Marauder of the Apocalypse-Chapter 56: Scavenger

"How many bullets are there?" fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

"Not many."

Park Yang-gun held out his hand to me. Something like a coin pouch jingled briefly in the dim light. It seemed to be a temporary pouch for bullets, but it didn't feel very full.

Still, bullets were bullets. Better than nothing. I smiled happily as I took the bullet pouch, then handed it back to Park Yang-gun.

When I carried it, the bullets made noisy clinking sounds. Better to let Park Yang-gun transport them since he could move silently.

"Let's quickly head back."

I started taking large strides with happy thoughts, but something pulled me back. It was Park Yang-gun. He clicked his tongue.

"Slowly. Why advertise we've been stealing? The more you're carrying, the more you should act like you have nothing."

"Ah."

I shut my mouth and walked with deflated steps.

Disguise was essential. Many people moved around in this darkness. There would be scavengers like us, and robbers who preyed on such scavengers.

Better to blend in with our surroundings to avoid becoming targets.

So we carefully made our way back to the villa district. Without rushing, quietly, watching our surroundings, like people wandering with nowhere to go.

But despite our disguise, we ran into an obstacle.

"Stop right there."

The voice wasn't mine or Park Yang-gun's. It came from the ground. Someone who had been lying in the road like a corpse or trash.

A dim figure slowly rose from the front. At the same time, I sensed people getting up behind us. When I turned my head, there were two people behind us. Three people had surrounded us.

I felt bewilderment more than crisis.

'What are these people doing now?'

From the looks of it, they'd been lying in the road waiting for someone to catch. Don't they have anything better to do? Are they bandits? Just guarding the road and jumping out at passersby?

While I was too dumbfounded to speak, Park Yang-gun stepped forward trying to resolve things peacefully.

"We didn't find anything either. Let's end this nicely. Hm? All I've got is this cigarette, take it and let's be done."

"Cigarettes? Just one pack?"

A rustling sound. Park Yang-gun negotiated by handing cigarettes to the robber blocking our path. He seemed to have prepared appropriate resources, anticipating this kind of situation.

I quietly gripped my pistol while turning around, preparing in case things went wrong. Now that we had bullets, it wouldn't be bad to cleanly use the two shots left in the gun.

The two people blocking our rear held faintly gleaming kitchen knives. They swung their knives threateningly. The sound of blades cutting through air.

"One pack of cigarettes won't cut it. Your weapons, bags, clothes - hand everything over and go."

Real robbers. Robbers who take everything you have.

The thief pleaded before the robbers:

"Come on people. How are we supposed to get back then? Fighting won't do any good. Make noise here and zombies will come. Let's just let this go."

The robbers suddenly fell silent at those words. Then they gripped their weapons while letting out mocking laughs.

"Zombies? What zombies in this darkness? Don't you know they don't come out when they can't see either?"

"Hey, perfect. Looking at how clueless they are, they must have a lot. Listen mister, if you don't want to die, lead us to your home."

...Had day and night switched? Originally zombies moved at night and people during day? Had things changed because zombies gained the advantage?

Either way, this was good. If there was no reason for zombies to be drawn, no need to hesitate.

I loosely gripped my gun. Slowly chose my direction, gauged the distance. Aiming for the torso would be enough.

"There were zombies though."

"Stop lying. It's too late to pretend now. How well off must you be to only come out at night now? Does your house still have running wa-"

"No. I mean I'm a zombie. Kraaah!"

I screamed and drew my gun to shoot. Quickly before they could react. Flame burst from the muzzle as I immediately twisted my wrist to shoot another person.

Bang bang, two gunshots rang out in an instant. Then screams followed.

"Aagh-!"

"Gun!"

They were too intact. Though I probably hadn't missed at such close range, they seemed hit in places that would make them die slowly like slow food. They either hunched over clutching their stomachs or desperately pressed their hands against their bellies.

I immediately switched to my hammer while moving to the side. I didn't trust Park Yang-gun to handle the remaining one behind us. He probably wouldn't attack in sync with my timing.

Sure enough. Park Yang-gun had fled faster than me and was now ahead.

"Let's go together."

"What do you mean togeth-"

"A gun! You're out of bullets right?"

A voice came from behind. The unshot robber breathed roughly like someone who'd won the lottery and quickly ran forward.

