When you get attacked by a zombie, the safest bet is to cut off the affected area before the golden window closes…
But obviously, you can’t exactly chop off someone’s neck.
“Ptui!”
I spat out the mouthful of blood, watching as it hit the ground, all blackened from mixing with zombie toxin. Gross.
Then I pressed my lips right back against his neck and sucked like my life—or his—depended on it.
For a second, I’d hesitated. What if being a zombie actually made things worse?
But right now, I had to trust my purification ability. It was literally our only shot.
How much time’s passed?
Most mutations happened between one and three minutes.
Since he still looked normal, maybe we were okay?
Still, I kept going, doing my absolute best to suck out every bit of poison from Yoan’s neck.
“Ptui!”
“Sasha. Sasha.”
“Don-coll…”
I’m kinda busy here!
“It’s just that—ow, that really hurts.”
Oh.
I finally relaxed my lips and lifted my head.
Whoa. That’s bright.
His face was already gorgeous, but seeing it this close up was something else.
How did he not have a single visible pore? The man’s skin looked like porcelain.
And those eyes—those jewel-blue eyes were practically sparkling.
I could get hypnotized just staring at them.
“Ah.”
Snapping back to reality, I wiped my bloody lips with the back of my hand and examined the wound.
The bite marks were still clearly visible, and the skin around where I’d been aggressively sucking was red and swollen.
Yeah, that definitely looked painful. Maybe I went a little overboard.
Yoan checked the area out and gave me this totally smug smile.
“What’s this? A hickey?”
“No! Emergency treatment! Detox! Folk remedy!”
“I wasn’t bitten by some venomous snake, you know.”
Obviously.
When I shot him a death glare, Yoan just shrugged.
“I mean, you were being pretty aggressive, climbing all over me like that, so I thought maybe...”
“When did I ever—!”
“Never mind then.”
He was being totally insufferable, but the fact that he was joking around meant he was really okay.
“Phew.”
I finally stepped back with a sigh of relief.
That was intense. I’d been terrified Yoan might turn into a zombie too.
“Hmm. But how is this even possible?”
Yoan muttered to himself while checking over his body.
Until now, everyone who got bitten had turned.
This was weird. Honestly, I was shocked too.
When he looked back at me, a faint smile crossed his face.
“Is this another one of your abilities, Sasha?”
“Who knows.”
Had my purification power worked on someone else like I’d hoped, or...
Wait… could Yoan be an antibody carrier?
The thought popped into my head.
Since Aria had turned into a zombie, it made sense someone else could carry the antibodies.
But how to confirm it? They’d tested Aria somehow. I could almost remember, but the details were maddeningly fuzzy.
I should keep this theory to myself for now.
No point throwing around wild speculation without proof.
“Anyway. Glad you’re… okay.”
“Yeah. You saved my life. I feel like I keep owing you.”
“Said I’d… take responsibility.”
“You’re good at keeping promises. You’re sweet, Sasha.”
Yoan patted my head with that habitual little gesture.
This time, for some reason, his touch sent a tiny shiver down my spine, and I stayed still for a moment longer than I meant to.
“It’s seriously a miracle though. Surviving a fall from that height.”
Well, yeah. I’d calculated the drop, cushioned him with my own body, and braced for impact.
We’d survived, sure—but we weren’t exactly unscathed.
I was fine, but Yoan had little cuts and scrapes all over. The worst part was his ankle.
“I think I twisted it a bit.”
And I’d tried so hard to protect him.
I stared at his ankle like I could make it better by glaring.
“Why are you making that face? It’s not your fault. This is incredibly lucky, all things considered.”
“I guess, but...”
The injury wasn’t just a minor inconvenience.
We still hadn’t escaped the first quarantine zone, and now we were separated from the group.
We were alive, but not exactly safe.
“Let’s get moving. We should head to the meeting spot.”
Yoan stood up shakily. I quickly grabbed his arm to support him.
Setting a backup rendezvous point had been a genius move, but the journey there was going to be rough.
Yoan didn’t argue and leaned on my shoulder.
