Walking Daddy

“No, no, no!”

There was no use crying over spilled milk. There was no turning back. Alyosha clenched his fists and trembled; then punched the floor with all his might. He swore in Russian and blamed himself for his foolish judgment.

Ji-Eun looked at Tommy and Alyosha blankly for a bit. But then she turned to the front and spread her ten fingers wide.

The gunshots were getting closer, and the screams of soldiers echoed throughout the building. A moment later, the commander reached the stairs that connected the first and second floors. He was covered in zombie blood, and was making his way down, his face a mask of terror. A zombie jumped down from the second floor and crushed him from above.

“GAAA!!!”

His scream echoed through the building lobby. Even the soldiers, who had all been full of confidence, hadn’t lasted a minute against the crazy, frenzied zombies.

It was complete annihilation.

Ji-Eun swiveled her head continuously as she looked back and forth between the zombies and Alyosha. She frowned hard, scrunching up her features and causing her face to wrinkle severely. Steam rose from her body as her ten fingers began to elongate and sharpen.

Ji-Eun rushed toward the zombies, her expression more frenzied than the mad zombies themselves.

* * *

When I finished escorting the survivors of Daegu safely to the airport, I headed straight for Innovation City with my stage-one mutants. I knew something had happened at Ansim Station, since I knew where my underlings were located through my mind.

Ji-Eun, who’d been at Ansim Station, was now at the Korea Brain Research Institute, and she had sent me a signal that they had encountered zombies. Even though I’d told the Russians to wait, it seemed like they’d taken matters into their own hands and went ahead to the Brain Research Institute.

Time wasn’t on my side.

The frenzied zombies weren’t zombies that the armed Russian personnel could handle. It was impossible to take care of them with guns and knives; burning them would be the surest way to get rid of them.

I ran non-stop and finally reached the Brain Research Institute. Screams and gunfire filled my eardrums and echoed through the air. All this ruckus would surely draw the street zombies.

“You guys, secure the entrance.”

KIAAA!

I stationed ten stage-one mutants at the entrance of Building A and went into the research center right away. When I got inside, I saw Ji-Eun slaughtering zombies. Her flexible body bent this way and that as she slashed her way through them with her fingers as if she was dancing.

She wasn’t just cutting their heads off; she was chopping up their entire bodies. It seemed like she had realized that they didn’t die even when their heads were cut off.

I looked away from Ji-Eun and saw Alyosha and Tommy next to her. Tommy was already on the floor, still as a stone, while Alyosha was looking up blankly. I hurried over to Alyosha.

"What happened? Why is Tommy like this?”

“Он потерял сознание (He passed out).”

I had no clue what he was saying. Without Tommy, there was no way I’d be able to communicate with him or the other Russians.

Alyosha continued to mutter in Russian that I couldn\'t understand. He was acting as if his soul had left his body. I clicked my tongue vigorously and checked on Tommy. His shirt was soaked with zombie blood, but I didn’t see any bite marks. It seemed like he’d just fainted.

I carried Tommy on my back and headed toward the entrance of Building A. No matter how vicious and frantic the frenzied zombies were, they were no match for Ji-Eun.

I knew I had to take Tommy and Alyosha back to the airport while Ji-Eun bought me time, but the moment I tried to leave via the entrance, one of the stage-one mutants at the entrance sent me a signal.

- Enemy detected.

Just as I had expected, the street zombies had come to the institution. Earlier, I’d been able to clear out streets that connected Ansim Station and Innovation City, but not the other streets. I kept receiving signals, and realized that there were hundreds, even thousands of zombies flooding in from the government offices across the street like a tide.

The gunshots had set off the silent city, the noise echoing endlessly throughout the city.

I knew that I wouldn’t be able to protect Tommy and Alyosha if I got surrounded by the zombies outside. I figured it would be better to clean up the zombies inside the laboratory and keep the two somewhere safe until the situation outside cleared up.

I frowned and headed to the researcher\'s rest area that I had seen earlier. There were two cots there, so I laid Tommy on one of them and spoke to Alyosha.

"Stay here."

“Почему? (Why? What?)”

I then spoke in English, hoping that he’d understand.

“Stay! Wait!”

Alyosha nodded vigorously. Apparently, he understood my poor English. I left the rest area, my blue eyes flashing. I accelerated my blood flow and rushed toward the frenzied zombies.

* * *

Lee Jeong-Uk and Hwang Ji-Hye were processing Yoon Jeong-Ho and his people to let them join the Survivor Rally Organization. In the meantime, Park Gi-Cheol and Lee Jeong-Hyuk were helping the airline employees to inspect the aircraft. As Park Gi-Cheol conversed with the airline employees, though, he began to frown.

