Chapter 116: Rescue

#

Clatter—shatter.

Soft footsteps. Tap.

A noise from outside jolted me awake.

'Ugh... What did that kid break now?'

Outside the window, the predawn darkness was still pitch-black.

'What time is it...'

2 a.m.

Still half asleep, I wondered why Kiddo was wandering around at this hour.

Grrrrrrrr.

Then I heard the low growl of a zombie.

In an instant, my mind went razor-sharp, and I pushed myself up.

I grabbed my baseball bat first and crept silently toward the door.

'No way... did a zombie get in?'

I crouched beside the door, careful even with my breathing, and listened.

I couldn't hear anything anymore, but there had to be one outside the room.

The moment the exact situation I'd feared became reality, irritation surged through me.

'I should've insisted that we share a room...'

If the front gate had made a rusty screech like at the other houses, I would have known before the bastard got inside.

Fortunately, the sharp crash of breaking glass had woken me.

'That definitely came from the living room. What do I do...'

I still didn't have a clear picture of the situation.

I didn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠know how many zombies had entered, whether Kiddo was safe, or what was happening outside the house.

After I remained motionless for a while, an unpleasant odor began rising around me.

Grease ran unpleasantly down my matted hair and face.

My clenched hand felt sticky. I rubbed it against my clothes.

'Gotta use that spray shampoo. Can't take this anymore.'

Anyway, how long was I supposed to stay like this?

'Maybe it's gone by now?'

I didn't know how those things searched inside buildings.

Judging by the traces they left behind, they seemed to pass by locked rooms.

If I opened this door, I might find nothing but an empty living room. For all I knew, I was shadowboxing an imaginary enemy.

'What was it Assistant Manager Choi said before? That it was Schneider's cat or something.'

The mention of a cat reminded me of the black cat I'd already encountered twice.

It was the monstrous cat that had appeared at critical moments and helped me.

Just what the hell was that thing?

Unable to fall back asleep while my view was blocked, I sat in the darkness as all sorts of useless thoughts surfaced.

I pushed the stray thoughts aside and gently shifted my body to loosen my stiff muscles.

Even after waiting, no more sounds came.

'I was going to hold out as long as I could... but no.'

Judging by the sounds, only one zombie had entered the house.

And that bastard still hadn't left.

Since there had been no other commotion, Kiddo was probably still safe.

I opened the window and listened. There were no other sounds outside the building, so we didn't appear to be surrounded either.

I decided to trust my own hearing.

'As long as it's not an Antenna Zombie, I should be fine...'

It felt as though I'd already been sitting there motionless for hours.

I'd only stayed put because I was afraid that fighting the zombie would draw more of their forces.

While I waited, I carefully catalogued every sound I could hear.

I decided to move based on the information I'd gathered so far.

'2:20 a.m...?'

What was this, the Hyperbolic Time Chamber?

I felt like I'd had a similar thought before.

I prepared to open the door and go out.

Just in case I needed to bolt immediately, I grabbed my backpack too.

The best-case scenario was silently eliminating the lone zombie.

'Please, just don't let it have antennae...'

I laid my hand on the doorknob, hoping desperately.

The doorknob slowly turned. Then it happened.

Shhhhhhh.

Drip. Drop. Rat-a-tat-tat-tat.

I was saved.

No wonder it felt so oppressively hot and humid.

The sudden drizzle quickly thickened into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a downpour, filling the night with a riot of noise.

'Fuck. I can wash. Hurry.'

I grew impatient.

I had to settle this before the rain stopped.

On the first day, the sound of rain had been utterly revolting.

Now, with that welcome sound as cover, I cheered inwardly and carefully turned the doorknob.

'The rain will cover up most sounds of a person moving.'

This was my chance.

I forced myself to calm down.

Keeping every sense focused on my surroundings, I slowly entered the living room.

'The sofa should be right around here, and the window is straight ahead...'

It was a moonless, pitch-black night.

I pictured the interior layout in my mind and focused all my nerves on my hearing.

Grrrrrrr.

That was definitely from the kitchen.

I tightened my grip on the new baseball bat and crept forward one careful step at a time.

No matter how much my night vision ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had improved, I could still make out only faint outlines.

'Shit... I should've used the night-vision goggles at a time like this.'

I blamed my past self for deciding the goggles were useless junk.

With visibility this poor, finishing it in one quick strike might be difficult.

'Did I come out too hastily because I wanted to wash up?'

I was beginning to regret rushing out when I realized I could see even less than expected.

Flash.

Suddenly, a blinding light erupted.

I flinched in shock and shut my eyes on reflex.

A stab of pain shot through my eyes, and the whole world turned white.

Kraaaahh!

With a hideous shriek, something rushed straight toward me.

'Not that fast. An Ordinary Zombie...'

I focused entirely on the sound of it coming closer.

Strangely, I could picture the zombie vividly in my mind.

I estimated where its head would be and swung.

'Please, hit.'

Fwooosh—thwack.

It sounded like a solid hit.

My vision still hadn't come back.

I stood still and concentrated on the sounds around me.

My pulse pounded beneath the rain drumming outside.

Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter.

Then I heard light footsteps approach... And stop.

Kiddo had stopped moving.

'Hah... this damn kid.'

I still needed to check, but it seemed I'd dealt with the zombie safely.

Thanks to all the experience I'd accumulated, I'd struck it squarely in the skull without being able to see.

Relief and anger washed over me at once, leaving me with a complicated feeling.

