I pulled the bow and quiver out of the storage room. Five arrows inside.
*I've never shot a bow in my life.*
But the moment I picked it up, something felt strangely familiar. The grip of the bow between my left thumb and index finger didn't feel foreign at all.
I nocked an arrow, drew the string back. It was stiffer than I expected — took real effort to pull.
I locked eyes with the thing and aimed straight for the space between its eyes. My drawing arm trembled, but the anger from yesterday hadn't faded. Anger calls up a different kind of strength than fear does.
"You knocked over my food?"
I stared it down and let go.
The arrow shot through the bus doorway and buried itself straight into the creature's face.
*Shriek!*
It punched clean through the thing's skull and clattered against the rubble of the collapsed house beyond.
The eyes that had been glaring at me slowly turned black. Then the whole body crumbled into gray dust and scattered.
On the wooden platform, a single green korka sat glowing softly on the overturned plate.
*Just one again.*
Whether that was always the case, I had no idea. Either way, I went out and picked it up. The fuel port on the bus swung open like it had been waiting. This time I was the one who fed it.
I patted the side of the bus and muttered, "Hungry, huh?"
But my eyes stayed on that overturned plate. Like I was talking to something — or someone — that wasn't the bus at all.
I went back inside and checked the systems. Nothing happened right away.
After a little while, I heard the refrigerator hum back to life. I opened it first.
The basic supplies had been restocked, back to what they were originally. I checked the control panel — confirmed the lights were all off, switched off the ventilation fan and everything else. Left only the refrigerator running.
*Thank god.*
So there were flying monsters too. Three types so far. No telling what else was out there. And whatever just came at me — there were definitely things stronger than that.
I stepped outside, checked the area, then walked over to the ruins of the house. The arrow was lying on the ground.
*Only five arrows. I need to be careful.*
I picked it up and brought it back to the quiver. Didn't seem like they refilled on their own.
*These aren't ordinary arrows.*
Today was the first time I'd ever shot a bow, and I'd hit on the first try. Sure, the distance was short — but still. Something about them wasn't normal.
*I need to check out the town center.*
I stopped and thought it over. Should I stay here, collect more korka, charge up as much as possible before moving? Or head out now and see what the town center looked like?
Honestly, there was no rush. Monsters were showing up here one at a time. Staying put for a while might actually be the smarter call. If I drove into town and ran into a swarm, I couldn't handle that alone.
Surviving here, picking off one or two monsters at a time — wasn't that the higher-percentage play?
But the moment I actually considered it, something in me felt wrong.
*What's the point of surviving like that?*
I let out a long breath. Stay somewhere relatively safe, or risk everything for an uncertain future.
This felt like the kind of choice everyone faces at least once — apocalypse or not. The threat of an unknown future doesn't change much whether what's out there is monsters or people.
*Huh?*
In the middle of all that, I heard something in the distance. A sound that belonged to civilization.
A car engine.
That completely ordinary sound felt strange. Out of place.
Knowing there was a survivor brought a small wave of relief — and then a quiet dread right behind it. This was a variable I hadn't planned for. Something that might pull things in a direction I hadn't chosen.
*Who is it?*
I was curious. What kind of shape would a person be in, in a world like this? Would they be friendly?
I closed the bus door and focused on the sound getting closer. It was coming from the direction of the town center. Then the source came into view.
A compact car. One driver, as far as I could tell.
It sped past our house and headed deeper into the village. Fast. Urgent.
I watched where it was going. It stopped hard in front of the house with the blue gate. The door flew open and a young woman ran inside.
*Looks like she's looking for someone.*
A moment later I heard her calling out desperately. No one answered. Her voice echoed through the empty neighborhood and faded into nothing.
Looking more carefully, the car was in bad shape. Rear window smashed, body panels badly dented. It was a miracle it had made it this far.
She came back out through the gate, looking around frantically, calling a name.
*Wait — that house with the blue gate…*
I was trying to place it when I saw a dark shape drop onto her from behind and drag her back inside.
"Oh, sh—"
Even from a distance, even for just a second — that was definitely one of the ugly ones.
I felt my grip tighten around the sword. But my body didn't move.
Survival instinct? Selfishness?
If I ran in there right now, could I actually save her?
If a monster had already grabbed her, wasn't she already dead?
And even if she wasn't — would I just get myself killed too?
*But here's the thing.*
Could I really walk away from this and live with myself?
I grabbed the sword and shield and ran outside. Driving would mean going around, but on foot I just had to get over the hill. Faster than the car.
*And that house—*
I was breathing hard by the time I reached the blue gate. I paused, caught my breath, then slipped carefully through.
Shield raised over my face and chest, sword out in my right hand, I moved quietly through the yard, searching for the thing.
