Bring It On! - Chapter 57

Chapter 57.

Spears rained down on us from behind like a storm. Just how many of them were chasing us? I instinctively knew that if we were caught, we’d end up boiling alive in one of their giant cauldrons. 

One of them was even wearing a human scalp like a mask, and another had on a T-shirt that clearly wasn’t theirs. The design was so familiar it jolted me. And then, far too late, I realized it belonged to Kim Jae-cheol!

So that was it. The reason those traitors who’d gone out to sea never sent, or perhaps never could send, a rescue team… 

It was because of these savages. Whether they landed here by accident after missing the wind and currents, or whether these cannibals spotted their boat and hunted them down, I didn’t know. But one thing was certain. Their end hadn’t been a good one.

That also meant the four cups of instant noodles left in the cave must have been theirs. After those traitors left, rain had fallen on the island many times. Unable or unwilling, to build a shelter, they must have hidden in the cave. Then when they fled in a panic, they hadn’t even managed to take the noodles they’d prepared.

No wonder those cup noodles looked so familiar. They were the very ones Kim Jae-cheol had stolen from me.

“#*$@#%&!!!”

“Wh-what the hell are they saying, huff…?”

The way they kept shouting in that strange tongue was unnerving. Just then, something burst from what had looked like mere undergrowth. A native, no, a cannibal! His arms were wrapped in long intestines like armor, and a bone mask sat over his face, painted red beneath. 

The grotesque sight made me scream before I realized it. Jay swung his fist with all his strength at the one in front of me.

Crack! The bone mask shattered with the tremendous blow, sending the cannibal spinning backward. But taking down one didn’t end it. Like ninjas, cannibals hidden in the forest leapt out all at once.

They shrieked until their throats tore, as if trying to kill us with sheer sound. And it worked on me. The mad, animalistic howls weren’t just terrifying. 

They shredded my nerves until I couldn’t think straight. My mind dissolved into chaos.

Jay was fighting them head-on, but he carried Suho on his back and wore the pack on his front, leaving him little room to move. Worse, the cannibals kept multiplying, blowing horns to summon more and more of their kind.

“Jay!”

While Jay was grappling with one, another leapt onto his leg, licking up his thigh with an obscenely long tongue. Jay, shocked, smashed his fist into the thing’s side, sending it rolling across the ground.

As Jay raised his foot high to stomp the creature, it suddenly put on a pitiful expression, groveling desperately as if about to burst into tears. Like a dog rolling onto its belly before its master, it rubbed its palms together without pause. It was almost pathetic enough to stir pity in me.

“#$*&%#$!%!!!”

Jay hesitated. And in that instant, the thing grinned with its long tongue lolling out, then lunged at him again. Cursing, Jay kicked it hard across the right side of its face.

But that one moment of hesitation was all it took. Suddenly, we were surrounded. I could see Suho trembling violently on Jay’s back, his face buried against him. 

Cannibals clung to the trees above, crawled on all fours across the ground, and thrust sharpened bamboo spears at us from every angle.

“Haa… haa… haa…”

Even with Jay’s monstrous stamina and physique, he couldn’t possibly hold out alone against a horde of armed, deranged cannibals. 

What do we do? What do we do? My mind, whipped by terror, tried to find a way, but nothing came. This suffocating dread was worse than when we’d faced the typhoon.

“……”

A heavy bead of sweat rolled slowly down my temple. The circle of spears closed in, their points brushing against my neck. Jay and I froze, not daring to even breathe deeply. His warm, calloused hand slid between my fingers and squeezed tightly. I gripped back with all the strength I had.

One thrust, and our throats would be pierced. Was this it? Were we going to die here, after surviving all the other dangers of this godforsaken island? The hope of escape that I’d clung to crumbled into dust.

But still, I refused to close my eyes. I stared straight into the cannibal’s gaze. 

Not yet. Don’t give up. If we endure long enough, another chance will come. But no matter how I tried to steel myself, the fear was too deeply rooted. By the time the sweat running down my cheek pooled at my chin—

“@#$@%&!”

“$@#$!&@#%!!!”

A cannibal in the distance suddenly cried out in alarm. The others faltered, visibly flustered. What the hell? Why are they panicking? I didn’t know the reason, but whatever it was, it worked in our favor. 

Jay must have thought the same, because he kicked the one behind us square in the gut and broke through the gap. Even though we were fleeing right before their eyes, the cannibals were too shaken to regroup, scattering in confusion.

And then….

“Kwaaagh!!!”

The beast’s long, thunderous roar echoed through the entire forest. A few of the weaker cannibals clamped their hands over their ears and collapsed straight to the ground.

“Sun Woori!”

While I was still frozen in confusion, Jay urgently called out to me. Where he pointed stood a boar the size of a bear, snorting hot breath through its nostrils. The cannibals screamed and scattered in every direction. 

The ravenous boar fixed on one of them and charged without hesitation. Despite its massive bulk, it ran so fast that it rammed into a man climbing a tree. 

Thud! He was knocked clean off and sent sprawling to the ground. Watching a body tossed around like a mannequin left me horrified. So this is why they say that if you meet a wild boar in the mountains, you should always run.

The cannibals tried throwing their bamboo spears to fight back, but it was useless. One who paused too long was instead rammed by the giant body and knocked out cold.

“Let’s go.”

“Yeah.”

Jay and I ran back the way we’d come. All the while, terrified shrieks from the cannibals rang behind us without pause. A few of them noticed our escape and started to chase us.

“Ah!”

My foot caught on a protruding root and I fell flat. At the same moment our clasped hands broke apart, a cannibal lunged at Jay. While Jay fought him off, another one dashed straight at me.

“Sun Woori, run!”

At Jay’s shout, I didn’t even have time to feel the pain. I just bolted. But there was no way I could outrun those who’d spent their whole lives in this forest and knew every inch of its paths. 

Gasping, I scanned around me frantically. A banana peel, a rock, anything at all. I grabbed the first stone I could and hurled it at the cannibal. Thwack!

The rock struck squarely in his face. He let out a grotesque scream and toppled backward. I hadn’t expected it to actually land, and I was a little shocked at myself.

But driving one cannibal back didn’t mean the danger was over.

“…Ha… no way, right?”

The boar was staring directly at me, pawing the ground with its hind legs. Then it snorted furiously and charged at full speed. Its sheer momentum was enough to obliterate even the will to dodge. I froze, like someone about to be blindsided by a car accident.

Bang!

Just before the boar could crash into me, a sharp gunshot exploded through the forest. The boar staggered sideways, struck.

Bang! Bang, bang!

A few more shots rang out. The beast thrashed wildly before its breath slowly stilled. I turned my head back in a daze. Jay stood there, aiming a gun at the fallen boar. From the silver barrel, thin white smoke curled upward.