Walking Daddy

Side Story 8: Stories of Russia (8)

After taking care of matters, we were able to check out the nearby general hospital on the way back, thanks to the bright moonlight.

Ji-Eun and I took care of the approaching zombies while Tommy went about looking for what he needed. Overall, he seemed satisfied, as he was able to retrieve a handful of supplies.

“I think we’ll be able to speed up the research,” he said.

“Was there anything in the clinical hospital that would help with the research?”

“Yes. The institute was located in Vladivostok because of its proximity to other hospitals. That made it convenient for us to restock on medical supplies and other things when we ran low.”

“I’m glad to hear that you got everything you needed,” I replied with a faint smile.

Tommy gave a sharp nod. “You can look forward to the future. I will make sure to bring you back.”

“Your words alone give me hope.”

His confident answer energized me. It felt like my future, which was all blurry, was clearing up little by little.

We hurried back to the lab.

* * *

Even before I realized it, spring, which was full of vitality, had passed. The intense summer heat went by as well, leading us into autumn. The changing foliage welcomed us into the new season. As the leaves changed color and began to fall, the cold wind started to blow again. Once again, Mother Nature was cycling through her seasons.

Just like that, four years passed, and the research slowly began to bear fruit. A drug that can suppress zombie instincts had been developed, and we were able to see the effects of the vaccine with our very own eyes.

We faced many setbacks during the process, but thanks to the data that had been accumulated through the long years of research, we were able to successfully inoculate once, without failing. When we prepared to test the vaccine on a human, Tommy tried to volunteer himself, but the Russian survivors came forward and offered to become subjects for the clinical trials.

The man with the shaggy beard had approached us with a look of determination.

- If something goes wrong with any one of you—Tommy, Alyosha, and Elena—there’ll be no future for any of us. I will be the test subject.

Tommy, though, refused his proposal. It seemed like he didn’t want to sacrifice anyone else for the sake of the vaccine development. He said that he wanted to be responsible for whatever happened, whether or not the vaccine was a success. However, the Russian couples didn’t give up that easily.

- We will do anything for the research if you promise to take care of the children until the end. If it weren’t for Mr. Lee Hyun-Deok, we would’ve died already. He’s already saved us once, so please let us do this, to repay all of you for what we’ve received.

While Tommy hesitated, unsure what to do, Elena quickly stepped in and sorted out the situation. She injected the vaccine into the arm of the man with the shaggy beard before Tommy could do anything. When Tommy cried out in surprise, Elena shrugged and said the following:

- I did you a favor. Thank me later.

She was a very unpredictable woman, unless it came to her research. We waited for about a day after vaccinating the man to see if he developed any side effects. Thankfully, he didn’t suffer any problems except for feeling bloated.

The next day, I gently bit his right arm, and everyone else watched the man to see if anything was going to happen to him. His wife prayed constantly, with tears in her eyes. She was praying desperately that the vaccine would counteract the virus so that her husband wouldn’t turn into a zombie.

At first, his right arm turned bluish. Kim Hyeong-Jun, who had been observing, took an ax and tried to cut off his arm. However, Tommy held his arm to stop him.

- Not yet; let’s wait a bit more.

- He’s going to die if we don’t cut it off right now.

- The virus isn’t spreading. His skin is still intact.

He was right. The part that I’d bitten was the only part of his body that was bluish, and the virus wasn’t being carried by his blood to the other parts of his body. So we waited to see what was going to happen next.

The next two minutes seemed like an eternity. The man broke out into a cold sweat and screamed in agony, but it didn't take him long to calm down again. Soon after, his right arm began to return to its original color, and pus oozed out from the wound that I made when I bit him. The vaccine research turned out to be successful.

His wife, who had watched him suffering, hugged him as hard as she could, covered in tears and snot. The man said that he felt like his right arm was on fire. He took some painkillers, and after an hour, he reported that some tingling pain remained, but it was definitely not as painful as it was before.

“There used to be a lot more. It’s not like we just hung around for the past four years. We’ve been through a lot as well.”

He was hinting that they’d sacrificed much to hold off the zombie attacks. My expression remained neutral, and Jack sighed.

“Thankfully, we have healthy young men among the survivors who are helping out the military right now,” he continued. “We’re grateful for them stepping up.”

“It seems like they realized that they won’t be able to make it just by being under someone else’s protection.”

"You’re absolutely right. Now do you fully understand why we wanted to come here and join up with you?”

“Yes, I understand. By the way, were there any zombies with red eyes in Canada?”

"There are. No, there were. Unfortunately, none of the red-eyed zombies in Canada chose to live for the sake of humans.”

I noticed that his eyes were trembling as he spoke. It seemed like his mind had flashed back to the events of the past. Just from his face, I could tell that he must have gone through a lot more than he was explaining to me right now. His expression seemed similar to Lee Jeong-Uk’s, when he was staring at his family photo in Seoul.

The others were unloading all the supplies from the transports as we spoke. Once they were done unloading, a man in uniform approached us.

“We’re done here. We’ll head back.”

"Oh, okay. Do you have enough fuel?”

“Yes, we should have enough.”

“Thank you for your service.”

When Jack gave him a small nod and a warm smile, the man in uniform saluted and returned to the transport.

“Should we go to the lab and continue this conversation?” he said.

"Could you please wait a moment?”

My underlings were hidden away near Vladivostok airport, just in case anything unexpected happened. When I called in my underlings, zombies popped out from all around, making their throat-rending cries. The Canadian researchers screamed in fright when they saw my underlings. Tommy calmed them down.

“These are the zombies you’ll be spending time with here,” he said. “I hope everyone gets used to them.”

My underlings soon filled the runway. I looked over at Jack.

“If you could get on,” I said.

“Uh, what exactly do you want me to get on?”

At his question, I called over one of my underlings. An underling, with all of its arms and legs, came to my side, crouched down on the floor, and gestured to Jack to get on its back. I pointed at my underling while looking at Jack.

"Are you asking me to get on a zombie's back right now?" he asked in a dumbfounded tone.

When I tilted my head and looked at him, as though wondering what the problem was, he seemed to hesitate. However, when Tommy, Alyosha, and Elena took the lead and got onto the backs of the zombies, the Canadian researchers also mounted the zombies one by one. When Jack finally got onto the back of the zombie in front of us, I looked over at Kim Hyeong-Jun.

“Hyeong-Jun, you handle the supplies. Take your time returning.”

“Is there anything fragile? Can't I just pick them up and run with you?”

“Take your time, just in case, you know?”

“If I’d known, I would’ve made Han-Sol do it. Eh, how troublesome.”

Kim Hyeong-Jun continued to grumble as he walked over to where the supplies were. Kim Hyeong-Jun’s underlings showed up on the runway as well, filling Vladivostok airport with zombies. I chuckled at the nervous Canadian researchers.

“Everyone hold on tight,” I said. “We’re going to go now.”

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