Walking Daddy

Chapter 20

With a gasp, I ducked and let the flying head sail over me. I pulled out all the stops and made a run for it. I bit my lips as I ran, and soon, I saw Wangsimni Station in the distance. [1]

There was an abandoned building under construction in the front of the station. Construction was obviously at a halt, since the ‘safety first’ sign was partially torn away.

I knew it was impossible to shake ‘it’ off. I could sense, subconsciously, that the construction site would be my final battlefield. I used my underlings as bait while I hastily made my way toward the construction site.

Eight, nine, ten of them… I heard the endless screams of my underlings. I felt the resentment in their cries. I closed my eyes to ignore their wails.

‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry!’

Their deaths were meaningless. I was not ordering them to fight. Instead, it was like a kamikaze command. [2]

However, there was no way I could let myself die. If I died, what would happen to everyone back at the apartment? What about the rest of my underlings that followed my orders? What about So-Yeon?

I couldn’t foresee the consequences. I squeezed my eyes tightly and bit down on my lower lip. I felt bad for my underlings, but I couldn’t die here.

I barely made it to the construction site, though I sacrificed my underlings to do so. I knew better than to take a rest. I searched the construction site for a weapon I could use to fight the black creature. After an extensive search, my eyes fixed on a pile of rebars. There were rebars lying all over the floor. It seemed that the wires that had been holding them together had snapped.

GRR!!!

I heard its shriek from behind me. I was sure it would grab me by my neck at any moment. I felt chills down my spine, and the air around me turned ice-cold. Even without turning around, I sensed its wide-open mouth straining for my neck. I threw myself to the closest pile of rebars, grabbing the closest one to me.

I brandished the rebar, trying to regain my balance. The moment it caught sight of me, it charged toward me. My body reacted first. I thrust the rebar as hard as I could, skewering the creature as it flew through the air. The rebar went straight through its heart.

The creature screeched and howled.

Its scream filled the air around me. But it wasn’t a cry of pain. Rather, it was one of anger, one that a predator would make when it was challenged by something that it deemed as prey. It struggled even more ferociously. I tightened my grip on the length of rebar, and held onto it as hard as I could. I used all my strength, trying to counter the creature’s resistance. However, I was only being drawn closer to the creature, like iron filings toward a magnet.

I eventually let go of the rebar. My eyes fell on another length of rebar on the ground, and I quickly picked it up.

‘Everyone, grab a length of rebar and stab it!’

I gave the order to my remaining underlings, who each picked up a rebar as they dashed toward me. Using all my strength, I stabbed another length of rebar diagonally into the creature’s body.

Crack!

The rebar pierced through its body with the sound of splintering bone.

Crunch! Crack! Whack!

My underlings carried out their own onslaught. The creature’s body looked like it was riddled with bullets. I knew I couldn’t stop. This was not enough to stop it. It staggered for a moment, then rushed toward me, snatching one of my underlings and snapping its head off. I backpedaled as quickly as I could as the creature reached out its arms towards me.

Despite my desperate attempt to evade it, it managed to grab my left arm with its long arms.

Crack!

‘Hmm?’

Its sharp nails dug into my elbow and ripped off the bottom half of my arm as if it were made of styrofoam. My eyes went wide as I saw my left arm flying through the air.

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“GRRRR!!!”

Its howl of rage threatened to rip my mind apart. I gave commands to my underlings, barely clinging to sanity.

‘Keep stabbing! Don’t stop!’

As I ordered my underlings to attack ‘it’, I went inside the half-finished building to look for something that could end its life. I rushed up the stairs, going through the second and third floors without stopping.

I could hear the screams of my underlings from below, followed by the howling of the creature, like a dissonant echo. Its howl numbed my mind, causing me to lose control of my legs. I kept on heading up, punching at my thighs, which were stiffening up due to the overwhelming fear.

As I made it to the fourth floor, something caught my eye. There were a couple of vibration-resistant, reinforced concrete pipes close to the walls of the site. I wasn’t sure what a sewer pipe was doing on the fourth floor, but it wasn’t the time to think about such things. I looked over the guardrail to assess the situation below, and I saw my underlings being ripped apart by ‘it’.

Pieces of rebar were sticking out of its entire body, but this did nothing to stop it from continually attacking my underlings with its arms. Restricting its movements seemed to do very little. It still ripped through my underlings with its overwhelming strength as if it was tearing up stacks of paper.

I had no time to get sentimental. In order to finish it off, I had to execute a fatal blow. Using a length of rebar that was lying around, I shoved with all my might against the reinforced concrete pipes. However, one piece of rebar wasn’t going to be enough to move something that weighed several tons.

