Crash Land on Kurai – Chapter 22

When Gen sleeps, I sleep. Every time he closes his eyes and his breathing slows, I close mine and try to sleep as well. I can’t let him out of my sight. The image of him punching Ryoko plays over and over in my head and in my dreams.

He stands over her and his fist flies, smashing into her face, and I wake up with a start.

“Breakfast,” Ryoko says, handing me a bowl of rice porridge. “Sorry. But I didn’t want you to have to eat it cold. The stuff turns into paste if you don’t eat it right away.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.” I yawn and rub my eyes, stretching to relieve the cramps in my back and my legs. Sleeping sitting up on the floor against the wall is not even remotely comfortable. Believe it or not, I miss my bed at the temple. Turns out that life was pretty cushy.

I twist my spine, lengthening out my back, when something bites at the pound of flesh above my right buttock.

“Ow,” I mutter, reaching under my shirt. “What the…?” I can’t see the area, but feeling around with the tips of my fingers, a tiny spot just south of my waistband is tender to the touch.

Huh. As far as I know, there are no bugs on this world. I haven’t seen one yet. Maybe it’s just another injury to add to the pile of other injuries I have. I pull my fingers away before I infect the site with my grubby hands.

I glance across the room at Gen, and he’s still asleep, his bowl of porridge sitting next to him. The door to the bathroom is closed, the man with the broken arm missing from his mat. I can hear his sobs through the door.

Ryoko’s lips drop, as she makes eye contact with me. “Thanks for sticking up for me,” she whispers, leaning in. “I probably could’ve blocked him, but I didn’t see it coming. It’s not like he’s been kind to me at all, but I figured he was in shock. It turns out he’s just a giant lump of shit.”

“Maybe someday soon you’ll get to punch him in the face too. I promise it’s worth it. Highly enjoyable.”

Ryoko smiles and then winces at her swollen cheek. “I should save my laughing for later.”

We both eat quietly, lost in our thoughts. How am I going to fix this? Forget about me. Forget about the contract. Whatever happens with me, I’ll survive. Hopefully with help from Rin or Kazuo. If Rin is trustworthy. If Kazuo is still alive.

Sigh. That’s a lot of ifs.

The people in this room have nobody but me to help them, and I am a poor excuse for a human being. As Kazuo pointed out, I have no heart, and my conscience is just this side of dishonorable. I hide behind the lens of my camera because that’s the only place I’ve ever been able to do good things. Who the hell will listen to me?

If only I had something to bargain with.

Once everyone is awake, the door opens, and a giant man enters. I glance at Ryoko, my eyes wide. This was one of the men in the initial video communications exchange when we first got here. Ryoko nods at me, her face grave. She saw him while she was on the bridge of the Murasaki and knows what he’s capable of. And now, the way everyone’s face in the room goes blank with fear, I get the feeling they’ve all met him before.

He inclines forward a few degrees. “Yumi Minamoto, I am Akikazé Abe, head of security for Miss Narumi. You are to come with me.”

Is it better to refuse or comply? I only have one bargaining chip, and that’s my cooperation. Now’s the time to see what I can get for it.

I fold my arms across my chest. “No.”

The man’s face remains a blank slate. “No?”

I turn my face from his. “No.”

He takes one step towards me, but I’m careful not to flinch. Everyone else in the room scrambles to jump out of the way, even Gen.

“You are to come with me, whether you like it or not. When Miss Narumi calls, you come. She owns your contract. She owns your life. Understood?”

A trickle of sweat runs down my back. The advanced black cloth I’m wearing soaks it up and sheds it.

“I’ll come, but only if their injuries are taken care of. It’s dishonorable to treat them this way, and I won’t have it.” I’m proud that my voice doesn’t shake even though my knees do. It’s a good thing they’re tucked underneath me.

“Dishonorable? It’s dishonorable for Miss Narumi to spend her credits on people of the lowest caste. Their credit levels are sub one-thousand. No one in society will ever support them. You don’t get to decide who Miss Narumi gives her money to.” He takes one more step. I swallow down my fear. “Get up.”

“Go, Yumi,” Ryoko whispers. “We’ll be fine.”

“Speak for yourself,” Gen says, a growl underneath his breath. “She stays until we get medical help.”

