Walking Daddy

Chapter 3

Deep in the night, the bugs chirped away, and So-Yeon was sound asleep. It seemed like she could never get enough sleep. I wondered if she was on the verge of growing taller. I pulled some blankets over her and headed to the utility room we used as a closet.

Inside, there was an old radio. All the phones and televisions had stopped working, but I thought the radio could still be working. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to get it to function, as I was the furthest thing from a mechanic, but I had to try something. I turned the radio on with the slightest hope, but I ended up with nothing. Tuning the receiver through the different stations didn’t help either.

I wondered if the radio was just worn out. I should have picked up the skill of fixing things when I had the chance. I smacked the radio a few times hoping it would fix itself.

‘It used to fix itself with a couple of knocks…’

Unfortunately, I didn’t get anywhere with it. I let out a sigh and walked over to the window. Who was to blame for my ignorance? And who was to blame for how the world was unfolding? As I looked out, I noticed that ‘they’ had gone back to wherever they had come from, realizing that there wasn’t anything for ‘them’ to hunt. And the creature had returned to its usual spot, going about its usual routine.

This despairing reality… felt surprisingly peaceful today. I wondered if it was me just getting used to all of this. Or perhaps my sense of danger had dulled. I let out a sigh and stared blankly into the night sky. The moon was shining more brightly than usual. Times like these made me want to go outside and take in the fresh air. But the double-paned window and curtains were blocking my view, as if they were telling me to come back to earth.

I closed my eyes as I focused on the chirping of the bugs. ‘They’ didn’t seem to be reacting to the bugs chirping, merely looking around silently. It seemed like all their attention was on trying to pinpoint where the sound of the bugs was coming from, and ‘they’ couldn’t spare any energy to make meaningless sounds. I couldn’t figure out the real reason behind all this, but I was able to have a peaceful evening thanks to the bugs.

Stomp, stomp, stomp, thud.

That moment, a sudden cacophony broke the silence. I opened my eyes and peered straight ahead into the darkness. I noticed several people in apartment 101—the apartment across from mine—sneaking out with their backs hunched.

In an apartment complex like this one, even the slightest sound traveled through the entire complex, no matter how tightly the windows were closed. It was even more pronounced on a night such as this one, where even the sound of bugs chirping could be heard. I could hear them even more clearly since I’d been so intent on listening.

But then, what about ‘them’? ‘They’ relied on their hearing. There’s no way ‘they’ would have missed that. I quickly shifted my attention toward the entrance to the apartment and focused on ‘them’. ‘They’ had stopped waving their arms and were staring straight at apartment 101.

‘There’s no way ‘they’ missed that. ‘They’ must’ve heard them.’

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I followed ‘their’ gaze, and eventually found myself looking at the people from apartment 101. There were a total of three people outside, two men and a woman. The man in lead started whispering to the one in the back, as if he had noticed ‘their’ glare. It seemed like the man at the end had made the noise.

I couldn’t help feeling worried as I looked at them.

‘Go inside and don’t come back outside again!’

Moving at night was practically suicide. It was much better to move during the day, when ‘their’ movements were slowed down. And on a calm night like this one… ‘Their’ senses were probably especially heightened.

I clutched at the curtains as I observed the trio of humans, wishing desperately that they would go back inside. Unfortunately, they started heading down to the first floor.

‘Why? Why in the world are they heading down? Are they low on food? Do they think that a rescue team would never make it to them? Are they unable to handle the despair of feeling trapped inside anymore? Or do they somehow believe that they can find help outside?’

My eyes stayed glued to them as they moved hastily along the first floor wall. At that moment, one of the creatures at the entrance to the apartment started acting strangely. It moved its head up and down while making a strange expression, and I could hear a faint sniffing noise.

At that moment, I couldn't help but think about the face of the creature I had seen earlier that morning. It had been going about its usual routine, waving its arms forward and backward in its usual spot, but it had blood all over its mouth this time. Before the child and the woman had been eaten alive the night before, it had only been waving its arms about. On that basis, I had to conclude that the creature had to have smelled the blood of the child and the woman, and had feasted on their flesh later on. That was the only explanation for the blood covering its mouth. This meant that ‘they’ also had a sense of smell.

I couldn’t believe that this hadn’t occurred to me earlier. I wondered why I had believed that they relied solely on their hearing. This thought sent a chill down my spine as I observed the trio moving along the wall.

I couldn’t help but envision the worst possible situation that could happen to the trio if they were to be caught by ‘them’. After all, if it was just about noise, they could walk more cautiously and breathe carefully until they were outside ‘their’ reach. But what about ‘their’ sense of smell? What if ‘they’ could smell the vitality of living things? If so, there would absolutely be no chance of getting away from ‘them’ without being caught.

I bit my lip as I watched them running.

