"I've never seen you before."
The boy was handsome, standing about 5'11 with fluffy black hair that fell partly across his face. Alaija stayed quiet, simply watching him until Chris nudged her.
"Oh! Sorry—I'm Alaija. I stay in room 204." She tucked her hair behind her ear, embarrassed for staring too long.
His eyes lingered on her exposed arms and legs before shifting to the rest of the group. "I'm Sunghoon. Write your names and dorm numbers on the sheet so we can get everyone situated. Not every room is available—bombings and walkers ruined a few."
He stepped aside to let them in. Just like when they had first arrived, each of them scribbled their names and room assignments onto the sign-in sheet.
"Are you the only one here?" Nayeon asked.
Sunghoon shook his head. "No. During the day, we stay on the second floor, in the common room away from windows—"
Chris cut him off. "How'd you know we were at the door?"
It was a good question. They hadn't been loud.
Sunghoon pointed down the hall. "That's my dorm. Or—ex-dorm. Room 101. I'd already graduated and was packing for Chicago when the apocalypse started. Lockdown hit, so everyone stuck here stayed."
Room 101 was known as the lucky room. First-come, first-served. It came with perks: a microwave, a personal fridge, two closets, a dresser, a couch, and even a private bathroom.
"What's a 'The8'?" Anyia asked suddenly, earning a snort from David.
"When you're here for media, music, dance, stuff like that, you get a stage name. Or a social media name," David explained. "The 8 is Xu Minghao. My stage name's D4vD—still pronounced David. Minghao isn't fluent in English, but it's cute when he speaks it. He can do Korean and Chinese, though."
Alaija nodded at his explanation.
"He's in room 212," Sunghoon added.
After a bit more conversation, everyone dispersed to their rooms—except Chris, Felix, and Nayeon, who lingered behind.
"Is the 3rd floor non accessible?" Chris asked. Sunghoon nodded, "We only managed to check rooms 225 and under before running into walkers." The boys exchanged glances and nods. "Nayeon, you can bunk with one of the girls, I'll take the common room, and Lix, you're with Mahkio." With that, they began to disperse, but Sunghoon shot out a hand to stop Chris. "Bunk with me, I've got a spare bed. Besides, the common room has a broken window- one wrong move, Zombies will be crawling in. I don't want you losing sleep over that."
The two men headed to room 101, which was relatively clean, safe for the faint smuges of ash and the boarded window. The spare bed he'd mentioned sat in the corner, tucked beside a medium fridge.
"There are waters, fruit cups, and poptarts in there," Sunghoon explained. "We keep snacks in our rooms, main foods upstairs in the common area cause it doesn't have windows." He crossed the room to the cabinet dresser and pulled out a set of sheets. "These are extras I brought when I first moved in. I finished my program and graduated as an international student."
Handing Chris the sheets and pillow, "I don't have blankets, we had to use them to block off the doors at the end of the second floor at the divider. Day walkers can smell you after showering." He sat on his bed. "So, we shoved towels, blankets, and a chair up against the doors and any cracks."
Chris blinked a few times. "Can we shower?" He asked. With everything that's happened, he'd assumed the utilities didn't work. "Yes," Sunghoon replied in a low voice, "when the dorms went into lockdown, all the main power was cut, we managed to find a few flashlights and discovered the buildings' backup systems still work. Although it only runs water, the second floor is the only floor we know of where the emergency lights work." He sank into his bed, shoulders relaxing, while Chris's thoughts swirled. The Silence was heavy, weighing more than any blanket ever could. His thoughts brought him nothing but anxiety, swirling as he thought about rations. His stomach knotted at the thought of what lurked outside or what was on the undiscovered floors.
He was supposed to be the leader, yet the only this his mind led him to was doubt.
Upstairs, the girl bickered in Alaija's dorm room. An argument over who was taking Nayeon. Alaija shook her head immediately, "Not me, I'm not babysitting a grown ass woman."
Anyia crossed her arms. "I'm not doing it either, if it weren't for her wandering off at the school - screaming- we'd still be hidden there. comfortable. and safe." The memory was heavy on their mind, only irritating them more.
"Just take her," Alaija pushed, running a hand through her straightened hair. "You have a bunkie anyway, you'll feel her trying to sneak out and wake up" "what?! Hell no!" Anyia immediately snapped, "I actually want to sleep this time, stick her with David."
The girls froze in Unison before shaking their heads, "Never mind, he'll have her head, and we'll hear them bicker all night." The silence stretched between them for a minute too long before Alaija cracked, "We can just share a room, I'll put my bed in your room and sleep by the door so if she gets up or tries to leave, I'll wake up."
Anyia sighed reluctantly and helped her carry the mattress in. Once it was propped against the wall, they hurriedly pushed the wooden bed-frame in. Their senses heightened as their hearts raced, unsure if the noise was too much or if it'd wake a walker. Finally, the room was set up, and they fetched Nayeon from the stairs, "top bunk," Alaija told her flatly.
Nayeon's chest tightened with guilt; she knew she was wrong- careless, dangerous even. But she wasn't just a burden. She was their teacher before all of this, and she couldn't stand the deadweight. "Look... guys, I'm sorry-" "Let's just sleep." One of the women cut her off. Neither wanting to hear apologies, not tonight. The room fell into an uneasy silence.
In the morning, Alaija was the first to wake. She scrambled out of bed, exhausted as she made her way down the hall to the common room where they kept their bags. She dug through her drawstring and then her backpack that sat on the table. "I know I packed it," she muttered before pulling out her toothbrush.
She heard heavy feet padding and jerked around to face the door as her heart raced, fight or flight triggered. "Who are you?" the man asked. He stood 5'11 with a black mullet. He was skinny and wore jeans and a rockstar tee. "Who are you?" she asked in response.
"I ask first." His English broken, the loud commotion startled them, and the other on the floor as everyone bustled into the common room. Alaija drew metal chopsticks from the drawer to her right that were oddly clean and aimed them at him as her crew piled inside.
Felix immediately came to her side with Mahkio, who took the chopstick from her. David, Nayeon, and Anyia stayed by the door till David broke the silence, "Guys, this is Minghao, Minghao, these are other survivors found from the school we hid at. We just got here last night," Minghao eyed them all skeptically before going to the sink. He ran a hand through his hair before turning on the sink.
"WATER," they screamed in unison, startling the man, causing him to flinch forward, jumping on the counter, frightened.