Chapter 114: Rescue
Chapter 114: Rescue
#
"Sparta!"
Graaaah
At the short shout, the zombies went berserk and charged.
Any word probably would have worked.
Whuump crack
I crushed the skull of the lead zombie and stepped backward.
As I retreated and killed those at the front, the zombies behind them collided and fell over one another.
Dududududu
The thunder of an entire horde charging into the building echoed around me.
I'd drawn their attention perfectly.
"Come on. Come get me."
I beckoned at them, imitating a movie hero from long ago.
The corridor was narrow.
Once it filled beyond what the zombies could easily navigate, I climbed the stairs.
They crawled up after me.
Careful not to let them bite my feet, I repeatedly drove the rifle stock downward.
The zombies politely offered their heads one after another.
"This is an incredibly easy way to earn Available Points."
The space was too narrow to swing properly, but that also prevented them from surrounding me.
Eventually, corpses accumulated and blocked the stairway.
The remaining zombies couldn't climb over the mound of their own dead.
"I'll be leaving first. Have fun struggling down there, assholes."
Abandoning the remaining zombies, I continued upward.
On the roof, I drank some water and jumped to the next building.
Patter-patter—whoosh!
After a short run-up, I leaped across and landed safely on the neighboring roof.
Without pausing, I sprinted and jumped again.
"Hngg."
Kuwung thud
I struck the wall and barely caught the rooftop railing.
The second building was taller, but my jump had carried me far enough.
I pulled myself onto the roof with both arms.
"Whoa... There are plenty over here too."
After crossing two buildings, I found another sizable cluster on the road below.
The zombies had abandoned the original encirclement and were reorganizing.
'They already know I escaped?'
Did they possess some means of communication?
I didn't know how Mutated Zombies controlled Ordinary Zombies.
But coordinated group movement proved that some mechanism existed.
"What, do they use radios?"
Entertaining the ridiculous thought, I descended to the first floor.
I planned to attract them again, reduce their numbers, and move on.
Hit-and-run tactics.
If I continued long enough, perhaps I could eventually eliminate them all.
"Hey! Mr. Kim!"
Graaaah
Every zombie outside turned its head in perfect unison. The sight was horrifying.
"Are all of you named Kim?"
It was time to swing the rifle stock again.
#
"Hoooh... hooohh..."
I spent the entire day roaming the neighborhood and fighting a guerrilla campaign.
Until the previous day, the weather had merely been hot. Now humidity had joined it.
Sweat soaked my entire body.
"Ah... I'd like to rest now."
Repetition was exhausting whether the task itself was difficult or easy.
Crushing zombie skulls was no exception.
I also hadn't relaxed for a moment.
"Do none of you bastards ever eat?"
Naturally, no one answered.
I'd continued speaking to the zombies, but they could produce nothing beyond guttural howls.
Dduk clank
"You piece of shit..."
The rifle stock joint had finally broken.
I'd tried to handle it carefully.
Hungry and irritated, I hurled the rifle aside.
Whuump splat
It struck a vacant-looking zombie behind me, snapping its neck as it fell.
At that instant, every other zombie stopped moving.
"Huh? What the... Why did you all stop? That's creepy."
Again, no answer came.
I was always the only one speaking.
The motionless zombies resembled mannequins. Chilled by the sight, I climbed to the roof.
After a short time, they began moving again.
Grrrrrrr
They did not resume active patrols.
Instead, the Ordinary Zombies growled low and shuffled in place.
It looked as though they had just regained consciousness.
"Did you truly come to your senses? Heh heh."
Was this how a person gradually went insane?
I dismissed the thought and picked up a discarded tin can.
"Ugh... That reeks."
It had apparently served as an ashtray.
I emptied the cigarette butts and ash, then threw it far down the road.
Clang clang clatter-roll
Graaaah
The can struck the asphalt and rolled noisily.
The zombies followed the sound and ran after it.
Once the street emptied, I jumped down.
"Huh? This bastard... It was wearing special equipment of its own."
I approached the zombie the K2 had struck.
It was a Mutated Zombie.
A small needle-like projection rose from the top of its skull.
"What's that... an antenna?"
Though disgusted, I gripped it with a gloved hand and pulled.
It refused to come free.
When I applied more strength, the entire top of the skull popped off.
Craack
"No... urgh..."
I had literally removed the lid of its skull.
The antenna wasn't an inserted needle but a bone connected to the cranium.
Brain matter spilled through the opened skull along with a terrible stench.
"There goes my appetite, you bastard."
Suppressing my nausea, I retreated to the roof.
As a precaution, I brought the broken skull cap with me.
A long spike protruded from the round piece of skull like a handle on a pot lid.
"Where had I seen that shape before...?"
When I set it down, Yu-jin's breasts came to mind.
