Apocalypse Survival Guide

Chapter 8: Destruction of Daily Life

A relentless silence followed. The only sounds I could hear were the whir of the store preparing items and a beast scratching its throat.

"......"

"......"

Nadia and I neither recklessly approached the creature nor hastily retreated. Rather, it was more accurate to say that we couldn't move.

Our bodies froze solid at the sight of someone presumed dead, someone we judged as deceased, now standing and moving.

A blood-stained snowy field spread under a colossal Saturn hanging in the sky was weighing us down. Invisible hands gripped our ankles and refused to let go.

Nadia's trembling gaze turned towards me. She was so pale, she seemed to have even forgotten to breathe.

Having already seen multiple corpses, our wariness was greatly heightened. Although unaware of the disaster that struck the base, we at least knew that we had to be cautious with every action in this information-starved situation.

Whether the groaning man, seemingly in pain, required help like us or was something else entirely, carelessly approaching and asking if he was okay was not the naivety we needed right now.

The man, covered in blood, gradually rose. No, could that still be called a man, or even a human, beyond gender at this point?

It was an enigma. None of the concepts I had seen, heard, or learned before provided a word to define it.

As I quietly backed Nadia away, I noticed something strange about the enigma.

'... Blue Crystal?'

If my eyes were not deceiving me, the blue glow visible through the torn sections of the work suit was undoubtedly the light from a Blue Crystal. After three years of mining, I was sure of it.

And the strange part didn't stop there.

Hollow eyes as if attacked, Blue Crystals protruding through the skin, something writhing incessantly beneath it, the overpowering scent of blood that numbed the senses.

And a markedly changed atmosphere within the base.

Tension made my heart shrink, pumping blood quickly throughout my body. My vision tried narrowing with the throbbing heartbeat, but there was no room for blinking to refresh my senses.

At some point, it had completely risen.

The store's booth emitted a metallic clang as it produced packaged goods, and at the same time, the being snapped its head towards us, as if reacting to the noise.

'Is it reacting only to sounds because it can't see?'

Knowing nothing about it, that was as far as my conjecture could go. The fear looming before me began twisting its body with a grotesque sound, and with each twist, the blue light radiating from it deepened.

Witnessing it growing more aggressive in real-time, I silently signaled to Nadia. Covering my mouth with one finger, I gestured towards the back. Understanding my intention, Nadia managed a nod.

The plan was to quietly gather the items from the store and retreat to the station area.

The base was dangerous now. I believed surviving a vacant snowy expanse was safer than enduring here.

All other thoughts aside, escaping this base was all I could consider. An intuition screamed at me, warning that everything dormant would awaken the moment our fragile silence shattered.

Holding my breath, I gingerly moved a step closer and stealthily picked up the items on the booth. I moved as carefully as possible to prevent any rustling sounds.

I loaded the bulky work clothes and other items into Carry's transport box. Sensing the oddity of the situation, its camera lens remained fixed on the enigma.

The instant I signaled Nadia to move out,

【Kiaahhhh-!】

A harrowing scream erupted from the shuttle station, shattering the base's silence.

"......!"

The sound was sharp enough to tear through eardrums, causing the enigma to whip its head in that direction. The crunching noise was the Blue Crystals protruding from its skin grinding against each other.

Blue Crystals that erupted from the inside out. Thick, sticky fluid oozed from between them.

Now was the chance, as the monster, no longer human, faced away, focused on the noise. Forcing my fear-stiffened body to awaken, I grabbed Nadia's hand and spun around to run. Carry followed us.

Clack-clack-clack!

Our direction wasn't towards the station but into the base. The plan I formed initially was thwarted, but no one opposed it.

The simple reason being, we realized unfamiliar shapes were moving in the once-quiet shuttle station and sensed the cries from earlier approaching.

The unknown breeds fear; ignorance begets terror. Fear paralyzes peripheral nerves, and failing to undo that paralysis leads to death.

Hundreds of questions arose in my mind: what exactly did I see, did they turn the base into chaos, or did something from the base bring them out? I could answer but one thing:
I had to run without looking back to preserve this life. The monster was our natural enemy. Something diametrically opposed to living beings, I instinctively felt, and thus I simply ran forward with all my might.

'Where, where should I go?!'

The cries closed in, following Nadia and me. The clearly shortened distance and pounding footsteps squeezed my heart.

A surge of crisis sweated cold down my cheek. Though I wasn't vocally screaming, my body was silently doing just that.

Just then,

【Grrraaaah-!】

A monster donning a torn, ragged state of work clothes dashed out from below, blocking my path.

Scanning around involuntarily, I realized the creature crawled out from the wreckage of a shuttle that seemed to have crashed during takeoff, due to some reason, gouging a long scratch across the ground.

The monster swung its misshapen arms at me, its joints grotesquely twisted, sprouting new parts.

Stopping now was not an option as momentum carried me irreversibly forward. Forcibly halting would pose more danger.

