No30 Ch7

01:03

01:04

Another minute passed. The clock’s battery had only one bar left out of three.

Aslan raised his lowered gaze to look at the woman holding the gun. For the past hour since dinner, Liella had been practicing drawing, gripping, and aiming the gun. Her posture was perfect. She must have learned it at least once before.

Usually, people practice for about twenty minutes and then mistakenly believe they know how to handle a gun. But she seemed determined to repeat the same motion until he stopped her. Until her body remembered it perfectly. So she could draw and shoot the gun at any time in an emergency.

It was hard to believe she was the same person who had hyperventilated and fainted just a few hours ago. Weak yet strong. Or rather, weak yet trying to become strong.

Aslan tapped the clock screen to turn it off and straightened up from where he had been leaning against the wall.

He had been wondering all the time she was asleep. About the uncomfortable relationship where he was only conscious of one person. What she was to him, exactly.

If it were a woman like her, he might have liked her. Enough to not be able to completely erase her even after forgetting everything.

“I think we can leave soon.”

“Already?”

Liella paused and turned her head. Her outstretched arm slowly lowered.

“Yes. And as we discussed beforehand, I think we should go to the living quarters as soon as the body search is over. I want to check if Dylan’s wound has healed and if the living quarters are suitable for long-term stay.”

“Ah, okay. There should be a box of groceries I packed in front of the warehouse. After finding the recorder, we can take that straight to the living quarters.”

She readily handed him the empty gun as he approached. Pointing the barrel upwards, she removed the magazine, pulled back the slide to check inside, and then handed him the gun. Flawless. Aslan took out the bullets he had brought from the armory.

“Yes. That’s the plan. But I need to load it first.”

“Oh, could you show me one more time? I know how to do it, but I want to see it again to be sure.”

“Loading is simple. Insert the magazine into the grip, then either pull back and release the slide, or press the slide stop.”

He showed her both methods, slowly inserting and removing the magazine. He waited until Liella received the gun and followed along.

“I will turn off the lights and open the door in five seconds. Let me know if there are any changes to the plan.”

Aslan turned his head to stare at the door. Soon, the backlight went off.

***

Creak.

A gust of wind brushed her cheek. Liella swallowed.

It’s okay. No problem. Find the recorder and go to the living quarters. And figure out where this is and find a way out.

As they had discussed, they began to move forward, touching the right wall. It was pitch black without a single light.

With her eyes unable to see, her senses became doubly sensitive. The sound of breathing in her ears was like thunder, and sweat beaded on the hand gripping the gun.

Liella thought that if someone asked her what fear was, she could now answer with confidence. True fear is imagination. The brain that conjures up skeletons with melted skin is the culprit.

Just as her pounding heart reached its limit.

“That’s twenty steps.”

Aslan, who was walking ahead, stopped and said quietly. It was as Liella had suggested. The distance to the armory was around twenty steps, according to her memory. They would check the location of the body there.

“I’m going to turn the light on and off now.”

“Okay. I’m ready.”

She answered, gripping the gun so hard that her knuckles turned white. She aimed at the invisible corridor for a moment, and then her vision flickered like lightning.

A fleeting scene was imprinted on her mind like a photograph.

A corpse sprawled in the middle of the corridor. And…

“……”

What was that just now?

Liella’s spine stiffened and she whipped her head into the darkness. When it was bright, something had definitely caught her eye on the left. Like a tall woman with long hair. A chill ran down her spine.

That’s not a person.

“Is there a problem?”

Aslan, having confirmed Anton’s location, asked when she didn’t follow. Liella swallowed hard and said no, taking a step forward.

Cold sweat flowed. There was a world of difference between vaguely assuming something was in the dark and actually seeing it.

Did that thing see us too? Is it looking for us?

Never turn on the light again.

Judging from the reaction speed so far, a momentary flash of light was okay, but after a few seconds, it would suddenly attack. It was still okay.

“I think I’ve found the body. We can switch roles if you want.”

Then Aslan, who had been tapping the floor, spoke again. Originally, Liella was supposed to search the body, and Aslan, who was familiar with guns, was supposed to provide cover. But he seemed to have sensed that something was wrong with her, even in the dark.

“No. I’ll do it. That’s what we decided. I won’t be carrying the box later, so I’ll have nothing to do.”

She was already receiving enough help. She felt like she had to do something to ease her conscience. Even if it meant rummaging through the belongings of a dead person.

