Vol 7 Chapter 4.1 (1/2)
CHAPTER 4
”Yes, I am.”
”No, I'm not.”
Two conveyer belts were running. Humans lay on them. Someone had put them there.
They were not alive. He could tell clearly even from where he stood behind the gla.s.s.
Bodies. Several dozen, maybe even a hundred, were being carried down. A half-moon shaped device of enormous size was operating beyond.
The bodies were sucked in one after another into two square openings. It seemed like the gla.s.s was of a special kind, for he could hear nothing of what was occurring on the other side.
Bodies slipped by continuously in this silent scene.
There were men. Women. Children and adults. Clothed and naked. Their statures, ages, and s.e.xes ranged broadly.
”Why are their heads... all...” The words stuck in his throat. They became a lump that blocked his airway.
The top half of the head had been cut away from every corpse. A translucent plastic dome had been placed on top instead. Men and women, children and adults―all had been fitted with bowl-shaped plastic from the forehead up.
”―Samples,” s.h.i.+on said, heaving a breath with his shoulders. ”They're samples.”
”What do you mean?”
”Brains... they needed human brains as samples.”
”―So these bodies have all had their brains removed?”
”Yeah― I think so. And I think they've all finished serving their purpose. So―”
”So?”
”They're being disposed of.”
This time, Nezumi was the one to swallow hard.
The half-moon-shaped device at the other end of the belt: was that for disposing the corpses? Did it burn them instantly to ashes? Did it grind them up and then dry them into dust? Or did it use some special chemical to melt them right down to their bones?
The bodies were being sucked in.
People who had been alive just moments before―living, speaking, crying, loving one another―were being disposed of like trash.
How... how could... No. 6, how could you be so cruel? How could you have turned out to be so ruthless?
”They're not humans.” s.h.i.+on's voice reached his ears. It was no whisper. It was crisp and clear. ”This isn't any human deed.” His fist pounded the reinforced gla.s.s.
This isn't any human deed.
But the staff clad in white had been standing here conversing only moments earlier. They had been sipping a warm drink from their mugs. They had been engrossed in their work.
Are they all monsters?
Nezumi's eye caught the photograph at his feet.
The smiling woman, the smiling boy. The sleeping baby.
'Look, look over here. Smile, come on!'
'Daddy, I'll take a picture next.'
'Honey, make sure you get the baby, too.'
He could almost hear the family's conversation―so typical, yet so precious all the same.
Is the guy who had this propped up on his desk a monster, too?
He felt a presence. The enemy approaching.
Nezumi felt like someone had struck him on the cheek. He was wide awake. He yanked s.h.i.+on by the arm, and burst out into the hallway.
We gotta run, s.h.i.+on. We can't let ourselves die here.
His whole body reared its arms in order to survive. His thoughts, his senses, his fingertips, even each hair of his head acted solely for his survival.
We cannot die.
”Right!” s.h.i.+on's calm orders sliced the air. ”Thirty metres to the right.”
Thirty to the right. There was no time to think about what was there. Strangely, the barriers were not coming down. But he also had no time to think about why.
Run. Wait, never mind.
Soldiers appeared before them.
”Squat down! Curl up!” Nezumi tossed the coin-shaped bomb across the floor, and fired at it. There was an ear-splitting explosion. Shattered gla.s.s sprayed everywhere.
”We're going in!”
There was no way out if they let themselves be surrounded. In the face of a firing squad, they had no chance at all. They had no choice but to charge into the thick.
”Don't leave my side.”
A broken sprinkler was spraying water left and right. Nezumi leapt into the knot of drenched soldiers.
He swung the blade of his hand against a soldier's throat, and stabbed his knife into another as he spun around. As the soldier clutched his shoulder and fell forward, Nezumi extracted a military knife from the man's waist belt and slashed the wrist of another enemy that was coming his way. A handgun fell and clattered loudly across the floor as blood and water mixed and flowed together.
None of the soldiers uttered a word. They remained silent and carried highly harmful military firearms in addition to the laser guns, which were still in the stages of development. They were silent, swift, and precise in their kill. They had probably been trained that way.
But when it comes to handling knives, I'm the better one.
In hand-to-hand combat, lower-tech firearms would be much more effective than high-tech weapons. Also, in certain situations, a knife would probably be much more useful than the most up-to-date gun. Especially if he could wield the knife as if it were one of his own limbs.
After seeing three of their comrades defeated in the blink of an eye, the rest of the soldiers lost the fluidity of their movements. This was a retaliation they had not expected. Stiffness was a weak point, and Nezumi aimed squarely at it. He twisted the arm of the soldier in front of him, and pressed his knife to the man's throat from behind.
”Don't move.” He licked his lips, and commanded the rest of the soldiers.
”Throw away your guns, or consider this guy dead.”
The soldiers bolted back a step at once.
Will it go well? Could I make my escape, using this guy as a s.h.i.+eld?
”s.h.i.+on.”
”Yeah.”
”You alive?”
”Yeah. You moved so fast, I don't think any of the guys had a chance to turn on me.”
”Perfect. Now use this guy as a s.h.i.+eld, and―”
There was a burst of applause.
”Magnificent show. But that's quite enough.”
The soldiers immediately parted, as if those words had been a signal. A man threaded his way in from between them. He stood before the two boys, and raised his right hand airily.
”Enough fun and games. VC103221 and s.h.i.+on, was it?”
s.h.i.+on let out a cry.
”You know him?” Nezumi asked. ”Don't tell me he's your uncle or something.”
”He's an Investigating Officer from the Security Bureau―called Ras.h.i.+.”
”So you remembered me,” the man said. ”An honour. Luck seems to bring us together quite frequently, doesn't it? You've grown tougher since I saw you last. I would never have expected you to come infiltrating the Correctional Facility. I'm shocked, to tell you the truth. However, I am happy to see you again.”
”Why thank you,” s.h.i.+on said guardedly. ”I wasn't expecting to see you here, either. I'm surprised, too.”
”Yes, yes, about that. To tell you the truth, my real profession is a military training instructor. Excuse me for not properly introducing myself last time.”
”Get his business card, s.h.i.+on. It'll come in handy when you're job-hunting.”
Ras.h.i.+ twisted one side of his mouth into a smile.
”A way with words, as usual, boy. But your way with the knife is even better than your tongue. Admirable. I would never have expected you to take control of my subordinates so easily. Ah, simply brilliant. Worthy of praise. I would even consider recruiting you.”
”A tantalizing proposal, but I have to refuse,” Nezumi said. ”What's this military training you're talking about, huh? Does target practice include shooting prisoners?”
Ras.h.i.+ chuckled. ”We have that, too. Or we have training sessions where we exterminate foolish rats that have wandered in.”
Nezumi twisted the soldier's arm with even greater force. ”Throw away your guns and clear the way,” he said.
Ras.h.i.+ shook his head. ”You two are brilliant. Not anyone can get as far as this. Brilliant, indeed. But unfortunately, you are also young.”
Ras.h.i.+ slowly raised his right hand. ”Your plan is not well-thought out to the end.”
A gun barrel was pointed their way.
Huh?
”Stop!” The soldier twisted desperately. Nezumi let his arm go. A bullet pierced the soldier as he staggered forward. His wounded body crashed to the ground. Water poured on him from the ceiling. The soldier raised his face, and his gaze wandered as if he were searching for something. Then, he called.
”Mother.”