WHISPERS IN THE DARK: THE CAGES OF FEAR

Sae Joon Hyun’s voice cut through the tension, his question ringing out as he stepped out of the vehicle, his expression serious. “Huh? Charyeong? What are you guys doing here?” His eyes swept over the scene before him, trying to make sense of the unusual situation. The air was thick with unease, and his gaze landed on the sight of the broken metal doors in the distance, the damage immediately telling him that something had gone terribly wrong.

"Hyeong," Jay called out, his voice shaking slightly with anxiety. “We got a text from Minyoung. She said something was wrong, so we came here as quickly as we could. But… we found this instead.” His voice faltered as he took in the sight of the destroyed base, the broken doors, and the unmistakable sense of danger in the air. His body trembled, not just from the cold, but from the fear of what lay ahead.

“Kaneisyeon! Mumma is here, honey!” In-Ha’s voice, filled with desperate hope, broke the silence. She rushed towards the exposed space they had managed to keep safe for so long, the place that had been their shelter.

“M-Miss. In-Ha? Is—is that really you?” a weak voice cracked from within the jeep parked in the base.

In-Ha froze, her heart racing. The voice was cracked and trembling, filled with uncertainty, but it was undeniably familiar. She banged on the jeep’s door, urgency in her every movement. “Yes! It’s me! Open the door!” she pleaded, her hands shaking as she reached out.

The door slowly creaked open, revealing Mina’s face, pale and streaked with tears, as she weakly looked up at them. “Miss. In-Ha… Oh, and Eunhye and the others,” she said quietly, relief and disbelief mingling in her voice as she let them in.

“Mina! What happened here?” Yon asked immediately, his voice strained with worry. He glanced around, trying to make sense of the chaos around them.

“I… I don’t understand,” Mina replied, her voice breaking. “How is that even possible? We—We…” She trailed off, unable to find the right words.

“Mina. Look at me. Calm down. You’re okay. We’re here. It’s fine,” Sae Joon Hyun said, stepping toward her and gripping her by the shoulders. He shook her gently, trying to steady her as tears welled up in her eyes.

“Sae—” Mina began, but she couldn’t finish her sentence. Her voice cracked, and her body trembled as the weight of everything that had happened crashed down on her.

From inside the jeep, Minyoung, Zera, and Yunha emerged, all looking disoriented, their faces etched with worry.

“Minyoung!” In-Ha exclaimed, immediately pulling her out by her wrist. “Where is Jeha? Is Kaneisyeon okay? Tell me!” She demanded, her tone filled with panic.

“Ah—Miss. In-Ha… My hand…” Minyoung winced, holding onto her right wrist. She looked at In-Ha nervously, clearly overwhelmed.

“In-Ha! Calm down!” Yon intervened, pulling In-Ha away from Minyoung. His voice was a mixture of concern and frustration. Minyoung looked at In-Ha, eyes wide with worry, but did nothing to resist.

“Zera. Yunha. Are you girls alright?” Eunhye asked, her voice softer, yet still laced with concern.

Both girls nodded heavily, their faces showing the exhaustion and fear they had been carrying. Zera’s voice was faint as she spoke, her words tinged with the trauma of the past few hours. “Eunnie... it was unexpected... what happened when you guys left…”

Eunhye’s brows furrowed with confusion. “Can you tell us what happened?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She could see the fear lingering in Zera’s eyes, the same fear that had gripped them all.

---

[Day Thirteen - Three Days Ago]

{Zera's POV}

Zera’s heart pounded in her chest as she recalled the events of those fateful days. They had been left behind, left to fend for themselves while the others had gone off to complete their missions. With no guidance and no clear direction, Zera, Minyoung, Yunha, and the rest of the group had tried to make themselves useful. They had decided to be productive, organizing their supplies, counting food and water, and preparing for whatever the future might hold.

“We asked Jaeyeon what we were supposed to do since you guys had your missions, and we decided to be a bit productive considering we were already getting accustomed to all this saving and surviving,” Zera started, her voice low and filled with the weight of her memories. “But he just brushed it off, saying he was too tired to do anything. Then he just laid himself on the jeep’s seat lazily, trying to catch sleep. Yuri politely asked us students to leave the jeep.”

Zera paused, her lips pressed together in frustration. The memory of their idle days with nothing to do haunted her. "…And we did. It was getting really boring, because when you guys were there with us, you practically guided us forward. Especially Sae Joon Hyun Seonbanim. Alone, we had no idea what to do. So me, Yunha, and Minyoung decided to check up on our stocks."

