The Porter (3)
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After finishing his exercise routines, Min-jong headed across Sungsung University to find a place to sit and rest.
He was walking casually, enjoying the cold air of December… until he saw the gate shining far ahead.
He started to run.
It was as if he was a salmon going upriver – the tide of frightened people running and desperately pushing each other is coming from the opposite direction.
A gate out phenomenon can only happen if the hunters assigned to it are dead, he thought.
It seems unlikely that the authorities and the Association have already arrived at the scene.
Min-jong took out his phone to call the Association, but at that instant, a call came in. It was Seung-ho.
“Min-jong, maybe…”
“Please help, Seung-ho! Here, just before the gate out!” He yelled at the phone, cutting of Seung-ho’s words.
He could see that the gate began to shine brighter.
Gate out phenomena has three phases. The first phase can be observed by subdued light shining around the gate.
In the second phase, the brightness becomes doubled. It is possible to enter the gate until this time and destroy the nucleus.
But when the light reaches its peak, the third phase begins, and from this point on, it is impossible to enter the gate anymore.
The monsters will start coming out.
“Where are you?”
“Sungsung University!!”
Once he heard Seung-ho rushing from the other end, Min-jong hurriedly ended the call and started running again.
Unfortunately, there was someone blocking his way. It was a foreign man.
Min-jong grabbed the man’s arm, urgently, “Escape! Gate out happened!”
The man didn’t move.
“You have to hurry! Run away!” Min-jong yelled desperately.
The man smiled bitterly before he replied.
“You’re kind, so I’m a little sorry.”
Min-jong didn’t have time to think about what he meant. In an instant, the man’s foot lashed out and hit his leg. He felt himself falling and hitting his face on the ground.
His face was damaged, but he couldn’t even think about it with the pain on his legs engulfing him.
His legs deformed with the attack. Min-jong’s face was distorted by the terrible pain he felt.
“Oh, why, why!” he asked through gritted teeth.
“If you survive, you will never see me again. Good luck.”
The man turned away and disappeared, and Min-jong was left struggling in pain.
He started to crawl away from the gate. He had no choice.
“Okay, uh… Shh…”
He couldn’t feel any pain in his hands. Its skin was scratched, and the nails were broken from crawling against asphalt and concrete, but nothing felt more painful than his legs.
Behind him, the gate was reaching its peak.
At that moment, he wanted to give up and just wait for death.
However, he heard footsteps.
“Are you okay?” It was a woman’s voice, and it sounded as sweet as an angel’s.
He was not okay at all, but Min-jong desperately nodded.
Then, the woman saw his broken leg, and her hands automatically went to her mouth in shock.
The light from the gate was gradually decreasing, and they didn’t have time to waste.
A look of determination was in the woman’s eyes, and she struggled to help him up.
When Min-jong stood, he almost collapsed at the pain of his broken leg, but if he succumbed to it, he was only waiting for death.
They gathered their balance.
“Huh… ” Min-jong exhaled.
“It’s okay? First, let’s go to the nearest building,” she said.
They had to get as far as possible from the gate, but they wouldn’t be able to get far in Min-jong’s condition.
The woman was frightened by the gradually fading light, but she could run away on her own and leave this man to die.
They ambled forward slowly.
“Walk with me, let’s go into the library and hide,” he told the woman.
The woman gasped and headed to the Central Library, supporting Min-jong.
The road to the Central Library is just a slight hill, but the woman was drenched in sweat, supporting a man who was much heavier than her. The winter weather didn’t help much.
“Sorry. because of me…” Min-jong started to apologize, but the woman cut him off.
“Don’t waste your energy talking; walk fast!”
They arrived at the Central Library, gasping for air.
There were no people around.
The woman walked back in forth in desperation. “What should I do?”
Min-jong tried to take out his phone, but his broken nails caught on his clothes, and he cried out in pain.
The woman quickly ran to him and helped him get the phone.
“Here, the password is 0904, please call the person at the top of the call list,” he said breathlessly.
“Seung-ho? This person?”
When the woman showed the screen to Min-jong, he nodded.
