The Wheel Of Fortune

I cover my nose as I scan the room with my eyes. 1..2..4....8. There is a total of 8 bodies in the room. The recent one looks a few hours old and since the body is still stiff, it must be going through rigor mortis. I look back at John and his wife who is standing near the doorway. “Do you know any of them?”

“No. It's our first time seeing any of them.” Then how did they get here? Were they kidnapped as well?

Despite my fear, I crouch down and inspect each and every body.

Almost everyone has a tear mark like the one on the driver though not as severe, except two. It must be the tuhu we are looking for. On a closer look at the last two bodies, instead of a tear mark, I find a bite mark on their arms.

It went just like Ryou said. The tuhu created more victims. But one thing still doesn’t make sense, if he/she chose people at random then why did he especially kidnap Daniel and Peter from their home? Why take the risk of getting exposed just to capture victims randomly? Why not just kidnap a homeless man or woman who had no relative? Why them? Somehow it doesn’t make sense.

I check the pulse blonde who has a bite mark and the result makes me pause. Wait...she has a faint pulse, it’s very faint but it’s there. I quickly check the old man’s pulse to find him in the same condition. But how is this possible? Judging by the state of their bodies, they should already be dead for a day or more.

“Call an ambulance, they still have a pulse,” I instruct while checking their condition.

“They still have a pulse? I thought they all were dead.” He says almost in amazement, “I will call the ambulance.” He takes out his phone and walks out of the room.

I step away from the body and look at the woman, “Are there two entrances to the factory?” I think I might have seen another entrance while coming here. But I was not able to pay attention because my focus was on finding the bodies.

“Ah..yes, there are two entrances and one exit. Should I show you, it is just around the corner?”

“Please.”

She takes me back to where we came from and makes me take the opposite turn, “Here it is.” She points at the steel staircase which leads me directly outside. I peek down the railing and flash my torchlight on the empty parking, “Did you both enter from here?”

“Yes, this entrance faces the way we came from.”

“I see.”

On our way back to the room, suddenly, I see John running towards me. He stops right in front of me with his panic-stricken face and points a trembling finger towards the room. “I heard a voice from inside the room while I was standing outside. I think someone was inside-”

“Did you check?” I flash the light from where he came from.

“No...I ran to find you.”

“I will check.”

We return to the room and I ask them to wait back. I can feel my hair rising and sweat covering my forehead before I had even looked inside but I know I have to do my job. I raise my gun and slowly flash the light all around the room while taking in every detail, stopping every now and then. I keep my eye stationed in the room for at least a minute.

“There is nothing.” I look back at them.

“Really? But I am sure I heard something.” John comes behind me and checks the room himself, “You are right, there is nothing. But then, what did I hear? I was sure there was some kind of sound.”

“Hey...” John’s wife calls us out in a somewhat hesitant voice, “The position of bodies has changed.”

Her remark is followed by a leaves us in a long silence. I look back at the bodies with a jerk as fear crawl on my skin.

“She is right, the position of bodies had changed.” Before they were in the corner of the room but now it looks like they are nearer to the door. All of us look back and forth between two bodies in silence for a few minutes.

Why am I feeling something is going to happen?

All of a sudden, the body of the old man gives a jerk and I flinch at my place.

“What was that? What was that? Did you see that?” The woman shouts in panic while I am trying to contain my own panic.

Just between all the panic, the blonde body jerks as well, and the woman behind me let out a loud shriek. John immediately starts stepping back from the door but I remain frozen at my place.

And the next moment, to all our horror, we see their legs twisting on their own at a weird angle. My mouth twists up in pain and disgust just by seeing their state. How painful it must be for them? As soon as I see their bodies turning darker and darker, I know they are turning into a tuhu.

I quickly glance behind my back, “Run, run, don’t stop, and don’t wait for me. Run-” I shout but my voice falls deaf on their ears. Instead, John is looking past me with horror on his face while his wife has covered her mouth with her hands as she gazes in the same direction in panic.

I turn around to find two zombie-like creatures on their all four. But unlike zombies they have black monster like skin and fully black eyes with sharp claws and canines, ugh, they are disgusting...and creepy. As soon as I see them taking steps towards us, I rush out of the door. When I come out, John and his wife have already distanced themselves from the room.

I quickly shut the steel door in one quick move and push my back against it, bracing myself for the impact.

