Chapter 46

33. Moving (2)

The core of the Defender Isabelle plan is the truck.

Somehow, they managed to get a 5-ton refrigerated truck.

Inside the truck, all the belongings were packed, including her brother.

[Hello.]

Her brother showed me the tablet screen and waved his hand.

“Hello.”

As soon as she saw me, she started typing and showed it to me.

[You've really shrunk, huh? What happened?]

“It was a joke. I was just imitating Zonae-nun.”

Upon hearing this, Defender's sister looked at me seriously. Soon, her fingers moved as fast as lightning.

[If you keep imitating weird people, you'll keep getting cursed. Zonae-nun's secondary account nickname was 183cm83kg3cm, right? Oh, you're really transparent. Transparent. You're always the same.]

After enthusiastically dissing Zonae-nun, Defender's sister put down the tablet and suddenly stared at me.

“Hey, Skeleton.”

She spoke in a voice.

Looking closely, her face looked quite tired and weak.

It seemed like the first time she had spoken to me directly, so I just looked at her.

She met my eyes for a moment but then turned away, hesitating about something.

Does she have something to say?

As I watched silently, she picked up the tablet again.

[It's nothing. 197cm100kg30cm.]

“No, that's just a strong expression of self from Zonae-nun.”

[Go see your brother.]

“Hey.”

I could just go, but this kid is also a Defender.

“If you have any worries, let's talk about them.”

She definitely has something on her mind.

She just hesitates to speak for some unknown reason.

I can't solve everything, but I can listen.

“Don't you have any worries?”

In the past, I wasn't like that.

I knew they were suffering and almost in despair, yet I left my juniors, peers, and seniors alone.

I dismissed their pain as weakness and interpreted it as a lack of qualifications to face monsters.

As a result, I lost and sent away countless comrades.

People I could have saved, my connections, disappeared into the smoke.

“Don't regret it later.”

That might be a message for both Defender's sister and me.

Defender was checking the route on a map made by taping together four sheets of printer paper in the living room.

“Oh, Skeleton. Do you want something to drink?”

“Water is fine. Let me see the map.”

I stood next to Defender with my arms crossed and observed the map and route.

Defender's plan was the same as what was announced on the internet.

Zombies – Fanatics + Monsters.

Avoiding soldiers, they would pass through two less dangerous areas.

Once they passed through those areas, they would be safe for the time being.

There might be some pioneers, but compared to soldiers, fanatics, and monsters, it would be a piece of cake.

Meanwhile, the destination marked on the map was about 4km west of my territory.

It was also abandoned land.

Close to a U.S. military base that had been hit by a nuclear bomb, it had not only suffered from the nuclear blast's after-effects but also received a barrage of hundreds of cruise missiles.

Could anyone live there?

I asked out of curiosity.

“Where are you planning to settle?”

“Your bunker.”

“You know that's not possible, right?”

“Of course, it's a joke.”

Defender's sister, who had appeared quietly, showed something on her tablet and handed it to me.

The image on the screen was of an abandoned suburban house.

A so-called courtyard-style house, with all the few windows broken and part of the exterior wall collapsed, revealing the interior like a broken egg.

“This house looks good.”

“It doesn't look that good.”

“But the basement is well-developed. I don't know what the previous owner was like, but he built a decent living facility underground for no reason.”

“A bunker?”

“No, a casino.”

“When did you check it out?”

“Quite a while ago.”

“Quite?”

Her sister, who was standing next to her, suddenly answered.

“Our brother has a hobby of looking at houses.”

Defender shrugged.

“I knew this place wasn't good from the beginning. So, I went to look at other properties.”

“Why didn't you choose a good place from the start?”

“I couldn't afford it.”

“Really?”

“This isn't our house.”

Defender looked at her sister with a faint smile.

Her sister listened silently with a strange expression.

“Really?”

The siblings nodded at me simultaneously.

It was surprising.

So, they had already moved once.

How did they join Viva! Apocalypse!?

Judging from their reactions, they weren't joking.

Then, there was only one possibility.

Defender's siblings might have been looters from the beginning.

So, at the start of the war, Defender's siblings quickly transformed into looters, killed the unknown owner of this house, and took everything, including the Viva! Apocalypse! account and satellite equipment.

