Zombie Apocalypse Whiteout - 8
EP 8. One Month Ago (5)
“This time when you come back, you should bring more winter clothes, something thick, like a parka.”
While waiting outside for the helicopter, Yu-bin opened his notebook and mentioned one more thing besides the trade. With the weather getting colder by the day, it looked like heavy snow was coming soon, so they needed to be prepared. The extra parkas the JL Rescue team had were all way too big for anyone except the sheriff.
“Gyu-yeong, is there anything you need? Something you want us to bring back when we go out?”
Jin-woo looked over at Gyu-yeong. She was gently stroking Sam’s hair but shook her head firmly without hesitation.
“No, I just hope the guys don’t overdo it. And there are still some books you brought last time left.”
Everything here was already overflowing with supplies. Even in this zombie world, they enjoyed daily showers and quietly picked out Blu-rays to watch on a huge monitor, asking for more almost felt disrespectful. Besides, it was better that the movies didn’t have subtitles; Jenny or Terra would quietly whisper the meaning right next to her.
“Don’t just say no outright. Think about it carefully. You’ll have to stop by department stores or outlets anyway to get clothes.”
Yu-bin pressed once more, and Gyu-yeong hesitated before speaking.
“Um… then maybe a Korean board game that multiple people can play… Everything here is in English, so it’s hard for me.”
“Got it… board game.”
Yu-bin jotted down another line in his notebook and looked around at the others.
“What about you?”
“Uh… canned kimchi fried rice…”
A newbie held his breath, sucking his stomach in as he nervously glanced at Min-gu. Just then, the taekwondo girl tapped Yu-bin’s shoulder and said,
“Hey, don’t think about bringing too much stuff, just take care of yourself, you weakest one!”
“Well, I’ve got plenty of people to protect me.”
Yu-bin pointed ahead of himself. There was Min-gu, smoking a cigarette while holding a bag containing a machete and kukri, the massive sheriff leaning on a hammer, and Jin-woo armed with a Lapua Magnum PGM 338 and a K-2 rifle. Their impressive firepower stood firmly behind him.
“And… the gear’s gotten a lot better, too. Don’t worry so much.”
Yu-bin tapped the front pocket of his backpack where his pistol was kept. Compared to the days when he’d head out with nothing but a wrench, running from zombies, this was a huge improvement.
“The serum! Just finished thawing it!”
Alex handed Yu-bin three carbon cases and asked Jenny to translate.
“If you get bitten, open this and inject it into your thigh as soon as possible. There’s no guarantee on how much time you have, so don’t forget to act fast!”
Then he opened one of the carbon cases himself, took out a syringe, and demonstrated how to use it. You just press the button at the end after attaching it firmly to the skin. Of course, the shockproof and insulation tech inside the case and syringe wasn’t simple at all.
“At this temperature, it should last about two weeks. Just don’t break the case and bring it back. And these are three packs of blood for your trade! You know what that means, right?”
Alex asked, handing over a refrigerated box of blood. Yu-bin nodded.
“Yeah. I know. Every time we go out, Terra has to give more blood.”
Three packs of blood totaling 120 milliliters were for exchanging bullets. Another 120 milliliters would be needed to make serum for the three people excluding Min-gu. Even if they refroze unused serum with advanced devices, there was a limit to how many times they could recycle it. For Alex, who had to protect Terra’s health, this was a sensitive issue.
“I’m okay…”
When the topic shifted to her, Terra shyly waved her hands. But she wasn’t really okay. She was barely maintaining the minimum weight needed to safely give blood, working hard just to stay there.
“As I said yesterday, this is the last time this year! No more requests!”
Yu-bin firmly told Alex. If this trade went smoothly, the survivors in Chungju could make it until spring.
“It’s your call, so I won’t stop you! You must have a plan! But one thing’s clear, you have to get blood donations from those people in Chungju! In large quantities!”
Alex repeated the condition with a dissatisfied expression. Unlike before, human blood was absolutely necessary to cultivate the zombie vaccine. And they needed a lot.
“Got it! I’m not the type to break promises!”
Yu-bin nodded, reassuring Alex.
Whirrrrrr
Soon the helicopter from the oil rig Thetis started roaring loudly.
