Volume 2 Chapter 27 (1/2)

Nothing in particular had happened during the rest of December, and then, a certain day came.

Yusuke was below ground, unloading cardboard boxes at the loading area.  The boxes contained the smoked meat Mizuki and her brothers had processed.  The meat was packed in sealed bags using the vacuum packer they he had found on the first floor.  The plastic bags containing the meat were separated by newspaper they used as buffering.

The meet consisted of the pork and beef they had kept in the freezer, but they had kept raw meat in the fridge to cook on the stove on the 3rd floor.  Because they had a working stove to cook meat with, they had been eating it a lot recently.

Mizuki had been trying a bunch of dishes from the cook book Yusuke had brought her, and as such, there was always a wide variety of food on the table.

“She’s pretty useful huh?”

Yusuke mutters.

“Her body is also lewd.  I wonder if she is getting used to it?”

Since that time, they had been going at it countless times, and not once had she acted like she didn’t want it.  She still blushed from time to time, but when he starts thrusting hard, she protests, and instead pushes harder into him.  Yusuke was satisfied with the now obedient Mizuki.

Yusuke raises the loading platform and secures the luggage with a rope.  The gas, tools, and equipment they had prepared, he had already taken to the mountain.  All that was left to take was the food and water.

The loading platform begins slowly raising with Yusuke standing on top of it.  The road curves and continues underground, but because he had to keep the shutters closed, it was dimly lit.  On the ceiling were exposed ducts and wiring, as well as small florescent lights, which barely lit the surroundings.

Near the loading zone was the elevator for transporting goods directly to the 1st and 2nd floors.  Because he could also go directly to the 3rd floor, he never really entered the machine room or the electric room, only giving them a quick look-over.  (TL: I’m not really sure what he is trying to say with this last sentence)

Walking by, he hears footsteps coming from inside and stops.

Mizuki was on the 3rd floor, so there shouldn’t be anyone in there.

Withdrawing his handgun from the holster on his waist, he approaches the door without a sound.

Turning his head, he presses his ear against the door.

He hears dull footsteps backing away from the door.

Flinging the door open, he sees the back of the middle aged women.

The one with the injured right arm.

A zombie.

(TL: He has each of these sentences as separate paragraphs.)

“So that’s what it was…..”  (TL: “ndayo.”  Short for “Nandayo.”)

Holstering his weapon, he walks inside.

Nearby was a staircase leading to the 1st floor.  It appeared that she climbed down from there.

As the zombie walked towards the back of the room, Yusuke drags and guides it up the stairs.  Arriving at the top of the stairs, he forces her out the fire door, closing it behind her so that no other zombies could get in.

Zombies don’t actively move to destroy things, but there was always the possibility one could inadvertently break something.  He didn’t want one hanging around the equipment.

Suddenly, a horrible smell entered his nose.

“……it stinks…”

There may be a corpse lying in the back.  It must have been attracted here by the smell.

Just then, a voice was heard from the transceiver on his waist.

“Takemura-san, Takemura-san, can you hear me?  This is the 3rd floor.”

Yusuke takes the transceiver from his waist,

“I can hear you.  The repeater seems to be smooth.  Did something happen?”  (TL: I think he means the connection is good.)

“Ano, could you come here?  A girls voice came in over the radio asking for help but….. is it okay to answer them?”

“I’m on my way.  Wait a bit.”

It’s been a while since there was contact with a survivor.

Yusuke hurried to the 3rd floor.

“Help…… help me….. anybody…..”

Yusuke heard the same thing repeated over and over through the headphones attached to the radio.  The voice also flowed through the external speakers.  Mizuki looks at Yusuke with a worried expression, as if asking him something.  (TL: Has a rival appeared?!)

The radio on the desk was about the size of a confection box.  It was connected to the antenna on the roof through a coax cable and so the range was quite large.

They had heard things come through the radio before, but it was encrypted noises and signals.  This was the first time a survivor had come through.

The girl’s tearful voice had been coming through for a few minutes, then cut off.

She had most likely been speaking for a few minutes, then changing the frequency before speaking again.  With a quick scan, they were able to hear her again.

While listening to her, Yusuke speaks to Mizuki.

“Try answering her.”

“M, me?”

“She will be more at ease hearing a girls response right?  Don’t tell her about this place.  Ask her about her whereabouts.  Can you do it?”

“Y, yes.”

Mizuki takes the mic in her hand, and presses the transmission b.u.t.ton.

After hesitating a bit, she opens her mouth.

“Ano….. h.e.l.lo.”

As soon as she lets go of the b.u.t.ton, the girls voice comes through.

“Help me!  Where are you?!”

