No one knew much about Myoui Mina, they continued speaking of her.  Because in the midst an apocalypse, sometimes all a person needs is the simplicity of gossip.

Everything seemed calm for now. There weren’t any security breaches and none of the inhabitants caused any trouble. It was thankfully, one of the calmer days. The girl glanced up at the clock—less than fifteen minutes and shift ends. Mina switched aimlessly between cameras, a blank stare on her face when one of her coworkers picked up a radio and voiced a too familiar message.

“This is the government. We are sending out helicopters to survey the area to help any—

—survivors. The first batch has been sent out. I repeat, the first batch has been sent out.” The walkie talkie from Jihyo’s pocket finally crackled back to life. Mina was tirelessly swinging a chair leg at the approaching undead, the message having little effect. She risked a look to her other members and was mortified as a zombie took a bite out of Dahyun’ arm.

“ON THE ROOF! GET TO THE ROOF!” Sana’s voice screeched, until the audio was nothing but the growling of creatures and Sana’s desperate shouts while fending them off. Mina felt her legs wobble, then completely give way. Dahyun grabbed Chaeyoung’s pistol (as well as Jihyo’s walkie talkie), and shot the last few zombies before running off herself. Mina’s thoughts screamed. “No…No not you too! Please—

NO! DAHYUN COME BACK! PLEASE!” Tears trailed down the Japanese girl’s cheeks as she huddled in a corner of the security room. The other soldiers were desperately trying to calm her down, one of them being sent to look for Koong. Mina’s breathe came in short gasps, the nightmarish memories flashing in front of her eyes. The room was closing in on her, voices muddled together. Her vision blacked.