Please Shoot Me - 20

Even with guns pointed in front of their eyes and the radio announcement that Ryung was infected, the two officers shook their heads in disbelief. It was a showcase of how much they trusted and followed him up until this point.

The radio announcement has been circulated, so the pursuers will be there soon. Standing in the doorway, Yuyeon urged, roughly pulling the door closed and locking it.

“There’s no time.”

A loud crack rang out as she pulled the trigger. The bullet narrowly missed the men’s heads and struck the window, sending shards of glass crashing down with a loud crack.

“Two more, set up outside that window.”

They scrambled with shaky hands to follow her orders, even as Ryung fired shots here and there from inside the control room. The men’s faces showed more fear than necessary. Yuyeon stopped him as he fired, destroying furniture in the control room.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

She whispered, glancing at the backs of the shivering rookies, and Ryung lowered his voice to answer.

“We have to do this, so there’s no room for talking.

“What?”

“Don’t it lead to the conclusion that the two newcomers fought to the death against the two of us like this? That’s at least what I would infer from the outside.”

Eventually realizing that the ruckus was for the juniors, Yuyeon couldn’t stop Ryung. While he was going off on a shooting spree, Yuyeon kept an eye on the newcomers and set up the ropes with them. They watched her closely and wondered about the strange atmosphere. She didn’t answer a single one of their questions.

“Not like that… This is how it’s supposed to be secured.”

The officer’s voice trembled as he helped fix the knot. They knew exactly how to do it, being newer than her, ten years her junior, and she understood why Ryung had insisted on having the recruits install the rope. They were better at it.

“I think we’re done.”

“You guys are so fast.”

The men exchanged confused glances and fidgeted with their hands and Yuyeon exclaimed.

“Faster, faster…”

“Good job.”

Unconsciously praising them, Yuyeon ruffled each of the recruits’ hair with both hands. The surprised faces paused for a moment, but once again, the voice on the radio reminded them that Yuyeon was also a villain.

[Team A’s team leader, Seo Yuyeon, and crew m*mber, Heo Ryung, are now considered enemies. You are to subdue the traitors and transport them to headquarters. If they refuse, you may shoot.]

Yuyeon chuckled at the absurdity of calling them traitors. Granting permission to shoot meant that if they couldn’t get them as test subjects, they would just kill them and recover their dead bodies. As the situation deteriorated, the sound of a car exhaust could be heard in the distance.

Despite the urgency of the situation, Ryung remained calm.

“You’re not as slow as I thought, are you? I’ll give you time to make a quick check.”

The bastard was still as arrogant as ever evaluating the work of his pursuers while being chased.

“That’s because they’re all inside the safe zone, searching.”

No one would have thought to leave the safe zone because it’s a zombie-infected, lawless zone where death is a given on the outside.

So far, no one voluntarily left. Six years ago, Yuyeon sent Seonwoo away because she couldn’t give up her safe life, but now she’s trying to escape the safe zone.

“You can eat this while I check the rope.”

Ryung handed her six chocolate bars of unknown origin.

“What are these…?”

“They’re chocolate bars.”

“No, where did you get them?”

“They’re our stash. We’re hungry when we wake up.”

The control tower under Ryung’s management seemed to only be a facade. There were plenty of things to criticize, from the crew’s laziness to their snacks, but their laziness was saving their lives right now, so she accepted the chocolate bars. The fruit she had eaten just a few days earlier would be the last thing she had eaten. She had forgotten about her hunger, but the moment the chocolate was put into her hands, her mouth watered and her appetite was whetted.

Yuyeon quickly broke off a piece and popped it into her mouth. Her cheeks swelled with how much she was eating, but she didn’t care, instead focusing on crushing the chocolate with her molars and swallowing.

“Is it good?”

He asked while Yuyeon’s mouth was filled with chocolate. She broke off a piece and held it out to him, but he pushed it away.

“No?”

“I’m hungry, but it’s not the kind of hunger chocolate can satisfy.”

His words were accompanied by a loud sigh. The only thing that could satisfy a zombie’s hunger was a human body, and if his hunger grew, it could potentially develop into a craving for human flesh. They had to get to Seonwoo’s lab as soon as possible to check on his condition. Yuyeon popped the last piece of chocolate into her mouth and tapped Ryung on the shoulder to get going.

He pulled hard on the rope tied to the pole, blew out a satisfied breath, tossed it over the window, and scratched his head in confusion.

“What?”

“Uh… The line is shorter than I thought.”

Yuyeon stuck her face out through the broken glass window and peered down. The line stopped halfway to the iron gate and dangled in the air, which meant they would have to jump from a height of about two stories. She said she would jump too, but her hands were sweating from the dizzying height.

BANG!

The harsh sound of breaking down the door drove away her hesitation. Despite the urgency of the situation, Ryung reminded his men once more.

“The gun was taken during the fight. I’m a zombie, and you guys fought me and did a good job, do you understand?”

The men nodded, their faces filled with fear and confusion. With that final salute, Ryung grabbed the rope that spanned the window frame, leaned back, and climbed out the window. He held up his hand, ready to do so, and called out to Yuyeon.

She looked down from the window sill and bit her lip in nervousness. No matter how eventful her life had been, this was enough to make her pee her pants.

“Sunbae, hurry up.”

“Uh, wait…”

Yuyeon hesitated despite Ryung’s urging, but the sound of the door slamming open made her jump. It would be the same result whether she got shot to death or fell to her death anyway.

Closing her eyes tightly, she leaped into Ryung’s arms and felt a strong hand wrap around her waist. She wrapped her arms and legs tightly around him as if she were hanging on for dear life. The sound of numerous footsteps and shouts coming through the door was drowned out by his husky voice.

“Okay.”

As the sound of gunfire faded into the distance, Yuyeon felt her body tip.

It felt like she was flailing down a waterfall, and she closed her eyes and felt the wind rush through her hair, giving her goosebumps. Only a rumbling sound brought her back to reality. She was enduring a height she had never experienced before and was terrified.

“Hey.”

She squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation, but when she opened them, she found herself dangling in midair. She could see the cement flooring beneath her feet, a few faces looking down at them, and a hand clutching the end of the rope. This was where they were going to have to push their luck. Seeing the situation, Yuyeon tightened her grip around Ryung’s neck, ready to strangle him, and screamed.

“Ack! You crazy bastard…! Why are you calling me…!”

“I’m afraid you might die.”

“I’m going to kill you…!”

She didn’t need to be reminded of her death so Yuyeon had to take her anger out. Only a low chuckle sounded back in her ear as if he was enjoying himself.

“I like it.”

Anyway, he was a crazy man. They say dying gives you an insane rush of adrenaline, and the sound of his voice makes her heart race.

“I know…!”

As if Yuyeon’s answer was some sort of signal, Ryung released his grip. His empty hand immediately wrapped around the back of her head. The fall, which must have taken less than a second, felt agonizingly long. She wished for the time to pass in his arms.

Then there was a thud, indicating that somewhere on his body must have touched the ground. She gritted her teeth, expecting pain to follow, but there was no pain, only a muffled voice.

“Sunbae.”

Yuyeon’s eyelids lifted at the sound of his call. Inwardly, she feared he had a concussion, but he was standing on his own two feet. She turned to face him, breathing a sigh of relief that he was alive. His face, which she thought would have the same expression as hers, was as white as a sheet of paper.

“Hey… What’s wrong?”

He inhaled deeply and spoke in a grave voice.

“I think I’m out from my ankles to my spine.”

Apparently, even zombies weren’t invincible.

Kofi