I wedged a couple of lengths of rebar underneath the circular tube as a lever, and pulled down on them as hard as I could. My right arm was shaking violently, and it grew hard to breathe. The reinforced concrete pipe finally twitched. I knew I could turn the creature into a meat patty once I pushed it beyond the guardrail.

I put all my remaining strength behind it, shattering my remaining teeth. My muscles felt as though they were going to burst any minute. I growled at my dislocated joints. My veins bulged right out of my body, as though they were going to burst.

“GRRRR!!!”

I strained against the reinforced concrete pipe with all my might.

Thud, Roll, Thud.

I finally managed to get the concrete pipe moving. I saw my underlings down below being slaughtered by the black creature. It took a moment to register the falling concrete pipe. It crouched immediately, preparing to jump.

The screech of metal on concrete echoed through the construction site.

The lengths of rebar that were stuck diagonally through its body prevented it from jumping. As it struggled harder, the rebars tore at its flesh and insides. The rebars kept it in place.

GRRRR!!!

The creature stared at the fourth floor while letting out a terrible howl. It wasn’t a cry of hate, but the cry of an animal that knew that it was about to meet its end. It knew that there was no way it could avoid the falling reinforced concrete pipe.

Crash!

The ground shook as though an earthquake had struck, and the tremendous vibration whipped up a massive cloud of dust. I felt the vibration through my legs as it traveled up the building to the fourth floor. I squinted while covering my mouth and nose with my one arm.

‘Is it dead? Is it dead for sure?’

Ga… Grr…

I still heard its cries. It wasn’t dead yet. It was still breathing, despite having a two-ton block of reinforced concrete dropped right on top of it from the fourth floor. I clenched my fist as I made my way down to the first floor.

As the dust settled, I noticed it lying there, with half its head squashed in. The reinforced concrete lay pressed against the rebars still pincushioning its body, tearing at its flesh. Its body was a mess, and its insides were spilling out There was black, inky liquid oozing out from its crushed head and mouth.

It lay there, spitting out gooey liquid that resembled fetid swamp water, offering no resistance. I grabbed the last remaining length of rebar on the ground to end my frustrating relationship with the creature. I concentrated intently as I aimed for its motionless head.

‘Go to hell.’

My blue veins seemed about to burst. With all my strength, I stabbed the length of rebar into its face.

A terrible howl escaped the creature.

Crack!

With a final, dying cry, the cold rebar pierced through its skull. Its body sagged like a marionette doll with its strings cut. The rebar that pierced it was shaking violently. My legs lost their strength, and I collapsed to the ground.

It was over. Everything was over. I didn’t feel sick. I was overwhelmed with the joy of having conquered my adversary, together with the adrenaline that still coursed through my muscles. I couldn’t help but smile. I felt amazing. It was a happiness that stemmed from the knowledge that I was forever done with this creature. I pictured a child running toward me with a smile.

‘Now I can go see So-Yeon.’

Beeeeep!

At that moment, a high-pitched noise assaulted my eardrums, causing my vision to blur. It was a single, high-pitched squeal. Lights seemed to be flashing before my eyes.

‘Is there a problem with my brain?’

It was difficult to maintain my balance, as though something had gone wrong with my inner ear. Along with this sudden headache, my mouth started to become extremely itchy. It felt like hundreds or thousands of insects were crawling around inside my mouth. I felt my mind slipping away, as though the rebar that had pierced the black creature’s head had actually pierced mine as well.

‘Is this some kind of rebound? Is it because my joints are misaligned?’

It was impossible. I felt no bodily fatigue, nor did I feel any physical pain, except for this headache. However, because of it, my entire body was in agony.

“GRR, GAH! GRR!!!!”

Saliva drooled out of my mouth. I couldn’t breathe. I wrapped my right hand around my neck in pain.

‘Where is this pain coming from? Why am I in pain? I feel like I’m dying. It feels like I could die at any moment. So-Yeon…’

Her face flashed through my mind. I imagined her running toward me with a cute smile, reaching me and hugging me. She seemed so close, just an arm’s length away, but she disappeared in front of me like a mirage.

“Grrr… GAAH!”

I kept jerking and twisting, trying to resist this death-bringing pain. I couldn’t die like this. I couldn’t leave So-Yeon behind like this. It grew harder to breathe, as if someone had put a big stone in my throat. I couldn’t draw in any air. My blood seemed to stop flowing once it reached my blocked-up neck, unable to make it up into my brain. I felt like my head was about to burst, and my eyes were about to pop out.

