The Zombie Legion
The motorcycle engine gave a low, guttural growl. Mechanical vibrations traveled from the seat through my hips and into my very bones. Freedom. I repeated the childish name Hwang Gyunam had given the bike as I tightened the strap of my helmet. Operation Reset was the first step toward true freedom for Osori.
—Senior!
Han Jiyoung’s voice crackled over the radio. I had only discussed the plan with Oh Junghwan and Hwang Gyunam, fearing she would make a fuss if she found out, but it seemed she had caught on.
—How could you leave me out of this?
“I’m driving. Don’t talk to me.”
—I like motorcycles too! Have you ever even ridden one? Do you even have a license?
I had a license, of course. Though, not specifically for a small-displacement motorcycle.
“I tried it out, and I’ve got the hang of it. Anything with wheels is pretty much the same.”
—No, wait! Cheon-il, you don’t have a small-bike license?! You took our Freedom without even having a license? Hey! Just turn around! Practice slowly and then—
Hwang Gyunam shouted in a panic, but I promptly switched off the radio. As I pulled the clutch, the tires bit into the asphalt, kicking up a cloud of dust. I entered the main road, weaving through the cars that stood like stone statues.
‘Here it is.’
I arrived at the first point. I killed the engine and pulled the noise-maker from my backpack. When I flipped the switch and turned the volume to the max, a sickening, static-filled screech tore through the air. I couldn’t see it with the naked eye, but I could feel the flow of the air shifting. It was a frequency that would trigger them from kilometers away.
‘They’re coming!’
I pressed my ear to the ground, focusing every ounce of my attention. A faint vibration began to grow. They were reacting to the frequency and heading straight for this spot.
‘Looks like there are some runners mixed in, too.’
I turned off the noise-maker and shoved it back into my bag. I didn’t know the exact scale of the horde, and if I pushed too hard, I risked being surrounded.
‘I need to be careful with this.’
There were more of them than I had anticipated. As their forms began to appear, I climbed back onto Freedom.
“Tsk!”
The road itself was wide, but it was choked with obstacles. Construction debris, broken signs, and tilted utility poles blocked the way. Rusted, overturned vehicles lay scattered, and the path was further obstructed by flat tires and rotting corpses.
“?!”
Suddenly, a runner lunged from a blind spot. I slammed on the brakes, swerving the handlebars, and the creature slammed its head into the edge of a sign, collapsing.
‘...Things are getting complicated.’
This was the entry point of the exploration route. That meant it was an area I had already cleared once. Yet, the number of them slithering out far exceeded my expectations.
‘This won’t work. I have to head straight to Gusan.’
The original plan was to lure as many zombies as possible along the exploration route, but I was already at the limit. There were likely more on their way, and if I tried to gather any more, it would end in disaster.
I twisted the handlebars, changing direction in a smooth slide.
Guaaaaagh!
I had turned off the noise-maker, but the roar of the motorcycle was drawing their aggression. I pulled the clutch to the limit, sending the engine RPMs soaring. Even then, runners that had closed the distance were clawing at the air.
‘Damn it!’
They were popping out of every blind spot like cockroaches. If I swerved to avoid one, another would jump out; if I tried to change my path, they were there to block me. It felt as if they knew exactly where I was going. As their numbers swelled like a snowball, my heart hammered against my ribs, and every nerve in my body stood on edge.
I lost my sense of direction while darting through the alleys to avoid them. I had been too busy dodging the zombies right in front of me to check my surroundings.
“Huh?!”
Having veered far from my intended path, I found myself in a dead end. I grabbed the brakes hard, the smell of burning rubber stinging my nose.
“Ah...!”
I looked back to see them kicking up a cloud of dust. The runners were closing the distance at a vicious speed. I scanned the area in a panic, but there was no gap to escape through. Did I have no choice but to fight? But how was I supposed to take on that many runners?
‘Damn it.’
I had about 50 rounds of revolver ammunition. On the other hand, the horde was at least five times that size. Just as my mind went blank and the world began to darken—
—Dad! To the right! There’s an underground parking garage on the right!
Cheonsa’s voice in my earpiece snapped me back to reality. There was no time to hesitate. I had to trust in Freedom’s speed.
Vrooooom!
As I sped past a collapsed sign, I saw the entrance to the underground garage. I was already within arm's reach of the runners, so I jerked the handlebars to the right. In the process, one of the runners raked its fingernails across my helmet. If I had been a second later, I would have been caught.
—There’s an exit on the other side! Look for it!
The lights and sensors had been dead for a long time. I sped through the pitch-black underground garage. Even with my headlight on, it was so dark I couldn't even see the directional arrows.
‘There!’
