IZSTASL Chapter 7

Tears welled up and pathetically dripped down my face. My expression contorted as I silently mouthed my plea.

Then, just as Yoon Si-chan yanked my collar forward, as if preparing to throw me—he hesitated for a brief moment.

But neither Yoon Si-chan nor I were the ones who triggered the zombies’ frenzy.

“Aaaagh!”

A short scream rang out.

One of the three nobodies trailing behind us had fallen near the entrance. When Yoon Si-chan and I turned to look, Seo Jae-jun was standing frozen, his palms raised. Judging from the situation, he must have pushed that bastard.

The zombies all turned toward the entrance at the same time.

Yoon Si-chan, his face momentarily flashing with surprise, let go of my collar and sprinted toward the stairs.

Fuck. I survived.

The situation was still fucked, but at least I wasn’t dead—yet. I never imagined I’d be so grateful for Seo Jae-jun being a selfish bastard.

The zombies crowded near the entrance, immediately pouncing on the fallen guy, while the ones inside the classrooms started pouring out. The rest of the group screamed and bolted up the stairs. The poor bastard who had been sacrificed struggled to get up but was torn apart by the zombies before he could escape.

I ran like a madman, sticking right behind Yoon Si-chan.

One of the remaining guys from the trio was ahead, scrambling up the stairs.

Without a second’s hesitation, Yoon Si-chan grabbed him by the hair and hurled him straight into the approaching zombies.

“Aaaaargh!”

“Fuck, no!”

The guy, slipping down the stairs, flailed wildly, trying to grab onto anything—even me.

I quickly turned and kicked him in the stomach, knocking him back down.

For a moment, I almost lost my balance, but I managed to grab the stair railing just in time and barely held on.

The guy who had fallen to the floor was quickly surrounded by a horde of zombies. That was the last thing I saw before I turned and ran without looking back.

The ones who had gone up first hesitated as they saw the zombies swarming toward them. The fact that one of them had become bait bought us some time against the first-floor zombies, but the real problem was the ones coming down from the second floor.

Yoon Si-chan, appearing in front of the panicked idiots, swung his baseball bat down on the head of a lunging zombie, smashing its skull. Then, just as he had done before, he skillfully took down the approaching zombies.

I wished he would just drop dead while fighting them—but if that bastard died, so would I.

Grabbing a broom, I ran forward and shoved it straight into the mouth of a zombie lunging at Yoon Si-chan. We worked together to take down the zombies in front of us, and as soon as they were cleared, he bolted toward the right hallway.

I immediately followed, and the trembling Seo Jae-jun and Park Hyun-woo came running after us, gasping for breath.

“Hey! Where are we going?! Where the fuck are we supposed to go?!”

I shouted at Yoon Si-chan’s back as he smashed another zombie with his bat.

“I don’t fucking know!”

Even his voice was strained—he was just as desperate as the rest of us.

“Where the hell are you going, you bastard?!”

“I said I don’t fucking know, dumbass!”

The classrooms were all packed with zombies. There was no way out.

Then, at the end of the hallway, I saw it—the bathroom.

“Hey! The bathroom! Fuck, the bathroom!”

Sticking close to Yoon Si-chan, I dashed inside and slammed the door shut behind us. It didn’t have a lock—it would open with just a push—so I had to hold the doorknob tightly to keep it shut.

From a distance, a bloodcurdling scream tore through the air. Someone was cursing and screaming Park Hyun-woo’s name before their words turned into shrieks of agony, mixed with the sound of flesh being ripped apart.

It wasn’t Seo Jae-jun’s voice. That meant they had sacrificed the last remaining guy.

I could hear the zombies’ footsteps shifting in one direction. Soon after, Seo Jae-jun and Park Hyun-woo reached the bathroom and started pounding on the door.

“Open up! Fuck, open the door! We’re gonna die! We’re fucking gonna die! Open it!”

“AAAAAH! AAAAAARGH!”

Seo Jae-jun was wailing like a child, while Park Hyun-woo seemed to be in complete panic, screaming nonstop.

“Fuck off!”

I flipped them off, even though they couldn’t see it. If they had gotten in here first, they wouldn’t have opened the door for us either, so why were they making such a fuss? They should just shut up and die quickly.

“Hey, I’ll open it in ten seconds.”

What the fuck is this bastard saying now?

Yoon Si-chan, who had suddenly regained his calm tone, spoke while gripping the doorknob.

“Fuck, are you insane?!”

“The door doesn’t lock.”

“No, wait—hold on, you crazy fuck!”

“Shut up.”

Seo Jae-jun must have heard him because he started desperately calling out his name, pleading.

“Hey! Save me! Si-chan! Yoon Si-chan! Fuck, please! Please, save me!”

“Aaaaah! AAAAAH!”

Amid the chaotic screams and wails, Yoon Si-chan’s gaze remained completely steady.

There was no way in hell he was doing this to actually save them. That was what I had to trust.

Then, he started counting down.

“Five, four, one.”

This bastard just counts however the fuck he wants, huh?

At an unexpected moment, the bathroom door suddenly swung open, and Seo Jae-jun and Park Hyun-woo burst inside.

“Huff, huff, huff!”

They stumbled in so frantically that their feet got tangled, causing them to fall over each other. Seo Jae-jun cursed as he scrambled back to his feet and rushed to close the door, but thanks to the ridiculous amount of noise they had attracted, a horde of zombies was already swarming toward us.

