The Road to the Subway
“Using the Studio Apartment Area as our reference point, there are three landmarks in this region.”
So-hye unfolded a map she had drawn herself and launched into her explanation. She brought it up while we were resting at a park pavilion along the way. The subway was still some distance off, so a break like this was necessary.
“The first is the department store. It’s hands-down the place with the highest foot traffic around here, and commercial districts and bar alleys have grown up around it.”
“That’s mainly where we’ve been going to scavenge.”
“Right. At the same time, it’s where the zombies are thickest—and where that mutated zombie we ran into is still hanging around.”
On her map the area was painted red. Most dangerous.
“And over this way is Dream of Korea—the youth rental apartments. Meaning the bandit base is close.”
“So that’s why you painted this side orange. Never know when or where you might run into bandits.”
Orange meant risk factors present.
“Yes. The one silver lining is that the mutated zombie’s territory is acting as a kind of buffer. Whether they know that on the other side, I have no idea.”
“That’s somewhat good news, but it’s still something we’d rather avoid.”
“Exactly. Honestly, it’s no different from a time bomb that could go off any second. Best-case scenario would be the two forces slamming into each other and wiping themselves out… but the odds of that are tiny, so for now careful is the only option we’ve got.”
So-hye pointed to another section of the map and kept going.
“The second is the university. Foot traffic is high there too. Plenty of bars and major entertainment spots, so it’s just as dangerous.”
The university grounds were painted gray.
“What does this color mean?”
“It means the place has no real value. There are probably still people alive inside the university, but honestly there’s nothing worth going there for.”
“True. Lots of convenience stores nearby, but most of them will already be cleaned out. And with that many people, the odds of mutated zombies showing up climb too…”
“Unless something special comes up, we have no reason to visit.”
Next she pulled out another sheet—painted entirely yellow.
“The third is the subway. Honestly, I can’t tell yet how valuable this place will turn out to be. Foot traffic is high, but the fact that a market has formed inside the subway could mean the surrounding area has already been cleaned up to some degree…”
“There probably aren’t many zombies around the subway. Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s safe.”
Both women’s eyes lifted from the map.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Where’s the place with the most people in a subway system?”
“The station itself.”
“Right. And you said a market has formed in the subway? That means at least the underground has been cleared. They successfully dealt with the most dangerous spot.”
My guess was that the subway faction had at least one Ability User like me. Anything less and that kind of achievement would be impossible.
“They’re probably running the place by collecting entrance fees or transaction commissions. Of course that alone won’t be enough, so they’ll be sending out regular scouting and scavenging teams.”
“So because those people are roaming the area, it’s safe?”
“Exactly.”
“But those people would have avoided unnecessary fights. Their goal isn’t zombie cleanup—it’s scouting and scavenging. So there might be more zombies than we think.”
So-hye’s point was fair. But if that were true, the rumor of a market forming never would have spread in the first place.
“For a story like that to get around, there have to be visitors eventually, right? Whatever way the subway is making its cut, it has to be a setup where more people coming to trade means more revenue. So they would have cleaned the surroundings separately.”
“That’s why you said there won’t be zombies.”
“Right.”
“Then why is it dangerous?”
“Because of the bandits.”
At that single word the two women lightly clapped their hands—they understood at once.
“Coming to trade means they have goods, so there might be bandits targeting that?”
“There definitely will be.”
Scavenging convenience stores or residences is an uncertain method. You never know if anything’s left, and one bite from a hidden zombie ends it.
Ambushing groups heading to the subway, on the other hand, is relatively reliable. Not risk-free, but high risk, high return.
“Plus in a setup like this the bandit side has a massive structural advantage. Not doing it would be stupid.”
“Then the people at Dream of Korea might be operating nearby too.”
I nodded. We’d gotten this information from one of those bastards in the first place.
“I only meant to rest a little, but the map ate way more time than I expected.”
We’d been sitting in the pavilion for over twenty minutes. I hadn’t thought it would run this long.
“Let’s finish talking over lunch.”
“I’m sorry. I went and pulled the map out for no reason…”
So-hye looked dejected, so I stroked her head. She nuzzled into my palm like a puppy.
“It’s fine. Thanks to you we know the area around the subway is dangerous.”
I’d only been turning it over in my head; saying it out loud made me realize just how much more dangerous it really was.
I pulled jerky, hardtack, and water from my bag and ate sparingly. We’d be fighting the whole way, so keeping our stomachs light was smarter.
“I’ve got one thing I’m curious about.”
“What?”
“You said they deliberately cleaned up the zombies around the place so people would use the market they set up in the subway.”
I chewed jerky and answered that yes, that was the idea.
“But in the end the bandits just took that spot instead, so wasn’t it all for nothing? Seems like it got even more dangerous.”