“You don’t get to decide,” Akikazé says, reaching forward and picking me up by the back of my shirt. He’s so strong he actually lifts me off the floor. I kick out and land a foot on his pelvis. He frowns and slams me against the wall, my head thumping on the hard concrete. The knock sends me into silence as I wait for the stars in my vision to clear. I wonder if I’ll be permanently brain-damaged by the time we’re rescued.

Everyone in the room is dead silent. Gen looks pleased with the way I’m being treated, and rage boils in my chest. I am this close to killing him someday. It would be satisfying to push him off a cliff.

Akikazé shoves me into the hallway. “Walk and don’t give me any more problems.”

I shake off the disorientation and walk down the hall in front of him. Each room I pass is open and empty, and I immediately hate my captors even more. We could each have a nice room to live in. Instead, we’re all confined to one space with no bed.

He directs me to the right, through a door, and down another hallway to a heavy door with a tiny window. Akikazé pounds on it, a set of eyes peeks through the window, and the door buzzes and swings open. Inside, a dozen guards dressed for battle in protective armor wait for us. Black fabric obscures their faces, and I try to discern if I know any of them. I don’t think I do.

Akikazé points to a closet on the right.

“Get your tablet and anything else you’ll need. We’re heading out to find another life pod. And you will lead us to it.”

All the guards stare at me. They’re not going to give me any protective gear, are they?

Taking up two shelves of the closet are bits of technology either stolen from my friends or from the life pods. I shuffle through them, picking up each tablet until I find mine. I’d recognize my tablet anywhere by the gash in the lower left part of the screen, and my initials etched into the side. I wrap my fingers around the case and draw strength from having something of my own. They probably have no idea how powerful our tablets are. I notice my knife isn’t here. I wonder where it went and if I’ll ever see it again.

Before I turn away, I examine everything else since they’re not rushing me yet. I move aside a signal booster, a distress beacon, and two wound cauterizers, and I catch my breath.

Chiéko’s data device is here! Etched into the side is her name, and her promise rings through my head. “What’s on that memory device will save your life someday so don’t forget it.” My hand hovers over the tiny black box, but I have no idea where I’m going or what kind of danger I’ll be in. It’ll be safer here.

I hold back a wave of tears. Not only am I relieved to find the damned thing, but I’m angry as hell. There’s only one way the data device could be here. Gen took it from me and didn’t say a word. I’m going to beat that bastard to a bloodied pulp if it’s the last thing I do.

Akikazé returns to the room, armed to the teeth. “Let’s go.”

—-

I’m escorted out of their compound, through a series of tunnels and doors, to the outside. It’s late morning, and the sun hangs low in the sky just past the crescent of Hikari. I shield my eyes from the glare of the sun and try to get my bearings. I guessed right. The place they’re holding us is underground, and the entrance is on the side of a mountain which appears to be the standard shelter for this moon. If you can’t afford shielding, then a whole lot of rock will do the trick.

“Keep up,” Akikazé says, urging me forward with a hand on my back. We’re marching to a small ship, one that reminds me of the life pod but about three times the size. I try to slow my breathing, but I’m so nervous I could puke. Akikazé said we’re heading out to find more of the life pods, but nothing is stopping them from getting in the air and pushing me out. It would be a convenient death.

So when it’s my turn to board, I rush across the hold and find a seat farthest from the door. Akikazé smirks and jerks his thumb at the person sitting next to me. He finds a different seat, leaving it open for Akikazé.

“Turn on your tablet and tell me what you see.” He leans over my shoulder as I power it on. A sense of peace flows through me seeing the familiar screen and menu options, a little slice of home. I wish I could turn on the camera and record what we’re about to do. My desire to play the journalist overrides my basic survival instincts sometimes, but I know better now. My life hangs on the precipice of a steep cliff.

I navigate to the map that shows me the nearest beacons, but there are no glowing dots on the screen. “Nothing. There are no beacons within a ten-kilometer radius. We’ll have to move.”

Akikazé leans forward, shouting to the front. “Head south. We’ve already covered most of the north, and we want to stay out of Aka Matsuba territory.”

The ship rumbles and sways side to side. I clutch the armrests, my knuckles turning white. Akikazé laughs at me.

“Not so tough now, huh?”

I glare at him, the only defense I have with my stomach threatening to eject itself through my mouth. I’ve never enjoyed flying, and I’ve always consoled myself that I’d only need to be in a shuttle to travel from Orihimé to the ship and back. Besides, I usually drink a liter of saké to get me through. I suspect it’ll be years before I touch saké from home again.

