Chapter 23 - Outside the Core (1)

I was breathing in the cool air coming through the car window when we arrived at the station. We had left the city center, reached the outskirts, and then gone to what felt like the outskirts of the outskirts before the car finally stopped.

A desolate station lay in the bluish darkness. The old building against its desertlike surroundings had an eerie atmosphere. I got out and walked toward it in a daze. The smell of dry sand tickled my nose.

The few scattered streetlights were lit. And on the tracks stood a train.

“Get in the front car.”

SCREEECH! SCREECH!

Two cars pulled up behind Yun's and stopped. Familiar faces spilled out of the abruptly halted vehicles. Without turning toward the commotion, my training officer picked up the duffel bag he had tossed onto the back seat.

“The first car. Pick any empty compartment. There'll be plenty to spare.”

“Compartment?”

“The front cars are regular passenger cars.”

Yun explained when I asked, looking at what appeared to be a freight train.

I followed his instructions and headed through the empty station toward the front of the train. As I trudged across the gravel, cars that looked like ordinary passenger cars began to appear, just as he had said.

I kept going until I reached the only open door. Beyond it was darkness. Going into the pitch-black train alone was a little frightening.

“What are you doing?”

Once again, Yun had appeared beside me without a sound, like a ghost.

“Aren't you getting on?”

Yun was scarier than the dark train.

I scrambled aboard. Darkness enveloped me, but I strode down the corridor without hesitation. Feeling my way along, I grabbed the first compartment door handle my hand found.

A sliding door, then. I pushed it open, and the compartment lit up.

Wood-paneled walls. A bed and a train window. Brass-colored coat hooks on the wall. A small cabinet stocked with tissues, wet wipes, cotton swabs, and other supplies.

What the heck? Why was it so nice?

I stepped inside in a daze and set my duffel bag on the bed. Yun stopped in the doorway of my chosen compartment and looked me straight in the eye.

“Go to sleep.”

“Sorry?”

“We'll be traveling for a full six hours.”

Six hours?

Heshy and Karl Doe passed behind him.

“Six hours?”

“You'll be outside the core when you wake up.”

Yun's reply was flat.

He seemed to have a habit of casually dropping bombshells. He had been like this when he shoved me in front of the mushroom, too. He would have seemed a little more human if he'd at least shown some urgency or agitation.

Tom and Angela passed by. I could hear Heshy and Karl unpacking in their respective compartments. Yun watched me standing there dumbfounded, then spoke.

“What did I tell you Badgers go outside the core for?”

For a brief instant, an indescribable emotion rose inside me, then faded. I'd felt this strange sensation the last time Yun talked about this, too. Once again, I failed to identify it.

Well, no point overthinking it.

“You said it was to reclaim the land we lost.”

“Right. What do you think is the most essential part of that process?”

“Uh...”

That caught me off guard. I'd never given it any thought.

“Choosing a location that's both easy to reclaim and worth reclaiming?”

“That's Yehyeon's problem.”

Yun continued matter-of-factly.

“Supplies are what matter.”

The train lurched with a clunk.

What the—? I jumped in surprise. Heshy and Tom made startled noises in nearby compartments, but Yun didn't bat an eye.

I could feel the engine warming up for departure. The train vibrated faintly, not enough to be unpleasant.

“We received a report that supplies have gone missing from Supply Depot No. 1 in the zone we're headed to. When we arrive, we'll restock it with the supplies in the freight cars. While we're at it, we'll find out why they went missing.”

“Oh, do you usually deliver supplies by train?”

“The tracks extend as far as the F zones. From the D zones onward, we have to use other methods, but you don't need to know about that yet.”

CLUNK.

The train finished starting up and began to move. I turned my head slightly to watch the scenery outside start sliding past. Center Core was no more than silhouettes in the darkness. The parched land swept backward faster and faster.

Yun glanced out the window, too, then opened the duffel bag hanging from his left shoulder.

“This is your uniform.”

He tossed a plastic-wrapped bundle of clothing onto the bed.

“This is your communicator. Once we arrive, it stays on your ear. And this is a creature field guide.”

