Apocalypse: Apparently, I Can See Zombies

"That's terrifying, what could have caused such a loud explosion?"

"I don't know, but the zombies must be a part of it."

"Maybe an accident happened at some chemical plant."

"Are there things like that in Itaewon?"

"I don't think so, but look how far that explosion happened, it must have happened in a different district."

"That should be the case, but is it really some chemical plant exploding? That earthquake feels like a small shockwave to us, but we are far from the epicenter. I'd be more convinced if a bomb had gone off."

"Not necessary, if the explosion occurred underground then theoretically it could cause an earthquake-like reaction."

"But what chemical plant is underground? It's likely a subway station exploding or something."

"Yeah, that makes more sense."

"Hey, look! Smoke is rising from more than one direction."

As the students discussed the explosion, Jin-woo stood by the edge of the building, gripping the fence surrounding it. When he heard the last sentence, he shifted his gaze to the left, and indeed, he saw another trail of smoke rising into the air.

There were even a few to the right that were a bit closer, a few miles out.

Jin-woo's grip on the fence tightened as a foreboding feeling started to rise in his heart.

"Everyone-"

He turned to the students ready to gather everyone to head back to the cafeteria, however, he was cut off by the sudden ringing of the school bell.

The suddenness of the bell startled everyone, with a few people holding their chests as if to keep their hearts from jumping out.

"Damn it, what bad timing, that bell nearly scared me to death."

"Wait, that's the bell signaling that lunch is over."

One youth suddenly said in confusion.

"Yeah, I guess around this time we'd be rushing to get to class after lunch."

Another youth responded, but the youth who spoke with confusion clarified.

"No, I mean it's Saturday, why is the bell ringing?"

"Oh."

Not only the youth but the others were taken aback as they realized the oddity.

Jin-woo stiffened before he suddenly spun around and stared in the direction of the explosion on the horizon. His eyes reflected the smoke rising into the sky, becoming an indication of sorts to the increasing panic growing within him.

'Chemical Plant… Underground… The bell ringing…'

The students' conversations spun and spun in Jin-woo's mind as he came to a terrifying conclusion.

"Substation…"

Immediately after Jin-woo uttered those words his face turned pale.

Seong, who was next to Jin-woo, heard him, and his expression changed. Gritting his teeth he said.

"No wonder, no wonder! This smoke is in the direction of Samgakji Substation in Yongsan District! That tremor just now must be due to the distribution lines exploding and causing an accident in the subway lines!"

Seong turned and started pacing back and forth behind Jin-woo while sweeping his hand through his dyed blond hair.

"The bell ringing should also be due to the main power going out and the school's backup power kicking in."

Jin-woo glanced at the newly installed solar panels on the other side of the roof, and his heart sank.

This was the very reason for Seong's anxious reaction, those solar panels were newly installed by the school over the winter break.

Luckily, they weren't grid-tied solar panels that would shut off along with the main power, but unluckily they were either a hybrid system of both grid and solar panel, or at the very least solely solar panel.

Why was that unlucky? Because depending on the size of the solar panel's battery, the power it can generate from sunlight ranges from a couple of hours at the lowest to forty-eight hours at the highest.

Jin-woo's mind worked.

'Judging by the size of the school's renovations over winter break, their budget should have allowed them to install the highest quality batteries, which can last forty-eight hours before needing to recharge.'

However, despite his reassuring thoughts, Jin-woo's anxiety didn't lessen.

This west wing was extremely large with a camera system and a lot of back-end power usage. That forty-eight hours could very likely be severed in half to keep everything running… No, since they were newly installed who is to say they didn't have only a few hours remaining until the power went out for good?

Jin-woo's breath hit his throat as he turned to look at the auditorium and gymnasium.

From where he was, he could faintly hear the speakers that were keeping the zombies in check, but just as the implications of them being cut off started occupying his mind, his thoughts and the sound of the speakers were drowned out by the chattering of his fellow schoolmates.

Some were still a bit frightened by the explosion and the bell, while others were making fun of each other for their initially scared reaction.

This contrasting scene of Jin-woo stirring in his tumultuous waves of panicking thoughts while the students laughed behind him made it seem as if they were both in completely different worlds.

Seong finally stopped pacing around and turned to look at his best friend.

"Jin, what are we going to do? If things go on like this, then we'll be surrounded by zombies before help arrives. Should we stay hoping the power will last until White Tiger forces arrive, or should we take the risk and leave to meet up with them?"

Jin-woo closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the fence. He took deep breaths to try and calm down so he could properly analyze the current situation.

Seong paused, then silently approached Jin-woo and patted his back.

"One little star, two little stars, three little stars…"

He sang that familiar nursery rhyme and Jin-woo felt his stifled emotions pop like a bubble before he began to calm down.

After about a minute, Jin-woo exhaled one last breath before he opened his eyes, which were filled with unwillingness to give up.

"First, we need to return to the cafeteria. I'll ask the teachers if they know anything about the duration of the solar panels' power. Regardless of if the time we have is a few hours or two days, we need to stay here where there are resources. We just need to block the entrance and stay within the cafeteria. I'll also call the Marshal to find out how long it would take for the rescue team to arrive."

Seong nodded, and Jin-woo let out a sigh before he turned to the students.

In truth, he didn't know whether this was the right choice. But what he did know was that if they left this school as a big group, it would be tantamount to suicide.

"Everyone, pack up, it's time to head back!"

Upon hearing this, the students didn't object. To be honest, after the explosion they started to feel uneasy, and they wanted to return to the cafeteria which they knew was safe.

"Guys, Jin-woo is bringing us back!"

"Yeah, pack up!'

The boys acting like a recorder repeat Jin-woo's orders to the students who may not have heard.

Before long all twenty-five people were moving to the door leading down from the roof.

Jin-woo remained at the edge of the building for a bit, looking through the fence at the smoke still rising from the horizon.

Meanwhile, at the door, Ah-yong stood there staring at his back.

Seeing that Jin-woo was alone, she was about to head over, but upon seeing Mai-sun walking over she hesitated before turning around and following the others out.

Unbeknownst to Jin-woo she had been wanting to speak to him during this outing, but every time she found him alone Mai-sun would suddenly appear next to him, interrupting her plans.

"Everyone's gathered, are you okay?"

Mai-sun said when she reached Jin-woo.

"Hm, go ahead, I'm coming."

Mai-sun smiled despite Jin-woo dismissing her concerns before turning to leave.

Jin-woo stared at the smoke in the distance for a bit, before his gaze lingered on the gymnasium and then on the auditorium. He was then about to turn and leave, but he suddenly caught sight of something on top of the auditorium roof.

It was a person.

It was a bit far away and Jin-woo's vision was still bad, so he turned to Seong and asked.

"Seong, is that someone on the auditorium roof? Do they look alive?"

Seong upon hearing this, shifted his gaze to the roof of the auditorium.

"Yeah, it's a person, but they're unmoving so it's likely they're a second type of infected. Wait…"

Seong's tone suddenly shifted along with his entire demeanor.

"What's wrong?"

Jin-woo asked, surprised by Seong's reaction.

"Jin... that person is wearing P.E. clothes."

"P.E. clothes? We were the only class who had P.E. before lunch so it's someone from our class?"

Jin-woo responded, not noticing Seong's words had an underlying meaning. However, Seong turned to look at him and said with a pained expression.

"I-It's a bit far away, but… Jin, that might be Yoon-min."