THE DARKEST HOPE

Chapter 48 All over now...

Chapter 48

All over now...

It wasn't usual to conduct a funeral for an infected. Naturally everybody was afraid of the virus and people chose to stay away from it as much as possible. And the fact that there was not any kind of known cure for it made it even more horrifying. The procedure was the body to be burnt immediately and the family to keep it quiet about it. The relatives of the dead as a rule tried to keep the cause of the death hidden as much as that was possible. For every rumor that the vampire virus reached this or that household would often cause a complete social isolation even worse.

The people who came in contact with the infected were kept under quarantine for months. They often lost their jobs, friends, even their rights as citizens. Children of infected parents were expelled from school or denied access to medical facilities. The public fear of the horrid and incurable disease easily turned common sense into an odd and twisted form of justice that landed heavily right onto those who suffered the most form the disease.

But that wasn't the case this time, at least not on the surface. The thick mourning crowd was gathered in the broad entry hall of the Kim residence, a pool of black clothes, tears and whispers.

It was a memorable day for the citizens of the rich district and a day nobody thought could ever happen. The faces of most were saddened but more than that a strong impression of shock was written on their expressions. Because today there were two coffins exposed for the mourning in the center of the Kim's hall.

The people were quietly passing by the diseased, paying their respects, lost in confusion as the most influential member of their society suffered a sudden and violent death leaving the entire social order they were used to facing a vague and uncertain future. And all of them came here to this grim event not only to respect the dead but to look around, ask and observe, verify at least a little if their usual life was safe or everything they were used to was falling apart, transforming into something none of them wanted or was ready for.

"I've never dreamed of simply walking into the rich district like that. Now that the barriers are gone..." Namjun was stamping his boots against the white marble floor of the Kim's residence foyer to shake down the stuck in snow, not bothered one bit by the several disapproving glances.

"I don't like it here." Ho-seok was looking anxiously around, gaping at the shiny chandeliers and pretentious furniture. "We shouldn't have come..."

"I totally agree but we are doing it for Tae..."

"Yeah... sure." Ho-seok mumbled miserably.

"Hey, you two, over here!" Jin was squeezing his way through the mourning crowd. "Did you find the place easily?"

"The biggest building around. Wasn't hard to miss..."

"Yeahhh, it is quite big." Jin agreed. "Come, let's go together and pay our respects... Did you hear, the funeral is not only for The Old Kim but two more people."

"Oh, really." Ho-seok didn't sound much interested as the three of them approached the open coffins.

"There are just two coffins" Jin helpfully explained. The body of Tae's father had to be burned because of the virus, you know. And these two were one of the closest friends of the Kim family and very powerful and well known businessmen around here."

The three glanced inside the open coffins.

The thin, long body of Mister Lee was laying in the dark wooden casket stiff and immobile. The expensive clothes and generous amount of thin lace wasn't able to cover well enough the dry bony figure of the deceased. His complexion was the usual grayish shade, which might mislead those who knew him to think that he was still alive, save for the wide deep cut across the man's throat. The wound was so deep and hideous that it couldn't be masked by any amount of makeup. The dark, bloodied slit spread evenly across his throat from ear to ear, making everybody wonder if the head would remain attached to the body if say Mister Lee was standing up.