“A creature field guide?”

“You know Pokémon?”

To my surprise, a memory surfaced. So playing games earlier was paying off like this. A game screen leaped into sharp focus amid my muddled memories. My eyes widened, then I nodded.

“Yes. I remember.”

“It's something like that. Think of it as a Pokédex. I don't carry one because I don't need it, but it should be reasonably useful to you.”

Even the shape of the device Yun tossed onto the bed resembled the Pokédex I remembered. It wasn't red, though. The notebook-shaped device was sleek and black, with an elegant B embossed in the right-hand corner.

I flipped it open to reveal a blue screen and a small keypad. A camera lens sat in the left-hand corner.

“Incidentally, that's the very first version. If you want a newer one, come by the research building later.”

“There are multiple versions?”

“I don't know much about it, but they said they were going to make one for every version of the Pokédex. Made a whole bunch for no good reason.”

“... I'm sure the people making them had fun.”

Yun looked at my dubious expression and shrugged indifferently. Then he turned as if to leave. I put down the field guide and gave him a bow.

The others seemed to have already shut their compartment doors and begun getting ready for bed. A cool silence lingered in the corridor.

“Sleep. You'll be working the moment you wake up.”

“Yes, sir. Oh, but, Yun.”

As I called his name urgently, he stopped walking and turned, raising an eyebrow. After a brief silence, I worked up my courage.

“Is it really all right for me to go outside the core?”

He'd said I attracted creatures.

My training officer looked at me with inscrutable eyes, as if sizing me up. Only after a long pause did he slowly answer.

“Let's go and see.”

* * *

Outside the core.

A region ruled not by humans, but by creatures. Lost territory humanity sought to reclaim. The F zone, where new recruits began their first missions. Land without a single civilian.

When I opened my eyes, the train had stopped. I washed, changed into my uniform, and stepped into the corridor, where I ran into Tom and his training officer. Angela nodded at my greeting, then pointed farther down the train with her thumb.

“Let's have breakfast before we start.”

I followed her to the dining car. Heshy and his senior were already eating. Yun was nowhere to be seen. Not particularly surprised, I joined the others at their table for breakfast.

Warmed croissants, bagels, cheese, sausages, packaged salads, and milk or coffee. After breakfast, we tidied up the dining car and prepared to go outside.

Combat suit on. Communicator attached to my ear. Field guide packed...

Was that everything?

I was staring down at myself when someone approached.

“Kid.”

It was Karl Doe.

“Where's your weapon?”

Weapon?

A weapon? Like a gun or a sword? I hadn't been given one. Unable to hide my confusion, I stared at the senior standing in front of me.

His eyes were a much deeper, more vivid blue than Tom's. Jet-black hair and a strong jaw. A black face covering pulled down beneath his chin. I stared blankly at this man with his quiet, solid presence.

“Well...”

“Your weapon is a sword.”

A familiar voice came from behind me.

I jumped without a sound. This was seriously driving me crazy. Would it kill him to make some noise when he walked up?

I turned my head. Somehow, Yun was standing right behind me. He thrust a sheathed sword toward me.

“Take it. Wear it at your waist.”

“Oh, yes, sir.”

“A sword?”

Karl's raspy voice rose slightly in surprise.

“A sword, not a gun?”

“He'll probably be better with a sword than a gun.”

“But I heard his healing is impaired.”

“It is. That's why I'm giving him a gun, too.”

This time, Yun thrust a gun toward me. He watched me intently as I accepted it carefully, then said,

“If anything happens, draw your sword first. Got it?”

“Yes, sir.”

I took the weapons without protest. Were we ready to go now? Then Yun's words reminded me of something I'd forgotten.

“Let me see your wound before we head out.”

Right. I'd hurt my arm.

I obediently held out my injured arm and rolled up the sleeve of my black combat suit, exposing the neatly wrapped bandage. Ami had changed it for me the day the cabin was destroyed. She'd applied a medication that acted as a painkiller, and it hadn't hurt since.

