Chapter 45
‘It’s not as safe as Shelter Seoul Forest, but until several months ago, there were more than one hundred and twenty survivors living there.’
‘What happened there?’
‘They were attacked by the gang. To be precise, they were bitten by some ‘dogs’.’
‘Did you say ‘dogs’?’
I had no clue what he meant by ‘dogs’.
As I twitched my eyebrows, Kim Hyeong-Jun let out a snort and continued.
‘I’ve never explained anything about ‘dogs’, have I?’
‘Is that also a gang name?’
‘They’re people that worship the gang. Most of them had ties to criminal organizations.’
‘I had a feeling those kinds of people would come out sooner or later.’
I frowned, and Kim Hyeong-Jun nodded.
‘Many who weren’t criminals before have become ‘dogs’ as well. After all, there’s less to eat, and you can’t even roam around freely. Eventually, even regular people joined up with the ‘dogs’.’
‘Then how did the ‘dogs’ and gang members come together? They must’ve had something in common for the ‘dogs’ to worship the gang members.’
‘That, I’m not too sure of myself. There are a bunch of rumors though. Some say the head of the ‘dogs’ and the head of the gang members were actually from the same family. Some say the two were friends.’
I spat on the floor after hearing what Kim Hyeong-Jun had said. At that moment, I recalled what Mr. Kwak had told me. Mr. Kwak said the people who joined them from the middle school had sabotaged the system that had been in place in the elementary school, and caused it to crumble from the inside out. It was possible that these individuals were ‘dogs’.
They could have snuck into the shelter pretending to be survivors, and then leaked information about the shelter to the gang members. Also, Mr. Kwak mentioned that, when the elementary school had come under attack by the zombies, all of the people from the middle school had gone into hiding inside the school gym, as if they had already known that zombies would be coming.
Survivors could not distinguish street zombies from those controlled by gang members. The ones under the gang’s control looked red to me, but to the survivors, they were no different than the street zombies. If these ‘dogs’ sabotaged shelters from the inside while the gang members attacked from the outside, not many shelters would be able to survive such an onslaught. I ground my teeth.
‘They’re worse than animals.’
People who were very much alive, worshiping zombies? And offering live humans as sacrifices? How could anyone do such a thing without being insane?
These ‘dogs’ were no different from animals. They were like wolves in sheep’s clothing.
No, in fact, they were worse. They were devils.
As my face hardened, Kim Hyeong-Jun nudged my elbow.
‘Why do you think ‘dogs’ are called ‘dogs’?’
‘Why?’
‘They also eat human flesh.’
I shut my eyes tightly to keep the anger within me. I wanted to get rid of every single one of these ‘dogs’. They were worse than zombies. In these trying times, when banding together to survive might not be enough, they were clinging to their dear lives by sacrificing others.
My face darkened. Kim Hyeong-Jun’s face took on a sad expression.
‘Hanyang University fell because of the ‘dogs’.’
‘Why did they use the ‘dogs’ to attack? They could’ve just attacked the place themselves.’
‘They didn’t want to suffer too much damage. The ‘dogs’ cause internal divisions. And then the gang members come to administer the finishing blow.’
I should’ve known better before asking my question. What should I have expected from them? I couldn’t believe I was right. I hammered my fist into the ground as hard as I could.
Thud.
I couldn’t help it. I had to hit something to release my anger. Kim Hyeong-Jun looked at me, then looked around.
‘Ahjussi, I get it. I know you’re angry, but don’t draw them to Seoul Forest. It’ll just put me in trouble.’
‘Oh, I’m sorry.’
‘The same thing happened here in Seoul Forest. We got into trouble a couple of times because of the ‘dogs’.’
‘How’d you make it through?’
‘We have guns.’
‘Guns?’
My jaw dropped to the ground.
I was pretty sure he’d just said ‘guns’.
I couldn’t believe what he was saying. I smacked my lower lips.
‘Isn’t having guns more dangerous? Won’t the ‘dogs’ have a chance of taking away your guns?’
‘The officers at Shelter Seoul Forest take care of the guns so the ‘dogs’ can’t get their hands on them no matter what. In fact, they don’t even know where the guns are stored.’
