I'm still alive

I'm sure you heard it wrong. Maybe I'm just tired or......... yes, it may be one of the PTSD symptoms the doctor calls. I lied to myself and tried to deny the reality and erased the sound he uttered from my head. We dragged the body, stuck it in a corner of the alley, and moved on again.

The old man has been staring at me for a while. Apparently, I was worried about the behavior I showed you earlier. I had no choice but to make a forced smile and reassure the old man, and soon hurried away under the pretext of a busy daily routine. Now the earth was not far away.

SOS

The rescue signal from the translucent window was too clear in sight. And the front door, which was made of glass doors, was filled with something, perhaps with baguettes. We stayed nearby for a long time and looked around without approaching the globe.

It was a passive act. No, it was a cautious move. It was dangerous to visit in person, as long as we had confirmed that there was a person inside. They crouched in a position where they would notice our presence and began to wait for a response from within the earth's crust.

The wind and snow began to swell.

There are people, right?…?’

The dragon-arm shook the snow from his head and whispered nervously. But neither the old man nor I could answer the question and held the crossbow and crouched still. If the snow becomes heavier and the view becomes blurred again, one should go back to a building other than the street.

The old man makes a faint moaning sound, checking his wristwatch to see if the passing time is unstable. But at that moment, the tightly closed glass door opened gently and something blurry popped out of the door. When I noticed it was a police revolver, I quickly fell on the floor.

When I fell down, the old man reacted quickly and pulled the Yong-pal brothers toward him, and soon hid himself in a police car in front of the police station. The quick cover allowed us to look through the doors with confidence. And at the same time came a trembling voice of man through the open door.

'Who, who is this? Are you a rescue worker?’

He was wearing a police uniform. In terms of rank, policeman, but in appearance. The police uniform was dirty and his face was pale, on the verge of collapse. However, he did not fire without a single shot, as if he had lost his reason.

The old man answered kindly, hiding behind the cover.

'Put your gun down, you're going through it the minute you shoot it.’

Then the tip of the policeman's gun began to shake and the sound of swallowing saliva came all the way here. The old man seems to have been in a bad mood since the moment he faced the gun. I lay flat on the floor and sighed and soon spoke to the policeman.

You were watching us inside, right?’

'What? Ah.... Yeah...….’

The policeman answered timidly, blurring the end of his words. You think he's been stuck here since the end of the world? With his complacent attitude of giving a quick answer, he felt pathetic and relieved at the thought that things would work out easily.

Have you seen what we're wearing?’

Uniforms are one of the easiest ways to show a person's job. We were uniformly dressed in the clothes we received from Eden, and the casual clothes indicated that we were not ordinary civilians. Of course... ...you shouldn't trust people with this kind of superficiality.

You're the lifeguard, aren't you?’

But they seemed to believe it easily.

I'm not lying, but somehow I felt weird. I shouted to him once to reveal our identities.

I'm with Shelter Eden. The rescue team... ... That's true.’

I clouded my words in the middle because I wasn't sure if we were rescuers or not. However, there was no specific mission, and now they needed their cooperation, so the rescue team informed them that it was right. Then the policeman's face brightened in an instant, and soon he answered with joy.

"Gi, I knew you'd come if you waited....... Come on in! Come on!'

Then he hurried down the revolver, cleared the barrelate that was blocking the door, and waved at us. I cleared the snow from my body and woke up looking around. Then he focused his attention on the gun the policeman was holding and looked around the party quietly.

Then he stood up quietly, hesitating the party, and came to me with a low posture. The policeman, who was supposed to be wary of us, opened the door with a bright smile and we were anxious about the attitude. I burst out laughing at the moment, but I tried hard to hold myself back and walked in front of the earth's gate.

* * * * * * *

I'm sorry to point the gun at you.….’

As soon as we came into the zone, the policeman busily moved and blocked the entrance again. And he can't make eye contact while looking at us, and then he quickly apologizes. He looked very gentle with round faces and thick glasses.

'It's all right.'

What this policeman did was natural for now. But I was worried that this conversation would take longer, so I just quickly received an apology. Then from inside the squad, someone walked here and looked at us and said, The eyes of my party and I turned there in a flash.

'Um policeman! Who are these people? Another refugee?’

Coming from inside the squad, he was wearing plain clothes, not police uniforms. But a shoulder holster and a sharp glimmering look inside a worn-out leather jumper made me guess that he was not an ordinary civilian. Eom replied with a bright smile as soon as he came out.

Detective Kang, we're rescuers! We're alive now!’

Rescue team?

