Red Dot - 28

Chapter 28

“Aaaah!”

“Open the back door, Hanseo!”

At Junseong’s words, Hanseo instinctively unlocked the back door. The man who got into the back seat immediately sat in the middle and started chanting.

“Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!”

Hanseo glared at the noisy man once before calmly reversing the car. The car smoothly rolled back, putting more distance between them and the swarm of zombies. Hanseo skillfully maneuvered through the stopped cars, turning the vehicle around to drive in the opposite direction.

Even though they were retracing their path, it was still better than facing the massive horde of zombies head-on. There were too many of them to simply drive through.

Instead of trying to find a new path, it was safer to take the one they had already confirmed to be clear. Ideally, they would lure the zombies away and proceed in the direction the man’s car had come from, but his car was blocking the only open lane. That route was no longer an option.

After driving back for some time, they finally reached a point where there were no zombies in sight. Hanseo stopped the car in the middle of the road.

Only then did the man in the back let out a relieved sigh and give an awkward laugh.

“Thank you for saving me. You saved my life.”

Junseong took a 500ml bottle of water and a calorie bar from his backpack and handed them to him.

“Catch your breath.”

Seeing the water and food, the man’s eyes widened in surprise before he gratefully accepted them.

“Thank you! How did you know I was starving?”

Just by looking at his dry face, it was easy to guess. But Junseong knew better because he had met this man in his dreams before.

The man was someone Junseong had encountered in a past iteration, during which he had decided to stay in the subway tunnel shelter until the rescue team arrived. In that timeline, the man had reached the shelter on the second day—which was today—and had stayed there until the fifteenth day.

Back then, Junseong had been fully prepared to survive until the fifteenth day, but that timeline had to be abandoned when zombies from a distant subway station completely overran the tunnels.

Junseong had not been particularly close to the man. The reason he remembered him among the many people at the shelter was that, on the fifteenth day, the man had saved Chaeyi but ended up turning into a zombie himself.

In a way, this was a chance to repay that debt.

Junseong checked the time on his wristwatch.

From his vague memory, the man had arrived at the shelter around 10 a.m. that day. He had only made it because of Cheolho, who frequently patrolled Inhan Station, looking for survivors. At that time, Cheolho had spotted the man fleeing to the platform and helped him.

But now, such patrols were no longer possible, and the station’s screen doors were no longer functioning. The subway tunnel was no longer a safe zone.

Junseong didn’t wish for the man to die.

“Where were you headed?”

“Phew! Ah, yes. I was desperately searching for a shelter. Every place marked as an emergency shelter turned out to be useless. Where are you two headed?”

“We’re going to Inhan Hospital. We heard a rescue helicopter is coming there.”

“What?! Really?!”

The man’s eyes widened with excitement.

“Please take me with you! I beg you!”

Hanseo turned to look at the man in the back seat with eyes filled with hostility. Seeing Hanseo’s expression, the man took a deep breath and averted his gaze. But considering the situation, he had no choice but to plead for a way out.

Junseong noticed Hanseo’s displeasure and placed a hand on his arm. Hanseo eventually turned his head back to the front, silently giving in.

As soon as Junseong said, “You can come with us,” the man let out a delighted scream.

The journey to the hospital was anything but smooth.

Zombies kept appearing out of nowhere, blocking their way. Some even clung to the trunk, persistently trying to latch on.

The most dangerous moment was when they found themselves trapped on a narrow road, surrounded by zombies at both ends. It was only thanks to Hanseo’s bold decision to charge through that they managed to break free. However, the windshield and bumper suffered significant damage in the process.

Eventually, they reached a point where they encountered almost no zombies and were able to drive quickly.

Up until halfway to the hospital, Junseong had only traveled through tunnels in his past iterations, so the route was unfamiliar. But once they emerged from the tunnel, he recognized the roads clearly. This allowed them to take paths with fewer zombies and even use shortcuts without getting stuck.

Finally, the three of them arrived at Inhan Hospital.

“Huh? T-the entrance is full of zombies…!”

