Chapter 12 - First Mission (2)

12. First Mission (2)

There was a map for the entire hospital near the entrance where they came in.

***

Unlike the other floors, a locked door blocked the entrance to the 15th floor. Motioning for his men to fall back, he fired a grenade at the door and blew it off its hinges. Kwang Hwi’s team stormed the entrance, lasers swept through the darkness.

“Clear!”

The interior of the 15th floor was quite luxurious. Leather couches lined the waiting area and both an expensive coffee machine and a Smart TV sat on an avant-garde bookshelf beside the entrance. Unlike the other floors where bloodstains and corpses painted the background, the 15th floor was sterile. As they neared Room 1501, the militia were glued to the walls, ready to respond at a moment’s notice. Kwang Hwi battered the door down and stepped into the room.

They stormed the room and found themselves in a room very out-of-place in the hospital. A 1780 sqft VIP Hospital Room was furnished like a luxury apartment. In the center of the room, there were people tied up with rope on the floor. The sound of the door made them turn their heads and widen their eyes in surprise. The people struggled and Kwang Hwi could hear their muffled screams asking for help. He commanded his men to release them from their bindings. The hostages soothed their wrists, where red welts covered their skin.

“Is this every—“

“Hey you!” said one of the captives. He was a middle aged man whose hairline receded with a furious look on his face. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, arriving so late? It’s been a week! You dare show up now?”

Kwang Hwi shook his head. He had never seen this man before. Just in case, Kwang Hwi looked over at his men, but they shrugged their shoulders. They didn’t know him either.

“Who are you?” said Kwang Hwi with a frown.

“What?” He was enraged. “Who am I? You dare to talk back… to me? Son of a bitch! What military unit are you from?”

Kwang Hwi turned away from the bitter old man and spoke to another person in the room wearing a white gown. He looked like a doctor.

“Who is this person?”

“I-I don’t know, but he says he’s a General Officer in the Army.” The doctor was evidently very nervous.

“A general?” Kwang Hwi smiled. Now it all made sense. He believed that Kwang Hwi and his team were here to save him. “You’re a General Officer?”

“What is your unit and rank!” The old man bellowed at Kwang Hwi, going red in the face.

Kwang Hwi pointed his gun towards the elderly general, whose eyes were tinged with red. He fired a single shot and blood dripped from the man’s cheek. As the man began to understand the current situation, his eyes opened wide and his words were stuck in his mouth.

A dark smile appeared on Kwang Hwi’s face.

“It appears you are mistaken. We’re not from the Army.”

“I…but…then are you from the Navy? The Air Force?”

“Isn’t this guy a little slow?” Kwang Hwi’s subordinates burst into laughter. The new recruits watched with a complicated look on their face. They didn’t know how to react.

“Sir, which unit do you belong to?”

The general began speaking to Kwang Hwi politely, but by now, Kwang Hwi went to speak with the other survivors.

“My name is Kwang Hwi Baek. I am the leader of the militia in Dongducheon.”

“Militia?”

Kwang Hwi nodded solemnly.

“As you may know, since the monsters have appeared, the world has become a mess. The army, which was supposed to be the first line of defense, has become powerless. We have not seen any sign of either the police or the military in a long time.”

“So it’s true, what they were saying on the TV?”

“Yes. For the past week, we haven’t encountered any armed soldiers. Additionally, we have confirmed that firearms have rusted out and have been rendered unusable.”

Here and there, the survivors let out a sigh. The general in particular was taking the news harder than most. He had doubts, but he didn’t think that the military had completely caved.

“Fortunately, we were able to secure an armory of functional guns and ammunition. With it, we’ve been getting by, doing our best to survive.” Kwang Hwi wouldn’t mention just yet that they were doing better than surviving with his newfound ability. That was news for when the time was right.

“I’ll get to the point—we are looking for people to join us, particularly doctors and nurses. We are lacking in people with medical expertise.”

Kwang Hwi looked at the crowd. There were roughly three people who looked like they worked for the hospital. Excluding the pompous old man, there were five people left.

“Is anybody interested?”

Looking at each other, everybody raised their hands at the same time. Kwang Hwi grinned in satisfaction.

“Good.”