Walking Daddy

Side Story 12: Stories of Russia (12)

Even after a year, the research did not produce any significant results.

The second and third transports brought over various supplies, along with human organs. There were significantly less supplies when compared to the first transport. Aside from the organs, the supplies seemed similar to those that had been brought over before. Most of the supplies were firearms, as well as necessities that pertained to survival, such as food, clothing and shelter.

When I asked Jack about the survivors that were supposed to come, he gave me a half-baked answer.

“I don’t think the survivors were ready to accept you folks. I’m guessing… That they were scared to live amongst zombies. I heard this directly from the soldiers, so you can trust me on this.”

‘Trust me, huh…’

Trust was something that couldn’t be forced on others; it was something that others naturally developed toward you. Something you gained from others. To make matters worse, Jack didn’t even have a concrete plan about what he was going to do. All he did was parrot the word ‘trust’ over and over again, which made me slowly lose faith in him.

In the end, it was forecasted that five trips would be needed to transport everything from Canada over. Initially, everything and everyone was supposed to be in Russia by the third trip. Jack guaranteed that the survivors would be here on the fourth and fifth transports. I wasn’t too happy with the way he was handling things, but since he hadn’t done any harm to me and the others, I went along with it. Like I mentioned to the others, there was no need to pick a fight with him and the other Canadians.

After the third transport arrived in Russia, I held a meeting with the Russian researchers in the dorms.

“Don’t you think they’re dragging this out?” Tommy asked with a sigh.

I had the same thought in mind. It seemed anyone could tell that they were delaying things on purpose, but it was hard to confront them because we didn’t have any concrete evidence to show. And it seemed like the Canadian researchers already had all sorts of excuses prepared. It was clear that they had run through every possible scenario in their minds, just by the calm way that they answered questions that were meant to throw them off.

Elena, who was next to Tommy, scratched her head. “Did they uncover some oil reserves or something? They’re just wasting time and fuel.”

“Why don’t we just kill them all and take all of their research materials?” Tommy suggested with an impatient grimace.

He was clearly being extreme. I shook my head at his suggestion. "I don’t agree with killing people without having concrete proof.”

“Is it because of the Canadian survivors? Are you afraid that they won’t be able to come here if we kill Jack and his people?”

"That too, but also, they’re focusing on transplanting the missing organs into me, so there's no need to kill them now."

“Well, they’re not doing anything.”

“We did learn that human organs can’t be transplanted into me directly. Don’t rush this; I’ll try to come up with something. Can you wait until then?”

Tommy massaged his temples gently and let his head sag. He let out the deepest sigh and looked at me with bleary eyes. “Do you know what’s going on in the lab these days?”

“Are there any problems?”

“I can’t move forward with my research into a cure. As soon as I get some results, they take the data and samples away from me.”

“The Canadian researchers?”

“Do you think that those humans who only care about organ transplants are actually interested in a cure? These guys are trying to steal the show somehow. We’re not sharing information; they’re just taking mine away.”

Tommy frowned, and Alyosha, who was next to him, chimed in with his awkward, shoddy Korean.

“We are not trying hard either. Research.”

Alyosha shrugged, and Tommy smacked his lips and grimaced. It was now almost six years since the virus had begun its spread. Within that time, Alyosha had studied Korean, and was now able to have simple conversations with the others.

The drive to discover a cure that would save humans had turned into a factional fight between two research teams.

I buried my face with my hands. “We’re not going to get anywhere by talking amongst ourselves right now. I’m scheduled to undergo my seventh organ transplant this afternoon. Let’s talk again after that.”

“Whose organs are you transplanting into you this time?”

“Do Han-Sol’s.”

"Pardon? Is he back in Vladivostok?”

“He said he would stop by to report on how things are out in the peninsula, and to say hello to the Canadian researchers.”

Tommy tilted his head. “Is there any reason they’re transplanting his organs specifically?”

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“It’s because we have the same blood type and similar body types. Whether or not my body will accept his organs is a different story.”

“Does Kim Hyeong-Jun have a different blood type from you?”

“Yes.”

“But then again, do blood types even mean anything to you?”

“When they tried to transplant human organs into me, I showed different reactions based on the blood types of their original owners. The Canadian folks told me that they would have a higher chance in transplanting if the organs had the same blood type as me.”

The virus inside me would attack the transplanted organs if their original owners’ blood type differed from my own. Even when our blood types matched and the virus was less aggressive, the transplanted organ never survived because of the toxicity of the virus.