Mizuki was about to respond, but the reception light was still on.  The other side was still sending the transmission.

When the light finally went out, Mizuki spoke.

“Calm down!  Please remain calm.  We can not speak at the same time over the radio.  Once you are finished speaking, please release the transmission b.u.t.ton.  Where are you?”

After a short pause, the girl’s voice once again comes through.

“I don’t know!  Help me!  Where should I go?  Nee!”

The sound of a switch.

“…..Ano, calm down, please listen.  Where are you holed-up at?  Is anyone with you?”

A small interval.

“…….Why are you asking me that?!  Are you not going to help?!  No, noo, no more….. tell me where you are….”

“Ano…..”

“I want to come over…. so please tell me…. nee…..”

Yusuke extends his arm and cuts off the radio, interrupting the girl’s voice.

Mizuki looks at him with a puzzled expression, but he waves his hand,

“That’s enough.”

“B, but.”

Yusuke speaks while removing the headphones,

“I heard the footsteps of someone else behind her.  The pauses in her speech were also strange.  Someone else was working on the radio.  The girl was a decoy.”

“Eh….”

“What she was saying was inconstant, and she was trying to find our whereabouts right?  Everyone is thinking the same thing.”

“……but……that person, if she was acting……”

“It is possible she was being threatened into it.  But, it’s just as likely she wasn’t.  There is no merit to putting ourselves in danger to try to save her.”

“…………..”

Mizuki was downcast.

Looking at her, Yusuke scratches his face,

“If you tell them about this place, I’m not responsible for what comes.  Right now, the herd of zombies outside has thinned.  Don’t get any weird ideas.”

“That’s…………”

Mizuki lifts her head and lets out a lonely laugh.

“I won’t.  Everything Takemura-san has said has turned out to be correct.  I will follow what Takemura-san says.  Please do not worry.”

“Well that’s fine, but….”

“……….etto, I’ll go get the laundry.”

Mizuki stands from the desk and walks into the hallway.

At that small back, Yusuke lets out a sigh.

(What a troublesome person…..)

Yusuke faces the desk again and flips the switch on the radio.  Holding the manual in one hand, he awkwardly fiddles with the spectrum scope with his other hand, ascertaining that there are no other signals.

(There are too many b.u.t.tons…. this thing.)

He could figure out how to operate the recorder and timer, but as far as decryption, he couldn’t figure it out.

Returning to the configuration of the radio, he takes a breather.

The calendar on the tabletop next to him enters his view.

In the box for today’s date, there was an event written at the bottom.

“Th…. no, that’s today huh…… It came quickly.”

Yusuke threw the manual on the desk.

Taking his jacket off the coat rack at the entrance of the room, he heads towards the back entrance where he parked his bike.

That night.

After dinner in the conference room.

“Fuuu…..”

When movie ended with a scene of the heroine being embraced by the main character, Mizuki took a short breath.

The ending credits had begun flowing down the large monitor in the conference room.

Cracking his neck, Yusuke frankly gives his impressions of the movie.

“Was alright.”

“It was huh….”  (TL: “Soudesune.”)

A retired information a.n.a.lysis officer was fighting a terrorist, it was a movie with a lot of action.

It wasn’t like nothing interesting happened, but there was nothing amazing, or anything that stood out.

“It got pretty good reviews, so I was expecting a bit but…”

“Yeah…..”

Once the end credits had finished, a preview came on for another movie.  As the promotional videos played one by one, the pictures were flowing and changing.

“Ah, this!  We should watch this one next.  I haven’t seen it yet, but it looks interesting.”

“Heee…… it’s about animals?”

A federal investigator who could speak to animals used his power to catch criminals.  It was a comedy.  It was quite popular and had three movies in the series.

“Well, it’ll at least be better than the one we just watched…..”

They had put a portable player and a sofa in the conference room, turning it into a home theater.  Around the edges of the table, various pastries, snacks, and PET bottles were stacked.  The lights were turned off in the conference room, and the monitor faintly lit the surroundings.

The clock showed that it was 1:00 in the morning.

It was Christmas.

Stockpiling food and collecting hand tools had been proceeding smoothly, and so today they would relax.  The first movie they watched was a Disney movie about Charles d.i.c.kens.  He had read the story a long time ago.  He had thought that the kids would like it and picked it out.

After the kids had gone to bed, Mizuki and Yusuke continued watching movies together.  As a gag, he had put in a zombie movie, but as expected, it wasn’t received well.

In the relaxed atmosphere, Yusuke grabs his coffee off of the side table and brings it to his mouth.  It had become cold, and when he contorts his face,

“Ah, I’ll fill it up again.”

While taking the cup, Mizuki heads towards the hot water supply room.