00047 --- The Little Prince in the Ossuary ---
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#Omens (3), Atascadero
For a soldier, meals were a command. To maintain combat strength, one must eat whenever the opportunity presents itself. Meal times were provided in two shifts.
Although it was sudden, Gyeo-ul prepared the meal without complaint. Hunger was a 「Bad Status」.
Wanting to maintain the best condition, he figured he just needed to fill his calories somehow.
The meal consisted of simplified field rations (FSR). Gyeo-ul pulled out an energy bar, while, beside him, Lieutenant Jeffrey, mixing tuna with mayonnaise, made a comment.
"Doesn't that look like a lump of poop?"
Military preserved food did not concern itself with aesthetics. The energy bar, when looked at one way, resembled a squashed jelly, or viewed differently, clumped feces. Gyeo-ul set down the energy bar. Jeffrey grinned broadly.
"How is it? Revenge of the cockroach!"
"..."
Joking when afraid was a hallmark of a veteran, but this seemed more like simple immaturity. With a sigh, Gyeo-ul bit into his sandwich. It had a subtle salty beef flavor.
The meal was cursory. Sipping from his camelback, Jeffrey spoke.
"In my opinion, this wasn't sent by people. It's some sort of... what do you call it, an automated transmission device that broke down? That's why there's jamming too."
"Still, we can't ignore it. Our mission is reconnaissance, after all, and we have to find traces of the advance mission unit,"
Gyeo-ul replied.
Jeffrey grumbled with a dissatisfied expression.
"In horror movies, whoever gets a transmission like that always dies."
"..."
Nonsense. Was the man really that naive?
Post-meal, the radio operator attempted to establish communication with the mysterious unknown.
"It's eerie. At least we know we're not dealing with a broken machine," the radio operator said, sweating profusely after ending the communication attempt.
"Every time we transmit, there's a reaction. The message transmission is momentarily interrupted, and the jamming signals intensify. Shortly after, their transmission resumes, and it includes the message I sent."
"What the hell is that?"
Lieutenant Jeffrey couldn't believe it. Gyeo-ul inquired further.
"Are there any other peculiarities?"
"Uh, well, I'm not entirely sure..."
As Gyeo-ul nodded, the radio operator shared his uneasy observation.
"The more we try to communicate, the clearer the signal seems to get."
"Does that mean the target is approaching?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes, that's a likely possibility."
An increasing signal clarity meant diminishing distance. The atmosphere grew heavy. Gyeo-ul suggested,
"Well, that's convenient enough. Let's maintain communication and prepare a welcoming party."
Jeffrey pointed outside the gate, towards the open area.
"How about using that area as our fire concentration point? We have cover here."
"Sounds good,"
Gyeo-ul concurred.
The soldiers sprang into action, moving the booby traps from the lobby outside. Soldiers setting up claymore mines dragged the detonation lines back. With a detonator attached, they could remotely trigger them at the right moment.
Like all public facilities, at the center of the open area stood the flagpole. Jeffrey instructed the soldiers to lower the flag, stating they couldn't disgrace the Stars and Stripes under less than inevitable conditions. Though it was a formality, the soldiers carried it out without complaint. The Stars and Stripes, along with the California Republic flag, were collected. According to Jeffrey, they were souvenirs.
Meanwhile, the radio operator continued trying to communicate.
"The messages I send are returning."
A tense report. It meant the mysterious opponent was copying and repeating everything the radio operator said. Also, the noise was getting stronger, while the message reception clarity was increasing. Soon, they could even receive it hands-free. It was becoming quite noisy. Jeffrey grumbled.
"Are they mocking us, or is it a real ghost? We can't even tell how close it is..."
The certainty was that the distance was decreasing, creating unease because the remaining distance was unknown.
How long had they waited? Across the parking lot, amidst the temporary buildings and conifer trees beyond the fence, a vague shape flitted quickly past.
"There's something there."
