Ch.156Chapter 20. Patriot (8)

A sweltering summer day, just like any other.

Halek, the patrol squad leader, prayed, “Goddess, I wish it would rain.” It wasn’t because of water shortage. The water tank levels were adequate, and the recent downpour from a few days ago had been sufficient.

He simply wanted rain because on rainy days, he wouldn’t have to recite this stupid prayer out loud.

“To feel hunger is to be alive. Goddess, we thank you for allowing us to recognize our own deficiencies today…”

Rain disrupts hearing. Enough to drown out the sound of zombie footsteps. That’s why on rainy days, the rule was to pray silently. Patrol members who finished their prayers quickly were even allowed to pick up their spoons first.

But on days like this, meals had to be preceded by a thanksgiving prayer led by the “highest authority of the gathering.” The person in charge of Patrol Squad 41 was Halek himself. So he desperately continued his prayer, somehow swallowing the saliva pooling in his mouth.

“May it be done according to the Goddess’s will, we pray from the depths of our hearts.”

“We pray.”

“We pray.”

“Let’s eat!”

Ten patrol members each scooped up a spoonful of hot canned beans. It wasn’t the most suitable food for a day when simply standing still could make you collapse from dehydration, but on such hot and humid days, one had to be careful with cooking.

“Bonnie, Roman, I heard you have fevers. Are you feeling any better?”

Especially with this epidemic fever spreading. It couldn’t be dismissed as a simple cold. The symptoms were identical: “high fever, muscle pain, decreased appetite, cold sweats, and lethargy.”

“I just found out that even zombies can catch the flu.”

The symptoms had even appeared in zombies they’d passed while on patrol.

“Captain, have you heard the story?”

“What is it, Roman?”

“You know Patrol Squad 64? The ones who were patrolling the southern outskirts, all caught the flu, were replaced by the reserve squad, and just returned to duty.”

That jogged his memory. They were friends from the long-distance patrol squad who delivered supplies to believers living on the outskirts of the city and conducted regular patrols.

“What about them?”

“I heard they’re off duty again?”

This was unusual.

Even when sick, most squad members want to report for duty. The cult provides normal rations during shift rotations, but if you take personal leave or sick leave, they don’t provide any support.

It’s not because the cult lacks resources. Thanks to quick action, they actually have an abundance of supplies. But those items are meant to be delivered to cult members living inside and outside the city. Considering items damaged or lost due to gang raids or zombie attacks, resources are actually somewhat tight.

The cult established “order.” The classic and universally understandable principle of “if you don’t work, you don’t eat.” Unless you’re severely ill and can’t raise your body above tire height, or you’re a small child.

That’s why “collectively missing duty” was truly incomprehensible.

“What’s ailing them this time?”

When the captain asked, Roman lowered his voice.

“Take this as a rumor, in one ear and out the other. Well, they recovered from the flu, returned to duty, and while patrolling, they encountered zombies that didn’t attack them.”

Halek just said, “Is that so?” and kept busy with his spoon. After chewing the well-cooked beans about five times, he finally understood what he’d heard.

“What do you mean the zombies ‘didn’t’ attack?”

“Normally zombies desperately rush to devour humans on sight, right? But apparently, they just growled and ignored them. So they went to see the High Priest and Deputy High Priest, wondering if the Goddess had performed a miracle.”

Halek flinched and made the sign of the cross while eating. If the Goddess had heard his thoughts about “stupid prayers,” lightning would strike from a clear sky.

‘Be grateful for feeling hunger? Those zombie bastards don’t seem grateful at all. So if you’re thankful for starving, you’re human, and if not, you’re a zombie?’

Sometimes when drunk, he would ramble on like this. He thought that if the Goddess truly existed, such a terrible plague wouldn’t be possible. But if the Goddess did exist and was dispensing miracles…

‘I should probably increase my offerings this week.’

While Halek was lost in these irrelevant thoughts, the squad members continued their debate about whether miracles truly existed in this world.

One side argued, “Couldn’t the Goddess have prevented this disease in the first place?” while the other maintained, “No, this is the time of judgment, separating the true children from the false.”

“Quiet down. What does that make the zombies then?”

Halek waved his hand.

“Zombies are pitiful creatures who failed the test. Do they look human to you?”

“I’d rather they ‘never turned back’ into humans. Or at least had their memories wiped. Let’s say they were zombies and became human again. How could anyone live remembering such horrific experiences? I’d rather die.”

Halek glanced at his wristwatch. Lunch was finished, and they had about 10 minutes before departing again.

“Enough chatter, come get your shots!”

A subordinate with nursing background prepared alcohol swabs and took out syringes and vials from a small metal box. The vials contained cloudy liquid clearly marked with the Disease Control Agency’s logo.

“Are we sure this stuff works?”

Even as they rolled up their sleeves, the subordinates couldn’t hide their skepticism. According to the Disease Control Agency’s guidelines, the “vaccine” needed to be administered once a week regularly to be effective.

“I don’t fully understand the mechanism, but apparently if you’re infected with the Chro virus that turns people into zombies, it slows down the transmission rate as much as possible. A symptom suppressor, I guess? It helps you hold out until your body creates antibodies.”

This precious item was delivered by a “brother” who worked at the Disease Control Agency. Boldly, he had driven an agency truck to the border, left it there, and returned in a vehicle provided by the cult.

Despite the terrible relationship between the High Priest and Deputy High Priest, the cult continued to operate thanks to this suppressor. It was also why gangs constantly tried to attack and loot the cult.

