Walking Daddy

I found Tommy in the dorms along with Alyosha and Elena, who were comforting him. As I entered, rubbing my neck, all three pairs of eyes focused on me. Tommy spoke, his voice rather cold.

"What brings you here?”

“Tommy, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Go talk to Jack. The Russian Institute is now in Jack\'s hands.”

“Pardon? What do you mean? You’re here, Tommy."

“Don\'t you know what you\'ve done? The moment you sided with Jack, the Canadian

researchers took over all the rights to this institute.”

At that moment, I suddenly remembered what Alyosha and Elena had said earlier.

- I\'m sorry everyone, but Tommy is the director of the Russian Institute. Please follow along with Tommy’s opinion.

- He’s right, Jack. I\'d appreciate it if you followed Tommy’s opinion for now.

That was what they were talking about. It seemed like their hierarchy was determined by who had the right to conduct research. When I realized this, I realized as well that there was no way the Russian researchers were going to be as welcoming as they used to be, because I’d stripped away their authority and given it to the newcomers. Now I understood why Tommy had frowned so angrily and raised his voice when I’d sided with Jack.

In this day and age, though, power and strength meant authority. Even if the Canadian researchers had the authority, I could force them out any time I wanted to. It seemed like the Russian researchers had gotten used to my human side. I was ready to drive them out if they tried to do anything funny. Still, I knew that an apology would be the best thing to offer in order to move past this.

I grimaced, then looked them in the eye.

“I don’t know how things are handled when it comes to research… But it seems like I’ve crossed the line.”

“It’s already happened. And it’s not as though we can come up with a way to sort it out.”

Tommy sighed and smacked his lips. He was trying his best not to meet my gaze. I wondered if he was feeling disappointed in me. However, I knew that there was no good in beating around the bush. I had to make my intentions clear to them.

I slicked my hair back.

“I volunteered for this because I wanted to figure out their real intentions,” I said.

“Figure out what…?”

Tommy raised his eyebrows at me. I nodded, then continued.

“Ever since they got here, they’ve only been talking about fibrosis, as if the cure was secondary. My plan was to go to the lab with them and figure out what they really had in mind.”

“Oh… So did you find out anything?”

“They asked me to let myself be sedated.”

“Sedated?”

Tommy furrowed his brow and tilted his head. He knew that I wouldn’t need to be sedated, and that I couldn\'t fall asleep anyway. However, the Canadian researchers didn’t. Alyosha and Elena sat down next to Tommy and started to pay attention as well.

I continued to speak while scratching my sideburns.

“It\'s been close to five years since this all started. The fact that the people who have been conducting research related to the cure seem to know nothing about zombies with red eyes... Is it weird for me to be suspicious?”

“No, I understand. What happened afterward?”

Tommy’s sullen, disappointed expression turned into a rather serious one. I guess he was finally convinced enough to listen to me again.

“I pretended to be asleep,” I replied with a shrug. “I wanted to eavesdrop on their discussion, whatever it was.”

“So did you find anything out?”

“They’re hiding something from you folks. They say it\'s research… But I’m pretty sure I know what kind of research they were talking about.”

Tommy quietly rubbed his chin, and his expression grew somber like the grave. It seemed like he suddenly had a lot to think about. However, it didn’t take long before he looked over at Elena.

“Elena, what kind of research was Jack\'s team working on before?” he asked her.

“They were conducting brain-related research. They were studying the changes in the immune system of the human body when the human brain was utilized at one hundred percent of its capacity.”

"When was the last time you contacted them?”

"Let’s see… A good eight years ago, I believe. I used to conduct research related to sleep disorders caused by brain waves. At the time, Jack’s team was working right next to mine.”

"Since it’s been about five years since the zombie virus first spread, it’ll be hard for you to know what sort of research they were doing in the three years prior to that, right?”

“Well yes, since I came to Russia eight years ago. The zombie virus began its spread three years after I arrived in Russia.”

