Chapter 18. Trust (complete)
The sound of chains clanging. He’s a military police zombie. There is no expression on the face, which is getting uglier day by day. When I worked part-time at a convenience store at night, the customers who came in were like that. Of course, they thought I looked the same.
What can I say, those people felt like a layer of their skin had been peeled off. If even the collar of his clothes brushed against his red, swollen flesh, he would glow and cause a fuss. Only anger could break through the hardened emotional layer and jump out. And anger is a shared emotion.
“Camilla. Spray this on your body. You don’t have to spray too much, but don’t breathe. “Give it to Leticia too.”
She knew what Cassandra was making, so there was no need for an explanation. I’m not sure about the side effects. Fortunately, Camilla did as I told her. Normally she would have said something, but maybe it was because she was nervous.
“Whoop.”
I took a step forward and approached the military police officer. The guy turns his head and shows his teeth. It seems closer to a warning than a will to attack. If you come any closer, I might hurt you.
“Good.”
She stopped on the spot. The guy sniffs his nose. Suddenly, he takes a deep breath and shouts in my direction. But there was no anger felt anywhere. This guy has no intention of rushing.
The guy was rubbing his arms. The chains wrapped around both arms hit each other, making a grinding sound. A sharp friction sound as if a needle was pricking his ear. Still, I don’t back down. If that happens, it’s over. Stay still, he must wait for the guy to lower his tail. Like when fighting a fierce dog.
The guy’s face finally distorted.
Now.
Taking a big step forward. The guy flinches and steps back. Of course, he shouted again as if something had happened next, or as if he was ashamed of retreating, but he felt even weaker than before. Now I have the upper hand.
“We won’t be friends. Yes? “Between you and me.”
I spoke to the military police guy. With my eyes, I scanned the ‘dominant zombies’ lined up behind him. There is no expression on their faces either. Just as the guys tied up with ropes and nooses are looking at the thoughts of these ‘leading zombies’, the leading guys are looking at the eyes of the military police.
“Then what remains is the master-slave relationship. Follow me. I’ll give you food and a place to sleep. “If you attack me and my people instead, I won’t let you go.”
“Crung.”
Will they understand me?
Like a child, he understands to some extent, but he doesn’t know how to express it, so all he can do is get angry, bite and swallow?
I don’t know. But you don’t just have to know to follow it. Humans can become friendly with other species of animals. Even if it was once a person, the same would be true.
The guy seemed embarrassed. Even though I’m superior to him, he doesn’t even try to eat me, he just mutters something incomprehensible, so that’s probably what happens. If you can’t understand with words, I guess you have to show it with actions. But how?
– John?
This is Cassandra’s radio.
“Yes. Say.”
– About ten zombies are coming towards the east. I’ve been watching it since a while ago, and judging by its direction being undisturbed, it seems to be coming straight this way.
Maybe it’s because so much time has passed since the zombie outbreak occurred, but all kinds of stars have appeared. Such is the case now, where small groups of four or five are wandering together like wild dogs.
“Okay.”
Ten. Normally, I would have just waited for it to pass by, or if I thought it didn’t work out, I would have shot it from a distance. But things are a little different now.
“You guys, follow me.”
He pointed with his finger at the military police officer and those around him. I got back on the electric bike.
“Let’s go east. “They say a bunch of zombies are coming.”
“Can you tell me what you are doing now?”
Leticia next to me asked a question. Camilla continued to look back at the zombies behind her. They were following us. How should I explain this?
“Try to see through.”
“Through? With who?”
I pointed at the zombie.
“Are you out of your mind?”
Leticia was astonished. She didn’t really think she would be understood. I don’t know if I can do it or not. I’ve done a lot of indirect work, such as luring zombies and making them fight other zombies, but I’ve never interacted directly with a zombie like this.
“If I try it and it works, it’s good, otherwise I’ll just shoot them all.”
“… “Please explain properly later.”
Camilla, who was listening from the side, swung and moved forward. As if she didn’t want to let Leticia lose, she sped up her bike. She ran for a long time across the dry, abandoned land. From there, I saw a group of zombies limping but running pretty fast.
I screamed.
I tried to make as much noise as possible when a zombie attacks someone. A yell that came up from her lower abdomen and scratched her neck. A shout that feels like your vocal cords will explode if you do it twice.
“Crunch!”
“Kang, kung!”
The zombies behind screamed reflexively. From their perspective, it’s like I suddenly declared, ‘Let’s have a game!’ But as I moved forward, I screamed weaker than before.
The group of stranger zombies was now approaching, almost running on all fours. Even from a distance, their sunken eyes, exposed gums, and broken teeth were clearly visible.
She stopped the bike and raised her pistol high. Pop. Loud noise. Even zombies that cannot recognize guns can hear gunshots. I can see the guys behind us going crazy.
I tried to ignore it, aimed the gun at the stranger zombies, and shot them. One shot. Another shot.
Some things missed and some missed. But in the end, it got stuck between the eyes of the guy who came first. The guy who was struggling fell down. The two guys couldn’t overcome their inertia and slid forward, but the guys behind them stopped in their tracks. I tapped the fallen one and opened her mouth wide.
Tang. Bang.
It was easier to hit because it was a stationary target. Camilla and Leticia also shot. Eventually, all ten zombies fell. The smell of blood and rotten me were carried by the wind.
