New Era

The faint, guttural sound grew louder, more distinct. My grip tightened around the makeshift weapon as I motioned for Hana to stay low. We both crouched, trying to stay hidden behind the shelves, listening for any movement.

"What's back there?" I whispered, my voice barely audible.

"Don't know," Hana replied, her voice steady but with a hint of tension. "Could be one of them."

I nodded, heart pounding in my chest. We couldn't afford to make noise now. The air felt heavier with each passing second, the only sound being the slow, ragged breaths from the back room. It was like a predator lurking, waiting to pounce.

I motioned for Hana to move to the right, trying to get a better angle. She nodded, her movements graceful and silent. We crept closer to the back room, eyes darting from corner to corner, scanning for any sign of movement.

"One..." I counted silently, watching the infected creatures shuffle closer. They were slow but relentless.

"Two..." My heart hammered in my chest, the tension almost unbearable.

"Three."

We moved in a fluid motion. Hana loosed an arrow, striking one of the infected directly in the head. The creature collapsed with a sickening thud. But the others didn't hesitate. They turned toward us, their bloodshot eyes locking onto our position.

I swung my weapon with all my strength, knocking one of the creatures back. It staggered but kept coming. Hana had already drawn another arrow, aiming with precision, but the remaining infected were closing in fast.

"Move!" Hana shouted, her voice sharp and commanding.

We didn't wait. We darted through the aisles, using the shelves as cover. I could hear the infected's labored breathing, their footsteps gaining on us. But we had the advantage of knowing the layout of the store. Hana shot another arrow, but it didn't take down the next infected. We needed to end this quickly.

"Back to the door!" I shouted, hoping we could escape before more showed up.

But it was too late. The back room had opened up, and two more infected had emerged, blocking our path.

I turned to Hana, eyes wide with urgency. "We can't outrun them. We fight."

She nodded without hesitation, determination in her eyes. She was already nocking another arrow, prepared to cover me as I moved in.

"On my mark," she said.

I gripped my weapon, focusing on the infected ahead of me. This was it. There was no turning back now.

Hana didn't hesitate for a second. "Got your back!" she called, her voice steady despite the chaos unfolding around us.

My eyes darted around the store, and that's when I saw the bottle of wine—a potential weapon. I grabbed it off the shelf, not caring about the mess as I swung it hard against the head of the closest infected. The glass shattered on impact, spraying fragments everywhere. But that wasn't enough. Without wasting a second, I grabbed one of the broken shards and plunged it into the zombie's skull, the sickening crunch and splatter confirming the kill.

Hana didn't hesitate for a second. "Got your back!" she called, her voice steady despite the chaos unfolding around us.

As the zombie lunged at me, I threw the basket with all my might, watching it hit the creature square in the chest. It stumbled back, momentarily confused—just enough for me to take the offensive. I swung the bat with all my strength, the solid thwack echoing through the store as it collided with the zombie's skull. The creature staggered but didn't go down. I kicked the second zombie that had come up behind me, sending it crashing into a nearby shelf. It groaned in pain but was too slow to react.

My eyes darted around the store, and that's when I saw the bottle of wine—a potential weapon. I grabbed it off the shelf, not caring about the mess as I swung it hard against the head of the closest infected. The glass shattered on impact, spraying fragments everywhere. But that wasn't enough. Without wasting a second, I grabbed one of the broken shards and plunged it into the zombie's skull, the sickening crunch and splatter confirming the kill.

Behind me, I could hear Hana's arrows whizzing through the air, taking out another of the infected. She was keeping them at a distance, but I knew it wouldn't take much longer for them to close in.

"We need to finish this fast!" I shouted, my breath heavy from the fight.

The remaining zombies were still reeling from our attacks, but they were getting up again, more relentless than ever. I looked at Hana. "Are you ready to move?"

She nodded, still steady with her bow. "Let's clear the rest of them and get out."

Together, we made our final push, using our combined skills to take down the last of the infected. My bat swung again, knocking another creature back, while Hana fired one final arrow into the head of the last zombie. It crumpled to the ground, silent.

I exhaled sharply, wiping the sweat from my brow. "That was too close."

