Walking Daddy

Chapter 172

My jaw fell open.

“What do you mean the vaccine vial broke?”

“The vial of vaccine is literally broken.”

“The syringe containing the vaccine?”

“It must've broken when Alyosha got crushed by the door earlier.”

Tommy’s expression grew startled, and he began to converse with Alyosha. I could not intervene in their heated discussion. After a moment, Tommy scratched his head, his expression puzzled.

“Alyosha is saying that without the research data, he won’t be able to reproduce the vaccine,” he said.

“Didn’t Alyosha make the vaccine? If the Brain Research Institute has the necessary functioning equipment, can’t you make it here too?”

“It's not that easy. We barely succeeded after hundreds and thousands of attempts. It’s difficult to recreate those countless cases without any foundations.”

“Then what do we have to do?”

"There’s one way…”

Tommy didn’t finish his sentence. Instead, he sighed and bit his lip. I waited patiently, and Tommy sighed once again.

“We need to go back to the Russian lab,” he said.

“Is that the only way?”

“As of now, yes, that’s the best solution I can think of.”

The best solution, huh.

I slicked my bangs back.

“That vaccine of yours, are you sure about it?” I asked Tommy. “Were any zombies administered the vaccine and then came back as humans?” [1]

“We’re not sure. It works, theoretically, but we’ve never done any biological experiments.”

Despite their confidence, they were telling me that they’d never conducted trials with their vaccine before. The absurdity left me speechless.

Alyosha, who was sitting in the corner, came over to me and held my hand. He started speaking in Russian, so I had no clue what he was saying. Tommy translated what he was trying to tell me.

“He said he can make it again. He’s asking you for a chance.”

“Is he asking me to go with him? To Russia?”

“Yes.”

“It’s impossible for me to go to Russia right now. As I said before, the survivors are my priority.”

When Tommy finished translating my stance to him, Alyosha nodded and continued to speak. Tommy scratched his sideburns and translated what he had said.

“He says that, even if it’s not right now, he’d like you to go to Russia with him. And that you’re the only person he can rely on at the moment. He usually doesn’t ask favors like this…”

“...”

“I also want to ask you this favor. Alyosha has… Alyosha has bet everything on this vaccine research. He witnessed his wife bitten by a zombie in front of his eyes. He’s been more passionate about developing this vaccine than anyone else.”

I couldn’t help but feel bitter when I heard the word ‘wife’. I also wasn’t there to protect my wife in her last moments. I couldn’t tell who was more miserable; me, who wasn’t able to protect my wife in her last moments, or Alyosha, who could do nothing even though he saw his wife being attacked by zombies.

But then I questioned if measuring the depths of our misery was even worth it. In the end, we were both just pathetic husbands who couldn't protect their wives…

I placed my hand on my forehead as I got lost in my own thoughts. Suddenly, I remembered what Lee Jeong-Uk had told me back on the runway, before we’d left Gimpo Airport.

- Human beings should live on while they think about tomorrow. That’s why I hope you come up with a new goal in life. Not a goal for the sake of others, but something for yourself. Like figuring out the meaning of life.

As I pondered the idea, Tommy continued to speak. His expression grew bleak.

“I’m serious… Alyosha… After his wife died, he stopped eating and drinking, and focused fully on research. Even when those around him called him a maniac, he devoted himself to research until he fainted from overwork. I’m sure he can make the vaccine again.”

“Why are you trying so hard to save the world?”

“I’m not trying to save the world.”

Just the other day, he’d told me that the future of mankind depended on that vaccine of theirs. Now, he was saying something else.

“Didn’t you say that the vaccine Alyosha had held the future of mankind?” I asked with a frown.

"That… That was an excuse I hastily made up out of fear. I thought you were going to attack us.”

For some reason, I couldn’t figure out why they were so desperate to create this vaccine. In this day and age, it was impossible to predict what was going to happen the next day. Also, if the only other research institute they’d been in contact with was in Canada… That meant that the situation in all the other countries was already hopeless.