‘Is there a way I can signal them to go back? There has to be a way to signal them.’

At that moment, though, a rather cold-blooded thought surfaced in my mind.

‘Why am I worried about them in the first place? It’s none of my business anyway.’

I had no way of saving them, nor any reason to save them. But for some reason, I couldn’t stop worrying about them. Was it because they were humans like me? Because I knew how it felt to be like one of them? Or… was I secretly rooting for them, deep down, to make it out safely? Would their success spur some motivation or courage within me?

I shook my head and let out a sigh. Now wasn’t the time to be swept away by such thoughts. I had to figure out what was going on.

‘Let’s go through some scenarios and predict their outcomes. Let’s say I actually do help them, and get them out alive. But what if they start threatening me? And if they were to go after the remaining food that So-Yeon and I have…’

Then, I would have to fight them off. And in the process, someone would probably end up getting hurt, or even dying. Clearly, then, there would absolutely be no reason to help them in the first place.

But what if they could help me out? I started considering what help they could offer me.

‘Food? Medicine? Information? Manpower to fight ‘them’ off?’

I watched them closely as I ran through the different possibilities.

‘If I were them… I wouldn’t have chosen this time to go outside.’

The noise of the bugs notwithstanding, it made no sense to move during the night. It made more sense to move during the day, when the chances of survival were higher. If this trio had paid attention and observed what ‘they’ had been up to, they wouldn’t have gone out right now.

With that, I came to the conclusion that they weren’t that bright. They were irrational, and hadn’t thought things through. While it was true that actions sometimes spoke louder than words, they probably had a safe place where they could have strategized, and, frankly speaking, should have done so. And that was their mistake… Not thinking it through.

There was no reason to save such irrational beings. Having justified myself, I suddenly felt relieved. There really was no reason for me to take risks, anyway. I had to take care of So-Yeon. Her safety was my number one priority. One mistake, and our lives could be taken away.

I put my head in my hands as I brought my attention back to what they were doing. They had made it past the walls and reached a side entrance on the left, and were poking their heads out into the main road. I wondered what they were going to do next.

‘Where in the world are they going?’

In order to get food, they would have to go to a convenience store or supermarket, and the way to either one was through the main entrance. Since the main entrance was full of ‘them’, however, this wasn’t an option. Even so, the side exit on the left led nowhere. They had to go to the exit on the right if they wanted to get to any convenience store.

‘So what are they after? Are they trying to find a different place to hide?’

At that moment, the man in the lead gestured to the group to keep on moving forward. Surprisingly enough, there were no creatures on the main road. All of ‘them’ within the apartment complex had turned their attention towards apartment 101. ‘They’ started gathering around apartment 101, and some of ‘them’ started sniffing in the direction of the stairs of apartment 101.

‘Are ‘they’ trying to track them down?’

I had no clue what the trio were up to, but it seemed impossible for them to return. I began biting my nails nervously as I gazed back at the main road. The trio had crossed the road quickly and now stood on the curbside. With all the lights out, I couldn’t tell which store they were standing in front of. I squinted for a while until, to my shock, I realized where they were heading toward. The building sported a big logo and the word ‘Pharmacy.’

‘They risked their lives to go to a pharmacy. Do they have someone sick with them? Someone with a summer cold? Food poisoning? Enteritis? Eczema?’

I could think of thousands of diseases that anyone in our situation could contract. Without any electricity or water, our immune systems were getting weaker. On top of that, without electricity, preserving food was a tall order, and not being able to wash up didn’t help.

Full of anxiety, I covered my mouth and clenched my fist. Not long after, I heard the sound of heavy footfalls coming from apartment 101 and directed my attention that way.

“Oh goodness…!”

A gasp escaped my lips.

Click! Clack!

‘They’ weren’t going after the trio. Instead, ‘they’ were tracing their way back to where the trio had come from. ‘They’ jolted up the stairs like animals, making their way up on all fours. ‘They’ didn’t seem to be short on stamina. As ‘they’ made their way up to the third, fourth, fifth, and finally the seventh floor, they suddenly vanished. ‘They’ had probably gone to the opposite hallway.

In moments, the curtains in a balcony window on the seventh floor began to shake. When they were finally lifted, I saw a woman standing there. Her eyes were fixed on the front door, and the banging coming from that direction was enough to make me scared stiff.

Thud, thud, thud!

The banging, kicking, and scratching continued.

‘What to do, what to do?’

I felt as though I was in her shoes.

‘They’ were blocking her only way in and out of that unit. There was no way out for her. Her group of friends were outside, and she had no means of fighting ‘them’ off.

My chin was trembling. I covered my mouth, not willing to risk any noise leaking out. The fear of death almost swallowed me.

The woman looked back and forth between the front door and the balcony. Then, she pulled the curtains wide open and looked outside.