Chapter 130 - Chapter 113: A Story of Alone in the Dark
Wiping the blood that splattered on his cheek with the back of his hand, the boy scanned his surroundings through the night vision device in search of his next prey. At that moment, the vision of his right eye, which was not covered by the night vision device, suddenly brightened. The thick clouds covering the sky were blown away by the wind, and the moonlight and starlight reached the surface.
Of course, compared to artificial lights like streetlights, those lights were emitting only a minute brightness. However, in the current situation where artificial lights were completely extinguished, the moonlight was brighter than expected and erased the darkness that the boy had been using as an ally until now. Under the night sky that brightened all at once, along with the shout "There he is!", bullets were fired toward the place where the boy was.
The men, who could only wander aimlessly in the pitch-black darkness until just now, were now showering accurate gunfire toward the boy. On the other hand, the boy spat abuse at the fact that the benefit of the night vision device had become slight, and while avoiding the flying bullets by lowering his posture, he hid in the shadow of the truck again.
"He's behind the truck, go around!"
"He's tough, be careful!"
Such words echoed in the parking lot illuminated by the moonlight. The relentless gunfire from the automatic rifle began again, and the boy felt the sign of several people advancing toward here in that gap. Crawling on his stomach on the ground and looking through the space under the truck to the other side, he could see several human figures leaning out from the shadow of a wagon left in the parking lot and firing. They seemed to be using the wagon as a shield, and there were those who smashed the rear door window and were aiming guns from there.
Even if he tries to move somewhere, he cannot move due to the gunfire from the wagon. If he pokes his face out from the shadow of the truck, bullets will fly at that moment. If he doesn't do something about the group shooting from the shadow of the wagon, there is only a future where he is done in by the guys who came around.
The boy thrust the long barrel of the automatic rifle into the space under the truck and aimed. Since the enemy can be clearly visually confirmed by the moonlight, he put away the night vision device and peered through the scope. He caught the head of the man who was standing the automatic rifle's bipod on the hood and peering this way in the center of the reticle, and pulled the trigger.
Beyond the scope, the upper half of the man's head splattered, and the body that lost strength collapsed behind the vehicle. He saw the man who was firing a hunting rifle next to him hurriedly duck his head, but the boy didn't mind and fired several shots toward the wagon's door.
The 7.62mm bullets fired lightly penetrated two thin wagon doors and seemed to have pierced the enemy hidden beyond them. A scream rose from beyond the wagon, and the boy was convinced that the bullets he fired had hit.
"You bastard...!"
A roar rose, and bullets rushed toward the truck where the boy was hidden. The tire hit by a bullet burst with a sound, and the truck's body sank greatly. The metallic sound of bullets piercing the silver-white container of the bed echoed incessantly. However, by defeating the enemy who had the automatic rifle, the number of flying bullets had decreased considerably compared to earlier.
If it stays like this, he can kill them in return. At the moment the boy was convinced, a roar echoed in the night sky as if to drown out the gunshots. That roar that shook the air was unmistakably that of an infected, which he had heard many times until now. Because they were having a flashy shootout, it seems the infected have rushed here.
The boy clicked his tongue and looked at the wagon he had ridden in. Holes are opened here and there in the body from stray bullets, and spiderweb-like cracks are also in the window glass, but as far as he could see, it hasn't received major damage.
When it comes to fighting, the infected are a more troublesome opponent than humans. Unless one shoots through the head or heart with a single blow, they continue to move for a while even if they receive a fatal wound, and because their movements are nimble, one also struggles to hit them with bullets. More than anything, because they do not harbor fear, they rush in without flinching even if bullets are flying.
The boy had already changed the target of threat from the men to the infected. Now, he must leave this place as quickly as possible. If they sounded gunshots this much, the infected would already grasp where humans are.
The men who attacked also seemed to be frightened by the infected's roar and were looking around. On the other hand, beyond the wagon whose door the boy had shot through earlier, a tragic groan was rising. The man who was shot along with the door was throwing a voice seeking help to his comrades. One was about to jump out from the car he used as a shield to help, but the boy didn't miss that moment and fired. The men were wary of being shot by the boy and wouldn't move from the places they each hid.
"Hey, help me! It hurts... I'll die like this!"