The moment the woman’s finger pressed the call button, they were startled by an explosion.
Then, the night was filled with roars.
“Woo Woo Woo Woo!!
* * *
The Gigantic Gorilla looked around at the strange surroundings. There was a lot of difference in temperature from where he lived, but it wasn’t a problem.
His huge nostrils were immediately assaulted by a variety of exotic smells and… the smell of the delicious food that he had eaten.
He roared with joy and excitement and started to track the smell of his prey.
There were traces of blood on the ground. The traces led him to a strange rock.
The surface of the rock was smooth – it was covered with several other stones which are sparkling like water.
When his hands touched a stone, it shattered with a loud sound.
The Gigantic Gorilla wandered around the rock with excitement.
He began smashing the sparkling stones and found that there was a wide space behind it. The rock was like a cave, with more sparkling stones inside.
He went in following the traces of prey, breaking the stones that blocked his path.
Kwajik!
He can smell the prey from inside the cave. He continued to follow the drops of blood.
The Gigantic Gorilla beat its chest in excitement as he neared his prey.
“Hoohwahwahwahwahwa!!”
However, when he thought that he was close enough, the trail of blood on the floor stopped.
He tried to find out where the prey was by sniffing around, but it was difficult due to the various strange odors around him.
In frustration, he started to hit his surroundings.
Then he heard something.
The Gigantic Gorilla stopped his destruction and looked up.
* * *
The woman screamed unknowingly, surprised at the sound of destruction below them.
Min-jong quickly reached out to cover the woman’s mouth, but it was too late.
The sounds of destruction below suddenly stopped.
The woman’s face was almost blue as he let his hand go. He couldn’t blame the woman.
The situation is at its worst.
He prayed that Seung-ho would come sooner. He didn’t know how else they could get out of this situation.
They heard the monster’s heavy footsteps slowly climbing the stairs.
Min-jong felt his body tremble uncontrollably, but he composed himself.
He gestured with his finger in front of the woman’s eyes to express his thoughts, and the woman nodded.
The plan was to take the elevator down once the monster came up.
The monster would definitely know where they are if they do this. They could earn a few seconds, at least.
It was futile, but it was their last resort.
When they judged that the monster is already on their level, the 4th floor, they went inside the elevator and desperately pushed the buttons.
Hearing the commotion, the Gigantic Gorilla jumped up and saw the door closing.
The Gigantic Gorilla leaped but was too late.
“Wooooh!” With his huge fist, the Gigantic Gorilla punched at the elevator door.
The metal door flew back and struck the wires, and the elevator shook slightly.
The Gorilla stared at the elevator going down, but it doesn’t look like he would be able to eat it.
He couldn’t see the prey that he was following, so he started to walk around and destroy the other elevator doors looking for the prey.
Suddenly, with a loud ringing sound, the elevator going down arrived on the first floor.
At the sound, the Gigantic Gorilla grabbed the elevator wire and jumped down.
Min-jong and the woman got off the elevator and tried to go as fast as they can out to the lobby.
Suddenly, there was a crashing sound on the elevator they were on. The elevator was bent halfway.
Min-jong saw furry legs of monstrous size on top of the crushed elevator.
Slowly, the Gorilla managed to get itself out and looked happily at his prey.
The five he ate earlier tasted good, but he preferred eating his prey alive. He enjoyed the texture of them moving around his mouth.
The Gigantic Gorilla stared excitedly at his prey as one of them screamed.
“Run. Leave me alone!” Min-jong told the woman.
The woman panicked in uncontrollable fear, and her legs lost power. She sat there crying, mumbling ceaselessly.
“I’m going to die. I’m going to die. Mom, Dad, I’m sorry, sorry, sorry…”
She is frozen in fear.
Min-jong decided to buy the woman time, even for a second, and with his broken leg, he stepped forward between the Gorilla and the woman.
“Hey! Look at me! Eat me!” he screamed.
The woman risked her life for him. He would do the same for her.
Min-jong felt warm liquid flowing down his pants as he stared at the Gorilla.
He wondered if it’s the last sensation he’d feel while he’s alive, and closed his eyes.