Chapter 115
“Follow me,” said Do Han-Sol in a low voice. “There’s something you should see.”
I swallowed and followed Do Han-Sol.
The moment I walked around the school and saw the field with my own eyes, my jaw dropped to the ground.
There were corpses hanging from every window of the school building. They were strung up on long ropes, swaying in the wind. They’d been left hanging, as if somebody had left them there on purpose for others to see. I wet my lips and looked at Do Han-Sol.
“Those aren’t…”
"Huh?"
“Those aren’t… zombies being hung outside…”
"No, they’re not zombies. Nor were they corpses.”
Their appearances… I couldn’t put them into words.
Their tongues, drooping out of their mouths, along with their eyes, which had rolled back into their heads. The only possible explanation for this was for the people to have been tied up and thrown out of the windows while they’d still been alive.
I furrowed my brow and clenched my fists.
Who in the world…?
Who in the world had done such an insane thing, something even an animal would not have done?
Do Han-Sol nodded and signaled me to follow him.
I didn’t want to think there was more than just this. I didn’t want to believe that there were more horrific sights for me to see.
I let out a deep breath and followed Do Han-Sol.
We headed to the roof of the building on the right, where I could see all of Gwangjang Intersection at a glance. Do Han-Sol pointed at the middle of the intersection.
"Take a look for yourself."
I saw survivors gathered in the middle of the cross junction. There was something covered in black in the midst of the survivors, which I assumed was some sort of object at first. But after taking a closer look, I realized that it was a person. He was in the middle of the crowd, proclaiming something to them.
“Everyone has to prove their faith. We must dispel the wrath of God!”
He was preaching to the crowd with his fists clenched. After a moment, two men tied up in rope were dragged out.
The two of them were impossibly skinny, and their ribs were protruding out from their bodies. They had pale faces and cleanly shaved heads. Their eyes were full of fear as they looked around at the crowd.
The man clad in black pointed to the bound men and cried out,
“The men in front of you tried to defy God and leave this place! Their sins against God are grave. How do you think we should wash away the dirty sin of heresy from their bodies?”
“Kill them!”
“Hang them!”
“They must die for their sins!”
The man in the center calmed the crowd and continued with his speech.
“Yes, you are right! They deserve death! Shouldn't we dispel God's wrath?”
“YES!!” replied the crowd in one voice.
The preacher nodded excitedly.
“Let us kill the heretics. Any further betrayals will lead all of us to death! Every single one of you must fear the wrath of God!”
“YES!!!”
The preaching man nodded enthusiastically and kicked the men who had been tied up. After that, several men who appeared to be guards dragged the bound men away, like pigs being dragged to a slaughterhouse.
When the preacher tried to leave the stage, a woman in the crowd of survivors around him spoke up.
“Dear sir!”
As the woman moved forward, the preacher put his hands behind his back.
"Is there a question?"
“The daily bread that we offer up to God is getting smaller and smaller. Could God's wrath have something to do with the food?”
The preacher quietly rubbed his chin as he considered the woman’s question. A moment later, he seemed to find an answer.
“Good question. God had accepted us with a generous heart. He accepted us foul beings as his children and gave us a new life.”
As the man went back up to the podium, the survivors put their hands together and shouted, “So it shall be!”
The man spread his arms and continued to speak.
“As children of God, we must continuously offer up our daily bread to God, who has accepted us with a generous heart. Isn’t that right?"
"Absolutely!"
“What is the difference between us and the daily bread we offer up?”
When the leader on the podium asked, the woman who had asked the question earlier answered in a powerful voice,
“God accepted us as his children, and gave us his food as well. He is also watching over us, to save us from this troubled world!”
“Yes, yes, you’re absolutely correct. And that is God's will. In order to be loved by God who takes care of us, we must offer Him food as well. Am I wrong?”
“You’re absolutely right!”
“Dear Sir, you’re absolutely right!”
“So it shall be!” answered the survivors in unison, placing their palms together as they did so.
I watched them for a moment, then turned to Do Han-Sol.
“Han-Sol, what’s your opinion?”
"About?"
“These people.”
“They seem like some kind of cult.”
After hearing his answer, I rubbed my face with my palms and fell into deep thought. After a moment, I took a deep breath.
“I think they’re dogs.”
“Hmm?”
“Gwangjang-dong was cut off from the outside because of the presence of the Family in Jayang-dong and Guui-dong. There’s absolutely no reason for the gang members to leave Gwangjang-dong alone.”
"Oh… You do have a point.”
“Perhaps their hideout, their base, might be Gwangjang-dong.”
"Huh?”
"Think about it. Looking at the world from their perspective… The world was turned upside down, and there are zombies swarming in Guui-dong and Jayang-dong. What choice do you think they would have, cut off from the outside world, with less and less food to eat, and more zombies roaming around?”
Do Han-Sol considered my question for a moment. After a little while, he offered an answer.
“You’re saying that those people had no choice but to become dogs?”
“If they don’t join up with the dogs, they would only end up becoming one of those ‘daily breads’ that they keep on mentioning.”
"Then… What do you think about the corpses hanging on the wall earlier?”
“They called the two bound men heretics. Those two had been trying to escape this place.”
“Are you saying that they’ve been publicly executing heretics?”
“It’s a perfect way to display power. The fact that they leave the dead bodies hanging on the border of Gwangjang-dong really bothers me as well. What would be the first thing that comes to your mind if you saw bodies like that while you tried to escape from here?”
“Fear… Right?”
“I bet they’re trying to use fear to erase any desire of the people here to escape. I mean, I can’t seem to think of any other explanation for this situation.”
