DS Chapter 29

After tasting his blood, my body feels like it’s floating, my head spins, and my thirst grows stronger.

Logan looked down at me with a cold, dangerous gaze.

When he looks at me like that, I get restless. It’s hard to meet his eyes, and my mouth goes dry.

Do I look that strange? Do I look like a full-on zombie? The uncontrollable urges are becoming more frightening.

The heat that had been burning inside me suddenly cooled.

Logan turned his gaze away and opened his bag.

“Let’s start with the injection.”

“Yeah. It’s already evening. Time for the injection.”

I held out my arm with a nonchalant expression.

Right, it’s because I haven’t had the injection. That’s what Logan must be thinking, right? He doesn’t think I’m getting weirder, does he?

‘I have to hold on. I can’t disappoint him.’

I used all my strength to suppress myself.

To keep from becoming a rabid zombie. Or rather, to keep Logan from leaving me alone on this lonely road.

The fear of my soul crumbling held onto my sanity with desperation and tenacity.

The effects of the drug kicked in. My vision blurred, and my body went limp. I reached out to him, trying to hold myself together.

“Logan, hold me now.”

Hold me so tightly that I forget my fear. Please save me from this hell.

Logan laid me down on the bed. The sound of my panting filled the quiet night. His scent was dizzyingly sweet. Everything about him felt that way to me.

This wretched, pitiful life where I survive day by day. In it, I felt a deep happiness and clung tightly to the thread of life.

Even if it’s a disgusting and despicable life, I couldn’t easily let go of that thread.

Addicted to the desperate drops of pleasure and happiness, I clung even more desperately.

“Haah… haah! Logan, Logan! Hng!”

“Kylie… don’t worry about pointless things. Just think about me. Cling to me like a dog and wag your tail. Then I’ll give you anything….”

Logan whispered softly, as if he knew all my lowly thoughts. My floating heart sank beneath the surface.

“Okay… I will.”

To me, this place was a hell more beautiful than heaven.

* * *

We only ran for about four hours a day.

It wasn’t a straight course either. Whenever a tourist spot appeared on a sign, we turned the wheel without hesitation.

We rode along a beautiful coastal road, and we also admired gigantic canyons, vast deserts, and national parks. Why hurry? We simply enjoyed the surrounding scenery at a leisurely pace, like wandering.

In the sprawling national park, there were no people—and there were no zombies either. Even when a zombie did appear occasionally, it was just a lifeless creature that hadn’t eaten anyone for a long time.

We could send them off to heaven just as easily, without using any bullets.

“There aren’t as many zombies as I thought.”

It was as if I looked feeble because I hadn’t been able to eat Logan.

“If no new hosts appear, the virus will eventually disappear as well.”

At the zombie research institute, they discovered that a person turned into a zombie could survive for up to one year without eating anything.

They said that because the zombie virus shuts down brain functions—which consume the most energy—it minimizes the body’s energy use, allowing it to survive for such a long time.

That’s why people who were cured couldn’t remember their zombie days.

However, there was a flaw in that research. I remember bits and pieces of my time as a zombie. I’m not a laboratory doctor, so I don’t know why…

“Someday, the virus will vanish.”

I mumbled as I watched a zombie wither away and dry out, collapsed on a road heated by the midday sun. In any case, the fact that zombies also have a lifespan was a positive sign.

Either all non-immune people would become zombies, or they’d hide in safe places and wait for all the zombies in the world to starve to death.

One of these would cause the zombie virus to disappear from the world.

When that time comes, having the zombie virus would make me a ticking time bomb—and my disappearance would be the path for humanity.

“Hmm, I don’t want that.”

Then I hope this messed-up world continues for a little longer.

Because I want to stick with Logan for as long as possible.

Even though I had a feeling that one day, maybe not too far off, our farewell would come, I stubbornly clung to the will to live.

I want to live longer. I’m too happy right now to give up.

I just want to see his smiling face a little longer. And it’s not just because of my selfishness. If I disappear, poor Logan, left alone, would be pitiful and wretched, wouldn’t he?

Just imagine Logan running alone endlessly along this desolate road. How lonely and hopeless that would be.

So I’ll hold on even more tenaciously. I won’t let the zombie virus devour me.

“Logan, what about today’s dose?”

“…Let’s take one per day from now on. It’ll be fine.”

Damn it. After a month of aimlessly riding along the road, the medicine began to run out.

An uneasy shadow fell overhead. As if I were surrounded by the eerie air of a deep forest untouched by moonlight, I clenched my fingers and swallowed hard.

I’m still fine. I’m intact. I repeated that compulsively.

* * *

On a night when a round full moon rose.

There were only two doses left. I rummaged through the empty medicine bag in vain, swaying under the sorrow and anxiety that had filled me to the chin.

Is it really going to be okay? Can I hold out without the medicine?

I completely understood the mindset of a drug addict dragging along a broken body, scrabbling through his nearly empty pockets to buy more drugs.

“Logan, what if I completely turn into a zombie…”

In the end, I brought up a topic I never wanted to mention first.

My body trembled, my throat tightened, and my vision swam, but I summoned all my strength and spoke.

“Abandon me… just leave me. And you, live a normal life like everyone else. In this damn world, survive stubbornly in my place.”

The moment I began to form those words, Logan cut me off.

