10. Death Throes (2)
10. Death Throes (2)
Landscaping.
I passed by Eunha High School, which had grass and trees planted around it, and turned toward the back.
There's a small path here, and if I follow this small road, I know there's a parking lot inside.
'That's right.'
The back gate came into view.
Clean road.
'That's strange.'
Where did the Infected go?
ㅡUghhh
I found them immediately.
Because they were in the alley right next to the road.
ㅡUghhh
ㅡUghh
The Infected made sounds.
ㅡCrunch
ㅡCrunch
And the sound of chewing on something.
Several corpses were visible.
From ones that had turned into skeletons.
To ones that had died recently and were rotting.
The Infected were tearing into human corpses.
'......'
However, it didn't seem like the Infected had killed the humans.
Because the corpses still had traces of human violence.
One had a head caved in as if struck by a hammer.
Another had knife marks on their chest.
There was also a corpse covered in bullet holes.
Though the damage was severe, making it hard to identify the others.
The other corpses probably died the same way.
'......'
So, they dump the bodies and leave them to the Infected... is that it?
Well.
It's winter now, so even just leaving them like that wouldn't smell as bad.
This is the back gate, and it's quite a distance from the main building, so Infected wouldn't swarm here.
One month since the world ended.
Because the laws and morals that kept the world running had already vanished.
ㅡTap
I ignored them and headed for the back gate.
Eunha High School back gate.
The back gate was locked with something like an iron grate, just as Min-jun had said.
The wall was also quite high.
It really did seem like there was no better place to use as a shelter along with a reserve forces assembly point.
However, I could see signs of human touch.
The fact that it was locked with a padlock from the inside was exactly that.
It looked like they were coming and going through here.
Inside...
For now, no one is visible near the back gate.
I quietly used my Superpower.
ㅡClick
The padlock opened.
Following that, I cut through the parts wrapped in chains one by one.
ㅡClang
The sound echoed, but not enough to be heard inside.
In the first place, Eunha High School wasn't the kind of school where you could see the back gate from inside.
ㅡCreak
I opened the door and raised my rifle.
ㅡTap
ㅡTap
I saw the parking lot that leads into the back gate.
There was nothing there.
If I had to say there was something.
Abandoned vehicles and.
'That looks like flesh.'
I saw flesh stuck to the ground and black, dried bloodstains.
When I approached and examined it, the stench of rotting corpses was overwhelming. It seems that whether it was the Infected or humans, they had piled people up here.
Then it seemed they piled them up here first and dumped them outside around nightfall.
But the number seems a bit low.
Did they throw the rest from somewhere above?
That was highly likely.
Carrying corpses outside... the possibility of attracting Infected was high.
Well, that's not important.
I headed for the door leading inside.
ㅡClick
It wasn't locked.
ㅡScreeeech
The door opening.
The unlit first-floor hallway.
The eerie Eunha High School main building.
There was absolutely no sign of people on the first floor.
Since it was 4 PM when the incident happened, it seemed like the students had left, so nothing too major had happened inside.
'Back in my day, we had mandatory night study until 12 AM, damn it.'
Well, that's probably why they designated the school as a shelter and gathered there.
Of course, just because nothing major happened didn't mean there weren't traces.
Blood splattered on the walls, black marks on the floor.
Well, things like that.
ㅡSwish
ㅡSwish
Even if the students had gone home, the faculty hadn't.
However, it seemed the people who evacuated here had taken care of all the internal personnel, leaving only traces and the smell of blood.
Though it seems even those survivors have died off now.
I went around the first floor and checked the inside.
[Administration Office]
[Vice Principal's Office]
[Principal's Office]
[Chairman's Office]
[Broadcasting Room]
'Not here.'
No humans were visible.
Not even the group including those soldiers Min-jun mentioned.
The first floor only had traces of barricades being cleared, scratch marks on the floor, and bloodstains.
I leaned my body for a moment.
ㅡ!@$!@$
ㅡ!@$!
Hearing sounds from above, it seemed there were humans.
It was a bit of a distance, and seeing that the second floor lights were off, it didn't seem to be there.
It seemed to be the third or fourth floor.
Then there were two ways to go up from here. Go up the main central staircase, or go up the emergency staircase at the far right.
I pondered for a moment, then headed for the far emergency exit.
Because it seemed better to check one by one starting from the end.
I minimized my footsteps to the extreme and went to the end of the first floor.
I carefully climbed the blood-stained emergency stairs.
End of the second floor. I turned the hallway.
A different scene from the first floor, with classrooms lined up in a row.