Tommy’s eyes went wide and his mouth fell open, as if he had just come to a sudden realization.

“What is it?” I asked, noting his sudden surprise.

“The immune system changing according to brain functionality. Doesn’t that ring a bell?”

I frowned and tried to rephrase what he was trying to say.

“Are you saying that they developed the zombie virus?”

“It’s still up in the air, but I do think it’s a possibility. I mean, think about it. All the other labs around the world were taken out by zombie attacks. But the Canadian lab has been fine for the past five years. “

“...”

“How could I have missed this? I was too careless. I should’ve known that something was fishy…”

Tommy bit his nails, and his expression grew complicated. I quietly crossed my arms, then said calmly, “Calm down. You can’t get all worked up over something that we’re not certain about yet.”

“But just think about it. Everything lines up perfectly. The zombie virus spread because of the cell mutation that came up during their research on the changes in the immune system with regard to brain functionality. I can’t think of another scenario other than this one.”

“...”

“No wonder they wanted to check out the extent of your pulmonary fibrosis as soon as they came to Russia. They probably wanted to see the virus in action, but their main goal was probably to examine the immune system of someone who was already infected.”

He had a point, but there was nothing concrete to back it up with. And the only way for us to obtain proof of this was to get our hands on the research material that the brown-haired researcher had hidden away.

As I sat there, quietly rubbing my chin and lost in my own thoughts, Tommy jumped up from his seat and spoke up.

“Let’s get going. You mentioned earlier that the Canadian researchers have data they’re hiding from us. I need to know what exactly they’re hiding.”

“Don’t act too rashly, Tommy.”

“What’s holding you back? Let’s go right now and…”

“Tommy, sit down.”

I fixed Tommy with a rather serious glare. He saw my face and swallowed, then sat down, looking bewildered.

“What exactly are you afraid of?” he asked me with a frown. “Even if we don’t have any concrete proof, don’t you think we’re right about this?”

“Tommy, if I tell you not to rush into things, don’t rush into things. Have you forgotten what happened when you ignored me and went to the brain research institute in Korea?”

Tommy bit his lower lip, clicked his tongue vigorously, and looked away. I knew he was trying to act based on his emotions. In times like this, though, it was important to think and act logically. Elena, who was next to Tommy, interlaced her fingers together and asked me a question.

“Mr. Lee Hyun-Deok, do you have a plan?”

“We can expose what they’ve done later on. The correct thing to do right now is to focus on the second and third transport planes that’ll be coming over from Canada soon.”

“Why are you bringing up the transport planes all of a sudden?”

“Do you think they’ll hand over the data if I threaten them? They’ll probably try to kill us once they figure out that we know about what they’ve done. It’s best to avoid unnecessary quarrels with them.”

After I explained my reasoning to her calmly, Elena sighed.

“Then what do you want to do?”

“We’ll be able to understand what kind of people these Canadian researchers are by observing the survivors they’re bringing over in the second and third transports. By observing the way they act around them.”

“What if the survivors support the Canadian researchers?”

“We’ll figure out whether they’re genuinely supporting them, or if they’ve just blinded to the truth over time. Besides, I have to restore my missing organs as well. I’m sorry to say this to you all, but please go along with their instructions for the time being.”

Elena seemed to take my request calmly. She looked over at Tommy and Alyosha. Tommy said something in Russian to Alyosha, then sighed.

“So, Mr. Lee Hyun-Deok… Are you saying that everything will be alright, and that we should wait until we have everything we need before we make a move?” he asked.

“Yes. Regardless of what they might have done, we still need to develop a cure. And, the fact of the matter is that they’re trying their best to help me regenerate my missing organs.”

“...”

“If they’re really guilty, they’ll suffer the punishment for that in the future. For now, the wise thing to do is to wait for the results of the study, and focus on the second and third transports that will soon arrive from Canada.”

