By Zephyria 
“Um, there’s this thing, a talking chick.”
Ha-jin carefully placed the Messenger Bag he had on his shoulder on the ground. Then, with people watching, he bowed his head deeply and timidly rummaged through his bag. After moving his hands suspiciously for a while, Ha-jin stood up again. In his hand was a handful of yellow chick doll.
“If you press the power button, exactly 3 seconds later, it makes a tremendously loud noise and runs around. The chirping sound is quite loud. This should be enough as bait to lure the zombies.”
After speaking, Ha-jin took out one AA battery from the front pocket of his bag and inserted it into the back of the chick’s head.
The faces of the group, who had been listening to the explanation in silence, contorted ambiguously. Some were holding back laughter that was about to burst out, and some were gaping as if they were dumbfounded. Eden was, of course, the latter.
“Do Ha-jin… Was bringing ten Card Decks not enough?”
It was a question of why he had brought a talking chick in a backpack where it was a waste to put in even one more survival item. Eden had previously advised the team members packing their backpacks to pack only the essentials and keep them to a minimum.
Ha-jin mumbled an excuse shamelessly with a face that had turned completely red.
“Even though it looks like a simple toy, it’s been my magic partner for a long time. I have a few more besides Chickie, but anyway, it’s the only one I brought.”
“Chickie?”
Eden’s expression completely distorted, and Park Chun-beom, who was standing behind him, couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“Pfft.”
“Ha-jin Hyung! So, is Chickie bait? Are you going to use Chickie as bait? That’s sad….”
In the meantime, only Jeong Byeol pointed to the chick in Ha-jin’s hand and asked a serious question. Eden, who waved his hand in the air to calm the commotion, asked again.
“Is there anything else you brought that’s useless?”
Ha-jin, who was blushing to his cheeks as if he was embarrassed, glared fiercely at Eden’s remark.
“Useless stuff? We’re using it as bait to save our lives, what do you mean….”
He pouted his lips and stroked the worn chick’s fur. It was a very cautious gesture, as if he was afraid of accidentally pressing the power button.
Mi-so, who had been watching, reached out to Ha-jin.
“Give it to me. I’ll throw it.”
Then, Lee Chang-yeol blocked Mi-so’s hand.
“Are you sure you’re okay? I’m a little stronger, so I should throw it….”
“This isn’t something that can be done just by being mindlessly strong. You need skill.”
No one objected to Mi-so’s words. There was no one here who could use their arms as delicately as she could, who was a former athlete. Moreover, there was only one chance. If they accidentally dropped it in the middle or failed to throw it far enough, everyone’s lives could be in danger.
“Mi-so, you throw it.”
Ha-jin, who handed the doll to Mi-so without complaint, closed his wide-open bag again and slung it over his shoulder.
While Mi-so stretched her head out towards the medical center parking lot to scout the throwing point, Eden scouted the hiding point beyond the parking lot. There was a guard post that looked like a phone booth at the entrance of the medical center.
The group, who shared a simple plan, stood in their respective positions and waited for the right moment. Mi-so, who signaled with her eyes, handed her Messenger Bag to Jeffrey. Jeffrey, who received the bag, was busy joking even in the midst of all this.
“Mi-so. Failure is death, ahead.”
“Don’t jinx it and just cheer me on quietly, Jeffrey.”
“Jinx? I don’t have a jinx.”
Mi-so, who had left the trees, ran behind a parked black car and hid. She held her breath, waiting for the moment when the zombies’ eyes were facing the ground or the opposite side. How long had it been? It was around the time when the high-rising sun created a drop of sweat on Mi-so’s forehead.
Now.
She, who had been squatting with her blood not circulating, stood up from her seat. Eden signaled to the group at the same time.
The given time was only 3 seconds. Mi-so pressed the power button without a moment’s hesitation.
3 seconds.
As she gently rotated her long arm half a turn backward, her hand gracefully extended diagonally above her head.
2 seconds.
Without hesitation, she forcefully threw the doll towards the point she had been watching.
1 second…….
Chirp—!!!! Chirp—!!!!! Chirp—!!!!! Chirp─!!!!
As the chick, which flew in a parabola, let out a thunderous roar, the zombies’ heads turned in the same direction all at once. The chick leaped into a corner of the parking lot, boasting a higher decibel than expected.
“Kyaaaaak—!”
“Kkuuuuuueo!”
The zombies, who had been moving weakly, quickly ran towards the direction of the sound as if nothing had happened.