“Grr… Grr…. Ga…”

My entire life flashed before my eyes. The moment So-Yeon called me ‘Daddy’ after having kept her distance from me for what seemed like ages. The moment the survivors thanked me. The moment Lee Jeong-Uk called me the zombie leader. All those memories flashed through like a blurred-out strip of film.

Even though I was like this now, a living corpse, I still had precious moments where I felt alive.

- Don’t you die.

Lee Jeong-Uk’s words brought me back to my senses.

‘Right, I can’t die. I won the battle, and death is only for losers.’

I opened my eyes wide open and smashed my forehead against the floor.

“GRRR!”

I channeled all my remaining strength into the one arm I had while forcibly straightening my stiff upper body.

“GAAA!”

At that moment, something began to grow within my itching mouth. It made its way through my gums, growing into their correct positions. I gritted my teeth to fight the pain.

‘Wait, did I just grit my teeth?’

I knew I had lost all my teeth, but somehow, at that exact moment, I was clenching my teeth. As I straightened my back, my blocked throat slowly cleared up. The summer breeze made its way through the gap. My mind, which had fallen into an abyss, barely made its way back to sanity, registering the sweet air through my nose and mouth.

Pant, pant.

I could feel my senses slowly coming back. My entire body was shaking, wracked with coughs as I greedily sucked in air. I slowly got back to my senses, and I felt a feeling of intense comfort wash over me.

“Grr…”

As I let out the stuffy breath that had been trapped inside me, my quivering body started to settle down. I slowly got to my feet, taking deep breaths with my eyes closed. A feeling of freshness and calmness that I had never experienced before wrapped itself around my body.

The fear of death that had engulfed me mere moments ago was gone like the wind. I opened my eyes, gazing into the horizon. Everything seemed far away, as if I was dreaming. I saw the entire world as though I was in a deep sleep.

I stood in a vague, meaningless, and weightless point in time and space. Everything in this world felt like ripples on the surface of a calm lake. I massaged my stiff neck, slowly moving it side to side. I lifted my right hand to scratch the itchy part of my mouth.

Slash.

It felt like my flesh was being sliced apart. Black blood dripped down my right index finger.

My teeth had grown. No—a pair of fangs had come out. My teeth were sharp and razor-like, like shark’s teeth. Something was wrong.

I was sane, yet everything seemed too peaceful. It felt like I wasn’t myself. After a moment, I smelled something sweet. I sniffed continuously, and my gaze eventually fell upon the object which was giving off the smell. I realized that it was coming from the black creature’s torn-up corpse. I walked up to it.

Gulp.

My mouth was watering. The hunger that I hadn’t been able to feel rumbled within me like a volcano that was about to explode.

I wasn’t sure how to describe the state I was in at that moment. It didn’t seem right to say that I had lost my mind. However, I wasn’t just following my instincts either. Without hesitation, I went for the black creature’s head, cracking its skull to expose its brain.

Its brain was pitch-black. I didn’t know how to describe the way I was feeling.

‘Is it the feeling of sitting in front of a piece of juicy, tender beef while it's being cooked?’

I couldn’t stop my mouth from watering. I could already taste the sweetness swirling inside my mouth. I opened my mouth as wide as I could to munch on its brain.

Gobble, gobble.

Its brain was a delicacy, just as I thought it would be. I felt my body muscles tense and expand repeatedly as I kept feasting. I felt my muscles grow as tight as the black creature’s muscles. In moments, I had finished all of it. Only fluid was left behind.

Beeeeeep!

The high-pitched whine started up again. The noise thrashed against my eardrums, messing with my mind. I couldn’t keep my balance. I knew I had to stand upright, but the world in front of me was already sideways. In moments, I felt the coldness of the floor through my skin.

I wanted to move. My mind was telling me to move. But my body wasn’t having it. After a while, an unusual feeling engulfed my body.

‘An unusual feeling?’

It was a feeling I hadn’t felt in a while, so it took me a while to realize what it was. I’d never felt it after turning into this.

Drowsiness.

I suddenly felt sleepy. My eyes were drifting closed of their own accord. I couldn’t resist, as if I was going into hibernation. My body was acting instinctively. It seemed perfectly natural for me to go to sleep.

My mind was yelling at me to move, and that I had to get back to the apartment. However, my body didn’t follow along. Instead, my eyelids started to close. I blinked several times, my vision flickering the way lights did just before a blackout. Eventually, darkness swallowed me.

1. Wangsimni Station is a subway station in Seoul, Korea. It is located in Haengdang-dong district, where the main character resides. ☜

2. A Kamikaze was a technique employed by Japanese pilots in World War II. They would strap explosives to their aircraft and attempt to take out enemy targets by crashing their planes into them, committing suicide. ☜