Tommy quietly rubbed his chin and fell into deep thought. He seemed lost in his thoughts for a while, but then he began to mutter, “If the blood type affects the reactions, that means his DNA structure is similar to that of a normal human being… Then, does the difference lie in bone density?”

I wondered if he had stumbled upon another hypothesis for developing the cure. Tommy kept on muttering for a long time, then suddenly jumped up from his seat.

“I have something I want to test right now. I’ll be heading off first.”

I nodded, and Tommy pulled Alyosha and Elena outside. I opened the window again and threw myself over the railing. I always exited via the window, just to avoid crossing paths with others while I was with Tommy, Alyosha, and Elena. I wanted to avoid unnecessary encounters with others.

The moment I landed on the ground, I met someone I shouldn't have met.

“Oh, what a surprise.”

“...!”

My eyes fell on the Canadian researcher called Ruin. She was the researcher in charge of administering anesthesia. Her short, bright blonde hair was her distinctive feature, which made it easy to remember who she was.

Ruin stared blankly at me, then looked up at the window of the dorms and curled up in fear.

“Why… Why did you come out from there?”

“Oh, I… I came to meet Tommy. There was something I needed to discuss with him.”

“Do you usually leave through the window instead of the door?”

“...”

I was taken aback and didn’t know what to say. I knew I had to play this situation smoothly, but being the poor actor I was, it wasn’t easy for me to change the subject.

"Oh? Tommy? Even Alyosha and Elena are here…”

To make matters worse, she had even caught a glimpse of Tommy and the others walking away. Her bewildered expression deepened, as if she didn’t know what to make of this situation.

I was panicking slightly, and stretched out my hand. "Ruin, no, that’s not…”

Her eyes widened, and she started running back to the laboratory. My blue eyes flashed, and I grabbed her, covering her mouth so that she couldn’t scream.

This wasn’t what I had in mind.

I regretted it as soon as I did it.

I had acted impulsively.

I looked behind me and saw Tommy running toward me as he scanned the surroundings.

“Mr. Lee Hyun-Deok, let’s head back to the dorm first.”

“And then what?”

“I don’t know. But let’s take care of the situation at hand first, then think about what’s going to happen next.”

Tommy nodded toward the dorms.

And that’s how, for the first time in my life, I unintentionally kidnapped someone.

* * *

I tied Ruin’s legs and arms to a chair and covered her mouth with tape. Tears ran down her face as she struggled to escape. I sat across from her and tugged at my hair, commiserating over how pathetic I was.

I should’ve been more careful.

I’d instinctively sprung out of the window like I’d done so many times, without thinking about it. I should have taken a look around before I’d done it, but had almost become a habit of mine, something I did unconsciously.

I looked at Ruin.

“I’ll take off the tape,” I said. “Don't scream.”

"Mmph… Mmph!"

“If you understand, nod your head.”

Ruin nodded multiple times while sniffling. After tearing off the tape, Ruin trembled as if she had seen a ghost and looked at Tommy, Alyosha, and Elena.

After a moment, she stammered, “Why… Why are you doing this to me? What did I do wrong?”

I had grabbed her instinctively when she’d tried to run, which then ended up in me kidnapping her.

Ruin swallowed and continued, “Didn’t you say you were going on patrol with Mr. Kim Hyeong-Jun? And Tommy, why are you here at this hour? Aren't you supposed to be in the lab? The same goes for you two.”

‘We were discussing you and your people; that’s why we were all here.’

This was the only thought that crossed my mind. But of course, I knew I couldn’t say it. Because of that, I wasn’t sure how to explain what we were actually doing. I wondered if she would believe us if I told her that we were just fooling around.

Of course not.

I closed my eyes and let out a deep sigh. Then I looked at Ruin and began to speak slowly.

“Well, Ruin… The thing is… Right now, we are…”

“...”

I noticed that her eyes were trembling, but I couldn’t tell if she was nervous or afraid. Observing her only made me feel more anxious, as I couldn’t tell what was going on in her mind. I couldn’t help but think that being honest with her was going to be the best way to make her understand us.

Since we were already past the point of no return, I decided to be completely honest with her and tell her everything.

I took a short breath.

"Ruin, I’ll be honest with you.”

“...”

"I… I’ve never gone under when you put me on anesthesia. So I've heard all your conversations. We know that you guys are hiding data from us.”

