He tossed and turned in his sleep. The covering over me rustled. A strange scent wafted in. Then I came to my senses a little. what am i covering? I opened my eyes busily. A large black suit covered my body. It was the senior's coat.
"senior?"
I was surprised by the fluff that inadvertently called him. My throat was terribly rested. For a moment I thought it wasn't my voice. It was like he had swallowed a bowl of pebbles. I sat up with my upper body up. Even with that small movement, his whole body hurt as if he had been beaten, and he involuntarily clenched his teeth. He barely moved his head as heavy as a stone and looked around, but the senior was nowhere to be seen.
Other times it was. He disappeared by himself, leaving only the words that he was going to look around, and then came back unexpectedly. He said that he had come and picked it up, and he suddenly held out the items that had come to him. Perhaps it will be the case this time as well.
It was then that I began to take a look around. A small room that barely fits a long desk and five or six chairs on wheels, and a large monitor on one side of the wall. A white light pierced my eyes.
It was a small study room in the central library. Borrowed by students for group assignments or club activities. The room wasn't big, so even though all the chairs were pushed into the corner, there was only room for one or two people to lie down. Still, it was much better here than at a cafe where the chill blows away.
I've been sleeping on the floor of the study room all this time. I fell asleep while doing something. I remember sitting in a dark and cold cafe.
He fled from the dormitory while being hit by the flurry of snow, so there was snow in places on his clothes and hair. As the snow melted into water, the body cooled down. It was too cold. My body kept trembling because of the chills, but I didn't even know I was trembling.
Then, I think the senior asked me to go somewhere else. Inside the library, which is still heated. I staggered up the stairs to the upper floor, almost clinging to his arm. After that... … .
“Ugh… … .”
I couldn't keep thinking any longer. My head was throbbing. He put his forehead on his forehead and bowed his head. His forehead and bangs were wet with cold sweat.
My throat was dry. Come to think of it, it's been a while since I drank water. The last thing I did was to quench my thirst before leaving the dormitory reading room. The thirst intensified the moment I recognized it. The roof of his mouth and esophagus were dry.
“Collock! Coke, Coke.”
A dry cough broke out. My throat felt like it was going to break. The cold and clear water was very desperate. I don't know where the senior has gone, but I don't know why I'm covering his clothes, but I thought I'd have to get some water first. Enough for seniors to drink too. It hurt my conscience to lie down and wait endlessly, not knowing when I would come back.
He put his coat on the desk and stood up. My vision went black and then came back. The ceiling and walls rumbled.
“Huh, haha.”
He took a shaky breath and opened the door. Several study rooms were clustered on the second floor of the central library. Small rooms that looked similar were lined up with number plates. Across the street, I saw a sign for the overseas archives.
I was thinking about the water purifier installed on each floor. It was right in front of me, so I thought I would be able to go there soon. I crossed the quiet library. The entire floor was carpeted, so footsteps were not heard.
The chair in front of the book search computer was randomly disorganized. A red light blinked on the public printer placed on the wall, indicating that it was in power saving mode. It felt strange to see a place that was always crowded with students become quiet.
I opened the door and walked carefully down the hallway. Unlike the blindingly bright interior, the lights in the hallway were off. Still, it wasn't dark because of the light leaking from inside. If you turn the corner from here, you should see a water purifier in front of you. By the way… … .
“No, why are you like this? Someone to know.”
“Uncle, are you senile?”
I felt that the atmosphere was unusual. I held my breath reflexively and pressed close to the wall.
“Ugh… … . please."
“Please and Nabal. So who wants to steal something to eat?”
The sound came from far away. At this rate, my existence would not be immediately discovered. First, I had to figure out the situation. I peeked out over the corner. A group of people gathered in front of the bathroom. Their figures were bleakly reflected in the bathroom lights and bluish emergency exit lights. It was clear that he was a human and not a zombie. Because he was yelling at me in a harsh tone.
“Ah, Mr. unlucky.”
someone kicked A shivering person crouched on the floor groaned and rolled over. I saw a familiar brown work uniform. It was the uniform worn by cleaning workers at the school.
"excuse me. Let's take care of our conscience. In this situation, do you want to live overnight and steal food from young students?”
“I did it because I was so hungry.”
“That's none of our business. You must find a way to live on your own.”
“Because the students take all their food and don’t give it to them… … .”
He appeared to be in his 60s. Surrounded by strong young men, he seemed dwarfed.
“You talk back. I think I'm a little mistaken because I live on my monthly salary with our tuition. Do we have to take responsibility for Mr.
"Sorry. Students, I'm sorry. Can't I just eat one of these? yes?"
