Zombie Kiss

Chapter 3 "Worms"

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Zombie Kiss Vol.1 Chapter 3 "Worms"

If this world is an orange,

Humans are worms that devour the world,

And I am a "b.u.t.terfly"

The grim reaper who gives death

To all the worms.

"Worms"

Prologue

"If this world is an orange, humans are worms that devour the world."

"Have you heard… about the rumors surrounding this old clock tower?"

The uppercla.s.sman spoke to me as we explored the clock tower west of our university. In the pamphlet, it is said that this tower was built for the university"s anniversary. It was abandoned after some students committed suicide here.

"Look…"

The light shone to one side of the wall. We could see rows of letters on the wood illuminated by the orange light.

All of those letters… were people"s names.

"Rumors go: if you carve the name of someone you hate on the wall of this clock tower"s top floor, that person will die from a curse."

His voice echoed in the silent building like ripples on a still lake.

The top of the clock tower was a small, simple room without any decorations. There were lanterns hung on the walls, and some plastic barrels that contained fuel.

A window without gla.s.s showed a nighttime scenery illuminated by faraway lights. It seemed to belong to a different world.

"Is it possible…"

I made an inquisitive face.

"That the murders around our university had something to do with this curse?"

"Oh? The Eyeless Murder Returns?"

The talk of the town months ago was a case called the "Eyeless Murder", where bodies of woman with eyes gouged were discovered. Even though all news channels covered stories on the case, the culprit was still on the loose. And, the case went cold.

…As if nothing ever happened.

In the end, the police tried to close the case.

But it took an unexpected turn, because one month ago an eyeless body was discovered on the streets. The wounds were no different from the original case, so the police added a "returns" to the name, as if it were a sequel scarier than the original.

"Impossible. The curse predates the case. And the murder was just some psycho"s doing."

The uppercla.s.sman spoke with disgust.

"d.a.m.n, I really want to know what these people are thinking. How can they kill without feeling anything?"

He complained and read the names on the wall, then used his phone to snap a photo.

I got curious in his actions and asked:

"You look like you are enjoying this. If the curse is real, that means those people whose names are on the wall will die, right?"

"Silly. How can a stupid curse kill anyone?"

The uppercla.s.sman focused on taking pictures.

"If it really does, then too bad for them."

"Then, too bad for you…"

Stab!

A knife pierced in his neck to the hilt.

"Since your name is on the wall, it"s really too bad…"

I smiled and pointed to his name carved on the opposite wall.

"Anyway, please die right now, will you?"

I withdrew the knife. Blood spurted out like a fountain along with a strong smell of rust that entered my throat.

His body sank to the ground and writhed like a worm.

"Oh, earlier you said you wanted to know what people who kill are thinking?"

The speechless worm looked at me with resentment, confusion, and fear as if I"m a stranger, a sinister being, or something that was no longer human.

"We don"t think about anything."

I waited until he stopped wriggling, then wiped the blood on knife with his clothes and crossed his name out.

Today, another worm was eliminated…

[h.e.l.lo, I am reporting from the site of the murder, where the latest victim was discovered. This is a road in front of a university that you see directly behind me…]

The female reporter talked amid chaos of policemen who were collecting evidence. Even though they moved the body somewhere else minutes ago, the rotten smell and the large pool of blood were enough indicator of what happened.

To others, this was where a person was killed, but to me…

This was a masterpiece gallery…

I admired this masterpiece from outside the "do not enter" tape. My eyes fixed on the pool of blood without a thought of covering my interest, since at a glance I was no different from those around me.

Those who hurried to their workplace, those who slowed their cars to peek, and even those who act disgusted or closed their eyes at the sight, none of them seemed wanting to run away.

Humans are always interested in other"s miseries…

[From the interview, the police are investigating to find a link between all cases that are happening consecutively. Right now, they are suspecting a personal hatred…]

Pfft…. how pitiful. That kind of perfunctory answer is like an art critic who does not understand the color theory…

I stand my ground that I had no background or hatred towards the victim as the reporter claimed, because I was apathetic.

To me, humans were all disgusting maggots wriggling on the ground. When stepped on, they could only be mushy slime on my shoe soles.

I just utilized the curse to randomize a name on the clock tower to kill.

Our world is unreasonable, that"s a given.

