We had left the shopping mall and continued the trip to the hotel.

The hotel was said to be a safe zone, according to Agnes, so it was the only place we could go to.

Then maybe, we can finally have some peace and security again.

"Are you ok, Ori?" Perci asked.

"Y-yeah. It was quite traumatic for me, but I think I can handle it," I said.

"Remember what you told me?" Perci said. 

"To atone for saving more lives in exchange, I remember."

"Just know that you only killed Kenji to save Agnes…."

I inhaled the air and took a deep sigh.

"You know what? I'm starting to understand how you felt, Perci."

"Hmm?"

I hugged his side, with water flowing from my eyes.

"O-on second thought…It's painful….Is it ok if I hug you?"

"All right," Perci put his arm over my shoulder.

"Ori…." Agnes stroked my hair.

"Thank you, guys…"

The guilt of taking a life…is truly a heavy burden. Even if Kenji was an asshole, I still….

I continued to cry until my tears ran out.

…………

After a long walk, we had finally made it to the bayside.

It's the beach episode!

People are swimming happily in the sparkling blue waters, splashing away at their friends. Girls in their bikinis can be seen playing volleyball on the sand, showing off their smooth skin and capturing the gazes of perverted men. Others just loved to sit on the beach chairs under an umbrella and take sips of their cold, fresh beverages. The trail of smoke can be seen along with the aroma of  delicious meats on the grillers, with boys gathered around with their mouths watering…

Everyone was just having a good time.

This is the beach life.

What are you thinking? 

This is an apocalypse.

We looked at the beach flooded with zombies everywhere walking on the sand.

The bright atmosphere of the beach had turned into a living hell of corpses.

"Wow, what a beach," I said.

Somewhere along the shoreline was the big white luxury resort overlooking the vast blue sea. Next to it was the amusement park with the giant ferris wheel.

All we had to do now was walk all the way there and we would be safe.

"Pendragon Resort, one of the most popular hotels on the island. That's the safe zone," Agnes said.

"You've been there, right?" I asked. "I can't imagine leaving such a wonderful place."

"Yeah, I absolutely regret leaving that place. It's a hundred times better than chasing after Kenji," Agnes pouted.

"It's fine," Perci said. "We're almost there anyway."

"Um, how exactly do we get inside?" Dustin scratched his head. "There's so many zombies! Is this place really a safe zone?!"

"We haven't even made it to the hotel yet! I can tell you right now, it’s safe! I'll show you how to get there!" Agnes said.

We steered clear of the beach and followed Agnes into the tight bayside streets which were filled with various shops and pine trees. The roads were tight enough that only people could pass through and walk around to enjoy the festive feels of the beach.

This place used to be a rowdy and bustling tourist zone, but now it was devoid of people, like a small abandoned forgotten little town filled with corpses.

“What happened to all the zombies in this area?” Perci asked.

“Don’t get complacent, they might still be alive! The zombies could ambush us out of nowhere! Like from some of the shops!” Dustin said. 

I noticed a strange figure fall beside me, which made me jump in place.

“EEEEK!”

“Z-zombie!” Dustin said.

“It’s just a mannequin, hahaha!” Agnes said.

Perci covered his mouth and tried not to laugh.

“Pfft. Sorry, I shouldn’t be laughing but…” Perci was trembling as he said that.

His eyes told me he wanted to burst out his emotions.

“Not funny…..”

I looked at him annoyingly and moved along.

“You see, there are some volunteers at the hotel who go hunting for zombies. I just happened to join them and ran away to look for Kenji. That’s why most of the zombies here are completely dead,” Agnes said.

“There are people who kill zombies for fun?” I tilted my head.

"No, they're also doing it to keep the surrounding place safe."

"That's pretty brave of them…" 

“Oh, look! There they are now!”

A group of 9 people dressed in dark shades of clothing could be seen from a distance. They walked closer and stopped just right in front of us.

Of course, they were holding weapons in their hands. But since guns were illegal on the island, they were all using melee weapons…..except a green hooded person who was holding a bow.

The person at the middle was a tall buff black-haired man around his late twenties with a scar on his cheek.

"Don't be afraid, we're not here to hurt you," the man said. "We're from the Pendragon Resort, a safe welcoming haven for survivors. The islander's literal last resort, if you ask me."