After a moment, the topographical terrain on my tablet disappears, and flatlands replace it. We had very few maps of the surface before we were shot out of the sky, so my tablet can only do so much. I’m always surprised the engineers could get the things to work on a different planet. Something about micro-satellites and planet-side broadcasters? I remember interviewing one of them about the project, but I just nodded my head and made sure she was in focus on the camera.

I wait and watch the screen, hoping we come across someone soon. But if we do, they’ll be stuck in the same miserable situation we’re in — prisoners with no medical help, no compassion, and in debt up to their eyeballs. Maybe it would be better for them to die as free men and women.

I consider damaging my tablet to prevent it from picking up any signals when a glowing dot appears on the screen.

“There,” Akikazé says, pointing to it. He hasn’t taken his eyes off me since we got on board. “About ten kilometers southeast,” he shouts at the pilot.

“I see it,” the pilot responds, and a chill runs up my back.

The left side of the ship dips, and I close my eyes, praying to any of the gods on this moon that whoever we find is in one piece. They have a much better chance of surviving if they’re not injured.

I wish I didn’t feel like a giant traitor. I’m obviously doing everything I can to survive, but at what cost? I keep telling myself that the only one at risk is me. I’ve sold my name, sold my very self, in order to gain favor for me and my shipmates. But it’s possible many of my shipmates would rather die than be sold into slavery. Do I have the right to make that choice for them?

The ship jolts and the engines die down. The outer door opens, and soldiers file out, carrying swords and guns. I swallow through a giant lump in my throat.

Akikazé ushers me out behind them. We’re on the edge of a forest, and the life pod sits about thirty meters away, the entire thing on fire, smoke wafting over us. How did that happen? I cough as the smoke seers my lungs. It smells like oil, maybe an accelerant, is helping the life pod to burn brightly. It’s been days since we crash landed. Has it been burning all that time?

About twenty meters from the life pod, five bodies litter the ground.

I break into a run, following the soldiers who advance toward them. Akikazé is shouting into a device about the forest fire behind me, but I pay him no attention as I keep my eyes locked forward. Please, don’t let it be my brother. Not Shintaro. I don’t know how I’ll ever break it to my parents if he’s dead.

Before I make it to the bodies, it’s obvious that two people are dead. The soldiers pay them no mind, and instead, they concentrate on the three others.

“How did you get here?” One soldier yells at a man bleeding on the ground.

I push through the ring of soldiers, prepared to broker some help for my fellow shipmates. I come up short.

The man is dressed in camouflage colors from head to toe. He clutches at a stomach wound, blood between his fingers, his belly, and the stones below him. Stitched into the left breast of his shirt is a family crest, a white ocean wave. This man was not part of our crew.

He pants, short of breath and not responding to questions. I look at him with his white wave crest and the men surrounding him with their blue horse crests, and my heart races. He’s someone from Shiroi Nami, the corporation in exile.

I bypass this man and go straight to my shipmates. Thank the gods neither of these men is my brother, but I know them both. One is the son of a friend of the family, and the other is the son of one of the school administrators, Tristan Sanmura. Only the school administrator’s son is conscious. The other man is breathing but his pulse is weak, and he refuses to wake up when I touch his face or talk to him.

“We’re here now, and we can help you,” I say, peeling back Tristan’s flight suit. I retch at what I find. I never thought I would see body organs that were meant to be inside on the outside instead.

“Answer me!” The soldier is still yelling at the Shiroi Nami man. “Your life is at an end!”

The man laughs at the soldier, and I’m surprised by his strength. He rolls to the side and coughs, revealing his sword with the name Hayato etched into the top of the blade. “This moon is ours. We’re not going to share with anybody, especially people who fall out of the sky.”

The soldier kicks the man, but the man laughs again. “You took our world from us after we made it for you. Kurai is ours if you’re not going to give us our piece of Hikari back.”

Akikazé makes a slicing gesture across his throat. The soldier draws his sword, and I turn away before I witness him take the man’s head off.

When I chose to come to Hikoboshi, it was because I wanted the adventure, the thrill of a lifetime and the story to end all stories. I hadn’t bargained on this, men and women dying under my fingertips while I watched our freedom erode away to nothing. This was beyond anything I signed up for.