That’s it. Mi-so, who clenched her fist, turned around. Eden and the group, who had already approached, led her and quickly crossed the parking lot and escaped.
Eden hid behind the guard post he had been watching and caught his breath. As everyone sat down in a line, his eyes rolled busily. He was checking the number of people, but one number was missing.
Ha-jin, who also realized the situation, raised his crouching body halfway and looked around.
“Lee Chang-yeol…?”
Chirp—! Chirp!!!
Amidst the mechanical sound of the chick chirping loudly, the zombies’ sharp roar was heard.
An ominous premonition swept down his spine.
“Wasn’t Lee Chang-yeol following right behind?”
[That’s right. He was definitely behind me… Where did he go?]
Jeffrey muttered in English, flustered. Eden checked the watch on his wrist and asked.
“Do Ha-jin, how long can that chick chirp?”
“It’ll keep chirping unless someone touches it.”
“Isn’t there a set time?”
“No, it only turns off when you press the power button. It’ll probably keep chirping unless a zombie touches it,”
Before he could finish speaking, the chick’s cry, which had been tearing his eardrums, stopped abruptly, as if it were a lie.
“Shit….”
Mi-so chewed on the curse and touched her forehead, which had become hot. As the chirping noise stopped, the surroundings became quiet in an instant. They had to head to the pharmacy before the zombies, who had been gathered at the end of the parking lot, scattered in all directions again. However, Lee Chang-yeol was still nowhere to be seen.
As if he couldn’t delay any longer, Eden stood up from his seat.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes? What about Lee Chang-yeol?”
Ha-jin whispered, and his gaze turned somewhere. Eden didn’t say anything in particular.
“Jeong Tae-geon? Are you saying we should just leave Lee Chang-yeol behind?”
Eden put his index finger to his lips as if telling him to be quiet. Following his gaze, everyone’s heads turned. In the distance, Lee Chang-yeol was limping towards the guard post. Everyone in the group, who sensed an unusual energy, stood up from their seats and tightly gripped the weapons in their hands.
Lee Chang-yeol, who was approaching with pale lips, smiled in relief as if he was relieved to find the group.
Eden cast his gaze at Lee Chang-yeol’s limping leg. Blood was pooling over his navy blue uniform pants. Eden spread one palm and blocked Lee Chang-yeol, who was trying to approach. The smiling face hardened in an instant.
Ha-jin hid behind Eden and rolled his eyes, carefully scanning Lee Chang-yeol’s appearance. His lips were pale, but his pupils were still a clear black, and he didn’t have a nosebleed.
His injured leg was a concern, but fortunately, there were no signs of infection. Lee Chang-yeol’s face crumpled helplessly, as if he resented the people who were wary of him.
“I’m fine. I just fell on the way and got cut by a rock.”
He revealed his condition, suppressing his voice as much as possible. Eden watched the commotion of the zombies, who had started moving again, and gestured with his chin.
“Let’s just follow along for now.”
It was necessary to examine Lee Chang-yeol’s condition in detail, but there was no time. Eden wrapped one hand around Lee Chang-yeol’s neck and put the blade of the hand ax to his neck with the other hand.
“Ugh, what are you doing…!”
“Let’s go like this until we get to the pharmacy.”
Eden led the way, dragging Lee Chang-yeol along. Ha-jin, who swallowed hard, led the rest of the group and followed behind him.
Soon, a low two-story shopping district appeared. There were two pharmacies in the shopping district building.
As if someone had already been there, the glass doors of both pharmacies were shattered. Eden, who stepped on the glass and entered the first pharmacy, clicked his tongue and shook his head. The medicines were mixed up in a mess, and there were not many of them.
The next pharmacy was the same. The group left the shopping district without regret and headed to the standalone pharmacy inside this time. Eden was still aiming the blue blade at Lee Chang-yeol’s neck.
“I’m really going to get stabbed. Please move this away.”
“I’ll check at the next pharmacy and let you go.”
Lee Chang-yeol glared at Eden resentfully. He was more reliable than anyone else in the world when he was on your side, but when he wasn’t, he was ruthlessly unforgiving, a human who would stab a knife into your neck at any time if things went wrong….
Lee Chang-yeol knew this kind of human very well. They all had one thing in common: they were perched at the very top of the group.
Naturally, he recalled his boss, swallowed hard, and his Adam’s apple bobbed. He shuddered as the blade of the ax lightly touched him. His vision was becoming blurred, probably because he had lost a lot of blood.