Just as Yoon Si-chan had said, holding the door shut wouldn’t solve anything. That was when I finally realized why he had let them in.

They had walked in willingly—right into their roles as meat shields.

Yoon Si-chan grabbed Park Hyun-woo, who was still sprawled on the floor, by the collar with one hand and started dragging him away. I threw aside the broom and seized Seo Jae-jun’s collar with both hands.

“Agh, let go! Aaaagh! AAAAAH!”

Park Hyun-woo’s screams were downright desperate—he must have realized what was about to happen.

Unlike Yoon Si-chan, who was dragging his target away effortlessly, I found myself struggling. Seo Jae-jun fought back, gripping my collar in return.

We were about the same build and strength. This was a fight where the more cowardly bastard would win.

Just as I was about to kick him between the legs, Seo Jae-jun suddenly leaned back and drove his elbow into my throat.

“Ghk—!”

My grip on his collar weakened as my legs buckled.

Seo Jae-jun’s bloodshot eyes locked onto mine. He grabbed my throat with both hands and started squeezing with everything he had.

“Kegh… keh… keh…!”

“Die!”

Through the bastard who was gnashing his teeth while strangling me, I caught a glimpse of Yoon Si-chan’s back.

He had already tossed Park Hyun-woo to the zombies and was now smashing through the remaining ones with his bat, heading toward a classroom.

Seo Jae-jun turned his head, saw Yoon Si-chan escaping, and took off after him—without letting go of my neck.

I was dragged along like a sack of garbage, choking for air. I swung my elbow against Seo Jae-jun’s stomach over and over, but my strength was fading fast. It was useless.

Thanks to Yoon Si-chan taking care of the zombies earlier, they were still a good distance away. We didn’t need more bait at this point—but this bastard still wasn’t loosening his grip.

Yoon Si-chan had already entered the classroom, but instead of closing the door, he was watching us.

My vision was starting to blur, making it hard to see, but for a brief moment, I thought our eyes met.

Then fucking help me, you son of a bitch….

Just as the zombies got dangerously close, Seo Jae-jun, standing at the classroom entrance, made a deliberate move to throw me toward them.

I’m screwed.

I should’ve left this bastard and just followed Yoon Si-chan right away. I wanted to beg for my life, but with my throat being crushed, no sound came out.

At that moment, Yoon Si-chan reached out.

He grabbed me by the hair and then drove his foot straight into Seo Jae-jun’s stomach.

“Urgh—!”

Seo Jae-jun gasped as the strength in his hands gave out, and he tumbled backward.

I nearly collapsed along with him, but Yoon Si-chan yanked me into the classroom, causing me to fall forward. My face smacked against the floor, the impact rattling my cheekbone.

“Kehek—! Cough! Keh, cough!”

As I gasped and coughed, trying to crawl forward, something caught my foot, preventing me from moving.

I turned to look—Seo Jae-jun, still sprawled on the floor, his bloodshot eyes wide open, had a death grip on my ankle.

You bastard!

I thrashed my leg desperately, but he clung on stubbornly.

Then, a foot clad in black slippers came down, stomping hard on the back of Seo Jae-jun’s hand.

“Aaaargh!”

His fingers snapped open instantly, just as the classroom door slammed shut and locked.

From the other side, Seo Jae-jun’s screams rang out, mixed with the frenzied growls of the zombies and the sickening sound of flesh being torn and chewed.

“Cough! Keh… Cough! …Holy fuck….”

In the middle of my coughing fit, I turned around.

The zombies that had lunged at Seo Jae-jun were now piling on top of each other, trampling one another as they formed a writhing mountain of bodies.

Their limbs tangled together, their movements frenzied. They couldn’t even tell if they were biting into Seo Jae-jun or just another zombie—they just tore into whatever flesh was in reach.

Before I knew it, Seo Jae-jun had completely disappeared. Not even a trace of him remained.

If things had gone just a little differently, that could have been me down there. I would’ve been devoured alive, ripped apart like that.

My stomach twisted violently, and I quickly turned my gaze away.

I propped myself up on my elbow and barely managed to lift my upper body. That’s when I saw Yoon Si-chan standing there, gripping his baseball bat, watching the whole scene unfold.

Enough sightseeing, you psycho bastard.

Time passed, and one by one, the screams died out. The zombies, no longer as excited, began to settle down. It seemed like they had lost interest after all their fresh prey had died.

Once my coughing finally stopped and I cleared my throat, Yoon Si-chan turned his head to look down at me.

And then, he had the audacity to say—

“You got bitten?”

I stared at him, dumbfounded.

He leaned on his baseball bat, his expression blank.

“I didn’t get bitten, you fucker!”

I snapped, scowling in frustration.

He stepped forward.

And in that moment, a memory hit me—the last time he “checked” if I was bitten. The time he threw me out of the classroom as a test.

I glanced at the door, beyond which the zombies still lurked, and hurriedly spoke up.

“I swear I didn’t get bitten!”

My voice trembled as I forced myself to stand.

Yoon Si-chan’s tense expression suddenly melted away, and then—he burst out laughing.

“Relax, I’m joking.”

What. The. Fuck.

I went blank for a second.

This bastard actually thought this was a good time for a joke?