"Just selling the gun-"

He didn't care at all about his shot companions. Blinded by thoughts of getting my gun. Was a gun worth that much? Were there people buying them?

'Should I kill him first then think about it?'

I reached out and tapped Park Yang-gun's back.

"Let's kill him then go."

"Why deal with someone holding a kitchen knife? With doctors hard to find, what if you get infected from a scratch?"

"We can't let him follow us home."

If fighting broke out, we had to kill to live safely. Park Yang-gun muttered a small curse before turning at a right angle.

I caught a glimpse of him taking something from his pocket.

"Learned this from Do-hyung, it's a hangman's knot. You distract him from the front and I'll strangle him from behind."

Hangman's knot? Had Do-hyung studied various knots while camping? Anyway, roughly getting it around the neck would kill him. We could hit him when he tried cutting the rope with his knife.

I nodded and ran a few steps in the opposite direction from Park Yang-gun before raising my hammer.

"Are you really going to fight? Getting hurt would be terrible."

"Same goes for you. Just drop the gun and go. Then there's no need to fight."

"You must know that's impossible."

The robber looked around. Seemed to be searching for the invisible Park Yang-gun.

"Where'd the other one go? Where are you? Come out!"

I suddenly felt anxious too. What if Park Yang-gun had just said that and run away? I also looked around frantically. My legs were shaking.

But the robber noticed my movements and grinned.

"What's this? Were you abandoned?"

"No. No way. That can't be."

My voice held undeniable doubt. I really doubted. A master of escape, someone who ran away when no one expected betrayal or flight, a thief whose words were half lies.

Maybe.

I slowly backed away while the robber approached. His voice had found some composure.

"It's a gun without bullets anyway. Isn't it lighter than your life?"

"That's what I wanted to say. There's really no need to fight like this."

Fighting alone was really not good. I'd count to 3, and if Park Yang-gun didn't move, I'd run. I took out the flashlight I'd brought as a makeshift flash bomb from my pocket.

When it's this dark and you suddenly face strong light, your vision blurs. I'd escape in that moment.

'3, 2, 1.'

Click, I pressed the switch. Immediately shot the bright beam straight at his eyes. The pure white light extended like a lightsaber, striking the robber's pupils.

And Park Yang-gun who had silently taken position behind the robber.

"Argh!"

"Why the flashlight!"

Though both instinctively covered their eyes raising their hands, the shoelace still caught around the robber's neck.

Park Yang-gun grumbled but immediately backed away. His steps stumbled as if he couldn't see well. The knot tightened, pressing on the neck.

"Kack!"

The robber stretched his knife backward. Planning to cut the rope with the sharp blade. No time to waste.

Keeping the flashlight fixed on his eyes, I ran forward and swung my hammer. Though he belatedly noticed me and swung his knife, it was too late. My hammer cheerfully struck his crown while the blade harmlessly grazed my leather jacket.

He collapsed backward. Due to Park Yang-gun pulling him, he was dragged back. Park Yang-gun returned breathing heavily.

"Is he dead?"

"He should be."

I kicked his kitchen knife far away and struck his head a few more times. This should be enough to ensure he wasn't playing dead.

Click, I turned off the flashlight and exhaled. Equal fights always seemed tense.

"Let's go back."

"Wait a bit."

Though my eyes adapted to the bright flashlight had trouble distinguishing the darkness, my vision gradually returned.

Park Yang-gun was crouched in front of the corpse feeling around for something. Seemed to be searching every pocket.

"Got to get back the cigarettes I gave him... Nothing but my cigarettes. Tsk. Let's head back."

"Yes. Let's hurry since the blackout's about to end."

So we quickened our pace back to the villa. Maybe because it was time for the blackout to end and lights to return, there were fewer signs of people than when we'd left the villa.

I sighed. This was truly a world of struggling day by day just to survive. A world where you died if you couldn't kill others, and no one remained unadapted to its harshness.

Everything was just becoming more dangerous.

'Feels like I'm falling behind. Don't know the street situation well, can't grasp individual survivor or marauder trends. Need to study up.'

As I was thinking this, we'd arrived back at the villa district. Park Yang-gun comfortably turned on his phone and handed over my share.

"We're here. Take it."

"Yes, thanks for your hard work."

"You too."

A bullet pouch, one pistol, and a police vest. After gathering the weapons, I went into my home and hid them in a corner.