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The hospital was always quiet. Minho still remembered the days that it was bustling with the sound of heart monitors beeping, people talking and gurneys being rushed to and from different rooms. Now, the only noise that cascaded through the building was the groaning and squeaking of the many creatures that still resided within. Some wards were worse than others. Minho wasn’t sure why, but most zombies tended to hang around the rooms in which they were turned. Only prey could lure them out. He would guess it had to do with some sense of familiarity, but he knew zombies had lost all sense of human sentiment a long time ago. Either way, it made the lobby a living hell of rotting bodies still walking around and the halls further into the hospital eerily quiet. The latter is where Minho spent most of his days.
Even after years, the ward was mostly untouched. Flowers were still sitting in their vases, even though they had long since withered. Even the cards that his family and friends had sent him when he was in the hospital were still pinned up on the wall. After all, only things of worth were taken by the scavengers and survivors. The pharmacy was almost empty at this point and gradually the IV bags that were left in the patient rooms had started to disappear too. Minho knew some of the survivors were taking more than they needed just to sell it off for whatever they could still trade. Minho had gotten quite good at telling the difference between desperate families on a suicidal mission to get whatever medication they could for a sick child or loved one and an organised group of militia just looting the place for all its worth.
It was within a second that Minho could tell what this group was going to be. The noises gave them away before he could spot them. The pounding footsteps that followed them and the breaking of whatever doors and obstacles were still left in this building chased them, getting louder and louder as more zombies were alerted to their presence. At this point, there was no stopping them. A horde had come for them. All they could do was run for their lives and hope the creatures would give up. At least that’s what would’ve been their fate had Minho not interfered.
“Felix, hurry up!” one of them shouted from behind the door.
Minho always left it open just a smidge. The automatic lock on it had broken ages ago but the manual lock was still working. Anyone who could think fast enough could pull it shut behind them. If they were quick enough, not even the strongest zombie could get through.
Minho watched as the first man emerged from behind the door. His freckled face was panic-ridden. He immediately turned around, holding the other side of the door shut. A second man appeared not a second later, trying to pull the door shut behind him. Then, it happened in an instant. The man’s hand lingered for just a moment too long. It was pulled through the door by rotten fingers, pinning him against the metal. He screamed and pulled back with all his might, only just managing to pull his arm through the door. The zombie’s fingers were still clutched around his wrist, bruising with their strength. Felix sprung into action, pulling the door shut and hacking through the zombie’s arm once it was pinned between the doors. Just like that, the arm got cut off and the door fell shut. The other man pulled the now stilled hand off his skin as if it burned him, still panting frantically.
“Quick, we need to go!” Felix said, pulling the lock shut. It was only when he realised his friend wasn’t following him that he stopped and stared.
“Innie?” Felix asked, turning back to his friend.
Only then did the damage really sink in. Jeongin was holding his hand with the utmost care, as if it would fall off with any wrong movement. The truth was undeniable. The bite mark was so clear against his pale skin, the blood spilling from it already turning a sickly colour. He was bitten.
Minho could see Felix’s eyes widen as they fell on the mark. He shook his head frantically, stepping back until he hit the wall. “No, you…” he trailed off before his lip started trembling too much to speak.
For a moment, a heavy silence was draped over them. The only sounds echoing through the empty ward were their laboured breathing, the banging of the zombies on the door and Felix’s sobs that he tried his hardest to push back down his throat. Neither of them knew what to say.
“I’m staying with you,” Felix decided. He took off his backpack and dropped it to the floor.
“No, Felix,” the younger said in a careful voice. “you need to go.”
Felix simply shook his head. “I’m not gonna leave you behind,” he said, his voice slightly cracking.
“You need to,” Jeongin repeated. He pulled off his backpack, stepping forward to hand it over to the other. “You can’t stay here, those zombies are going to break through eventually, or they’ll find another way around.”
Felix accepted the backpack with trembling hands. “I can’t just leave you here to die,” the man muttered.
Jeongin grabbed his hand as carefully as he could. “I’m already dead,” he said, in the softest voice possible. He reached out, gently cradling Felix’s face. “I’m going to turn, sooner rather than later. I don’t want you to stick around waiting for that to happen. Now take my stuff and go.”
Felix could no longer keep his tears at bay. Minho knew the young man was right. People tended to turn more quickly now than they did when the virus was just beginning to spread. People were less healthy now, their bodies couldn’t fight the virus as well as they could before. Minho could only guess what these two had gone through, but he knew neither of them would last long. It probably wouldn’t even take a day for them to turn.
“There’s nothing you could’ve done, okay?” the younger said in a determined voice.