After wandering for a while, a coin-sized light source pointed toward the exit. I maintained my speed and burst through, the sunlight blinding me like the glare after a long tunnel.
—Dad, you did it! Turn left in 200 meters! Then just go straight along the road for a while!
I turned as Cheonsa guided me. The six-lane road was relatively clear. A wave of relief washed over me. I glanced in the rearview mirror to catch my breath, and at that moment, I reflexively slammed the bike to a stop.
“Alpha!?”
A yellow t-shirt and loose jeans. It was Alpha. It was definitely the one I had seen before. Our eyes met. A high-pitched ringing filled my ears, and my breathing grew ragged. Alpha tilted its head at an angle, staring at me as if it knew exactly who I was.
“Wait!”
In an instant, the creature whipped its head around and vanished into the crowd. A swarm of zombies was surging forward, and Alpha had passed through the center of it. I threw Freedom aside and started running. It was an insane thing to do. But if I missed this chance, I didn’t know when another would come.
‘I’ll kill you this time!’
Alpha was the most dangerous enemy. I couldn't let it live. That was the only thought in my head. I dove into the crowd like a moth to a flame. Staggering corpses surrounded me on all sides. The runners must have still been in the parking garage, as I only saw walkers.
I pulled out my revolver and raised the muzzle.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
I pulled the trigger without hesitation. The ones in the lead began to fall rapidly. Every shot was true. Even as my eyes tracked the next target, my focus was entirely on Alpha.
‘Yellow!’
I had to find the yellow. But the more I tried to pursue it, the more the zombies seemed to crowd around me—whether by coincidence or design, I couldn't tell.
“Damn it!”
Even with the revolver’s rapid fire, it was hard to advance. Because of the sheer number of them, I had to take two steps back for every one step forward. During the 2.1 seconds it took to reload, the creature was moving further away.
“Tsk!”
I shoved the revolver away and grabbed the ‘777777’ rifle strapped to my back. I unfolded the stock, pulled the charging handle, and set the selector to full-auto. The only reason I hadn't used the rifle until now was the noise, but that didn't matter anymore.
Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-bang!
Gunshots rang out in a chain. The creatures in my line of fire fell in a straight row, opening a path. I moved forward quickly, swapping out the magazine.
“Get out of the way!”
It was strange. The closer I got to Alpha, the fiercer their resistance became. Usually, zombie movement was linear, but these were different. They weren't moving in the shortest distance toward me; they were moving to fill the gaps.
‘What are these things...?’
Could it be that Alpha had more than just intelligence—did it have command capabilities? Was it possible for a zombie to control other zombies? The thought seemed absurd, yet their movements were so deliberate that it sent a chill down my spine. Even the wind brushing past my neck felt as cold as a blade.
“This time, for sure!”
As the sense of crisis deepened, my sense of purpose became clearer. I would kill it. I pulled the pin on a grenade and threw it with all my might in the direction Alpha had fled.
Kuaaaaang!
With a thunderous roar, the zombies in the area were blown to pieces. Entrails and bloody chunks stuck to my shoes, making them slippery. The smell of foul, dark red liquid splattering on my arms was nauseating. I threw another grenade, and their cold blood poured down like a misty rain.
‘Found you!’
Through the gap that had opened up, I saw the yellow t-shirt. Alpha had stopped running and was watching me with its head tilted to the side. It looked as if it were annoyed, or perhaps just deeply bothered by my presence.
‘Yeah, stay right there.’
The distance was roughly 50 meters. This was the perfect chance to kill it. I steadied my breathing and raised the rifle. I aligned its head in my sights and pulled the trigger. I had completed the aim and fire in the shortest time possible.
Bang—!
“?!”
In that split second, Alpha ducked its waist low. A shiver ran down my spine at a movement I had never seen from any other zombie. I tried to re-aim, but the creature hid its body behind an SUV.
“Damn it!”
I needed to pursue, but my feet wouldn't move. The runners that had exited the underground garage were swarming toward me. In that brief moment of hesitation, a thick wall of zombies had formed.
“...Ha.”
There was no time. It was impossible to take on that many runners. Pursuing would be suicide. I cut the thread of my lingering regret with the scissors of reason. I had clenched my teeth so hard my jaw ached.
I finally understood why all those zombies at the Enfield shopping mall had vanished in an instant. And even the suspicious behavior of the one I had watched through the scope.
I started Freedom and looked back one last time. And I regretted it immediately.
...If I hadn't looked back then, would the terror I felt now be a little less?
“You...!”
Alpha was standing on top of an SUV. It raised its right hand, forming a gun shape with its index finger and thumb. Then, with a flick of its wrist, it went bang.
The devil who remembered me so clearly was definitely smiling.