Magic on the Dead Chapter 32

“Fire?”

Having grasped the situation, Eden immediately stood up from his spot and threw open the dusty window that had been tightly shut.

There were still zombies within view, but they could no longer delay their escape. If they could smell the smoke, it was already well past too late. They could die of asphyxiation before they even got bitten, or the building could explode.

Without hesitation, Eden threw his backpack out the window. The backpack landed softly on the overgrown weeds with lush leaves. Fortunately, the zombies were running to the opposite side of the building. It was the point where the fire had broken out. This was their chance.

“Ms. Yoon Miso, you go down first to check the situation, and then immediately catch Jeong Byeol.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Miso threw the messenger bag she had slung over her shoulder outside.

“Step on me and climb up.”

Eden got down on all fours on the floor and bent his back. It was a movement without a single moment of hesitation. Miso stepped firmly on his broad back, jumped up to hang onto the windowsill, and then used her strength to pull herself up, pushing her upper body out first.

The way she checked for zombies was cautious. Everyone held their breath. After confirming it was safe, Miso placed one leg on the windowsill.

“I’ll go out first, so everyone follow me quickly.”

She slid out as if gliding. Thump! It made quite a loud noise, but thankfully, no zombies came flocking over.

Next was Byeol. When Eden gave him a piggyback ride, Byeol silently stretched his body toward the window without a peep. A small whispering sound could be heard from outside.

“Just jump!”

“Okay!”

Byeol threw himself towards Miso.

After safely getting the two out, Eden stood up. Jeffrey, who was waiting, fussed at him to get back down.

[Next is me, me, me! Hurry up and get down again!]

[Ha, this disloyal bastard.]

Acrid smoke seeped thickly through the cracks in the door. It was now at a point where tears welled up in their eyes. Hajin urgently wet a handkerchief with water and covered his mouth and nose.

In the meantime, Jeffrey barely managed to squeeze his body out the window. After him came Park Chunbeom, and then Lee Changyeol.

Eden was still lying flat on the floor. Hajin hastily rummaged through his backpack and found a pair of scissors. He cut the water-soaked, soggy handkerchief in half and brought it to the mouth of Eden, who was on the floor. Eden glanced back at Hajin.

“Cough! Step on me and get up.”

Hajin coughed and pushed Eden’s shoulder. Eden, with a rough touch as if telling him to be quiet, snatched Hajin’s waist. Swoosh, just like that, his body was lifted.

“No, I’m telling you to go first!”

“I’m taller than you, so shut up and get out. Grab the windowsill.”

His voice was low and subdued. Flustered, Hajin scrambled to grab the windowsill. The handkerchief that had been covering his nose fell to the floor.

“Hurry.”

Eden’s firm voice made his heart race. Hajin stepped on his shoulder. Bending and contorting his body, he struggled to escape outside. The waiting group quickly helped the collapsed Hajin to his feet.

It seemed a zombie had approached in the meantime, as two of them lay dead in a corner with their necks broken.

When he looked up worriedly, he saw Eden’s upper body pop up. In his mouth was the half-handkerchief Hajin had given him. He seemed to have inhaled a fair amount of smoke, as Eden’s expression was not very good. Without realizing it, Hajin stomped his feet and reached out his hand.

“Kkhh….”

Eden practically broke the windowsill as he contorted his body to get out. He pulled his upper body out first, and it was when he was pulling out his last remaining leg.

“Kraaaaaah—!!”

The sound of a door breaking could be heard from nearby. The moment Eden completely cleared the windowsill, along with the flames, a blue zombie’s fingers wriggled and shot out from the window’s gap. It was truly a close call.

“Are you okay, Mr. Jung Taegeon?”

Hajin tugged at the hem of Eden’s clothes, which were saturated with the smell of smoke. Scratches from forcing his way out remained on Eden’s arms like marks of punishment. Looking closely, there were also marks from fingernails.

Hajin realized they were his own nail marks and furrowed his brow. The memory of frantically scratching Eden’s log-like arm when he was hyperventilating came back vividly.

Instead of saying sorry, Hajin took out a bottle of water he had packed in his bag. When he handed it to Eden, who must have inhaled a lot of smoke, he emptied the bottle in an instant without a sound.

The building was getting hotter and the flames were growing fiercer.

[Let’s go to that building up ahead!]

After gathering all the bags that had fallen on the ground, the group hurriedly followed Jeffrey’s signal towards the green building 150 meters ahead.

