“………”
Swish. I stealthily stretched out a stick with a mirror on it before turning the corner.
And sure enough, in the alley reflected in the mirror, there were those zombie guys standing there, staring at nothing.
What are they waiting for? They stood motionless under the hot sun, gazing into the empty air.
Well, at least they don’t seem to be on alert, so that’s a relief.
─Tap, tap.
[‘Left, two, not in alert state.’]
[‘Understood. Recalculating route, standby.’]
I quickly signaled to Yeon behind me, conveying what I had found.
I moved my right index finger sideways to indicate the direction I had checked, then raised my middle and index fingers slightly bent to nod and show that there were two zombies inside, and finally, I pointed to my eyes and crossed my arms to make an X.
Though it was a bit clumsy since I wasn’t used to it, it was a decent method given the situation where we couldn’t make any noise.
Surprisingly, it also set the mood, and I liked that.
Fun, right?
─Tap, tap.
“……..”
And just like that, a few seconds that felt like an hour passed.
[‘Route changed. Keep going straight, reevaluate the situation later.’]
[‘Understood.’]
Yeon, who quickly caught my signals, marked the zombie layout on a small map and immediately suggested a different route.
Swish, the red pen in Yeon’s hand boldly dashed across the paper.
The bright red line, boldly crossing over the existing black line, wasn’t the path to the convenience store but indicated a route that turned one block further instead.
In short, combat is banned.
It was a sensible decision to check the situation after getting to the next corner.
Although it meant taking a bit of a detour, there was no point in attracting zombies’ attention before even entering the store, right?
Moreover, the terrible smell that rises when a zombie dies could potentially draw in all the zombies in the area.
The reason we were surrounded by a horde of zombies while escaping from the previous commercial building was precisely because of the few holes we made in their bodies while running away.
The fact that the majority of weapons we collected were blunt objects was an extension of that reasoning.
If we were to cause significant damage to a zombie and its bodily fluids splattered everywhere, the resulting disaster would be beyond our control.
Of course, to prevent that series of events, Yeon’s map detailed where to flee and which buildings would be relatively safe.
“………”
“………”
One step, one step.
We confirmed the path drawn by Yeon and nodded our heads in response, then carefully started moving forward without making any noise.
And that crucial map—
─Tap.
[──“Start!”]
[‘…..That means “attack,” Heea.’]
[‘…..Hehe.’]
An outstretched, pure white arm.
Into the small hands that came up to our chests, we gently placed our own.
Yeah.
This is the ultimate reason we want to minimize or avoid combat.
“………..♬”
Right now, as we move toward the convenience store, Heea, wrapped up in thick clothes, is with us.
In truth, we didn’t want to bring Heea into such a dangerous situation.
Isn’t that obvious?
No one wanted to bring an infinitely younger and fragile child into this life-or-death gamble.
If anyone was going to die, it should be just us. That was the common opinion among me, Jeongeun, and Yeon.
If someone were to argue that they needed to go and questioned why Heea couldn’t come along, we would have run after that brat to teach them a lesson.
With that makeshift club in hand, of course.
Such a person wouldn’t even be human.
However—
‘……No.’
‘Heea…?’
‘──No….! Why is it only me, why am I left all alone…? I hate being alone now…!! Don’t leave me behind…! Please, let me go with my sisters….!!’
──Screech.
Seeing Heea, crying and clinging, shouting not to be left behind, we couldn’t help but freeze, forgetting everything we’d thought before.
Where did the mature Heea from before go? The child tugging at our clothes like a real little kid reminded us of the fact that Heea was still just a child, not close to our age at all.
Heea, who always quietly soothed our hearts.
Had we, perhaps, placed too heavy a burden on such a child?
But.
That was that, and this was this.
Yeon and I didn’t want to take Heea into this dangerous situation, and Heea absolutely wanted to follow us.
A tug-of-war that wouldn’t end until someone yielded.
A tense stalemate with no one willing to back down.
And then—
─Tap.
‘After all, staying here alone is just as dangerous.’
‘…..Jeongeun!?’
The lengthy standoff pivoted with Jeongeun’s quiet voice, which had been pondering beside us.
‘To pack at least a month’s worth of food on foot, at least all three of us need to go. Otherwise, Heea will have to stay home alone. Alone in a house where zombies can come in.’
‘…..Still! You know how dangerous it is there, right, Jeongeun!?’
‘I don’t want to take her there either, Yeon. Do you think I’ve lost my mind?’
A strong force added to the opposing side of the rope we were holding.
That force was truth.
‘─But if we die or find ourselves in danger, what do you think would happen to Heea waiting here alone?’
‘………’
‘Being in danger for us means Heea is in danger. But we can’t prevent Heea from being in danger while she’s here at home. So it’s better for Heea to be nearby, and for us to protect her with all we’ve got.’
‘But…. but….’
Thud, the drops of uncertainty.
It was brutal truth, an extreme theory I didn’t want to accept.
Even Jeongeun, who uttered those words, looked troubled, not relieved as if to say it felt good to say them; she clearly didn’t want to put Heea in danger.
But this too was Jeongeun’s choice in light of what was best for Heea.
In the past 40 days, some zombies had indeed climbed over the walls by trampling each other.
Although it mostly happened in the early days when the area was filled with zombies and we were on high alert, and they ended up getting crushed quickly… there was no guarantee that such terrible occurrences wouldn’t happen again.
Recently, the lock on the main door had also loosened due to continuous battering.
In other words, leaving Heea here was also a significant risk.
And while this was purely hypothetical—
If we got bitten and turned into zombies, the real issue would be that Heea would have to live alone in this house without food or protection.
What that meant was that if our deaths directly led to Heea’s death, it might be better to keep Heea close and protect her, according to Jeongeun’s opinion.
Even if we were safe, there was no guarantee Heea would be, and if we were in danger and about to die, then Heea left alone at home would also be in danger.
Ultimately, we had concluded that putting Heea in danger was for her safety.
It was truly an inescapable conclusion that was hard to accept.
Well.
[‘──Hehe.’]
“……”
Looking at Heea’s delighted face as she came out with us, maybe it wouldn’t be a surprise if we surrendered for reasons other than that.
…….
By the way, how is Heea expressing her happiness through sign language?
[‘Hehe~’]
“???”
No, seriously, how?
