Marauder of the Apocalypse-Chapter 69: Rainy Season

Rain fell over the city. Park Yang-gun and I walked the streets wearing raincoats. Even zombies had taken shelter from the rain indoors, leaving the streets empty except for the splashing sounds of our feet in puddles.

Strangely, walking in the rain felt good. How to describe it? Like taking a dawn walk? A feeling that stimulated imagination and sensitivity?

I liked the dark sky and pouring rain. I glanced at Park Yang-gun.

"We're going to an apartment a bit far away."

Our destination was Professor Kim's home. Professor Kim who had given me disaster response materials. Who spoke of hope on broadcasts even after his wife turned into a zombie, before finally becoming a zombie himself during a broadcast.

Since the virus had spread through the apartment complex, I figured most residents would be gone by now.

'Being a professor, he must have lots of books. Maybe we can find survival guides.'

Engineering, electronics, appropriate technology useful for the apocalypse. Knowledge truly valuable now as civilization approached its end.

Park Yang-gun suddenly raised his head. Eyes like an alcoholic or gambling addict looked at me.

"What?"

"An apartment a bit far away. I spotted a place before."

"Ah, right. ...No, let's rob this first."

Park Yang-gun pointed to a house in an alley. Several houses were packed tightly together, but the one he indicated showed clear signs of habitation.

Walls with nails and awls sticking out, entrance blocked with furniture. Windows covered by curtains, surrounding corpses and trash neatly cleared away.

This practically begged to be raided, screaming "Someone lives here, please rob me!"

'It would be criminal not to rob this.'

Park Yang-gun headed toward the house without even listening to me, so I followed.

But Park Yang-gun's behavior was strange. He didn't move stealthily like a thief. Without looking for infiltration points, he just banged loudly on the metal gate between the walls.

"Anyone home? Show your face!"

"Hey, Mr. Park Yang-gun. Shouldn't we steal quietly?"

I frantically reached into my jacket pocket. My hand found the gun. If things went wrong and fighting broke out, I'd shoot immediately.

Soon movement appeared at a second floor window. Though the rain drowned out any sound, I saw the curtain move. And eyes through the narrow gap.

After a moment someone came out through a first floor window. They held a chainsaw. Their eyes and voice full of suspicion.

"What?"

"Die."

Bang, a gunshot rang out. Park Yang-gun had fired. He'd shoved his gun through the metal gate and hit accurately from that distance.

The homeowner collapsed helplessly. Only then did Park Yang-gun start forcibly removing the nails from the wall to prepare climbing over.

I stared at him in disbelief.

'This isn't theft, it's robbery.'

The thief had evolved into an armed robber. Did he feel threatened by Do-hyung? Did the overlap between electricity thief and regular thief make him switch careers to robbery?

Park Yang-gun laughed with satisfaction while working energetically. Climbing the wall, clearing the barricade beyond the gate, opening it for me.

He laughed as if releasing all his stress, or as if recharging pleasure through theft that was like gambling to him.

"Let's rob it quick, Kim Da-in."

"Uh, okay."

We crossed through the city center. Carrying heavy bags, we passed both familiar and unfamiliar places. Scenes both similar yet different appeared.

A mart that had become wild dogs' territory, a building with solar panels where electricity nomads seemed to have settled, Life Tower's streets littered with laced bait, streets scattered with corpses holding plastic trash in their mouths...

Though the heavy rain reduced threats, they weren't entirely absent.

Passing a commercial building with clumsily piled barricades, suddenly there was a loud crash of breaking glass as a table fell from above.

"Ah!"

We got lucky and dodged it. It landed right in front of us. We jumped back and looked up at the window the table had been thrown from - there was a zombie.

It was that zombie we'd seen in the zombie wave before. The one that had learned siege warfare at Hope Community and now applied it to defense - it threw furniture from the high building.

Zombies showed their heads through broken windows all over the tall commercial building. They wore smiles like cats hunting for fun. They held bricks, flowerpots, and dishes in their hands.

"Run!"

"You lead the way!"

After frantically escaping the siege warfare zombie's territory, arrows suddenly flew and struck in front of us.

Thunk, an arrow stuck in a garbage bag. A voice warned through a megaphone:

"This is our territory. Get out."

Park Yang-gun and I looked up. Among the low commercial buildings was one slightly taller, and someone stood at its window. Holding a bow and megaphone.

Must be the archery club. We'd heard rumors about these crazy people who shot arrows at anyone approaching their territory. Even zombies avoided their area.

"Real nasty personality."

Though I cursed out loud, I backed away with my hands raised in surrender. Park Yang-gun gave a bitter laugh.

"Want to steal their bows and arrows. Wonder if they'd act like this without weapons?"

"They're such bastards, they'd probably take revenge if their weapons disappeared."

We kept walking while cursing the archery club.

The streets' condition was bad overall. Blocked drains let rainwater flow across roads. Roads and sidewalks had become streams of water contaminated with garbage and corpses.

