By Zephyria 
“Kyaaaaaaak—!!!”
Eden, hastily readjusting his Short sword, screamed as he fended off the charging zombies.
[Jeffrey!! Get Jeong Byeol inside the emergency exit first!]
[Give up, Eden!! The numbers keep increasing!!]
From behind, which he hadn’t managed to check, an increasing number of zombies were pouring out. Zombies in patient gowns stained with bright red blood crawled on the floor, twisted their arms, and bent their backs as they began to surround the helicopter and Eden.
The speed of the Aberrant, whose bodies were not in good condition, was not very threatening. In the meantime, Jeffrey quickly took Park Chun-beom and Byeol and evacuated into the emergency exit.
The Transport plane, having quickly finished preparations for departure, rose into the air, creating a fierce gust of wind.
While Eden shouted fiercely at the helicopter to wait, a soldier turned zombie clung tenaciously to the helicopter wheel, which had risen about 3m into the air. Following him, several more zombies reached out and lunged. The helicopter rose precariously into the sky, dangling the Aberrant like ornaments.
“Shit—!!”
Eden, having missed his chance to escape, cursed. He smashed the heads of the charging zombies as if to vent his anger, panting for a while. The zombies, whose attention had been focused on the noisy helicopter, slowly swarmed towards Eden.
At that moment, the helicopter, which had been rising into the sky, tilted and turned its body in an unexpected direction. Eden raised his head again at the ominous sound.
A zombie in a tattered patient gown charged at his chest.
“Ugh!”
He barely managed to grab the zombie’s hair and swung his hand irritably. Snap! The zombie’s neck twisted as if it were being torn off. Eden, panting, threw the Aberrant to the ground and glared fiercely at the underside of the helicopter.
The Surion was lowering its altitude and rushing back towards the rooftop. To be precise, the helicopter’s body, tilted at a 45-degree angle, was falling towards the building with a threatening force.
“This is… shit.”
He couldn’t delay any longer. Eden threw down his Short sword and quickly dashed towards the emergency door.
❖ ❖ ❖
“Where the hell did all these monster bastards hide?”
Mi-so whispered softly, following behind Ha-jin. Ha-jin, carrying a heavy duffel bag on his shoulder, looked around. He had just left the building, following Eden’s group, after confirming that they had safely left the warehouse.
Their footsteps were cautious as they crossed the dark back alley where not a single ray of light could be seen.
“Could it be that they also went to sleep because it’s dawn? Unbelievable.”
Mi-so continued to whisper, suppressing the excitement that was bubbling up. Ha-jin put his index finger to his lips as if he couldn’t jump to conclusions so easily. It was too early to get excited.
Ha-jin, who had quickly run to the lobby entrance, hesitated. In the distance, a familiar figure flickered on the large road. Six feet, heading towards the hospital building on the opposite side, were fast and cautious. It was Eden’s group.
Byeol, who was being held in Eden’s arms, waved his hand as he stopped. ‘Goodbye.’ The greeting he gave across the rain somehow felt poignant.
“Byeol is cute until the end.”
Mi-so nudged Ha-jin’s shoulder. She felt a sense of regret, as if she had grown fond of him in just one night.
Ha-jin, who waved back at the final greeting, turned again. Hiding under a large fir tree, they carefully moved towards their destination, surveying their surroundings.
The parking tower next to the Atrium. Despite the relatively short distance between the buildings, Ha-jin and Mi-so’s heads were soaked by the mercilessly pouring rain.
They passed through the empty guard post and entered the tower to find the gray van parked on the first floor. It seemed like a commotion had taken place here as well, as the floor was covered with blood that had a dark bluish color, like water. Because of the foul smell, Ha-jin covered his nose and breathed through his mouth.
“Looks like they all ran away. There aren’t many cars either.”
Mi-so, who muttered to herself, patted Ha-jin’s shoulder, who was holding his nose, and took the lead.
Most of the parking spaces, which had been packed with various vehicles, were empty. She found the parked van and crouched down, running to the back of the car. It took her less than 10 seconds to load the luggage she had been carrying into the back seat and start the engine.
Mi-so sat in the back seat instead of the passenger seat and reached into the trunk. She checked the extra bottles of water and a box of snacks she had brought just in case and let out a sigh of relief.
“Want a sip of water?”
Ha-jin, who was nervous, didn’t hear her and slowly turned the steering wheel. The parking barrier had already been smashed a long time ago, so he was able to easily exit the building without much effort.
Ha-jin, who looked up at the gray-brown sky where the rain had stopped through the car window, narrowed his brows.
“…Something’s strange….”
“What is?”
“It’s too easy.”
Mi-so moistened her dry mouth with water and shrugged her eyebrows as if agreeing.
