Dead Man Switch - Chapter 1.2

The whole dormitory was too quiet. No matter how long the semester is over, it was strange to be this quiet. It was normal to have quite a few people during vacation, including students taking seasonal semesters, students who did not return to their parents’ home during vacation, and students who were in the library for club activities or studying for the exam.

I looked around the hallway where I couldn’t feel any presence at all. A couple of doors on both sides of the straight corridor were open. The doors aren’t locked when there is no one at all? I walked through the hallway at a brisk pace. At first glance, the room was littered with clothes and books.

I went downstairs, following the stairs at the end of the hallway. When I turned the corner from the lobby, a franchise convenience store sign appeared. It was often used by students who were too lazy to go to the dormitory restaurant to eat or order delivery food. It’s also where I stopped before I changed my mind and wrote my final report.

The lights were brightly lit inside the convenience store. I could see familiar brands. Behind the counter, cigarettes of various brands were neatly displayed. At that moment, I was relieved without realizing it. It felt like waking up from a strange nightmare.

Yeah, no way something happened. The lack of phone or data was like a temporary communication failure, and it’s just a coincidence that I didn’t see anyone on my way here.

“Excuse me.”

There was no one in the convenience store. The same was true of the part-timer who was supposed to be guarding the counter. Did he go to the bathroom? I looked around. Next to the counter, the warehouse door for stacking inventory was slanted open.

“Is anyone here?”

There was no answer from inside.

“Excuse me!”

I tried raising my voice a little higher. Still, the warehouse side was quiet. I approached cautiously. A small rustle was heard inside. I wondered if he didn’t hear me because he was organizing inventory in the corner.

“I’m sorry to interrupt. But I have something to ask.”

I stood in the doorway and poked my head inward. The store was brightly lit, but it was very dark here. How in the world is he sorting out the inventory in the dark without even turning on the lights…….

Keuu. Keuuk.

There was a strange sound. I stared blankly across the other side of the black darkness. I realized it belatedly. There was an indescribable fishy smell reeking.

“Keeu, keeuk…….”

Someone inside, no, something looked back at me. I instinctively felt that our eyes met even though I couldn’t see because it was dark. It came slowly towards me, making a throat-scratching sound. Before long, the shape was dimly revealed by the bright lights pouring from outside.

The skin on its face was all rotten. The black flesh cracked and yellow ooze flowed between them. The eyeball was already quite decomposed and it was a more murky color than the fish seen at the fish market. The gums and tongues visible through the open mouth were also smudged and melted, revealing the skeleton. No matter how good I tried to think, I couldn’t see it as a living person.

The scenery inside the warehouse, which it was covering with its back, was now visible. Among the tightly packed shelves and industrial products piled up to the ceiling in a narrow space, a person lay down like a broken mannequin. It was a disastrous appearance that could not be guessed by appearance, age, or gender. The convenience store uniform vest, which was once blue, was dyed red.

“Oh.”

I recoiled unconsciously. It opened its mouth wide open. The yellow and black teeth were all covered in blood. I didn’t want to think about where the red flesh between them came from. No, I didn’t even have time to think. I turned around and ran, and it lunged at me.

Taaang! There was a loud noise. It was the sound of my shoulders hitting the shelves. It’s probably natural that it’s been bitten without covering the front and back. Some of the goods on the shelves have fallen off. The blow to the upper body gnashed its teeth in shock.

It stumbled upon a disposable tissue that had fallen. It didn’t seem to have the intelligence to look at its feet. I took advantage of that gap to widen the distance.

Only then did I see the scenery inside the snack bar that I had not seen before. The shelves that should have been filled with fresh food and bottled water were empty. Even the few remaining products collapsed and fell here and there, making a mess. As if a robber had broken in and swept away.

“Argh!”

It gave a horrible shriek. The blood-soaked tooth glistened. I flung my arms and ran back to the other side to avoid running.

“What the hell is this… Ugh!”

