Chapter 22: Wave

Day 45 of the zombie outbreak.

A world where zombies alone exceeded a million, and infected approached 3 million. Like a tide rolling in, like a flood approaching, like dominoes falling, the world gradually crumbled.

Yet hope remained.

Bang! Rattle!

The church was busy. Many people rushed back and forth, piling barricades of desks, chairs, and various useless furniture from study rooms at entrances and landings.

“Yes, leave just a small path for people to pass through, and arrange it so we can quickly block it if needed! Ah, make it narrower!”

I gestured to people while dripping with sweat.

The church where the wicked security elder had killed the pastor had transformed into a survival community of elders’ families and some believers’ families.

Naturally, the church building had completely changed too. Into a proper fortress.

Everyone worked regardless of age or gender. The stronger ones helped me convert the building into a fortress and set traps around the grounds, while those with less strength farmed in the areas where we’d removed sidewalk blocks or made various tools.

“Deacon Kwon. Isn’t this too narrow?”

A female college student dressed in springlike clothes tilted her head. According to Do-hyung, she was a friend of the snitch who’d died by zombie and had decided to stay with the Hope community.

I looked at the landing so narrow people had to walk sideways to pass, then shook my head.

“If it’s inconvenient for people, it’ll be inconvenient for zombies too. This is good. If zombies suddenly come, it’ll be easy to block.”

“…Zombies are scary.”

Her face darkened – perhaps remembering her friend who’d died from a zombie bite at home.

I smiled at her and pointed upward.

“If you have time for this, go upstairs and plant tomatoes in bottles.”

“It’s boring with just the aunties there.”

“Boring or not, you need to work. Those crops are going into your own mouth after all.”

Those who didn’t work weren’t needed in the community. Such people would become zombie food.

Of course, that was just imagination. In a community, even assassination was difficult. At most I could assign dangerous missions. Unlike small roaming marauder groups, there were many restrictions.

That’s when it happened.

“I finished installing-“

Do-hyung came in but jumped in shock seeing me with the college student. He had string in his hand that fluttered with his startled movement.

“What, what are you doing to her…”

“Oh, Do-hyung?”

The college student squeezed through the narrow landing to approach him. They seemed to have gotten quite close.

Do-hyung looked at me with a face struggling to hide anxiety, like he’d imagined something. I blinked. Why was he acting like that? He looked exactly like someone who’d just seen a serial killer suddenly appear next to their friend.

I slowly went downstairs.

“Done with work? Let’s take a look.”

“Yes, it’s done, but… what were you talking about with Yeji?”

“Who’s Yeji?”

At Do-hyung’s nervous swallow and my puzzled response, the college student pouted.

“You don’t even know my name? I introduced myself before.”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, I might have heard it. Na Yeji, was it?

Either way, she wasn’t worth remembering by name. Her major probably wasn’t useful for the apocalypse, and her personality seemed unsuited for a marauder.

The three of us walked together. Na Yeji complained to Do-hyung.

“Deacon Kwon keeps nagging me to work.”

“Of course you need to work!”

“I worked hard on the posters! I stayed up late every night and finally got to rest today!”

Now I remembered. Art? Design? Something in that field – she’d been working hard on Hope community posters under the evangelism elder.

A thought suddenly struck me.

‘The community’s one thing, but I’d like my own marauder logo.’

Taking from Immortal Company’s “I” logo. Immortal – nice meaning, isn’t it? I would be immortal even in the apocalypse.

Do-hyung’s face turned pale seeing my expression. His trembling voice came:

“You’ll die if you don’t work.”

“What nonsense. Why would someone die from resting one day? Right, Deacon Kwon?”

I snapped back to reality.

“Yes, one day is fine. People aren’t machines – they break if they work non-stop. More importantly, the grounds look good.”

Ignoring Na Yeji laughing at how people weren’t machines and Do-hyung muttering about one day, I looked around. The low, long chapel building a short distance away, the decent-sized parking lot, street trees and lights scattered around.

Besides people crouching to dig with hoes and plant things, and a few zombies that had died approaching foolishly, basic traps had been set up.

String.

String from torn down banners and red cord were set at ankle and neck height.

‘Too bad we don’t have bear traps.’

We’d done our best though. With luck, someone might trip and get badly hurt, or if a zombie wave came, they might all tumble down in a chain reaction.

We couldn’t stop people, but you couldn’t stop people with bad intentions anyway.

Around then, the evangelism elder who’d been out approached. With a dark face, he waved at me.

The posters in his hand – several made by Na Yeji – waved like gesturing.

“Deacon Kwon! Good work!”

“Not at all. You worked harder, going outside Evangelism Elder.”

The streets were so dangerous. There had already been several zombies drawn to the farmers. Walking the streets was a life-risking activity.

But the administrative elder shook his head.

“No. Deacon Kwon filled the pastor’s empty place. I actually doubted if we needed to go this far, but after watching for a few days, Deacon Kwon was right.”

“No! Really, it’s thanks to the elders working hard…!”

I waved my hands frantically with wide eyes. Did the administrative elder have ill intentions toward me? Why was he trying to get me killed?

The pastor had already shown it. A group’s leader easily becomes the enemy. Becomes the prime assassination target.

