Chapter 50 - Aftermath

Switching out with her mother, Saya flew down the stairs and about tackled me. Telling me how petrified she was when the dead started getting on the ship, she was thankful I arrived when I did. Giving her a reassuring hug, I also could tell her heart was hurting having sent people away since we couldn't house everyone that came. She more than likely felt she decided who lived and who died as she selected people to board the ship. For the people that made it out of the city, they would be chased by the remaining horde to Seoul. There was a very high chance the military wouldn't let them into the city when they arrived, and if they didn't they had no where to run. Those thoughts were likely plaguing her mind, and I felt bad for pushing it on her. That sort of decision should be on my shoulders as the leader, not hers.

"Saya, you got everyone onboard safely and everyone is alive.", I told her.

"Still...I...I sent all those people away.", she started to sniffle, "Women with babies in their arms...scared children wanting to be held...I sent so many of them away..."

"Saya, we can't save everyone.", I calmly said as she started crying, "I put a heavy burden on your shoulders, it's not something I ever wanted to make you do."

"Is this how bad you felt in Tokyo?", she asked, "I...I didn't know it could hurt so much!!"

Holding her tightly, I told her that she did what she had to so everyone on the ship could live. Saying that her actions saved hundreds of people, I went on to say that she did the best she could given the situation.

"No one blames you for make the tough decision there Saya, if it falls on anyone's shoulders it's the government and the leadership of the city. They didn't tell us they had no intention of holding the city, those people shouldn't have been there in the first place.", I said brushing her hair, "I understand that making that call isn't easy, it should never be easy. We are good people, none of us want see innocent people die. If you still feel guilty, it is just as my responsibility as it is yours."

Giving her some time to calm down, she thanked me for comforting her and holding her. Offering to come with me to see the survivors, I said that would be fine. Going down to the cargo hold, I found everyone was sitting with blankets and some water. Removing my helmet as I walked in, I quickly glanced over the people here. No one was infected, but a few had ingested worm eggs so they would need the serum and parasite treatment to prevent being taken over.

Telling Kyoko to get the people settled in open rooms we had, I said to accommodate the few pregnant women as best as she could. Nodding her head, Kyoko told the group to follow her for room assignments. As the group started to get up to leave, one of the single mother's stood up with an angry glare aimed at Saya.

"Why couldn't you save more people, you had plenty of room!? My sister was trying to get on, but you stopped her!!", she cried, "I lost my husband, parents, and now my sister!! You killed-"

"Shut your damn mouth!!", I shouted silencing the woman.

"Every single one of you had weeks to flee to Seoul or elsewhere for better protection!! Each and every adult here knew the military wasn't going to come to save you yet you stayed there!! We did what we could to help you out of kindness, and you make unrealistic demands like saving every single person in the city!!", I said walking down the stairs towards her, "Tell me what exactly any of you did to further your chances of surviving this!? Did any of you make attempts to flee the city? Did any of you try to help fortify the city, or help your fellow citizens out? No, all of you decided to sit on your asses and plead for someone else to come save you!! This isn't the same world it was a few months ago, this world is a cruel and unforgiving place!! If you aren't willing to put in the effort to survive it will eat you alive. We did everything we could to save as many as we could support!! Right now I have people on operating tables who took bullets for all of you!! They risked their lives for you!! They have families that are praying they survive to see tomorrow!! Don't you dare come at us like there was anything more we could have done for you."

Trying to say more to fight me, the mother could only open her mouth but nothing came out. Eventually she closed her mouth, and hung her head.

"I understand all of you lost people you love and care about. No one is saying that you can't mourn their passing, or weep for you loss. Taking your anger out on us won't bring them back nor is it going to improve your situation further.", I said calmly, "She followed my orders because we only have so much supplies to give. Just like all of you we are trying to survive, I have families here that I have to ensure have food on their plates."

Remaining silent after that, she was done shouting for the time being. Leaving the room with the people I brought in, I left it to Kyoko to sort out their quarters. Heading to the wheelhouse, I took the helm and got us out of the area in a hurry. My map showed me that a larger horde was coming down from China, and was heading for Seoul so I wanted to be far away from here when they arrived.

'We will need to make supply runs to replenish goods, and ensure we have enough hygiene items for everyone. We don't know when the next we can make a supply run.', I thought looking at the map, 'Where is a good place to resupply...'

Looking down the coast from us, the city of Gunsan-si looked promising. The Undead and Demon presence was small, and there were still people living there. We could attempt to make friendly contact with them to get supplies or barter for goods. It would take about 4 hours if we traveled at 30 knots so that was the best option for the time being. Giving the information to the women, they agreed that it would be a nice change of pace to barter instead of loot.

