RE: Survival - Chapter 68

Before the apocalypse, the sixth floor might have been used as a club room or a lounge for clergy. Now, the rooms were lined up one after another. Hyuk approached one of the metal doors cautiously, pressing his ear against it, but heard nothing.

Suddenly, the door creaked open. Hyuk quickly ducked behind a pillar. The person stepping out of the room was none other than the Messiah himself.

He exited the second room and entered the third. A chill ran down Hyuk’s spine, and cold sweat dripped from his hands.

Hyuk slowly moved to the end of the hallway, peering out of a window. Next to the window was a narrow ledge—not wide, but just enough to traverse.

Carefully stepping onto the ledge, Hyuk began to edge along it. The dizzying height made his head spin, and he saw a horde of zombies gathered in the alley below.

Hyuk approached the first window cautiously, peeking inside. The room was cluttered with various objects, including weapons like baseball bats wrapped in chains and other crude tools—items more fitting for gangsters than a church. The room appeared empty.

The second room contained two people: an older man and a middle-aged woman. Their eyes were covered with black cloth, and they lay motionless as though dead. Hyuk heard the door close and realized someone—likely the Messiah—had just left the room.

His lips felt dry from the tension. Quietly, he made his way to the third room. From the window, he could hear muffled cries of pain. When he looked inside, his fists clenched involuntarily.

Inside, three men were assaulting a bound and gagged woman. Her faint, pained voice escaped between their laughter. The men mercilessly violated her, trampling any shred of humanity.

Hyuk’s body trembled. The urge to storm in and take them down burned inside him. If he had a gun, he might have fired without hesitation. Even with a knife, he would have carved them apart without mercy.

But now wasn’t the time. If he acted recklessly, he could endanger not only himself but his entire team. He had to suppress his fury.

He had to endure… somehow.

Just then, the window of the room opposite opened with a scraping sound. Hyuk pressed himself flat against the outer wall. From the open window, the body of the middle-aged woman from the second room was shoved out, plummeting to the ground below.

‘Thud!’

Her body hit the ground with a sickening crunch, and the horde of zombies descended upon her. Already mangled, her corpse was torn apart even further.

Hyuk’s vision swam with rage. He felt nauseated as if bile would rise from the depths of his stomach.

Then, another figure appeared at the window. Hyuk instinctively shifted sideways, his movements almost trance-like.

But before he could get closer, the body of the older man followed, falling limply to the ground.

The window shut again. Hyuk, frozen in disbelief, crouched low and crept past the third room.

He stopped at the first room—the one filled with weapons. His mind was blank, and his only thought was that this madness had to be stopped.

Hyuk entered the first room and grabbed a baseball bat wrapped in sharp, rusted chains.

‘Bang!’ The door to the third room burst open, and Hyuk swung the bat at the nearest man. The sudden intrusion caught the men off guard. The first man fell instantly, his head caving in from the blow.

As the others reached for their weapons, Hyuk struck again, aiming at the hand of one of the men.

‘Aargh! Who the hell is this psycho?!’ the man screamed as his hand was shattered.

Without hesitation, Hyuk swung the bat at the man’s head, knocking him to the ground. Blood pooled beneath him.

Now, only one man remained. He held a knife, but its short range was no match for Hyuk’s weapon.

‘Who are you?! How did you get in here?!’ the man yelled, his voice echoing down the hallway. Hyuk panicked, realizing the commotion might draw attention. He lunged to silence him, but before he could act—

‘Thud!’ Something struck the back of Hyuk’s head. Pain exploded, and the world turned yellow before spinning into darkness. Another blow followed, and his consciousness faded.

—

‘Sizzle—’

Sweeper, standing on the edge of a broken highway, lit a cigarette with his Zippo lighter. Exhaling a cloud of smoke, he stared down at the sea of zombies below.

“Jung-hwan, take some guys and head to the gas station. Bring back plenty of gasoline and grab a tarp from the car wash.”

“Yes, sir.”

Jung-hwan responded from below the highway and headed off with two others to scavenge.

Sweeper took another drag, then asked Yohan, “What, planning to play with fire?”

“I don’t like how close these zombies are gathering,” Yohan replied, taking the gasoline Jung-hwan brought back and pouring it over the edge of the highway.

Though the gasoline didn’t reach far, it was enough to spread among the tightly packed zombies, ensuring the fire would leap from one to another like a chain reaction.

Yohan saved a small amount of gasoline, then soaked a cloth and tied it to his short sword.

“Lighter,” he said.

Sweeper handed him the Zippo. The gasoline-soaked cloth caught fire quickly. Yohan swung the sword, and the flaming rag flew into the horde below.

The fire ignited instantly, spreading like wildfire. Zombies caught in the flames let out guttural groans, their twisted bodies burning as the inferno consumed them.

Though zombies couldn’t feel pain, their grotesque movements in the flames made them appear as though they were screaming.