‘Why did I leave the elders alive!’

Like a parliament, having multiple elders as top decision makers was to share the risk like meat shields. Making me a person of interest was dangerous.

Me becoming a second pastor? If anyone tried to attack Hope community, wouldn’t they target me first?

Of course, having multiple leaders also increased the risk of betrayal and trouble, but if that happened I’d be the first to act.

The evangelism elder smiled warmly.

“Oh Deacon Kwon. If only the security elder had been a bit more like you…”

The mood briefly turned heavy.

Because of the wicked security elder who’d assassinated the pastor targeting the church’s resources. Such an evil person who’d even taken bullets from the pastor’s gun planning the perfect crime.

Do-hyung trembled, his faith shaken by the aftermath, while I clasped my hands in prayer.

“Though the pastor is gone, we remain. Let’s continue the hope he dreamed of.”

“That’s right… Even with the pastor gone, we must stay strong for the remaining family.”

The evangelism elder handed me the posters.

The posters Na Yeji had worked hard on had a public service announcement feel. No crosses, just introducing Hope community. Or information about bottle farming methods, using torn up sidewalk blocks as throwing weapons, and planting potatoes or turnips in bare ground.

“We focused more on introducing ourselves to people nearby rather than evangelism or recruitment.”

We headed to the chapel, and as we walked the evangelism elder described the outside world.

“The world wasn’t like this just a month ago…”

The streets he described were almost apocalyptic.

Dirty roads full of garbage and waste, first floor windows and parked car windows shattered by zombies or criminals. Humans wandering armed with weapons.

He said the police, moving in groups after being attacked by madmen targeting guns, showed no interest in maintaining public order.

Above all, zombies had become a truly common sight.

Naturally, citizens had changed too.

“Maybe because the world’s gotten rough, vigilante groups have formed everywhere. Tons of merchant associations in commercial areas, safety watchers in every apartment complex, delivery vigilantes, archery clubs – anyway, I talked to people like that.”

I nodded. This too was in the professor’s materials.

In early apocalypse, people would form various organizations. And when groups proliferated, conflict would naturally follow.

Urban resources were limited, and they would fight over those limited resources.

“Could we maybe buy bows from the archery club?”

“I asked too. They said absolutely not.”

A shame. Silent bows. Arrows that become biological weapons just from zombie saliva or blood. If archery club members attacked with virus-coated arrows, there’d be no defense.

I suddenly thought of a hedgehog.

‘Seems like we need dangerous weapons to avoid fights. At minimum need to make them think twice about attacking the church base.’

Sprinklers? Engine water pump, water tank with zombie corpses. Wide-area spray. Perfect for threatening anyone who tries to attack, no?

Or not? Not immediate enough of a death threat?

Around then we reached the chapel. The evangelism elder and I sat in front, waiting for the other elders finishing up their work.

I gestured for Do-hyung and Na Yeji to leave.

“Go back to work now.”

“But it’s my rest day – can’t I watch the meeting?”

“Hey, let’s go quickly. Stay here and they’ll just give you more work.”

Do-hyung pulled Na Yeji away. He seemed somehow desperate but that was probably my imagination.

The evangelism elder smiled.

“That Na Yeji? She was depressed about her friend dying, good to see her brightening up.”

“Time heals, I suppose.”

Then the elders who’d roughly finished their work returned one by one.

First the administrative elder came with documents.

“Finished counting people, assigned rooms, made night watch schedules. Got hassled so much by demanding people.”

The community organization transformed like military barracks.

Then the thieving elder with his shrewd look came in looking dead tired.

“Made lists of all stored food. And went out to buy various things too.”

He looked at me when mentioning various things.

Seeming to hint he’d gotten what I requested. Things like fuel pumps and UV flashlights.

“Why not call your daughter? You even gave her a gun.”

“I did call. But seems she’s already grouped up with college friends. Good thing I gave her the gun.”

“Good thing my ass. Almost got blamed as the culprit.”

As we chatted like that, we started discussing serious matters.

“We don’t have many stored resources. Even paying high delivery fees, chances are higher they won’t come. Need to keep going out.”

“Those delivery vigilante youngsters said they do something.”

“How can we trust that?”

I kept my mouth firmly shut.

Unless it involved core benefits or safety, I really had nothing to say. Didn’t want to stand out either. Presence meant threat.

“There’s also the washing issue. Even making temporary shower stalls in bathrooms, it’s still…”

“Could we convert a whole floor’s bathroom to showers?”

Various discussions passed, and the evangelism elder let out a long sigh.

“Above all there’s a big problem. People’s morale isn’t very high.”

“…With how the pastor died.”

Even the grandmother had stepped down as elder and disappeared somewhere.

That’s how weakened people’s hearts were. Weak enough there was little resistance to changing the church to a community. They were just people with nowhere to go, or staying due to minor connections.

There was no strong motivation.

I closed my eyes and thought of the pastor. An outstanding leader, master of presentation. Sadly the pastor was gone, and I could only pray for hope.

People with fallen morale, shaken faith, dim solidarity.

Hope to raise them up and bind them together.

‘For example, a zombie wave?’

Seems like joining forces to fight off an attacking zombie horde would be good for mental health. You know how they say to create external enemies to unite internally?