Chapter 53
Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.
At first, it just stung, but gradually the scratching became more violent. With fingers curled like claws and long nails, it scratched my hands and arms frantically. Blood splattered, and as the flesh was scraped away by the nails, bones began to show, but the monster’s hand didn’t stop.
[It hurts, it hurts!]
A cry that couldn’t be expressed in words echoed loudly in my head. Not only my groans, but also the crackling noise tormenting my brain grew stronger.
Screeeech.
It sounded like the static of a radio tuned to the wrong frequency. After reducing my hands and arms to tatters, the monster climbed on top of me. Sharp feet with blade-like attachments, similar to its hands, grabbed my legs.
No, “stabbed” would be a better description. Blood flowed from my legs, and they burned hot. Every point of contact was painful. It was agonizing and unbearable.
What’s going on? What’s happening? My cheeks became wet with tears. I frantically rolled my eyes searching for the two men. Where had Jang Jae-gyeong and Kim Doyun gone? Why was I alone? Just then, I noticed the red marks painted on the wall.
Bloodstains… were all over the house. From the walls to the ceiling and floor. And along the bloodstains were scattered dark red lumps.
No way, it couldn’t be. No way.
My chest swelled with fear and pain. My trembling eyes fixed on the diminished bonfire. How could a monster enter the house when there was still fire? Unresolved questions piled up in my mind. Then I recalled my conversation with Jang Jae-gyeong. Didn’t he say that monsters had significant individual differences, and that there would be monsters we couldn’t handle?
The tears that had momentarily stopped began to flow again. What if there were monsters that weren’t afraid of fire? I’d been anxious about this many times. But fearing that speaking it might make it come true, I’d buried it in my heart without voicing it. But now, like this? So suddenly?
Fear crept up the monster’s body and burrowed into mine. Did it like how I was desperately gasping for breath? The monster straddling me showed its teeth and smiled.
“…! Seongho-ssi!”
I opened my eyes with a start. The quiet room was gone, and Jang Jae-gyeong and Kim Doyun’s faces came sharply into view. Kim Doyun examined me with a worried face and then grabbed my arm to help me sit up. Remembering the pain from just moments ago, I shuddered. My entire body still felt numb and painful all over. I hurriedly rolled up my clothes to check, but there were no wounds or marks on my body.
Was it a dream? It felt too vivid to be just a dream. Even now, my fingertips were trembling from the pain… I rubbed my hands and felt along my arms where they had been torn in the dream. But despite being my own hands, every time I touched where the dream wounds had been, my nerves stood on end and screamed. Cold sweat trickled down.
“Are you alright?”
“Ah, uh… uh, yes.”
I opened my mouth like an idiot. Perhaps because I couldn’t even scream and just trembled, my throat hurt. As I was fumbling at my throat, I spotted Jang Jae-gyeong’s back. He had taken out his gun and was surveying the outside, which was barely visible.
“…Jae-gyeong-ssi?”
“You’re awake. You slept for a long time, you know?”
“Ah…, I’m sorry. I meant to get up soon… I guess I was tired. And I had a dream…”
I wanted to believe it was a dream, but it was so vivid that my mind was still reeling. It was also disorienting to see the two of them perfectly fine. I felt like a monster might jump out at any moment and tear into my body.
“I’m not scolding you or anything. Getting a good sleep is good. But what kind of dream did you have that you can’t come to your senses?”
“Well…, it’s a bit… But what are you doing there? Why the gun…?”
“Oh, this? The atmosphere seems strange.”
“What?”
Kim Doyun helped me as I tried to sit up properly. The atmosphere seems strange? I looked around, but nothing had changed. The walls weren’t covered in blood like in my dream. But despite this, Jang Jae-gyeong’s demeanor was fierce.
“There were gunshots earlier.”
“…Is it monsters?”
“No, doesn’t seem like monsters. But the people’s behavior is strange.”
Jang Jae-gyeong suddenly turned to look at me. Even in this tense situation, his behavior revealed that he was trying not to look at Kim Doyun. But this wasn’t the time to worry about such things. Jang Jae-gyeong clicked his tongue, then pulled my hand. My whole body tingled at his rough action, as I was still trembling with pain.
“I have a bad feeling. Let’s get out of here.”
“What?”
“We don’t know what might happen if we hesitate. I saw men with torches. Move quickly.”