Heshy's training officer stood beside me, staring down at my arm.

“Huh?”

It was Heshy, who had come over.

“What happened to your arm?”

“A kitchen knife got stuck in it two days ago.”

“But it should've healed.”

His eyes widened as he apparently realized what that meant.

“I heard you didn't heal well. Is this what they meant?”

“Is it all right to send him into the field?”

Karl directed the question at Yun. Angela and Tom came over, their eyes widening as they looked down at the wound on my arm. I smiled awkwardly under everyone's scrutiny.

Yun took my arm and led me toward the table.

“It's healed quite a bit.”

He delivered his assessment as he pulled a box of medical supplies from beneath the table.

“He heals much faster than ordinary people. Though nowhere near as fast as a Badger.”

“Isn't there any way to improve his healing?”

Angela frowned at the wound. She, too, seemed unhappy about sending me into the field in this condition. Her expression said she'd had no idea it was this bad. It gave me a fresh appreciation of just how angry Riccardo must have been.

Yun narrowed his eyes as he examined the wound.

“I'll have to talk to Samuel some more before I can say. We've never had a case like this.”

“But is this even possible?”

Tom sounded astonished. Then, apparently realizing his words might be taken the wrong way, he added a quiet “Oh,” and clarified what he meant.

“I understood that the reason we can withstand our enhanced bodies is our exceptional healing and young cells.”

“Which is why he's a research subject.”

Yun answered indifferently and began wrapping a fresh bandage around my arm.

Applying the medication, placing the gauze, winding the bandage—every step was clean and efficient. Ami had treated me just as deftly. He finished in no time and released my arm.

“But right now, we need to focus on the job.”

Yun turned his gaze to Karl.

“Senior leadership knows all the facts, and they didn't raise any objections.”

“I still think using a close-range weapon with impaired healing poses far too much risk...”

“I made that decision after seeing him use a sword.”

My training officer jerked his chin toward the dining car's door. The door that led outside the core.

“Let's get going.”

His tone left no room for argument.

“If anything goes wrong, I'll take full responsibility.”

No one challenged him. They quietly followed him toward the door. I checked that the sheath was secured at my waist, then followed as well.

CREAK.

My training officer opened the door and disappeared outside the core. A breeze drifted in through the opening. I stepped outside after Tom.

Outside the core.

A vast expanse of land lay before us. An unobstructed view. The scent of cool air. Wind brushing through my hair.

Grass sprouted here and there through cracked asphalt. The remnants of a once-thriving city greeted us, still standing. Plants blanketed half-ruined buildings. Abandoned cars. Dead railway signals. Roads without a trace of human presence.

The gray of the decaying city mingled with the vibrant green of new growth. Tom and Heshy let out soft gasps. I, too, gazed at the scene before us, spellbound.

“Let me explain the ground rules.”

Angela's voice brought us back to reality. She spoke politely even to the three of us, though we were far junior to her. Without looking down, Tom's training officer loaded the gun slung diagonally across her body and issued a warning.

“First: don't enter the subway. Second: don't enter any tunnels.”

“Are there subways and tunnels nearby?”

“There's a subway entrance just a short walk from here. But no matter how urgent the situation, don't go inside.”

Was there something in there?

I listened quietly. Aside from the sound of wind brushing through the grass, our surroundings were astonishingly silent.

“There's no telling what might be inside, and the risk of collapse is high. No matter how well we heal, we can't overcome the forces of nature. If you're buried underground, your chances of survival plummet.”

“For now, we're only moving supplies, so there shouldn't be any trouble.”

Heshy's training officer added an explanation in his raspy voice.

“There are hardly any creatures in the F zones. But whatever zone you're in, stay away from subways and tunnels.”

“Are the subway stations sealed off?”

“No. There are Badgers who can enter the subway.”

The blue-eyed man pulled his face covering up over his nose as he explained.

“Only Badgers with exceptional stealth skills or the ability to survive in enclosed spaces go down there. But not everyone who went down came back alive. Even Badgers who've survived outside the core for years drop dead there. Don't even think about it for at least another ten years.”