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A field sown with who-knows-what—cabbage, lettuce, green onions, or potatoes. The streetlights are far away, and the only light in the thick darkness is the farm shed ahead.

“…”

“…”

We instinctively stepped back, gripping our cell phones. If we call for help, the noise might alert the zombie, and it could come after us.

The farm shed is illuminated by the white light of an electric lantern.

It looks like a place where someone finished their day’s work and drank makgeolli. There are many bowls of food scattered around, along with several bottles of makgeolli and brass bowls.

A zombie dressed as a farmer wanders around. Occasionally, it bangs its head against the bowls, eats the food, and drools.

“Let’s call for help.”

We stepped back further and held our phones.

I picked up an old phone with the USIM card removed. Even without a USIM, emergency calls can be made. Like 119 or 112.

“Wait a second.”

Jeondohyeong tapped his phone. The white light from his phone made his masked face look ghostly. I could see beads of cold sweat and his trembling pupils.

Soon, he was ready to play a voice file.

“Ready.”

“Good.”

I held my breath and dialed 112. I put it on speaker, and the ringing sound echoed. I held the phone’s receiver close to Jeondohyeong’s phone speaker.

The call connected.

– This is emergency 112.

At the same time, Jeondohyeong played the voice file. A woman’s voice came from the speaker.

– Is this the police? Here—

It was a pre-recorded file. A voice-modulated app manipulated the woman’s voice to quickly recite the script, giving the address and screaming.

– There’s a zombie here! Ahh! It’s coming this way!

– Ma’am, please calm down and evacuate first—

The police tried to say something, but I threw the phone on the ground and immediately pressed the end call button.

The screen of the disconnected phone. I picked it up and let out a long breath. Jeondohyeong did the same.

It felt like pulling an April Fool’s prank on a public institution. I felt both nervous and excited, like I’d done something bad.

“We’re really doing this.”

Jeondohyeong spoke in a dazed voice.

I glanced at him and nudged him.

“Let’s do one last check.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

We took out our gloves and put them on, moving our hands around.

It was a chokehold position. A solid stance I learned from the internet. One arm goes into the crook of the other, and the other arm presses the back of the head.

While the police are focused on the zombie, we’ll sneak up from behind and choke them…

Jeondohyeong suddenly spoke up, holding the hand axe I handed him.

“Wouldn’t it be better to just kill them? Instead of just subduing them like this. This feels like it’s going to fail.”

I shook my head.

Jeondohyeong, being short, seemed unsure about close combat, but it’s better not to kill the police.

“No. It’s better to keep the police alive. It’s more efficient.”

“I don’t get it…”

Jeondohyeong’s legs were shaking when he suddenly stopped. A bewildered voice came out.

“Uh, uh.”

“…What’s wrong?”

I looked at his face, but the darkness and mask made it hard to read his expression.

All I could see was him pointing somewhere.

“Zombie, zombie.”

Not towards the shed. Near us. I turned my head sharply and heard the sound. The shuffling footsteps of a dark figure. The gurgling cry unique to zombies.

Not just one.

Across the wide field, shadowy figures—whether darkness or people—were squirming closer.

“Ah.”

My mind raced, reconstructing the situation.

The farmer or villagers must have been infected en masse. They must have mutated while eating dinner in the shed. Someone must have mutated and fled to the field, infecting everyone. They must have heard the call for help and seen the phone light, coming towards us.

We’re screwed.

I shivered and spoke.

“When will the police get here?”

“At least 10 minutes, I think…”

There are at least five zombies. And we’re in a wide-open field.

***

The sound of Jeondohyeong grinding his teeth was audible. He quickly turned to flee, but I grabbed his wrist and whispered.

“Quiet. They haven’t noticed us yet.”

Jeondohyeong stopped. As I said, the zombies were slowly shuffling towards us.

Quietly sneaking away is the right move. No, we need to lure them too.

I turned on the old phone. Maybe because of the light, the aimlessly wandering zombies started moving straight towards us.

Jeondohyeong whispered in a voice on the verge of breaking.

“Why did you turn that on?”

A voice filled with suppressed anger. I ignored him and quickly tapped the phone.

Setting an alarm.

It’s set for 1 minute later, but in reality, it’ll be less than 60 seconds. Jeondohyeong let out a short gasp when he saw the screen, and I threw the phone as far as I could.

The zombies’ direction shifted, following the phone.

“When the alarm goes off, we retreat.”

“Okay.”

We counted the seconds. My heart felt like it was beating dozens of times a second. My gloved hands were sweaty, and I held my breath as we waited.

Gurgle—

A zombie from behind approached. I froze like a statue, holding my breath. The sound of an animal’s cry. Irregular footsteps. It brushed past me.

My head went blank, and I instinctively grabbed the hammer.

Thud—

Luckily, whether it was the thick darkness or the phone light, the zombie passed by us. My breath caught, and the tension eased as I let out a rough exhale.

The exhale was a bit loud.

The zombie turned. The zombie, haloed by the white light of the electric lantern, crouched, casting a shadow over its face.

The moment we stepped back.

Beep beep beep beep beep—!

The phone emitted an annoying alarm sound. A sonic attack on the mind.

“Kyaaah!”

“Keeek!”

The zombies went crazy. The zombies heading towards the phone suddenly charged, and the zombie that had been suspicious of us turned and screamed.