The hand, which had rotted black and lost flesh in places, missed me by a hair’s breadth. I knew it naturally. If I was caught in that hand by mistake, I would be like the part-timer in the warehouse.

My mouth was dry from extreme tension. My head thumped. My heart seemed to beat at my temples. In my narrow field of vision, an empty counter with no one in sight came in. I opened the waist-high door for employees to enter and exit and ran inside.

As it is a fairly large store, the inside of the counter was also spacious. It was enough for three or four people to enter. It came running right after me. I jumped over the counter on the other side before being caught up by the chase from behind.

The muscles I used for the first time in a long time screamed. However there was no time to scream in pain. As soon as I landed on the outside floor of the counter, its waist caught on the counter.

It struggled, unable to cross an obstacle that was only as high as its belly button. It struggled, scratching recklessly on the counter with his hands dripping with blood and black ooze. Dark red handprints were drawn on the notice on the counter, such as “No sales of alcohol and tobacco to minors,” and “Do you have a membership card?”

“Haa, haaa.”

A breath of gasp broke out. Only then did I realize that I had forgotten to breathe. My eyes were spinning. I caught my breath urgently. Their movement is blocked for now, so I can take advantage of this and run away.

Then a strange sound was heard from inside of the warehouse.

“Keuuu…Keu…Keuuuuu…….”

I checked with my own eyes. In the warehouse, there was only one part-timer who had collapsed. He suffered severe injuries that left him unable to move. However……What the hell is that thing crawling out bloodied and shattered limbs?

The part-timer’s head snapped back and forth. It seemed that she was unable to hold her head properly because her neck was severely bitten and cut in more than half. She approached me wriggling her limbs in a battered convenience store uniform vest.

“Ugh…!”

The moment I saw the red-tinged convenience store logo on the part-timer’s chest, I covered my mouth. I felt nauseous. Why did the part-time student who handed me a box of energy drinks with a soulless expression just a few days ago……

Instead of struggling beyond the checkout counter and jumping over, it chose another method. While lying face down on the counter, it struggled recklessly, clawing all over the place with its hands. The center of gravity shifted and the upper body gradually tilted over the counter.

The part-timer approached me, leaving a long trail of blood on the floor of the convenience store. The one inside the counter has already slipped out to about the waist and pelvis. Both of them were after me. To bite my flesh and chew my guts.

I couldn’t delay any further. I hurriedly turned the corner, pushed through the convenience store glass door, and ran out. The bell on the door rattled. The sound was unnecessarily cheerful.

Next to the door lay an elongated mop. A part-timer seemed to have cleaned the floor of the store and left it. I couldn’t think of much. With the door closed and blocking with my whole body to prevent them from coming out, I inserted the mop horizontally into the door handle.

Quang! Almost at the same time a great shock was applied. Those that rushed violently hit the door from the other side.

The door rattled loudly. The glass door was smeared with dark red blood stains. Red blood stains were also found on the advertisement that said, ”Have a warm end of the year. Hot ho-ppang on sale!” The big, shiny eyes of the hoppang-shaped character were covered with blood and became creepy in an instant.

Our eyes met through the glass door. Yellow-stained eyes rolled and turned toward me. Horrible-looking monsters stared at me with rotting, half-battered, and unfocused eyes. It gave me chills.

“You crazy  bastards. Get lost. Get lost!”

I cried out in spite of myself. Instead of an answer, what came back was an eerie scream and a fierce struggle. I grabbed the handle and even my body hanging from the door swayed.

I let go of my hand and stepped back. The mop-blocked door didn’t open easily. I watched the inside of the convenience store door, and when there was no sign of anything inside coming out right away, I hurriedly turned away.

I let out a gasp as I fled. I went back the route I took earlier. I felt like I would get caught if I stopped even for a second, so I ran like crazy without a moment’s rest. A cold wind swept past my ears. Perhaps it was just my feeling but the air seemed to be mixed with the smell of rotten blood.

It was the worst Christmas ever.

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