Rain poured down heavily since evening as if a hole had been torn in the sky. Sister Agape entered the church hurriedly, carrying a small lamp after checking around the church. Water dripped from her black habit, and her small hands holding the lamp trembled from the cold.
“Sister Agape. What happened?”
Andrey, who had been standing with an anxious face, approached hurriedly.
“I can’t find him anywhere. I don’t know what’s going on.”
It was clear something had happened to Matteo, as he hadn’t returned despite the curfew having passed. Matteo, who turned 16 this year, occasionally went outside the zone and had been caught by guards before. Although infections weren’t as frequent as before, Sister Agape’s face grew increasingly worried.
“He wouldn’t have left the zone, would he?”
“That damn kid. I’ll go out and look for him. You stay here, Sister.”
Andrey put on a poncho-like raincoat. Just as he was hurrying to leave the church, the door burst open. Lightning struck at that moment, and Sister Agape let out a scream-like sound at the figure that appeared in the darkness.
“Matteo!”
Sister Agape, who was approaching, stopped in her tracks. Matteo, who had disappeared without a word and caused them such worry, appeared supporting a woman. The woman was precariously standing barefoot, wearing an overcoat larger than her frame.
“W-what is this about? And who is this person?”
Matteo carefully laid the woman on the floor, breathing heavily. Silence fell over the church. As the woman’s large overcoat opened, her belly was revealed—swollen like a balloon. Andrey cautiously reached out his hand to check the woman’s condition.
“Hello? Are you alright?”
Before his hand could touch her face, Andrey’s arm was suddenly grabbed in mid-air.
“Wait, arm, arm… damn it! What strength… aaagh!”
Screaming, Andrey barely managed to detach the woman’s hand and stepped back. The woman’s eyes slowly appeared between her eyelids.
“What is that….”
“My goodness….”
Everyone couldn’t help but hold their breath when they belatedly discovered her cloudy eyes and the unusually sharp fangs visible between her lips.
“I-it’s an infected person!”
As Andrey shouted and picked up a nearby club to strike the woman, Matteo blocked him.
“No!”
“Move aside, Matteo! Are you in your right mind? Bringing an infected person here!”
“Calm down, Andrey!”
“Sister, how can I possibly calm down!”
She knew why he was trembling. Andrey had lost his entire family a few years ago. When he arrived home, his family, from young children to adults, had all died from attacks by infected people, and all that remained were a few heads and fingers.
“We must kill her! Otherwise, we’re all dead!”
Suddenly, Matteo took out a knife from his waist and cut his own arm. Sister Agape covered her mouth in shock as Matteo brought it close to the woman’s lips. Matteo! Hurriedly pulling Matteo away, the woman twisted to the side and dry-heaved. Ugh!
Seeing this, Matteo pleaded to the two of them.
“Look! If she were really infected, she would have devoured my arm and more. This woman saved me when I was in danger near Zone C! Thanks to her, I was able to get here safely!”
“You’re insane. You went there again? You bastard!”
“Both of you, stop it. This is not the time to fight.”
She would have asked Father Joseph for help if he were here, but he had been bedridden for several days due to illness. As Sister Agape pondered, her eyes fell on the suffering woman. Andrey readjusted his grip on the club, ready to strike at any moment.
Meanwhile, water mixed with red blood flowed from beneath the woman’s legs.It seemed that labor was imminent as her water broke. Sister Agape had experience assisting with childbirth a few times, so she immediately called Andrey.
“Andrey. Go get clean cloths and warm water.”
“Sister!”
“Hurry!”
Faced with Sister Agape’s resolute attitude, Andrey couldn’t argue anymore and turned away.
“I’ll help!”
In the meantime, Matteo carried the woman to a small room behind the church. Amid the incessant lightning and thunder, the woman’s face gradually turned pale. Sister Agape held the woman’s face in her hands and looked straight into her eyes. It was impossible to tell where those cloudy eyes without focus were looking.
“Listen carefully. You need to push. That’s the only way to save the baby.”
“…”
“…Do you understand?”
Andrey brought water and cloth, and soon after, Sister Agape ordered both him and Matteo out.
“Go outside and wait. Don’t go far, I’ll call if needed.”