Do Han-Sol rubbed his chin quietly, momentarily lost in thought. He kept scratching his sideburns as though trying his best to find any other explanation.
"So… What do we do now?”
“Well, there’s no need to let these dogs live. They’re humans that eat human flesh.”
“Are you going to kill them all?”
“How else will we be able to pass through unless we kill them all? In their eyes, our family is just prey.”
Do Han-Sol frowned and bit his lower lip. I wondered if his reluctance stemmed from the idea of having to kill humans. I looked directly into his eyes.
“When you have to get it done, don’t hesitate. Just remember that your hesitation will kill your family.”
“Got it…”
Just as I was about to get up, Do Han-Sol grabbed onto my shirt. I looked at him, and he smacked his lips and spoke up.
“Mr. Lee Hyeon-Deok.”
"What."
“The two men that were dragged off earlier… Do you think we can save them?”
“Have you even been paying attention to…”
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
Do Han-Sol cut me off midway. When I tilted my head and looked at him, Do Han-Sol took a deep breath and spoke up.
“They were trying to get out of this place. I think they’ll cooperate if we rescue them. Perhaps we’ll be able to get some information about how the dogs are scattered around Gwangjang-dong, and whether or not they’re armed.”
“...”
I slowly considered Do Han-Sol’s proposal. After thinking it through, I realized that his plan had merit. Obtaining information from the two captives would be much safer than just barging in unaware.
I walked over to the rooftop railing and looked around for the men who had been dragged off. Four men were dragging them toward the middle school located near the border of Gwangjang-dong.
If they were being led to the middle school… That meant that they were going to die.
Do Han-Sol came up next to me.
“I think it’d be best to ambush them the moment they enter the middle school.”
“Okay.”
We descended to the first floor of the building and shadowed them.
A little later, the party walked through the main gate of the middle school, crossed the field and entered the first floor of the building.
Do Han-Sol and I jumped up to the third floor of the building, waiting for them to come up. After a while, they finally made it to the third floor. We dealt with the four guards in an instant.
The two bound men gasped as they watched the guards being taken down, then tried to make their way down the stairs. I grabbed onto the rope that was tying them together, causing them to fall backward at the same time. They began to stammer in fear.
“Spa… spare… spare us!”
"Calm down."
"We’re sorry. Spare us!"
They stared at me, confusion and panic written all over their faces. I sighed and let go of the rope. The two of them got up awkwardly and looked at me carefully. They couldn’t run away, nor did they seem to want to get closer.
I looked them straight in the eyes and spoke up.
“We’ll spare you if you cooperate with us.”
“Huh…?”
“Tell us what happened here in detail.”
The two bound men exchanged confused looks. I knew it would be difficult for them to understand what was happening. I waited patiently for the two of them to calm down.
After a while, the man on the left—the shorter one—spoke up.
“Ex… Explain what happened here… What do you mean by that?”
“Was my question difficult to understand? Just explain what happened in Gwangjang-dong.”
“Pardon…?”
“The cult outside. Are they dogs?”
The moment the word ‘dog’ came out from my mouth, the man’s eyes went wide, and his mouth began to open and close like a goldfish. The man on the right spoke up instead.
"They're just crazy bastards. What else would they be?"
"Didn’t I ask you to explain in detail?”
“...”
The man on the right furrowed his brow. The man on the left gave a surprised start and elbowed the man on the right in the side. The two of them exchanged several whispers, before one of them spoke out loud.
"So you’re saying… You’re saying you’ll let us go if we explain what happened here?”
"That's right."
“And you’re…. You’re not part of the Family?”
“Since you know what the Family is, I’m assuming you're a dog?”
“Technically speaking… Yes, we are.”
The man on the left nodded in agreement. On the other hand, the man on the right smacked his lips and gave us a look of annoyance. Do Han-Sol seemed to be bothered by him, so he walked right up to him with a frown.
“Great attitude toward somebody that just saved your butt… Don’t you think you’re being a bit rude?”
“Savior my ass. You came here to scout this place out, didn’t you?”
The man punctuated his statement with a snort, causing Do Han-Sol’s eyes to widen further.
“This bastard…”
The moment Do Han-Sol clenched his fists, I raised my voice.
"Stop!!"
As my voice echoed through the hallway, Do Han-Sol gnashed his teeth and backed down. I then sat down on the stairs.
“Do we look like we’re part of the Family?” I asked the men.
“What else could you be?”
The man on the right looked at me with a rather condescending face.
I sighed and opened my mouth.
“We’re part of the Survivor Rally Organization.”
"Survivor… What?"
“Think of us as the ones going after the Family.”
“...”
The man on the right seemed to hesitate after hearing my words. On the other hand, the man on the left spoke up quickly, now that he’d heard that there was a force opposing the Family.
"So you're saying that there are other zombies that are capable of rational thought besides those from the Family?"
“Currently, we’re the only ones.”
“Then, how did you get past Guui-dong and Jayang-dong?”
“If you’re talking about the dong leader, I killed it.”
"Pardon?"
The man’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped to the ground. I got up and cut the rope that tied the two of them together. The two men looked at me with bewildered faces. I sighed deeply.
“Explain what happened here."
The two men looked at each other, uncertain whether or not to share what they knew, but when they looked back at me, their expressions had changed from earlier on. For some reason, it seemed like they had a sense of expectation.
The man on the left swallowed and spoke up.
“It’s a long story. I’m not even sure where to start…”
“It’s okay, we have a lot of time.”
“...”
The man on the left took a deep breath and began.
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