As she groped in the air for a moment, she felt a hand grab and pull her. It was warm and large. She suddenly felt more relieved than when she was standing alone in the dark. Aslan led her and placed her hand on something hard. The moment she realized it was Anton’s shoe, a displeased tone rang in her ear.

“Don’t push yourself too hard.”

It’s a corpse. I’m touching a corpse. The thought alone temporarily stopped her mind.

It was time for rigor mortis to set in. The stiff legs felt like logs dressed in clothes, and she could feel the hollowed-out wounds here and there. As if shaking off the unpleasant feeling, she held the gun in her right hand and quickly groped the pants pocket with her left.

“I found something like an armory key in his pants. I’ll move up to his jacket now.”

The higher she groped, the more she felt that the corpse was battered. She suppressed her nausea and searched the chest pocket. The left chest was almost completely hollowed out, so there was no pocket left, but she felt a long, cylindrical object in the right pocket.

Could this be the recorder? I hope it’s not broken. She prayed inwardly as she pulled it out.

“Why? Can’t I take it out?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Aren’t you holding me back from taking out the recorder?”

Liella asked, puzzled. Hard, cold fingers were gripping her wrist tightly. After a moment of chilling silence, a lowered voice came from above.

“I’m not holding anything.”

Then whose hand is this…?

Screaming, she shook off his arm, but the gripping force wouldn’t let her go. At the same time Aslan turned on the light, Liella fired the gun at the corpse that had risen up. Bang! The recoil of the gun, which she was using for the first time, was stronger than she had expected.

Anton, who was black and melted and right in front of her, was pushed back by the strong impact and released Liella.

“Turn off the lights!”

Turning around and shouting, she jumped up, and Aslan, who was shooting towards the other end of the corridor, turned off the watch. This time, she grabbed him and ran into the darkness.

***

“Hey! Is anyone out there?! Is everyone dead?”

So this is what it means to be met with silence. Dylan, who had been listening for a moment, got out of bed and grumbled.

“No, they could have left at least one light on, right? I’m a patient, you know.”

It sounded like something was crashing and breaking, waking him from his sleep. The important thing was that he didn’t know what it was.

Groping around, he racked his brain to recall the structure of the living quarters he had seen before falling asleep.

The living quarters, which resembled a dormitory, had a large door (like something you’d find on a submarine), which led to a living room with a long sofa and a table, and four rooms on each side. At the back, there was a staircase leading to the upper floor and a kitchen.

Ah, could the noise have come from up there? The sound was really loud.

“Hey, you hiding there. I know you’re there. Come out now.”

Feeling scared for no reason, Dylan pretended to be loud and threatening as he groped for the wall.

“Ugh. If that weirdo was here, I would have told him to close the stairwell door.”

As he groped his way from the room at the end, he couldn’t help but complain. Wasn’t he injured? Although he didn’t feel any pain at all after waking up.

After barely passing three more rooms, he reached what seemed to be the stairs. He was closing the hatch when he heard loud footsteps behind him. They came quickly.

“Oh, you should have come sooner. You came after I finished everything.”

Bang, his words were completely drowned out by the sound of the living quarters being hastily closed. Liella, breathless and panting, shouted and asked.

“Is there, is there a door here that goes up to the third floor?”

“Huh? Yeah. I just closed it.”

“Good job. The third floor, the third floor has been breached.”

“What?!”

“There’s ‘that’ in the corridor too. Anton is dead.”

Dylan, who had suddenly received praise, bad news, and a death notice, quickly used his brain, which only worked fast at times like this.

“Did it enter the corridor through here? Then I was in a lot of danger, wasn’t I? Why did you leave me alone? No, more importantly, it’s not here, right?”

He was thinking that he should stay locked in his room from now on when suddenly the lights came on. Aslan shone the backlight on Dylan, who was squinting from the glare, and the surrounding scenery, and said indifferently.

“It’s not here.”

“Agh! Hey, if you’re going to check, say something first.”

“The injury?”

Was he worried? Dylan, who was about to pour out all sorts of complaints, flinched and looked suspiciously at his cold eyes.

“Can’t you tell I’m walking around fine? It doesn’t hurt much.”

“Take off the bandage.”

“What?”

“I’m telling you to check if it’s healed.”

It was absurd. He’s not even a doctor.

Nevertheless, Aslan’s tone carried an undeniable force, so Dylan grumbled and unwrapped the bandage.

“…Huh?”