SWY 95

“…….”

The sound had clearly come from somewhere near the barn, but it was impossible to tell exactly where. Sharhan’s group exchanged glances in silence. Even the horses, sensing the tension, didn’t snort or paw the ground, and a heavy stillness settled around the barn. The group quietly surveyed the surroundings, gripping their weapons tightly, ready to respond at any moment.

Clang!

Sharhan, ears sharpened, didn’t miss the noise that rang out again. He mouthed “over there” to Lestel and Derry, then swiftly moved toward the source of the sound.

‘It was definitely here.’

The place they approached in silence was the third house to the left of the barn. More than half of it had burned down, and only about a yard of the roof remained. Most of the walls had collapsed as well, leaving no apparent place to hide.

‘If it were a moving corpse, it would’ve attacked us already, teeth bared, so it must’ve been a person who made the noise…’

But there was no sign of anyone hiding. The floor and walls bore no traces. And even if there had been, the rain that had poured all night would’ve washed them away.

Sharhan sighed as he looked down at the ground, where every step left a clear footprint. His brow furrowed when his eyes landed on an abandoned metal wardrobe. Its lid was slightly askew, as if someone had opened and closed it intentionally.

‘Could someone be hiding in there?’

The wardrobe wasn’t very large. No adult, no matter how small, could have fit inside. Maybe a child could. Even though it seemed unlikely, it bothered him enough that he felt compelled to check. Just as he made up his mind,

“There’s nothing around the house.”

Lestel approached as Sharhan searched the interior, speaking calmly. Derry also came over, shaking his head as if he’d found nothing suspicious. Sharhan silently pointed to the wardrobe with his eyes. Lestel noticed the subtle misalignment of the lid and frowned, mouthing, “Should we open it?” Sharhan raised his sword, ready to strike if anything jumped out, and gave a nod.

Lestel held up three fingers and folded them down one by one. The moment his thumb folded, he flung the lid open with the blade of his axe. Sharhan blinked and muttered, “Huh?”

“…Huh? It’s… it’s a kid?”

Inside, crouched and trembling, was a small child. Startled, Derry quickly approached and helped the child up. He looked no older than twelve or thirteen. Dirty and grimy, the boy flinched away from Derry’s hand in terror.

“D, don’t come near me!”

“It’s okay. We’re not bad people. Don’t be scared.”

Derry spoke gently, but the boy was too frightened to calm down. He shouted again.

“No! Don’t take me!”

“Keep it down! You trying to summon the corpses?”

Lestel’s warning made the boy gasp and cover his mouth with both hands, but the fear in his eyes remained. His wide eyes darted around frantically, as if he knew the dead were drawn to sound.

“Feeling calmer now? Want some water?”

Derry offered his waterskin. The boy gulped, hesitating, then watched Derry take a sip first before snatching the waterskin and drinking desperately. He drank so fast he started coughing, but didn’t stop. Mid-drink, he glanced up at Derry as if suddenly realizing he might be taking too much.

“You can drink more. All of it’s fine.”

At Derry’s words, the boy relaxed and drank every last drop. Only then did he begin to look more composed.

“Th-thank you.”

“Are you feeling a little better now?”

“Yes. I’m sorry… I drank all your water… and it’s so precious…”

The boy handed back the empty canteen, embarrassed, and bowed his head.

“It’s okay. I told you it was fine. But why were you hiding here? Since when?”

“Since yesterday.”

“Yesterday?”

“I-I was around here when I heard you talking. I was afraid you’d take me, so I hid in the wardrobe and fell asleep… I hadn’t slept in two days trying to get here.”

“Why did you come here? Were you alone?”

“I came to get food. And yes, I came alone.”

“Food?”

“Yes.”

“You mean the food in the barn?”

Startled by Lestel’s muttering, the boy looked up, then flinched and asked nervously. His eyes darted fearfully. It was clear he was scared of Lestel. Maybe it was his cold, stiff demeanor, children didn’t tend to like him.

“Did you… did you see the food? You went into the barn? How did you get in? It was locked with the corpses inside. It was locked yesterday, too.”

The boy turned to Derry instead of Lestel. Compared to Sharhan and Lestel, Derry was smaller and gentler, and seemed easier to approach.

“We opened it and killed the corpses inside.”

“Oh… I… I see…”

“Did you live here?”

When Sharhan asked, the boy flinched and turned to answer.

“Yes.”

“Why did the village burn down? And why was the food stored in the barn?”

“The village elder said if we wanted to survive together, we had to pool all our food in one place. Everyone agreed to divide it equally every day. So the villagers brought everything to the barn. But then a fire suddenly broke out at Mr. Yohail’s house and spread really fast.”

It had been a windy day, and since most of the village houses were made of wood, the fire spread uncontrollably. In the chaos, some villagers rushed to move useful supplies into the barn, while others tried to prevent the fire from reaching it. But tragically, someone hiding in the barn turned into a moving corpse.

“It was the elder’s son. He’d gone out to check on things and came back looking pale and sick. We asked if he’d been bitten, but the elder got angry and said he just fell and hurt himself, that we were accusing someone who risked his life for us. So the adults didn’t push it. But it turns out their suspicions were right.”

You could guess why they didn’t press harder. In a small village like this, the elder held considerable power.

“What happened to the villagers who were outside?”

“I’m not sure. After the fire spread and the barn was locked, everyone scattered. I left with the adults too.”

With the village ablaze and the barn full of corpses, there was no reason to stay. The adults, despairing, took their families and left, cursing the elder as they went, saying he only preached unity because his son was dying and their food had run out.

“What about your parents?”

“My mom died when I was little. My dad was bitten during the early days of the outbreak… After the village burned and no one would take me, I wandered alone and met a lady and a man. I followed them and found other kids who’d lost their parents too. We lived together, barely getting by. But a few days ago, they left to find food and never came back…”

Left behind with the other children and starving, he thought of the food in the barn. Despite the corpses, hunger drove him to hope the door might be unlocked. That’s when he encountered Sharhan’s group. But yesterday, hearing unfamiliar male voices, he’d panicked and hidden.

“The lady told me. That there are bad adults who take kids away.”

“There are adults who take kids?”

“Yes. So she told me never to go with strangers.”

Just then, perhaps realizing he’d said too much, the boy’s expression became guarded. His stomach rumbled loudly. He quickly wrapped his arms around his belly, but once it started, the noise wouldn’t stop. Derry chuckled and pulled out some jerky.

“Eat.”

“……”

“It’s okay. You can eat.”

Only then did the boy accept the jerky. He took a careful bite, then wolfed it down. Even after finishing, he looked disappointed, so Derry handed him two more pieces and waited patiently until he ate them all. Serman was close, and they were in a hurry, but they couldn’t leave the child alone.

“What’s your name?”

“Peter. I’m twelve.”

“Are all the kids you’re with also orphans?”

“Yes.”

“And they’re all from Lahan?”

Still chewing, trying to savor the lingering taste of the jerky, Peter shook his head.

“There are kids from Serman and Katun too.”