The fire spread rapidly, turning the area into a blazing inferno. By the time the flames died down and the black smoke dissipated, most of the zombies would be reduced to ash.

“Let’s go,” Yohan said, turning away.

“First time I’ve felt sorry for zombies,” Sweeper muttered, flicking his cigarette butt into the flames below.

Following Jung-su and Ji-won’s guidance, Yohan and his team arrived at the target church. However, they didn’t storm in immediately.

Instead, they searched the surrounding buildings and positioned themselves to encircle the church. Their goal was to capture or eliminate anyone attempting to escape, making the situation more manageable.

Yohan still couldn’t understand why they had allowed the two to leave alive. Were they setting a trap, or were they simply fools? To Yohan, it had to be one of the two. His instincts leaned toward the former, so he opted to proceed with utmost caution.

Despite their patience, no one emerged from the church by dusk. They couldn’t afford to wait until nightfall, so Yohan picked up his radio to give the order to proceed.

Instead of using the search team’s usual channel—considering the possibility that the enemy might have intercepted their communications—he switched to a new frequency.

“Sergeant Ong will stay outside as a sniper. Jung-hwan, Sweeper, Ha-jin, Seri, Ji-won, and Jung-su, you’ll breach. Those with goggles, take the lead. If visibility is unclear, do not shoot. The rest will stand guard outside and enter only upon request. Named personnel, gather up.”

After switching off the radio, Yohan turned to Jung-hwan.

“How many smoke grenades and flashbangs do we have?”

“Four smoke grenades, one flashbang.”

“Good.”

The team moved silently, gathering around Yohan like shadows. Yohan tapped on one of the first-floor windows—it was locked from the inside.

Raising his rifle, Yohan pulled it back and then smashed the window with the butt of the weapon.

‘Crash!’ The sound of shattering glass echoed. Without missing a beat, a smoke grenade was tossed into the building.

“What’s going on?!”

A silhouette darted toward the commotion. Yohan fired a single shot, and the figure collapsed immediately.

“Breach! And I’ll say it again—don’t shoot unless visibility is clear.”

At Yohan’s command, the team filed into the building in an orderly fashion.

—

‘Splash!’

A cold, wet sensation jolted Hyuk back to consciousness. He had blacked out and woken up repeatedly, making it impossible to track how much time had passed.

When he opened his eyes this time, the Messiah was standing before him. The once-unassuming face now looked cold and predatory, like that of a psychopathic killer.

The Messiah leaned in close.

“I sent someone to your camp. It’s quite large. I was surprised.”

“Mmph! Mmph!” Hyuk struggled against his restraints.

Could they really have infiltrated the camp? If so, the thought of his betrayal, even unwittingly, was unbearable. His guilt weighed heavily on him, overwhelming him even now.

The Messiah removed the gag from Hyuk’s mouth and asked, “How many people are in your camp? How many weapons do you have?”

Hyuk spat in his face. The foamy spit trickled down the Messiah’s cheek. He wiped it away without a hint of emotion and stepped back, moving to loosen the chains restraining the nearby zombies.

The zombies clicked their teeth mere inches away, their chains rattling ominously. Fear spread across the faces of the other prisoners.

“Tell me everything you know about your camp,” the Messiah demanded. “The first person to speak will be spared. The rest will become zombie food.”

“Shut up, you piece of trash!” Hyuk snapped.

The Messiah smirked at Hyuk’s defiance. Although the others were clearly terrified, none of them seemed willing to speak.

“Impressive courage,” the Messiah remarked. “Perhaps I’ll try something more entertaining.”

He pulled the zombies back and turned to unbind Jung-eun, who was also restrained in a chair.

“Mmph! Mmph!” Jung-eun thrashed as the Messiah grabbed her by the neck, his hand slipping into her clothes. Tears welled up in her eyes.

“Stop it!” one of the prisoners yelled.

“If no one talks, I’ll violate this sister right in front of you. Over and over, with as many men as I please.”

“You son of a—!”

The Messiah chuckled mockingly. He pulled out a knife and slowly sliced down the front of Jung-eun’s clothing. The shredded fabric fell to the floor.

All three prisoners screamed, shouting threats. They vowed to kill him, to tear him apart, to feed him to the zombies.

The Messiah ignored their cries, his smirk unchanging. He pinned Jung-eun against the wall, slipping the knife toward her pants.

Just as the blade was about to tear into her clothing—

‘Bang! Bang! Bang!’

Gunfire rang out, followed by the sound of chaos erupting in the distance. The Messiah frowned, his expression souring.

“What’s going on?” he barked.

He quickly re-tied Jung-eun’s restraints and looked out the window. A priest came rushing up the stairs, out of breath.

“What is it?” the Messiah demanded.

“Armed intruders!” the priest gasped.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…”

“It looks like they’re with that guy’s group.”

“They’re here already?” (T/N: Of course you freaking bastard!)