Seoul (1)
"Sua, Jiwoo! Make sure that door's locked tight!"
I kicked open the cab door and shouted urgently at the kids. Normally, I'd launch drones to scout monster positions and secure the area meticulously, but there was no time for that now. Right before hopping off, I glanced out the window.
Quite a few monsters. Did they spill out from an unchecked dungeon?
If the kids' mom had read the note, there was a good chance she'd stuck around the villa searching for them. But the area was crawling with monsters. If she'd been spotted, she could be in serious trouble.
The moment I leaped roughly from the train, the drones seemed to sense my urgency. Without a word from me, they formed a perfect formation. A sleek recon drone zipped ahead, guiding me to the villa, while the combat and sniper drones stuck to my back like reliable bodyguards.
"Grraaah..."
"Of all the damn timing..."
Trouble always piled up when I was in a rush. The second I rounded the alley corner following the recon drone, a pack of zombie-like monsters reeking of rot spotted me and let out eerie howls as they lunged.
I clicked my tongue and kicked off the ground with all my strength. The Leap skill triggered from my toes, filling my body with a floating sensation. I shot forward like a bullet, slicing straight through the monster horde in one go.
I left the zombies behind to the drones. As I pulled away with Leap, the two drones glued to my back unleashed hellfire on the pursuing zombies. Their heads exploded like watermelons under the merciless barrage, but there were too many to wipe out completely.
"No end to them... Still—"
The gunfire drew monsters from nearby buildings, who caught the scent of blood and came swarming, one pack tailing the next.
Finally, after a mad sprint, I reached the familiar red-brick villa—the one from the recon footage. Room 201 on the second floor. Maybe she was there. The kids' mom.
But first, I had something to handle.
"Hoo... Let's clear this up."
I spun toward the dozens of zombies slithering after me to the villa entrance and swung my toothed flail without hesitation.
Splat!
The zombie that took the hit burst apart, its corpse tumbling down like a speed bump and slowing the ones behind. "Hup!"
The flail was still heavy, but maybe from swinging it so much? Or was it the weapon proficiency skill kicking in? I could chain swings now without much issue.
With the drones' relentless fire pouring in from all sides, the villa entrance turned into a zombie graveyard in seconds.
"Hoo... Hoo..."
Two or three per swing, and they were done. I slung the flail over my shoulder, panting hard as I climbed the villa stairs. Without the Vitality skill, this could've been risky.
"Will she be there?"
My pounding heart thundered in my ears. Tension made my body rigid. I prayed desperately that the kids' mom was safely holed up inside, waiting for me.
Finally, at the second-floor front door. I raised my hand to knock on the sturdy metal—
Click—creeeak.
Before I could touch the handle, the door slid open from inside. As if she'd been desperately waiting for me to show up.
"..."
"..."
Through the gap stood a woman glaring at me with a hardened expression. Messy hair, dirt-streaked and haggard face. The hammer gripped defensively trembled at the tip, and her eyes burned with extreme wariness at the sight of a young girl wielding a massive toothed flail.
If she was that scared, she could've just slammed the door. But the woman flung it wide open, facing me head-on. I knew the source of that courage without asking.
Her trembling lips parted, and a cracked voice spilled out her desperate question.
"Are you... the one protecting Sua and Jiwoo... my kids...?"
I nodded silently and answered shortly and clearly.
"Yes. Both kids are unscathed, not a scratch on them. Eating well, too."
At those words, the taut string of her tension snapped.
"Aaaah..."
Her legs gave out completely, and she collapsed right there. The hammer clattered to the floor, and she clutched her face with both hands, sobbing with relief.
I just watched her crumple, no time to catch her. Somehow, seeing her made a corner of my heart ache with sorrow.
"How in the world..."
She barely pulled herself together and started to ask.
I had mountains of questions too. How she'd survived outside for days to make it back here, if she was hurt anywhere, what happened to the kids' dad. But this villa wasn't the place for a leisurely chat. Our noise could've drawn more monsters any second.
"Let's move first. Monsters could swarm here anytime."
"Ah... Monsters... Right."
When I spoke firmly and offered my hand, she wiped her tears with her sleeve and looked up at me dazedly.
"But... uh, where to...?"
"The train I came on is nearby. The kids are waiting there. Let's go."
"Train...?"
I helped her up by the arm and led the way down the stairs. As the three drones escorted us flawlessly through the alley, she trailed behind, staring alternately at the drones and the flail on my back in disbelief.
"Those drones... who's controlling..."
Soon, the train loomed majestically in the middle of the station. I granted her entry permissions and opened the door to car 2.
Inside the cozy glow of car 2, Sua and Jiwoo were giggling in front of the big tank, playing with Donggle using a pen. They whipped their heads around at the door sound.
"Sis, you're ba—"
"What's up, bro? Huh?"
In that instant, a heavy silence froze time inside the train.
Sua's pen slipped from her hand and rolled away. Jiwoo blinked his big eyes, stiffening. The haggard woman's lips quivered at the entrance.
"Jiwoo... Sua..."
Her voice trembled again, the sobs she'd just stopped threatening to restart.
The two kids, dressed cute in new clothes, bolted across the carpet and crashed into her arms.
"Sorry I'm so late..."
The woman dropped to her knees on the floor, hugging them tight. Jiwoo and Sua clung to her neck, unleashing all their pent-up grief in loud wails.
I watched quietly for a moment, then turned and headed to the cab in car 1. Time to give them space.
How much time passed? After confirming the exhausted kids were fast asleep in car 2, their mother knocked softly on the cab door in car 1.
I seated the still-worn-out mother on the sofa and handed her a cup of hot tea. Clutching it with both hands, she slowly recounted the past few days.
"We ran out of food... so I went to the nearby mart to scavenge."
It matched what the siblings had told me. She'd reached the mart safely and was grabbing cans when she spotted a monster lurking at the entrance. Reflexively, she hid in the warehouse.
Unaware it would trap her.
"Bad luck."
The monster rampaging outside toppled an entire display rack, and that heavy metal shelf perfectly blocked the warehouse's only door.
Trapped, she acted fast. She tried smashing the walls with stuff inside for another exit, but no dice. Her last option was brutal.
"I just kept thinking of Sua and Jiwoo, ramming my body against the door."
Every minute, every second. She hurled herself at the sealed metal relentlessly. Until the shelf blocking it crumpled and bent. Despite the pain of bruises covering her shoulders and arms, she didn't stop shoving with her body.
On the third day trapped, a miracle gap opened, and she squeezed through.
The day I'd decided to protect the siblings. Her tattered sleeve revealed shoulders and forearms still mottled with dark bruises—proof of that desperate struggle.
"Really... thank you so much. Thanks to you..."
As she bowed repeatedly, I spoke calmly.
"Ma'am. If you don't have a set destination ahead, how about I take you to the safe zone?"
"Safe zone...? A place like that exists?"
Her eyes widened in shock, unable to believe a guaranteed safe spot in this world.
I nodded and explained. I'd only seen one myself, and most info came from the Survivor Gallery, but for the siblings and her, the safe zone was safest.
"For the kids... yes, I want to go there."
Their mother answered without hesitation.
I decided to escort the siblings and their mom to the Yeouido Safe Zone. It'd be bittersweet parting, but not forever—I could always head back to Yeouido if I wanted to see them.
"Got it. I'll take you there."
I smiled and worked the main panel in the cab. Off to Yeouido, Seoul's heart and largest safe zone.