The Executioner of Horror Films

Part two

*From the face of Sok Wu*

The station was a whirlwind of noise and movement, a chaotic mess that reflected the turmoil in my own life. I was late as usual, my thoughts were still half focused on endless calls and emails from work. I barely had enough time for my daughter Suan, and this trip to Busan seemed to be another item on the endless list of things to do.

I should have been there on her birthday party, I should have spent more time with her, but that was my life, a series of wrong decisions that I called work.

Suan stood quietly next to me, her little hand squeezed the backpack, there was a mixture of excitement and fear in her eyes. She was going to visit her mother, and that was all that mattered to her, even though we had to go for several hours. I tried to smile, assure her that everything was fine, but I felt an alarm knot formed in my chest.

The news was full of reports of strange incidents, and a strange tension hung in the air of the radio station. People were running, pushing and screaming as if something terrible had happened.

The KTX express train was our salvation, at least for the next few hours. The platform was packed, people were pushing to get on board, some of them looked pale and excited, but I just thought they were tired. It was a mess, but I got used to it. People always try to get ahead, but it was just a train ride, nothing more. I didn't understand the general panic, but I learned to ignore it.

We got on the train, and I found a seat by the window, trying to ignore the feeling of awkwardness that intensified with every second. Suan was sitting next to me, looking out the window, her imagination probably took her to a happier place. I looked at the passengers around us. The car was packed, people did not break away from their phones, some whispered anxiously. Again there was that strange tension, the feeling that something was very wrong, the feeling of an approaching storm.

Then I saw him, the man who just got on the train behind us. He stood across the aisle, a mystery in the midst of chaos. He looked inappropriate, his clothes were dark and unperturbed, his eyes watched everything with a strange, detached intensity. He was smiling, and his gaze made me feel that he was looking at something that no one else could see. He was probably just another businessman returning home, but I couldn't get rid of the feeling that something was wrong. I couldn't figure out what exactly, but it made me feel uncomfortable.

He was watching us, or maybe just looking in our direction, it's hard to say. There was something strange about him; he moved with a strange grace, like a predator chasing his victim. I tried to ignore him, but his presence was nervous. He seemed too calm in the midst of general anxiety. Then he spoke, his voice was quiet, but clear enough to be heard through the muttering of other passengers.

So," he said, meeting my eyes. That's what they call an express trip to chaos, right?

I was amazed to meet his eyes. Usually I was very good at people, but this guy... I couldn't figure out who he was. He seemed ... different.

Who are you? I asked, my voice sounded a little sharper than I intended.

He grinned, flashing his white teeth in the dim light of the car. Call me Mark. And consider me your ... fellow traveler. Everything seems to be getting interesting.

Before I could answer, a heartbreaking scream came from the front of the train, followed by the furious screams of other passengers. News about "strange incidents" that I ignored now exploded before my eyes. The train began to shake from the movement of people rushing to the back of the cars. I had a terrible feeling.

I stood up, grabbing Xuan by the hand, ready to protect her from everything that was coming. I had no idea what was going on, but I knew we had to get to a safe place. The world I knew had to change forever. I didn't understand what Mark was talking about, but these words echoed in my head, an express trip into chaos. He seemed to know that it would happen.

*On behalf of Mark*

Ah, the sweet sound of chaos. Screams, frantic fuss, a distinct knock of infected people cooking food from passengers - it was like a symphony of the damned, and I was a conductor.

The sudden transition from a worldly train to a full-scale zombie apocalypse was almost... refreshing. The system was happy, apparently, how my glasses began to increase with each infected creature on the train. It was much more interesting than any other world I visited.

The scream was like a launcher, a trigger that triggered chaos. People suddenly abandoned their phones and work, their faces turned into masks of pure, genuine horror.

Infected, their bodies twitched, and their limbs waved, began to swarm like a horde of voracious locust. It was a flash from the movie, and I had seats in the front row. I just needed to find out exactly how I was going to protect a man and a girl.

A man named Sok wu grabbed her daughter and pulled her to her when the car panicked. I watched them, their eyes were wide open with fear, a perfect example of why I preferred loneliness. They were my target, they were the ones I had to protect, and it was a spliner in the ass, to be honest.

I let them panic a little, allowing the chaos to swallow them up. It was like a warm-up that made them know that this was not a movie and it would not be a walk in the park. I could just destroy the whole train with a wave of my hand, but the System clearly stated that it was not part of my tasks.

I had to protect these two, and there was something I didn't like about it.

I was moving at a speed that made me invisible to the human eye. I made my snee to the beginning of the train and began to assess the situation. The infected were already breaking through the wagons, and their bites turned others into new members of the horde.

The rate of spread of the infection was high, and the train quickly turned into a mobile crypt. The good thing was that there were a lot of them, which meant more points for me, and one more thing - they were slow, very slow, so it would be easy to control them.

My sharp feelings worked overtime, allowing me to see the full scale of horror and the path of least resistance, the best ways to escape.

It seemed that the plan was simple. I had to take the man and his daughter to the front car of the train. There I could protect them while waiting for the time when I need to go to another world. I could easily kill all these zombies, but it would be just dirty, and I tried to avoid it at all costs.

I returned to the place where the man and the child were, and lifted them both from their seats.

We have to leave - I said, my voice was calm in the midst of chaos, sharply contrasting with the panic screams of other passengers. We're going for a walk, a long walk. You, follow me, and girl, don't let yourself stick out.

The man was shocked, but followed my example, as I easily led them through the growing horde.

My telekinetic abilities were active, moving the infected just enough to open the way, while my energy manipulations burned those who managed to get too close. It was as if the sea of rotting flesh had parted, leaving behind the path of destruction. Other passengers shouted of despair. They didn't know what to do, and it didn't matter to me. They were not part of the deal.

We moved like ghosts, while I was clearing the way with merciless efficiency. The infected stumbled and moaned, their bodies fell apart when my energy discharges tore them apart. I didn't care about them. I was only worried about these two, because that's what the System said, and if I had to postpone these two for a little more time, I would do it. It was so easy, but I had a premonition that it would be a longer journey than I originally expected.

The trip in the front car turned out to be not as easy as I thought, but it was easy. The number of infected people was growing, but I was untouchable, and the chaos around me was just another obstacle to overcome. I felt a shift in the energy of measurements, the craving for my next mission is getting stronger. At the moment, I would have to survive the zombie apocalypse and save the life of these two, two tasks that I didn't really care about, but I would still fulfill them, because I had no other choice.