Doo-doo-doo-doo— Doo-doo-doo—
As they entered the road, a heavy noise entered their ears. They simultaneously lowered the windows and leaned their heads out. A military Transport plane was rapidly approaching the hospital building, lowering its altitude.
“Looks like they’re really escaping by helicopter.”
Mi-so looked at the helicopter, which revealed its majestic presence, with her mouth open.
“I’m jealous. I wonder where they’re going on that thing.”
“Who knows.”
Ha-jin replied bitterly and raised the window again. Except for the vehicles that were stopped in strange shapes here and there, the road was quite clear. The building in the rearview mirror gradually moved out of sight.
“Hey, hey, Ha-jin.”
At that moment, Mi-so urgently tapped Ha-jin’s shoulder. Ha-jin reflexively grabbed the hammer he had placed under the passenger seat and replied.
“What, what. Are there zombies? Where?”
“No, not zombies. Wasn’t that just the sound of a gunshot? Did I hear wrong?”
“Huh?”
Ha-jin, who had been increasing his speed, slowly took his foot off the accelerator. He stopped for a moment, lowered the window again, and leaned his upper body out. In the distance, the helicopter, which had become as small as an ant, was shaking abnormally in the sky.
Mi-so muttered softly.
“But something’s wrong with that helicopter? Why… the angle is too… huh?”
The helicopter, which was going up with something like a tail attached, tilted and changed direction. As if someone had grabbed its hair, the direction of the cockpit turned towards the ground, and the Transport plane began to crash towards the rooftop of the building.
It was the moment when Ha-jin’s eyes widened at the unexpected sight. From somewhere, an eerie howling rang sharply in his ears.
Kyaaaaaaak-!
They appeared.
Ha-jin swallowed a curse and squeezed his body back into the driver’s seat.
“Yun Mi-so! Sit up straight. We’re starting…”
Before he could finish speaking, Kwaa-gwaang—!! An enormous roar poured into his ears.
Mi-so, who was looking out the window, shouted, holding her breath.
“What about Byeol!!”
Ha-jin, who had raised the window, immediately stepped on the accelerator. Mi-so looked at the receding building and tapped Ha-jin’s shoulder again.
“Hey, Ha-jin, Ha-jin. Is it okay to go like this? Huh?”
“……”
“Ha, what the hell is this…!”
Ha-jin was just as confused as Mi-so. Monsters were slowly starting to appear on the road.
Ha-jin took a rough breath and watched the back through the rearview mirror. The building was no longer visible. The fire that had soared on the rooftop disappeared from view, and only black smoke was rising into the sky.
Byeol’s face flickered through the billowing black smoke. The bright smile of Byeol, who was showing off the braided hair that Mi-so had braided for him, flashed through his mind.
A sorrowful shock, incomparable to the countless deaths he had witnessed yesterday, struck him. Was he on the helicopter? Or had he escaped? At the same time, the faces of Jeong Tae-geon, who was wiping blood with arrogant eyes, and Jeffrey, who spoke in awkward Korean, came to mind one after another.
‘I like Ha-jin Uncle more.’
‘No need for thanks. We needed a place to hide, and you happened to be a show host….’
‘Take this, it’s mine. The hammer.’
“Agh, shit, I’m going crazy.”
The deliberation didn’t last long. Ha-jin eventually turned the steering wheel roughly. Mi-so’s body shook aimlessly as the car suddenly tilted.
“Are, are you going back?!”
“Let’s just check in case and come back.”
Ha-jin, who answered resolutely, drove the car quickly, avoiding the charging zombies. Koong—! Kwang! The side mirror was shattered by the body of an Aberrant who was rushing in mindlessly, and the front windshield cracked with a jjeo-jeo-jeok— sound.
Ha-jin endured the nausea that seemed to be rising up and increased his speed. He would have been fine if their faces were disgustingly mangled, but except for the nosebleeds, the zombies that were charging at the car all looked clean.
He felt a sense of guilt, as if he had committed murder. It felt like he was trapped in a nightmare he could never wake up from.
“I’m going crazy.”
As the speedometer reached 130km/h, Mi-so, who had been holding onto Ha-jin’s shoulder, hurriedly fastened her seatbelt.
“Hey, hey, Do Ha-jin. I think you’re going too fast!”
“It’s more dangerous to slow down here!”
He said it as if he was putting on a brave face, but Ha-jin’s hands, which were holding the steering wheel, were trembling like they did on stage. He drove down the road as if he were racing, hitting and dodging zombies that suddenly popped out like deer.
“Are we doing the right thing? Huh? Is it right to go save them?”
Mi-so, even though she had said it first, was wavering as to whether jumping into the fire was a wise decision. Ha-jin closed his eyes tightly and shouted.
“I don’t know, just go!!”