Tristan draws one last breath and dies at my feet. My eyes fill with tears, my body finally able to accept the defeat and sadness of this whole situation. Despair fills me from my toes up, washing away every last bit of hope I had left. I turn my eyes to the cloudy sky and let the smoke from the life pod carry away my grief. Unfortunately, grief’s exit does not lighten the dark and stormy mood brewing in my gut.

None of the people on my ship had any fear for their lives. We weren’t even going to hibernate for the trip like the Terrans did when they came to Orihimé. We were excited. We were in love with this mission and its purpose.

We were so unprepared.

Akikazé pushes me in the shoulder. “Don’t be weak. Only weaklings cry. Being weak means death on Hikari. Understood?”

I sniff up and turn from him, both grateful he told me and terrified I’m not strong enough to live in this society. I’m not much of a crier, but I can only interview so many victims of domestic abuse before I’m crying in the bathroom before work.

I open the spot in me where I shoved love, lust, and desire the night Takéji chose my brother over me, and I make room for tears and weakness. It’s getting crowded now in that space in my chest. I wonder how long the lock will hold.

When I turn back around, Akikazé is hovering over both Orihimé men. “This one is still alive.”

“We should bring him back. He might be saved with surgery,” I say, coming up next to him.

“No. He’s too far gone.” He points to the soldier with his sword out, the blade still bloodied from the last person he killed. “You. Take care of this one too.”

“No!” I jump in front of the man as he lifts his sword, arms out and blocking him. “No. This man is a valuable engineer. He trained his whole life to come here and learn from you. You can’t just put him to death.”

“We can.” Akikazé reaches out and grabs the back of my shirt, pulling me away from the scene. “And we will.” The soldier’s sword swings down and ends the engineer’s life.

Smoke swirls around us as the wind pattern changes and something inside the life pod crackles and pops, spewing sparks against the rocky ground.

Is this how it’s going to be? No medicine, no doctors, and your life is over before you can even be helped? Rin told me life is precious, expensive. Aren’t human lives worth something?

Rage bubbles up in my belly, a lava flow ready to explode. I take two giant steps and jump onto Akikazé’s back. Wrapping my arm around his throat, I squeeze hard, levering my two arms like a vice. He squeals, and his face turns red, but I don’t let go. If anyone’s gonna die for this, it’s him.

Thrashing side to side, he tries to bump me off of him, but I hang on tight and increase the pressure. A soldier runs at me, his sword out. I pull my body weight around and kick him in the face. He whirls to the dirt, clutching his face, and taking out another soldier with him.

My head explodes into blackness, and my body lets go. I hit the ground and don’t even register my new injuries brought on by a soldier who sneaked up on me when I wasn’t looking. It’s all the same pain, the same pain I’ve been dealing with for days.

“Want me to kill her boss?”

This wakes me up, and I struggle to my feet, blood dripping down my cheek.

“Sure, why not?” I scream at them. “You seem to be fine with killing just about anyone.”

Akikazé struggles to his feet, coughing and spitting on the ground. His face is still red, and his hair is disheveled. Hatred burns in his eyes. I’m his new enemy.

I don’t care.

“These people needed your help.” I point to my two dead shipmates. “They were innocent scientists. We came here because we are brothers and sisters, separated by space and time.” I clench at my chest with my fist. “But you’re nothing but a narcissistic bunch of murderers who value money over life.”

I turn to walk off in the opposite direction of the fire. Maybe they’ll just let me go.

“Grab her,” Akikazé says. “And bind her hands.”

I don’t bother to run. I stop and turn my hands to them so they can carry me off like a criminal. Turning my face from the man taping up my wrists, I catch movement at the forest’s edge. A flash of black is there and gone, and I blink my eyes to make sure I even saw it. From behind a thick tree, a black-gloved hand flashes two fingers and disappears.

Huh? I look down at my shoes, covering my bewilderment. Either I’m hallucinating from breathing in whatever’s burning in the life pod, or someone’s trying to signal to me. Someone who looked like Rin.

I smooth out my face and look up to see Akikazé approaching me. He stops and stands over me, using his height and stature to make me feel as small as a mouse.

“You have much to learn about how this all works.” He backs away two steps, looking at me from head to toe. “And you’re not going to like what I suggest Miss Narumi does with you.”