I could not figure out where I went wrong. I grew up in a regular family, no history of abuse or relationship problems.

But the gears in my head told me I was different from others.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

An easy question, but that caused great misery to me, since no matter how I tried to come up with an answer with every cell of my cerebrum, I could not find a job suitable for a normal human being I want.

I don"t want to be a worm…

I don"t want to be a worm until I die…

In the end, I answered "a doctor, since my parents wanted me to become one."

That was a disgusting worm"s hopeless life.

My watch said it was already twenty minutes. A friend in the faculty told me that all cla.s.ses were cancelled. I could do anything I wish and observe my works as much as I wanted.

But then I had to stop looking when a familiar person got away from the crowd.

"Hey, president."

I called out.

The man who wore an impa.s.sive face turned around and smiled.

"President" was his nickname derived from his position. Even though I did not know him personally, I knew he was a dependable man whom everyone could rely on. Maybe because he was not good at declining, and was polite and humble; he was the favourite of our faculty, cla.s.smates and uppercla.s.smen alike.

"You told me there"s no cla.s.s, but why aren"t you home yet?"

"Oh, there is one person I cannot contact…"

The president looked at a name list in his hand.

"ID 074125 Vakin Rattananurakwong"

"Ah, that guy… president, just ignore him. He"s a loner. He only reads weird books, and when people talk to him, he scorned them. That"s why he had no friends since the start of the year."

I used terms suitable for normal people. Acting friendly and blending in were my forte.

Of course, my fine mask will never come off easily.

But in my heart, I felt that this "Vakin" guy was quite interesting. At a glance, he seemed like a distorted and disgusting man.

But one day when we pa.s.sed each other, I met his eyes.

His eyes looked at me as if I"m an object, not a human being.

That moment, I knew he was a b.u.t.terfly like me…

I felt like that time when I was graduating from high school. The time I met someone for the first time.

…The person who taught me to evolve from a worm into a b.u.t.terfly…

The one whom society called "Eyeless Murderer".

After I met him, I became a pupa. I waited until I got into university, and heard about the clock tower"s curse.

I snuck in there multiple times and stared at all the hatred engraved on those wooden walls.

One day, I selected a name and gave death the same way the Eyeless Murderer did. I could not remember who my first victim was. My brain only knew the moment my knife cut across that worm"s flesh, my rotten world became colorful.

Like a b.u.t.terfly breaking out of its pupa…

The curse was a perfect cover, protecting me from becoming a suspect. n.o.body believed the true cause of death was that their names were written on the wall. Even those who put the names there did not think their hatred would cause a man"s death. Some thought the same thing as the man who died last night…

…It"s just too bad for them…

"I thought he would pa.s.s by the faculty building, but this is already half an hour and still no shadow of him."

The president scratched his neck.

"Huh? That means you were here before the police took the body away."

I made my face seemed like I was surprised.

"You"re resilient. You don"t look scared at all."

"I am a medical student, after all. It would be troublesome if I am scared of a corpse."

He smiled before continuing to speak.

"Another thing, I felt that the corpse is more like a piece of art."

My heart throbbed, and I looked at him.

"Judging from previous cases, the culprit placed the corpse somewhere where there is a lot of traffic and could be easily seen, even though most culprits would hide the body to keep the case away from themselves. This time, it seems like the culprit wants to brag what he did."

I got gooseb.u.mps. This was the first time I ever heard a comment that was right on spot, and moreover, not from an a.n.a.lytic or a policeman.

This feeling… is called excitement, huh?

Can"t believe…aside from killing….this living human could make me excited…

"You sound like a detective."

"I just used what I learned in cla.s.s."

The president talked humbly.

"Oh, you mean the psychoa.n.a.lysis cla.s.s we took?"

One topic in psychology talks about how to use psychoa.n.a.lysis to explain human behaviors.

"What clues have you got?"

I pretended to be interested in what he had to say. Well, I admit that his a.n.a.lysis. .h.i.t the mark, so it was not hard to pretend.

…You want to test your theories, and now you have it.

The president took out a thin book. It was the pamphlet we got during our orientation. Inside were basic information about this university.

He unfolded the pamphlet to look at the map, which was a guide to areas inside and outside our university… but his map had red marks on it.

