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It’s a dimly lit mart. The broken lights cast faint sunlight, and the store was filled with silence, making even the slightest movement feel unnervingly loud.

Thud, the sound of someone taking a step. The noise came from behind us.

“Who—”

As we turned around, raising hammers, hand axes, and iron pipes, our mouths clamped shut.

Had they sensed us first and pretended to be dead among the corpses? The person behind us was pointing a handgun at us. A police officer’s handgun.

Wearing a black mask, dressed in tough jeans and a denim jacket, the person slightly waved the gun.

“Don’t move. Hands up and kneel.”

“A handgun? Wow, you’re really brave. The police would flip if they saw that.”

Sajihyeok calmly threatened the opponent, but he chose the wrong words. It wasn’t bravery—this person was out of their mind. The police would kill anyone with a gun on sight.

The stranger spoke.

“Police? What do I care? I’d be dead without this. See? It’s still useful.”

Click, the gun pointed at my head. Annoyingly, it was aimed at me. Sajihyeok and Jeondohyeong were there too, but why me…?

I subtly hid behind Jeondohyeong, squinting and glaring at the opponent’s gun.

“Do you have any bullets left?”

“Who knows? Want to find out with your head?”

They took another step closer, reducing the distance. Even a handgun, hard to aim, could hit at close range.

The mere presence of the firearm was a powerful threat. A wrong move could cost a life.

“I don’t like gambling.”

Sajihyeok quickly knelt, placing the iron pipe on a zombie’s chest. Jeondohyeong hesitated, trembling, but soon turned to me.

“What do we do?”

What do we do? I can’t lose either. I immediately put Jeondohyeong in a chokehold, using him as a shield.

“What the—”

At the same time, I quickly drew my handgun. An eye for an eye, a gun for a gun. The opponent paused.

Jeondohyeong struggled to break free, but I tightened my grip and whispered.

“Get ready to throw the hand axe.”

“What if I get shot?”

“It’s fine.”

“I’m not fine!”

“That guy’s out of bullets.”

Probably. If he had bullets, he would’ve shot us while hiding. He was likely bluffing to steal our gear.

Jeondohyeong tilted his head, then started struggling again.

“Then why use me as a shield?”

“Just in case. …Kidding.”

I kept a wide field of view, observing the opponent closely. I realized they weren’t serious about fighting either.

From the moment I drew my gun, they seemed flustered, cautiously stepping back. The bag in their hand swayed slowly, and keys jingled.

“A handgun? Do you have any bullets left?”

It’s an easy distance to miss. I released Jeondohyeong and stepped back, rummaging through my bag. I handed Jeondohyeong a taser and threw a virus water gun to Sajihyeok.

“I’ve got enough to spare. You probably do too. Let’s not waste bullets. We’re not exactly loaded, and there’s not much left in this mart.”

“…Let’s each do our own thing.”

The opponent slowly backed away.

We watched until they disappeared, sighing deeply once they were gone.

That was surprisingly tough. It seems everyone’s adapting to the apocalypse, with a bit of wild aggression coming back.

And the struggle to survive can’t be ignored.

“Looks like scavengers have already been through here.”

Even the resources the military left behind are gone. Looking around, there were no carts in the mart. They took the carts first.

Sajihyeok tightly gripped the iron pipe he had set down.

“There are really a lot of dangerous people in the world.”

“The most dangerous one is right here.”

Jeondohyeong glared at me, grumbling. He loaded a cartridge into the taser and kicked a corpse.

The corpse’s arm stretched out, pointing at me.

“What were you thinking? If that guy had shot, I would’ve been hit.”

“Just didn’t want to lose the intimidation game. If we look crazy, they won’t fight.”

Trying to calm my pillager companion, Jeondohyeong let out a long sigh.

“Not just look crazy, you are crazy.”

I let it slide and looked around. The quiet, desolate mart interior. We might be too late—there’s not much left.

But going back empty-handed would be a waste of time, so we carefully searched the corpse-filled mart.

***

There’s definitely not much left in the mart.

No food, of course. Tools and electronics are all gone. Not even tape, batteries, vehicle maintenance tools, or kitchenware remained. Detergent, shampoo, soap, socks, underwear, cosmetics…

All that’s left are stationery like pens and books.

Like a skeleton stripped of flesh, the mart’s shelves were bare. We even searched the corpses, but the results were disappointing.

“Even the corpses have been looted?”

Car keys, house keys, IDs, cigarettes, lighters, bags—anything useful was already gone. All that remained were wallets, cash, and credit cards—useless now.

I opened a light bag.

