By Zephyria 
“Fire?”
Having grasped the situation, Eden immediately rose from his seat and threw open the tightly sealed, dust-covered window.
Though zombies were still within sight, they could no longer delay their escape. If they could smell smoke, it was already far too late. They could suffocate or the building could explode before they even got bitten.
Without hesitation, Eden tossed his backpack out the window. It landed softly on the lush weeds below. Fortunately, the zombies were running to the opposite side of the building, toward the source of the fire. Now was their chance.
“Yun Mi-so, go down first and check the situation, then receive Jeong Byeol right away.”
Before he could finish speaking, Mi-so threw her messenger bag over her shoulder and tossed it outside.
“Step on me.”
Eden dropped to the floor on all fours, bending his back. It was a movement without a hint of hesitation. Mi-so stepped firmly on his broad back, then hoisted herself onto the windowsill, using her strength to pull her upper body out.
She carefully scanned for zombies. Everyone held their breath. After confirming it was safe, Mi-so placed one leg on the windowsill.
“I’ll go out first, so everyone follow me quickly.”
She slipped out, as if sliding. Thump! It was quite loud, but thankfully, no zombies swarmed.
Next was Byeol. Eden gave him a piggyback ride, and Byeol silently reached for the window without a peep. A small, hushed voice came from outside.
“Jump straight down!”
“Okay!”
Byeol threw himself toward Mi-so.
After safely getting the two out, Eden stood up. Jeffrey, who had been waiting, scolded him to duck down again.
[Next me, me, me! Hurry up and crouch down again!]
[Ha, this disloyal bastard.]
Thick, acrid smoke seeped through the cracks in the door. Tears were now welling up in Ha-jin’s eyes. He hurriedly soaked a handkerchief with water and covered his mouth and nose.
Meanwhile, Jeffrey managed to squeeze through the window. Then Park Chun-beom, and then Lee Chang-yeol.
Eden was still crouched on the floor. Ha-jin urgently rummaged through his backpack for scissors. He cut the water-soaked handkerchief in half and held it to Eden’s mouth, who was still crouched on the floor. Eden glanced back at Ha-jin.
“Cough! Step on me and get out.”
Ha-jin coughed and pushed Eden’s shoulder. Eden, as if annoyed, roughly grabbed Ha-jin’s waist. Swoop, he was lifted into the air.
“No, I’m telling you to go first!”
“I’m taller than you, so stop talking and get out. Grab the windowsill.”
His voice was low and firm. Flustered, Ha-jin fumbled and grabbed the windowsill. The towel covering his nose fell to the floor.
“Hurry.”
Eden’s firm tone made him anxious. Ha-jin stepped on his shoulder. Bending and contorting his body, he struggled to escape outside. The group waiting quickly pulled him to his feet.
Apparently, zombies had approached in the meantime, as two were lying dead in the corner with their necks broken.
Looking up anxiously, he saw Eden’s upper body suddenly appear. He had the half of the handkerchief Ha-jin had given him in his mouth. Eden’s expression wasn’t good, as if he had inhaled quite a bit of smoke. Ha-jin unconsciously stamped his feet and reached out his hand.
“Kuh….”
Eden squeezed through the window, almost breaking the frame. He had pulled his upper body out first, and was about to pull out his last leg.
“Kreaaaaak—!!”
The sound of a door breaking nearby was heard. The moment Eden completely cleared the windowsill, a blue zombie’s fingers flailed out of the window gap along with flames. It was a hair’s breadth away.
“Are you okay, Jeong Tae-geon?”
Ha-jin tugged at Eden’s clothes, which smelled of burning everywhere. Scratches from forcing his way out were left all over Eden’s arms like marks of punishment. On closer inspection, there were also scratch marks from fingernails.
Ha-jin realized that they were his own fingernail marks and frowned. The sensation of wildly scratching his wooden-like arm when he was hyperventilating came vividly to mind.
Instead of apologizing, Ha-jin took out a bottle of water he had packed in his bag. He handed it to Eden, who had inhaled a lot of smoke, and he emptied the bottle without a word.
The building was getting hotter and the flames were raging.
[Let’s go to the building in front!]
The group, having gathered all the bags that had fallen on the floor, hurriedly headed towards the green building 150m away, following Jeffrey’s signal.
