Chapter 36
- Finally Discovered
How many people on this train were still clinging to life?
For now, Harrison had survived. Barely.
On the floor, pools of dark red blood were mingled with the green ichor of the monsters.
Over the disgusting slime, a snake-like creature slithered along.
Screee—
Squelch—
The bone-chilling sound of something dragging itself across the floor a short distance away grated against Harrison’s ears.
What on earth were those things?
Harrison held his breath and lay flat under the seats, slowly crawling forward.
A corpse sprawled on the floor entered his field of vision.
The monster, prowling the aisle between the seats in search of living prey, was still behind him. The door to the next carriage was right in front of him.
Harrison grabbed the ankle of the corpse blocking his path and, with all his might, hurled it toward the rear aisle.
Skree-aaak!
While the monster behind him shrieked in delight and fell upon the corpse, Harrison scrambled to his feet and bolted.
He slammed the sliding door of his carriage shut just before the creature’s fast-moving form reached it. Then, he turned and dove into the next carriage, slamming that door shut as well.
He had finally managed to reach the luggage car.
It had taken a full day just to get this far. Fortunately, the luggage car wasn’t far from where Harrison’s seat had been. The train’s storage space was packed with trunks and crates, making it easy to hide.
As he frantically searched through the cargo, he finally found the gun case he had stowed away. It was then that he encountered an unexpected figure hiding among the luggage.
Flashy pink hair and bright blue eyes. A gentle, puppy-like impression with a face prettier than most women.
Hose Camburn. He was the weapons expert Harrison had hired to teach Cherry how to use arms.
Hose’s blue eyes widened as they met Harrison’s. His mouth formed a surprised ’O’ as he whispered.
“Lawyer-nim?”
Hose wasn’t the only one surprised. Harrison couldn’t hide his shock at meeting this particular person in such an unexpected place.
“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in Brunel by now?”
Harrison asked, bewildered. He had thought it strange ever since Cherry mentioned that no one had come to find her…!
“I came as fast as I could. I’m a busy man, you know?”
Hose pouted his lower lip and grumbled in response. He looked every bit like a child.
‘Now that I think about it, he is still a child.’
Harrison recalled that Hose Camburn was only eighteen this year.
However, despite his young age, it was difficult to find anyone more proficient in the handling of various weapons. Because he had a decent personality and was social and friendly, Harrison had gone to great lengths to hire him, thinking he would get along well with Cherry.
But what was the point of all that if he couldn’t even reach Brunel, let alone protect her?
And Hose being here meant that Cherry was currently alone in Brunel.
“If I had known you were that busy, I wouldn’t have hired you. I called for you hoping you’d arrive in Brunel before me. How can I be running into you here?”
Despite Harrison’s reprimand, Hose replied with a grin.
“Hey now. That’s your fault, Lawyer-nim, for not checking my schedule properly.”
“Who are you blaming…!”
“Shh.”
Hose pressed his index finger to his lips. Then, the sound of someone—or something—entering the luggage car reached their ears.
Hiss—
Hiss—
A chilling sound of breathing.
It was the sound made by the mysterious monsters that had caused this catastrophe.
Harrison and Hose quickly hid among the bulky crates.
Soon, the form of a monster passing between the neatly stacked luggage was revealed.
It had bumpy, green reptilian skin. It walked on two legs, but a tail protruded from its backside. The creature, which looked like a reptile, had a mouth stained deep with blood.
“What on earth is that?”
Hose whispered quietly, pressed flat against the floor.
Harrison wondered the same thing. What was the identity of that grotesque being?
And why, for heaven’s sake, had there been no action from the Imperial Family or the police even though two days had passed since this horrific incident began?
‘Have they abandoned this place?’
The thought occurred to him that the authorities, having failed to control the situation, might have cordoned off this train station and the entire surrounding area.
“Are you going to Brunel?”
At Hose’s question, Harrison nodded. Hose immediately unlatched the bag sitting in front of him.
It was filled with various weapons and firearms. It seemed Hose had found Harrison’s weapon case first.
Hose pulled out a long Winchester rifle. It was a repeating rifle typically used for hunting big game.
“To have a massive stash of firearms at a time like this… what a stroke of luck.”
At Hose’s monologue, Harrison once again recalled the strange request Cherry had made in the past.
“There’s someone I want to shoot dead.”
“Swords, crossbows, axes… all kinds! But Harrison, I don’t need a teacher…”
“Please prepare plenty of weapons, including spares. Since I’m doing this, I want to do it right. I’m going to build an armory. You know my personality, right?”
The timing was far too coincidental. Added to that was Cherry’s suspicious behavior throughout the whole affair.
Perhaps Cherry had known the world would turn out like this.
If so, she might be safely hidden and prepared in the newly purchased mansion in Brunel.
Harrison looked at Hose. To solve this mystery, he had to see Cherry, and to see her, he had to survive at all costs.
Hose opened the magazine, loaded the bullets, and chambered a round before handing it to Harrison. Then he pulled out another rifle of the same type and loaded it.
“I’m a delicate sniper, and yet I have to use such a crude hunting rifle.”
Hose muttered as he closed one eye and looked through the rifle’s sights. Having finished his weapon check, he reached out a hand to Harrison.
“Brunel is closer than the capital from here, so there’s no other choice. Let’s go together.”
Harrison took Hose’s hand and nodded as he stood up.
There were three weapon bags in total. One of them was filled entirely with ammunition. Harrison took two, and Hose, carrying the remaining one, stood up and took the lead.
Hose aimed the barrel of the long rifle at the reptilian monster that had just passed by and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
With a heavy report, the reptilian monster’s head exploded instantly.
However, hearing the noise, other monsters began to swarm. Hose and Harrison quickly dispatched two monsters at the entrance and dashed outside.
After getting off the train, Hose continued to fire at the monsters closing in. He shouted to Harrison as they stood back-to-back.
“By the way, how do we get to Brunel?”
“First, we move along the tracks. After that, I know the way. I memorized the map, so follow me!”
Harrison walked forward while reloading his rifle. Instead of entering the station building, he headed straight down onto the tracks.
“Wow, as expected, Lawyer-nim is a genius!”
Hose trotted along behind Harrison’s back.
Grrrr—
Skree-aaak!
The problem was that the gunshots were so loud that the monsters were swarming endlessly. Using firearms against those creatures seemed to have very clear pros and cons.
“Lawyer-nim, I think we need to run.”
Following Hose’s desperate cry, they finally began to run indefinitely, clutching their weapon bags.
Eden and I came down from the observatory to prepare for our trip to the village.
The interior of the mansion was dim because the sun had completely set. Lighting the wall lanterns with an oil lighter seemed to bring at least a little warmth to the house.
Late spring was passing, but the nights were still quite chilly. I thought I should light a fire in the fireplace to raise the temperature.
Returning to my room, I sat in front of the fireplace and flicked the lighter. But the logs wouldn’t catch fire easily. Even when a small flame started, it went out almost immediately. Was it because the wood was old?
“What is it? It feels like there’s no ventilation…”
I looked up into the fireplace, but it was too dark to see well.
“Is it blocked?”
It certainly seemed like the fireplace wasn’t functioning properly.
Inside the fireplace grate, there were still the torn scraps of clothing and the blackboard chalk.
I was sitting in front of the fireplace, staring at them as if possessed, when I heard Eden’s voice calling me.
“Miss Cherry?”
Only then did I snap out of it and stand up.
As I turned to leave the room, another voice suddenly came from behind my back.
“Don’t go.”
