Shoot Out (5)
“Haa…… but, ughhh…… what about the zombies?”
The Witch asked again.
“From the sound of it, it seemed like zombies were coming in from outside…… ugh……!”
Even while retching like that, her desperate will to survive burned just as fiercely. Yubin kept his gaze fixed on the rear and gave a small shake of his head.
“They’re not coming this way. Their movement path is different. Just in case, I tossed the cigarettes over on the promenade side too.”
The zombies’ established route was strictly along the promenade. The deepest part of the underpass where they were hiding was more than sixty meters away. If the zombies had already detected them and were chasing, that would be one thing, but they wouldn’t suddenly notice something this far off and change course.
Swish—!
After answering the Witch, Yubin reached out and turned the head of the zombie corpse he’d been leaning against to the side. Staring into the split-open skull’s glassy eyes wasn’t exactly pleasant. For some reason, it felt like the thing kept twitching.
“You heard that, right? So stay quiet. No thrashing around…… Hey, what the hell? I told you to stay still!”
The Sheriff, who had been trying to calm her, suddenly raised his voice in alarm. The Witch, who had been using the corpse as a handhold, flinched and crawled up onto his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. But even when the Sheriff tried to push her away, she clung to him desperately.
“Please! Please! I’ll stay on your lap! It’s so disgusting! It’s too gross!”
“If you’re a hostage, act like one! Stop sticking to me! This looks weird as hell!”
“Never! It’s not strange at all! Please! Let me stay here!”
As the Witch and the Sheriff kept raising their voices in their heated standoff, both Jinwoo and Yubin ground their teeth at the same time.
“Hey! Just let her be, Sheriff! Why are you acting up too? Just shut up and stay quiet!”
“Bullshit! You guys try being in this position……! Ugh, forget it. I’m done.”
The Sheriff, who had been about to snap, let out a long sigh and clamped his mouth shut. He quickly realized this wasn’t the time to lose focus just because a woman was clinging tightly to him.
“If you reach for the bag, I’ll knock you out cold. Behave yourself!”
The Sheriff turned the bag containing the firearms away from the Witch’s reach and warned her in a rough tone. Of course, the Witch had no attention to spare for that right now.
“Okay! Got it! Uuuugh! Thank you! Thank you! Aaaah!”
The Witch nodded vigorously, then buried her face in the Sheriff’s chest as if it were some kind of salvation, squeezing her eyes shut. The smell of sweat coming off that massive, muscular body wasn’t exactly pleasant either, but compared to the stench of rotting zombie corpses, it was practically perfume.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat—! Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta—!
Outside, the gunfire continued without pause. Because the sound was echoing off the walls, it was hard to tell for sure, but screams seemed to be breaking out intermittently from the left side now too. The image of soldiers trying to advance while firing tear gas being overrun by zombies unfolded vividly in Jinwoo’s mind, and he clenched his jaw tight.
“Damn it……”
Those infantry soldiers out there were just following orders and moving against their will, just like his own squad members from a few months ago. Knowing that left a bitter taste in his mouth…… but he wasn’t in any position to feel sympathy for them right now. If they didn’t die, he and his friends would.
Rat-tat-tat—! Bang—! Baaang—! Rat-tat-tat-tat—!
How many minutes had passed while they stayed hidden among the corpses? By the time the red smoke had begun to fade, the once-constant gunfire started to space out, growing quieter. The occasional bursts of automatic fire echoing from far away were clearly coming from the helicopters. And then…… rat-tat-tat—! Thud—! Thud—!
With those final six shots, the gunfire along the Han River promenade finally stopped. All that remained were the heavy thrum of helicopter rotors slicing through the air and the roars of the zombies.
“……Twelve minutes left.”
Yubin, who had checked his watch by covering the light with his hand, spoke in a low voice. There were twelve minutes remaining until all the zombies in the area had moved on. Of course, since they’d stopped to feast on fresh meat, their movement might be a bit disorganized, so it could take a few extra minutes.
“And after that, how long until the next wave?”
Jinwoo asked, eyes fixed forward.
“In twenty-six minutes, four thousand from the Seoul Forest side…… They’ll reach the fountain in seventeen minutes and then head east.”
Yubin answered immediately. Jinwoo let out a small sigh and nodded.