Defender, who had thrown suspicion on me, stood up naturally.

“Let's go before sunrise. We're not staying overnight, right?”

Defender's sister looked at her brother as he left and suddenly asked.

“Leaving now?”

“Yeah, get in the car.”

“Dad?”

I saw it for the first time.

Defender's sister's serious face.

Her voice was still small, but it carried a sharp will that wouldn't back down easily.

For a moment, I recalled the weak expression she had shown me earlier.

“Are you leaving Dad behind?”

Defender stopped.

He spoke without turning his head.

“You deal with it.”

“I don't want to.”

“Neither do I.”

Defender turned to look at his sister coldly.

His eyes, stained with murder, were merciless, but his sister was not intimidated. She met his gaze without flinching.

A sibling argument.

Indeed, moving is a significant family matter.

Surprisingly, the brother lost the intense eye battle.

“...I'll leave it to you. I don't know.”

Defender left the room with a dejected expression, unlike his usual self.

The sister, who had been glaring at her brother, slumped onto the living room sofa like a deflated balloon and let out a shallow sigh.

“What is it?”

I asked her again.

She looked at me with tired eyes.

“Skeleton.”

She called my nickname and then averted her gaze.

Instead, she picked up the tablet.

Her fingers, painted with black nail polish, tapped the screen skillfully and showed me the completed message.

- Honestly, do you think we're weird?

“I know.”

- Has Skeleton ever had a girlfriend?

“There were plenty of girls who liked me.”

- Why do people act like that?

“...”

- I have a favor to ask.

“A favor?”

- If you go a bit further, there's a cliff overlooking a theme park. There's a hanged body in front of it.

A hanged body?

Is she talking about that?

The body similar to the siblings.

- It's our dad.

“...Your father?”

I stared at her.

I won't deny that my gaze contained both accusation and questioning.

I understand who Defender's siblings are, but even considering that, their actions crossed a line.

Her sister didn't meet my gaze, but she knew what I was thinking.

“I know what you're thinking.”

She spoke in a small, timid voice.

But it was overflowing with emotions ready to burst.

“I'm really sorry, but can you check the deceased's belongings?”

“Why don't you do it yourself?”

My tone was so cold that I was worried about it.

The sister shrank back, looking around in confusion, then wrapped herself up like a ball and barely managed to say a word.

“...I'm scared.”

“What?”

“It's not just me. My brother is more afraid of it.”

I didn't understand at first.

Scared of a body?

The siblings who always killed people, handled bodies, and posted videos online were afraid of a body?

I looked at her.

Sitting on a single-person sofa, curled up like an armadillo, she was trembling slightly with her bare feet exposed.

“...This time only.”

“Skeleton.”

She looked up at me.

Her eyes seemed clearer than when we first met, though it might be my imagination.

“Skeleton. We're ready. I'll be in the car.”

Defender stood up, skillfully gathering the weapons laid out on the desk.

“Wait a moment.”

“Bathroom? The bathroom is over there.”

Without answering, I left the mansion and headed to where the body was.

Whether by coincidence or because the deceased had something to say, when I stood in front of the body again, the clouds had made way for the full moon.

Under the moonlight, which scattered colors reminiscent of a desert, I searched the body, feeling like an archaeologist excavating a pyramid a hundred years ago.

Thud

“Oops.”

One arm fell off.

There was no time or leisure to reattach it.

Fortunately, the excavation led to a significant discovery.

There was an envelope in the pocket of the shirt, which looked like a will.

I gladly obtained the will, as it seemed to be crucial evidence that the siblings had not committed patricide.

However, the will was unreadable.

The body's fluids, the passage of time, and the weather had mixed together, erasing the emotions and words written in the will, much like the ruins of Ozymandias.

The last legible word on the erased text was:

[Sorry and I love you.]

A cliché, a common phrase used by suicides.

*

The truck started in an ominous silence.

Defender drove, and I sat in the passenger seat.

Defender's sister crouched in a small gap behind the seats, on a flat sheet.

“It smells like a rotten body.”

Clunk!

The truck swayed precariously as it descended a slope.

It seemed to have hit a large rock.

Even in the pitch-black darkness, Defender skillfully navigated the steep slope without turning on the headlights.

“Wow.”

