I packed quickly and went to the bathroom to get a mop.

I laid the mop down and struck the head with my right leg.

Snap!

I thought the mop would snap easily, but I ended up almost breaking my right leg. The pain made its way up and I bit my lips to keep from crying out. There was no way I could snap the mop with my feet. I tucked the head underneath the couch and pulled upward on the shaft of the mop. I almost flipped the couch.

I had to keep calm, especially at that moment. I stood on the couch and pulled the shaft of the mop again, thinking that my weight would be enough to keep the couch stable.

“Darn it. Please…!”

Drr!

I could hear the bottom of the couch tearing apart. But, thankfully, the mop head was also falling apart. I yanked once more and got the head off.

It wasn’t much, but I had few other options in this situation. I had to attack from a distance. I would not be able to recover if ‘they’ bit or clawed me. I had to take advantage of my reach, however limited it was. I also tucked a knife under my belt just in case.

“Let’s go, sweetie.”

“Where? Are we going somewhere?” So-Yeon asked, looking at me with eyes full of fear.

There was no time to lose. I had seen the fate of the woman who’d been trapped in her unit, so finding a way out was my number one priority. If ‘they’ blocked the front door from the outside, that would spell the end for us.

The two creatures who could see were staring at us. I thought of going over to the next unit through the balcony but quickly realized that it wouldn’t be worth it.

‘We have to get out of here right now…’ 

Bang!

At that moment, I heard a loud noise that sent chills down my spine. I held my breath and stared at the front door. So-Yeon hid behind my legs like a squirrel.

Grr…

Bang!

I was certain that the sound was coming from the front door. Something was banging on the door while making a throat-tearing noise. I knew exactly what that something was. Cold sweat trickled down my back. I couldn’t think clearly, and my body stiffened up.

“Daddy…”

So-Yeon’s voice was quivering. She was holding onto my pants with all her might. I got myself together and took her to the master bedroom. There was no longer a way out. I had to lure ‘them’ to somewhere else. I put So-Yeon in the closet and whispered to her, “Sweetie, no matter what happens, you cannot come out until Daddy comes back for you, okay?”

“Daddy, daddy…!”

“Sweetie, hold on to this bag. Drink the water and eat the cereal inside if you get hungry. Alright sweetie?”

“Daddy don’t go!”

“Sweetheart, Daddy will be back in a little bit. Just hang in tight there.”

“I said don’t go!”

She wrapped herself around me, and the tears she had been holding in flowed out uncontrollably. I swallowed, then patted her small back. “Don’t worry darling, Daddy’s right here.”

“Don’t go, don’t go!”

“Don’t worry sweetie. Daddy’s going to be in the living room.”

“Then why should So-Yeon stay here? I want to stay with you.”

I didn’t know what to say. I tickled her wrist and said, “It’s better for you to hide here, my sweetie baby.! We’re going to play hide-and-seek okay?”

“I know this isn’t hide-and-seek! I’m not stupid!”

“It is hide-and-seek, you silly goose.”

I smiled and gave her a noogie. She started crying as she rubbed her forehead. Even in a situation like this, her cuteness still made me laugh.

“It’s alright, Daddy’s here. It’s alright.”

“Oww!”

I closed the door to the closet with So-Yeon crying inside. I could hear her pounding against the door. Her crying made me want to turn around and open the closet again.

I knew that whatever would happen today could leave her traumatized. However, this was the best I could do.

Once I got back to the living room, I dragged the couch to block the door to the master bedroom. I wasn’t sure how long that worn-out thing would last, but it still gave me a sense of relief. I then dragged the dining table out of the kitchen and used it to block the front door. I filled in the gaps with chairs, boxes, and shoes, and whatever else I could find.

Thud! Bang! Slam!

‘They’ slammed themselves against the door, trying to break in.

‘Don’t they feel any pain?’

My bones would have broken if I slammed myself against the door like that, but they kept slamming themselves against the door with increasing force. I had to fix my grip on the mop over and over again as I was sweating too much.

‘When will they get through…? What will happen after they break through? Will I be torn to pieces? What will happen to So-Yeon? Will she die of starvation? Or will she be eaten as well?’’

I couldn’t stop thinking about the worst-case scenario. At that moment, the dreamed-up image of my wife from the night before flashed across my mind. The fact that she had called me a coward while beaming at me lingered in my mind.

I knew I was a coward. I didn’t care about the safety of others. I only cared about mine and So-Yeon’s. If that was my flaw, if that made me a sinner… I would live as one for the rest of my life. I would not hesitate to become evil itself, committing more sins. That was how badly I wanted to survive.

I had to survive until I met people I could trust So-Yeon with, or find shelter where the both of us would be safe. Even if the people at the shelter accused me of being a murderer, I would gladly suffer that. But right now… I had to survive no matter what. Not for my own meaningless life, but for So-Yeon.

* * *

The constant banging and the clock ticking away stimulated all my senses. My heart was racing but I was surprisingly calm. Perhaps it was because I knew that it might be the end for me. But I had no intention of giving ‘them’ what they wanted.

‘Come and get me. I’m ready. Try to get some if you can. I’ll blow your heads off before you can get to me.’

I held my nervous stance in front of the barricaded front door. Time passed without me noticing, and soon I saw my shadow appearing. The sun was setting behind me.

‘Their’ banging only got more forceful with the setting sun. They slammed their bodies against the door like crashing waves. I could tell that they were getting stronger. When the sun fully set, ‘they’ would probably take down the door in a heartbeat.