‘Where’d you even get guns in the first place?’
‘Well, it’s not like there aren’t any military bases in Seoul, right?’
Was he referring to the Capital Defense Command? I might have suspected such a thing after no rescue teams came, but I had no clue that survivors could have gotten hold of the guns. I looked at Kim Hyeong-Jun in disbelief, and he let out a chuckle.
‘That’s why I came running. Just in case you went into Seoul Forest and got yourself shot.’
‘I thought the military had run into some sort of problem, which was why they couldn’t come to save everyone. But I never expected that they would be overrun by zombies.’
‘They didn’t have a proper initial response. What’d you expect them to do when zombies came at them and they didn’t have orders to open fire?’
‘But they could've used bayonets, couldn’t they?’
‘Sure, but what if the zombies came out from the barracks? What if they didn’t have any information about what happened if they were bitten or injured by zombies? Do you think you could handle an ambush like that?’
Kim Hyeong-Jun was right about this.
It was possible that the zombies came out from the barracks, or that an injured soldier in the hospital wing turned into one and went on a rampage. They wouldn’t have been able to contain the outbreak.
It was also possible that some individuals had fired without getting the authorization to do so. However, the noise would have attracted the zombies, and without sufficient ammunition, everything would have descended into chaos in an instant.
In the army, where the chain of command was paramount, a sudden collapse of the system would have been catastrophic. It would deny them any hope of organizing properly when things went south. Not having a proper initial response prepared would have resulted in utter chaos.
Seoul, which held one-fifth of the population of Korea, had fallen into the hands of the zombies. This meant that other areas were most likely in jeopardy as well. I wondered if there was still any safe city in Korea. In fact, I wondered if there was any safe city in the world at that point.
I couldn’t be certain of anything.
My expression turned glum, and Kim Hyeong-Jun sighed.
‘This shelter holds a geographical advantage.’
I wondered what kind of advantage he was talking about. I went to the railing of the rooftop and scanned the area around Seoul Forest. The line of tall trees probably kept the zombies with sight and smell away. Jungnangcheon flowed from north to west, and the Han River blocked the south side.
Seoul Forest was in the center of all of this, so the only defenses needed were on the east side. Putting up barricades and mounting a defense there was good enough.
The only disadvantage I could think of was getting food. While defending it was easy, it also meant that people couldn’t leave freely.
I wondered if they had a food retrieving team like us. If they did, they really had to put their lives on the line. I looked at Kim Hyeong-Jun.
‘Are there boats at Shelter Seoul Forest?’
‘There are. The survivors there have come up with plans that employ boats.’
Now it made sense.
If they opened the shelter gates and let the gang members in, they could escape by boat onto the Han River. The gang members would have no chance against that.
‘They also made many plans that involved the underground tunnels. However, there are so many underground tunnels, and it seems like gang members also know their way around them.’
‘From what you’re saying, it doesn’t seem that safe anymore. I don’t understand why you’d leave your family there.’
‘Ahjussi, do you think that any shelter is safe right now? The shelters that have survived up to this point are the only safe ones.’
Kim Hyeong-Jun’s voice was calm. I could not refute his statement.
As I nodded back with my mouth closed, Kim Hyeong-Jun smacked his lips.
‘Well, that’s that. Didn’t you say you had something to tell me?’
‘Oh, yes.’
I clasped my fingers together.
‘I’ve figured out what happens when we eat people.’
‘What?’
Kim Hyeong-Jun’s eyes widened.
He quickly scooted over and looked up at me anxiously.
‘How’d you figure it out? Did you eat one, ahjussi? Did you eat a live person?’
I told him to calm down, then related what had happened at Majang-dong. He listened to my story carefully, then frowned.
‘That person… Do you think he can make it through this?’
‘He didn’t give the best first impression, being clumsy and all, but right at the end, he looked pretty confident.’
Kim Hyeong-Jun frowned and remained silent for a while.
I wondered if he considered Mr. Kwak unreliable.
Suddenly, his eyes went wide, as if he’d just realized something important.
‘Wait, ahjussi. Did you tell him about Haengdang-dong?’