Instantly deciding, I released Nadia's hand, lowered my stance, and launched off the ground with additional force. I collided into it bodily.

Thud!

An acute pain radiated from my shoulder, like crashing into a rock. The Blue Crystal erupted like armor, protecting the monster's body, and its own hardness resembled stone. Yet, I succeeded in toppling it.

"Hyun-woo!"

Having held back her voice well until then, Nadia screamed at the sight of me and the monster tangled and rolling on the ground. Before she could stop, I quickly shouted.

"Go on without me! Don't stop!"

"Where to......!"

"To where there are weapons! Anything will do!"

"Weapons?! Weapons......! Got it!"

At my shout, Nadia pulled back her outstretched hand and dashed ahead. Taking the lead in my place, she headed toward the equipment rental storage for workers.

I wanted to yell for Carry to follow, but having Carry ram into the snarling monster atop me was faster. The propulsion light flared as Carry launched forward, colliding with the monster's side.

Though the charge wasn't immensely powerful, it was enough to disrupt the balance between the monster and me.

"Hup...!"

Summoning all my strength, I shoved the relentless monster aside and slammed its head onto the ground.

【Keeaaah!】

Despite the walloping sound, the creature wriggled its limbs grotesquely as if unfazed. Though it should've fainted from such a blow, I couldn't tell if my body underperformed or if its endurance was just overwhelmingly high.

Fearing other creatures would converge due to its piercing scream, I kicked it away to prevent immediate pursuit before rising to my feet.

With various monstrous cries and running footsteps chaos-decked around, I spotted Nadia wrestling at a container door and a sign indicating our location.

〈Mining Equipment Rental & Storage〉
【Please return all rented equipment before leaving.】

Breathing heavily, I swiftly analyzed the situation. A message on the container monitor showed that entry was authorized.

Even so, the door wouldn't open, likely suggesting something inside was blocking it.
Deciding on a course of action, I readied to forcefully push through the door with my shoulder, as I had with the monster.

Thunk-!

The dull sound seemed to echo even the monstrous cries heard from all around, with a faint sound of a stick-like object dislodged from beyond the door.

"It's working! The door should open now!"

The moment I said this, the container door was slowly opening. Without needing further prompting, we squeezed through the narrow doorway.

Nadia, with her small stature, passed through immediately, and though I took more time, I managed to do the same.

【ε=ε=(っ*´□`)っ】

"I'm not leaving you behind, hurry in!"

Compelled by urgency, I bit my lip unknowingly, aware of a monstrous presence looming over Carry. The creature, with fingers sharply mutated, tried grabbing at Carry's rear end.

Quickly scanning around, I seized the bar suspected of previously blocking the door, thrusting it forward.

Crack-!

A stroke of luck; the bar impacted directly against its forehead, revealing itself as a pickaxe rendered safe by a plasma safeguard. Without the plasma beam, it was but a tougher-than-usual stick.

Nevertheless, it bought us time.

【Grrk......!】

While the grotesque creature, struck by my thrust, staggered back, Carry dashed inside safely, and Nadia rapidly tapped on a hologram screen to close the door.

"The door! Close it, now!"

"Closing it!"

The monstrous thing, having missed its charging opportunity much like a bull gone awry, tore its mouth open in a grotesque semblance of ferocity. The sight only solidified its non-human form, hastening my shouting.

"Nadia.......!"

"I'm closing it... but it won't close...!"

The storage door was built to only shut once entirely open for safety reasons. Now that the door was fully open, it would take its time closing, allowing the creature repelled a moment ago to potentially crawl in here: not it alone, but multiple creatures.

Then, it would be the end for us. Death would loom inevitably, leaving no space for resistance.

'Absolutely not......!'

I was only a step from seeing the blue sky of Earth, and to die futilely in this place was unacceptable. Reflecting on the toil I had endured thus far, it was unbearable to simply accept.

"Nadia, move aside!"

In this scenario, I knew the sole method to shut the door. Security on spaces storing such equipment, or the door itself, is more stringent than elsewhere.

Although only basic equipment were stored, they were the base's property, so exerting force excessively to open or shut them triggers the system's emergency closure protocol.

Just as in this scenario.

As I applied force trying to forcibly break the door, it whimpered in protest, and simultaneously,

【Abnormal impact detected. Initiating forced door closure as per security protocol.】

The creature struggling to enter through the open gap was squashed as the door slammed shut with a bang, leaving it half inside.

【Kieeeeeeeek!】

Hindered by agony, or perhaps still driven to seize us, the flailing monster swung its limbs erratically. Threatening arms studded with Blue Crystals promised fractures if hit.

It flailed for a mere moment, and the grotesque creature, previously exerting itself with an alarming force against the door, couldn't withstand the pressure and split in half.

Thunk-!

The door shut with a metallic clang, spraying blood wildly. The reek was overwhelming.

Similarly, a pounding sound resonated through the door as creatures that barely missed grasping us kept thudding against it.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Carry surprisingly makes a tense moment seemingly comical.