Roughly looking at it
Classrooms 201 through 204 were lined up, and in the middle were the central staircase and restrooms, and from there, classrooms 205 to the end.
However, this side was also unlit, just like the first floor.
"......"
However, there were traces of humans on the second floor.
I glanced inside classroom 201.
Various clothes.
Reserve forces uniforms, which were traces of the reserve forces being called up.
Torn military uniforms.
Discarded socks and underwear.
Dusty padded jackets were visible.
Come to think of it, the corpses outside weren't wearing things like padded jackets. It seemed they had taken only the padded jackets to use as blankets or covers.
Classroom 202
Various odds and ends.
There were places with smartphones, classrooms with burners and gas stoves, places with clothes in better condition than the ones in the hallway, and places with food.
Classroom 207
'...Food.'
I narrowed my eyes looking at the food.
It wasn't reserve forces rations or military rations or anything like that.
It looked like they had brought it from somewhere; a sack of rice, instant foods, snacks, and convenience store food were piled up.
An amount that would last Seo-yoon and me about two months if we ate it.
Of course, if things spoiled, it would be cut in half, but it would still be enough to eat for a month.
However, it wouldn't be enough for all 22 people here to eat.
'At most 1 week, 2 weeks if they ration it.'
Since classroom 208 right next door was also food, it seemed like an amount that the people here could survive on for 2 to 4 weeks.
'That's quite a lot.'
Where did they get all this... come to think of it, it must be looting.
According to Min-jun, they were looting apartments and breaking through Green Fresh Market.
Anyway
It was confirmed that the second floor was a warehouse.
There wasn't even anyone on guard duty patrolling here.
I carefully moved my steps and headed back to the emergency staircase.
3rd floor, climbed up the green stairs.
The 3rd floor lights were on.
I poked my head out and scanned the hallway.
The lit hallway. In front, I could see a man smoking with the window open, arms crossed.
Next to him, a man wearing a padded jacket and thick pants with a rifle tucked under his arm exhaled smoke with a tired face.
ㅡWhoosh
White smoke scattered in the wind.
I watched him quietly. He didn't seem to have noticed me at all.
The conversation I heard earlier had stopped. Maybe they stopped talking about whatever they were discussing among themselves.
I quietly aimed my rifle.
A man who was puffing on a cigarette even though a bullet was about to be lodged in his body.
I pulled the trigger.
ㅡBang!
The man was hit in the chest and collapsed.
"?@!?@?!!"
ㅡClatter
From somewhere around classroom 306 ahead, two men ran out in surprise.
One guy holding a long baseball bat, the one behind him coming out with two rifles.
ㅡBang!
Another shot rang out.
"Arghhh!"
It hit the guy with the baseball bat just below the neck. The man collapsed, spraying blood across the hallway, and writhed.
"Fucking hell! Who the fuck are you!"
The panicked man looked toward where the gunshot came from.
The man shouted and tried to lift the rifle.
However, the hand of the man in the tracksuit was busy aiming.
ㅡBang!
I aimed for the chest and fired.
However, whether it was due to recoil or my bad aim, the part around the man's eye was torn off.
No more guys came out on the 3rd floor.
ㅡ!@$!@$
ㅡ!@$$
Noise was heard from above.
I headed forward.
I checked the men's rifles.
The magazines... they're full.
I took them out and inserted them into my gun.
Two magazines.
I carefully moved to the stairs.
ㅡClatter
ㅡClatter
I heard the sound of something like a desk moving. And the sound of heavy footsteps. And voices.
I heard several footsteps from the central staircase side.
Sounds like a few men coming down.
But there was no conversation.
Yeah, moving around shouting "What the fuck!" like idiots is something that only happens in movies or games.
ㅡTap
ㅡTap
Click
The sound of a gun being cocked.
And the sound of legs moving.
The problem is the weapon.
'Let's take a gamble.'
I stepped forward with my rifle raised.
At that moment.
ㅡRat-a-tat-tat-tat!
Two men firing their guns at me upon seeing me.
ㅡRat-a-tat-tat!
I pulled the trigger of my rifle in full auto.
"Argh!!"
Death throes.
One magazine was completely spent, and the two men instantly became beehives.
Destroyed guns.
Destroyed human bodies.
Humans die so easily.
Corpses trembling.
I waited for a moment, watching them.
Because someone else might come down.
But no one came.
'Two guns. Two men.'
ㅡClatter
It looks like there's still someone above.
According to Min-jun, one was left.
I killed five.
Min-jun said six.
However, since I hadn't checked the 3rd floor yet, I confirmed that no one else was coming down and headed to the end of the 3rd floor.