Park Gi-Cheol looked around as if looking for someone. Once he saw Kim Hyeong-Jun on the roof, he shouted out his name.

“Hyeong-Jun! You should come down here and see this!”

Kim Hyeong-Jun jumped down without saying a word.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“We have a problem. They’re saying we’re short on jet fuel.”

"Huh? Didn’t fuel them up fully back at Gimpo Airport?"

“I guess there wasn’t that much fuel at Gimpo Airport. They said they filled every plane evenly so that all of them could make it to Daegu Airport.”

“Hmm… Then what should we do? Does that mean we can’t go to Jeju Island?”

It seemed like they barely had enough fuel to make it to Jeju Island.

Kim Hyeong-Jun scratched his head, his expression growing troubled. He ran over to Lee Jeong-Uk, who was a distance away.

“Mr. Lee Jeong-Uk.”

Lee Jeong-Uk stopped midway through Yoon Jeong-Ho’s physical examination and turned around.

"Is something going on?"

“Gi-Cheol ahjussi said we’re low on jet fuel.”

“Jet fuel?”

Lee Jeong-Uk raised his eyebrows and looked out at the planes on the runway. He didn’t know how to react. They had already made the decision and moved the planes onto the runway. He couldn’t believe that jet fuel would be the thing that was holding them back.

Lee Jeong-Uk scratched his forehead, a troubled look on his face. Yoon Jeong-Ho, who had been involuntarily eavesdropping, spoke up cautiously.

"Umm… If you’re talking about jet fuel, I know a way to get some.”

“Where?”

“There’s a fueling station past Bangchon Station.”

The moment Lee Jeong-Uk heard the words ‘fueling station’, he gave a small exclamation and looked over at Kim Hyeong-Jun. Then Kim Hyeong-Jun turned to Yoon Jeong-Ho.

“Is Bangchon far from here?” he asked.

“It\'s nearby. Do you want me to guide you?” answer Yoon Jeong-Ho excitedly.

Kim Hyeong-Jun smirked.

“Sounds good. Doing something for the Survivor Rally Organization right after you join.”

Yoon Jeong-Ho smiled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck.

“I need to help somehow too.”

Lee Jeong-Uk nodded and spoke up.

“Then, Mr. Kim Hyeong-Jun, please decide on who will accompany you to the fueling station. I still have to process more people.”

There was a long line of survivors waiting in front of Lee Jeong-Uk to finish their induction into the organization. Kim Hyeong-Jun nodded and ran over to Do Han-Sol. He explained the situation to him. Do Han-Sol titled his head.

“Should I go?” he asked.

“No, I’ll go. I\'ll leave one of my stage-one mutants here just in case.”

“Got it. Please be careful.”

Do Han-Sol nodded happily. Kim Hyeong-Jun went around to find members that he could take to the fueling station.

After a while, Park Gi-Cheol, Yoon Jeong-Ho, and the airline staff were all gathered together. The airline staff had joined them, since the other three didn’t know exactly what kind of fuel the planes used. One thing that bothered Kim Hyeong-Jun was that they couldn’t move underground, since Mood-Swinger had to carry around the large fuel tank.

He knew that the march over to the fueling station would carry a small risk, but he wasn’t too worried because he had nine stage-one mutants and Mood Swinger with him.

“Everyone, protect the survivors at all costs.”

KIAAA!

The nine stage-one mutants surrounded Park Gi-Cheol, Yoon Jeong-Ho, and the airline staff. Kim Hyeong-Jun heightened his senses and spoke to the ones gathered behind him.

“Now that we’ve had a good rest, let’s get to work. Everyone, stay alert and keep up.”

“Got it!”

Kim Hyeong-Jun let out a breath and stepped into the outside world. The streets were filled with one-storey buildings standing right next to one another. He started walking, focusing his concentration on his hearing and vision as he walked thirty meters in front of the group.

He led the group safely to their destination. Whenever he saw a zombie, he handled them before the survivors needed to do anything. Yoon Jeong-Ho, amazed at what was happening in front of his eyes, turned to Park Gi-Cheol.

“Did you folks do this often?” he asked softly.

“It used to be our daily routine.”

“Aren’t you scared…?”

Park Gi-Cheol burst out laughing.

“I am. How could I not be?” he replied. “But still, I had to survive, and this was the only way to do so. After all, it wasn’t like I had a choice.”

Hearing his answer, Yoon Jeong-Ho nodded with a serious expression, then spoke with his eyes full of passion, as if he had made up his mind.