It certainly wasn't human. Gyeo-ul pointed his gun.
"What? Where?"
In an instant, tension filled the platoon. Soldiers peered over the covers, guns ready, surveying the front.
"Where?"
Jeffrey's voice was filled with anxiety. Gyeo-ul estimated the distance. His 「Firearms Proficiency」 assisted in calculating the distance by sight.
"12 o'clock direction, about 120 meters away, hiding behind the second temporary building from the left."
About thirty gun barrels adjusted ever so slightly, aiming in the direction Gyeo-ul indicated.
The radio was raging noisily. Gyeo-ul switched it off. Normal communication was impossible anyway, and all the platoon members were gathered there. Jeffrey and the soldiers followed Gyeo-ul's example.
The target didn't reveal itself easily. Instead, small things began crawling over the fence. The soldiers were taken aback.
"Those look like babies, don't they?"
Not just looking like, but they were indeed babies—infected babies, to be precise. With Gyeo-ul's eyesight, he could see them clearly. Their bodies were twisted as if scorched by a fire.
If they had been normal babies, they wouldn't have been able to climb over the fence. But these did. Despite not being able to stand on two legs, they crawled over with enhanced strength, struggling atop the railing before tumbling down, rolling down the grassy slope.
Shrieeek- Shrieeek-
A bizarre crying sound. Even though the babies cried, no mothers appeared. Blackened babies scurried along, surprisingly fast, like short-legged dogs running. They dispersed widely, approaching while displaying behavior unique to mutants: snappishly clashing teeth.
"Oh, Jesus. The more it goes, the worse it gets."
Someone murmured.
The mutant babies were surprisingly tricky targets. Being small and occasionally leaping like frogs, they even crawled under vehicles.
There was likely a new special mutant lurking behind it all. A type Gyeo-ul had never seen before. Actually, the babies were special mutants if one thought about it. It felt like they were being tested.
"Those terrorist bastards. Sending out babies violates the rules of engagement. Fire!"
Even though they looked like babies and were unsettling, they couldn't let them get close. Jeffrey gave the order to fire.
Drdrdrdrdrdrr! Drdrdrdrdrdrr!
Machine guns opened up immediately. Lately, the military had been focusing on providing silencers, making even support weapons surprisingly quiet.
Gyeo-ul conserved ammunition. He knelt and, with precise aim, placed one shot in each target accurately. He proved to be more efficient than the soldiers who fired in bursts. Thud! Thud! Thud! With every squeeze of the trigger, red blood was sprayed over the parking lot and the open area.
Bam! A baby hit in the head flipped in mid-air. From the forehead to the crown, a groove was carved out, as if scooped with an ice cream spoon.
"Damn! I'm gonna have nightmares!"
A support gunner swapped out the magazine. With the help of his assistant, he reloaded almost instantly and aimed at the mutant babies near the flagpole. The drum magazine held 200 rounds. It was a wholesale spray of gunfire.
Once they crossed the parking lot, there were no more covers in the open area. The mutant babies caught in the crossfire were shredded. It was like stirring them up with a transparent blender. A torn-up baby fell onto the grass. It had lost half its body. Incomplete innards spilled out. It twitched once and then went limp.
"Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God..."
Someone was calling out to God endlessly right beside Gyeo-ul.
In truth, it was a loathsome experience for Gyeo-ul as well. He couldn't accept this as a form of entertainment like otherworldly spectators might have.
"Claymore! Detonate numbers 7 and 8!"
Jeffrey's stern voice commanded. A soldier clutched a detonator in each hand and squeezed.
The ground shook. The claymore mine scattered 700 ball bearings within the forward 120-degree arc. With overlaps, 1,400 iron balls intersected each other. The wet ground billowed up in a gray cloud.
It was overkill. Anything hit left no trace. Though only two out of eight were detonated, the open area was thoroughly cleared.
The silence settled in as Gyeo-ul continued firing alone. Even after emptying one magazine, he emptied another new one. No one knew what the young officer was shooting at, leaving them bewildered.