“We counted every food item twice before putting them into bags. We neatly organized everything we had with us—weapons, food, water, and even medical supplies.” Zera’s eyes glazed over as she recalled the tedious work they had done, trying to keep their minds occupied.

"But surprisingly, that only took about two to three hours, even with all the one-purpose dallying we did. We were then just sitting idly, hoping you guys would come back earlier than expected." Her voice faltered slightly as she recalled the stillness of those hours, the helplessness that crept in as the day turned to night.

“Night approached. We students walked into the jeep to sleep. For some reason, it was just too lonely, even with all of us. It felt wrong to sleep spread out in the base. And so, we tried to get some rest in the jeep.” Zera paused, her eyes downcast.

“For some reason, it felt like something was off… But we didn’t know what it was. Yuri had suggested that we just sit ourselves to sleep.”

Zera’s voice dropped as she continued, her words coming more slowly now. “I don’t know how much time passed, but it was definitely past midnight. Minyoung woke up from her slumber and approached the window of the jeep on the right side, where she had told us she always sat.”

Zera paused again, her eyes wide with recollection. “She peeped through the window. There was some very disturbing noise that woke her up. And also because she ain’t a sound sleeper like the rest of us.”

Minyoung’s voice trembled as she spoke, recounting the moment of fear. “What she saw, though… chains attached to a cage dangling carelessly in someone’s hands.”

Zera shuddered as the image returned to her mind. “She pressed her face closer to the window, and saw a man. Immediately, she dropped down and sealed her mouth with her hands. She hurriedly woke Yuri and Jaeyeon up. They saw the man as well. He then went to the end—almost to the very end of this room. It was very unexpected.”

Zera took a deep breath, her voice barely above a whisper. “There was a door carved on the tile, so neatly that we couldn’t have possibly noticed it if not for the incident. He pulled open the door, which seemed like the floor, and entered in.”

The others listened intently, the tension thickening as Zera continued.

“We only pondered who he was as each of us woke up to the information. The man walked out of the seemingly floor, holding chains attached to yet another cage. What the cages contained—those zombies in a surprisingly large, devastating number.”

The realization hit like a wave. Zera could feel the terror rising in her chest again, the helplessness of that moment. “It shocked us. We were terrified. But we were sure he knew we were here. After all, he lived in that storage room in this base with us this whole time.”

Zera’s voice cracked with emotion as she recalled what happened next. “After that, Jaeyeon asked us to pretend to go back to sleep. He asked me, Yunha, Mina, and Minyoung to hide under the seats. If the man had no idea how many we were, it would be to our advantage. And so we did. Without any further arguments.”

“Only maybe some mere minutes later, the man furiously knocked on the doors of the jeep. Jaeyeon opened the door as if he did not know about the man. The others who weren’t hiding with us girls followed his directions.”

Zera’s voice lowered to almost a whisper, her eyes filled with the weight of the memory. “'Come with me.' I heard the man command them coldly.”

"What the heck! Who are you?" Jaeyeon had argued, but the man swung the chains he was holding, and with the sound, the zombies in the cage began snarling horribly. He was threatening them.

Zera’s voice faltered. “Jaeyeon immediately lifted his arms up. So did the others. We could only witness. Then the man asked them to follow him discreetly. They went to the back of the room with him. I don’t really know what happened after that. Mina peeped through the window but couldn’t see anything. As soon as she heard the dangling of the chains, she immediately came back and hid under the seat, trembling.”

“We heard the sound of a bus’s engine running, followed by certain blurry conversations. And then the vehicle seemingly tore down the doors and left.”

---

The group sat in stunned silence.

“What? There was someone here all along? All this time?” Eunhye’s voice trembled as she looked around, her mind racing to make sense of it all. She turned to look at the tiles around her, the heavy weight of realization sinking in.

Yunha guided them toward the tile that had been the entrance to the storage room.

“Where is Jeha?” In-Ha asked again, her voice filled with worry.

“Jeha? Oh, right…” Minyoung hesitated. “We didn’t see him. I think he’s also in the bus with Jaeyeon seonbanim and the others…”

“What? Then my child... my daughter is also…” In-Ha’s voice trailed off, the fear and confusion consuming her.

“Is Eugene with them as well?” Yon asked, his concern deepening.

Zera nodded.

“How many cages did he have?” Yon pressed, his voice firm despite the uncertainty.

“I don’t know… but it was definitely more than two…” Zera replied, her voice strained with fear.

“More than two cages…” Yon murmured, his face grim.