Vol 8 Chapter 4 (1/2)
CHAPTER 4
For more than a thousand years sad Ophelia
For more than a thousand years her sweet madness
-Arthur Rimbaud, ”Ophelia”
A dull iht the boy's weight and heat in his arained its repulsive colours of reality
Nezuh down on them The stench of blood assaulted shi+on's nose
Nezumi
But no voice came out He could not understand what had happened He just could not What is it? What just happened? Soldiers were pointing their guns at them Rifles The bayonets attached to theue peek out from between his lips
A neave of prisoners came in a torrent down the stairs They formed a blockade between the soldiers and shi+on Of theered, clutching his chest
”daiant took two, three steps towards a soldier and suddenly let out a great roar ”Goddaed at the soldier At the same time, there was an explosion S roo to the wall by the blast White siant white snake, it slithered up the stairs and crawled down the hall
shi+on hoisted Nezuards to the movement of the smoke, the typical way to escape was probably downstairs But down this hall was the Hygiene Manageeuessed that a simple medical examination rooh the door, which had been left flung open He closed it to prevent further s in
He tripped Nezurasp shi+on attele He instinctively thrust his palms out, and noticed they had left red hand prints on the floor His palms were dyed with blood―with Nezumi's blood
”Nezumi!”
He couldn't help but raise his voice Words were tearing through his throat and strea forth
”Nezumi, can you hear me? Nezumi!”
Nezumi's eyes remained closed, and he remained unresponsive The blood had spread from his shoulder, stained his chest, streaertips
”No, ho can this―” He knew that he could not lose his wits He had to be rational He had to calmly carry out what he had to do
I know Of course I do But I can't move My mind and my body are frozen still
”Nezuritted his teeth
You du voice You're a helpless idiot Useless, good-for-nothing You're bigheaded and slow and cowardly
Inukashi+? Is that you?
Can't you even protect yourto save hi with Nezumi all this time, then? Are you still the same spoiled elite as you were in No 6?
He could not tell if it was Inukashi+'s voice or his own, but so him a severe reprimand
shi+on, are you sure? Would you be indifferent if you lost Nezumi? Would you even be able to bear it?
shi+on drew a deep breath The sht his ear close to Nezu He took Nezuers on the boy's wrist He felt blood throbbing against his fingertips, but it was a faint pulse that see anytilanced around the room Thin flames and smoke issued froainst the wall beyond with glass doors The glass had been broken, and plastic bottles lay tipped over Soed, for the contents were leaking shi+on drew closer, but se Hand-written labels were fixed to each bottle with the na shi+on would perhaps have s if he had seen thely at the idea of so labels in such an inhuman-like place like the Correctional Facility, instead of using printed labels
But now, he had no rooh all the labels one by one He suppressed his agitated heart, and told himself to calm down over and over, like a ent; painkillers; purified water; general syringe; heauze; absorbent cotton pads in a corner of the shelf, there was an eht tipped over on its side As he expected, there was an adequate range of drugs and apparatuses for sie so with these? A minor injury would have been no problem; but would he be able to treat a wound so severe it had caused the patient to suffer massive blood loss and loss of consciousness?
Most of shi+on's e was theoretical He had almost no practical experience In this situation, furtherency treatment? Could he do it? He felt like the bayonet he had seen just noas being held to his throat
Can you do it?
I've got to There's no time to hesitate I can't just sit idle and trouble myself over it I can't let Nezule I won't hand hiht? I knowto you”
There's no way you can't hear me There's no way my voice won't reach you No ht rasped my words, and you answeredyou back I'll take you back by force
”Nezumi!”
shi+on tore the other's clothes The bullet had pierced hih his upper arm If the shot had been a little further inwards, the bullet would have pierced his heart and he would have died instantly
Live Cling onto life Heaven left that possibility for you I won't let it go to waste First things first, I have to stop the bleeding My priority right now is to stop this blood Then, I have to take hiet proper treatment Quickly, even a second sooner Just that
He illuht He sprinkled disinfectant on the wound He washed the wound from the inside outwards, and he examined the inside with his naked eye The artery was not severed completely He applied pressure on Nezu His fingertips were tre
Calm down calm down, calm down I have to calm down Banish all your emotions, and focus only on the bullet wound that's penetrated him
He pinched the artery with the heauze on it, and pressed over it with an absorbent cotton pad He wrapped a bandage tightly around it
This is the best treatht now
He had broken into a sweat, which formed droplets and streamed down his face They seeped into hiswill he last with this? Three hours―no,how et proper treatment within two hours from now, he won't h” Nezuhtly
”Nezumi! Can you hear me? Nezumi!”