“So total of fifty-five minutes. Once that passes, we can head out too.”
By then, the enemy helicopters would be hitting their combat radius limit and would have no choice but to return to base. The twenty-six minutes when the zombies would be absent from the area was what they needed to watch most carefully, but fortunately, the enemy no longer had any usable infantry left. And if it came to enemies approaching on the ground, Jinwoo was more than willing to take them on.
Besides, the people in those helicopters still had no idea where they were hiding. They might even assume the group had been swept away by the zombies along with the other infantry. If they believed that and started to pull back…… that would be perfect.
Whump-whump-whump-whump—! Whump-whump-whump-whump—!
While listening to the helicopters circling back and forth and enduring the stench for over ten minutes, a dark silhouette slowly approached from the direction of the entrance ramp.
Grrrk—! Grrrrrr……
A small group of zombies that had broken off from the main horde was shambling into the underpass. It was impossible to know exactly why they hadn’t simply followed the designated path.
They might have gotten close to Jabeolle by chance and sensed the living humans hiding inside, or it could be the usual pattern where some zombies split off from the pack to spread into empty spaces.
“……Everyone stay completely quiet.”
Jinwoo whispered, lowering his voice as much as possible. He hoped the zombies would simply turn around and leave. But they showed no sign of stopping or changing direction.
“How many?”
The Sheriff, who had clamped a hand over the Witch’s mouth in case she panicked, asked quietly. In his current position with her on top of him, he couldn’t see past the pile of corpses.
“Thir…… twelve, no, thirteen.”
Jinwoo answered, narrowing his eyes as he stared at the zombies. Thirteen zombies by themselves weren’t particularly frightening, but right now their constraints were too severe.
They didn’t want to fire guns and reveal their position…… and they had no idea how many zombies were still left on the promenade outside. If these things started roaring and drew in hundreds more…… their entire underpass evacuation plan would end in complete failure.
Step—! Step—!
Even as they spoke, the thirteen problem zombies drew steadily closer. The regular, slow, multiple footsteps sounded to Yubin’s group like the background music of a horror movie—utterly terrifying. The distance between them was now less than ten meters. No matter how risky, they had no choice but to make a decision.
“One, two, three, four, five, six……”
Yubin, who had been muttering numbers under his breath so quietly they were almost inaudible, placed a hand on Mingu’s beside him and whispered.
“It’s been twelve minutes.”
It meant the time for the zombies to have passed had come. Of course, that was only on paper—variables existed, so they had no way of knowing the exact situation below the promenade. Even so, it was time to fight.
Shing—!
Understanding Yubin’s meaning, Mingu drew his machete from his bag and stood up. Then, like lightning, he stepped on the pile of corpses and leaped toward the zombies.
“Catch, YB!”
The Sheriff shoved the Witch hard toward Yubin, then sprang up like a coiled spring. Even carrying the firearm bag and a backpack while holding his sledgehammer, his movements were impossibly fast and light, as if the weight were no hindrance at all.
“Hiiik…… mmph!”
The Witch, suddenly abandoned, looked ready to scream, but Yubin quickly covered her mouth and gripped her shoulder. They had all fought with everything they had to get this far. He couldn’t let this woman ruin everything now.
Thud—!
Mingu channeled his falling momentum straight into the machete, slamming it down onto the crown of the lead zombie’s head.
Crunch—!
The zombie’s skull split deeply with a single blow. It couldn’t even let out a small cry before collapsing limply.
Crack—!
Mingu kicked the creature’s chest, twisted the machete free, spun his body, and slashed the second zombie’s nape with his kukri.
Slice—!
The kukri also grazed the second zombie’s hamstrings and ankles, severing all the tendons. The creature staggered and toppled forward.
Thump—!
Mingu lightly sidestepped the falling body and drove the thick machete blade once more into the exposed wound on the back of its neck.
Crack—!
The short, low sound alone was enough to tell that its cervical vertebrae had been completely severed. Mingu lifted the machete in reverse and smashed the third zombie’s jaw.
Clack—!
The zombie’s shattered jawbone caused its head to snap backward, exposing its throat completely.
Spin—!
Mingu flipped the kukri once in the air so the curved blade faced outward and swung his left arm in a wide arc.
Slash—! Slice—! Slice—!