In an instant, they gathered around the phone, pounding and stomping on it. They kicked it, stepped on it, even picked it up and threw it like a rock, then chased after the thrown phone.

Only the noisy phone held their attention.

Suddenly, the strength left my body. The tension eased, and fatigue washed over me.

“…”

“…”

We silently moved away from the zombie horde. Carefully, making sure not to make a sound.

When we were a bit further away, Jeondohyeong spoke.

“Hey. I think the plan failed.”

I glanced at the zombies. Thanks to throwing the phone near the shed, I could roughly see the number under the faint light.

‘One, two, three, four, five zombies?’

Villager-like zombies, farmer zombies, and the zombie eating food in the shed—five in total.

Even if four police officers came, it’d still be iffy.

‘I want the police gear, but it’s too risky.’

They look a bit old, but they’re still zombies. My brief hesitation ended.

“Yeah, let’s get out of here—”

Just as I said that.

Whoosh, thud—

Beep beep beep beep screech—

Suddenly, a phone landed in front of my feet. The screen was cracked and broken. The alarm sounded like a broken speaker. The cursed phone, kicked, smashed, and thrown by the zombies, had returned.

I trembled and looked up.

“Kyaaaah!”

“Keeek!”

Five zombies charged at us like wild boars.

In that instant, Jeondohyeong and I were on the same page. Without a word, we turned and ran.

Behind us, the sound of the phone being crushed and the alarm stopping. But the zombies still let out their horrible cries and chased us. The sound of five zombies’ footsteps thundered like tanks.

***

Huff— huff—

I was out of breath. The sound of my heart pounding wildly echoed in my ears.

Luckily, it was a dark night with no lights in the field, so we hadn’t been caught yet, but it was only a matter of time. The farmer zombies chased us relentlessly, like they’d caught a thief.

I don’t know if they heard our footsteps or our heavy breathing, and I didn’t have the luxury to analyze it.

“Shouldn’t the police be here by now?”

“Over there!”

Suddenly, Jeondohyeong jumped. I instinctively looked for light in the darkness.

In the distance, a parked police car. Flashing blue and red lights. And two people approaching with what looked like flashlights, shining white beams.

Suddenly, it felt like strength surged through me.

Jeondohyeong and I waved our arms wildly and ran towards the police.

“Here! Here!”

“Help us!”

Did they not hear us? No response. I gritted my teeth and pushed off the ground. I sprinted with all my might until I could hear the police’s voices.

The sound of the zombies’ footsteps gradually faded, and the faint voices of a man and a woman reached us.

“I want to shoot all these zombies. They say the number of infected will surpass a million in less than a month. How are we supposed to quarantine and manage a million zombies? We can’t even keep up with the outbreaks now.”

“If we kill them all, wouldn’t that be mass murder? The military would step in.”

“The military? There’s no place more vulnerable to epidemics than there. If even a cold breaks out—”

I smiled. Not because of the good news that the government was failing.

It was the joy of seeing our saviors. Jeondohyeong and I shouted at the top of our lungs, even though we were out of breath.

“Here! Zombies behind us!”

“Hurry!”

Whoosh, the flashlight shone on us, and the two police officers immediately drew their weapons.

The female officer aimed a Taser with a cartridge loaded, while the senior-looking male officer swung two pairs of handcuffs.

“Step back first—”

The tired voice stopped. The flashlight wavered. The officer who looked behind us widened his eyes and let out a scream-like shout.

“There’s more than one!”

They must have seen the five zombies.

We quickly hid behind the police and watched as they skillfully handled the situation.

The zombies charged madly. The distance closed rapidly. The police, having likely faced similar situations before, didn’t waste time calling for backup on their radios.

Bang—!

The Taser fired without warning. The sound of a balloon popping, and the electrodes flew, hitting a zombie. The zombie’s body went stiff, and it collapsed.

“Eek!”

The man glared at us as if he wanted to kill us, then drew his pistol and immediately pulled the trigger. The gunshots echoed. One blank round, two non-lethal rounds, and two live rounds hit the zombies’ bodies.

One zombie fell dead, but that was it. The other three zombies limped or bled as they charged.

“Kyaaah!”

The zombie’s scream-like cry.

“Extend the batons!”

The man, with his pistol dangling from a strap, unfolded his baton. The woman, while pulling the Taser’s trigger to release electricity, held a baton in her other hand.

They clashed. The swinging batons and the zombies charging relentlessly, seemingly unfazed by pain.

“…”

I stepped back a few steps and gripped the hammer. The red rubber of the gloves creaked from the friction.

My greed for the police gear and my fear of the zombies left me paralyzed.

In the end, fear won.

In that short time, the police were both on the ground. The rolling flashlight illuminated the blood-soaked field. The pistol and bulletproof vest stained with zombie blood.

And the zombies turning towards us.

“Gurgle.”

As if venting their anger, the zombies who had nearly mauled the police slowly stood up. The zombie stunned by the Taser also recovered, dragging the Taser gun by its wires as it approached.

Escape was the only answer.

“Run!”

Jeondohyeong and I sprinted away. My steps felt heavy.

Regret weighed on my shoulders.

I didn’t want to kill the police. At most, I planned to infect them with the virus and send them back. But they died a month early at the hands of zombies.

Their unexpected deaths didn’t feel like someone else’s problem.

The zombies’ victory. A world where people die meaninglessly. A world where even a single resource is hard to come by. It was the apocalypse.

 

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