It’d been six months since the virus first began to spread, and Seoul's population of ten million was probably down to less than ten thousand. This probably meant that the world's surviving population would be less than ten percent of what it used to be. Maybe even just one percent.

Of the seven billion people that existed before the virus, there were probably at most seven hundred thousand people left on the planet. If that was the case, I couldn’t figure out why they were still trying to develop a vaccine. Even if they completed the vaccine, I had no clue how they would spread it across the globe without any distribution networks.

“Then why are you willing to risk your life for this vaccine?” I asked with a frown.

Tommy’s expression grew bitter.

“When I was at the Russian Research Institute… Well, all the researchers there determined that the current virus was incurable. But Alyosha always smiled and said this.”

“Said what…?”

“That no one should have to lose their family like he did. That you should reach out when you can. I admire Alyosha for that.”

“...”

“Everyone said Alyosha was crazy and cursed at him. But… But I believe that people like Alyosha should be the ones to survive. People like him, who’ve been through the pain. Since they know how heartbreaking it can be, I knew that they would try even harder so that others would not have to go through the same pain they did.”

I sighed in confusion and looked at Alyosha. Only then did I notice his white skin and skinny limbs. He was bald and had rather funny-looking glasses, but I could tell that he was a deeply genuine person.

I let out a breath and looked at Tommy.

“If we go back to the Russian lab, will it be possible to recreate the vaccine?”

"Yes! I will help Alyosha. I’ll make sure we make it.”

“If that’s the case… I can’t say I won’t go.”

“Real… Really?”

“But the survivors come first. We’ll go after we get the survivors at Daegu Airport safely to Jeju Island and make sure that Jeju Island is safe.”

“I’m not sure how to thank you. Thank you, thank you very much!”

Tommy smiled and told Alyosha the good news. Alyosha opened his eyes wide and hugged me, his eyes welling up with tears. I smiled awkwardly and patted him on the back. He was hugging me like a younger brother, even though his face looked a lot older than mine.

I knew that when my zombie instincts finally took over, I couldn’t be with So-Yeon. If I had to leave Jeju Island anyway, it was probably a good idea to go to Russia with them to create the vaccine. The new goal that Lee Jeong-Uk had talked about, a life for tomorrow…

Even though it was like squeezing water from a stone, I was willing to devote myself to this small possibility, to create a vaccine to overcome this damned virus.

I got to my feet, and Tommy followed suit.

"Before we head back, I'd like to take some research data and samples from this place,” he said. “Would that be okay?”

“Why?”

“I feel like they could come in handy someday. Every drug has its own side effects. A drug that strengthens zombies could be the same drug that kills them.”

I nodded slowly at his explanation.

"All right. Let’s head back after you get the data that you need.”

* * *

The soldiers who carried Kim Hyeong-Jun inside threw him into some room. He cracked his eyes half-open to check out the room. It seemed like an office, but it had all sorts of things in it, like a couch, a bed, and a desk.

The man lying on the bed got up.

“What the hell is that?” he asked.

“We hunted down a zombie that was trying to get inside the fueling station, sir,” the three soldiers answered triumphantly.

“Who got it?”

“I did, sir.”

“Then you should’ve come alone. Why did you bring those two next to you?”

“They were in charge of the quarters. They came to report what happened, sir.”

The soldiers tactfully praised one another so that the man wouldn’t kick them out. The man on the bed scratched his head.

“Did you check if it’s dead?” he asked.

"Yes, sir! I dragged it outside and killed it.”

“Okay, keep in mind that whoever opens fire within the fueling station, I’ll kill them myself.”

“Yes, we’re aware, sir!”

The man on the bed stood up and rubbed his sore neck. He walked over to the desk, fully naked, then grabbed a ballpoint pen, and began writing on a piece of paper.

“Take this and go to the prize manager.”

"Yes sir!"

The soldier, who was wearing a hat, smiled broadly and happily took the paper from the naked man. However, when he read the words on the paper, his head began to tilt. He smiled sheepishly and looked at the captain.

"Excuse me… Sir?” he said.

"What?"

“You only wrote down one prize… Is this correct, sir?”

“Then what? You wanted three?”