"Are we sure the city is safe?", Kiriko and Rei asked.

"The large horde was trapped at the border. I suspect there are some enemies there, but it should be hopefully less than what we had in Incheon.", I replied, "We will cautious with our approach, let the elite team know we will need their assistance."

"I got it.", Oriha said jumping out of the gunner seat, "I will let them know, and then take a look at the ammo supplies!"

"Okay...just blow something up.", I snickered.

"Ugh, you hurt my pride!! I wouldn't do that...right now anyways.", Oriha laughed.

"That's exactly why he said that.", Sayo teased.

"All of you are so mean!", Oriha said running off.

Giving her a smile as she ran out the door, I set our heading for Gunsan-si.

---Four Hours Later---

Gunsan-si's port came into view, but it was clear they didn't have a spot large enough for the warship to dock. Watching us come towards them, many people gathered on the pier and waved to us. Dropping anchor a few hundred feet from shore we used a smaller boat onboard to get to shore. Ferrying everyone that needed to go onshore over, I requested to speak with the leader of the city. Making a call to their leader, he came out to meet us a short time after that.

"Good Afternoon!", he said shaking my hand, "My name is Joo-won, the leader of Gunsan-si."

"Joo-won...it's been a while...", Ji-u remarked softly.

"Ji-u!? I haven't seen you since University!", he laughed, "How have you been? Seo-ah wanted to visit you before the world collapsed...why is the leader of Incheon here?"

"Incheon...we...we weren't able to hold it.", Ji-u answered with a pale expression, "The city has fallen."

Hearing that the warm atmosphere sudden got very cold. News had yet to spread of the loss of the city. Realizing that a major border city had fallen, many of the locals looked terrified.

"Please tell me this is a cruel joke...where is the military?", Joo-won asked.

"They...they abandoned us!!", Ji-u cried falling to her knees, "I pleaded with the President for aid, I pressed my face into the dirt begging for any aid they could provide. The President told me to make do with that I had, and to hold the city as long as I could. We lost several hundred thousand people building a wall, and those beasts...they crashed against it like a sea of destruction. They tore the walls down, and many of the surviving people fled to Seoul."

"No...no that can't be right.", Joo-won said, "He...he said the military was holding the border!"

"Joo-won, he lied!! I watched my people be torn apart by those things!!", Ji-u stated grabbing his arms, "I watched them kill anyone that was breathing!! Man, woman, and child...not one was spared from their fury!!"

"Good lord, I...I have to inform the other cities!!", he panicked, "We have to muster our defenses more than we have now!! There are villages that are in their path on their way here!! I have to warn them!! How large was the horde?"

"Five million.", I answered.

Falling over from shock several people fainted from disbelief. Showing them the footage I had his face paled with fear. Telling him that we managed to kill most of it, I stated that about a hundred thousand managed to escape the city heading for Seoul and this direction.

"That isn't the only problem, I have intel that suggestions another horde of closer to fifty million are heading down from China.", I told him.

"Fi...fifty million!?", he shrieked, "I don't have time to wait!! I have to alert people now!! How long till they reach our border?"

"Five to eight days depending on weather and terrain issues.", I replied.

"Thank you for warning us!", he said shaking our hands, "I have to warn our countrymen, and take to this chance to escape. If there is anything we can help you with please let us know."

"I was hoping to barter for some supplies we need, we took in about four hundred survivors in the chaos.", I remarked.

"Absolutely, please barter for what you need.", Joo-won stated before running back to his office to make emergency calls.

---Third Person POV---

Running as fast as his legs could take him, Joo-won ran for his office. Up till now the government had been telling people the border was secure and that they had teams eliminating the Undead and Demons as they appeared. Getting to his office, he picked up the phone and immediately called the President's Office. A few rings later the President answered the call himself.

"Joo-won, our conference call wasn't till-"

"Mr. President, Ji-u from Incheon just showed up in my city on an American Warship. Why hasn't an alert gone out that Incheon has fallen!!", he demanded, "Their leader said over one hundred thousand of those things escaped the city."

"That's far less than our people estimated...that is good news.", the President sighed.

"Good News!! The whole city was lost, and thousands were displaced!!", Joo-won shouted, "Ji-u told me she pleaded for assistance from you, and received nothing!! Why have you been saying that we-"

"If I told you that we weren't holding the border, what would the public do!?", the President remarked, "We kept it under wraps, we recalled most of the military assets to Seoul to secure the capital."

"Then Yangju-si wasn't evacuated...", Joo-won seethed, "You bastards!! My little sister and her husband were living there!! I told them to stay, and wait for the evacuation that you promised!!"

"I did what was needed to protect the capital, sacrifices were needed to protect the city. Our allies are gone, and we don't have the assets to protect the entire country!", the President said, "In order to keep some semblance of peace we had to lie."

