Chapter 55
It is now a well-known fact to all of humanity on Earth that the infected become active at night. So people have come to fear the night hours and hate the darkness.
However, there are times when one must move around in the dark, and today was such a case. We couldn’t infiltrate the power plant in broad daylight to rescue the people, so we had to move at night.
Still, I didn’t worry too much, because this wind power plant had an open plain on the lower level, with sheer cliffs and the ocean beside it, making it seemingly impossible for the infected to approach.
Plus, the patrol officers had actually conducted patrols and reported no anomalies, so it was natural for me to feel reassured.
Yes, I was reassured.
Until I saw an infected pass right before my eyes.
‘Shit.’
I swallowed the curse I couldn’t bring myself to say aloud, holding my breath.
The gurgling noise came close to where Shin Hae-jun was holding me. Thanks to the pitch-black darkness inside the power plant, it seemed the infected couldn’t properly detect us either.
Should I kill it?
I briefly considered it, but quickly dismissed the thought. I didn’t think there would only be a single infected inside the plant.
What if there were dozens of them here? Then wouldn’t they all come swarming if they heard a gunshot? We couldn’t possibly take them all on with just a revolver and pistol. We didn’t even bring extra ammunition.
‘But we can’t just stay like this either.’
We couldn’t remain still here. Since they had enhanced dark vision, they would eventually detect us if we stayed in the darkness too long. It was only a matter of time before we got caught.
The realization made cold sweat run down my body. It felt like death was looming right before me. My body started trembling uncontrollably. That’s when it happened.
“Lieutenant Min.”
Shin Hae-jun whispered so close to my ear that his lips almost touched it.
“On the count of three, we run.”
I didn’t know what kind of plan he had in mind, but I nodded anyway. The Shin Hae-jun I knew would never do anything wrong.
One, two…
“Three!”
Beeeeeep!
A siren sound filled the entire base. Who knows when he noticed it, but Shin Hae-jun had smashed the emergency fire bell, causing the alarm to blare. Beeeep! The deafening noise was loud enough to disorient even those with normal hearing.
———!
The infected that had been wandering in front of us suddenly raised its head and started staggering around in confusion. Just as I expected, sounds of more infected coming from all directions could be heard. Thank goodness we didn’t use any guns.
“This way!”
Shin Hae-jun grabbed my arm and ran towards the wall. I immediately understood what he intended to do. Using the momentum from him pulling me, I jumped high, and Shin Hae-jun stepped back in sync, providing a foot-hold on his shoulder to boost me up. Kwang! Grabbing the ventilation grate, I shot the screw part with my revolver, stuck my hand through to dislodge the grate and let it fall.
——!
Hearing the sound, the infected started charging towards us like maniacs. After climbing into the ventilation shaft, I quickly reached my hand out.
“General! Grab on!”
Shin Hae-jun leaped high and firmly grasped my hand. Using my other hand braced against the shaft opening, I mustered all my strength to pull him in. Due to our significant weight difference, my body kept slipping outwards, but I tightened my grip and pulled him closer. Finally, when his hand reached the ventilation entrance, I could release my tension and catch my breath.
“Hergh, hah…”
Ah, I thought I was going to die.
But if I just stay here exhausted like this, I really will die. I grabbed Shin Hae-jun’s shirt collar and pulled him further inside. ———! The infected that had barely missed grabbing his legs roared from below.
“Let’s keep moving quickly.”
“Yeah.”
Now that the ventilation entrance had been blown open, there was no guarantee the infected wouldn’t make their way through this passage. The infected were the kind that would relentlessly approach humans no matter if those in front fell or were trampled. They could knock down the ones ahead, climb over them, and then knock down more to get into the vents. So, we hurried to move forward.
“Huff, hah…”
Fortunately, the ventilation shafts in power plants are quite spacious, so Shin Hae-jun and I didn’t have much trouble crawling through. But the lack of oxygen was unavoidable. My labored breathing made my vision blur. However, I couldn’t afford to collapse here, so I clenched my jaw and kept crawling forward, forward. Before long, an intersection splitting into four directions appeared, and we immediately turned right, then left, zigzagging our path erratically. I figured this confusing route would prevent the infected from tracking us.
“I think that’s enough distance now, don’t you think?”
After crawling through the vents for over twenty minutes, the faint growls of the infected could no longer be heard, suggesting we had sufficiently shaken them off.
“Yeah, let’s take a break.”
Before he even finished speaking, I flopped down in the vent. Feeling the cold metal against my back chilled my sweat. Huff, hah, I expelled breaths, releasing the tension along with the cold sweat.
“What was that all about?”
Sitting hunched in the vent passage, Shin Hae-jun tilted his head up slightly.
“That’s what I want to ask you. Didn’t you confidently claim there would be no infected here?”
“…I’ll beat up the patrol officers when we get back.”
“Good idea.”
Shin Hae-jun let out a long exhale and dropped his head, beads of sweat rolling down his sharp jawline. Yet apart from that, he looked impeccably neat. How does he maintain such composure in such a dire situation? I’m covered in dust from head to toe, no comparison… I shook off those useless thoughts and regained my focus.
“Haahh.”
Catching my breath, I spoke up.
“If there are that many infected here, then the people inside… Should we assume they’ve all been infected?”
Shin Hae-jun slowly blinked, then nodded his head. Without realizing it, my fists clenched tightly. I couldn’t control my expression.
“Is there any chance… that some are still hiding? Those who haven’t been infected are waiting for the rescue team.”
“Did you see the infected’s clothes?”
“Pardon?”
“Their clothes.”
Shin Hae-jun let out a brief sigh before continuing.
“Except for a few, most were wearing relatively new clothes. Meaning they were recently infected.”
“…Ah.”
“Even if there are those in hiding, we can’t find them immediately. It would have to wait until tomorrow morning… No, with that many infected, even daylight would be difficult.”
My head spun. The area around my temples throbbed painfully, and I instinctively covered my eyebrows and eyes with my palm. My stomach churned with nausea.
“Lieutenant Min.”
Shin Hae-jun held me steady.
“What’s wrong? Does your head hurt? Concussion?”
He muttered as he placed a hand on my forehead, but I told him it wasn’t a concussion, just overwhelming confusion, and continued speaking.
“It was my first time.”
“First time for what?”
“Seeing someone who has conceived new life in this ruined world.”
I clenched both fists tightly. Despite my will, my hands with protruding blue veins trembled uncontrollably.
“I just…thought it was amazing. New life. In this world where dozens die when I close my eyes, and dozens more turn infected when I open them. What could be greater than that?”
I gave a bitter laugh, closing and opening my eyes, pressing my lips tightly together and then parting them repeatedly as I raised my chest.
“So, I always wished for Eunjin’s happiness.”
But it turned out like this.
“In the end, it comes to this.”
Is human happiness something we can no longer find? Must humans now only tread the path of misery? Now… we…
A sense of helplessness and despair surged, tightening my chest. My breath caught in my throat, and the inside of my neck felt hot. I felt like crying, but my body didn’t react as if I had no more tears left to shed. It was an indescribably sorrowful situation.
“Really…”
At that very moment, as I was endlessly denying the demise of humanity,
Ding, ding—!
The walkie-talkie hanging around my neck started ringing.
🕂
Thank you for reading! ♡