'No, no... What the hell was I thinking? It looked like a thumbtack.'
It looked like an enormous thumbtack.
'Did even the shape of the bone mutate?'
I tried to picture the natural structure of a human cranium.
I was no doctor, so thought alone wouldn't answer the question.
At the very least, the top shouldn't normally detach as a neat disc.
After considering it, I pinned the skull cap underfoot and snapped off the antenna-like bone.
'Where are my resealable bags...?'
I sealed the pointed bone in a bag and stored it in my backpack.
Had the Antenna Zombie served as a relay?
'Fuck... So it really was like a radio?'
When it fell, the Ordinary Zombies seemed to lose control for a moment.
I needed to confirm the relationship.
'First I should escape through the gap, rest, and then...'
I'd been wondering how to withdraw, so this opportunity was welcome.
Before the zombies located me again, I crossed the rooftops and left the area.
#
Before dawn.
After sleeping without interruption from the zombies, I woke and stretched.
I'd slept on the roof of a three-story row house, but the night remained oppressively hot.
'The kid is still all right, right?'
While eating my final energy bar, I considered the next move.
How could I reach the building I had seen and reunite with the kid while avoiding detection?
Or should I annihilate the zombies first?
'Which option is better?'
I lit a cigarette and looked at the dark sky.
It seemed packed with clouds.
Amid the harsh tobacco smoke, my own stale body odor rose around me.
'If zombies could smell, they would have found me long ago.'
For now, I decided to approach the kid's house only as far as I could without being detected.
First I'd confirm that they were alive. Then we could either escape together or crush the zombies.
Sniff sniff.
After forming the plan, I sniffed my armpit.
'Heh heh. Maybe the smell would make the zombies run away.'
Imagining myself repelling them by raising both arms, I prepared to move.
I gathered my belongings and determined the direction.
It remained dark, but I could still see.
My night vision had improved so much that the military goggles were now dead weight.
Patter-patter—thump!
The world was so quiet that even my careful running footsteps carried loudly.
Before long, a zombie spotted me.
'What the hell is that now? Every possible monstrosity keeps appearing.'
One zombie emitted a piercing blue eyeshine.
It perched on the shoulder of the Brute Zombie I'd seen before, its eyes glowing like an animal's.
The Eyeshine Zombie rotated its head completely around like an owl.
"For fuck's sake."
Cursing, I dropped into a narrow alley.
I wanted to locate the Antenna Zombie first, but its small projection made it difficult to distinguish.
While I fought the charging zombies, the Brute Zombie approached.
"Still slow."
It bulldozed every Ordinary Zombie blocking its path.
"This bastard is griefing its own team."
I used an insult I had often heard from teammates while playing League.
At least I hadn't insulted its parents. That made me relatively civilized.
Taunting the Brute Zombie, I climbed onto a wall.
I sprinted along it, left the Ordinary Zombies behind, and charged the Snorlax-like brute.
Tap, tap, tap—thump!
I leaped high and vaulted over its head.
That revealed the Antenna Zombie behind it.
"Did you think hiding behind the big one would fool me?"
Whuum crack
Even if the spike was too small to see, the one zombie standing perfectly still was obvious.
The moment I killed it, every nearby zombie froze.
Every one except the Brute Zombie and the Eyeshine Zombie.
"Let's see what you can do."
Was this how David felt facing Goliath?
No.
The obese zombie possessed nothing but size.
At that speed, it would never touch me.
Patter-patter—thump—crunch!
I avoided its swinging arm and drove my shoulder into its body.
The massive creature lost its balance and toppled.
Kwoong
The three-meter monster crashed down and trapped the Eyeshine Zombie beneath it.
"Too slow."
Stomp stomp stomp stomp craaack
After delivering the line, I rapidly stomped the Brute Zombie's thick neck.
Bones shattered, and its log-like arms fell limp.
The Eyeshine Zombie remained beneath it, blue light still pouring from its eyes.
"And what are you supposed to be? Turn off those high beams."
Whuum crack
The blue glow vanished.
No matter the variant, the head remained the weakness.
Relief washed over me after safely killing two Mutated Zombies.
"I was frightened for nothing last time."
But I had no time to rest.
I picked up the blood-covered bat and rapidly crushed the frozen Ordinary Zombies.
I did not know when they would regain control.
'A blood-covered bat... Why does that phrase feel familiar too?'
Graaaah
"Damn it... I barely killed any."
The Ordinary Zombies recovered and charged.
I retreated quickly and drew them into a narrow space.
Now that they had delayed me, the encirclement would soon form again.
'Should I simply destroy the entire zombie force...?'
Successfully killing even a Brute Zombie filled me with confidence.
Since I had come this far, I felt ready to continue until one side was completely destroyed.