That seemed to break Felix entirely. He leaned forward, burying his head in the younger’s shoulder. “I could’ve, it’s all my goddamn fault!” he shouted. “If I was quicker you wouldn’t have had to wait to close the door behind me, you wouldn’t have been bitten!”
A bang rang through the hallway as a zombie jumped up to the window. Of course Felix's shouting would only draw them nearer. The zombie started beating at the glass with all its might. It wasn’t enough to break the glass just yet but soon enough it would be. It slowly seemed to dawn on them both. This was it. Felix needed to go now if he still wanted to get out alive, but the glint in his eyes said something different.
“No, listen to me,” Jeongin said with more urgency in his voice. He pulled Felix’s gaze away from the zombie. “whatever you’re thinking, you’re not going to do it, okay? Think of Changbin and Chan, think of Jisung! You need to get Jisung his medication, he’s going to die without it, hyung. You need to get back to them!”
That seemed enough to snap Felix out of whatever ideas were brewing in his already grieving and guilty mind, even if just slightly. He took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around the younger, holding him tight. For a moment that was all it was, just them, quietly sobbing into each other’s shoulders. Minho was sure that if his broken body still allowed him to cry he would be sobbing along with them.
“Promise me,” Jeongin said in a small voice.
Felix slowly pulled back from the younger. His hands were shaking and his face was tear-streaked. “I promise,” the man said with a broken voice.
Not even a moment later, the sound of the glass finally breaking rang through the hallway, almost deafeningly. The zombie fell through the window, twitching around in the glass for just a moment. It broke them apart, both men simultaneously reaching for their guns. Felix grabbed his own backpack, quickly putting it back on.
“Go!” Jeongin shouted. “I’ll cover you!”
But Felix didn’t come into motion. He stood there, his gaze shifting between his friend and the zombie charging at him at full speed. The first gunshot shook him out of whatever trance he was in. He watched as the zombie fell down, then slowly got up again, twitching and stumbling.
“Run, goddammit!” Jeongin screamed at the top of his lungs. He pushed Felix as if that would get him to move. Finally, it did.
Felix started running, faster than he had ever run before. Tears were flooding his vision but he had to keep running. He had to get out of there. He owed it to them all. Gunshots followed him but he did not dare to look behind. He knew even one glance at his friend would make him want to turn around and he could not risk that. He kept running, even as the gunshots ran out.
Just like that, peace returned to the ward. There were just Jeongin, lowering himself down to the floor and Minho, hidden in one of the supply closets. Felix was now far out of sight. There was nothing they could do except pray.
Minho wasn’t sure what to do. Normally humans would simply pass through. They would get their supplies and run out as soon as they could. After all, lingering in a place like this always meant death. Minho always made sure to hide as best as he could, not wanting to invite a fight. At most, he just observed from afar. He had never had a human stick around.
Jeongin’s groans shook him out of his thoughts. Maybe he should try to talk to him, or at least make him comfortable. After all, he knew how painful it was to turn. He was possibly the only one on the planet that understood.
Minho could hear the stranger hiss in pain. When he peeked around the corner he could see that the blood from his arm had started seeping down his hand. He knew the human would not last long, but this was even faster than he had expected. Minho’s heart was no longer pulsing but he swore he could feel it beating out of control with how heavy it had gotten. If he still wanted to do something for Jeongin he needed to move now. Without thinking too much about it, he grabbed a blanket from the closet and stepped out of his hiding spot.
The human spotted him immediately, raising his gun and aiming. Minho only flinched for a moment, before he heard the gun click. The magazine was empty.
“Typical,” the human muttered, letting his gun drop to the floor. “go ahead, tear me to shreds.”
Minho just stood there, blinking at him for a moment. No one had talked to him in so long. Even though Jeongin most certainly didn’t think Minho could understand him, it still was nothing short of a shock. Minho just stood there, frozen, taking in the human in front of him. His gradually paling skin only made his dark hair stand out more. His clothes were coated in blood splatters and tears and his boots had been repaired multiple times over. He had lived through a lot, Minho could tell. Still, he looked so young.
“Are you one of those sentient ones?” the stranger asked after a moment. Minho blinked at him once more. Of course, how he was acting was nothing like what would be expected from a regular zombie. For one, he was still standing there, clutching a blanket like a peace offering rather than ravaging Jeongin’s flesh. He wasn’t acting like a zombie. He was acting like a human and Jeongin was bound to notice.
Then Jeongin’s words truly dawned on him. There were more out there like him. He wasn’t the only zombie with memories and feelings. For a moment he wondered whether the others were also hidden away in abandoned buildings or whether they were allowed to live alongside humans. Minho wasn’t even sure if he was contagious anymore, if he could even walk near a human without condemning them to his fate. He wished he could ask but no words would leave his mouth anymore. They just came out as groans and mumbles.
