Chapter 100 - The Girl Wants to Be M*rdered

**Chapter 100: Fragment 888. The Zombie and the Girl (12)** --- The overpowering scent of blood lingered in the air, accompanied by piercing sounds and an unsettling instability where finding solid ground seemed impossible. Like moths drawn to a flame, the zombies that had surrounded us suddenly rushed toward Hee Ah without the slightest pause. No. No, they can't. Please, don't. ─Smack, pop! “─Stop! Stop it, you bastards!” [“─■■■,■....­!”] Desperately, I swung my arms, trying to halt their advance. Yeon Yi and Jeong Eun, having assessed the situation, fought alongside me to block their path. Yet, the creatures, undeterred by our shouts, focused solely on Hee Ah, ignoring us completely as they closed in on her. My frail arms alone couldn’t hold back the unstoppable wave of zombies. Just like that. "No... it can't be..." By the time I managed to knock down one or two, tens of them had already bypassed me, climbing the stairs to reach Hee Ah. Soon, they reached the glass railing where Hee Ah was holding on, outside. In that moment, I prayed silently for the thick glass to protect Hee Ah's body. But it was just a railing after all. With the flood of zombies leaning against it, stretching their arms outward, the glass and the small iron supports anchoring it couldn't withstand the pressure— ─Crash! "──Ah." It shattered utterly. Like cascading snow, the fragments rained down from above. The glass shards from the railing where Hee Ah clung were sprayed into the air. "──────" And through that space, a wingless, white angel was falling. Even amid the excruciating pain of driving a sharp shard into one arm, she clung to her watch, tucked close to her heart. Even in the moment Hee Ah plummeted from that great height towards the zombies below, she looked our way and smiled. Her final words, from a distance where reaching was impossible, her lips clearly cried our names. Despite witnessing all of this in front of my own eyes, I could not act. Taking her hand, replying to her final words, comforting her in her pain— None of it was possible for me. "Ah──" As if frozen in place, my body did not move as Hee Ah fell from the air. There were only a few meters left before she would crash into the sea of zombies below, along with the countless shards of glass shattering into pieces. Time seemed to halt, and only when I bit my tongue and screamed like a madman did I manage to move my right arm. Even so, my arm wouldn't move as I wanted. I stretched it out towards the falling Hee Ah— ──Naturally, I couldn’t reach her. ** "───No!!!" Smack—!! I threw off the blanket that covered me, awakening beneath the familiar ceiling I had seen countless times before. This was a space I had grown accustomed to, such that I could picture the placement of every item even with my eyes closed. For nearly two months, it had become the place we all lived together, previously a stranger's house, now familiar. This was Hee Ah's home. "........." The setting sun painted the sky a deep red. Trying to calm my racing heart, I took some deep breaths and looked down at myself. Reflected in the evening glow, my body was drenched in sweat and some unknowable fluids. ..... Had I fallen asleep unknowingly? Yes, it must have been a dream. The notion of us being trapped at the supermarket and Hee Ah being seized by the zombies—such a dreadful, nightmarish event couldn’t possibly be real. ─Click. "──Hee Ah?" I called out her name loudly. Though I knew better than anyone else that what I recalled was nothing more than a mere dream, I was desperate to shake off this unsettling foreboding that suffocated my heart. I had to see Hee Ah. I needed to hug the girl who would greet me with a radiant smile, as always. The distinctive calendar hanging on the wall, the modestly sized room, and the family photos with Hee Ah in them suggested this was originally Hee Ah's room on the second floor. The others must be downstairs playing. Surely, Hee Ah would be with them too. Do you really believe that? .... Yes. She'll be with the others. She must be. "........" Yet, the house, usually bustling with noise, was eerily silent, giving an unsettling chill with no hint of life. Even as I convinced myself it was all just my imagination, I continued to call out Hee Ah's name in a trembling voice. However. That ominous dream had just ended, hadn’t it? "──Hee Ah, where are you?" For some reason, the nightmare engulfing me seemed as though it was just beginning. ** "Hee Ah." With a sudden jolt, I opened the other door on the second floor with a faint hope. A room empty and cluttered with scattered belongings greeted me. Hee Ah was not here. Of course not. "Hee Ah?" Creaking, I turned to slide open the door to the balcony. Only the desolate view of the familiar, ruined streets and a chair covered in dust met my eyes. Hee Ah was not here either. You saw it with your own eyes, didn't you? ─Tap, tap. "Hee Ah, stop playing." I dashed down the stairs to the living room, looking around frantically. In a place where, typically, we’d all gather and play games until dusk. "........." "........." But there, in the dimly lit room, lay only Yeon Yi and Jeong Eun, their faces gaunt and eyes vacant, staring blankly at the floor. Even though they knew I had come down, they didn't spare me a glance, their focus locked on the empty space ahead. Hee Ah wasn't there either. But honestly, didn't you already know? Aren't you just refusing to accept it? Hee Ah wasn't anywhere. Where could Hee Ah be? Outside. Yes, she must be outside. Hee Ah, right before your eyes── ─Smack. “….What is it, Jeong Eun?” "........." As I wandered around the house, calling for Hee Ah, Jeong Eun had caught my arm, halting my steps abruptly. Jeong Eun gazed at me, her eyes devoid of life, still and empty, as she held my arm. Overwhelmed by that terrible expression, I shouted. No, I pleaded. “Hey, Jeong Eun. This is strange. I can’t see Hee Ah.” "........." “Where is she? Huh? Jeong Eun, are you playing a trick on me too? I can’t find Hee Ah! Jeong Eun!!! Where is Hee Ah─!!!!” It was odd. I was merely asking