A voice seeking help echoed, but no one tried to help him. By that time, several infected that appeared from nowhere were already about to invade the parking lot.
Raising roars and dripping saliva mixed with blood from the corners of their mouths, the infected rushed toward the men. The men, who ended up being attacked from behind, were hurriedly turning around and firing. As expected, whether their experience fighting the infected is abundant, the rushing infected were falling one after another after receiving bullets.
"We're running!"
Whether they want to avoid a situation where they also fight the infected, such a voice was heard. While showering bullets toward the infected that still appeared, the men were escaping in the opposite direction from the boy. He wanted to shower bullets toward their backs, but it didn't go that way. Several infected that didn't head toward the men were running toward the boy.
If he sounds gunshots here, it will result in calling more infected. The men who are escaping are sounding gunshots and drawing the infected; there is no need to purposely draw attention here. There are two infected attacking; he should be able to handle them.
The boy changed his weapon from the rifle to the axe, and first swung down the axe toward the head of the infected that tried to pounce. The infected whose head was smashed from the front collapsed onto the ground as if rolling, scattering gravel.
He tried to defeat the other one as it was, but the stuck axe won't come out of the infected's head. Instead, the boy pulled out a knife and kicked the stomach of the infected that rushed from the front. When he pounced on the infected that fell on its back after receiving a blow from the sole of his boot, the boy swung down the knife toward its head. The sharp blade pierced the eyeball, penetrated the eye socket, and reached the brain.
Pulling out the knife from the infected that convulsed its body once and stopped moving, he similarly pulled out the axe from the infected he defeated first. He looked around, but no infected were coming toward the boy. Other infected all seemed to have been drawn by the men who were escaping while sounding gunshots flashily.
From beyond the wagon with bullet holes in the door, a groan was still rising. While aiming the rifle, when the boy checked the situation, one man was writhing in a pool of blood. He had apparently been shot along with the wagon door by the boy, and the pants fabric was greatly torn, and blood was flowing incessantly from the greatly gouged wound peeking from there. If not treated immediately, it would be a wound that concerns his life.
On that forehead, a black bandana was wrapped just like the other men. By wrapping this black cloth, the group that attacked the boy might be performing friend or foe identification.
The groaning man noticed the boy and reached his hand toward the hunting rifle he had apparently dropped. However, earlier than him, the boy had picked up the hunting rifle. In addition, he also picks up the automatic rifle that had fallen beside the man whose upper half of the head was blown off and who wasn't moving at all.
The one that one of the men was firing vigorously was the Type 89 Rifle, which is the formal equipment of the JSDF. Was there a former JSDF member, or did they get it from a JSDF member's corpse or an infected? The boy removed the rifle's magazine, confirmed that bullets were still inside, and then aimed the rifle he just picked up toward the man who was bleeding.
"Wa-Wait, wait, wait! Please help me!"
The man who had the muzzle pointed at him hurriedly waved both hands and showed his palms. Seeing that, the boy lowered the muzzle once. Against the man who was relieved, this time the handgun's muzzle was thrust.
The boy hung the picked-up hunting rifle and Type 89 Rifle on his shoulder with slings and rummaged through the body of the other man who had become a corpse. In the corpse's pockets, an empty rifle magazine and several magazines loaded with bullets were thrust. He thrust those into the pouches of the chest rig he wore with one hand. After stealing ammunition from the corpse, the boy finally opened his mouth.
"Who are you people? Why did you attack me?"
But whether from terror, the man didn't open his mouth. Instead, at the same time as he widened his eyes, the boy felt a sign behind him. When he turned around, the scene of two infected running toward the boy spread.
Because it was too sudden, there was no time. The boy pulled the trigger of the handgun he remained holding, and the gunshot echoed in the coastal warehouse district. Two shots into the chest of the infected running in the lead, and he fired a finishing shot into the head once it fell. Against the other one, he fired five times in succession, and luckily one shot hit the head.
"Damn it."
Even though the infected had left following the escaping men, this makes it meaningless. If he strains his ears, he can hear roars that are gradually approaching, and if he dawdles like this, he will just be surrounded and eaten by the infected.
