Chapter 8

I had devised a rigorous criteria for choosing So-Yeon’s caretaker.

First, they had to be strong, someone who could protect their family, friends, and companions in this damned world. They had to be both physically and mentally strong.

Second, they had to have retained their humanity. This world was done. I could already tell that there would be outlaws, evildoers who had lain low during the time when the rule of law still held firm, and that they would come storming out into the streets once things settled down. They were just as despicable as the creatures that now roamed the streets.

There could be those who had gone insane, or those who had unleashed their true selves during this time of madness. It was possible that these individuals harbored all sorts of vile traits along with instincts they could keep under control. A sense of humanity and strength was a must.

Lastly, she needed proper shelter. Her bedroom couldn’t be her whole world. She needed a place where she could learn that the world was a wider and much more beautiful place where people came together.

I wondered if there was a person that would meet these requirements, or even a place that would meet my last requirement. I knew that the chances were slim. However, I wished that So-Yeon could live in such a place. You could call me naive, but as her father, I only wished the best for her. I wanted to find that someone and some place while I was still sane.

“Grr…”

I let out a deep breath and looked outside. I couldn’t even hear any chirping. The world was dead silent, as though devoid of living creatures.

Out of nowhere, the woman I met earlier crossed my mind. I remembered her shedding tears as she thanked me. I wondered if she had some sense of humanity left in her.

‘Is she… alright?’

I was surprised that I had the time to worry about others. I wondered if it was because I was dead. But I shook my head and collected my thoughts.

‘No, she didn’t have the strength or the confidence to keep on living. She’ll probably die in that convenience store.’

She could only meet my second requirement. Besides, she could’ve said thank you out of habit. I needed someone with more sincerity. Even ignoring the third requirement, there was no way she would meet the first requirement. I quickly came to a conclusion. ‘This sure isn’t going to be easy.’

No matter how hard I tried, the thought of leaving my baby girl to strangers left me feeling uncomfortable. I couldn’t stop worrying about how she would adjust, or if she would be bullied by others already there.

My thoughts kept going round and round, and I realized that I was getting nowhere. My mind felt all jumbled up, without being able to come to a conclusion.

I stopped ruminating and looked up at the night sky. As I gazed into the unknown, I thought about my next move.

‘I should look for a shelter. A community. I bet there would be someone with a clear mind amongst such a group. If they’d been able to pioneer an effective way to survive, they would possess good judgment and situational awareness. If there were rules within the community, they would also show that they have retained a sense of humanity. If there were people who were capable of fighting back, that would be Heaven on Earth.’

I closed my eyes and began to think about possible places.

* * *

It was way past sunrise, but I couldn’t see the breaking dawn. The sky was gloomy and dismal.

I got up from the balcony and walked cautiously to the living room. I dragged one end of the couch and blocked the bedroom door. I stacked chairs and desks on top to make a barricade. It probably wasn’t enough to hold ‘them’ off but it was enough to make me relieved.

I was going to look for shelters today. I knew it was better for me to move during the night, but I couldn’t do so while also guaranteeing So-Yeon’s safety. The survivors would probably conclude that I was unusual, since I was actively moving during the day, unlike ‘the others’ who couldn’t.

I checked the barricade one last time, then took a deep breath and walked outside. I could see sparrows flying lower than usual. I sensed that it would start raining either that night or the next morning. I looked at the hazy sky and reminded myself of today’s destination.

I had decided to go to the high school nearest to our place. The school served as an emergency evacuation shelter. I walked in that direction with the hope that someone would be there.

Although the school was the closest one to our place, that didn’t mean it was actually close by. It would take forty minutes of non-stop walking to get there. I kept moving while trying to remember where the school was. I passed through a narrow alleyway and followed the road down.

I saw some of ‘them’ on my way. Sometimes, there were two or three of ‘them’ wobbling around unsteadily, but there were also several big groups of ‘them’ just looking around.

The sun was restricting their movements. Instead of hunting down their prey, they were waiting for their prey to come to them. A stray thought entered my mind.

‘Shouldn’t I know something about ‘them’? Since I’ve turned into one of ‘them’?’

I wanted to test some theories out. ‘They’ were no longer a threat to me, as I no longer had to stay away from ‘them’ in order to survive. If I’d been alive, I wouldn’t have been able to go ahead with my experiments.

I felt like I was a teenager again, observing ants. I bent down and picked up a large rock that I couldn’t carry with one hand. I could tell that it would be as threatening as its weight suggested. I hurled it toward ‘them’ with all my might.

Thud!

