Prologue
Prologue
(This work is fiction. It has no relation to any specific events, persons, religions, or organizations.)
Prologue
It was still dark before dawn.
Crouched beside the door, I held even my breathing in check and listened.
I couldn't hear a thing, but that bastard was definitely out there.
After sitting there motionless for a while, I caught a foul, sour stench.
I couldn't even tell how long it had been since I'd washed.
I reeked, my hair matted and my face unpleasantly slick with grease.
My clenched fist felt sticky, so I wiped it on my clothes.
How much longer did I have to stay like this?
Surely it would've left by now.
Maybe I'd open the door to an empty living room and discover I'd been shadowboxing with myself.
'What did Assistant Manager Choi say before... Schrödinger's cat?'
Something about a cat owned by some soccer player?
He'd said that when you opened the door, the cat might leap out and startle you—or might not be there at all even though you thought it was.
Cats really made no sense.
With my vision blocked, unable to fall asleep, just sitting still, all kinds of useless thoughts flooded in.
I shook off the stray thoughts and carefully shifted my body little by little to loosen my stiff muscles.
Shhhhhhh
Tap, tap—patter-patter.
'I was saved.'
No wonder it was so hot and humid.
The sudden rain quickly thickened into a downpour, bringing a barrage of loud sounds.
Cheering inwardly at the welcome sound of rain, I carefully turned the doorknob.
The downpour should mask just about any noise I made.
This was my chance.
Staying as alert to my surroundings as I could, I slipped out into the living room.
It was a moonless, pitch-dark night.
'The sofa should be around here, and the window's up ahead...'
Recalling the layout, I focused all my attention on listening.
Grrrrr
It definitely came from the kitchen.
A quiet, low growl, like phlegm rattling in a throat.
I readjusted my grip on my weapon and crept forward.
I needed to finish it in one blow, but the darkness made that difficult.
Should I have waited until daylight?
I regretted rushing out.
A zombie's main weak point was its head.
All the other vital points humans had basically didn't apply to them.
That made the darkness particularly dangerous.
Flash
Just as I took a tense step forward, a blinding flash erupted.
Startled, I reflexively shut my eyes.
Goosebumps prickled across my body, and amid a hideous noise, I sensed something charging at me.
Kwaaaaak!
I focused on the approaching noise, estimated where its head would be, and swung anyway.
'Please connect.'
Whoosh—thwack
It felt like a solid hit.
At least, that was what the impact through my hand suggested.
My vision hadn't come back yet.
I froze and focused on the sounds.
The pounding of my pulse, the rain outside.
Beyond those background sounds, everything was quiet.
Tap-tap.
I stayed frozen, listening closely for a moment.
Light footsteps sounded, then stopped.
They'd stopped.
'That brat...'
Relief that I seemed to have dealt with the zombie mingled with irritation at the kid, leaving me conflicted.
But the kid wasn't what mattered right now.
"Let's stop this. It's raining. We have to hurry and get ready. I don't have time for these mind games with you."
Once my vision returned, I muttered to myself and moved on.
I had to hurry.
First, I checked the head of the thing lying in front of me.
Its skull was clearly smashed, and it wasn't even twitching.
'Done.'
After confirming it, I went out into the yard.
As I climbed out through the broken window, the rain began to soak my whole body.
Rustle, rustle.
Facing inside the house, I started taking off my clothes, piece by piece.
Once I'd stripped off everything, underwear included, I sensed movement inside the house.
Keeping my hands busy, I addressed the kid who had come into view, making an effort to sound friendly.
"You go wash up too. All those layers you've been wearing must have been hell. I'm busy, so don't mind me and do your thing. Ugh, the stench."
"..."
There was no answer, but the tense atmosphere seemed to lighten a little.
Then again, I'd set down my weapon and was talking while washing myself naked in the yard. I must have looked ridiculous.
Considering the kid had survived this long, they'd start acting on their own.
I turned my attention from the kid to the rain running over my body.
With the world in this state, the first rain in ages left me strangely elated.
Even if I'd done all the talking, I'd still spoken to another person.
I didn't know for sure how much time had passed since that day, but I was still alive.