32. Santi; They Come

The worn wall clock ticked slowly, its hands showing two in the morning. I chuckled in annoyance, waiting for Kayro to arrive. He should have gone home an hour ago, but the bridge of his nose never appeared. The smell of the earth was still wafting after heavy rain last night, the sounds of crickets and frogs calling to each other as if they were not afraid of the presence of corpses.

"We have to go." Bayu's voice approached, making me turn to him. The man looked straight out the window without looking at me once. After a while, he sighed as if tired from this journey. "We can't wait for Kayro any longer, San."

"But, he is our main weapon. Only he--"

Bayu growled, pressing my body against the wall with his two strong arms. Those eyes covered with long, curly hair looked straight at me. I could feel Bayu's breath rising and falling; his jaw tightened as if holding back something about to explode. He came closer, making me slightly lower my body for fear that the man would do something reckless.

"Banyu... he's dying, San..." Bayu's bass voice sounded desperate. "And you just think of Kayro like he can't take care of himself!"

I shook my head quickly; how could I only think about Kayro while Banyu... I fell silent for a moment, remembering what Bayu had said earlier. The shackled dilemma about their feelings that I never realized. I looked at my feet; the dim moonlight reflected how wrong our shoes were. Slowly, the back of Bayu's right hand stroked my cheek, sending millions of strands of electricity that awakened all the nerves in my body. I'm shivering; my heart is out of control, and my breath will be so short if Bayu stays in this position.

"I-I...I know."

Damn! I thought.

Bayu moved back, took the backpack, grabbed a piece of wood with a sharp tip in his right hand, and threw it at me. Then he shouldered an air rifle he found in a shop while we were combing the streets; then, in his left hand, he held a dagger and said,

"We're leaving. I'll take the lead."

###

The house was still the same; under the dim light, several men in plain clothes could still be seen standing guard while carrying long-barreled weapons. Sometimes, they look around with binoculars and are seen talking, but what they say is unclear. Bayu and I hid behind a large tree trunk; his irises darted around, and then he whispered to tell me to run and hide behind another tree trunk.

By ducking, my legs moved nimbly with rapid breathing. You could say that my hands were shaking even though I was holding two sharp weapons tightly. Cold sweat dripped down his forehead despite the cold air still enveloping him. I heard the rhythm of my own heart, which had become erratic, and the hairs on the back of my neck started to bristle.

This is the second time we have attacked the enemy's defense. If they hadn't taken Rianita hostage, of course, there wouldn't have been a need for a fight like this. However, they had crossed the line. I couldn't imagine what those men had done to a weak woman like her.

Bayu whispered; I didn't realize that he was behind my back. Then he saw a guard at the back door. A man with long hair in a sleeveless T-shirt was seen walking around carrying a firearm.

The curly-haired man cocked the gun, then fired the air rifle right at his head. The thug collapsed to the ground, either unconscious or already dead. Bayu immediately approached, and I followed him while bowing.

"Is he Dead?" I whispered, looking around.

"Yes." Bayu grabbed the sharpened stick from my hand, drew the object until it penetrated the thug's head, and made a gaping hole. Then he spat right into her lifeless face while sneering, "Rot in hell!"

Then he opened the iron plate door slowly so as not to make a sound. As the two of us sneaked into the enemy's nest, it turned out that several light bulbs with low power could be seen lighting up the hallway of this big house. The mixture of unpleasant smells made my stomach feel nauseous, whether it was the rancid smell, urine, or even the rotten smell of scattered rubbish. We were silent momentarily when we heard a man's laughter from down the hall.

"You are at the top. I will attack below," Bayu ordered as he looked up.

I followed his line of sight; there was a curved iron staircase with raindrops soaking the floor below. There were red puddles and traces of clothing belonging to who knows who. I swallowed hard. Was Rianita dead up there?

"Bring this." Bayu gave me some firecrackers in the shape of small balls and a lighter. "Use it if you're in a pinch. Firecrackers will attract corpses."