We were lucky no zombies appeared immediately. Even so, we were moving painfully slowly.
This isn’t going to work. At this rate, we won’t get there until midnight.
“Sasha?”
I stopped, moved in front of him, and bent down into a crouch. “Get on my back.”
“What?”
“You’re too… slow. I’m faster.”
There was a long pause. I could practically feel him hesitating.
I get it. Being carried by a girl smaller than you isn’t exactly a guy’s dream scenario.
Just as I was about to tell him not to worry because, hello, I’m a zombie, I felt his weight settle on my back.
“Why didn’t I think of this sooner? It’s such a good idea I got goosebumps for a second.”
Oh… That wasn’t hesitation. He was just impressed with my brilliance.
I held him firmly so he wouldn’t fall, but something about our position felt off.
“Sorry. My legs are long.”
“...Shut up.”
Stop being smug.
Then Yoan wrapped his arms around my neck and pressed a little closer.
“Can’t have me falling off.”
He whispered right by my ear.
The warm breath tickled. I was about to tell him to get his face out of my hair when I stopped.
If he lifts his head, it’ll throw off my center of gravity. This is the right position.
“Hold tight.”
With a determined tone, I dropped into sprint position and took off like a rocket.
Even carrying a full-grown man, I felt totally fine.
Thank god I’m a zombie right now.
I keep having these zombie perks.
***
We barely made it to the meeting point before sunset.
A few zombies had trailed us, but they weren’t exactly a challenge.
“Hah... hah...”
I set Yoan down and caught my breath. Running nonstop had finally taken its toll.
Once I’d recovered, I immediately checked his condition. Thankfully, he looked stable.
I glanced at the bite on his neck. We should probably keep that little incident under wraps for now.
“Let’s cover up that wound.”
Yoan narrowed his eyes and smirked. “Right. You were pretty passionate with your sucking.”
“Wh-what!”
That sounded so wrong!
While I stared at him, utterly scandalized, Yoan calmly pulled up his collar to hide the mark.
“Does this work?”
“Mhm. Now lean… on me.”
I helped him toward the two-story house ahead.
“Sasha’s here.”
After a light knock and announcing myself, the door burst open—Rob and Derek appeared in the doorway, looking like they’d seen a ghost.
Behind them, I spotted Bliss, Grandpa Jeremy, and Kira.
We’d only been separated half a day, but seeing familiar faces made my eyes sting unexpectedly.
“My lord!” Rob cried out. “I knew you’d be safe. I believed in you!”
“Sis Sasha! Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Hey, kid. Anyone can see Sasha’s perfectly fine.”
“Shut up. I wasn’t asking you, old man.”
“Little brat! I’m only twenty-eight! That’s just three years older than our lord!”
“Liar.”
“Ugh, seriously… You’re both too loud,” Bliss snapped. “Especially you, Rob. Must you really act like a child?”
“I, well… Why do you only ever yell at me, huh?!” Rob grumbled, sulking, until his eyes dropped.
Then he seemed to notice something wrong with Yoan. “Are you injured, my lord?”
“Twisted my ankle a bit. I would’ve died if not for Sasha.”
“Why do you always need big sis to save you?”
“I know, right? Sasha’s totally amazing.”
“...That’s not what I’m talking about.”
Derek shook his head, clearly fed up.
After hearing the story, Rob looked at me and silently gave me a thumbs-up.
I nodded back, smugly satisfied.
The new temporary shelter I remembered from the original story was in better shape than our last one.
Once inside, I beelined for the kitchen and stuffed my face.
Meanwhile, Bliss treated Yoan. She applied a compress to reduce the swelling, then wrapped his ankle in bandages.
“The best thing would be not moving for a while, but I know that’s impossible.”
“Nothing serious. It’ll heal quickly.”
After reassuring her, Yoan looked around at everyone.
“You all worked hard today. Let’s reorganize our plans in the morning and rest for now. Rob, come with me.”
“Yes, my lord.”
He probably wanted a situation report and to plan ahead.
I was ready for a quiet moment to gather my thoughts—until Derek tugged on my sleeve.