SRW | Chapter 10

Crash!

“Ah, ahhh!”

The window shattered, and a massive monster’s hand reached into the gym. The creature’s hand swiftly grabbed the male student, and in an instant, he was dragged outside. From a distance, the sound of the monster chewing something echoed. I pressed myself against the wall and slowly approached Kim Jaeyoung and whispered to him.

“Let’s go to the backstage room.”

“Okay.”

“Hyunwoo, you come too.”

“…But last time, that place was…”

Shh. I covered Hyunwoo’s mouth. The torn curtains had exposed us, and staying here was too dangerous. When no more sounds came from outside, I led Kim Jaeyoung and Lee Hyunwoo toward the stage, moving slowly.

As the three of us moved toward the stage, the students who had been clinging to the walls followed. Among them was Bear.

There were too many people. It felt like there were more than in my dream. What changed? The only thing I’d done differently was save Hyunwoo… Could it be that by saving him, others were saved too? Both Bear and Hyunwoo were fiercely righteous, so it was possible they’d brought others along.

‘Damn it, my food…’

The thought of sharing the food I’d stashed with this many people made my stomach churn.

On either side of the gym’s stage were small rooms. One was a storage room, and the other was a backstage room with chairs and mirrors. Over twenty people crowded into the backstage room. The advantage of this room was that, despite its small size, it had a tiny window that allowed us to monitor the gym’s interior. Of course, it was too dark to see far, but if a monster came in and moved around, we could at least see its silhouette.

“Sniff, Mom…”

“Hic… hic…”

The communication networks were probably still up, but the students holding phones were too scared to turn them on, fearing a repeat of what had happened earlier. They just cried. I picked up a book from the floor and wedged it into the window. The script from the drama club fit the window perfectly. After blocking any light leaks, I nudged Kim Jaeyoung with my elbow.

“Do you have your phone?”

“No.”

Neither Kim Jaeyoung nor I had our phones. I grabbed the phone from a crying male student. When the screen prompted for a password, he unlocked it with trembling hands. I immediately went to a news portal. The homepage was flooded with articles speculating about the sudden darkness, the red moon, and the monsters. Live news was also being broadcast. I clicked on a live stream and turned down the volume.

[…Please evacuate to the nearest building immediately. Citizens, an unknown phenomenon is occurring worldwide. The government is working to resolve the situation, so please turn off all lights and wait for rescue in a safe location. Do not make any noise. Those outside, please evacuate to the nearest building immediately. Citizens, an unknown phenomenon is occurring worldwide. The government is working to resolve the situation…]

The video looped the same recorded footage. I closed the video and returned the phone to its owner. Though the sound was low, everyone in the room could hear the news broadcast.

“What… what’s going on…?” Lee Hyunwoo muttered.

It was what I wanted to ask too. One, two, three, four… twenty-three? How did we end up with twenty-three survivors in the gym? In my dream, there were only about ten! I wanted to grab Hyunwoo by the collar and shake him, but I held back and slumped down.

“…Ah!”

As the tension eased, the pain in my body finally registered. The injuries from the monster’s blows to my stomach, shoulder, and the deep gash on my back.

Kim Jaeyoung snatched the phone from the student and shone its flashlight on my back. Everyone gasped and held their breath at the sight of how gruesome it looked. Kim Jaeyoung peeled off my uniform shirt. The fabric was stuck to my body with dried blood. It was forcibly removed, sending a burning pain through me. I bit my arm to stifle a groan. Once the shirt was off, my body was covered in vivid bruises. If I weren’t an awakened, I would’ve died from this.

“Eunsoo.”

“…I’m fine. I can handle it.”

I meant it. My bones weren’t broken, so the bruises would fade soon. The real problem was the wound on my back. Every time I moved, warm blood trickled down my waist. How long would this take to heal? Damn it, if only I had the bag I left in the infirmary, I could at least disinfect it…! I needed to avoid moving for a while.

“Is anyone else hurt?”

“…I, I sprained my ankle when I fell.”

“My finger…”

When Hyunwoo shone the flashlight and asked, a few raised their hands. Aside from me, the injuries were minor. Hyunwoo let out a sigh of relief.

“For now… it’s best to stay quiet and hide here until help arrives. Those who are injured, please hang in there a little longer.”

Watching Hyunwoo take charge and calm the situation made me oddly proud. I saved you, buddy. I chuckled inwardly and leaned against the wall, careful not to aggravate my wounds.

“Hyunwoo… is it okay to call my parents…?”

A female student raised her hand and asked quietly. Hyunwoo pulled the script from the window and checked the gym. Seeing no movement outside, he wedged the script back in and whispered to her.

“We can’t make any noise… send a text. And everyone, turn off your phone alarms and set them to silent.”

After Hyunwoo finished speaking and sat down, silence fell. The students held back their tears and started sending texts. Then, a large figure crawled toward me. It was Bear. With a face on the verge of tears, he spoke.

“Sunbaenim… thank you so much… because of you… mmph!”

“…Be quiet.”

Shut up, just shut up. I covered Bear’s mouth. Surely he wasn’t stupid enough to blab about the nonsense I’d fed him earlier. At my fierce glare, Bear nodded a couple of times, then took out his phone and typed something in the memo app before showing it to me.

[Thank you, sunbaenim. I survived because of you.]

Uh, yeah… I nodded vaguely.

[Your wounds are deep.]

I shook my head to indicate I was fine.

[There’s a first aid kit in the cabinet near the gym entrance that the sports team uses.]

Kim Jaeyoung snatched Bear’s phone. The cabinet near the gym entrance with the first aid kit. Kim Jaeyoung’s brown eyes seemed to read the sentence multiple times. What’s this guy thinking? He’s not planning to go out there, is he? I grabbed Kim Jaeyoung’s arm, sensing his reckless thoughts.

“If you go out, you’ll die. Seriously.”

In my dream, we held out in the gym for about three days before moving to the cafeteria when we were on the verge of starvation. After that, it took about ten days before people started awakening, so Kim Jaeyoung’s awakening was still two weeks away. I planned to hold out here as long as possible before moving to the clubroom. Even with the unexpected increase in mouths to feed, we could last a week here if we rationed the food. I couldn’t let Kim Jaeyoung walk to his death before the main game even started.

“Okay.”

Surprisingly, Kim Jaeyoung agreed easily. Is he giving up that easily? Suspicious, I narrowed my eyes and glared at him, but he just looked back at me with his usual calm expression. Even in this situation, Kim Jaeyoung seemed like he was from another world. He wasn’t scared, crying, or anxious. He was the same before and after the days of darkness. If it weren’t for the pain in my back, I might’ve mistaken his serene face for a dream.

“…The internet’s down.”

“What? The signal’s completely gone?”

A few students stood up and waved their phones, trying to catch a signal, but it was useless. Right. The internet would go down, and in a few days, the electricity would too. And now, more important than the monsters would be food and water… Amid the commotion, my eyes grew heavy. I couldn’t lean my back fully against the wall, so my posture was uncomfortable. There wasn’t enough space to stretch out and lie down either. After fidgeting in discomfort, I gave up and rested my head on Kim Jaeyoung’s shoulder, closing my eyes. It was a bit cold without my shirt…

When I opened my eyes, I was snuggled close to Kim Jaeyoung, sharing a thick blanket. This… was the blanket I’d stored with the food. I peeked inside and saw bandages wrapped around my body. Where did these come from? I looked around and saw the students sitting in a circle around a phone with its flashlight on, eating bread.

“…What’s this?”

“Ah. You’re awake.”

“What’s all this?”

“Jaeyoung-sunbaenim brought the first aid kit and also went to the storage room to get food.”