Chapter 173: Interlude - Gears of the Past
Chapter 173: Interlude - Gears of the Past
I ran down the same streets I always did.
"Huff. Huff. Huff."
I ran until the breath in my lungs felt like it was burning my throat.
How? How did it come to this?
That question had dominated my mind since this morning.
Even now, looking around, nothing seemed to have changed much.
It was the same town scenery I knew.
It wasn't a wealthy neighborhood, but the streets were clean enough for everyone to get by.
Normally, the road would be bustling with adults heading to work and children going to school, but today, it was eerily quiet.
There were no cars on the road, and no friends stood shouting and laughing while waiting for the School Bus.
"■■! Did you miss the School Bus?"
The silence was broken by a neighbor lady I saw often.
Because she kept cats, my fur allergy always made me itchy whenever we met, so I didn't have the best memories of her.
Still, she was a kind woman who often baked chocolate brownies to share with the neighborhood kids.
I had received them from her many times myself.
But right now, that thing wasn't her.
It was something else, wearing the lady's face like a mask.
"Hey! If you missed the bus, I'll give you a ride! I was just about to head to the school to drop off some snacks anyway!"
As it spoke, it smiled and waved its hand at me.
Just as she always did, it wore a bright smile while swaying its plump body.
Maybe... maybe she hasn't changed yet.
Maybe, like me, she just happened to avoid being caught by those things.
If so, shouldn't I warn her?
With that thought, I turned my head.
"Mrs. ■■■■! Run, quickly—"
Click.
A strange sound echoed.
◀◀◀
I can't fall for it.
It's trying to trick me like that so it can take me away.
Thinking that, I started running again.
"Kyaaaaaaaak!"
A scream rang out.
The lady's scream.
It was a sound I had heard constantly throughout the day.
Startled by the noise, I turned my head.
Even though I knew exactly what was waiting for me.
A strange machine was embedded in Mrs. ■■■■'s neck.
A fist-sized sphere, gleaming silver as it reflected the sunlight.
An object I had seen a horrifying number of times today.
With that thing attached to her neck, the pale-faced woman reached out toward me.
Her eyes trembled as if pleading for help.
A wave of nausea surged within me.
At the same time, my vision blurred.
I forced my collapsing body to stay upright and ran again.
Trying to forget the look in her eyes, I kept going. And going...
Click.
▶▶▶
How long did I run like that? Before I knew it, I was at the school...
Click.
◀◀
▶
While on my way, I spotted a large hospital and dashed inside.
I had originally intended to flee to the school, but the moment I saw the hospital, the emergency protocols I'd learned there flashed through my mind. They said that large institutions had soldiers and civilian shelters prepared for when monsters attacked.
Yes, surely the soldiers wouldn't have fallen for this...
That hope lasted only a moment; today was a day where everything went wrong.
I burst through the hospital doors, only to find the lobby in shambles.
Guns were rolling across the floor.
Seeing that, I gave up on everything.
It was true that soldiers had been here. But those soldiers were all gone now.
No one could stop it.
Then... is the shelter the only thing left to trust?
As that thought took hold, tears suddenly began to pour down like a waterfall.
The tears I had been holding back through everything I'd endured today finally broke through.
I'm... the only one left. Really. Just me...
My parents, the neighbor lady, the soldiers.
They were all gone.
Now, the only thing left to believe in was the shelter I'd learned about at school.
"Ugh... hic..."
I wiped away my flowing tears, trying to stay as quiet as possible.
If they heard me, those things might come.
And my judgment proved correct.
Tap. Tap.
The sound of footsteps echoed from afar.
Startled, I quickly threw myself under a lobby chair.
At that exact moment, a nurse appeared.
In the midst of an emergency where guns were scattered across the lobby, she walked around calmly, her expression unchanged.
That definitely couldn't be a human.
"Hmm... was it my imagination? I thought I heard something."
A perfectly ordinary voice flowed from the nurse's lips.
She spoke and acted like a normal person.
But there was no way that was a human.
"Whatever. I probably just misheard."
As if it didn't matter, the nurse disappeared down a different hallway from the one she had come from.
Even so, I didn't come out from under the chair.
I was terrified that the nurse might come back.
Holding my breath and stifling my sobs, I hid quietly under the chair, praying that no one would come.
By the time I grew accustomed to the coldness of the tile floor—or rather, by the time my body heat had warmed the tiles—I confirmed that no one was coming and quietly crawled out.
Quietly. Let's move slowly.
The shelter must be in the basement.
I can't use the elevator. It'll definitely make a noise.
Then I have to find the stairs.
With that thought, I bypassed the elevator in front of me and ran quietly down the hallway.
How much time passed as I listened at every corner, ducked whenever I saw a window, and moved to avoid any potential surveillance cameras in the corners?
Finally, I found the stairs and headed down, letting out a sigh for the first time.
"Phew."
I haven't been able to breathe properly...
It felt like the first time I'd taken a real breath all day.
How long had it been since I started running, pushing my body to the limit while even holding my breath?
I'd been running constantly since the incident this morning. To think I could finally rest.
The moment I realized that, my legs began to shake.
My muscles, which had been suppressed by fear and tension, trembled violently as if they could no longer endure the fatigue.