I knew it wasn't the time to be impressed, but his skill was so good that I couldn't help but exclaim.

“What smell?”

Defender reacted sensitively to the smell of the body.

I looked at his sister.

She looked at me for a moment, then, as if making a decision, spoke in a small voice to her brother's silent back.

“Skeleton got Dad's will.”

“Really?”

Defender's reaction was indifferent.

“So, what did it say? It couldn't be 'Sorry, I love you,' right? That's such a common phrase.”

“How did you know!?”

I blurted out without realizing it.

But I seemed to have no effect on the siblings, like when I posted "Skeleton's Beatbox (3)" on our forum, which didn't get any attention despite being as good as Simmonkeypapa's dance.

“It's not too late. Can't we at least cremate him?”

His sister said seriously.

“We can't just leave him there forever.”

“He loved the theme park. It reminds him of when we were kids. He must be happy to see it even in death.”

“Brother.”

The truck jolted roughly.

A bitter smile appeared on Defender's lips.

“Really, our father. He's still the same.”

He muttered sarcastically.

“Always coming back to life and holding us back at crucial times.”

The jolting finally stopped.

The truck entered the road.

They had left the most dangerous area of the soldiers and were now entering the zombie zone.

“Check the sides.”

Defender turned on the headlights.

The revealed light exposed a variety of smooth, rounded metal bars attached to the front of the truck.

It was a zombie prevention measure.

While sharp spikes were once popular, they had many weaknesses.

Bodies would stick to them.

Moreover, zombies don't feel pain.

Sharp objects ultimately just act as zombie glue.

In contrast, the round obstacles, like those in a playground, wouldn't hurt the zombies but would make them fall off as they struggled. Naturally, bodies wouldn't stick to them.

The distant groans of zombies could be heard.

I recalled the map.

The zombie zone was, strictly speaking, a rather roundabout route.

It was a northern area that we would never pass through on foot or by bicycle.

But with the road and the need to avoid the military, they had no choice but to take this route.

“They're close.”

As the zombie sounds grew closer, Defender stopped the vehicle.

Human shapes began to appear in the light.

Zombies.

The abandoned city's residents had rushed out to welcome us.

Click

A bullet was loaded.

Click

A sound came from behind.

His sister had also picked up a gun this time.

Looking back, she was sticking out her tongue and grinning mischievously.

“Charm doesn't work on zombies.”

Did she really try it?

No, with those siblings, she might have.

In any case, the smell of bodies filled the air inside and out.

“Let's go.”

Amidst the pervasive stench of death, the truck accelerated.

The zombies were vividly revealed in the light.

Their eyes, glowing red in the darkness, craved flesh and companions.

Bang!

The truck, with its reinforced bumper, sent a few zombies flying and crushed a few others.

“Ha!”

His sister bared her teeth in a grin.

Defender also had a refreshing smile, as if nothing had happened.

“Skeleton! The sides!”

Clearly, these siblings enjoyed killing.

Bang! Bang!

Two guns fired at the crowd clinging to the sides.

The more effective weapon was the pump-action shotgun his sister held.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

With each blast of buckshot, several zombies fell.

“Ha ha!”

As his sister's laughter grew louder, Defender whistled and pressed the accelerator harder.

Vroom-

The truck's engine roared, crushing everything in its path.

It was a perfectly executed breakthrough, refreshing to the core.

This refreshing action scene definitely opened a door between the siblings.

In front of the fanatic zone, which was turning gray.

Defender stopped the car and checked it.

He carefully examined the joints of the armor plates attached to my and his sister's sides.

“Brother.”

His sister called him with a changed voice.

“Tell the story.”

She looked at me.

“Skeleton is curious.”

Defender let out a shallow sigh, then, with a resigned expression, bowed his head.

Intense contemplation appeared and disappeared several times on his handsome forehead.

Soon, Defender raised his head and pointed in the direction we had come from.

“The house we were in.”

“Hmm.”

“The owner's house.”

“The owner's house?”

I didn't understand the meaning of the words at first.

I thought I might have heard wrong.

It was a million light-years away from what I had imagined.

The distance was instantly closed by the next words.

“Yeah. Dad was a servant in that house.”

The strange, glittering look in Defender's eyes turned cold.

His gaze was directed at a blurry, unwanted past.