"We're saved!" Dustin said.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," the man looked grimly. "We'll wait 5 minutes before escorting you back to the hotel."

"Why?" I asked.

"It takes a maximum of 4 minutes for a person to turn into a zombie. An extra minute is added for extra precautions."

"But none of us here are infected!" Dustin said.

"So you should have no problem waiting. It's a test to see if you're safe to enter the resort."

After 5 minutes of waiting……

"Times up, congratulations," the man said. "I'm Alex. Nice to meet you," he extended his hand.

Perci shook his hand and introduced us.

"I'm Perci. She's Ori, he's Dustin and she's Agnes."

Me and Dustin shook his hand afterwards….but Agnes just looked away shyly.

"Oh, I know Agnes already," Alex walked closer to Agnes and pinched her cheeks.

"Ouch!" Agnes said.

"You stubborn little brat! I told you not to run off already, yet you still did! Chasing after some boy, how foolish!" Alex said.

"S-sorry….."

"I'm glad that you're ok."

"Agnes…you know this man?"

"Yeah, he's a family friend. I was begging him to let me come with the hunting group and he reluctantly agreed," Agnes smiled shamefully.

"I told her to stick with the group…but next thing we knew, she was gone. Don't do that again," Alex put his hand above his eyes.

"I'm sorry I worried you…." Agnes said. "I won't do it again!"

After a brief exchange of words, we walked our way to the resort.

On the way there, the boy holding the bow approached us.

"Um, excuse me?"

He took off his green hood and revealed his chestnut brown hair and emerald green eyes.

His hair was longer than I last saw him….

"Robin…..!" I said.

My third ex-boyfriend.

"It's nice to see you again, Ori."

I was about to put up my guard, but he walked away towards Perci.

"You're Perci, right?" Robin asked.

"Yeah, didn't we fight each other back at the school?" Perci said.

What a straight-forward question!

Robin bowed his head towards Perci.

"Thank you for sparing my life! I still haven't forgotten what you did for me. It was you who carried me to that tree, right?"

"Hmm…oh…Yeah."

I remembered it. Instead of just leaving Robin's unconscious body to die, Perci had carried him all the way up to the tree.

Doing such a kind gesture to a boy who tried to kill him was impressive.

"I was wrong," Robin looked at me. "I'm not the one who should be protecting you. It has to be Perci. I believe in him."

"Robin…."

"Perci, take care of her for me, will you?"

"Of course."

Robin looked at me remorsefully.

"I'm sorry for everything, Ori. I won't bother you ever again." he said and walked away.

Robin….he's changed? He seems much more gentle with his words now. I could no longer feel a trace of the temperable boy he used to be.

Are men really capable of such change?

We finally reached the entrance gate of Pendragon Resort. 

In front of us stood a large wooden gate and beside it was a huge stone sign displaying the words "Pendragon Resort" with the image of a knight wearing a crown.

Alex knocked on the window of the guardhouse covered with metal sheets and talked with the person inside.  

"Please wait for 5 minutes."

We had to wait again before they let us inside the wooden gates.

"Welcome, survivors."

The guard greeted us and led us towards the resort's open lobby.

"Feel free to check in on the receptionist for your rooms."

We all looked at each other and nodded.

"Let's go," Perci said.

As soon as we stepped into the lobby, we could see a clear view of the whole place.

"Woah…." We all looked in wonder.

The sounds of cheers and lively voices of people could be heard everywhere. Some of them were up on the terraces of the white buildings with lush green roofed gardens, others were relaxing in the swimming pool with underwater seats and having some drinks at the outdoor bar. The aroma of different foods from a restaurant was a treat for the nose and the sights of the tropical aesthetic of the place was candy for the eyes.

It was like one cute happy little town.

We may not have a proper beach episode….but this should be enough to compensate for it.

This is the Pendragon Resort.

"Well, look who it is!" a boy called from the crowd.

A brown-haired boy with sky blue eyes pulled up his sunglasses.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" he said.

"Hello, Bryce," I said.

A black-haired gloomy looking dude walked up to Perci and bumped his shoulder.

"If it isn't the gentleman prick…." he said.

Even Damien is here…..

Two more of my ex-boyfriends showed up.

Ah, jeez! Things are just about to get more complicated!