Forgetting his face, he crouched on the floor and begged. Something fell beside him. It was an energy bar. The plastic wrapper shone brightly. Once again, merciless kicks were fired. The man was kicked right in the side, unable to even scream and convulsed. Still, he stretched out his arm and tried to grab the energy bar somehow.
“Wow, this man is poisonous.”
“Something like a beggar.”
"Ugh. Oh my gosh!”
Violence increased in intensity. Unable to resist, he trampled and kicked the crouching opponent's stomach. Someone hit the man in the head with a baseball bat. The man in the uniform didn't move anymore. It slumped as it was in the posture of desperately squirming.
“… … .”
I didn't immediately understand what I had just seen. My hazy consciousness sharpened. He clenched his fists so hard that his nails dug into his palms. Even after the man stopped moving, people didn't stop right away. After that, the violence stopped.
"what. dead? Are you dead?”
"OMG."
“You crazy bastard, control your strength. Last time, you sent a cleaning lady to the goal.”
"I don't know. It's a pain in the ass if you go somewhere and get it. You should kill him before he is a human.”
“Would that uncle thank you? They let me die like a human before becoming a zombie.”
“Hey. I'm tired of my dignity."
“Anyway, people are more terrifying than zombies.”
"why?"
“At least, zombies don’t steal their food. Not even talking nonsense.”
“Yes. Damn it, logical bastard.”
I leaned against the wall and listened to their vulgar chatter. The image of the man who had collapsed without even moving was constantly flickering in his mind. messed it up The hot breath went back to the prayer.
I forcibly calmed my raging heart and quietly turned around. I had to dodge before they found me. Then I suddenly felt dizzy. My eyes were dizzy and I stumbled a little. Took. The soles of my shoes hit the floor. The noise of the gossips suddenly stopped.
"Who is it?"
I was sobered up. From the back of my neck to my back, it felt cold as if I had been covered with ice water. I heard the sound of footsteps coming from around the corner.
I glanced back. Should I go back to the side where the reference room and study room are located? But it was an enclosed space. Even if I hid there, they would be found out soon if they sealed the entrance and thoroughly searched the inside.
It was also impossible to get to the other floors through the stairs. The emergency exit was behind those people. There must be stairs at the other end of the hallway, but getting there was a long walk down an open hallway with no cover.
All sorts of thoughts went through my mind in a short amount of time. Several hypotheses were quickly formulated and rejected. In the meantime, they were steadily approaching to find me. My heart was beating so loud I thought I was going to throw up.
“I caught it like that, but there are still some left?”
The invisible opponent giggled. I quietly gnashed my teeth. Now that this has happened, should we fight against each other? How many seconds can you survive in a fight? Maybe I'll be the same as that guy.
“… … .”
A human shadow fluttered over the corner. He saw a baseball bat in one hand. And just as they were about to turn the corner, all the lights went out at the same time. The whole place was engulfed in darkness. Nothing was visible.
“What, what?”
"crazy. Is the fire out?”
When their eyes suddenly went dark, they panicked. It was also unexpected for me. Was it a brief power outage because of the snow outside, or did the electricity supply finally stop following the phone and internet?
There was no time to ponder. I don't know what happened, but anyway, it was a chance for me. I reflexively stirred the air. There was a trash can next to where I was standing. It was a common trash can with a black plastic bag covered in a large blue plastic bin that was waist-high.
Soon, I felt a rustling sensation in my fingertips. I pushed the trash can and knocked it over. Tong, right! Trash cans roared loudly in the hallway. What was inside spilled out.
"Ahh!"
thud! It sounded like it was going to hurt. It looked like his opponent stumbled into a trash can and fell. I was just planning to block my career path and procrastinate, even for a moment, but I didn't know that it would even make me look so glamorous.
“What a bastard!”
Darkness was fair to everyone. Neither they nor I could see an inch ahead. If so, it was worth a try. At least it was better than doing nothing and being caught.
I reached out and touched the wall. Concentrating only on the sensations in my fingertips, I moved to the other side of the hallway. Hateful swearing came from behind. The sound of several pairs of footsteps chasing me.
At the end of the wall, I felt the touch of cold metal. It was the door leading to the emergency stairs. frantically groped for the door.
"Where are you?"
“If anyone catches you, don’t let go.”
There was a rumble over his shoulder. My heart was rushed. If it was a little late, he would be caught. As soon as he grabbed the handle in his trembling hand, he opened it up and ran in.
“Hey, that bastard went down the stairs!”
After leaving behind their cry, the heavy door closed. As he ran recklessly through the darkness, his side was slammed hard on the edge of the railing.