Matteo, who had reluctantly gone outside, was restless, while Andrey was glaring at him.
“Well done. Bringing something like that here after causing trouble?”
“How many times do I have to tell you? She saved me. And how could I ignore someone in danger?”
“A person? You still think she’s a person after seeing those eyes? If anything happens to Sister,”
Aaaagh!
At the woman’s piercing scream, both men watched the door with tense expressions. Sister Agape’s voice telling the woman to push was heard intermittently before suddenly stopping. Just then, a thunderbolt crashed, and Matteo and Andrey just looked at each other, breathing heavily.
“S-Sister… Sister Agape?”
There was no sign of movement from inside, and Matteo rubbed his face anxiously. Unable to bear it any longer, Andrey flung open the door with his club in hand, and a strong smell of blood wafted out. The woman seemed to have fainted with her eyes closed, and Sister Agape, crouched at her feet, had shoulders that were slightly trembling for some reason.
“S-Sister?”
As she turned around, a small life was cradled in her arms.
“…”
“What the…”
Andrey erupted in anger, saying he knew this would happen, and in the blink of an eye, snatched the child from Sister Agape’s arms. As Matteo tried to stop him, Andrey held the child high, raging as if he would throw it away immediately.
“Andrey!”
“Damn it! I knew it! I knew this would happen…. Look, Sister! Does this look like a human child to you? Huh? Does this look human! Matteo, if you have eyes, look properly!”
Andrey shouted while roughly shaking the child. Just as Sister Agape approached to calm Andrey, the child burst into tears with a wah-. Simultaneously, the ground beneath them vibrated slightly. The crying grew more intense, and now even the furniture and fixtures in the room began to shake.
Andrey’s face turned pale, and his eyes looking at the child were consumed with fear. Terrified, he yelled, “Aah!” and threw the child, which Matteo quickly caught.
“D-devil! This is a devil!”
Andrey screamed and ran outside, while Matteo soothed and comforted the child in his arms. Belatedly regaining her senses, Sister Agape approached and looked down at the child.
“Sister… just now…”
“…Earthquakes… happen often.”
Though neither spoke of it, an uneasy feeling about the recent phenomenon lingered. Sister Agape took the child from Matteo and examined it carefully. Inside its open mouth, fangs as small as rice grains were visible; its hair was grayish, almost white; and its eyes created a mysterious hue, a mixture of gray and blue.
Children sometimes rarely had teeth when born, but usually, they were front teeth, not fangs first. So she understood why Andrey had made a scene and fled. But except for these peculiarities, the child was incredibly lovable, unlike a newborn.
It was already making baby faces, smiling brightly. Seeing this, Sister Agape tried to hide her anxiety and turned around with the child in her arms. The woman, who had been unconscious, was now staring intently at them.
Matteo approached the woman with a slightly excited expression.
“Are you conscious? Don’t worry. The child is safe.”
As he tried to show her the child’s face, the woman slowly shook her head and moved her lips. Sister Agape entrusted the child to Matteo and lowered herself toward the woman.
“It’s a healthy boy. He looks just like his mother.”
The woman exhaled roughly and slowly let out words. When infected with the virus, reason disappeared, leaving only instinct to bite and tear like a beast, but the woman, except for her appearance, was no different from a normal person.
“…you…”
“Huh?”
“…please…”
Sister Agape brought her ear close to the woman.
“What on earth…”
With a cracking sound, a short scream burst from Sister Agape’s mouth. When Matteo, who was soothing the child, turned his head, an unbelievable scene unfolded before him. The sharp scissors that had just cut the umbilical cord were now piercing the woman’s own head.
Blood splattered everywhere, and the pale Sister Agape struggled to hold the woman’s hand and remove the scissors. Matteo also hurriedly put down the baby and rushed to help.
“Are you crazy! What are you doing!”
Despite both of them trying to stop her, the woman didn’t budge and pushed the scissors even deeper into the opposite side. With a horrific sound of skull cracking, blood gushed out, and the woman’s eyes gradually submerged in water.
…Oh Lord.
Amid Sister Agape’s sobbing, the woman’s gaze finally turned toward the child. With an expression impossible to decipher, seeming to smile or cry, the woman stared at the child before taking her last breath.