Chapter 9: Shadows of Danger

The residents followed as the Landlady led the way, creating a hesitant procession towards the first locked apartment. The air was thick with anticipation as they reached the door, a collective breath held as the Landlady inserted the override key.

With a mechanical click, the door swung open, revealing a scene frozen in time. The apartment seemed undisturbed, and a wave of relief washed over the group. They scanned the living space, finding no immediate signs of struggle or unusual activity.

No signs of disarray could be seen anywhere, and if not for the current situation, it would have been assumed that the resident living in this apartment had simply not been home. The residents exchanged glances, relieved by the apparent normalcy of the scene.

As they combed through the entire unit, the realization dawned that there really wasn't anyone present. Exiting the vacant apartment, they moved toward the next one, just a few doors away.

The Landlady skillfully inserted the override key, and the door yielded to their collective anticipation. In stark contrast to the previous unit, this one greeted them with a scene of disarray.

Hesitant to intrude, they called out from the doorway, hoping for any sign of response. The silence that followed fueled an atmosphere of apprehension. After a prolonged moment without any indication of life within, a resident suggested entering to investigate further.

With unanimous agreement, they cautiously stepped into the dimly lit unit. As they began methodically searching the apartment, it isn't long before something happens.

Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream pierced the air, jolting everyone into immediate action. Some chose to hang back, while others, driven by a mix of curiosity and fear, took the lead toward the source of the commotion.

Their urgency led them to the bathroom, where a shocking sight awaited them. A lifeless body hung eerily from the ceiling, a macabre spectacle that sent shivers down their spines.

Ji-hoon's gaze lingered on the lifeless body, his mind wrestling with confusion. In a world where the dead were either zombies or dead zombies, encountering an intact corpse raised perplexing questions. The man seemed to have taken his own life, yet the disarray within his unit contradicted this apparent self-inflicted end.

Everyone else seemed to be battling with series of questions in their minds as well as they all stared at the corpse that hung off the ceiling. Their all brought out of their thoughts though as the same man that had suggested they check the apartment whose name they now knew as Mr. Park spoke up again.

"I think we can move on to the next unit then."

While some were taken aback by his seemingly indifferent demeanour, a few of them had to agree that dwelling on the unknown wouldn't help, especially when they were ignorant of the larger picture.

Interrupting the collective contemplation,

Soo Won voiced her concerns, breaking her silence. "Shouldn't we do something about the corpse, though? It might not have transformed, but shouldn't we still be cautious?"

Soo Won's question hung in the air, prompting a momentary pause. Ji-hoon, considering the potential danger, acknowledged the validity of her point.

"She's right. We should at least secure the area or figure out what happened here."

Agreeing to this, the group decided to proceed cautiously. With a mix of trepidation and determination, they brought down the corpse and tied it up, locking the door of the bathroom after, they moved on to the next unit. Most people seemed to be hesitant to continue this quest after what they had seen in the previous unit but nobody voiced out their hesitations.

Getting to the next unit, the Landlady used the override key once again, and as the door swung open, they called out cautiously before entering. This time, there was a distinct reaction—a series of loud bangs echoing from within.

The group tensed, uncertain about what awaited them on the other side. As the sounds continued, a collective nervousness gripped them. After a moment of tense anticipation, they realized that, although something was banging on a door inside, it wasn't charging at them.

Relieved but still on edge, they exchanged glances. "That has to be an infected, right?" one resident voiced the concern that lingered in the air.

"Probably, who knows?" Mr. Park replied with an air of nonchalance, an attitude that seemed to irk some of the residents.

"Shouldn't we stay away like the warning said?" another resident asked, expressing a cautious sentiment shared by some in the group.

Ji-hoon had to agree with the concerned resident. While he wasn't exactly scared, he saw no reason to unnecessarily risk scratches or, even worse, a bite while just trying to assess the situation of the absent residents and it seemed he wasn't the only one that felt that way as the landlady who had been silent before spoke up

"Let's check the last unit first before we make any decisions on the situation."

That seemed to have convinced everyone to move on so they all cautiously retreated from the banging noises and moved on to the last unit. The Landlady used the override key once more, and this time, the door opened to reveal an eerily silent apartment.

Calling out for anyone once again, they received no reaction from inside this time and after waiting for a while, they all moved in. Scanning the inside for any signs of life or dead, the residents couldn't shake off the unease that lingered from the previous encounter.

Everything seemed strangely untouched, adding to the mystery of what had transpired in the other units. As they reached the final room, they hesitated before opening the door. The residents held their breath, awaiting whatever might be behind it.

As the door swung open, revealing an empty room, the residents experienced a momentary relief.

However, Mr. Park's ominous words swiftly reintroduced a sense of urgency and apprehension.

"This isn't necessarily a good thing though," Mr. Park remarked, his tone serious, reigniting the tension among the group.

A concerned resident questioned, "Why is that?"

Mr. Park explained, "There were two empty rooms, and we know that someone got attacked yesterday. This means that either there were two victims yesterday, or we have an intelligent infected among us. There's also the possibility of us having a murderer on our hands, and none of these scenarios bode well for us. They're very bad, in fact. All of them mean we are in serious danger."

A collective realization settled among the residents, heightening their anxiety. The gravity of their situation weighed heavily on their shoulders.