It struck the ground with a dull sound, causing a slight tremor. The creatures quickly turned toward the sound. ‘They’ started observing and sniffing the area around the rock. Once ‘they’ realized that it wasn’t a living creature, ‘they’ quickly lost interest.

Unlike the regular creatures, the ones who possessed their sight observed the rock from afar. They were staring at it, confusion written all over their faces. They seemed to have trouble figuring out what the rock was, and also whether it was dead or alive.

None of ‘them’ seemed to take notice of me. Thinking was non-existent for ‘them’. They weren’t trying to figure out where the rock had been thrown from, or why it had been thrown. They just stared blankly at it.

I walked toward them confidently. I stood right in front of the ones that had vision. ‘They’ looked me up and down, then sniffed me as they circled me. Apparently, the ones who could see also had a sense of smell.

I wondered if ‘they’ went through different stages of life, just as humans went through babyhood, childhood, puberty, and adulthood. Perhaps they started out with only the ability to hear. After that, they developed their sense of smell along with their hearing. And the ones with sight, had everything.

I didn’t do anything but stare at one of them. In a few moments, ‘it’ sensed my attention and looked away. I knew something wasn’t quite right. ‘It’ wasn’t just looking away. ‘It’ was looking down as it stepped back, away from me.

‘It lowered its eyes?’

The creature’s movements piqued my curiosity. The look on its face… It was a face that a child would make when they were scolded by their parents.

I walked toward ‘it’ to confirm my theory. Soon enough, ‘it’ shifted its gaze side to side and stepped backwards, acting as though it had seen something it shouldn’t have. Then it looked up at me, its face full of fear.

‘Oh, I see. Let’s see what happens if I do this!’

“GRR!!”

I screamed at it. I was curious how it would react.

“Grr!”

It barked back. However, there was no threat behind its bark. It sounded like a noise that a cornered animal would make.

‘Why is it feeling afraid?’

I stared at ‘it’ blankly, trying to figure out the reason behind this. As the creature’s fear grew, the other nearby creatures that had been swaying all stopped. ‘They’ glanced at each other, and then at the one that was visibly terrified.

‘These things… They definitely feel afraid.’

There was no way they could consider putting up a fight.

I was slightly hesitant to move forward with my last experiment. I knew that the unexpected could happen if I went ahead with it. But then, I remembered something.

‘What else is there to lose? I’m pretty much dead anyways.’

Besides, I had unbelievable healing powers. I had the ability to repair parts of my body that had been severely injured.

‘Alright, let’s give it a try.’

The experiment was slightly extreme, but it would hardly be considered insane. I took a big breath and went after the weakest looking one.

‘It’ didn’t have a sense of smell or the ability to see. ‘It’ was wearing a torn black suit. ‘It’ was also missing an arm, and one of its legs was bent.

I let out a deep breath and kicked it as hard as I could. This sudden, unexpected attack knocked ‘it’ to the ground. It stared up at me with its mouth wide open.

Throb.

“GRR!”

A sudden, sharp headache hit me, as though someone was hammering a thick nail through my skull. I instinctively started to tug at my hair.

My face was all scrunched up, and I couldn’t even open my eyes because of the dizziness. It felt as though my mind and soul were being swept away by a wave as tall as a house.

‘I’m the one who attacked. Why am I in pain? Is there some strange force that prevents them from attacking each other?’

As soon as I opened my eyes, all these thoughts and questions flew out of my head. The creature was looking me straight in the eye. As I looked back at it, I realized that ‘its’ body had turned green.

* * *

I was a mutant. A special type of mutant, one with powers that even I couldn’t quite explain.

I had some extraordinary healing abilities, and had been able to heal my broken arm and my eviscerated stomach. I also had red eyes, unlike the others.

That day, I discovered yet another special ability. Perhaps ‘special ability’ wasn’t quite the term for it. It was a characteristic I possessed, being this sort of mutant.

The green creature in front of me was staring at me, standing at attention. However, there was a catch. The creature wasn’t actually green. My mind was perceiving ‘it’ as green.

It didn’t take me long to come to this conclusion. I figured that, even if the creature’s skin had turned green, the suit ‘it’ was wearing should have remained black. However, the suit ‘it’ wore also looked green to me. There was a difference in saturation, but it was still technically green.

It meant my mind was perceiving the creature, which was standing at attention in front of me, as green.

I took a deep breath and stretched. My head was still throbbing, but I couldn’t afford to look weak in front of ‘it’’. ‘It’ was standing absolutely still, and I sensed a disparity between the two of us.

I wondered if ‘it’ was looking down on me. I looked ‘it’ straight in the eye and sent out a thought.

‘The hell are you looking at?’

‘It’ turned away, lowering its eyes while keeping its back straight.