…And those marks were all too familiar.

"Theses red marks… are the places the culprit left his victims?"

I asked even though I already knew the answer.

"The culprit must be someone a.s.sociated with our university. Look at the places he left his corpses. I was surprised why he did not take them somewhere far away, but left them in the realm of this map, so I think the culprit is not a local and used this map as a guide. Another thing…"

He pointed to red crosses cl.u.s.tered to the right.

"…I think the place where the culprit kills his victims before disposing them might be to the west, since he seemed to avoid that area."

This guy… I really want to applause…

If he"s a worm, then he"s a useful silkworm.

It"s really too bad, but…

This man will never become a b.u.t.terfly…

…No, I did not wish to kill him because he knew too much.

As I said, this world is unreasonable.

The president"s name was the latest name written on the wall…

…In other words, the worm that I will eliminate today.

"If that"s the case… then I could guess where he commits his crimes…"

I spat out the words in my mind.

Maybe we"re too used to this convenient world that we forget how close danger lurks.

Every one of my victims fell for a simple trick. The most effective one was to pretend to ask for help, since the kind preys would help me without a second thought.

As we walked, I thought of how I should eliminate this worm. Say, where I should stab him, for example.

If you could not imagine how I felt, think about how you chose what to eat for dinner.

"You… wear brand name shoes."

As we ascended the clock tower, the president spoke up. His eyes fixed on the floorboard where my footprint left a mark on the thick dust.

"I like this brand. It"s comfortable."

I answered, thinking that it was strange he decided to talk about my shoes out of the blue.

"Are you nervous?"

He asked.

"You put your hands in your pocket. They say this kind of behavior indicates anxiety."

This is strange…

I could not describe how I felt, but the president seemed like he had a shadow over his entire body.

"What? Using psychology on me?"

"No, I have no interests in living human. But the corpses you killed is another story…"

His voice was nonchalant. I felt shocked and turned around.

This is really strange….

Was this man really that friendly and dependable president…?

"What kind of joke is that…?"

I smiled to cover my panic.

He sighed and explained.

"I like finding places where people died."

Never thought that sentence could leave this guy"s mouth.

"This clock tower is my leisure spot. When I knew the suicides really did happen, I usually come here and stand by the window, staring at the ground where some time ago, someone"s corpse lay, and enjoy inhaling the smell of previous deaths. Death… no matter how long ago will "remain" death, no changes. And sometimes, I hope… I will see new deaths."

He paused, eyes staring at me.

"But it is a shame that I do not get to come here that often anymore. Being a president is quite time consuming."

He shrugged.

"So when I returned, I smelled fresh death. That should be around the time you started killing…"

"There is nothing indicating that I am the culprit…"

"True, there is none. So then I took a guess, see…"

He walked over the wall where his name was.

"I carved my own name right here."

"Ariya Aphisuriyakul"

What…?!?

"I knew the culprit randomizes his victim"s names from here, but if you think about it, none of the victims are alumnis or retired professors."

…All victims were those who are presently a.s.sociated with the university.

"So, my name was your invitation card."

I realized it was a huge mistake to select Ariya as my prey…

The moment I brought him here, I exposed myself as the culprit…

"And one more thing you overlooked…"

Ariya"s eyes casted down to the ground.

"n.o.body cleans this place, so naturally there is a lot of dust. You can see footprints clearly. There are multiple footprints coming in the door… but only one going out."

"…The footprints of the shoes I"m wearing, huh…?"

"Yes. So I knew you killed here before moving them somewhere else."

"Ariya, I never thought you had these kinds of twisted thoughts."

I took out my knife. My eyes gleamed like a lion waiting to tear its prey apart.

"But no matter what, your reasoning is useless. I don"t care if you wrote your name or someone else did it; today, you die here."

"Aw, I"m just an appreciator wanting to meet the artist."

Ariya smiled, but that made me shiver.

Even though you"re going to die, why are you smiling…!?!

"Why… why aren"t you afraid of death…!?!"

I clenched the knife as my whole body tensed up.

"Do you think death is such an easy, simple thing?"

Ariya asked.

"Of course! Just plunge the knife and someone"s dead! Maybe those guys might live for another ten, twenty years, or maybe until they get all old and wrinkly! But, I can take their lifespan from them easily. Whoever it is, I can sentence he or she to death, because I"m not a worm. I"m an evolved b.u.t.terfly!"