It was a textile factory that had long since ceased operations, an abandoned building with one side collapsed and torn off.
As they rushed inside, littered with construction waste, bricks, and various trash, a zombie with its back bent in half lunged at them. Jeffrey swung his hand axe fiercely, and the zombie collapsed to its knees without making a sound. The blood splattered everywhere was disgusting.
[Ugh, I really feel like throwing up.]
Jeffrey pulled the axe, covered in brain fluid and blood, from the skull and turned his head.
Just in time, a huge explosion erupted from the direction of the mart, like fireworks bursting, and the ground shook finely as if an earthquake had occurred. The strength and vibration were considerable for an earthquake caused by a fire.
Dudududu…. Ha-jin soon realized that all this vibration, which seemed to shake the earth, was caused by the running of zombies. Beyond the torn-off wall of the building, zombies were running somewhere in droves. They were all heading towards the mart where the flames were rising.
Ha-jin couldn’t easily take his eyes off the scene, which looked like a scene from a horror movie. There were at least 100 of them, if not more.
It was fortunate. Unintentionally, the zombies had been caught by the bait, so they could use the time they had gained to head towards their destination. The group, hiding among the waste materials, held their breath and watched the zombies rushing towards the fire like moths to a flame.
“Haa. Does it have to be this spectacular every time?”
Mi-so shook her head as if she was already sick of it before it even started.
After checking with his eyes to see if anyone was missing, Eden ignored his throbbing temples and took a breath.
The smell of burning still vibrated throughout his body. If it hadn’t been for the wet handkerchief Do Ha-jin had given him, it might have been really dangerous. Do Ha-jin was more than pulling his weight, as much as he had hesitated to take him as a companion in the past.
Ha-jin, noticing Eden’s gaze, approached him.
“Are you okay? It looks like you inhaled a lot of smoke.”
He wanted to tease him that he smelled like grilled meat, but judging by the look on his face, it didn’t seem like the right time to act flippant. Ha-jin, realizing the situation, checked Eden’s condition.
Instead of answering, Eden took out the half-cut handkerchief from his back pocket and wiped his hand. It was the handkerchief that Ha-jin had wet and handed to him to prevent smoke inhalation.
‘Maybe if I add that handkerchief, will he count it as a tie?’
Ha-jin thought so, but he was also self-deprecating. He was appalled at his own childishness in scoring every time he owed Eden his life and saved his life. It wasn’t a competition, so what was he doing…
“Let’s reorganize and take the next step.”
Led by Eden, people gathered one by one. Patrol Officer Lee Chang-yeol squatted next to Ha-jin. He picked up a stone and diligently drew something on the dusty floor.
“Our current location is here.”
A round circle was born from his fingertips. Several straight lines stretched out crookedly from the circle, like branches growing from a tree.
“Here is an alley where houses are gathered, and here is the central commercial district. If you go further, you will find a park with a promenade. It’s a bit far for the road to the police station, but the safest place is here, this park. If you go this route, you will at least not encounter a group of zombies. The entrance is hidden, so people don’t know about it, and it’s not a place that many people visit.”
“What is the rectangular building next to the park exit?”
Ha-jin asked, and an answer popped out immediately.
“Sangwon Medical Center.”
Mi-so pointed her index finger at the rectangular shape as if she was glad.
“If it’s a medical center, there must be a pharmacy nearby, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. I remember there being at least three. There’s a shopping district right next to it.”
She looked at Eden with shining eyes. Eden, as if thinking the same thing, slowly stroked his chin and pondered.
“If we’re passing by anyway, let’s stop by the pharmacy. In this situation, securing medicine is more important than anything else.”
Besides, if they didn’t do it now, they wouldn’t have a chance to raid medical supplies. Everyone nodded in agreement with Eden’s words. Except for one person.
“That won’t do. Let’s go straight to the police station. If you look hard enough, there will be a pharmacy near there too.”
Lee Chang-yeol roughly erased the map he had drawn on the ground with one foot.
Eden, who was looking down at the floor, tilted his head and asked.
“Why?”
“Because, of course, there’s no time. I’m in a hurry.”
“Ah, because of the girlfriend you have to save?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s go separately.”
“Yes?”
At the voice asking back as if in doubt, Eden hardened his expression coldly.
“If you’re in a hurry, you can leave now.”