A Changed World (4)
How much time had passed?
It felt like more than an hour had slipped by.
I could have simply pressed a button on my smartphone to check the time, but I didn't dare move. That faint glow, the tiny disturbance it would create—I was terrified the zombies might notice us.
The world outside had fallen completely silent. Or more accurately, the monstrous shrieks had abruptly cut off. The creatures that had been circling this area for so long had finally moved on to a spot quite far away.
A sharp scream had rung out from someone who, like us, had been hiding until they were discovered. Every zombie in the vicinity had swarmed toward that sound.
The faint shouts and the wet, tearing noises that followed were soon swallowed by the zombies' roars. Before long, as if by some cruel trick, every sound vanished.
I could only hear what reached my ears, but I could easily imagine the horror unfolding where that scream had originated.
A terrible misfortune for them. Yet for me, it granted a momentary breather. The knowledge that someone else had become the sacrificial lamb sat uneasily in my chest.
I tried to convince myself it wasn't my fault, muttering the words inside my head. Or had I actually spoken them? I couldn't tell whether the words had stayed silent or slipped out as a whisper.
“Huk… Huk…”
The thin metal pipe ran straight through my forearm. Without even basic first aid, the wound had swollen grotesquely, making my left arm look noticeably different. On top of everything, my mind was beginning to blur.
The blood I'd lost without realizing it must have finally crossed the limit. The cloth I'd tied tight for a makeshift tourniquet had turned dark reddish-black ages ago.
I can't stay here forever.
Just because I'd stayed hidden so far didn't mean I'd remain undetected. This was far too crude a hiding spot.
The only cover I had was a single thin banner printed with a torn tiger emblem. It could never be called safe.
Before my consciousness scattered completely, I had to roll the dice one more time. There was no hope of rescue anyway.
The people behind that earlier scream might have thought the same thing, ventured out, and been caught. Even so, I had to move.
Just like I'd chosen to escape the wreckage rather than endure inside it.
I wrapped every remaining scrap of cloth around my forearm—the part most likely to be bitten. The result looked ridiculous, but I didn't care. At least this way, if I was bitten, the flesh wouldn't tear away.
The danger I had to face to reach somewhere safer. Or more precisely, the possibility of danger.
Whether I could endure that possibility came second. There would be no better opportunity than this moment.
With the zombies' attention fixed on their temporary feast, this might be my last chance to move.
Zeta was still unconscious. To keep a closer eye on her condition, finding a safer location was the right decision.
After finishing every preparation I could manage, I lifted the banner with extreme care. The outside view that had been hidden until now slowly revealed itself.
I didn't have the nerve to stick my head out and look around, so I simply rolled my eyes, peering through the narrow gap.
The scream had come from the right, so I focused mainly on the left side.
I'd just escaped one pile of debris. I couldn't simply hide in another that was hardly any different.
What I needed was a building that still held its original shape. Fortunately, I spotted a suitable one not too far away.
In a sense, it was practically right next door—the College of Education Main Building.
I was glad I'd come out early that morning and scouted the area, even briefly. That three-story structure wasn't a lecture hall for students but mainly handled administrative work.
Considering the incident had broken out around nine in the morning, there probably weren't many people inside. Even if some remained, the number would be far smaller than in other buildings.
Whether they were zombies or survivors hiding like me didn't matter.
The fact that it was less than fifty meters away cemented my decision. After checking the surroundings one last time, I fully lifted the banner and gathered Zeta into my arms.
My right arm was completely useless, making the hold unstable, but I had no choice. Her weight felt especially heavy today. My legs nearly buckled; I almost toppled backward but somehow caught my balance.
I glanced around without pause and began taking slow, careful steps forward.
An old public phone booth.
A cracked road.
A motorcycle and bicycle crushed beneath debris.
An overturned electric scooter.
Bent street trees.
Building windows covered in bright red handprints.
Trash spilling from a crumpled bin.
The landscape had become utterly abnormal in less than a day. It stole the breath from my lungs. The one small mercy was that no zombies were visible yet.
Dragging a body that could collapse at any moment, I moved cautiously toward the College of Education Main Building. It was right in front of me, yet the distance shrank with agonizing slowness. The frustration burned.
Even the College of Education Main Building wasn't completely intact. Part of the stone structure had crumbled away. Still, compared to the debris pile I'd been trapped in, the interior would feel like a hotel. That was how wretched my previous shelter had been.
Despite staggering badly enough that anyone might mistake me for a zombie, I kept walking.
I passed the ruined flowerbed, climbed the low steps, and finally reached the entrance of the main building.
Just as I leaned forward slightly to check the situation inside—
An arm shot out from the shadowed space beneath the landscaped tree in the flowerbed and seized my ankle. The grip was monstrously strong, far beyond anything I expected. I lost my balance instantly.
“……!”
My body slammed into the crumbling, rattling floor. The impact drove every ounce of air from my lungs in a burst of blinding pain.
Crash!
The loud noise of my fall echoed around me. As if answering it, a distant monstrous roar reverberated through the air.
“Kh… ugh…!”
When my vision returned from blackness, the thing that had grabbed me was already charging forward with a shriek. I didn't even have time to draw breath; I could only thrust my arm upward.
Clack! Clack!
Right before my eyes, teeth snapped viciously together, accompanied by an ear-piercing shriek. Sticky, cloudy saliva dribbled down the creature's chin with every bite.
The zombie loomed over my fallen body in a pouncing stance. Whatever it had been in life—a middle-aged professor—it attacked with nothing but pure murderous intent.
It flailed its arms, raked at me with its nails, and tried to sink its teeth into my flesh. The complete absence of any remnant of its former personality or appearance left my face drained of color.
“Get—lost…!”
With my arm pinned, I kicked out with my leg, shoving the creature with every ounce of strength I possessed. I had worried its obese frame might not budge, but it gave way surprisingly easily.
I understood why immediately. It had no lower body. Its elongated intestines trailed behind, still connected to the concrete debris.
The zombie—upper body only, lower half crushed beneath fallen rubble—swung its arms again and lunged. The sight of it propelling itself through the air with nothing but arm strength horrified me. I rolled desperately to the side.
Crunch—!
It paid no attention to its own shattering hand. The attack split the floor block into flying fragments. The sound was utterly gruesome.
What kind of strength…!
I had barely dodged this time, but I was certain that taking a direct hit would shatter my bones.
My body had already been at its limit. The violent movement blurred my vision in an instant.
I couldn't allow any more commotion. To end the disturbance, I had to eliminate this zombie.
It shrieked with the clear intent of never releasing prey once spotted. Even if I fled, it had already caught the scent of my blood. It would never give up the chase.
So I had to kill it here. Before it could set its eyes on Zeta as well.
The moment the thought formed, I snatched up one of the concrete fragments scattered across the ground.
“Hup…!”
I brought it down hard toward the head of the zombie crawling rapidly toward me on both arms.