APOCALYPSE ━ Min Yong-guk

𝟬𝟳. twelve feet deep

CHAPTER SEVEN
there is very little left of me

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     𝐘ong-guk never let go of her hand the moment he held it. He was almost afraid that if he let her slip away, Dabin would never come back again. They stood next to each other, letting Jin-hee sit on the large suitcase while she leaned her head on her cousin's arm. What was left of them remained silent, or sleeping, at least as best as they could in this situation.

     Dabin didn't know how long it had been. It felt like days, which was excruciating enough. Yong-guk leaned his forehead on her head, and she let out a shaky breath as she ran her thumb over his knuckles. They were so tired but they couldn't rest either because they still weren't safe.

      "I miss my dad," Dabin mumbled, caressing Jin-hee's shoulder as she tried to sleep through her tiredness.

     "What is he like?" Yong-guk whispered.

     Dabin almost smiled at the thought of her father. "Brave. He never let anything bring him down."

    "Just like you, huh?" Yong-guk smiled faintly, briefly glancing at her with his head leaned against hers.

    "I don't know," She muttered, looking out the windows where she could see the burning cities people left behind. "I like to think I am."

    "It kept you alive, didn't it?" He said wistfully.

     "And yet here I am wishing it didn't." Dabin pursed her lips. Then she glanced at her cousin who was sleeping soundlessly. "But I've got Jin-hee... I've got you now."

     Yong-guk grabbed her hands and cupped them into his fists before placing a gentle kiss on them. Dabin took a shallow breath and leaned her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes for this moment of peace after long hours of chaos.

     Then the train stopped abruptly, which made them stumble upon their feet as the train shook like it hit something. Yong-guk kept a protecting arm around the girls to keep them from launching off their feet. They looked around in confusion, having no idea what just happened.

     "Attention, please." The conductor spoke once more, his voice blaring out from the speakers. "Due to a track blockage, we have stopped at East Daegu Station. We will be waiting for the rescue team, or disembarking for another train to Busan."

     "When this announcement is concluded,  I will find a working train and put it on the far left track. I repeat, far left track. If you're alive, please transfer safely. Godspeed."

     Dabin took a sharp inhale as she walked over to the door. The tracks looked empty enough but she could hear the growls and snarls of those things somewhere out there. There was no way they could tell if one was hiding out there or if it was only a false alarm.

     "Will there be a rescue?" Sung-gyeong, the pregnant lady, asked.

     "I heard Busan is safe," Seok-woo told her. "We have to move now."

     For some reason, Dabin still held doubts. But she sent a nod of reassurance toward her cousin and followed Yong-guk out of the bullet train. Seok-woo led them, holding his daughter's hand. Jin-hee held hers while Yong-guk remained at a close distance with a hand on Dabin's shoulder. They tried to ignore the people inside the trains who had turned and were slamming their bloody hands and faces on the windows.