I managed to pack some insecticide, a few pots, and plant nutrients, but it’s far from enough. Maybe we made the wrong call from the start.

Zombies, the military, scavengers—they’ve all been through here. This place was a mine, and everyone’s already dug out the resources. There’s nothing left.

‘We should just pillage people.’

People are the treasure goblins. It’s instinct to hoard resources to survive, and we should target what they’ve stored.

I adjusted my hat.

“Let’s just hit the pharmacy and head back.”

We turned and walked toward the mart entrance, carefully stepping over corpses, sometimes stepping on them.

Then, I saw the scavenger again. He seemed to be heading back after his harvest.

“…”

“…”

We glanced at each other briefly, then ignored each other and kept walking. A subtle tension lingered. We didn’t look directly, but our arms tensed, ready to shoot at any moment.

‘Should I just shoot now? Nah, bullets are too precious.’

As we walked, the world grew brighter. The entrance, bathed in sunlight, was near.

Unconsciously, our pace quickened. As we reached the entrance, we stopped. The situation had changed from when we entered.

Sajihyeok gasped.

“Puppies? Cute, uh. Uh?”

Cute? They’re eating corpses.

A pack of wild dogs, their mouths smeared with blood, feasted on human corpses. Their energy was menacing. Different from humans or zombies.

The aura of beasts that could attack and kill humans.

A Doberman, buried in a face, suddenly raised its head. It bared its teeth and growled. Its tail stood stiff.

The dogs, focused on their meal, all turned their heads and bared their teeth at us.

“Slowly back away—”

This is bad. I’d rather fight zombies or humans than a pack of wild dogs that have tasted human flesh. One bite could be fatal.

Then it happened.

The scavenger with the handgun suddenly turned and started running. The pack of dogs chased after him, barking wildly.

I immediately turned and ran, cursing.

“Run!”

“Where to!”

Where? That’s not important. You can’t outrun dogs. I gritted my teeth and pointed at the scavenger running ahead of us. Let him take the fall.

Jeondohyeong understood. The master of murderous persuasion, Jeondohyeong, aimed the taser at the scavenger and fired.

Pop!

The sound of a balloon bursting. Zzzzt, the sound of electricity flowing.

But it didn’t work. The scavenger wore thick clothes for zombie protection, and the electrodes didn’t penetrate.

‘A handgun? Can you even aim while running? Gunshots? Will the dogs run from the sound?’

I’d rather throw a hammer. I swung my arm with all my running momentum, and the hammer flew through the air, spinning, and hit the scavenger’s back.

“Ugh!”

That was it. He didn’t fall or slow down.

The sound of dogs running, barking, echoed behind us.

“Ah, seriously!”

I seriously considered tripping Sajihyeok or Jeondohyeong. Then, Jeondohyeong quickly detached the cartridge and threw it with all his might.

The cartridge spun through the air, the wires tangling around the scavenger’s legs.

His legs were briefly bound. Enough time for us to catch up and take him down.

“I’ll hit him!”

Sajihyeok swung the iron pipe with all his might. He misstepped, and the swing went wide, but the scavenger twisted to dodge and ended up in the path of the swing.

A loud thud, and the scavenger staggered and fell.

“Nice!”

“Why did that hit?”

Ignoring the nonsense, I quickly picked up the bag the scavenger had been carrying. It had keys, IDs, and a lighter.

Now, just one thing left—escape.

“Emergency exit!”

Behind us, the eerie sound of dogs barking and tearing flesh echoed. The sound of them chasing us lessened but was still there.

We ran without looking back, finally reaching the emergency exit.

Bang, we closed and locked the door, crouching and gasping for air. It was unbearably hot. The thick jackets we wore for protection were drenched in sweat. Stifling, sticky, and the mask made it hard to breathe.

We sat scattered on the emergency stairs, staring at the closed door.

Scratch scratch scratch, the sound of claws on the door and barking. We almost died.

“Dogs are really scary.”

“Only the scary ones survive, huh?”

It feels like the difficulty is increasing over time. Everything is becoming a powerful enemy. Nature, animals, people. The plague-ridden spring has passed, and summer is approaching. The apocalypse has taken root and is growing.

It’s a really tough world to live in.

After catching our breath, we slowly left the mart. Afraid of the dogs, we ran along the road after reaching the parking lot.

Luckily, we managed to grab mosquito repellent and nutrients from a pharmacy along the way, making the risk worth it.

On the way back to the villa.

The scorching sun of approaching summer chased us, and wildflowers bloomed one by one on the unmanaged road.

 

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