Chapter 2
Back inside, I leaned against the door and let out a long breath.
Just moments earlier…
While the handsome zombie was wiping my tears, a zombie bulging with muscle had shot out from behind me. It moved so fast it was in front of me in a blink.
Just before my head could be crushed, the handsome zombie thrust out an arm to block that gaping, bloody mouth. The sound of teeth punching through flesh made my blood run cold.
Then the two of them were locked in combat.
That inhuman speed, those lethal blows—“bloody” didn’t begin to cover it.
I had no idea why the handsome zombie was saving me, but I wasn’t about to waste the chance.
I scrambled home on my hands and knees.
…
My greatest strength was my ability not to dwell on things. Not long after I lay down, I fell asleep.
I slept soundly, even dreaming of someone I hadn’t dreamed about in a long time.
His face gradually merged with the handsome zombie’s. They were identical.
But when I woke and tried to recall the dream, I couldn’t remember a thing.
My memory was getting worse by the day.
The apartment was pitch-black now.
I pressed a hand to my impossibly empty stomach.
I was so hungry. I wanted hot pot so badly…
Just then, a faint series of knocks came at the door. Pathetically quiet knocks.
On alert, I grabbed the baseball bat by the wall.
“Who’s there?”
Whoever was outside didn’t answer. Instead, something was pushed through the hole where the peephole had been.
I went closer.
Holy shit. A sausage!
Rescue had finally arrived!
I flung the door open and threw my arms around the person outside.
“You’re finally here!”
The body in my arms went stiff for a moment. There was a faint smell of blood.
Only then did I realize something was wrong.
I slowly looked up, and my face fell.
Why was it him?
The handsome zombie’s injured lips curved. Eager to please, he pushed a pile of food into my arms.
“Eat.”
I wrestled with myself for a few seconds, then started wolfing it down.
I couldn’t help it. I was just too hungry.
But when I looked up again, he was already gone.
Hey. Pretty considerate of him.
I hastily shut the door, terrified that another muscle-bound zombie might pop up at any second.
I felt my way back to the bedroom in the dark.
Just as I was about to lie down, something moved at the edge of my vision.
“Who’s there?!”
Every hair on my body stood on end.
I wasn’t alone in the room.
He was sitting on the balcony railing, his back to the moonlight. I couldn’t make out his face.
“You’ve got food?”
Instinctively, I hid my unfinished bread behind my back.
“N-no.”
It had rained last night. After collecting rainwater, I’d forgotten to chain the balcony door shut.
That had given him his opening.
He stood and walked slowly toward me. Only then did I see the blood all around his mouth and collar.
Instinct told me it wasn’t animal blood. Or zombie blood.
He’d eaten a person!
So that explained the chopping and chewing I’d heard upstairs these past two days. My poor neighbor must have ended up in this stranger’s stomach.
“Show me what you’ve got in your hand.”
Shaking violently, I immediately offered the bread with both hands.
“That’s it?”
The tall, powerfully built man weighed the half-eaten piece in his hand, plainly dissatisfied.
“That’s all I’ve got. Please, d-don’t kill me…”
He grinned viciously. “Don’t kill you? But this isn’t nearly enough to fill me up.”
In the apocalypse, with no law to restrain people, all that remained was human cruelty.
I clearly saw him pull a dagger from his pocket. Its sharp edge gleamed coldly in the moonlight.
He hadn’t come for the bread at all. He’d intended from the start to kill me and eat me.
Fuck.
I’d never have imagined a zombie would bring me food, while one of my own kind wanted me dead.
It couldn’t have been more chilling.
“Close your eyes. It’ll be over soon. It won’t hurt.”
I forced the corners of my mouth up. “How thoughtful.”
“But I could say the same to you.”
The next instant, a force from behind hurled him to the floor.
There stood the handsome zombie. He’d come back.