The man in the back seat trembled as he saw the massive horde filling the hospital entrance and windows. There was no way anyone could get inside.

“Graaaah!”

“Grrrk! Krrrk!”

Noticing the moving car, some zombies started rushing toward them. Hanseo stepped on the accelerator, plowing through those in the way, and calmly asked,

“Where should we go?”

“Crash into the underground parking lot.”

The car charged toward the underground parking lot, knocking down zombies like bowling pins, just as Junseong said. There was a thin bar blocking the entrance, but since Junseong didn’t tell him to stop, Hanseo sped up and crashed into it.

Bang!

The broken bar split in half and flew away. As they entered, the loud noise from the breaking bar attracted a horde of zombies, making them rush toward the car.

“Kyahhh—!”

“Ughhh!”

Zombies swarmed in from all sides, grabbing onto the side mirrors, trunk, and roof. They reached out desperately toward the people inside through the car windows.

“Ahhh!”

The man in the back seat screamed, almost in tears as he saw the zombies clinging to the car.

Hanseo drove through the parking lot, shaking the car on purpose. One by one, the zombies barely holding on lost their grip and fell off.

“We have to go down to the third floor.”

All the entrances were completely blocked by zombies. Because of the people inside being cautious, most of the emergency stairways were also locked.

Since it was such a big hospital, there were eight emergency stairways on each floor. Junseong planned to head to the fourth stairway on the third floor. Even though it seemed like all the doors were locked, that specific door was the only one that wasn’t.

When they reached the third floor, they couldn’t drive straight to the entrance because of the messily parked cars and the zombies chasing them.

“We have to get out and run.”

“Run?!”

The man in the back seat shuddered in fear. But since Junseong and Hanseo got out without hesitation, he had no choice but to follow.

Hanseo ran right beside Junseong, ready to grab him and protect him if necessary. But Junseong spoke to him in a low voice.

“Even if things get dangerous, don’t hold onto me. You’ll expose yourself.”

It was important to keep Hanseo’s “vaccine” ability a secret. If people found out about his ability too soon, it would only cause problems. In situations like this, people could act unpredictably.

Junseong was determined to make sure Hanseo’s ability wasn’t revealed until he got on the rescue helicopter.

Junseong ran toward the emergency stairway, hoping that the door would open just like in his dream. He could hear the footsteps and shrieks of the approaching zombies as he grabbed the handle.

Click.

As expected, it was unlocked.

The three of them quickly rushed inside and shut the door. Immediately, zombies slammed against it from the other side, howling and pounding on the door.

“Ahh…”

The man leaned against the wall, letting out a sigh of relief. Junseong also took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

“But… huff… it’s so dark in here….”

The emergency stairway was pitch black, as if the lights weren’t working at all. Even the emergency exit signs were off.

“The hospital must have lost power.”

The zombies had probably chewed through the wiring, cutting off electricity to the entire building. From what Junseong knew, the backup power was only being used on the seventh floor, where the survivors were gathered.

This hospital’s highest floor was the seventh. The first to fourth floors had already been completely overrun by zombies, while the fifth and sixth floors were empty. To save as much backup power as possible, everyone had gathered on the seventh floor.

“We just have to go up. If we reach the seventh floor, we’ll be safe.”

“The seventh floor?!”

“From what I know, the fourth floor is full of zombies, and the fifth and sixth floors aren’t used at all. The only safe place is the seventh floor.”

“Ugh… What about the elevator…? Oh, right, you said the power is out….”

Even without seeing his face, Junseong could tell how hopeless the man must have looked.

Junseong acted calm, but he felt the same way. His legs were already sore, and now he had to climb all these stairs.

From the third basement floor to the seventh floor above ground—that was ten floors in total. Among the three of them, the only one who could handle that without a problem was Do Hanseo, the strongest of the group.

Junseong took a moment to catch his breath, then reached into Hanseo’s backpack and pulled out a flashlight. He turned it on, lighting up the way ahead.

Then, one by one, they began climbing the stairs.