“Those bastards have taken so many people hostage. Filthy scum…”

Hostage hunting was a favorite activity of the gang members.

Cruelly, they would take pictures of their captives and post them around the streets. Of course, none showed people sitting calmly—they were all hanging upside down, about to be dropped into pits full of zombies.

“Those damn bastards, someday we’ll have our revenge…”

BOOM.

A loud noise came from far away. Psssh—dust settled around the building, falling from the impact that followed.

BOOM. BOOM.

“What’s that? Sounds like explosives?”

“It’s coming from the elevated highway construction site!”

Halek shouted while putting on his bulletproof helmet. His ten loyal subordinates scrambled onto three trucks equipped with external machine guns and two police motorcycles.

“Lure the zombies!”

The two police motorcycles slid forward in unison, sirens blaring. Their purpose was to draw out all zombies hiding in the streets and buildings.

It was a life-risking mission, but this area was well-known to Halek’s Patrol Squad 41. With their skills, those two would never be caught by zombies.

“Split up! See you later!”

The motorcycles that had gone ahead scattered left and right. The three trucks followed, racing down the 8-lane road. Most zombies followed the motorcycles, and the stragglers who couldn’t keep up with the motorcycles were too slow to catch the trucks.

‘Did a building collapse on its own?’

It wasn’t uncommon. Unexplained fires and collapses happened quite frequently. But when such incidents occurred, they blocked otherwise clear passages, so finding them was also part of the patrol squad’s duties.

But this time something was different.

The smell.

When buildings collapse, they usually emit a musty earth smell or a sour odor from the dusty powder in the air. But the current smell was stronger than earth.

Something burning, and even more intensely, the smell of raw flesh.

The distinctive unpleasant odor of zombies.

“What’s going on?”

One of the motorcycles that should have circled around the road and rejoined the trucks was returning. The rider flipped open his helmet, revealing Bonnie’s face. Halek shouted.

“What happened? Is the road blocked? Where’s Roman?”

“Z-z-zombies!”

“Yes, there are zombies everywhere…”

“That’s not it! There are thousands of zombies fighting each other up ahead! The zombies that Roman and I were luring went that way too!”

“What about Roman?!”

“He said he’s better at riding motorcycles so he’d escape on his own while luring the zombies! I managed to slip away! He’s probably circling around the rotary now, but I think he’ll be caught soon. There’s no time, we need to save him!”

Bonnie immediately turned the motorcycle around, but Halek was hesitant. Even if thousands of zombies were fighting, it wouldn’t be a problem as long as they weren’t harming cult members.

“Captain, we need to go!”

Bonnie urged again. But the captain still wouldn’t give the order. As Bonnie was about to explode with a mixture of anger and confusion—

Crackle. The radio came to life.

“…lek? Halek? Halek?”

“Roman! Where are you?!”

Halek answered the radio.

“Lions!”

Roman blurted out something strange. Lions? What lions? Was there some code word he didn’t know about? Halek was extremely confused.

“Lions, Captain! Lions and tigers are running through the streets. They’re tearing zombies apart! Zombie lions and zombie tigers, of course! Ah, damn monkey bastards!”

“What the hell is going on…!”

Halek thought of something terrible.

Lions. Tigers. Monkeys belong in a zoo. And the zoo in this city was located in the “Central District.”

If they were roaming these streets…

“Oh, no.”

It meant the Central District wall had collapsed.

Rat-tat-tat!

Loud gunfire erupted. A firefight was happening up ahead. Halek made his decision.

“Bonnie! Alert the cult! The rest of us are going forward to assess the situation! Our goal isn’t combat. We’re just going to confirm what’s happening! Use all available weapons, but only shoot those that come close!”

Bonnie bit her lip, looking in the direction where Roman was, but eventually lowered her visor and rode her motorcycle toward cult headquarters. The remaining vehicles charged forward.

Like a well-coordinated group, the three vehicles formed a V formation. The vehicles on the left and right wings shot approaching zombies to clear the path, while the center vehicle shot zombies approaching from the front.

Fallen zombies become obstacles that make it difficult for vehicles to pass over. They fired at approaching zombies with mounted machine guns, but still couldn’t increase their speed beyond a certain point.

“What a world.”

Yet because of this, they were able to stop at the right moment.

“What the hell is that…!”

Zombies were engaged in a massive brawl on the 12-lane road. BOOM, BOOM! Buildings vibrated with ear-splitting sounds. The zombies howled with each impact.

THUD. THUD.

And then it appeared.

Legs as thick as building columns. A body larger than a truck. Tusks that would have looked magnificent inside a zoo enclosure but now looked ferocious outside. A body covered in wounds, pus, and discharge. Huge ears, torn and ragged yet strangely swollen. Eyes rolled back white but bloodshot.

And a long trunk.

BWOOOOOO!

An enraged elephant shook its massive head and charged toward them. The brawling zombies were helplessly trampled.

Halek could understand a zombie elephant escaping from the zoo and going berserk. But he couldn’t comprehend why there were firecrackers shooting flames stuck in the zombie elephant’s behind.

GROOOO!

The elephant made eye contact with Halek and charged furiously. Zombies standing stupidly in its path were impaled on its long tusks, then crumpled helplessly.

“It’s the gang!”

Someone shouted through a loudspeaker. It was a young man’s voice. Though Halek had never heard it before, the pronunciation was clear enough to understand.

“The gang bastards blew up the wall with explosives!”

‘Those damn bastards have finally crossed the line!’

Halek gritted his teeth and fled. The zombie elephant charged after them.