“You don’t have to think about that. I’ll take care of it.”

“…”

“You’re going to stay by my side until the end.”

Does that mean you won’t ever abandon me?

Foolish Logan. Stupid Logan. I just couldn’t understand his decision.

It was behavior that could only be explained if his inner self wasn’t completely as shattered as mine.

That’s not how it should be, Logan. You have to live your life. You can live much better than this.

Even so, in the end, I never managed to say it. I was selfish and cowardly until the very end.

* * *

A few days later.

We had settled at the foot of a scarcely populated mountain. Nearby, there was a lake and a stream, and beyond them lay a dense forest.

The western region wasn’t far off, so zombie hordes frequently appeared—and sometimes even grizzly bears, which were even more dangerous than zombies, would emerge—but this advantage outweighed those drawbacks.

We had discovered an air-raid shelter hidden underground.

When we opened the hatch made of sheet metal, a ladder leading down into the bunker appeared.

Inside the bunker were a small toilet and shower powered by a manual pump, a weapons locker brimming with guns and ammunition, medical supplies, and even a solar-powered generator.

“Why would anyone leave such a good place?”

We looked around the bunker in puzzlement, and it wasn’t long before we found the answer.

We discovered a note from the owner of the bunker.

It stated that they were heading to the East, where a cure had been developed, and asked that the bunker be kept neat since they might return.

Leaving the hatch open for the next person—what a mark of a desirable survivor in these desperate times.

“Let’s use this place.”

Logan, having thoroughly inspected the air-raid shelter, decided that we should stay here.

It seemed he wanted to settle in one spot for a while, likely out of concern for my condition.

“Alright! So from now on, are we going to hunt wild animals for food? If I had known, I would’ve learned some hunting skills.”

What could I say? I simply had to follow Logan’s lead. I tried to answer cheerfully.

“There’s still some emergency food inside. And as for hunting… if we can, that’d be great. If things get tough, we can drive out to scavenge for supplies.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“I’ll keep watch over the area, so you should rest here. Don’t come outside.”

“Hurry back.”

He left the bunker. Alone inside, I felt inexplicably scared and dejected, and I huddled in a corner chair.

The incessant, annoying hum of the air circulation system grated on my nerves.

How long can we live here? What if my condition endangers Logan? Am I doomed to die locked in this dark bunker? And if he leaves me behind in this stifling place… what do I do?

While I anxiously gnawed at my nails over such fearful thoughts, Logan returned after a long while and called out to me.

“Kylie. Come here.”

Not even noticing his return, I dashed out.

He had promised to return quickly, but it felt like Logan was taking too long—it even felt like I hadn’t seen him in ages.

I should have scolded him for being so late. Just as I was grumbling, he patted my head. The anger that had built up from head to toe quickly subsided.

“It’s night. Let’s get to bed early.”

“Are you not getting your shot today?”

“I’m still okay, so let’s wait until later. We need to conserve what’s left.”

“Yeah, that sounds right. There are only a few doses left now, so we have to use them sparingly.”

“Right, you’re still in good shape. It’s better to save the medicine while we still have it.”

Was there one dose left? Two doses left?

Wasn’t the one we took yesterday the last one? No—in fact, that was a fake.

When I urged him to give me an injection, Logan jabbed an empty syringe at me.

Yeah… the truth is, the medicine had run out days ago. I hadn’t been getting my shots for a very long time.

Since when had I forgotten? I don’t remember how many days had passed after the medicine ran out.

But why did we suddenly come into this suffocating place? Did we come just to stay for one night?

I just want to leave. The noise from the ceiling is too loud. Even the sound of voices echoes ominously. I can barely hear Logan’s voice.

And besides, why have so many scars appeared on Logan’s arm? Who hurt him?

How dare anyone harm my Logan, the one I love so deeply, care for, and long to be with forever. If I find out who did it, I won’t let it go.

That night, my heart pounded so fiercely that I couldn’t sleep.

The relentless hum of the air circulation system nearly drove me mad, and the lingering scent of him made me feel dizzy.

Still, I endured.

I didn’t even notice when my nails dug into my palms and drew blood, or when the teeth I’d clenched all night started chattering—I just held on.

I’m okay. I can get through this. I’ll live a long life with Logan. I’ll be happy.

I firmly believed that I would overcome the trials set before me and claim happiness.

In the late pre-dawn, after a night spent fighting fiercely with myself without a single sigh of rest, an inexplicable golden light appeared before my eyes. I thought that light was the sun, coming down to save me.

I have to follow that light. I have to grasp it. Only then can I be happy.

With my feet sinking deep into the earth, I took steps forward, dragging my heavy body, desperately chasing after that light.

Save me. Keep me alive. Me… for my sake, and for Logan’s.

‘Kylie. Kylie, get up. Open your eyes. You said you’re still okay… you promised to hold on a bit longer for me… Kylie, please.’

I heard a voice calling from behind me.

It was the voice I love. After a moment, I glanced back, then shook my head.

Logan, not now. If I lose that light, I’ll put you in danger. For your sake, I have to leave.

It won’t be a long journey. So don’t be too sad. You’re much stronger than I am, so you’ll be fine, right?

I’ll search for that light and come back to you. I promise I’ll return.

Until I return… you have to be happy.

My dearest Logan.