‘No, there’s nothing good in telling him about it.’
‘No, no. Not about the shelter or black creatures.’
‘What about, then?’
‘Did you tell him to not come into Haengdang-dong?’
My mouth fell open. I’d first seen Mr. Kwak at Wangsimni Station. If Mr. Kwak came across one of the gang members, it was important that he didn’t speak about Wangsimni Station. If the gang got wind of the news, they would know that the black creature was no longer in Haengdang 1-dong.
I jumped to my feet, and looked at Kim Hyeong-Jun.
‘I have to get going.’
‘Right now?’
‘There’s no good in delaying this any further.’
‘Do you want me to go with you?’
‘Stay here. I’ll let you know if I need you.’
‘And how exactly do you plan on doing that?’
Instead of answering, I pointed to the two underlings that were tied to the chair.
‘If I need support, I’ll give orders to them. To look up and cry.’
‘Wait, even if your underlings cry, how in the world would I know where you are?’
‘I’ll be at OO Elementary School in Majang-dong.’
‘Geez…’
Kim Hyeong-Jun’s face darkened.
I wondered if he was nervous about me acting on my own.
I let my voice grow calm in order to assuage his fears.
‘It was just a couple of hours ago. And besides, it didn’t seem that dangerous.’
‘That’s why it’s even more dangerous. You know that the gang member could have been away when you visited earlier, right?’
‘Well…’
Kim Hyeong-Jun had a point.
On the map of Seoul I had, Majang-dong was colored orange. Considering the physical abilities of the zombie that had been in possession of the map, orange didn’t seem to be a big threat, but I had to consider the possibility that the gang member in charge of Majang-dong could’ve gotten stronger.
I mumbled something unintelligible, and Kim Hyeong-Jun let out a sigh.
‘You have to take into consideration the possibility that it’s returned. A gang member never leaves their area for more than two days.’
His words hit me differently. At that moment, I remembered what Mr. Kwak had said.
- I woke up two days ago, so I don’t know anything.
The timing was too perfect.
If it was the second day that Mr. Kwak was awake, and if a gang member didn’t leave their area for more than two days like Kim Hyeong-Jun said, then one of the gang members would surely return that day.
If the gang member was in charge of the area, it probably had good knowledge about the food situation in its area. If Mr. Kwak was caught, and the gang member noticed the extra food and water that he had, it would only be natural that they would ask him where he’d gotten it from. And the moment he mentioned Wangsimni Station, it would be a catastrophe.
I looked at Kim Hyeong-Jun.
‘Sorry for being arrogant. Let’s go together.’
‘Ahjussi, that’s what you should have said from the start.’
‘How many underlings can you bring?’
‘About half? Maybe four hundred?’
I couldn’t believe half his army was four hundred strong. It seemed like Kim Hyeong-Jun had taken care of more zombies with glowing red eyes in the time since we’d last met. I nodded and headed straight toward Majang-dong.
As I headed toward Majang-dong, I sent orders to my underlings that were at Shelter Hae-Yeong.
‘First to third platoon, fall in behind me.’
As I recruited more underlings, I organized them into platoons and squads. Each platoon had one hundred underlings, organized into four squads. I had about seven hundred and thirty underlings. Twenty underlings were on patrol, which left seven hundred and ten underlings at Shelter Hae-Yeong.
Even if I took all the underlings from the first to third platoon, there would still be four hundred and ten underlings at Shelter Hae-Yeong. If any ‘bait’ showed up at Haengdang-dong, they would still be able to take care of them easily.
I shook my head and quickened my pace. There was no time to think about ‘bait’ right now. If I held back because of my concern about ‘bait’, it could lead to bigger problems.
‘I should’ve brought him back to the shelter with me when I had the chance.’
I didn't bring Mr. Kwak back because I’d been thinking about my people and my family. Back then, I couldn’t trust him entirely. However, I had misjudged things. Even if I hadn’t brought him back, I should have explained things to him. I should have at least given him some context about the current situation in Seoul, and about the gang members. Or at least told him a little bit about Haengdang-dong.
I had been careless.
As I grew more nervous, I picked up my speed as I headed toward Majang-dong.
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