Slowly, Minho stepped closer, carefully placing one foot in front of the other as if that would hide his jagged walk. He handed over the blanket, almost toppling over as he reached forward. Carefully, the human reached out and took it, inspecting it for just a moment. Minho knew it was a weird gift, but all the painkillers had been taken months ago so he had nothing else to offer to ease his pain.
“Thanks,” the stranger said, at least recognizing it as a gift. The blood from his arm stained it in a moment.
They just stood in silence for a moment, neither knowing what to say. “I’m Jeongin, what’s your name?” the younger suddenly asked.
Minho stood there for a moment. He knew he couldn’t talk, couldn’t really make any noise other than groans. It had never been much of a problem because no one ever tried to communicate with him, but now he wished for nothing more than the ability to speak.
He walked away, speeding to his room as quickly as his jagged legs allowed. There he scoured through his postcards until he found what he was looking for. He sped back, stumbling to his knees as Jeongin simply looked on with a confused frown decorating his face. With a shaking hand, Minho held out the card, pointing to the first few words. Carefully, Jeongin reached out, steadying Minho’s grip. He read the card.
“Minho?” Jeongin asked. The zombie just nodded.
Jeongin looked back at the card. There was a picture taped to the inside of it. Minho remembered when he got it for the first time. He had been in the hospital for almost a week at that point and he had never been more homesick. He missed his own bed, he missed sharing breakfast with his grandmother, but most of all he missed his cats. He had really underestimated what it would be like to wake up without a ball of fur curled up next to him or pressing its nose into his face in an attempt to get food. He missed it even more knowing in hindsight that he would never feel that again. The only thing that gave him even a flicker of that same comfort was that picture.
“Are these yours?” Jeongin asked, turning the picture to him. Soonie, Doongie and Dori were all dressed up in weird costumes, making them look even fluffier than they normally would be. Soonie seemed to be happy with the arrangement while Dori was trying to crawl out of the contraption. He did always enjoy the costumes the least.
Minho could feel a smile tug at his lips. It felt crooked and tense, like he had not smiled in so long that he had forgotten how to. Still, it was enough for Jeongin. The human smiled back at him, looking at the picture again. “They’re cute,” he said.
For a moment they were just silent, staring at the picture. Minho could only imagine what Jeongin was thinking. He had been through it himself. Being on the edge of life truly made you reconsider everything. It made you wonder whether you should’ve done things differently or should’ve done things more. It made you grieve for the people that would grieve you even if you would never be there to see it. It sounded like Jeongin had friends to go back to, maybe even a lover. Not many people still had their families nowadays, but survivors held each other close regardless of whether they were related by blood or not. He was about to lose it all.
“Can you sit down with me?” Jeongin asked, carefully. Minho simply nodded, dropping down until he and the younger were sitting shoulder to shoulder.
Jeongin’s whimpers grew louder. Minho watched as his veins gradually blackened more and more. He remembered how painful this stage was. It felt like his blood was on fire as his body was still fighting back with all its might. His immune system would give out soon, just letting the virus overrun him and corrupt his body.
Without giving it another thought, he wrapped his arm around the younger, pulling him close. Only then did Jeongin finally let his tears fall. They cascaded over his cheeks, some of pain, others of grief. Minho just held him through all of it. He carefully swayed him back and forth. He tried to shush him, but it just came out as a groan.
He hated that he could not comfort the other more than he already was. He wanted to talk to him, to tell him it would all be over soon, but his words just got stuck in his throat. Even his touch could hardly comfort him. His skin was rotten and cold against Jeongin’s still warm flesh. It felt like a pathetic excuse for comfort, but there was nothing more he could offer, so he just continued to hold the human close.
“Thank you,” Jeongin managed to croak out between sobs. Minho only held him closer, pressing his chapped lips to the top of his head.
Like that they stayed. Minho held him for hours as Jeongin’s skin started rotting. He held him through all of his whimpers and pained gasps. He pulled the blanket further over him when he started shivering. He didn’t leave him for even a second. He held him until the first rays of the morning sun finally crawled through the broken window.
That’s when Jeongin finally pulled away. Minho looked at him, his eyes hopeful. He had never met another zombie like him before even with all of the zombies crowding the hospital, so he knew the chance was very small. Still, he couldn’t help but hope. As he stared into the man’s eyes, it was all crushed. Those glazed-over eyes told him enough. The Jeongin he had held for all those hours was no longer there. His brain had rotten beyond repair, erasing any humanity that was still hanging on. And just like that, he was alone once more.