Dead By Dawn

2 - No Funny Business

When you were younger, the apocalypse was something that you continually annoyed your parents about. Questions like: "What's a zombie?" or "What would happen to our pets?" were demanded to be answered for you. As you got older, it became something you would joke around with your friends about. You would watch movies (Train to Busan slightly terrified you), play games about it, and you even dressed up as a zombie for Halloween one year. It was something you all worried about, but knew it wasn't going to happen. At least, until you found yourself face to face with the reality of it.

When you pictured zombies, you thought that they'd be what the media portrayed them as. You weren't very wrong. In reality, they were mangled creatures. Many had lost their limbs along their journey, others were missing a lot of skin and dragged along whatever was left of them. They didn't look completely human. Or at least, not anymore. It sickened you to the bone to face these monsters and kill what was left of their human counterpart.

"Y/N, to your left!"

You didn't know how you got into this situation. One minute, you were walking peacefully and quietly around town, scavenging for anything you could find useful. The next minute, you were surrounded by a small hoard of zombies. The dog that barked across the street from you and Hoseok might have had something to do with it.

There were two things the movies and shows got right: zombies were mostly blind until there was noise to draw them in, and some could run. Fortunately, you were always able to outrun the few that chased you.

"I think..." you panted, "we got them all."
A quiet grunt was heard before another body fell to the ground behind you.

"Don't let your guard down."

You and Hoseok turned to see a tall man behind you. His face was scratched up and slightly sunburnt-probably from walking in the sun all day. He was lanky and looked like he hadn't eaten much in the past few days. He wore half a suit; the jacket probably discarded a long time ago. His shirt was dirty, covered in dried blood and patches of dirt. Holes were scattered all around it. The only thing he carried was the knife he had in his hand. He had no backpack in sight.

"Uh, thanks." You told him.

The man hummed. He didn't sound like he enjoyed your gratitude, but his face said otherwise. He had a small smirk played on his lips after what you said, probably proud of what he did to save another human.

"Seokjin."

Your face contorted into one of confusion.

"I'm Seokjin, if you were wondering."

Ah. His name. He was giving you his name. It wasn't like you were really wanting to know in the first place. Although, he did save you from death.

Hoseok stepped forward and thrusted his hand into the empty space between the three of you.

"Hoseok. I would say nice to meet you, but given the kind of situation we're in, I'm not sure anymore."

Seokjin giggled lightly. He, too, thrusted his hand into the space between you. He connected with Hoseok in a firm, but cautious handshake. Enough to be courteous, but not enough to let their guards down.

You both learned to never trust so easily after an incident a couple of months ago. It was only a week or so into the events that led you to where you were now. There was chaos on every street. It didn't seem like it was the apocalypse, but rather the purge. You met a group who was trying to get as much as they could to survive. You and Hoseok followed them for a little while, grabbing whatever you could to help.

One night, you all set up camp in a small home on the outskirts of the town you were in. Everyone placed their stuff in a 'safe room' to make sure nothing would happen to it while you slept. When you and Hoseok woke up the next morning, you realized your companions were gone out of the house. You quickly checked the safe room for your stuff only to find nothing but an empty room.