"He got away."
Jeffrey inquired.
"From what?"
"You've forgotten what we were originally on guard against, haven't you?"
"Ah."
Snap. Jeffrey slapped his helmet. It seemed like he was cursing himself for his stupidity. The soldiers were in the same position. They had essentially been idle while the mysterious enemy ran away. Jeffrey, groaning, asked dejectedly,
"Did you see what it looked like?"
"Only one leg. It was obscured by bushes and street trees."
"Did you hit it?"
"For sure. I'm not sure about the impact, but I definitely landed more than a magazine's worth of hits."
"Right. It's a relief you're here. You live up to your commendation..."
He demanded a detailed explanation of what Gyeo-ul saw. From the initial silhouette and just one leg, a rough size could be inferred. The conclusion was still that it was a special mutant.
"Smaller than a 「Grumble」, but definitely not an ordinary mutant."
Under the soldiers' cover, Gyeo-ul and Jeffrey advanced past the parking lot, searching for traces of the enemy. However, the blood trail and the crushed grass ended when they hit the asphalt. Gyeo-ul's fourth-level 「Tracking」 couldn't achieve further results. The persistent rain was a problem. The blood trail didn't continue. The diluted blood only flowed through the furrow.
Still, they learned one thing. The new mutant had low or no physical resistance.
"Where did it run off to...? It's risky to search the urban area."
Perhaps the missing advance team members also followed the mysterious transmission into the urban area. While Jeffrey pondered, Gyeo-ul spoke.
"Who knows? There might be no need to search right away."
"Huh?"
Instead of explaining, Gyeo-ul turned the radio back on. The noise flowed through. No message was being transmitted, but the noise was intense. It was at least as strong as when the enemy was close, or even stronger. Gyeo-ul, listening attentively, became certain.
"This creature is still hunting us."
It implied that the roles of hunter and prey might be reversed.
For a moment, silence reigned. Time seemed to stretch as water dripped from the lowered gun barrels.
"Audacious... Who's hunting whom here?"
Jeffrey sneered.
"For a creature who got hit and ran away, it's still hanging around? There's no need to chase it down. That's nice."
Just as he finished, the sound of a chain-link fence rattling came from afar. Roughly. Everyone turned to gaze in one direction. It was the direction of the state hospital's isolation ward. The noise of glass shattering followed. The creature had certainly entered the building. The interference signal suddenly weakened.
"Oh, man, this bastard. Doesn't know how to get captured nicely."
According to the briefing, approximately 1,200 infected mutants were housed in the isolation ward by the CDC. If they were released, it would be hell on earth. They would run out of ammunition long before physical strength. Gyeo-ul alleviated Jeffrey's concern.
"It's okay. They said each zone is locked down. We checked one ourselves. The individual cells will be the same."
Though called cells, they were practically prison cells. Without a key, they wouldn't open.
"Ugh. We don't have a choice. Alright, let's go. Into the labyrinth."
With slumped shoulders, Jeffrey nevertheless took the lead.
Along the way, Gyeo-ul scavenged the advance mission team's vehicles. He replenished the expended ammunition. He also gathered a few hand grenades and flashbangs.
-------------= Author's Notes -------------=
1. Atascadero State Hospital was the model for the Pescadero Psychiatric Hospital in Terminator 2, where Sarah Connor was held. It might help you visualize the setting.
2. Many readers have been asking if special mutants and enhanced mutants are appearing too quickly...
We have no choice. The opponent is the superpower, after all. Haha.
3. Readers looking for per-episode payments, please be patient for a little longer.
― I've been contacted by multiple publishers. I anticipate contract negotiations will conclude next month. After that, it'll take an additional 1-2 months for the book and eBook to be published.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
With how the story is, it's no wonder author got publishing deal. Good for him.
On another note, this chapter is pretty gruesome with the baby zombies getting shredded.