34. Santi; New Scars

The fishy and rotten smell reflexively made my nose hold my breath; with the remaining strength, I opened my eyes slowly when someone in shabby clothes looked like a walking corpse carrying my body.

I groaned a little when the pain in my stomach and chest appeared again, but the man beside me told me to be quiet with a sharp look. Looking left and right, suddenly, my consciousness quickly returned, and my mouth almost screamed out loud as we were still circling the thugs' house, which was full of corpses.

My eyes looked at the man supporting me, and I was immediately stunned. Kayro survived despite several spots on his face. He looked injured and swollen, and his appearance was dirty, unlike usual. Blood and mud were all over his tall body, and someone's oversized clothes were now attached to his athletic body.

I still don't understand why the corpses didn't notice our presence. Was it our smell or ugly appearance, or because we were silent and moving like dazed people? My eyes looked down; my appearance was the same as Kayro's: a worn and torn shirt was on my body, and the smell of rotten blood and the smell of rubbish was so strong. I wanted to vomit, but I couldn't because I was afraid the corpses would know we weren't them.

Kayro glanced to signal me to look at what was behind us; I slowly turned my head. A smile spread across his lips when Bayu supported Rianita's body behind us. One of Bayu's eyes swelled, as did Rianita, who looked weak and helpless. He smiled crookedly while holding his right stomach.

I want to ask them whether they are okay and why they could penetrate the thugs' defence wall here after Bayu and I failed. But all the questions in my head felt like they had to settle for a while. I saw one of the thugs who beat me a few days ago now turned into one of them; both of his shoulders were torn, and his stomach had an even more terrible fate. His eyes were white and looked empty as he looked at this crowded room.

It took almost two hours, maybe longer, for the four of us to finally get out of the main door after circling the room. Walking like a confused person while holding my breath in my chest felt torturous; the bad smell made me have no appetite for the next few days.

I need a perfume bottle or a glass of coffee beans to neutralise my smell. But at times like this, perhaps perfume and coffee have become rare items. Rotten meat is rampant on every street.

Outside the fence of the two-story house, the corpses trapped in the wall made of sharpened wood appeared to be groaning with their arms stretched forward as if they wanted to escape. I shuddered in horror, especially as the dead body organs were lying around innocently.

Bastard! I thought.

Slowly, Kayro directed us towards a large truck on the right side of the house. If I guess, it's probably a hundred meters away. It's quite a distance if I have to walk like crazy. Looking up slightly at the sky, I saw black clouds struggling; I feared the rain would suddenly pour down. It could be that the bad smell on our bodies disappeared and mixed with the rainwater.

"Quick," I whispered over the growls of the corpses. "Rain."

Kayro nodded, looking up at the cloudy clouds with thunder starting to sound. However, we cannot just be careless. A little fast movement might arouse the suspicion of the cannibal creatures. Suddenly, the sound of an explosion was heard on the west side; the corpses turned and scattered towards the source of the explosion sound there.

I almost fell when they nudged my shoulders innocently. If I had the power, I would want to put bullets in their heads. The explosion sounded again, apparently coming from the south. Several corpses seemed to be confused by the two voices; they ran, scattering fiercely as clouds of black smoke rose high above the sky. I wonder, who made that explosion? What is going on over there?

The explosion sounded again, this time louder; I don't care now. Let them surround the source of the sound. Even if they were affected by the explosion, they would already be dead anyway. Our distance from the truck with a picture advertising a bottled drink brand was getting closer. The corpses were no longer surrounding the large vehicle.

With great difficulty, Kayro opened one of the truck doors, then climbed in and pulled me inside with a quick movement before the corpses realised. Then, Kayro and I pulled Rianita's body, but unfortunately, one of them knew that we were not dead people.

"Bayu!" I shouted, making the man stand on the big tyre, climb onto the truck, and close the door quickly. The dead bodies seemed to be lied to, but there was no time to retaliate against them. Kayro started the truck engine while Bayu threw several bottles at them, and suddenly, the explosion occurred again. Body without body, life was shattered into pieces, but the flock seemed to have no compassion and was busy chasing us.

"Come one!" I said, on the verge of despair. I'm tired of having to fight again.

Kayro stepped on the pedal, hitting the rotten bodies mercilessly until blood spurted out onto the glass. His right hand pressed the button, and two algae on the windshield moved up and down, cleaning the remaining blood even though it was not clean.

I looked through the window; the corpses were still chasing me even though the explosion that caused the big fire could still be heard. Until the thug's house looked smaller and smaller, I opened the truck window, raised my two middle fingers and spat onto the road.

"Fuck!" I shouted while smiling crookedly.

###

The truck engine stopped before a health centre that looked more like a haunted building. The grass and weeds grew very well, but the walls and fences still looked sturdy compared to the thugs' house, which the red rooster had now destroyed. The four of us went down with our strength already below the limit; if I remember the map of Jakarta, it felt like this place was far from my initial hiding base.

Then, a man with curly grey hair with a bandage wrapped around his right arm came rushing towards us. Judging by his clothes, I was sure he was a doctor. The worn, holey white jacket looked more like a household mop, fitting perfectly against his pale body. I frowned when he smiled at Kayro as 'mas'.

"He's the person who will help us," said Kayro, then grabbed his left shoulder. "Shit, tear it again."

"Come on, come in first; I'll see your wounds," asked the man. "Oh yes, let me introduce myself, Doctor Jemmy."

I nodded for a moment before following the fat doctor's limping steps. We walked in silence, entering deeper into the health centre corridor. Luckily, this place was quite big, with an empty inpatient room; we went further and penetrated a room that looked more like a storage warehouse.

I coughed as soon as I entered this dusty room; the damp smell was suffocating in my chest, but instead, there were cupboards and shelves containing medical equipment available. A bed with a mattress covered in blood was visible in the left corner of the room. Two wooden chairs and a rickety table were in the middle. One five-watt lamp seemed to be hanging, adding to the discomfort.

Doctor Jemmy grabbed a candle, lit it with a match, and placed it on the table in the middle to add light. We chose to sit on the floor, stretching our sore legs. Doctor Jemmy filled a basin with water, storing it in a large barrel. I smiled; even though this place was scary, it was safe enough to hide.

The middle-aged man walked towards us, squatted down and turned on a small flashlight to examine Rianita's body, who was probably the worst among the four of us. When the doctor's hand wanted to touch Rianita, she reflexively refused, hugging herself tremblingly.

"I just want to check you, girl," said Doctor Jemmy. "Where does it hurt? Where do they hurt you?"

Rianita didn't answer. Instead, sobs escaped her lips. The sweat dripping down her small face looked very pitiful; her eyes were tired and angry. I touched her right shoulder; she was shocked and looked away. Then she looked down, feeling guilty and said,

"I'm dirty, San," she said tremblingly. Her hands now moved to caress her flat stomach. I took a deep breath; my tears were already flowing freely, remembering the cruel treatment of that damn thug.

"Hey, I know you're strong. The important thing is that we're safe, Ta," I said softly. "Let Doctor Jemmy treat the wounds on your body, and let us treat the wounds on your heart."

It took a long pause until Rianita nodded her head. Then, the rescue doctor started treating our wounds one by one.