”shi+on” he er I need you to bear within there, and stay with th as he could into his words
”shi+on I can't move”
”No probleht here So you'll be alright shi+on slung Nezumi's arm around his neck, and hoisted him up He circled his arm around the boy's waist to secure hi his eyes He dissolved into a fit of coughs Pain raced through his throat, and his airway clogged up
He had no survival knowledge, but he had the will, and his heart was prepared to do whatever it took Nezuht hied Nezumi almost at a crawl Heat and serous to jump into this But there was no time to survey other escape routes If they dallied here, they would be engulfed by the smoke, and die of suffocation
What do I do? What should I do?
His itation and the smoke that crept into his body almost made him lose his calm Don't panic Whatever you do, don't panic There is always a way
”shi+on”
Nezue chute”
His voice reached shi+on in frag desperately onto his consciousness Once he lost it, it would be ain; Nezuht, there was that option
In the lower floors like the first to third, a garbage chute was installed in the middle of the hallway on each floor It looked like s with everyday waste, for the chute was quite wide The first ti the chute to infiltrate the Facility had crossed his mind But the idea was short-lived It was iround with no footholds whatsoever Also, the chute was prograe objects protruding fros Infiltration was impossible But it was possible to use it as an escape route
He and Nezumi had talked about it before It o days before the Hunt
The day of the Hunt had been a cold winter day with a blustering wind, but two days before, it had been sunny with milder weather A blue sky spread out above the West Block instead of snow clouds, and the rays that shone doere so warm that it was hard to believe it inter People see the most of this short bout of pleasant weather, and strolled down thechildren still overflowed in the streets as usual, but they seemed to breathe easier than most days The shopkeepers, ould usually drive the way, narrowed their eyes at the sun and let their faces relax They didn't go so far as to give hand-outs, but they see as they didn't steal any of their goods Soars
Out of them, how many could have foreseen the hell that unfolded two days later? How many could have escaped the inferno of the Hunt?
Nezuht at theit in hot water first Perhaps Nezuiven them some cheese for free It was superb cheese, free of mould
There was no sound in the baseely, even the howl of the north hich had begun to blow around sunset did not find its way here Had the wind died down during that tirossed in the conversation that his ears had refused to catch anything other than Nezue chute could be an escape route Is it doable?” Nezu his cup of hot water in his hands
”The garbage chute, huh I see, it's like having a road that leads straight fro place in the base the entire chute apart frorated into the object-detection and disposal system Heh, seems like No 6 is lax all over the place when it coht,” shi+on had replied ”And it's bigger than a typical chute Technically, we should be able to get through”
”Exactly Aren't you glad we both happened to be skinny? If any of us had been around old arbage, indeed”
”That sounds a bit severe”
”You're welcoine that beer-bellied geezer hurtling down the chute like it's nothing”
”Well―I guess you're right” The ia with his fleshy underbelly rose in shi+on'sHe sed it back down, and pursed his lips Nezumi's question was not the kind he could ansith a se chute a plausible escape route or not? After soht, shi+on spoke
”To tell you the truth, I have no idea if we can really do it But there's a possibility All theory, just saying,” he answered Nezumi put his cup down, and sank deeply into his seat
”Possibility, huh”
”Yeah”
”There is a possibility, then” Nezus, and closed his eyes shi+on also leaned back against the bookshelf and hugged one knee It was then that shi+on noticed the sound of the wind for the first time It was a raspy sound, si
The roo profile; the low ru at a scene fro in the audience, eyes fixed to the silent tableau on the darkened stage before him A fulfilled co with others he couldn't naled with each other, and filled shi+on to the brim
If only this ht at this ht here The wish rose suddenly in his heart
”Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player” A line from Macbeth suddenly rose in his mind
”Out, out, brief candle”
”Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player”
Nezuled with shi+on's own
”What?”
”Huh? No, nothing” shi+on shi+fted his body, and backed away slightly froht He did not want Nezumi to see his cheeks, which were probably flushed red
”shi+on, do you knohat I was thinking about just now?”
”You? Well the garbage chute, probably?”
”Of course not I'onna trouble myself over trash forever Besides, we solved that probleood?”
”Right” It didn't matter if it was only theory Nomore than speculation; if it's possible, you have to drill it into yourhin that he understood
”Good But if you ask racious exit at the front door, complete with all the accompaniments But that's a luxury I probably won't have”
”Probably not I'd warn you not to expect VIP treate chute, ere you thinking about? Other ways to escape?”
Nezuh
”I was thinking about food”
”Huh?”
”Food F-o-o-d I was thinking about what I'd order if I could stuff myself hatever I liked”
”―Materialistic of you, huh?” shi+on commented
”Food is important Soether is ful than an eternal truth discovered by an esteeht now I' to feel sorry for myself I probably won't be able to sleep if I went to bed now”
”You just ate You ate two rolls”