Jeong Eun where Hee Ah was, yet my voice inexplicably grew louder until I was practically yelling at her. But Jeong Eun, who would have usually snapped at me for being crazy, remained silent before me, maintaining her quiet composure. At some point, I found myself, instead, kneeling before Jeong Eun, clutching her arm. No way. "Please... tell me....!" "........." Tell me this isn’t true. Just close your eyes for a moment and say it isn’t true. ".........." "Say anything you want... even if it's a lie... just tell me..." That this is all a nightmare. That you’re merely having a dream right now, please, just tell me that. I must not have fully awakened from my sleep yet. If I were, there’s no way the Jeong Eun I know, always lively and courageous, would be crying before me with such an expression. And there’s no way the bold Yeon Yi, who would get mad at us whenever Jeong Eun and I joked around on some days, would be clawing at her neck until it bled, looking terrified like that. No way. There’s no way── ..... Why is everyone looking like that? Why is everyone staring at me with faces that seem so broken? Really. At this rate, it feels like Hee Ah──── Is dead, doesn't it? Blood-red eyes. Gaps in the teeth, emitting a foul breath. Clinging to Hee Ah’s neck, arms, legs. Nails, teeth, tongues slithering over the body, three eyes, a strong grip. Long wounds, narrow wounds, deep wounds, shallow wounds. Purple bruises, broken bones, oozing blood. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts. Sister, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts.... A child's scream, unlike anything I’d heard before. Sobs, despair, pain, sound. Dragging bloodstained trails. The struggling child is being pulled away. Into the darkness the child feared, the child is being dragged. See? You witnessed it all, didn't you? "─────Uugggh!! Ugh, ugh...!!" I vomited. A reality too unimaginable to accept. A reality that took away everything from us. Hoping that it was all a dream, that this was merely a deluded fantasy recalled when bitten by a zombie on the first day of school. I expelled everything within me. Hope. Memories. Everything, I spat it out. Yet, the hard surface beneath me, that couldn't possibly be felt in a dream, the maddeningly realistic gravity pulling at me, "──Eugh... Ugh....!! Ugh!!" was choking me, holding me captive. Between air and reality, the stifling sense of disparity. I tried to forget, but it was impossible to forget entirely. ─Swish. ".........Ah." As everything came rushing back to me, I collapsed onto the pool of vomit I had expelled. And there, I lost consciousness. Day 59 since the zombie outbreak. And────on day 41. Hee Ah died. ** Ah, so this was it. I muttered to myself. Watching their every action, there was always something that puzzled me. Why would some zombies devour every bit of flesh until nothing but bones remained, only to quietly move on once it became a cold corpse? And why would others leave just minor injuries like nail or bite marks, as if their business was done, with nothing more? What was the difference between these two people? What defined the distinction between these two actions? The ultimate goal of the zombies, existing at the source of every question I’d asked. Ironically, I could understand the answer only by becoming one of them. ......... "──,───" Yes. So, this was it. ──It was merely for propagation. Or perhaps, it's more fitting to say there's no better reason than this? Species propagation. Perhaps the fundamental goal of all sentient beings, not just humans, or animals or plants, but all living organisms. They weren’t hunting humans to consume them or out of hatred. They were attacking and infecting humans who possessed the traits necessary to become a zombie for propagation. Well, maybe it’s simpler to see it as a qualifying factor for zombification. The entirety of human values gets crushed, and they seek out those fit to join the ‘zombie’ collective. Even without the trait, they simply hunt down humans who pose a potential threat to the zombie community as extras. In addition, they can create mindless zombies to serve as ‘dummies’. The state of their bodies was poor, mindlessly charging at humans—such was the stereotype of the typical zombies. They were mere decoys, lacking the genetic traits, serving as distractions from the actual threat to draw human attention and thoughts elsewhere. The real ones were those like me. It's not that they died and didn't become zombies. From the beginning, they chose and judged who to kill and who to lightly wound and let loose. Like selecting between weak chicks and robust ones. Everything was about ensuring the perpetuation of their species. To expand their 'selves.' "──,──ie." And by chance, I ended up as their target this time. Well. "ㅓ──,──n." The first thought was one of relief. Had even one among us carried the trait necessary to become a zombie, no matter what I had done, we would all eventually become targets of the zombies. Their ultimate objective was turning capable humans into zombies, after all. Well. If that had been the case, I would've risked being torn limb from limb to get them outside. Though it didn't all go as planned, the outcome turned out well, and for that I'm grateful. Grateful... Yeah. Maybe you could call it that. ─Crunch, crackle! "─ie, ─ni." Was anything crawling inside me? A strange sound, like something nibbling away at my insides, echoed repeatedly in my ears. That unsettling sensation, trying even now to burrow into my body and take control. Though I'm suppressing it with my willpower, it's still an uncomfortable feeling. The frustration grows over time, and eventually, it might consume me. But I don't want that. Even if I were to die, I don't want to roam around as a zombie harming people. I've already lived a life bothering others, but to be a nuisance even in death is just too miserable. .... Well, then. As long as I can still move my body. To live with some semblance of humanity. So, before I become completely corrupted like them. ─Crack, pop. "On──ni────" I'll try moving for the last time. ** * * *