"You are…truly worthless."

Suddenly, my brain felt like it was splashed by cold water. Before I could speak, he took my words from my mouth and threw them out the window.

"Sentence someone to death? Humans like to think they are smart enough to control everything. Actually, they are like dust mites compared to the whole universe. How can pathetic dust mites determine something as holy as "death"?"

Ariya"s voice was cold, and he looked down at me as if I"m some useless garbage.

Though I see him every day, I never saw him with that kind of face.

"Death is predetermined."

"But…still…"

"What you did is simply killing people."

Ariya explained.

"Simply speaking, in my views, you did not give anyone the death sentence, but your victims died because you caused their death. You are merely a tool for death."

Tool? That"s stupid!

I felt like a nail just hammered through my skull. I bit my lips so hard they bled, but the pain was nothing compared to his words that rained down like a shower of swords.

"You do not understand death. You are just a kid imitating you favorite TV idol, but the idol you chose to imitate just so happens to be a psychopath."

"Shut up…"

"You think that if you can fly, you are a b.u.t.terfly… but in reality you are just a maggot morphed into a house fly."

"I said shut up…"

"Speaking of which, those corpses are more valuable than you."

"Shut up… shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!!!"

I lunged forward with knife in hand.

"You"re crazy, Ariya… You lost your mind! Die!!!"

"Crazy? You too."

Gush…!!!

The knife penetrated a plastic barrel Ariya held up. The oil inside spilled all over the ground. The moment I wrinkled my face from the smell, Ariya rammed the barrel into my stomach. I flew backwards, knife falling from hand.

When I regained my balance, I froze.

Because of a lighter in Ariya"s hand…

"What are you doing…?"

Ariya smiled as an answer, but that smiled was twisted. From someone I always viewed as pure white, he slowly turned grey and finally, black.

No…this guy…isn"t human anymore…

…But a darkness, like an endless rabbit hole…

"Alright, if you like to give the death sentence, why not give one to yourself?"

"No…"

The lighter fell.

Orange flames burst from the ground and slithered along the fuel, surrounding both of us. No matter where I looked, I could only see the flames getting closer.

My skin was burning. However, the man in front of me was unaffected.

He was having fun…

…And I will be killed.

I gave other people their death, but that fraction of a second was the first time I knew what death truly means.

And the next second, I felt terrified. My heart beat faster as the man approached me.

"What is the matter? I am giving you the death you deserve…"

He had no weapon in hand, but I felt an immense amount of pressure, cold and strangling as if I was tied up in a coffin.

…that knife…

I saw the weapon"s shiny surface on the ground.

…Yes…just take the knife…slash this b.a.s.t.a.r.d…and run away from here…such an easy thing.

"You are still a worm no matter how you struggle."

…It"s useless. My legs shook so badly they could never move. Hopelessness filled every s.p.a.ce in my mind.

"Come on! Show me the fairest death of all."

"Don"t…don"t come here…"

I was seized by panic and stepped backwards to where the flames were, but I did not care.

Just get me away from here!

"Ahhhhhhh!!!"

The flames licked my skin and slowly turned it into crisps. I dropped to the ground and thrashed as if I was bit by a thousand ants. My skins melted. Smell of burning flesh wafted into my nostrils. The smell of my flesh…

I could hear a pitiful moan.

Oh wait, it"s my voice…

And then I saw the G.o.d of death…

He was smiling gently…

I remember now…those eyes were the same eyes as when he stared at the murder site…

I"m becoming his masterpiece artwork.

No…No, please…NOOOOOOOOOOO… I"m scared…scared scaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscaredscared

"No…I don"t wanna die…"

I struggled to move. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I wailed. It was shameful, but I could only thought of one thing.

"Help…I…I don"t wanna die. I don"t want to die!!!!"

"If you don"t wanna die, then jump!!"

My dwindled consciousness got on full alert. The solution that voice told me was a risky one.

But I had no time to hesitate. No matter what, I need to survive…

I gathered the last bit of strength and pushed myself towards the empty window frame, then lunged outside. Gravity pulled me down, and I crashed to the ground. My bones were crushed, and pain ran through my spine and legs. I could not even let out a cry.