Hana let out a breath, lowering her bow and nodding. "You did good, Eunsu."

We both paused, listening for any more sounds of movement. The store was silent now, except for the faint moans of the remaining infected outside. It was over—for now. But there was no time to relax.

"Let's grab what we can and head back," I said, already moving toward the supplies we'd gathered earlier.

Hana gave a small nod and joined me. "No more detours. We head straight back."

We quickly collected the rest of the supplies, but as we tried to head back we saw a group of survivors coming towards us.

Hana tensed immediately, her hand reaching for another arrow. "Keep walking," she muttered under her breath. "Let's not make it obvious we're armed."

I nodded, adjusting the grip on my bat and subtly sliding it into my bag. The group coming toward us didn't look friendly. There were five of them—mostly men, all rough-looking, and clearly armed with knives, crowbars, and a few crude weapons.

"Eunsu," Hana whispered, her voice low. "If this goes south, I'll take the guy on the left. You cover the right."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," I replied, trying to sound calm, though my heart was hammering in my chest. Conflict with the infected was one thing, but other survivors? That was a whole different kind of danger.

The group stopped a few meters away, blocking the narrow street. Their leader, a tall man with a thick beard and a scar running down his cheek, stepped forward. His eyes darted to the bags in our hands, then back to our faces.

"Looks like you've been shopping," he said with a smirk, his voice dripping with mock friendliness. "Find anything good in there?"

Hana didn't respond, her face a mask of calm. I stepped forward slightly, putting myself between her and the man. "Not much. The store was pretty cleaned out."

The man chuckled, but there was no humor in it. "Still, looks like you managed to grab something. Maybe you'd be willing to share."

I tightened my grip on the strap of my bag, forcing myself to stay calm. "We don't have much, just enough for two people. You should try the next block—there might be more over there."

The man's smile faded, and his eyes narrowed. "I wasn't asking, kid."

The tension in the air was suffocating. I could feel Hana shifting slightly behind me, preparing for whatever might come next. The rest of the group was fanning out subtly, trying to surround us. This wasn't just an idle threat—they were ready to take what they wanted by force.

"Look," I said, keeping my voice steady. "We're all just trying to survive here. You don't want to do this, and neither do we. Let's walk away before someone gets hurt."

The scarred leader hesitated, glancing over his shoulder. Sure enough, the faint, guttural groans of approaching zombies echoed through the street. The tension broke for a moment as everyone instinctively turned their heads toward the sound.

"Boss, I don't think we have time for this," the man's companion urged again, his voice more panicked. The rest of their group started shifting nervously, their eyes darting between us and the growing shadows at the far end of the street.

The leader clicked his tongue in irritation, clearly torn between his desire to intimidate us and the very real threat of the undead closing in. He scowled at me, then back at Hana, who still had her bow trained on him. "You got lucky," he growled, his voice low and full of warning. "This isn't over."

Without waiting for a response, he waved his group to retreat. They shuffled off quickly, disappearing into the alleys and leaving us standing there, still on edge.

Hana finally lowered her bow, letting out a small, relieved breath. "That was convenient," she muttered, though her eyes remained locked on the direction they had gone.

"Yeah, but we're not out of the woods yet," I said, pointing to the figures now shambling toward us. The zombies were closing in fast, drawn by the noise and the promise of fresh prey.

"Time to go," Hana said, already moving. She grabbed my arm and tugged me along. We ducked into a nearby side street, keeping low and quiet. The groans grew louder, but the undead hadn't spotted us yet.

As we wove through the maze of alleys, I couldn't help but glance over my shoulder, half expecting the other survivors to double back or worse, ambush us. But there was no sign of them—just the growing sounds of chaos as the zombies filled the street we'd left behind.

"Do you think they'll try to find us again?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

Hana frowned, her expression dark. "Probably. But we'll deal with that later. Right now, we need to get back to the site before anything else goes wrong."

I nodded, clutching the strap of my bag tightly. We picked up the pace, navigating through the broken streets as quickly and quietly as we could. Every noise, every shadow, set my nerves on edge. But we couldn't afford to stop, not until we were safely behind the barricades of our camp.

For now, the supplies we'd gathered felt heavier than they should—but at least we were still alive.