I told her everything, not lying about any of it. I felt somewhat guilty, but when I glanced at her face, her expression seemed surprisingly calm. I frowned and tilted my head, and Ruin bit her lower lip and looked me straight in the eyes. She then said something that caught me completely off-guard.

"I know.”

“What…?”

I looked over at Tommy with a puzzled face. Tommy also seemed taken aback. He looked back and forth between Ruin and myself with a dumbfounded expression, then he tilted his head and asked Ruin, “What do you mean?”

“I wasn't sure either. I also wasn’t sure…”

“Then you knew about all this from the start? Are you saying that the Canadian researchers intentionally leaked information to Mr. Lee Hyun-Deok? To deceive us?”

“No, they don't know. It’s just me… Only I know.”

Her ambiguous words seemed to confuse Tommy even more. His mouth was open as if he wanted to say something, but he seemed to have run out of questions.

“You knew I was awake every time you guys cut me open?” I asked her, scratching my forehead.

“Yes.”

“Then why did you still proceed with the act of sedating me then let me eavesdrop when you knew that I wasn’t asleep? Why did you do that?”

“...”

Ruin hesitated. I wondered if her mind had become clouded by everything that had just happened. It seemed like she had no idea where to begin or how to word her explanation. I waited patiently, but Ruin still didn’t speak. She just frowned and bit her lower lip constantly.

Soon, I heard a familiar male voice calling her name from outside.

“Ruin! Ruin!”

It was Jack. It seemed like he’d come looking for her since she’d been gone for quite a while. I grew nervous, and Ruin spoke in a quiet voice, “Let me go.”

“Pardon?”

“I want you to let me go. I won't tell anyone about what happened today. Just let me go already.”

Tommy waved a hand vigorously.

"No, no. That's not going to happen. How can we trust you?” he countered.

"You’re not gaining anything by holding me captive like this. You’re just wasting time.”

“...”

“In return, I want you folks to keep my secret. Jack’s research team cannot know about it.”

“What secret?”

“What I just told you about the anesthesia.”

Tommy paced about the room in circles as though frustrated that he couldn’t get the information he wanted from her. I organized my thoughts quickly, then took a deep breath and stood up.

“Take care. Don’t do anything stupid,” I said as I loosened the ropes.

“...”

“If the Canadian researchers find out about what happened today… I don’t know what’s going to happen. Mark my words.”

With that, Ruin got up, massaged her stiff limbs, and left, her head bowed low. I went to the window and eavesdropped on the conversation outside.

“Ruin, you said you were going to the bathroom. How far away did you go?”

“I felt all stuffy, just being in the lab all day. I wanted to take a walk.”

“You should’ve said so. Right now, though, there’s something I need to tell you about the fourth transport, so follow me.”

As the two of them walked away, Tommy lamented, “Why’d you let her go? What were you thinking? What are you going to do now?”

“That person named Ruin… There’s something suspicious about her.”

“No, no… We’re the suspicious ones in her eyes!”

Tommy pounded his chest and sighed continuously, as if he wanted the whole world to know just how frustrated he was. I fell into deep thought as I watched Ruin walking away. I could tell that she’d been conflicted about telling us what was really on her mind while tied to the chair, probably because she could not fathom the consequences.

She knew from the beginning that the anesthesia wouldn’t put me to sleep. However, as soon as she arrived in Russia, she proceeded to use anesthesia on me, and did not inform the other Canadian researchers that I wasn’t actually asleep.

This truth about the anesthesia that she kept to herself… Perhaps it was her last bastion. But, at the end of the day, a last bastion could only do so much.

We needed something strong, a weapon that we could wield to strike a blow at them. To me, it felt like Ruin was becoming that weapon even before I had the chance to say no. It seemed like she was signaling to me for help, leaving everything to me.

Ruin seemed like a whistleblower to me.

Something big must’ve happened in Canada, something so big that she needed my help. I wondered why she’d never opened up to me until now.

Perhaps it was because she didn’t trust me?

Or perhaps she didn’t trust the Russian researchers?

To be frank, there were tons of reasons not to trust any of us. And it made sense, because whistleblowers only survived by maintaining a strong distrust toward others. As a whistleblower, trusting others easily would most likely be catastrophic.

I thought that all that we’d planned had gone to waste, but it seemed like kidnapping Ruin was a godsend.

I had to keep a more watchful eye on Ruin.