#

As time passed, the pain in my eyes faded.

As my bleached-out vision returned, I opened my eyes and saw Kiddo standing there with a lit candle.

But right now, Kiddo was not the priority.

I checked the fallen zombie's head first.

"Phew... no antennae. Hey, give me that candle."

Kiddo set the candle down on the dining table without a word.

The distance between us, which I'd thought was shrinking, seemed to have widened to the breadth of the dining table again.

"You... you know you nearly killed me, right?"

Nod. Nod.

"That's why I said we should share a room..."

Even without words, I could tell how dejected Kiddo was.

Kiddo probably hadn't even known I was out here.

Exactly what I'd feared had happened. We made it through safely, but for a moment my blood truly ran cold.

"I'll go check the perimeter."

I carefully covered the candle so its light wouldn't leak through the windows, then went up to the second floor.

I surveyed the area around the house and saw no sign of a zombie horde.

I came back down to the first floor, dropped my backpack, and got ready to wash up.

"Kiddo. Hey, Kiddo."

Kiddo peeked out from behind the bedroom door.

"Looks like we weren't detected. It must've been just one Ordinary Zombie."

"..."

"I told you, those things search through buildings too."

"..."

"Forget it... Come out so we can wash. You haven't been able to bathe for a while either, have you? Bring every bucket or container we can use to collect water."

Kiddo showed no intention of coming out.

Frustrated, I walked toward the door.

Thud.

The moment I approached, they slammed the door shut.

"What the hell. Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?"

Naturally, no answer came, and the door stayed closed.

"Enough. It's raining, so we need to get ready quickly. I don't have time for a standoff with you."

I searched the kitchen and collected every wide container I could find—washbasins, large pots, and anything else suitable.

I climbed through the broken window opening onto the wooden porch and stepped into the yard, where the rain began soaking me from head to toe.

Shhhhhhh.

I stood with my arms spread for a while, letting the downpour cool my overheated body.

Being drenched from head to toe for the first time in ages felt almost orgasmic.

'Catch the water first. Then ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wash. Laundry last.'

After deciding on the order, I quickly rinsed the containers and arranged them in the yard.

Then I looked back toward the house and started peeling off my clothes, one piece after another.

Once I'd stripped off even my underwear and stood completely naked, I sensed movement inside the house.

"Kiddo, hurry and come out. Let's wash. I'll stop nagging you, okay?"

I worked quickly, using the soap I'd brought out to wash my hair first.

Kiddo soon came into view, and I spoke again, making an effort to sound as gentle as possible.

"You should wash too. Wearing all those layers all the time must've been miserable. I'm busy, so don't worry about me and do what you need to do. Ugh, that smell. It's even worse once you get wet."

"..."

"I won't even look at your face... anyway, do you have shampoo or body wash or something?"

When I softened my tone, the tension seemed to ease slightly.

Then again, I had put down my weapon and was standing naked in the yard while trying to hold a conversation as I washed. It was hard to take the situation seriously.

Instead of washing herself, Kiddo went back inside the house.

"Ahhh, this is great. Fucking refreshing."

I was furiously scrubbing even beneath my balls when Kiddo came back out.

Kiddo was holding a huge stainless-steel basin with both hands.

It was large enough to be used for making kimchi.

Stacked inside it were several smaller basins.

"Oh? Where'd you find these? You can just set 'em down next to me."

Clatter. Clatter. Scrub, scrub.

Kiddo turned their back to me and began rinsing the basins.

After Kiddo set the basins down side by side, I spoke again.

With sulking kids, you probably had to keep talking to them.

"Hey, could you scrub my back?"

"..."

Kiddo ignored me and started back toward the house.

"Huh? Where are you going? I asked you to scrub my back. I can't reach it."

I meant it.

I physically could not reach it.

My flexibility had improved greatly, but I still couldn't get around the wall of muscle I'd built.

"Kiddo~ I'm serious. Please. Scrub Mister's back just once before you go."

"Kyaa!"

"Huh?"

Without thinking, I grabbed Kiddo by the wrist as they started back inside.

They let out such a high-pitched shriek that I released them in shock.

The instant I let go, Kiddo bolted into the house.

"What the—? You can talk?"

"...Hah."

A sigh came from inside the house. Kiddo was pretending nothing had happened.

Like I couldn't hear everything.

"You can talk, can't you? My hearing's insanely good."

"..."

"So you've just been ignoring every word I've said this whole time?"

"..."

"Ah, seriously, what the hell?"

"..."

"Fine. Whatever. Just scrub my back then. Seriously. I can't reach it."

"..."

At that moment, getting my back clean was the single most important thing in the world.

I could forgive Kiddo for ignoring everything I'd ever said as long as they scrubbed my back.

"Hey!"

"..."

"My back. Please. I'm begging you."

Shhhhhhh. Pat—pit, pit, pit.

"I'm a woman! How could you hear my voice and still not realize?"

Thud.

What had I just heard?

That was unmistakably a girl's voice.

The little runt was always darting around so energetically that I'd naturally assumed she was a boy.

I'd written off her scream as the voice of a young child.

But the clear voice I'd just heard was unmistakably female.

Shhhhhhh.

The rain continued growing heavier.

It felt as though all the rain that hadn't fallen for over a month was coming down at once.

I stood blankly in the driving rain for a long while, forgetting that I was supposed to be washing.

Kiddo's first proper words to me had been that shocking.

"Oh, shit... Then how am I supposed to wash my back?"