In less than a single second, three cutting attacks landed in almost the same spot. A wide swing, a pull, then another wide swing…… The zombie, its neck bones and nerves completely severed, collapsed forward in the exact posture it had been in with its hands raised.
Thump—!
The moment the third zombie’s head—barely attached by muscle—hit the floor facing the opposite direction from its body, Mingu was already driving his machete forcefully into the fourth zombie’s open maw.
Crunch—! Crack—!
The machete’s tip, having sliced through the remaining scattered teeth and tongue, slowly rotated until it reached the creature’s lower jaw joint.
Graaaah—!
Right beside him, another zombie was charging with its mouth wide open toward Mingu’s shoulder, but Mingu showed not the slightest sign of worry. He knew exactly who was guarding his back.
Whoooosh—!
The Sheriff’s swung sledgehammer tore through the foul-smelling air and smashed straight into the head of the zombie trying to bite Mingu’s shoulder.
Crack—!
The zombie, struck on the side of the head, had its neck snapped and skull shattered as it flew through the air.
Boom—!
It slammed into the central pillar before sliding weakly to the ground.
Whoooosh—!
The Sheriff rotated his hammer horizontally again, then brought it down vertically onto the sixth zombie’s head. Immediately after, he delivered a ferocious side kick into the seventh zombie’s ribs. Meanwhile, Mingu had already severed the fourth zombie’s jawbone and cut the eighth zombie’s ankle.
Graaaaah—!
The zombies howling from behind charged at both Mingu and the Sheriff. But neither of the two showed any panic. As if they had rehearsed it beforehand, the Sheriff and Mingu used the central pillar between them, protecting each other while calmly dismantling the zombies.
Crunch—! Clang—! Slice—!
The sounds of the sledgehammer, machete, and kukri mercilessly smashing and severing zombie bodies echoed quietly. Objectively they were quite loud impacts, but in an environment where helicopters were flying just a few dozen meters overhead, the noise was faint enough to be mistaken for sweeping sounds.
Regardless, the way the two of them flowed through the encirclement of zombies, constantly deflecting and countering attacks while steadily reducing their numbers…… could only be described as beautiful. Even in this pitch-black, enclosed space where they could barely see a few meters ahead, the Sheriff and Mingu moved as lightly as if they felt no resistance at all.
“Ughhh—! Ugh—! Haa…… haa……! Haa……!”
The Witch, who had been convulsing and twisting her whole body when first thrown onto the pile of zombie corpses, gradually became entranced by the fantastical fight Mingu and the Sheriff were putting on. Her breathing, which had finally stabilized, became steady, and the violent trembling in her limbs slowly subsided.
“……What the hell? Those guys? How can they……?”
The Witch, who had pushed away Yubin’s hand that had been clamped over her mouth, asked in a tone full of awe. Instead of answering her, Yubin glanced behind them. With one less thing to worry about, he needed to pay attention elsewhere too.
“……Whoa, wonderful! Amazing. Wow……!”
Having witnessed the thirteen zombies that had seemed impossible to handle all turn into corpses in less than a minute, the Witch poured out praise like a madwoman.
“Huu……! Huu……!”
The Sheriff, who had just caved in the last zombie’s temple, wiped the brain matter off his sledgehammer onto the floor and looked back at Jinwoo.
“We…… didn’t get spotted by the helicopters outside, right?”
“I don’t know……”
Jinwoo shook his head. Of course the chance of that much noise reaching outside was close to zero, but if the helicopters overhead had been watching those zombies, there was plenty of room for suspicion. Thirteen of them had gone into the tunnel…… and not a single one had come back out.
“They didn’t come down this way to check either.”
Yubin, who had been watching the rear, said. The fact that they hadn’t seen any helicopters through the rear exit of the underpass meant the enemy hadn’t been able to observe inside either. Of course, even if they had, all they would have seen was an enormous pile of zombie corpses.
Whump-whump-whump-whump—!
Every time the helicopter rotors grew louder, Yubin’s group had to swallow the fear that made their hearts drop and steady their breathing.
After another twenty minutes or so had passed like that, they finally realized the hated sound of the rotors was no longer audible. Yubin, who had been listening intently toward the outside, wiped the sweat pouring down his face and spoke.
“Looks like they’re gone……”