It was a cotton mill that had long since ceased operations, a ruined building with one side collapsed and torn away.

As they rushed into the interior, which was littered with construction waste, bricks, and various kinds of trash, a zombie with its back half-bent came lunging at them. When Jeffrey fiercely swung his hand axe, the zombie buckled at the knees with a thud, unable to even make a sound. The blood that splattered everywhere was nauseating.

[Ugh, I seriously feel like I’m going to puke.]

Jeffrey turned his head as he pulled the axe, caked with brains and blood, from the skull.

Right on cue, Bang! Ba-bang! huge explosions roared from the direction of the mart, and the ground shook with small tremors as if there was an earthquake. For a tremor caused by a fire, its intensity and vibration were considerable.

Thud-thud-thud-thud…. Hajin soon realized that this vibration, which seemed to shake the very axis of the earth, was all coming from the zombies’ running. Beyond the torn-out wall of the building, hordes of zombies were running somewhere. They were all heading towards the mart where the flames were soaring.

Hajin couldn’t easily tear his eyes away from the scene, which was like something out of a horror movie. There looked to be well over 100 of them.

It was a blessing in disguise. The zombies had unintentionally taken the bait, so they just needed to use the time they had bought to set out for their destination. The group, hidden among the waste materials, held their breath and watched the zombies, like moths to a flame, rushing towards the fire.

“Haa. Does everything have to be this spectacular every single time?”

Miso shook her head as if she was already sick of it before it even began.

After checking with his eyes to see if anyone was missing, Eden tried to ignore the throbbing in his temples and caught his breath.

The smell of smoke still clung to his entire body. If it hadn’t been for the wet handkerchief Do Hajin had given him, it might have been really dangerous. The past days when he had debated making him a companion seemed pointless, as Do Hajin was more than pulling his own weight.

Hajin, noticing Eden’s gaze, approached his side.

“Are you okay? You seem to have inhaled a lot of smoke.”

In his heart, he wanted to tease him that he smelled like a whole roasted pig, but judging by the look on his face, now didn’t seem to be the time for foolishness. Reading the room, Hajin checked on Eden’s condition.

Instead of answering, Eden took the half-cut handkerchief out of his back pocket and wiped the back of his hand. It was the same handkerchief Hajin had soaked in water and given him to block the smoke.

‘I wonder if he’ll count it as a tie if I include this handkerchief.’

Hajin thought so, but inwardly mocked himself. He was flabbergasted by his own childishness, keeping score every time he owed his life to Eden and then saved Eden’s life in return. This wasn’t some kind of contest, what the hell was he even doing…

“Let’s regroup and take the next step.”

With Eden at the center, people began to gather one by one. Police officer Lee Changyeol squatted down next to Hajin. He picked up a stone and began diligently drawing something on the dusty ground.

“Our current location is here.”

A circle was born from his fingertip. From the center of the circle, several crooked straight lines stretched out like branches growing from a tree.

“This is the alleyway with houses, and this is the main shopping district. Further past that is a park with a walking trail. It’s a bit far for a way to the police station, but the safest place is right here, this park. If we take this route, we’ll at least avoid running into a horde of zombies. The entrance is hidden so people don’t really know about it, and it’s not a place many people visit.”

“What’s that rectangular building next to the park exit?”

When Hajin asked, an answer came back immediately.

“Sangwon Medical Center.”

Miso tapped the rectangular shape with her index finger as if pleased.

“If it’s a medical center, there must be pharmacies nearby too, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. I remember there being at least three. There’s a shopping arcade right next to it.”

Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Eden. As if they were thinking the same thing, Eden was also lost in thought, slowly stroking his chin.

“If we’re passing by anyway, let’s stop by the pharmacies too. In a situation like this, securing medical supplies is what’s most crucial.”

Besides, if not now, there would be no other chance to raid for medical supplies. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement with Eden’s words. Except for one person.

“We can’t do that. Let’s go straight to the police station. You’ll find a pharmacy near there too if you look hard enough.”

Lee Changyeol roughly erased the map he had drawn on the ground with his foot.

Eden, who had been looking down at the ground, tilted his head askew and asked.

“Why is that?”

“Because we obviously don’t have time. I’m in a great hurry.”

“Ah, because of the girlfriend you have to save?”

“Yes.”

“Then you should go separately.”

“Excuse me?”

To the voice that asked back in disbelief, Eden’s expression turned cold.

“What I mean is, if you’re in such a hurry, you’re welcome to leave now.”