Thunder Strikes as the Elders' Fury Unleashes
The sky cracked with thunder! **KRRRAAAAAANG!** A deafening rumble slammed through the air, and the world in front of me turned white again, only to plunge back into pitch-black darkness. In the flashes between those stabs of light, I could barely breathe—my lungs seized as if someone had slammed a cold hand over my throat. Terror made my whole body quake violently. “You damn bastard… do you have any idea how much suffering we’ve gone through because of you?” The voice was thick with rage and venom, and I slowly turned my head despite the fear.
KRRRAAAAAANG! Lightning struck again. The world flared blinding white. There, standing in the storm, was an old man in a raincoat, gripping a sharp hoe in one hand. His eyes looked wrong—terrifying, glowing with an unnatural light, as if death itself was leaking from them. He stepped forward like a predator.
“Haa! You fucking bastard… why won’t you answer me? Huh? You think you don’t know what you’ve done? Because of you, we almost all died right now! You wouldn’t understand! You never could! You were never supposed to make them angry! Huh? Do you even know the pain we suffered? Fuck! If we were even a little late, we’d be dead! Do you hear me, you filthy dog?!”
I couldn’t understand a single word he was shouting. What the hell was he saying? I didn’t want to understand either. My body, frozen by pure fear, wouldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. I could only shed tears in pitiful silence.
The old man kept coming. Oh no… I couldn’t run. **KRRRAAAAAANG!** Thunder roared once more. The world flashed white. The hoe in his hand gleamed viciously. “N-no… don’t come…” I trembled all over, screaming. But he didn’t hesitate—still charging forward. My body shook as if I was about to fight, and I somehow turned to run. But something slammed into me hard.
“AAAH!” My nose crashed into something, white-hot pain exploding across my face. Blood gushed from my nose in thick streams. Then I looked sideways… and saw another old man standing right beside me, spitting blood and glaring with murderous eyes. His face was twisted with fury, and in his hand he clutched a sharp sickle.
My body shook violently. “P-please… save me…” The terror was so overwhelming I thought these men must be the very demons from hell.
Right behind me, the first old man grabbed my shoulder and spoke coldly. “We didn’t want it this way either. But… there was no other choice. We have to offer a sacrifice. Otherwise we can’t live here. Huh? We need to survive so our children can be protected by him…”
What the hell was he talking about? In that moment, the old man’s iron grip clamped around the back of my neck with a crushing force.
“GYAHH!” I screamed and thrashed wildly. Even though I was still in my prime, his strength was terrifying. “Hey, look at this kid! Strong as hell!” The old man was shocked by my struggle and loosened his grip for a split second. **BOOM!** My head whipped sideways, and a sharp pain seared across my cheek. My body collapsed uselessly to the ground.
The old man holding the sickle stared down at me with pure rage. He swung his fist. The twisted expression on his face looked exactly like a malevolent goblin.
“You think you can just run away because of you we almost died? You fucking bastard! Where the hell were you running to now?”
“I-I… I don’t know…” I still didn’t understand. What had I done to make them almost kill me?
The old man approached again. “Don’t… come closer…” I backed away, shaking. But I couldn’t escape—another old man with the hoe blocked my path. The sickle-wielding old man finally closed in, still fighting back, and began mercilessly kicking me. “You little shit! You fucking bastard! Stop making such a fuss! Damn it!”
“AAAAH! P-please… save me! AAAAAH!!” **THUD! THUD! THUD!** The merciless beating continued. The old man stomped like a raging bull, each kick landing with crushing force. My face swelled up instantly. “AAAAH! It hurts!! Save me… someone help me! AAAAAAHHHH!!” My cries of agony echoed across the field.
One of the old men with the hoe clicked his tongue, then noticed my smartphone still lying on the ground. It was still connected to the police. I could hear my name being called from inside the phone.
The old man sighed deeply and clicked his tongue. “Damn… we’re in trouble again…” He glared at the phone with nerves, then raised the hoe high and brought it down straight on the device.
**CRACK!** The sound of shattering glass filled the air. The call dropped dead. The old man with the sickle turned to the other man and spoke in annoyance. “Enough! You’ll actually kill the kid! Let’s take him first! Besides, time’s almost up. It’s almost midnight!”
“Huu… huu… huu…” The kicking finally stopped. The old man was still breathing hard, staring down at me with murderous eyes. Beneath that cold gaze, my body shook uncontrollably. My clothes were torn to shreds, blood soaking through them. Every inch of me was covered in wounds. I could only collapse, gasping in pain.
The old man pressed the sharp sickle right against my face, continuing his threat. “Listen here, you fucking bastard… this is your last warning. Got it? If you make even one more move to cause trouble… I’ll really take your head. Understand? Do you fucking hear me? Answer me, you dog!”
I could only nod in fear. Sadly, I had no choice. I couldn’t resist the terrifying threat I’d never experienced before.
They dragged me away like livestock. My hands and feet were bound with ropes. They pulled me toward the church. Inside the church, the village elders were already packed in, all of them restless and terrified. Some trembled with dread at the current situation, while others quietly wept, eyes downcast. All of them were old men, and all of them kept glancing at their watches with growing anxiety.
One old man finally answered the phone. “Hey! How did it go?” Everyone’s eyes turned to the man holding the phone. They swallowed dryly, faces pale as they waited for the answer. The old man on the phone finally let out a sigh of relief. “Ah! We got him? Fuck! Where was he? Hiding in the orchard? Damn it! So that’s what happened! But how the hell did that bastard know and run away? Ah! Never mind! We’ll explain later! Good work, everyone! Come quick! He’s coming down soon! Any minute now!”
The old man hung up. As everyone’s eyes turned back to him, he let out a deep sigh of relief. “We caught him!” A few more elders breathed sighs of relief, though some looked regretful. A few lowered their heads, guilty, but they didn’t say anything. They just sighed.
The old man who had taken the call—the one who had just arrived from the nursing home and was usually called **Yoon-ssi**—finally relaxed. He turned around and looked at the altar inside the church. Once, there had been a statue of Jesus there, but now two crosses stood in its place. On each cross hung Lee Hwan’s father and mother, just like the Savior on the cross. **Yoon-ssi** approached them.
They looked half-drunk, lost in something. **Yoon-ssi** looked at them and said, “Sorry… we had no choice. We didn’t want this either. But what else could we do? If we don’t do this, we’ll all die. So… sacrificing a few is better than sacrificing everyone, right? I know I don’t have the right to say that… but… sorry…”
**Yoon-ssi** sighed, fear in his eyes. Sweat drenched his pale face. He checked the broken watch on his wrist. Only thirty minutes left until midnight. They were late—thanks to me running away. But it was still in time. He let out another sigh of relief, then began pacing anxiously.
I couldn’t hide my fear and tension anymore. My mouth was dry, so I kept licking my lips and turned back to Lee Hwan’s parents. “We have to survive too… who wants to die? Right?”
That was when a siren suddenly blared. **Yoon-ssi** felt a chill run down his spine. He bit his lip hard, checking the time again. Ah… time was running out… I couldn’t drag this out anymore… but he couldn’t hide his panic. His mouth was still dry.