I looked at Kim Doyun and then at Jang Jae-gyeong before hurriedly getting up to gather the blanket and other necessities. But Jang Jae-gyeong stopped me, saying he had things hidden in the forest that we could take. His opinion was that we should travel light to escape as quickly as possible. It made sense, so I put down all the items. Kim Doyun silently picked up the shotgun standing alone and placed it in my arms.
“Huh, me?”
“Your safety matters more than mine, Seongho-ssi.”
“B-but…”
“I’ll be fine without a gun. More importantly, let’s get out quickly.”
Outside the wide-open door, it was pitch-dark. I couldn’t tell how many hours had passed since I fell asleep, or what time it was now. Dawn? Or was it just evening? I hurriedly asked as I followed the two men ahead of me. Their steps were heading toward the forest.
“Is it night now? Is it safe to go into the forest?”
The monster from my dream still haunted me. Because of that, I was scared to enter the forest, and my legs trembled. My tongue felt numb as if having a spasm from fear, and my entire body tingled. But even those worries disappeared with the voices of people behind us.
“Where did those bastards go! Find them quickly!”
My head turned involuntarily. Because of the darkness, I could see people who hadn’t discovered us yet wandering around. They were searching the house where I had been staying and getting angry. Kim Doyun pulled my arm and plunged into the forest. Then he suddenly stopped. The loud voices that hurt my ears gripped my ankles.
“These bastards! How dare they kill someone!”
“He was attacked! Those fucking bastards!”
Buried in the darkness of the forest, I heard the villagers making a commotion. Among them were the men who had been guarding the pervert pig’s house. They were breathing heavily and shouting lies—they said we had lied about knowing “him” to do this, that items were missing, they shouted at the top of their lungs.
Lies? Items? “He” was attacked? The suddenly pouring words made no sense. What is happening all of a sudden?
“Why did you give them the gun! You gave away that precious gun as you pleased! They used that gun to kill someone!”
“I’m sorry, it’s my responsibility.”
Son Byung-chul apologized to the shouting men with a gloomy face. Most people were panicking at the mention of someone being killed, but quite a few among the shouting men seemed to be defending Son Byung-chul.
“Is this the time to determine who’s at fault? We need to catch those bastards and beat them!”
The one standing at the very front was Han Jong-wook. He shouted loudly that instead of focusing on Son Byung-chul’s fault, they should take revenge on those who killed “him” and stole the village’s items. With many others joining in agreement, even the men who had been angry at Son Byung-chul gradually calmed down.
I swallowed dryly. Half understanding and half not understanding the situation, my hands and feet trembled minutely. Why had we suddenly become murderers? I heard Jang Jae-gyeong telling me to hurry from behind, but my feet wouldn’t move properly.
“What on earth is this…”
At that moment, leaves rustled. At first, I thought Jang Jae-gyeong and Kim Doyun were approaching, but a thin hand stretched out from the darkness and grabbed the shotgun. I almost screamed.
“Ah, ma’am?”
The woman was smiling in the dark forest. While I was shocked and weakened, she grabbed the shotgun with both hands and pulled hard. Having the gun I was holding taken away so unexpectedly, I flailed my hands in surprise, but the woman had already retreated a few steps.
“This was lent, not given. Where do you think you’re taking it?”
The woman cradled the shotgun in her arms as if it were a baby.
“We can’t use it without this. It belongs to our village, right?”
“H-how…”
“I’ve been watching and waiting, afraid you might take it. My legs are so sore.”
The woman grumbled in the same peaceful tone she had used when gossiping about the village to me. That’s why her actions seemed even more unreal.
“Whew, now I can finally relax.”
The woman let out a big sigh as if she had been through a lot, then looked at me and smiled.
“Thank you, student. I won’t forget your help. Neither will my husband. Thanks to you, the aching tooth has been pulled out.”
Husband? I was about to ask what she meant, but the woman didn’t wait for my question. She threw the gun into a nearby bush and shouted loudly.
“They’re here!! Here!! Everyone, they’re here! Those bastards are here!”
The commotion began to surge in our direction. As I hastily backed away, a large hand grabbed my wrist. Kim Doyun practically embraced my waist and ran deeper into the forest to escape the approaching crowd.
I followed Kim Doyun, unable to gather my thoughts. The last glimpse I caught of the woman showed her clutching her clothes tightly, staring intently at us.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