“Be careful!”
As it landed on the sports field, Jenny tightly grasped Yu-bin and the sheriff’s hands, silently praying again for their safe return.
“Ah… I wish someone would hold my hand, too…”
Jin-woo muttered under his breath, as if for Terra’s ears only, after failing to find a good spot. Terra hugged him tightly, and a silly happy smile quickly spread across his face.
Pant pant pant
Sam was circling around Sam-suk, saying goodbye. With her due date approaching, Sam’s belly had grown very round.
“Let’s go! Everyone ready?”
Chris, today’s cover operative, jumped out of the helicopter and waved them over. Bringing Jim along might have added firepower, but it would’ve been too much of a burden on Terra, who had to provide serums for everyone involved in the mission. That’s why all field operations had to be limited to the absolutely necessary personnel.
“Take a good care of Terra.”
Before boarding, Min-gu made sure to stress it again to Alex, using Jenny to translate. His eyes were full of determination, as if to say he’d chase Alex to the ends of the earth if anything happened to her.
“Of course I will. She’s a Null Kid, one in a hundred million. An immune who might be able to save all of us. Maybe even the only one left in the world. I swear I’ll take care of her like she’s worth more than my own life!”
Alex crossed himself solemnly. There wasn’t a hint of insincerity in his expression.
Thud-thud-thud-thud
Whooooom!
The helicopter lifted off with them onboard and soared over the sea toward downtown Incheon.
“It’s so close when you come like this…”
Yu-bin leaned toward the side window, looking down. Compared to the days when even a few kilometers’ advance meant risking their lives and planning for days using every trick in the book, this rapid movement by helicopter felt like an incredible leap forward.
“Stop staring. You're gonna get pulled in again.”
Jin-woo gently pulled Yu-bin’s face away from the window.
“Ah… yeah.”
Yu-bin obediently followed. Gazing down from the sky at an empty residential area, devoid of all human life, was far sadder than he’d expected.
Rows of identical-looking houses and roads reminded him of his old neighborhood.
The one he’d shared with his grandmother… He’d only ever flown there by helicopter once. That day, he cried just as hard as the day he lost his hand.
He thought he’d be okay. He’d had months to prepare himself mentally, to steel his heart. But the moment he stepped into that familiar, now ruined town, everything inside him fell apart. The memories stirred by those familiar sights shook his heart so painfully he could hardly bear it.
When he opened the door to the small, shabby rental house where he and his grandmother had lived, his vision blurred with tears.
The floor and walls were stained with an enormous amount of blood, dried black and rotting. Even as he stared, his feet refused to move. Part of him kept hoping she might have escaped somehow, was still out there, waiting for him. He wanted to stay just a little longer, in case.
It was the day he completely lost his grip on reason. He wandered the neighborhood like a fool until darkness fell, until he could no longer see. He kept thinking he heard her calling his name… If he’d gone alone that day, without backup, it might’ve ended badly.
After that, the group made a vow. Until the zombie threat was completely wiped out, none of them would return to their old neighborhoods. Even indulging in that kind of sorrow, letting their guard down for a moment, was a luxury, no, a dangerous indulgence.
“Two minutes left!”
Paul, the pilot, glanced back to let them know they were almost at the drop zone.
“Okay, Paul.”
Yu-bin, who’d learned to understand that much by now, nodded. Paul then spoke clearly, breaking up his words so Yu-bin could follow more easily.
“So, what you gonna do, if I don’t show up on Friday, son?”
He was asking what their plan was in case the return helicopter, scheduled to pick them up eight days from now, didn’t show. It wasn’t something anyone wanted, but it was definitely possible.
A crash, an emergency back on Big Island, bad weather, or any number of other issues could delay or prevent a pickup. JL Rescue had strict contingency protocols to handle such scenarios.
“We go, eh… um… Point Bravo!”
Yu-bin struggled to get the words out, but managed. Paul quickly added,
“After seventeen!”
“Ah, yes! After seventeen!”
Yu-bin nodded and tapped his forehead, as if to say he’d memorized it. He had, of course, he’d gone over this several times with Jenny’s help. But speaking it in English was always difficult, always nerve-wracking.