The front door was open. Only that one. No screaming from inside.
*Passed out? Or already—?*
Worry and fear started pressing in. She was the first person I'd seen since the world changed. I hadn't been able to save the dog. If something happened to her too, I didn't know where my head would go.
I tightened my grip and stepped inside. The living room was empty. I crept toward the open bedroom door. And then—
*Skreeee!*
That sound. I'd heard it once before. It crawled straight up my spine — and it was coming from the ceiling behind me.
I spun around. Something was coming at my head. But the moment stretched out, slow and strange.
My senses were warping time again — giving me just enough room to process, to react.
One of those things. Its black front leg was sweeping toward my face. It had been crouched in the corner of the ceiling, waiting. I twisted, knocked the leg away with my shield, and swung the sword in the same motion. Aimed for the neck.
Not a thrust this time. A slash.
The blade cut through like it was slicing tofu. A clean line appeared across the creature's neck. Green fluid sprayed in every direction, and the head hit the floor.
The body stayed pinned to the ceiling. Its other legs still gripping the wall and ceiling — like a tick that wouldn't let go.
I watched the head roll across the floor. The eyes lost focus, turned black, and then the whole thing — head and body both — dissolved into gray dust. A single korka dropped from the air and hit the floor.
I pocketed it and called out, "Hey! Are you okay?"
No answer. I checked the rooms. The kitchen too. Nothing. Then I spotted sticky footprints leading toward the bathroom.
I moved toward them carefully. There could be more than one. Never assume the best. Especially now. Especially in a world like this.
Shield up, I used the tip of my sword to push the slightly open door. It swung inward slowly.
A small bathroom, no tub. I saw feet first. Then, as the door opened all the way, the woman from before — collapsed on the floor. Unconscious.
I checked behind the door and the ceiling, then went to her and looked her over. Some scratches from the creature's claws, but nothing serious. And the important thing: she was breathing. That was enough.
I carried her to the living room couch and laid her down. That's when I got a clear look at her face.
I knew her.
She still looked a lot like she had when she was little.
*This was Seonghee's house.*
But she'd moved to the city with her family years ago. So why was she here? Who had she been looking for?
I had a lot of questions, but no way to ask them yet. And I was back to the same problem.
If I left her here, another monster could get to her. But I couldn't exactly bring her to the bus either.
*What do I do.*
I was still turning it over when a flash of something hit me — and then pain. Sharp, in my head. For a few seconds I couldn't make sense of what had happened. Then the pain faded and it clicked.
She was standing in the corner of the living room, staring at me with wide, terrified eyes. She'd come to while I wasn't watching, hit me, and scrambled away.
"That hurt!"
I rubbed my cheek and shouted at her. She didn't answer. Instead she pulled a small multi-tool knife from her pocket and pointed it at me. That tiny blade looked so helpless it almost made me sad.
"It's me. Jinwoo."
She didn't seem to register it.
"Snap out of it!"
I raised my voice. There could be other monsters nearby — but I couldn't hold it in.
I was angry at her for not recognizing me. Angry that I'd gone out of my way to save her and she was pointing a knife at me. And angry at myself for still not knowing what to do next. It all came up at once.
The hand holding that small, flimsy knife was shaking. But her eyes were shifting — the fear slowly giving way to something uncertain.
"You don't remember me?"
And then, in that moment—
I felt her gaze move. Not to me. To something behind me. My threat sense kicked in immediately. Time adjusted again.
I turned and looked where she was looking. A long, dark hand — or foreleg — appeared in the doorway. Then a grotesque face ducked low and pushed its way inside.
The monster I'd seen for the first time yesterday. The tall one. The nightmare on legs.
It straightened up in the living room and its head nearly touched the ceiling. I raised my shield and swung — but it wasn't like hitting the ugly ones. I couldn't get close.
It moved the way I'd glimpsed through the bus window yesterday. Fast and wrong. Like watching something that existed slightly outside of normal space. You could almost see it, and then you couldn't.
When my life was on the line, my mind went slow and clear — like time itself was bending around me.
But this thing was doing something similar. Warping space and time in its own way, by its own rules.
It didn't come straight at me. It flickered around the room — fast, then impossibly slow, then chaotic — throwing me off, trying to break my focus.
Seonghee stood frozen with her little knife, watching with an expression that said she had absolutely no idea what was happening.
I swung at it dozens of times. Missed every one. But with each swing, something was accumulating in the back of my mind.
A pattern.
Its movements weren't random. Just before each shift, there was a subtle tensing — a tell. A small moment of preparation. And every one of those moments was being captured and filed away somewhere inside me. One by one.
And then I was certain. I knew where it would be next.
My sword moved toward that place.