“I don’t know that far. They might send scouting parties to keep the surroundings safe. Or they might have left it alone. We won’t know until we go ourselves.”
“Hmm. If they’re leaving the bandits alone, people wouldn’t really have a reason to visit the subway.”
“I think they’re leaving them alone.”
So-hye, who had been quietly working through hardtack, cut in.
“Think about it realistically—even if they send out scouting parties or guards, how are they supposed to know where the bandits are to find them?”
“What if they time it for when the bandits try an ambush?”
“That’s a problem too. How would they know where the ambush will happen? There’s no rule saying it has to be near the subway. If they hit people on the way home after trading, there’s nothing anyone can do.”
Ga-hee, who had been chewing jerky, stopped. Then she opened her mouth in admiration.
“…You’re right.”
“When you look at it from every angle, there’s not much the subway side can actually do. They’re stuck being passive.”
“Maybe there isn’t even a market in the subway?”
“That’s possible too. We don’t know when the rumor that bastard told us about actually started spreading.”
Whether it was better for the subway faction to still be intact, or better if they had vanished entirely—I honestly didn’t know.
“Once we’re done eating, let’s move. Doesn’t seem like talking more is going to get us anywhere.”
“Yeah.”
“Yes.”
I tossed the empty plastic bottle onto the ground and we started walking again.
KRAAAAAH—!
A zombie that had been lying on the ground as if dead slowly pushed itself up. The moment it started moving in that sluggish way, I kicked off the pavement and charged.
CRACK—!
I put everything I had into a kick to its head. Its neck bones twisted at a grotesque angle and blood sprayed. Right after, another zombie came charging from the side, arms swinging.
WHOOSH!
I took a half-step back; its nails sliced the air right in front of my eyes. Before the wind even died I smashed the hammer into its face.
CRUNCH!
Eyeballs burst. Nose bone shattered. As it staggered backward I chased it down and brought the hammer down again and again.
BOOM!
The head caved in. The skull split. Broken bone fragments punched through the skin, and crushed brain matter and fluid began to seep out.
THUD!
One last hard blow and the zombie dropped. At the sound behind me I spun.
So-hye was slamming a zombie’s head and driving it toward the wall while Ga-hee brought her axe down on another’s neck.
CRUNCH!
The zombie reeled as it hit the wall. So-hye yanked the shovel handle up and drove the tip hard into its throat.
SQUELCH!
Blood gushed, soaking the ground. The thing flailed its arms, but the shovel was just long enough that its attacks couldn’t reach.
“Ugh…!”
When the blade had sunk about halfway through the neck, Ga-hee’s axe smashed into the side of its head. The neck bones tore free completely and the head rolled across the pavement.
“You okay?”
“Thank you, unnie…”
So-hye leaned on the shovel like a cane. Ga-hee turned toward me.
“You finished over there?”
“Yeah. Took care of two.”
“Good.”
“Drink this.”
So-hye pulled a bottle from her bag and handed it over. I yanked my mask down and poured it straight down my throat.
“If I’d known it would be like this I wouldn’t have bothered putting on dirty clothes. We’ve fought so much they’re already ruined.”
She spread both arms, let out a long sigh, and leaned on the shovel again.
“No kidding. I don’t get why there are so many zombies. If people were going back and forth a lot, there should be fewer, right?”
“Beats me.”
“I’m a little uneasy too.”
Just the zombies we’d run into on the way here already numbered over thirty. That was after moving as carefully as we could.
“Should we turn back?”
“We’ve come this far and the subway isn’t far now. Let’s go. It’d be a waste to turn around at this point.”
“Sunk costs are sunk—you’re not supposed to consider them…”
“So are you turning back?”
At my question Ga-hee shook her head hard.
“Absolutely not! Now that it’s come to this, we finish it!”
“Then we keep going. About five more minutes of walking.”
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
“A little further and we hit the main road, so watch for bandits. There aren’t even places nearby to hide.”
I answered that I understood and pulled my mask back up. Staying alert, we rounded the corner—and the view suddenly opened wide.
A broad road. Cars scattered everywhere, some overturned, others blackened as if they’d exploded. The black asphalt was stained red with charred corpses, torn body parts, and blood.
KRAAAAAH—
Inside a few of the cars, still-living zombies thrashed, trapped by their seatbelts.
It was a scene straight out of an apocalypse movie. For a moment I could only stare.
“Gruesome.”
“…Yeah. In this condition, using cars as transportation would be almost impossible.”
“Still, seeing the zombies already dead, it looks like they did clean up the area some.”
“Yeah. Glad they’re at least paying attention.”
The subway entrance was faintly visible in the distance. We moved toward it at a quick pace. It wasn’t a sight any of us wanted to linger on.
When we reached the entrance we all checked our weapons. Once everything was confirmed solid, we nodded at each other.
“Let’s go down.”