Ugh…I can"t… I can"t move…. My spine must"ve broke…

So painful… Am I dying…?

For a moment I had no energy left in me to struggle. I could only roll my eyes around to find something that could help.

…Then I saw someone.

"You…Vakin…"

A tall man stood there. Usually, his eyes were apathetic as if he had no care if the world were to crumble tomorrow. However, he was my light and my last hope to escape death.

Tears gushed out of my eyes. I reached my hands to my last straw.

But sadly, that light was the sun that burns everything that went near…

"Don"t misunderstand. I have no intention of helping you."

Vakin looked at me impa.s.sively. I was in a state where some of my flesh were toasted and fell of, revealing bright red meat inside. Blood and fluids reeked. Arms and legs twisted in different directions… An image straight from a horror movie.

But he looked at me as if I was in a normal condition.

"If you surrender to death, you are no different from those worms you killed."

This man knew what I did…?

No…what kind of life is this?

If I struggle, I"m a worm. If I surrender, I"m still a worm.

"I just wanted to know if your will to survive is strong enough for you to risk a jump from that height."

Just that…?

"Just that?"

Ariya strolled out from the smoking clock tower. No other people were around. Since they were all interested in my murder case, they were all on the other side.

"Did you know you made him lose his worth?"

Ariya"s voice was friendly, but his eyes could not hide the frustration.

"I don"t care about that worth of yours."

Vakin replied.

"This guy"s still worthless, dead or alive."

Ariya judged me, then took something out.

A silver gleam…

My knife…

"Well then, shall I give you your afterlife value…?"

"Pfft." Vakin smirked.

"If you stop struggling, then what worth do you have left?"

"Why do we need to resist death?"

"Why? Isn"t that human"s obligation?"

They were on different sides, but Ariya was clearly more interested when talking to Vakin than when he talked to me.

Ariya looked at me coldly, like I"m some worthless object not good enough for him to care.

But Vakin…

I didn"t know how Ariya ranked Vakin.

Friend? Foe?

But clearly he"s good enough to make Ariya take interest in a living human.

"So what will it be? You need to decide before others get here."

Ariya stated, eyes glancing at Vakin.

"That"s easy. His life, let him decide."

"That is true…"

A silver knife was thrown in front of me.

The gleam pierced my eyes as if laughing at my state.

"Live or die, it"s your choice to choose."

The two said in unison.

I forced a smile at my own shameful state. The shame of thinking of myself as a b.u.t.terfly… a G.o.d and a satan who could give others their deaths…

And now I know I am nothing of the likes, when confronted with the real G.o.d and the real satan.

Their choices are not the path to hope…

…They just raised their feet and,

"Crushed this weak worm into slime on their shoe soles"

Epilogue

[Clock tower fire, survivor went insane]

I read the news on my laptop, then saved it.

…I usually saved interesting news so I could reread them over again. Sometimes, I watched videos where people"s deaths were recorded. The view count were as high as a famous singer"s music video.

I could not help but think that somewhere in this world, there are others who were captivated by death, like me.

But a recording is a recording. It is not enjoyable… like a concert that must be watched live.

…Like supply and demand, where the lesser the supply, the more its value…

Yes, every one only dies once… that is why it is so valuable.

I stared at the knife in hand. The sharpness of the tip made it seem dangerous and charming. When I closed my eyes, I felt the screams of terror inside the blades.

As if it was a berserk beast, with endless l.u.s.t for blood and death.

I touched the knife. The feeling was similar to stroking a beloved pet.

To be honest, I felt that losing my leisure spot was a pity.

But I felt a greater pity for the fact that…

The killer should have lived a little longer.

Not because I felt bad for him…

But…

"I want to know… someone like him, what kind of worth would he have when he dies?"

I thought of a name I want to write on the wall of the cursed clock tower.

That man who worshipped staying alive, my polar opposite…

"Vakin"

Chapter 3 – End-

[Comment: We are now officially ¾ through the first volume! Am I happy? Well, my favorite short story is in the second volume, so I can"t wait to translate it.

I am on summer break, so the chapters should come out pretty fast. I think I"ll be able to catch up with the original release in about a month, so don"t go anywhere yet.

Thank you for reading Zombie Kiss!]

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