Silence or Madness
“Eeeek… you fucking bastards…”
A grating voice like metal scraping metal. The stench of rotting corpses and a thick, nauseating reek of blood stabbed at my nostrils.
Blood seeped through the slightly open door crack and filled the floor in a sticky pool.
“Y-you… you… why the hell are you here…”
Sohye’s voice trembled violently. She gasped as if in pain, covered her mouth, and took a step back.
The one who pushed open the glass door was none other than the middle-aged woman who had begged Sohye for food and been banished.
Only now her appearance was drastically different.
Half her face was crushed open, brain openly exposed. Her abdomen was split, intestines spilling out, while both hands had swollen into monstrous claws with razor nails. Both legs were grotesquely twisted; it was a miracle she could even walk.
Worst of all, blood poured from every orifice, soaking the floor and making her even more repulsive.
“Why… why didn’t you give me food…? You… you didn’t give me any… so I got banished… It’s because of you that I ended up like this… because of you…!!!”
I frowned at the uncomfortable voice. Just as Sohye was about to speak, Gahee stepped forward.
“How is that Sohye’s fault! You’re the one who made the unreasonable demands!!!”
The woman’s head, which had been hanging low, snapped up. Bulging eyeballs locked onto Gahee. Seeing the eyes dripping bloody tears, Gahee flinched yet still muttered,
“Whoa, fuck. She really… looks like shit…”
“You… you fucking… all of this is because of you guys…!!!”
At those words the monster straightened her hunched body as if seized by a fit. Murderous intent and raw resentment exploded outward—emotions so blatant my body flinched.
Bang—!
The arm that had been cradling her intestines stretched out like a whip. The massive hand smashed into the table and chairs, hurling them into the wall.
A strong gust of wind rose as the monster slowly advanced on us.
“All of this is because of you—! You fucking bitches and bastards…!!!”
Blood droplets sprayed in every direction. I furrowed my brows and gripped the axe tight.
“You two stay out of this.”
“What? How are you going to handle a monster like that alone!”
“If the place was spacious it might be different, but it’s too narrow here. You’ll just get in the way.”
The tteokbokki shop wasn’t particularly large. Just the ajumma monster stepping inside made it feel cramped. Probably a takeout-and-delivery specialty place.
“So just watch quietly.”
I warned them so they wouldn’t get dragged in unnecessarily, then focused again on the monster’s movements.
“All of you die—! You should suffer like me… like me…!!!”
The moment the ajumma screamed and swung her arm, I kicked off the ground.
The distance to the repulsive thing closed at high speed. The closer I got, the more the stench stabbed my nose and made me grimace. If I could have, I would have cut the nose clean off.
Crunch—
I clenched my teeth, forced down the urge to vomit, and swung the handle hard.
Whoosh—!
The axe flew for her neck. I didn’t know where the weak point was. So if I just took the head, something would happen.
Thwack!
“Kyaaaaaah—!”
A scream that felt ready to tear my eardrums. Immediately a massive arm came rushing in. I threw my body with the same momentum of the axe swing.
Whoosh!
A nail passed just over my head. The sensation of hair brushing my scalp made my blood run cold.
I gathered my arms and slipped between her spread legs. Springing up, I tore the hammer free from my waist.
Crunch!
I spun and smashed the back of her knee. The twisted leg staggered and she dropped to her knees.
“Kuuuugh—!!!”
A groan mixed with pain and irritation. One arm propped on the floor while the other bent and flew at me.
Whoosh!
I ducked low and smashed the dangling intestines with the hammer.
Crunch!
A crushing sound, blood spraying everywhere. The arm went limp; she screamed amid the metallic reek of blood. I curled my lips and smashed her waist with the hammer.
Thud!
Her body jolted. The staggering frame barely kept balance—the arm on the floor forcing it to hold.
Let’s see how long you can hold out.
I smashed a few more times with everything I had. The sound of her spine breaking reached my ears. The arm preparing another attack fell limp and her body collapsed.
Crunch—
From the impact of the fall the axe dug even deeper into her neck. Now the blade was almost invisible.
“Kik-kuk, krrr-k—”
Because of that the ajumma couldn’t even scream, only making the gurgling sound of bloody phlegm.
Crunch…
I planted my foot on her neck and pressed down firmly. Flesh tore away as the red axe gradually revealed itself. The moment it came fully free, her head dropped and rolled across the floor.
“Hoo… hoo…”
Only then did I gasp for the breath I’d been holding. My heart pounded like mad. I really thought I was going to die this time.
I picked up the blood-soaked axe, dragged over a nearby fallen chair, and sat.
“Hey, you okay?”
