My Undead System

Ch. 10 - First Shift

Jin smiled and raised his hand to stop her from talking further. He stepped to the side and showed them the door behind him. “Come in!”

He then looked at Jorge to confirm, and he received a nod of approval. Together, they went back inside the hospital as dusk was upon them. The last one to walk back was Jin. He rested the bat on his shoulder, and at a steady pace, joined them.

Once they were in, they shut the doors behind them. The girl with the emerald eyes thanked them and stood in front of Jin. He looked at her, confused. “Did you forget something?”

She shook her head as she fidgeted with her fingers. “As the warden’s daughter, I want to be the one to inform the father whose son we left behind…”

Jorge heard the girl and approached them. “I should be present…”

He looked in Kroll’s direction and sighed. “That guy is already a little unstable…”

Jorge and Jin joined the girl to break the news about his son. They approached him and swiftly asked him to move to some place away from the others. Although he was suspicious, he accepted. They went through a room down the corridor.

Jorge felt a little uncomfortable in that place. There was a table in the middle with a human figure under it and a sheet on top. Right after they entered, Jorge approached it and placed his hands close to the figure’s head.

The others simply waited for him, when Kroll broke the silence in a soft voice so as not to disturb Jorge’s prayer. “That was his wife…”

When he finished, he went back to the group. Jin looked at his sorrowful eyes. “I can help you bury her if you want…”

“Thank you. I waited for my son and his wife to first get here. Lily was with them, but she somehow ended up with you. Tell me what happened later…”

Jin nodded and turned his gaze at the girl with the emerald eyes. “Your turn…”

“Y-Yes. Mr. Kroll sir, I…”

“Is my son dead?”

They looked at him, surprised.

He scoffed at their reactions. “What? I recognized those guys’ uniforms from when I visited my son. If they are here and he’s not, they either abandoned him and ran or he died. If it’s the first, I’ll kill them here and now and get it over with.”

Kroll then looked at the girl, waiting for a response. She trembled and her words came out shaky. “T-The place was overrun. There were no survivors.”

Kroll stared into her eyes. “I believe you tell the truth, but I don’t believe for a second those words. Someone must’ve told you that…”

Surprised, the girl’s widened. “Barton… Barton told us!”

Jin got himself involved. “Let me guess. He’s the one we cut loose…”

The girl nodded. “That guy is indeed dangerous and after the world flipped, so did his mind.”

Jorge pondered over what she said. “Do you think he’ll come back?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. It’s possible…”

Jorge thought about it and turned to Jin. “Starting tonight, we’ll rotate and keep watch. We no longer worry only about the corpses!”

Jin, without sparing a single second, answered immediately. “I’ll take the first shift.”

The girl, having decided, spoke up. “I’ll join you. Barton is my responsibility. If he tries anything…”

Several minutes passed, and Kroll had said nothing for a while. Jorge and Jin sighed and looked at Kroll, worried he might do something. Jin, unable to keep it in, uttered. “What are you thinking?”

“What’s to think? Tomorrow morning I’ll go check for myself…”

Jorge wanted to stop him, but Jin didn’t let him. “I’ll come with you. Go and rest now.”

Taken aback by Jin’s willingness, Kroll refused. “What are you talking about? Coral will kill us… Besides, you don’t owe me anything.”

“I’ll talk with my mom tonight before my shift. I’m sure I can reason with her. She must’ve been in your shoes before I got here.”

Jorge chuckled. “You have no idea… Until you showed up, she caused all kinds of chaos trying to get out and look for you…”

Jin didn’t say anything out loud, but he secretly smiled in his heart. The girl who delivered the news remained silent. The whole time, she stared at the floor. She felt unable to raise her head and look Kroll in the eyes afterwards.

After they got out of the room, Jin went to Coral and spoke with her. At first, as they expected, she threw a tantrum and attacked Jorge and Kroll, but because her hand hurt, she held back her slaps. After she calmed down, she agreed reluctantly.

Once the dark veil covered the world, the patrols with weapons in their hands made rounds around the hospital. Jin took the first shift as planned. The girl with the emerald eyes accompanied him.

Maybe a few minutes passed, and Jin chuckled, which surprised the girl. “I’m Jin, by the way!”

She blushed and looked the other way. “That’s right. We didn’t introduce ourselves after everything that’s happened. “My name is Rena. Nice to meet you, Jin!”

With the bat on his shoulder, they walked the rounds for a few hours until the next shift replaced them.

The following morning, Jin met with Kroll at the front of the hospital. Kroll had a few white hairs on his brown beard and hair. He narrowed his blue eyes, wrinkles stretching at the corner of his eyes. Even though his shoulders were broad, he maintained a rectangular shape, which comprised muscles and fatty parts.

Jin and Kroll took the first step when they heard the door behind them, creaked ajar. A female voice became audible seconds later. “I’m coming too!”

Kroll looked back and saw Rena. “Definitely not!”

“Definitely yes! This, is also my responsibility as the daughter of the warden…”

She approached them. Her voice came out at a low volume. “I can’t look you in the eyes otherwise!”

Kroll admired that trait of hers. He shook his head once he realized he couldn't stop her. When Kroll caved, Jin nodded smilingly, which irritated him. “What are you smiling at?”

Jin chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s get going!”