Screech—

I could hear them clawing at the iron door. A jolt traveled from my tailbone all the way up to my head, clearing my mind of all distractions. My jaw was tight with anxiety. The bolts that kept the door together were starting to come loose, and the hinges seemed misaligned. I knew that a few more blows would take the door down.

‘What if a rescue team comes in the nick of time?’

Improbable thoughts began to enter my mind as the door was slowly worn down.

Bang!

I knew that any hope was pointless. Now that the door was down, I could see ‘them’. I stabbed the creature in the very front with the mop. It made its way through the creature’s eye and hit its skull. I could feel the disgusting recoil slither along the shaft to my fingertips. I instantly felt nauseous. I made a face while puffing both of my cheeks out like a toad.

Despite all this, I could not stop stabbing them. I braced the table with my left leg while drilling the mop through their heads.

One, two, three… I began to grow numb from all the stabbing I was doing. I was in complete chaos. My mind was having trouble comprehending what was going on while my heart was beating so fast that I could hear it.

Stab, next. Stab, next. Stab, next. 

My muscle memory and my survival instinct took over. I gave up on thinking and let my body handle what was going on. Soon enough, everything but the front door was blurred out. The sound of my breathing and my heartbeat assaulted my eardrums, growing ever louder as I continued to stab away at ‘them’. I felt as if everything was in slow motion, even my movements.

‘I have to move faster, faster!!’

My distorted mind started interfering with my body. I could hear ‘their’ wailing, and see their dead bodies piling up. The table started wobbling, ready to break at any moment. I knew I couldn’t hold off the weight pressing against the table for much longer.

‘I can’t do this anymore.’

My mind kept telling me to give up, but my body resisted, gripping the mop even more tightly. Each time I felt like giving up, I stabbed another creature, pulling the mop out of another’s head every time I was tempted to take a rest. I no longer felt like myself. A strange feeling washed over me. My body moved like a set of gears, doing the same thing over and over again.

‘Stab, pull, stab, pull… I want to give up, I want to take a rest…’ These thoughts ran through my mind like a broken record, but my will to survive kept me from letting myself give in..

“Argh!”

I lost my grip on the mop. It had gotten stuck in the head of the creature I had last stabbed. I fell on my bottom trying to pull it out. I stood up right away and grabbed the mop again. My hand was shaking as if I was having a seizure. My body was drenched with fear and fatigue, but a ray of hope made me move again.

‘So-Yeon…!’

I clenched my jaw and pulled the mop out as hard as I could. I could not feel my arms anymore. I was exhausted, but ‘they’ were still going strong.

‘I’m going to die if I don’t do something.’

Tears rolled down my face as I confronted my weakness and exhaustion.

‘Is this the end for me? Is this the furthest I can go?’

My body was spent, and my life seemed meaningless.

‘Will my life end like this? Just eat me alive and let So-Yeon survive. I’m the only survivor here! Be on your way after finishing me.’

I stared at their mouths with glassy eyes.

Grrr!!!

A cry I’d never heard before came from behind me. It was abnormally loud and disconcerting. It sounded like a demonic cry that could suck my soul out. It reverberated through my eardrums, bringing my mind back to the present.

‘What next? How much longer are ‘they’ going to torture me?’’

I drew my attention to the creatures at the front door. I no longer felt ‘their’ weight on my left foot. They weren't pushing against the table anymore. An unidentifiable cry had come from afar, and ‘they’ had all stopped moving. In moments, the creatures crowding the doorway began to back off.

I couldn’t help but laugh, but I knew it wasn’t because I was relieved. ‘They’ had started running away. These things that enjoyed killing had run away. ‘They’ were like hyenas running away when they saw lions. ‘Their’ eyes were full of fear. These animals that hunted people had been scared off because of the cry.

I managed to turn around and look at the balcony. I saw something through the curtains, and a jolt of anxiety ran through me. I felt something looking at me. In moments, I heard footsteps and saw its feet on the balcony.

Its silhouette looked exactly like that of a human being. Ironically enough, even at this moment, a stray thought came unbidden to my mind.

‘Did ‘it’… jump all the way up here?’

I was on the fifth floor. I wondered if ‘it’ had reached the fifth floor in a single leap. ‘It’ had landed much too smoothly, and it did not seem like ‘it’ had clambered up from the lower balconies.

‘That’s some impressive skill…’

It had already surpassed the capabilities of a human being. Even with the sun down, there was no way ‘their’ physical capabilities would allow them to do such a thing. I gripped the mop with my trembling hands, but I could not stop my teeth from chattering. My legs were shaking uncontrollably as well. I was already worn out, probably because my nerves were frayed beyond belief.

I had felt a momentary sense of relief when ‘they’ had run away, but now, my energy was leaking out of me. It wasn’t cold at all, but I couldn’t stop my teeth from chattering. I was scared to death. The thing on the balcony let loose another cry.

GRR!!!

Up close, the noise was almost loud enough to rip apart my eardrums. It left my head spinning and my ears ringing.

“Jesus…!”

I blinked and exhaled slowly.

‘I bet it could even break through those double-glazed windows.’

Its cry sounded like a pig being slaughtered, but it was sharper and louder. It was a morbid scream, conjuring up the image of a Dementor sucking out a human’s soul. [1]

The mop fell from my hands. My legs suddenly gave out and I fell to the ground.

Plop—

‘It’ started moving.