From Noble mtl dot com
I looked back at the guys behind me. He was dripping with saliva and sweat and was out of breath. I pointed a gun at them. They still don’t seem to understand the relationship between guns, noise, and fireworks. It is impossible to imagine ‘a bullet coming out at an invisible speed and crushing your head.’
So I nodded.
“Go and eat.”
The zombies did not move. At that time, Camilla quietly came next to me and stood side by side. Although she was a breath late, Leticia also stood side by side. It was quite reassuring to be between the two of them.
“Go.”
They moved. Toward the fallen zombies. Although I occasionally glanced this way, I did not show any hostility. There was no reason for that.
“So.”
Camila grabs her left buttocks.
“What on earth happened, this? What is this spray? “Why are they listening to you?”
* * * * *
Research Institute.
Camilla chewed on a piece of beef jerky. It wasn’t that it was particularly tasty, but it felt like it needed something to chew on. Leticia took a small sip from her beer can and rubbed her forehead. It was Cassandra who took notes with her writing utensil.
“Emotions?”
“Yes.”
“Can you tell me the story again? “John, the part where you felt emotions.”
After spraying Cassandra, I told the story again. After spraying it, I could definitely feel the ’emotions’ of the zombies. Nothing but feeling anxious, hungry, and starving. Emptiness.
Cassandra looked at Camilla.
“You sprayed it too, right? How was it?”
“How was it? The smell was a lot better than I expected. “John told me not to breathe when he sprayed it, but next time he wants to spray it on my face.”
“No, Cassandra means…” .”
“I know. Know. What did you not feel? At all. I just assumed, ‘John is doing something strange again.’ “I was so nervous that the zombies would come running and eat our necks, so my shoulders are still stiff.”
Camilla answered calmly, but somehow it didn’t seem like that was all.
“For something like that, it was quite… It was okay. “When you came and stood next to me.”
“This is delicious. I need to eat one more. Huh? What did you say?”
Clearly Camilla read my intentions in her. Since they want to pretend they don’t know, I think it would be better to just act like that.
“It’s nothing. Leticia, what about you?”
“What kind of days have you been spending? Controlling and moving zombies with emotions? So, uh, I have no idea.”
“Did you feel anything there earlier?”
In normal conversation, Cassandra was still uncomfortable with Leticia. But now she asks, looking straight at me as if interrogating me. Is it because it is a daily story?
“I don’t know. I agree that the spray smells good. When it was handed over to me, I was quite disappointed that there wasn’t even half of it left. But I don’t know about zombie emotions or anything. “My heart was racing a little, though.”
“Is your heart racing? How?”
“How can you say that? I just ran like crazy. Like drunk. I was wondering if there was any alcohol in here. “But why are you asking this?”
“I thought John was misunderstanding something. If both people had had the same experience, I would have thought it was pretty believable. But it seems like Johan is the only one who feels the emotions of a zombie right now. Actually, reading someone’s emotions is not easy. “If that’s the case, you could think that Yohan was overly immersed in something.”
Cassandra put down her pen.
“… “I don’t think so.”
At that time, Camilla opened a beer can in front of Leticia and took a gulp.
“Wow, I kept eating this and my mouth feels salty.”
“Are you saying that’s not true?”
“I stopped talking, but I also felt a little strange earlier. The zombies kept growling and threatening, but Yohan tried to stand calmly? Inside, he was doubtful about it. “Ah, I thought that person needed support right now, so I stood right next to him.”
After all, it was me. But soon she became embarrassed and her face blushed.
“What? Hmm. I just said that. “It may be an illusion, though!”
“I think you’re mistaken. What? Support? “Aren’t you the one who needs support?”
Leticia chuckled. You might have expected Camilla to be angry, but instead she was elated.
“Well, you’ve only been here for a few days, so what do you know? “How long have Yohan and I been working together?”
“Couldn’t it have been because he wasn’t breathing enough that he brought me here?”
“Hey!”
Camilla ended up getting angry, but Leticia just smiled.
“Just now. When she sprayed. Actually, I felt pretty good. Even though that wasn’t the case. To be honest… “Well, I don’t think this is it.”
“It would help us all if you were honest.”
Cassandra, who was watching quietly, added a word. There was mischief in Leticia’s eyes. She sauntered over to Cassandra. She glanced at me and whispered something.
“Hwiik!”
Cassandra’s face turned white. Leticia narrowed her eyes.
“You were the one who told me to be honest? But no matter what, you can’t take your pants down there. So I thought something was strange, so I held on to it. “But I’m not sure what that has to do with zombies.”
“I think there is a connection.”
Although Cassandra was very embarrassed, she tried to calm her mind.
“What connection?”
“The spray doesn’t make you understand zombies or anything. However, it plays a role in enhancing sense organs such as the surrounding atmosphere, feelings, and pheromones. I think Cassandra… “It’s true that the spray opened up all of our senses, but I think the results depended on what she was more interested in.”
“It’s really lewd. “How on earth did you do your military service?”
Camilla pointed a finger at Leticia.
“… It’s not that.”
Cassandra answered in a hushed voice.
“What are you saying you’re not?”
“In the first place, it is difficult to detect pheromones coming from one’s own body. Most people tend to feel good about the people around them. So Cassandra means that she sensed the feeling of zombies because John was more interested in zombies, and they were more conscious of John and each other….”
Camilla’s face turned bright red.