“All my respect goes out to you and everyone else here. Please help me to learn your ways from now on.”

“What do you mean by respect? If your colleagues are reliable, you just want to try harder, that’s all.”

“...”

Park Gi-Cheol gestured toward Kim Hyeong-Jun with his chin.

“Just look at him. He’s definitely someone you can rely on.”

Kim Hyeong-Jun was moving forward with purpose as he cleaned up the zombies in front of him. As Yoon Jeong-Ho watched him leading the way, he began to feel an unknown sense of relief and confidence. It was the first time he had realized that he could feel comfortable just by watching someone do what they do.

Yoon Jeong-Ho looked over at Park Gi-Cheol.

“That person in front… May I ask what his name is?” he asked.

“Hyeong-Jun. Kim Hyeong-Jun.”

“What kind of relationship does he have with Mr. Lee Hyun-Deok? He also seems to have blue eyes.”

“What do you mean? They’re colleagues.”

“Have they ever fought over the leadership position? They both seem extremely strong.”

Park Gi-Cheol’s eyes twitched when he heard Yoon Jeong-Ho’s question. Noticing Park Gi-Cheol’s reaction, Yoon Jeong-Ho quickly apologized, afraid that he had asked something inappropriate.

"My apologies. I think I just said something I shouldn’t have again.”

"No, it’s alright. It’s just that… I’ve never thought about that. I was just surprised that you would ask something like that.”

“Oh…”

“Why would they think about that when they don’t even know if they would be able to survive to see tomorrow? I mean, why would they fight when they know that we can’t live without each other? Don’t you think so?”

Yoon Jeong-Ho nodded continuously at his answer and exclaimed in admiration, as if he had gained some sort of enlightenment. Kim Hyeong-Jun, who was in front, looked back.

“Gi-Cheol ahjussi, you’re not allowed to chit-chat like that,” he shouted. “The zombies are going to come if you talk like that!”

“Hyeong-Jun, your voice is louder than mine!!”

Park Gi-Cheol smiled heartily and put an index finger to his lips. Yoon Jeong-Ho couldn’t help but smile at Park Gi-Cheol’s cheerful, playful mood. He couldn’t help but think how lucky he was to have joined the Survivor Rally Organization. It had been such a long time since he could smile so genuinely, even his facial muscles felt awkward doing so.

After walking for a while, Yoon Jeong-Ho finally began to see the silhouette of the fueling station. He called Kim Hyeong-Jun and pointed toward the fueling station. Kim Hyeong-Jun signaled the others to stay put, then went inside the complex to check on its condition.

Bang!

Just as Kim Hyeong-Jun disappeared from their view, a gunshot rang through the air.

The gunshot had come from the fueling station.

Park Gi-Cheol, Yoon Jeong-Ho, and the airline staff all crouched down at the sudden gunshot. Park Gi-Cheol’s eyes widened as he looked at the fueling station. He seemed to sense something fishy, and grabbed Yoon Jeong-Ho by his collar with eyes full of rage.

“You! You didn’t say there were people here.”

"Pardon? I, I didn’t know either. Trust me.”

“Are you sure you didn’t lure us into some kind of trap?”

“Why would I do that? Do you think I’m crazy? Stop being ridiculous! It’s not like I don’t know what Mr. Kim Hyeong-Jun and Mr. Lee Hyun-Deok are capable of!”

Yoon Jeong-Ho made a puzzled face and waved his hand vigorously, trying his best to prove his innocence.

Park Gi-Cheol looked into his eyes for a while, then let go of his collar and clicked his tongue vigorously. He could tell that the other man wasn’t lying. Instead, his eyes were full of bewilderment. This meant that other survivors had taken over the fueling station.

After a moment, they heard a man’s voice coming from the fueling station.

"Hey! Since I killed this bastard, tonight\'s prize is mine, right?”

“What are you talking about, bitch? I found it, so it\'s mine.”

Two men walked out of the complex, exchanging curse words. As soon as they came out, they stuck cigarettes in their mouths, puffed out smoke, and started talking in a vulgar manner.

Yoon Jeong-Ho took a look at their faces and covered his mouth with his hands. Park Gi-Cheol noticed his unusual behavior right away.

“Do you know them?” he asked.

“It’s those bastards. How are those bastards… How are they alive?”

As Yoon Jeong-Ho became more and more flustered, Park Gi-Cheol tried his best to calm him down.

“Take a deep breath,” he said. “Calm down and tell me who they are.”

“They’re soldiers. The soldiers who defended Daegu.”