“Kuh… … .”
For a moment I couldn't breathe. There was a sound of pain. I don't know, but if I look at the clothes later, I think there will be bruises.
I leaned on the railing and climbed the stairs. My vision slowly adapted to the darkness. The outlines of the stairs and railings were revealed in the dark. About half way up, the door opened from below.
“Damn, crazy! Don't step on it.”
"Who is it? You just pushed me.”
“It annoys me, really.”
A crowd of people murmured one word at a time. They were only a few meters away. Chills ran down my spine. I immediately went out into the hallway one floor above. I pushed the glass door open and entered. I don't know when it's bright everywhere, but now it's better to hide quietly than to recklessly chase.
By the time I walked in a few steps, the fluorescent lights flickered a few times and then came back on. When the light suddenly brightened everywhere, I inadvertently made an impression. Soon, the scene of the interior, which had only been seen in darkness, came into view.
On the third floor of the Central Library, there was a space called 'Correspondence Zone'. Of course, the official name was plausible, and it was just an alias called by students. The reason was simple. There were many sofas in the corner of the third floor. It may have been originally designed to sit comfortably and read a book, but the students used the sofa for other purposes. When I went to the third floor, I could see people stretched out as if dead, with their earphones plugged in and their eyes closed on each sofa. So it was given the name Corpse Zone.
But there was a real body in the corpse area.
Drooping bodies were randomly piled up here and there. Like garbage thrown into a garbage dump. Those who were presumed to be students and those who were not were mixed. A middle-aged woman in the same uniform as the man was wearing stood out. I saw faculty ID cards hanging around the necks of some people.
“Turn off… … eww… … .”
Some of them were still alive. There seemed to be no consciousness. He just groaned thinly as if he was going to run out of breath at any moment. I looked blankly at it.
A zombie clung to his lower body. I was holding onto my legs for a while while I was absorbed in eating. The shinbone was exposed as all the exposed flesh was eaten. There was the sound of gnawing teeth scraping against bone.
“Wow.”
My eyes flickered. Nausea was intense. I hurriedly shut my mouth, but it was already too late. It sensed my presence and slowly stood up. There was blood all over his mouth. Eyeballs that looked like rotten fish tumbled and rolled towards me.
ran back I entered between the rows of bookshelves. A thick carpet on the floor covered the sound of my footsteps. I pushed the books that were stuck in the bookshelf behind my back as I could get my hands on them. It responded to the sound of books falling and squirmed towards it. Then I stumbled upon a pile of hardcover major books.
He covered his nose and mouth and hid in a corner holding his breath. I was dizzy and it was difficult to stand up straight. I barely managed to keep my weak body in check. I saw a monster roaming between the bookshelves. Even with his shoulder joint dislocated and his leg crushed, he was able to move around. Instead of dull vision, they relied on their sense of smell and hearing to find me.
I tried to calm my ever-failing breath. He bit the inside of his mouth and counted slowly inwardly. The distance got closer and closer. A stench wafted from the decaying corpse. The moment I wanted to be caught soon, the door burst open.
“Obviously went this way.”
People rushed in. They soon found a zombie roaming near the bookshelf.
"what. was this kid? I, too, fuck.”
A man with a baseball bat hit it on the head without hesitation. Others also agreed as if they had waited. There was only one zombie and more than five people. One-sided attacks continued. Finally, someone raised a MacGyver knife. He finished it off by slashing his neck open.
"Let's throw the body outside. If you leave it there, you’ll keep getting zombies.”
“Who is going to drag the corpse all the way to the outside? who will do will you do it?”
“Or stop breathing properly from the beginning. Because dead people don't eat."
“Zombie bastards, your food has a high-end taste.”
They walked away, exchanging trivial stories. After that, it took a while before I could move. It seemed that his whole body had become stiff. I let out the breath I was holding back slowly. The sense of incongruity that I had felt from before had materialized.
When the crisis broke out, the central library was probably one of the most densely populated places in our school. There were many students who visited the library even during vacation for reasons such as meeting, studying for exams, or borrowing books. Since the campus is so large, there were not a few cases where we set this place as a meeting place.
So, it would not be surprising if the survivors had turned the central library into a shelter and huddled together. But while I was wandering around, I didn't feel like I was strangely popular. They were the only living people I met.
He seemed to know why. They killed countless other survivors. To monopolize food among themselves. Just like when killing zombies, they beat them to death without any guilt, and threw them into the corpse like waste.
Suddenly, I remembered the words of a person I met in the reading room.
“There… … . People were the scariest.>
Now it made sense.