I nodded, accepted the firecracker ball, and put it in my pocket. I slowly left him, climbing the stairs individually, holding two daggers tightly in both hands. As if I was holding my breath because I was afraid of causing a commotion, I glanced at Bayu, who was still looking at me in silence.

Hopefully, we're safe.

###

There was a sobbing sound when my feet stepped on the last step. The damaged wooden door reflected the shadow of a man. I stood up and positioned the two daggers at my chest while peeking. There were no lights in the room, which was quite large; I think they only relied on moonlight and one candle in the middle.

One man in shorts and an oversized t-shirt stood with his back to me. He squinted his eyes, trying to sharpen his vision at the other person who seemed to be sitting helplessly.

"I said I was alone!"

My eyes widened; it was Rianita's voice. I took a breath, then looked again to see if anyone was other than the shorts. No one else, I thought.

I went in, about to stab the bastard in the back. However, the Goddess of Fortune seemed impartial when she realized someone was approaching.

He dodged reflexively, then struck me until I fell. The knife I was holding slid smoothly away from me. Before I could get up, the thug grabbed my hair, and I screamed in pain.

"Who are you!" shouted the thug.

I growled, elbowing him hard in the gut. He groaned, then I kicked his genitals until he fell on his back and hit the floor.

"Ta!" I called.

Time passed quickly when another thug came and attacked unthinkingly. Relying on attacks as they were, I fought two shabby men with my bare hands. They hit me in the jaw; I fell flat. My nose felt broken, blood was seeping from one nostril, and suddenly, my head was dizzy.

Suddenly, the collar of my t-shirt was pulled, and one of them grabbed my neck. Meanwhile, the others took the hostage away. My eyes widened sharply; I tried to escape, but the oxygen in my lungs was running low.

"Bastard! How dare you make noise!"

I'm sure my face had turned pale when the man quickly threw my body to the floor.

I groaned; my head was getting dizzy. The vision in front of me became increasingly unclear. They dragged my body like a carcass, and then one of them grabbed my knife, which was lying helplessly.

Will I die quickly? Bayu... I already told you that, Kayro...

My vision suddenly went dark without realizing it, and I couldn't even hear them anymore.

###

The sound of growling and gunfire woke me up. I held my head and then my stomach, which Feri had kicked like an animal. Immediately, the remaining gastric juice came out to wet the dirty floor. I hissed, stumbling, trying to get up to look out the window.

My eyes widened. I didn't know what happened out there. The corpses came, breaking through the sharpened wooden fence as if they didn't know what sickness was.

While holding my stomach, I could hear screams and gunshots below. Just reflexively, my irises searched for weapons. Corpses will surely fill this house sooner or later. Unfortunately, there is nothing here except scattered glass bottles.

I took one of the used bottles and smashed it against the wall. Whether this can be used as a substitute for a knife or not, I hope to escape from here. There was no time to endure the pain caused by Feri's blow to the body. I was sure that the thugs had become food for the corpses, and in my heart, I also prayed for Feri that he would be eaten alive until there was nothing left.

"Argh," I hissed as the pain in my stomach came again.

My body collapsed again until the bottle I was holding shattered into pieces. I don't know what that bastard Feri did to make it happen like this. Could this be the effect of hunger or because he managed to break my ribs? I don't know.

The growling sound became more apparent, but my energy was the opposite. I no longer have the energy to get up. Tears flowed down my cheeks, and the image of Banyu's dying face danced in my mind. Likewise, Deka and Jarak have high hopes for this mission.

"Sorry...." I whispered hoarsely.

I had resigned myself to being food for corpses, but my life was useless when the rescue mission failed. Bayu and Kayro couldn't get through the crowd of corpses.

I took a deep breath, the pain getting worse until my vision suddenly became blurry. I looked at the wooden door where I first entered, and for some reason, I felt someone approaching with shabby clothes and a pungent stench.

Ah, a corpse, huh...

I'm sure to die...