“There are three of us…”

“Then go get me three zombies,” the captain answered calmly.

The soldiers looked at each other, sharing startled expressions.

“Sir, you know there aren’t any zombies left here. You know this place is barren.”

“Then go to Gyeongsan and hunt them down,” said the captain with a smirk.

The soldiers seemed to hesitate for a moment, then the one with a shirt on spoke up.

“Sir, this zombie is no ordinary zombie. So I think you should give us three prizes.”

“What’s that?”

The captain’s brow furrowed when he heard the soldiers say that Kim Hyeong-Jun wasn’t an ordinary zombie. The soldier noticed the change in the captain’s facial expression and swallowed, but continued to speak.

“This one has blue eyes. Don’t you think it’d be a good addition to your zombie collection, sir?”

“It has blue eyes?”

“Yes sir, and it was really hard to catch, because it didn’t go down in one shot. We all worked together and just barely managed to get it.”

Kim Hyeong-Jun barely kept himself from bursting into laughter as he listened to the soldiers make up their fake story. He wanted to give them a round of applause for their efforts to somehow secure three prizes. And, the fact that this captain or whatever had some sort of zombie collection… Kim Hyeong-Jun couldn’t help but think that this man was insane in his own way.

The captain contemplated this for a moment, then looked at the soldiers.

“Dig that bastard’s eyes out.”

"Pardon, sir?"

“Dig its damn eyes out so that I can see for myself if they’re actually blue. If they’re really blue, I’ll give you three prizes.”

“Yes, sir.”

The soldier wearing a hat drew the sword that hung from his side and crouched down beside Kim Hyeong-Jun. Just as he was about to flip Kim Hyeong-Jun over, the man in the shirt spoke up in a rather dubious tone.

"Huh? Hey, wait up.”

The man crouching in front of Kim Hyeong-Jun looked back at the man who had expressed his doubt.

“What?”

"Didn’t… Didn't you shoot it in the back earlier?"

“What about that?”

“There’s no wound on its back.”

At his words, the soldiers around him all looked at Kim Hyeong-Jun’s back. There were traces of blood, but his wound had gone away. The man wearing a hat tilted his head and turned Kim Hyeong-Up over anyway. As they turned Kim Hyeong-Jun face-up, they saw his blue eyes shimmering.

The man wearing a hat exclaimed in surprise.

“Hey, did this thing have its eyes open earlier?” he asked.

"Uh… I think they were closed…?”

“...”

The room fell dead silent, as if time itself had stopped. Kim Hyeong-Jun rolled his eyes slightly and looked at the man wearing the hat, who was right in front of him.

“Jesus!!”

The man in the hat freaked out and landed on his bottom. At the same time, the man in the shirt reached for his pistol. Kim Hyeong-Jun noticed that he was going for his pistol, and with a flash of his blue eyes, he quickly dashed toward the man.

In seconds, the silent room was thrown into chaos. But the screaming that filled up the room… It didn’t even last ten seconds.

After that brief moment, Kim Hyeong-Jun stood there, licking the red blood off his hands as he stared at the captain, who was trembling in front of the desk. The captain was staring at Kim Hyeong-Jun with his eyes wide open. Kim Hyeong-Jun lowered his gaze slightly and looked at the man’s lower body.

“Not much of a shower, huh?” he said with a snort. “Or are you scared? Is that it?”

“You… you… you… What the hell are you? Are you a zom… zombie? No, are you human? Wait, no. You can’t be human. What are you?”

Kim Hyeong-Jun sneered at the captain.

"What the hell are you saying, man? Relax. Chill.”

He sat down in the captain’s chair with a confused expression.

Just then, He heard someone on the bed sob and give a low moan. He looked toward where the crying was coming from, and saw a mysterious woman, trembling in fear. Judging by the bruises on her body, it seemed like she’d been physically abused. He sighed and addressed the woman.

“Don’t worry. The rescue team’s here for you.”

1. Lee Hyun-Deok makes the common mistake of regarding a vaccine as a cure that will let him return to his human form. More to come about his confusion on vaccines in later chapters. ☜