He must escape. However, just riding the car and escaping won't shake off the infected. No matter how much it's a hybrid car that can perform electric drive, there's no change in the fact that a driving sound is made. If he drives the car in front of the infected, he will just be chased endlessly.
If he places something that draws the infected's attention and escapes with all his might in the meantime, will he manage somehow? The boy looked down at the man who remained collapsed after being shot in the leg. The man also seemed to have noticed what the boy was thinking and pleaded desperately.
"Please, help me! I'll do anything, I'll do anything, so please get me out of here quickly!"
The man appealed so to the boy with a desperate look, but in a trembling voice. That the man had already lost his will to fight was clear to anyone's eyes. Shot in the leg, weapons stolen, and in addition to that, being attacked by the infected. If he would get him out of here right now, he would follow anyone.
Should he help? Such a thought floated in the boy's head. If he helps him here, he can also ask in detail about the information and purpose of the group that attacked later. Besides, he has lost his will to fight; there is no need for unnecessary killing.
At the moment he unconsciously extended his hand, the word "scary" floated in a corner of the boy's head.
What if I'm betrayed? The moment he thought that, terror dominated the boy's head. He cannot trust, he might be betrayed. No matter what he thought, only that floated in his head, and the option to help the man vanished.
"It's you guys who are bad..."
As if making an excuse, the boy muttered so in a small, trembling voice. Then he brushed away the hand of the man seeking help, and instead stepped on the wound he suffered in his leg with all his might. A scream like a wild beast's roar rose, and blood flowed even more from the gunshot wound in the thigh. Turning his back to the man who still continued to scream, the boy hurriedly returned to the wagon with the weapons stolen from the attackers in hand. Because he was carrying the hunting rifle and Type 89 Rifle of the men he defeated in addition to the automatic rifle and submachine gun he originally had, his body is heavily weighted.
While the man's scream shook the air, when he threw the guns into the passenger seat, the boy sat in the wagon's driver's seat and started the car as soon as he turned the ignition key. Immediately switching to electric drive, he headed toward the coast while leaking an electric drive motor sound that was far smaller than the scream.
"Wait, help me! Don't leave me behind!"
From the window cracked by gunfire, the man's voice seeking salvation was heard. When he looked at the rearview mirror, the figure of the man extending his hand with a desperate look toward the wagon the boy was driving could be seen. From behind him, the scene of the infected closing in on the man was also visible.
"Noooooooo!"
When the wagon turned the corner of the parking lot, the figures of the man and the infected could no longer be seen. Simultaneously, a deathbed scream that didn't seem to belong to this world and further roars of the infected pierced the boy's ears. The scream continued to rise until the boy left the warehouse district and came out to the coast, and then stopped abruptly.
The infected were apparently unable to move and were absorbed in attacking the man who was screaming. Because the infected didn't notice the sound of the car driving away and were eating the man who continued to scream in front of them, he wasn't chased. But he doesn't know from where infected will spring up. After driving the car along the coastal road for a while, the boy stopped the car in the middle of a straight road with good visibility.
He had no choice but to do this, and even though there was no one there, the boy's head was desperate in thinking of excuses. They were a group that attacked without any warning; he might have had his throat slit if he helped. Besides, with that bleeding and wound, there was no way to treat it no matter how he thought. Whether the boy helped or not, the man would have died in ten-odd minutes.
Besides, even if he helped him, if he was chased by the infected and overtaken, it would be the end of everything. To survive, he had no choice but to use the man who couldn't move as a decoy and escape. Originally, it was those guys who attacked; it's a natural end.
"Poor person. That man was seeking help, even though you were the only person he could rely on anymore. Despite that, you escaped using him as bait."
Hearing such a voice, the boy raised his face. In the rearview mirror, a blood-stained girl was sitting in the back seat. The former comrade who turned into an infected and was shot because the boy prioritized self-preservation and erred in judgment is directing a lifeless face toward the boy through the mirror.
"You can't save anyone; you just kill."
When he looked back, no one was in the car. Nothing is reflected in the mirror either. Apparently, he saw a hallucination again.
In the end, I remain unable to change at all. Choosing the path of escaping rather than fighting, and able to do nothing but kill rather than save. The boy let out a sigh and sank his body deeply into the seat.