People living in areas without electricity had also set out pots, containers and dishes to collect rainwater.

Some stupid zombies stood blankly in the street with mouths open drinking rainwater.

Though the rain seemed life-giving in some ways, I saw what would come next.

'The monsoon season's starting...'

Anything excessive becomes poison. Too much oxygen is poison, too much alcohol is poison, too many people are poison. Too much rain becomes disaster.

Overflowing sewers, structures falling in wind and rain, flying garbage, falling utility poles and street trees, landslides...

Infrastructure would probably be completely destroyed by summer's end. Hopefully the rain would wash away both people and zombies.

Lost in such thoughts, we reached our destination. Professor Kim's apartment. Park Yang-gun fidgeted his fingers and exhaled roughly.

"Is that it? Looks like a nice apartment. Should be good stealing."

"Yes, it's a nice apartment."

I focused and looked at the apartment entrance. Doorposts like dolmens, several tall apartment buildings rising up, and above all, the site where the I-virus had swept through.

Though I'd visited this apartment to meet Professor Kim before, the atmosphere was very different now. Back then daily life had continued somewhat normally, but now it was abandoned ruins without a soul.

The parking lot was nearly empty - who knows where all the residents went. The few remaining cars had broken windows, seeming already looted. An abandoned moving truck with its ladder extended stood like an eyesore, as if caught mid-move.

If not for the rain, we'd probably see ruins thick with dust.

"No zombies or people..."

"Zombies usually stay in commercial areas. Makes sense there's no people. Last time I came, the virus was spreading."

I spoke casually while walking toward Building 102. No people meant no hassles. Though physical work remained.

'Professor Kim's place was on a pretty high floor...'

Whether because residents had left long ago or power was cut, the elevator wasn't working. I pointlessly pressed the elevator call button before taking the stairs.

Park Yang-gun held the stair railing while following me and muttered:

"This is actually proper form. Targeting places when no one's around to steal. Though it's more exciting when people are there."

"Didn't you already do plenty of exciting theft on the way here?"

Trying to forget his stress through theft - no, robbery - Park Yang-gun had attacked quite a few individual survivors on our way.

Breaking windows to kill and rob when seeing candlelight, picking locks to kill and rob after spotting bathtubs set out to collect rain.

At least he seemed calmer now, having processed his emotions.

"I'll open the door. Brought my tools."

"Yes, please do."

We reached Professor Kim's front door, breathing heavily.

Park Yang-gun dug through his bag and took out equipment I'd seen before. Some powder like flour and a blue-glowing flashlight. He sprayed powder on the doorlock and shone the light, then shook his head.

"Can't do it. Not possible."

"What's the problem?"

He couldn't have found his conscience now.

When I asked curiously, Park Yang-gun pointed at the doorlock. Six buttons had fingerprints.

"Can't crack six digits. Four I could guess somehow, but not this. Need to force the door."

"Six digits..."

How many combinations was that? 720? Really impossible. But finding a crowbar or drill right now would be hard too.

After brief thought, I recalled the six digits in Professor Kim's email ID. They matched the numbers with fingerprints.

On a hunch I entered those numbers, and click, the door opened. Must have been significant numbers to Professor Kim.

Park Yang-gun stared at me with round eyes.

"Got it in one try? ...Did you know them?"

"We were acquainted."

"Known people are scarier after all."

We carefully raised our hammers and passed through the dusty entrance. Professor Kim had turned into a zombie while broadcasting, and his wife was a zombie too. They probably weren't still alive, but you never knew.

We walked through the house listening carefully and banged walls to draw attention, but there was no zombie response. Professor Kim must have died trapped and starving.

"It's safe."

"So what are we here to steal?"

"Came for useful books if there are any. Or manuscripts and documents."

I headed straight for the bookshelf. Where Professor Kim had broadcast from. I pushed the slightly open door and it creaked wider. Bookshelves packed with books, a wide desk, simple broadcasting equipment and computer.

But no corpse.

'Where did the corpse go? Did he wander the house after becoming a zombie?'

Feeling uneasy, I left the study. Either way, the professor who'd advocated killing a million citizens had given me materials. I wanted to at least confirm his corpse.

When I went to the master bedroom where Professor Kim had tied up his wife, Park Yang-gun stood blankly in the doorway. His slightly lowered head looked into the room.

I silently went behind Park Yang-gun and took in the bedroom.

Two decaying corpses lay on the bed. The deteriorated man and woman had died holding hands.

The rope lay on the floor - zombie Professor Kim must have freed his wife's restraints. I imagined their story.

A couple turned zombie. Running out of food in the house and starving, lying down on the bed holding hands when too weak to move, dying of hunger.

I took out my phone and snapped a photo of their corpses. I remembered Professor Kim's request - if I met his daughter, to help her if I could.

'May not be able to help, but I can at least tell her how her parents died.'