But I can't stop here.
Gritting my teeth, I grabbed the stair railing to keep going down.
One step. Then another.
I gripped my trembling left leg with my hand and held the railing with my right as I slowly descended the stairs.
One floor. Then another.
The further down I went, the more a chilling frost nipped at my body, but to my extremely tense frame, it actually felt refreshing.
Moreover, that chill served to solidify my gut feeling that I was heading in the right direction toward the shelter.
"Right... I can do this."
After descending one more floor, a surge of confidence made me mutter to myself.
And soon, I came to regret ever saying those words.
Clack. Clack.
Thud. Thud.
Clang. Clang.
Above. Below. In the hallways. The sounds of someone moving echoed from every direction.
Judging by how the sounds were getting louder, they were definitely coming this way.
What should I do?
If I get caught, I'll definitely end up like my parents.
Should I jump into that room?
No, if I hide in that corner, maybe I won't be noticed?
As I frantically tried to squeeze out a plan and was about to act—
Thud.
Something landed on my shoulder.
"Hic!"
Startled, I jumped and immediately turned my head.
A large hand pulled me somewhere while another hand covered my mouth.
"Shh! You'll get caught."
A man's voice, urgent and quiet, yet trembling.
"Mmmph, mmph!"
Reflected in my eyes was a Middle-aged Man who looked quite old.
With trembling eyes, he stared toward the area where the monsters were roaming.
"Be quiet. I'm a survivor, just like you..."
A survivor? Not a monster?
For a moment, suspicion crossed my mind.
But at the same time, I remembered what happened this morning.
The image of the neighbor lady began to overlap with the man before me.
Let's stop doubting.
"Are you calm now? If you are, nod your head."
Following the instructions of the man in the white coat, I quietly nodded.
"Phew. Thank goodness."
The man took his hand off my mouth, stepped back, and continued speaking.
"Are you alone? Your par—no. I'm sorry. That's not something I should ask a child. I'm a doctor. I woke up in the duty room to find everything like this."
The man, who had introduced himself quickly and concisely, continued speaking with exaggerated gestures, perhaps to earn my trust.
"...It's okay. I know what happened to my parents."
Yes. They fell right before my eyes, taken by those monsters.
Even in the moment they were changing, they tore the machines away that were trying to attach to my neck, telling me to run.
"...I'm truly sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up in the first place."
The man wiped his face with one hand, looking genuinely apologetic.
"It's fine."
Right, because that's what happened...
◀◀▶
"I see. So that's how it was. Do you have anywhere to go?"
"No. I just ran here blindly..."
I had just kept running until, at some point, I arrived at the hospital.
Believing that someone—anyone—would stop this disease or these monsters.
Whether it was the Awakened I saw on TV, a smart doctor, or a scientist like I dreamed of becoming.
Those hopes had been shattered into pieces, but...
"Then come with me for now. There's a large-scale shelter in the basement of this hospital. You'll be able to stay there for a while."
The man said this and stared at me intently, as if respecting my decision.
What a strangely kind man. Even though he knows I have nowhere else to go.
"Okay. There's enough food, right?"
"Plenty, though it tastes terrible. At the very least, we can hold out until the military or the Awakened arrive."
The man then leaned down and reached out his hand.
"My name is ■■■■. What's yours?"
"Oh, I'm... ■■. Nice to meet you."
I took the man's hand.
It was the first warmth I had felt all day.
"Then let's go."
"Where to?"
"Where else? There's an elevator right over there."
Was there?
Surprised by his words, I looked in the direction he was pointing, and there really was an elevator.
I suppose since I had been dragged in so suddenly, I hadn't had the chance to look around the room.
Mr. ■■■■ walked toward the elevator as if there was no more need for explanation. He glanced back to see if I was following and then pressed the button.
Ding.
The elevator doors opened immediately.
Surely, ■■■■ must have taken this to come up.
"Go on. Get in."
With a considerate gesture, he stepped aside to let me enter first.
I quietly stepped into the elevator, and he followed, pressing a button.
Ding.
Vroooooom.
The elevator began its slow descent.
Toward the safe shelter.
Perhaps he couldn't stand the brief silence.
Or perhaps it was out of consideration for me.
"Honestly, what are those Awakened fellows doing? The government pays them for times like this."
"..."
"Well, it'll work out somehow. Those guys should be able to handle one or two people with a strange disease like this..."
It's not a disease.
I knew that, but I didn't want to crush the kind man's faint hope.
How long had I been listening to the man's small complaints and kind words?
The elevator gradually slowed down and showed signs of stopping.
"By the way, you said your name was ■■, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
Click.
The strange sound of gears echoed.
Whirrrrr.
And the sound of something spinning.
"From now on... your name is Librarian."
His voice was incredibly cold.
Ding.
The doors opened, revealing a white room.
In the center was an Operating Table stained with blood.
And all around it was a bizarre white room filled with countless silver machines.
From the Operating Table in the center, cold mechanical arms reached out...
∥ ∥ ∥
...How many times has it been? This scene.
Is it this cruel to know that even if I return to the past, I cannot change it?
Click-clack.
The sound of gears began to ring out.
It meant the conditions to use my power had been met.
Now then. Let us return to the present—the future.
For the price has been paid.