Northdong Station Survivors (2)
"So that's why you were so wary of me showing up?"
Her word isolated fit their situation perfectly.
Lee Euna let out a sigh before answering.
"That's right. We've barricaded the Northdong Station side for now, but those things called blood clump monsters—or blood clump zombies—are giving us one hell of a headache. And since you came from that direction..."
Finally, a lead on those damn blood clump things. They were monsters that had taken root to the north—right where I was now.
"Blood clumps. So what the hell are they?"
"...Monsters."
"What do they look like?"
I'd never seen a blood clump zombie myself. Whether they'd avoided me or I'd just gotten lucky, no attacks had come my way when I'd passed those dark red masses of flesh.
Lee Euna sighed again.
"They've got tentacles, six legs, and they strip people clean. But they don't stray from their territory. They smear corpse scraps all over the buildings."
From the sound of it, these blood clumps seemed more like creatures than zombies. Though I still wasn't sure if they were remnants or just a zombie variant.
Guess I'll know when I see one.
I couldn't tell without spotting them. I nodded and pressed on.
"Do they attack?"
"It's more like they kidnap people."
"They're definitely mutated zombies!"
"They eat people—swarm in groups and drag 'em off!"
"Euncheol's wife and Deokgu got snatched by those bastards too!"
The men interrupted Lee Euna's calm explanation with outbursts of anger. It seemed they'd lost people they knew. The rage in their voices was unmistakable the moment blood clumps came up.
Kidnapping...
I could feel things getting complicated.
"To be precise, they started settling in around Northhyang General Hospital. We tried to head to the Northdong Office through the affluent district, but those things blocked us."
"The affluent district—you mean around Our Love Church?"
"Yes. We were going to go through there to the Northdong Office, but..."
It was the path I'd taken. So these station survivors were probably from the old city center.
Lee Euna kept explaining.
"We're originally from the Northhyang Apartments area. Most of us came from there, and the rest trickled in from various spots around Northdong."
Northhyang Apartments were about a block from Northhyang General Hospital. Lee Euna being a cop was a bit suspicious, but with the zombie outbreak hitting at midnight, she was probably off-duty at home.
"The survivors from Northhyang Apartments, including me, banded together to head for the Northdong Community Center—the designated shelter. But..."
"But?"
"Who could've known the city would be such a shitshow?"
Kim Gapsu clicked his tongue, picking up her words.
"Not a soul or zombie in sight! Those damn flesh piles ate every living thing except plants."
"And then they came swarming, snatching us up."
Choi Youngchul sighed heavily.
Lee Euna smacked her lips.
"So we had to keep moving, avoiding those blood clump monsters. Luckily, Donghyuk got his ability, and thanks to that power, we made it here. But now we're at our limit."
A new name: Donghyuk. He must've been the one who told them about the status window.
"The number of people who died getting here... fuck."
To sum it up: On the day the zombie outbreak hit, survivors from Northhyang Apartments organized to head for the Northdong Office but got blocked by blood clump zombies and detoured to Northdong Station. Midway, a guy named Donghyuk awakened his ability, letting them settle here safely—but the blood clumps were kidnapping people.
I get the gist.
So that's how the survivor camp got built. And Northdong Station was barricaded because of the blood clumps.
Then why not head south?
But who were the "people to the south"?
I kept asking.
"What's with the people to the south?"
"They're..."
"Fucking scum. They know our situation and still rob us with their abilities."
"They took women too. Dressed in military uniforms, looking all fine and dandy while doing the nastiest shit."
"So you can't move?"
"Yeah, exactly. We've got plenty of injured and disabled among us, so we're trapped."
The men answered before Lee Euna could. I had a rough idea now. Looters, rapists, murderers—trash reveling in the apocalypse.
With the elderly and weak here, they couldn't risk going either way.
Military uniforms, though.
I was about to ask if they knew about the Northdong Liberation Army when—
"...Jesus. It's hard talking without seeing your face."
"Just let him in, Euna."
"Y-yes... really?"
Kim Gapsu and Choi Youngchul spoke to Lee Euna in tired voices.
"No, uncles. He's still an outsider—from the north, where monsters or enemies could be."
"Tch!"
Lee Euna stated the obvious. Hell, the two men had been warier at first.
But Kim Gapsu defended me instead.
"Euna, we're all gonna die anyway—what's it matter? Old folks have good instincts. He sounds like a solid young man. Why not let him in and talk properly?"
"Hate to agree with Gapsu, but he's right. Euna, if he came from up there, his skills or magic must be strong enough to roam alone. Eh? He broke through those damn old city center blood clumps."
"Yeah, if he were a monster, he wouldn't talk like this. If he were one of those fuckers, he wouldn't waste time chitchatting—he'd spout some 'I'm here to help' bullshit to rob us or lure us out. Right, Youngchul?"
"Spot on. Look, you've got your reasons for coming, but you're not here to rob folks, are you?"
"Of course not. I said it—gathering info."
"Then maybe you could 'trade' with us?"
"...Sure."
Their words hit the mark perfectly—unexpectedly so.
Feels like I lucked into this.
Everything they said was spot on. My abilities let me roam solo without clashing with them. No need to backstab for supplies.
Hell, like they said, I'd even take a trade or reward for a job.
"...Hmm. A trade... a trade, huh."
Lee Euna pondered amid our exchange. Silence flowed.
But after a moment, she spoke.
"Still, we should have some basic safeguards. I'll go tell Donghyuk."
Donghyuk must outrank her or be on the same level.
"Yeah, hurry back."
Tap-tap.
I heard Lee Euna walking away.
"What's Donghyuk's deal?"
"Park Donghyuk, you mean?"
With nothing to do while waiting, I asked the men. They responded amiably, equally bored.
"You could call him our lifesaver."
"He told us about the status window."
"Guy's got a good head on him. We all rely on his ability."
"Without it, we'd be dead. Looks like a bum, though."
"Hey! Don't say that."
"Just jealous. If he were handsome, every woman here would be all over him."
The men described Park Donghyuk as a decent pig of a guy. Taught them about status windows, good ability, good person—just ugly, so unpopular.
As I listened, Kim Gapsu dropped something big.
"Problem is the real pig bastards nearby..."
"Pig bastards?"
There it was. Any group of humans had issues.
"Yeah, commie-like fucks gnawing at us from nearby, always scheming against Euna and Donghyuk."
"Real pigs. We're old and weak, so..."
"Uncles! It's okay to let him in!"
But I didn't hear more. Lee Euna had returned with permission from afar.
Kim Gapsu fussed excitedly.
"Whoa, kid. Can you back up about five meters?"
"Uh, sure."
"Euna's gonna use her ability."
I tucked away the talk of Park Donghyuk and the pigs, stepping back as Choi Youngchul suggested. Her power must relate to movement.
As I did—
"Barrier release."
Rumble!
With her words, the barricade before me began dissolving. Dust and thunderous noise as it sank into the ceiling and floor.
"Y-you can come now."
Cough.
"Nice to meet you."
"Huh... way younger than her voice suggested."
"He's human, alright."
Dust settled, and I followed Lee Euna's voice from afar.
Beyond: a young-looking woman, a crutch-using old man, and an old man missing one arm.
"Nice to meet you all."
I greeted them again.