Just then forces from the other side almost throws me off, damn, that hurts, I am sure the door would have broken if I was not pushing against it.

Thud, thud... Thud...thud.

I plant myself against the door as tight as possible. Unfortunately, I know I will not be able to hold them for much longer, I can feel their strength on my back as they push against the door. John also pushes against the door when he sees my strength leaving.

By the time John joins me, dents have started forming on the door. Damn it, where is Ryou? Where is he when I need him?

Despite all the noise, suddenly, I hear a loud sound from the other side of the factory which draws all our attention. The sound doesn’t end, it is followed by continuous loud noises from the same side.

“Another tuhu?” The woman questions while trembling.

“I don’t think so, it should be my duo.” I don’t think he can come anymore; he looks busy himself.

“The door will not hold much longer, run-” Thud, “as soon as there is a chance. If the-” Thud, Thud “door breaks, we will be crushed.” I try to keep my voice as calm as possible, though I doubt it is working.

“Honey, run first, I will come after you,” John shouts as his footing starts slipping away.

“But...”

“Run, I will be right after you.”

The woman runs after some hesitation.

After a minute, I shout, "Go" John looks in my direction, unwilling to run. "I said go, don't wait for me. We both will die this way." I repeat through gritted teeth.

He slowly steps away from the door and glances at me before running into the same direction as his wife.

I wait for him to cover some distance and start backward counting in my mind. As soon as he makes a turn, I make a run in the same direction.

Before I could reach the end of the corridor, I hear the sound of a steel door being thrown off. They sure catch up fast.

Pausing mid-run, I turn around shoot at both of them but it doesn’t even cause a scratch.

Damn, I turn back around and keep running. What should I do? What should I do? Think, Nadya, Think. Running will not save you. And if we keep running, they might go after John and his wife, I have to get them off track somehow.

But, soon, we are forced to stop in our tracks when we spot another tuhu right in front of us, much larger, much wilder. Not even a second later I hear a growling sound from behind. I quickly duck and move away before looking at the tuhu who tried to lunge at me. Due to my movement, the torchlight gets thrown on the side.

Darn it, can’t they give me even a second to think? He growls and lunges at me again.

I grab his arm and use his momentum to throw him forward. I shriek when I feel another tuhu clawing at my leg. Turning around, I give the tuhu a hard kick which rolls her over. I cast a glance at the bigger tuhu to find John trying to push him back with a metal rod. He will not be able to hold him for long.

I try to run towards John when I feel a sudden weight on my back.

“What the-Aaaa”

I let out a shout of pain when I feel another tuhu on my back, his claw dig in my skin. I swiftly take out a dragger from my thigh strap and dig it in the tuhu behind me.

As the tuhu shrieks in pain, still, without letting me go, I pull back the dagger and plunge it again. As a result, black blood stains my clothes and falls on my left shoulder, leaving behind a sticky mess.

Another tuhu jumps at me from the front. I use my gun with my left hand to block the mouth of the tuhu. At the same time, I feel the tuhu on my back loosening his hold, I knee the tuhu in front of me in her chest and grab the tuhu on my back over my shoulder before throwing it away hard.

I clutch my waist through the bloody top when I feel a wave of pain and heat in my right hand. I look down at my right hand. What is happening? Why is my hand paining? I don’t think I hurt my arm while fighting.

Forget it, I will worry about it later.

I walk to the tuhu I just threw and step on his wound when he tries to get up. He howls and starts clawing at my leg but I don’t move an inch

I press harder and raise my dagger to plunge at his neck. But as soon as I strike the dragger, instead of digging in its skin, it meets with hardened skin. Suddenly, I remember Ryou’s words.

“Low-level tuhus are the weakest but they do have a special skill to protect themselves. They can harden their skin whenever they want and regenerate their skin. Though it is almost impossible to break them but...you can break a newly turned human if you try, it takes time for them to master their ability so it is easiest to break a newly turned human’s skin.”

I raise my dagger and strike it once again. When nothing happens, I strike continuously until I hear a cracking sound.

It’s working. It’s working at last.

Right when I raise my hand to strike again, I am thrown back with a force. I stabilize myself and look at the recovered tuhu. I grit my teeth, couldn’t have she waited another minute?

The recovered tuhu lets out a vicious howl and I look at her without any expression. She must be angry that I attacked her before.

“JOHN.”

I look behind the tuhu and the sight makes me get back on my feet.