"...she was expecting their first child, my niece. If I hadn't listened to you she'd have made it here with her husband!!", Joo-won shouted as tears ran down his face, "Our country has abandoned us...you secured the politicians, and left the people to fend for ourselves!!"

"Joo-won...I...I am sorry, I didn't have any other options.", he admitted.

"You could have told us the truth so we could have prepared. Now we are weeks away from an overwhelming horde coming from China...", Joo-won stated wiping his tears away.

"How did you know that!? That information just arrived on my desk not more than a moment ago!", the President spat.

"The American Leader told me!!", Joo-won said clutching his fist, "If you won't tell the country, I will!!"

"Joo-won, don't do this!! If you sound the alarm now it will cause mass chaos!!", the President shouted, "Someone cut off the lines in Gunsan-si!!"

"I would rather our people know what is coming than watch helplessly as death comes for them!!", Joo-won said hanging the phone up.

Making calls to several of his closest colleagues around the country, he warned them of the impending danger before his phones were disconnected. Cursing the politicians responsible for this shitty situation, he orders his subordinates to prepare for an evacuation of the city. Since he could no longer trust that the government was going to provide support or rescue he had to take things into his own hands.

---Victor POV---

"That completes the transaction.", Yuriko told me as excess Kraken was offloaded from the ship.

Having used her business expertise to negotiate with several stores, she had traded them some of Kraken meat for supplies we needed. The situation played in our favor as the people were look for long term food solutions for the road. They wanted to ensure they had supplies for their journey as they understood they needed to leave this place with the impending threat coming for them. Swapping for items they wouldn't have a use for while on the run, Yuriko managed to get us a good deal on everything.

'Not like I can't go kill another Kraken if I needed too.', I thought, 'I can use my new technique to pull it out of the water with ease.'

Thanking us for alerting them of the danger, once we were done swapping goods they hurried off to get ready to leave. Noticing that the townspeople were moving with a purpose, I was happy to see that at least one mayor had some common sense. Telling my group to get ready to depart, Joo-won returned with a serious look.

"The President has cut off our phones lines because I told my colleagues of their betrayal.", he told me, "I wish to request a favor, if I may."

"I am listening.", I replied.

"I know asking you to take the city populace with you is not possible. On behalf of the city, please escort our citizens southward towards the small islands off the southern coast. I know that some of them are habitable with little to no populace on them.", he told me, "We will be safe there from the Undead and Demons."

Confirming there were no living people on the islands in question while he explained his plan, it seemed like he had the plan well thought out. The islands did have animals on them, but due to no human contact the animals weren't infected with the virus. The request wasn't too difficult, we were already going to pass by the islands as we went around the peninsula so it wasn't out of our way.

"On the water there are few enemies to worry about, so why do you want protection?", I questioned.

"The fishermen have reported giant squids attacking their boats.", he said, "We will be easy prey for a group of them. If we are in close proximity of your ship they will likely leave us be."

"That isn't exactly true, our boat was attacked by a Kraken.", Yuriko stated.

"It was!?", he gasped.

"Yes, Victor killed it though.", Sayo bragged patting me on the back.

"Then I must beg you to see us to the island.", he pleaded.

"In exchange, I would like to get a few crates of fruit for my ship. Our ultimate destination is some distance away, and fruit would be very welcomed.", I replied.

"Absolutely, we are a major trade hub for smaller villages up river. If you are asking for fruit we can certainly provide crates of that, we would be leaving them behind anyways so please take what you need.", he said accepting the price.

"Very well, I accept the request.", I told him shaking his hand, "We will stay docked off shore here, let us know when you are ready to set out."

"Thank you!!", he said lowering his head.

Leaving him to prepare his people to go, we loaded up several crates of fruit and returned to the ship. Once we were out of hearing range, Yuriko and Sayo asked why I accepted the offer.

"We will be staying close to the coastline, no one will be exposed to any undue risk, and we get more supplies we needed. Ultimately we were going to head by the islands anyways on our way around the southern tip of South Korea, there is no reason to say no. Unlike someone, he is being straightforward with his request and understands the best solution is to leave while he can.", I said shooting a dirty look at Ji-u.

Getting the supplies loaded onto the ship, I told the rest group what the plan was. Reassuring them that I would handle things, they agreed to trust me and were happy to go along with the plan. Since we wouldn't be on land again, everyone seemed to agree it was a fair request to accept especially as we were already going that way. Sure it would take us a bit longer, but that wasn't a big deal.

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Author Note:

Just to give everyone a heads up, I will likely not be posting the week between Christmas and New Years. I will be spending time with my loved ones as many of you likely will be as well.