He stepped forward cautiously and looked over the rooftop ledge.
What he saw below made his blood run cold.
Bodies..... Dozens of them. But they weren't lying still. They were moving. Twitching. Groaning. Dragging broken limbs across cracked streets.
They are even eating other humans.
"Zombies!"
He recognized them, because he loves to watch zombie movies and anime and also read a lot of zombie manhwa.
His mouth went dry. The air smelled like rust and rot.
"This has to be a dream," he whispered, backing away. "I was at home… I was sleeping. This isn't real."
He patted his pockets. No phone. No bag. His eyes widened. He found a sword that he brought from a merchant secretly without his parents knowing. Last night he kept it with him. It's a real sword. Sharp and shining one.
"Why is this here? Why am I here?"
He picked it up with shaking hands.
Songwoo froze. His breath caught in his throat.
["No way. This... this is straight out of a manhwa."]
Then some survivors spotted in his eyes.
A group of four. Two men, a woman, and a boy.Cornered. Trapped between two wrecked buses.They screamed. One of them tried to fight, swinging a metal pole wildly. It barely slowed the zombies down.
Songwoo's heart pounded.
"I should help—""No... no, I can't... What if I die? What if they get me too? I'm scared . [tremble] Mom is waiting me home. I have to return safe."
He watch them helplessly, and whispered, ''I'm sorry. I don't know what to do? I'm sorry...."
He slowly step back.
The screams below snapped him back. He peeked over the edge again—just in time to see the younger man swung a iron rod at the zombie. Its head crushed . Almost like plastic can. The zombie stopped moving.
["Head trauma..."]
He watched closely as another zombie was knocked down. Its bones crumble—soft. Too soft. Too easy.....
"They're fragile... like overgrown corpses, not like the ones in manga."
"If their brain is destroyed… they die. Too easy."
A flicker of something ignited in him. Not courage—not yet. But understanding. Logic. Strategy.
"I can survive this."
"No. I will survive this."
That's when it caught his eye, there in the roof top there are some sign of refugees. A blanket which throw away a long time ago. And empty cans and candy covers.....
But it was a long time ago .
Then suddenly he hears a voice from downstairs.
He clenched his sword tighter.
"First rule in every zombie anime..."
He turned toward the rooftop door.
"Get supplies."
And with that, he took his first step into the apocalypse.
The rooftop door creaked open slowly.
The dark stairwell yawned before him, steep and silent. Dust danced in the air. The stale stench of rot crept up from below.
Sword in hand, Songwoo descended the first few steps cautiously, every creak underfoot echoing louder than it should've.
Growls.....
He starts to hear some weird sounds.
"Okay... headshots. Bones are soft. Keep calm..."
There is blood stain everywhere. No sign of human. The hallway fill with rotten smell. It's like a huge war has been take place there. He slowly open a room and enter. He's searching for food. That room were real mess. All furniture has been broken, blood stain everywhere.... He enter the kitchen. Look everywhere for food, he only got a packet of chips. He pick up a bag that he found in the kitchen. And ready to leave that room .
He inspect some other rooms and luckily manage to get some food and fresh water.
He rush to downstairs.
A loud snarl greeted him.
From the shadows, a zombie stumbled out of a hallway—skin pale, eyes hollow, jaws twitching hungrily.
Songwoo's instincts kicked in. It first swung at him—he ducked. And then swung his sword. He stab it's heart, even then it rush towards him. Suddenly he jump backwards and swung at it's head. That kills the zombie.
He stun for a while. He starts to tremble. "I kill a human!.... No it's not a human.. Calm down songwoo.. You have to kill it in order to survive." He try to calm his mind.
His breath came hard, his hands trembling—but he was still standing.
"I did it…"
[" Ooooh! so that's why everyone fails to kill the zombie and gets bitten. There brain was their weakness. Hah."]
"No easy as i thought. "
"huuuh.... Lucky i survive."
The whole hallway become silent. He could only hear. He can only hear the sound of his breathing.
Suddenly he feels like hearing a sound of whispering.
He stun for a movement.....