“Did they say two hundred and twenty survivors, and one hundred and fifty soldiers?”

“Yes.”

Tommy crossed his arms and stared blankly at the ceiling. Judging from his relaxed expression, it seemed like he was finally starting to see the bigger picture I had in mind.

He looked me right in the eye. “And what if there are no survivors on the second and third transports?” he asked.

“We’ll have to consider what they have in mind as well. After all, even if they tell us that all the survivors in Canada got wiped out by zombies, there’s no way of telling if they’re actually giving us the truth or not.”

“Then, if there aren’t any survivors, are you going to kill all the Canadian researchers? Even if what they’re saying might be true?”

“I don’t have the time nor the capacity to dig into every little detail. But we do have to keep one researcher alive.”

“Are you going to leave Jack alive?”

"No. I\'m going to kill everyone except the brown-haired researcher who hid the research data.”

When I answered without hesitation, Tommy wet his parched lips.

“Will you be okay?” he asked cautiously. “After all, you’ll be killing people…”

“How many people do you think I’ve killed so far?”

“...”

“And if what we’ve concluded is actually true, then keeping Jack alive would be a mercy. Tearing him to pieces wouldn’t be enough to justify what he’s done.”

Tommy’s face brightened at my honest answer.

"I\'m sorry,” he said with a smile on his face. “I assumed that you had different intentions.”

“Different intentions?”

"I thought… I thought you were abandoning us, since the Canadian researchers are closer to developing a cure than we are.”

I chucked. “You shouldn’t be so easily trusting of others, nor should you throw away the trust you’ve built up with others so easily. You might get punished in the afterlife.”

Tommy responded with a thin smile of his own.

"I’ll do my best not to disappoint you or anyone else.”

“Don’t act too quickly, though. To be honest… I wanted to apologize, because it felt like I put too much pressure on you.”

"Absolutely not. When I think of everything you’ve done for us… We should be giving you some tangible results. Some actual results.”

“You came up with a vaccine, and a drug that suppresses zombie instincts. You’ve already given me actual results. I want to ask you not to push yourself too much,” I said with sincerity.

Tommy nodded silently, with his lips tightly closed. I knew that he had yelled at the Canadian researchers earlier on and was reacting so sensitively to all the uncertainty because he was nervous. He was probably feeling some internal pressure, since it had already been four years since we’d left Korea. This pressure had built up, causing him to be anxious and sensitive toward just about anything.

I was also at fault, because I hadn’t given them any words of reassurance, even though I knew they were doing their best and that it was impossible for them to try any harder. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for them. I also reflected on my lack of consideration toward them since we arrived in Russia.

I patted Tommy on the shoulder.

“Take your time,” I told him. “It\'s the Canadian researchers who are nervous right now.”

"All right."

“For the time being, stop being so wary of the Canadian researchers, and try to cooperate with them so that they don’t notice our suspicions. The last thing we want is for them to be suspicious of us.”

Tommy nodded slowly. “Then, in the meantime, I’ll try to go along with whatever they have planned.”

"Yes. Let’s speak again when the next transport arrives.”

“What do you have in mind if a bunch of soldiers arrive? What if they try to take over the lab by using their superior numbers…?”

“Do you think that’ll be possible?” I answered with a flash of my blue eyes.

Tommy pressed his lips together and nodded. Soldiers and civilians were essentially the same to me. They were both human, and posed no threat to me. And for me, there were only two types of people in the world. Those who lived for others, and those who tried to harm others.

Tommy took a deep breath and stood up.

“Let’s get going then. If we keep sticking together, the Canadian researchers might think we’re up to something.”

“You’re right. You go ahead. I\'ll scout around and then head back.”

Tommy gave a small nod and left the dorms. After a while, Elena and Alyosha followed him out with heartwarming smiles on their faces. I opened the window and jumped out instead of using the door.

In order to come up with an alibi, I went on a patrol of the outer walls that surrounded the laboratory.