If the helicopter didn’t arrive by noon on pickup day, they were to wait five hours. If it still didn’t come, they’d move 6 kilometers north to Point Bravo and wait there instead. It was a backup plan in case Paul’s primary chopper was intercepted, staying put would be too dangerous otherwise.
“What is the safe signal?”
“Uh… red smoke bomb.”
Yu-bin mimed the smoke rising with his fingers. The red smoke signaled a safe landing zone. If Paul didn’t see it, he’d have to turn around and try again the next day. They couldn’t risk exposing Big Island just to attempt a landing.
“Okay, never forget!”
Paul gave a thumbs up and turned back to the controls.
“Okay!”
Yu-bin returned the thumbs up, and when he did, Min-gu, watching them with his arms crossed, smiled, proud.
“Oh, look at that. Your English’s getting good.”
His praise was sincere, which only made Yu-bin more embarrassed. He quickly covered his face with his cold hand to cool down his flushed cheeks.
“No, no, not at all. I’m really not good. I’m just barely stringing together simple words. If you call that good…”
“You understood everything, though.”
Technically, he did. But that was only because Paul used vocabulary as simple as what you’d use with a kindergartener, speaking slowly and clearly. It wasn’t thanks to any real improvement in Yu-bin’s English skills. For Yu-bin and his friends, who had spent most of high school working part-time jobs, English remained a steep, intimidating barrier.
“Chris! You, left! I… this side!”
From the other side, Jin-woo shouted to Chris, the rescue team sniper, telling him to cover the left side after landing while signaling that he’d take the right. Half of it was gestures, a quarter facial expressions, and the actual English vocabulary didn’t even make up a fourth of it. But still, Chris nodded in understanding without hesitation. It was proof that the past few months they’d spent working together weren’t for nothing.
“Got it, bro!”
Chris made an OK sign with his thumb and index finger, then gripped his weapon and got ready to jump out.
“Shit. That’s gonna be a problem… There’s gotta be over a thousand of ’em.”
The sheriff frowned as he looked down through the left window, muttering a low curse. A massive horde of zombies was crawling slowly through the area near Seoul Forest, where the river met the Han.
“A thousand? Try over two thousand.”
Yu-bin replied. Even at a glance, the number easily exceeded two thousand. The way they moved, packed tightly together like a swarm of ants, made his skin crawl. They were still some distance away, but if they kept moving west along the riverside road, they’d end up within a two-kilometer radius of the building where the exchange was taking place.
“We need to wrap this up fast before they get here.”
Yu-bin’s voice was firm. Judging by their speed, they’d have less than fifteen minutes to complete everything after landing. Everything had to be done in that window.
“There’s another three to four hundred at our two o’clock! Not that far off! If they hear gunfire, they’ll come running! Hustle with the gear! We’ve got three minutes! Everything needs to be done and everyone inside by then!”
Jin-woo, who was checking the right side, held up three fingers. Yu-bin and the sheriff both nodded. As expected, this area near the Han River was crawling with zombies. Most likely, they had tried to cross into Gangnam but hadn’t found a path yet and were wandering aimlessly.
“We’re landing!”
Paul’s voice came through the headset just as the helicopter leveled out and began to descend.
The landing point was the wide plaza of Ttukseom Hangang Park. With almost no buildings nearby, visibility in all directions was excellent, and there was no need to worry about zombies jumping down from high places. There were a few scattered in twos and threes, but in this world, that was practically background noise.
“Go! Go! Go!”
The moment the helicopter touched down, Chris and Jin-woo, with Sam-suk at the lead, jumped out and began advancing quickly while scanning their respective sides, just as they had rehearsed.
Panting, Sam-suk charged forward valiantly. If there was a sniper hiding somewhere in this ruined park, that keen nose of his, always alert to the scent of gunpowder, would give them a barked warning.
GRAAAARGH!
Sensing the heat and human scent, zombies began swarming from all directions toward the helicopter. For any normal person, it would’ve been a paralyzing sight.
“Damn it.”
Yu-bin gritted his teeth as he unloaded their gear. The moment his feet touched the ground, it hit him, just how hellish this place really was. Nothing new, really. This was the city of the dead. One wrong move… and that was the end.