Detective Kang looked at us and gave us a suspicious look. Right, that's the right reaction. We're not wearing uniforms, we're not wearing fire suits, we're just wearing uniform outfits. It was premature to think of this as a rescue team.

'Are you really a rescue party?'

Detective Kang came up to us with a lot of frowns. The gun, seen between the leather jumpers, was loose as if it could be pulled out at any moment, and its eyes, full of vigilance, were directed at the group's weapons. What should I say?...... it was not a favorable response either.

'Why? Should we just get out?’

And on our side, there was an old man who had to say what he had to say to make himself feel better.

In fact, there was nothing we could have missed. The head of the group used to follow the doctrine to save people, but we had no obligation to save even hostile survivors who did not want rescue. I knew it, so I thought for a moment that it would be better to just get out of here quietly before there was a conflict.

But the old man crawled the idea out of his mouth.

Detective Kang flinched at the old man's words and Eom, who was listening to it, turned blue. And he quickly interrupted us and showed us something he couldn't do with words. Eom stammered and shouted.

Come on, don't do this!

A sigh came out of itself. Eom was very anxious that they would not be rescued. For now, in the spirit of putting out the urgent fire, I left the crossbow to the old man for a while and slowly approached Um and Detective Kang. And began to explain with a quiet tone of voice.

I'm with Shelter Eden. I'll escort you to Eden if you want.’

I wasn't confident of convincing them to elaborate. Furthermore, I left my brochure in Eden, so my explanation was bound to get shorter. However, it seems that a man called Detective Kang does not know the concept of Shelter itself.

What's Shelter? And what about Eden? Are you guys soldiers? How do you hold a gun?’

From behind came the sigh of an old man. Of course, they may not know. But the feeling of the frustration was beyond description. Where should I start? When I close my eyes for a moment and am lost in thought, Eom Soon-kyung and Detective Kang also keep their mouths shut and silent.

But the silence was soon broken by the murmur from inside the earth. Wasn't it just these two? That's true. Detective Kang mentioned the word "refugee" earlier. I opened my eyes and looked inside the earthly zone where I could hear the babble.

Then there were about ten people, who seemed to be about ten, sticking out their heads and looking this way, slowly approaching. Old, smelly clothes, and hair clumping like rice cakes could tell little about their situation, as if they hadn't washed for a long time.

All of them are thin and pale. Perhaps if the old man hadn't found a rescue signal, these people would have rushed out before the week had passed or all starved to death here. The crowd, watching us for a long time, kept on buzzing. Then a middle-aged woman walked slowly forward and soon spoke in a quivering voice.

I've heard of it.’

The word was the starting point. The crowd began to raise their hands and shout, "Have you ever heard of Eden?" I know! Or I was going to go there, too! The inside of the squad quickly became noisy and Detective Kang calmed them with surprise.

'Calm down, you'll be in trouble if you make a noise!’

People quickly shut their mouths to see if the warning worked properly. And looking out of the door with a shudder, he was quite terrified. Detective Kang turned back, calming them down and soon looked at me and said,

Can I talk to you for a moment?’

Detective Kang's words had already been changed to honorifics. But I gave them a chance to talk with a gentle nod without a hint of displeasure. Of course, it was a big welcome for me who was not eloquent. Upon hearing my answer, he slowly bowed his head and called for police officer Um.

'Get them blankets.

* * * * * * *

Sniff Sniff

The dragon-arm frowns at the smell of the blanket. Then the old man slaps his head and frowns as if to be careful. Surely the blanket smelled stale. However, in this situation, I knew how precious a blanket was, so I covered it without complaining.

And I called Eom carefully, standing on one side with a blanket.

'Excuse me.

'What?'

Then Eom looked at me in surprise. I beckoned him quietly like that and Eom approaches me slowly, with a peculiar stupid expression. I whispered quietly to Eom so that those crowds would not be heard.

Are you on the same squad as Detective Kang?’

Then the policeman replied, shaking his head.

You're a detective. He's not a member of the squad, and he's been with the refugees since it happened.’

'Oh, is that so?'

I nod and squint my eyes. And fix one's eyes on the hustle and bustle of voices on one side. Many cases and thoughts passed by but I didn't make a vain decision. I intend to watch more.

I spoke to police officer Um.

You don't have to go anyway?’

He must be a member of the squad, but instead of engaging in their conversation, Eom is busy standing by us and prying for the party. Strangely, the attitude did not seem to be purring and seemed merely a favor. But I asked just in case.

Then Eom shook her head as if she didn't need it and smiled foolishly.

And time was passing and snow was getting stronger.