left for dead | all of us are dead

twelve

"we can survive without you but can you survive without us?" 

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If Ye-ji knew that Gwi-nam would be such a pain in the ass, she would've hit him harder with the shovel yesterday. Her body ached from being thrown down the stairs and her cheek was probably reddened from where he backhanded her. When she saw him squeezing the life out of her twin she didn't even think before plunging the knife into his back. 

"Did you get bit?" 

The question cuts off Ye-ji's train of thought. She turns towards Hyo-ryung who just asked the question. Her eyes were on Nam-ra who was sitting in a chair a few feet in front of where Ye-ji was leaning against the wall. 

"That's a bite mark, right?"

Her classmates shot up from where they were trying to catch their breath and backed away from Nam-ra like she was turning right this second. Ye-ji moved behind Nam-ra placing a hand on her shoulder, letting her know she stood with her. 

Cheong-san loudly scrambled towards a music stand, picking it up to use as a weapon. She saw Mi-hwa and Su-hyeok break away from each other, moving towards Ye-ji and Nam-ra. Mi-hwa stands in front of the two of them in defense and Su-hyeok stops Cheong-san in his tracks. 

"It's not what you think," Su-hyeok reasoned. 

Cheong-san only ignored him, "Move. Step back." He warned, brandishing the music stand like a spear. "I'm telling you it's not," Su-hyeok looked towards the three of them. "Tell him, you weren't bitten by a zombie." 

Nam-ra remained silent, assessing Cheong-san. Mi-hwa decided to speak up for her instead, "She wasn't bitten by a zombie. It was Gwi-nam who bit her. He attacked all of us." She gestured to her bruised throat, Ye-ji's reddened cheek, and Nam-ra's arm. 

Cheong-san's face sank, "Who?" 

"Gwi-nam. The bully," Su-hyeok helped clarify. 

Cheong-san stared at the three of them with an expression Ye-ji couldn't identify, "Nam-ra, did Gwi-nam really bite you?" The girl nodded slowly, still not saying a word. "It's true," Ye-ji says. "I saw it." And what she sees, she never forgets. 

Cheong-san's eyes widened, "Gwi-nam was bitten by zombies." Ye-ji's mind was sent spinning. Gwi-nam was walking and talking, he didn't act like a zombie. "What bullshit is that? Moron." Su-hyeok retorted.

"I saw him get bit." He started raising his voice, "If you get bitten by zombies, you turn. So if Gwi-nam bit her—" 

"You're wrong!" Su-hyeok shouted back. 

"Both of you quiet down," Ye-ji hissed. The zombies outside started growling louder, banging on the door and windows. "Gwi-nam wasn't a zombie. The asshole was talking shit, choking Mi-hwa, slapping me, and biting Nam-ra. Does that sound like something a zombie could do?" 

"The four of us saw it," Mi-hwa assured. "He wasn't a zombie." 

Nam-ra stood from her chair. She didn't look at any of them, only stared at Cheong-san. "Are you sure he was bitten by a zombie?" 

"Yes." 

"Then I'll turn into a zombie too," Nam-ra realized. Ye-ji grabbed her hand, pulling Nam-ra towards her and away from Cheong-san and his music stand. "Don't do anything stupid." Nam-ra only stared down at their interlaced fingers, Ye-ji felt her squeeze tighter. "Thank you for everything, Ye-ji. I wish we had more time." 

Nam-ra let go of her hand, walking away towards the door. "Not so fast," Ye-ji gently yanked Nam-ra back into her arms. "You're not getting away that easily." Ye-ji rotated to face their classmates. They all pressed against the furthest wall away from them. "She won't turn into a zombie. Trust me on this."