Instead of answering I waved a hand. Blood-mixed sweat poured down and dripped to the floor, making a water sound like falling into a puddle.
As I sat quietly taking deep breaths, Sohye approached. Splish-splash from the blood pooled on the floor.
“Oppa. Drink this for now at least.”
When I reached for the plastic bottle she offered, she suddenly stepped back. I looked at her questioningly and she said,
“You’re covered in blood right now so I’ll feed it to you. If blood gets on the bottle I’ll have to wipe it off again.”
“……Okay.”
“Tell me when to stop.”
I lifted my head and opened my mouth. She slowly tilted the bottle. The moment water entered I gulped it down.
“Hoo…”
In the end I drained the whole bottle.
“Want more?”
At her question I shook my head and leaned back against the chair. From exerting so much force in such a short time, hunger and exhaustion hit me at once. My head throbbed as well.
They said the body moves freely, but maybe I’ve been overusing the ability.
That must be why the backlash came. After all, the attacks the ajumma monster had shown earlier were anything but easy.
If it had been Gahee or Sohye, they would have been torn to shreds and died from the first strike. Good thing I told them not to interfere.
As I rested a moment, energy rose from the ajumma monster and was absorbed into me. Vitality surged; strength gradually circulated through my body.
“Hoo…”
I sighed at the sensation of power throughout my body. It even carried a faint pleasure.
“Sohye. Some hardtack.”
The exhaustion was gone and the headache had vanished. Now if I just solved the hunger we could leave right away.
“Yes.”
“No. No. I’ll feed you. If you eat with those hands you’ll turn into a zombie right away.”
I opened my palm then nodded. The bright red didn’t look good.
“Here, open your mouth.”
She tore open the bag and held out the hardtack. When I parted my lips her hand approached and dropped it in.
Crunch crunch—
“Thirsty, right? I’ll give you some too!”
Sohye came beside me and tilted the water bottle. That way we finished all the hardtack and water in turns.
“Done now?”
“It’s a bit lacking, but. Anyway, except for the jerky we ate everything.”
“Right.”
“Then let’s leave right away. We don’t have much time.”
“Yeah.”
We packed our things and stepped outside the tteokbokki shop. I turned my head to glance at the subway entrance for a moment, then turned my body.
“Let’s go.”
We had to arrive quickly before the water was cut off.
On the way home we were far more cautious than when we had headed for the subway.
We refrained from conversation, and if we had to speak we used the smallest possible voices.
“Clear.”
I always took the lead for scouting. Once safety was confirmed I signaled them, and only then did Sohye and Gahee join. That was the method we stuck to.
Because it was a residential area we had cleaned thoroughly while moving to the subway, there were no zombies. But there were people.
“Aaaaaaaaah!!!”
“Dad!!!”
“Just kill me, you fuck!!!”
Human screams and curses echoed through every street. Because of the high walls I couldn’t tell what was happening. And honestly, I didn’t really want to know.
I just hoped to return home safely with them.
Cleaning up the zombies was actually a bad move.
Originally zombies would have flocked to those noises. Then the people would have been dealt with on their own, but because I cleaned them up for no reason those people were still alive and well.
“Wait.”
I ordered them and slowly walked forward. Pressing flat against the wall, I scanned the distance we needed to cover.
Even concentrating as hard as possible, no presence registered. No screams here either.
“Clear.”
Judging it safe, I gestured to them and stepped into the street. Repeating this process a few times, we finally exited the residential area.
A quiet main road. Seeing zombies shambling around actually put my mind at ease.
“Let’s rest a bit.”
We slipped between buildings and pressed against the wall—in case someone outside saw us and came in.
“……Can we talk now?”
While I was drinking water, Gahee asked cautiously. I thought a moment then nodded.
“Should be fine.”
From here on it was all commercial districts, so the chance of people living there was low. Of course a possibility remained, but considering every single one was too tiring.
“Wow, I really thought I’d die from the tension. I figured what she said was a bit exaggerated, you know? But it wasn’t…”
“……Yeah. When I was walking through the residential area, chills ran all over my body. I never thought people who had been quiet until now would turn like that just because the electricity was cut off.”
“Well, it was something that was going to happen someday.”
Gahee snickered then let out a deep sigh.
“That the side with zombies is safer. How ironic. Ironic.”
“People are scarier originally, you know.”
We loosened bodies stiffened by tension and drank water to quench thirst. About five minutes passed like that.
“Now let’s move again… Sohye!”
When I was about to pick up the axe leaning against the wall and move again, something registered from above. Without even time to check, I kicked off the ground and tightly hugged Sohye’s body.
Crunch——!!!
The moment I wrapped her head and rolled across the floor, blood splattered everywhere.