| |
Hiro! Gods, he must have walked all night, propelled forward only by the intruder that now circulated in his bloodstream. Still, his tender age and undersized frame made this seem unlikely, as did the fact that Kufugaki always gravitated to the easiest available food source. Had Kei somehow found and managed to subdue him?
Plop-plop! Something hit the water. Something too small to be a boy. I crouched in darkness, waiting for more desperate screams, sounds of struggle, and his inevitable splashdown. When none came, curiosity got the better of me. I peered around the side of the passage.
The roots remained undisturbed, clinging to the edges of the cavity like stubborn arthritic fingers. The light had resumed its tired silvery glow, but nothing—not drops of rain, motes of pollen, or even a stray leaf—drifted down the chasm.
No one was there at all.
But someone or something had been there, I knew what I'd heard! As I shrank back into the tunnel, legs shaking so violently I had to lean against the wall to support myself, I heard it again. A scream.
It's just a bird, get a grip!
The voice in my head sounded oddly like Satoshi's.
Just a bird, just a bird... I repeated the statement in my head like a mantra, until cool rationality emerged once again. Of course, it was a bird, or maybe even a fox. The cries of both creatures could resemble those of humans. If one had lost its bearing on landing on or accidentally strayed across the opening, that would account for the noises.
A familiar buzzing in my ears began as I pushed off the wall. I wasn't someone who spooked easily. What the hell was wrong with me! I'd been so preoccupied, so consumed by other thoughts, I'd let my imagination run wild and panic rule my judgement, losing precious supplies and maybe an important advantage over Kei in the process. All because of a stupid fucking bird! Curling my fingers into a tight fist, I pounded the cave wall in time to my silent admonishments. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!
A quick inventory followed on the heels of self-flagellation. I still had a decent light source, night vision goggles, knives, one of the MBLs, and my naginata. Without the ball of cord, I'd have to find another way to mark my path through the woods, but the number of weapons I still had left reassured me. Kei only had two—three, if he'd secreted a knife in one of his boots—and unless he had some source of light, he'd have to stop for the night. While I wasn't keen on camping out in the open, if it came to that, the anorak would keep me dry, while the aramid provided a heat-conserving layer. Without the pack's extra weight on my back, I could maneuver faster, more freely than I had before.
Buoyed by this, I shot a wary glance at the opening outside the passage. Satisfied when it was still empty, I turned the spelunking lamp back on and renewed navigation of the chasm. I made it back onto the first ledge without incident, this time, but then hesitated, eyes drifting down to the dark water. Tempted to prostrate myself on the outcropping and use the naginata as a grappling hook—if the water was shallow, there was a chance I could salvage the pack—in the end, I decided against it. The distance between the ledge and the water looked much longer than the naginata, even if I used it at full extension, and one wrong move, one blade snagged on whatever might be underwater, could result in either a frigid bath or worse.
Back to the drop-off, white-knuckling any handhold I could find, I inched across the rest of the first ledge, then another, determined to reach the next recess where a partial, glowing handprint beckoned. The steady, incremental climb felt much like ascending an uneven slippery staircase, though one without safety railings of any kind. More than once, I wondered if the circuitous route was the right way. Unless Tetsuo was much slimmer on his last visit or brought special equipment with him (something portable and floating, knowing him), I couldn't imagine him engaged in this endeavor.
Finally, I reached the next tunnel: a low, narrow channel. Covered in sour sweat from my exertions, I knelt inside its entrance long enough to catch my breath and peel away the loose strands of hair that had plastered themselves to my cheeks. My throat burned, clamoring for just a sip of cool water—fat chance of that now—and the butt of the MBL was pressing itself uncomfortably against the lower tip of my sternum.
A bit of rearranging later and I was good to go. Good as could be, considering. MBL wedged in my back waistband for easy access, I heaved myself into a semi-crouch. Using the sides of the cave wall for balance, I crept inside.
This part of the cave twisted more than the others, as if the molten lava responsible for its creation, upon encountering what must have been an immovable obstacle, had been forced into an alternate flow route. After the last one of these, the curved walls widened, soaring into a long, stony pocket whose jagged ovate shape resembled an empty underground pond. At its far end, where the depression split into two, smaller passages, a splotch of glowing paint indicated the proper way.
Soft squeals, the rustle of leathery wings, and the gag-inducing ming of excrement greeted me as I entered. I pressed on, hopeful that the presence of another colony indicated meant another opening—a way out—was nearby.//
I didn't have to go far before I saw the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. Oblong and set at an angle, it squinted at me in the distance. Headlamp bobbing, I raced to it, raising some indignant squeals from my overhead companions.
My stomach added to their protests with a bit of unwanted gurgling. Though unsure of how much time had passed since breakfast, I knew I probably wouldn't find any patches of kudzu or itadori in the forest. I peered out but my present vantage point offered little more than a vista of roots and leaves. There might be ferns in the forest, though even if I was lucky enough to stumble upon an edible variety like zenmai or kogomi, only their tips could be ingested raw, and then, only when young and tender. So, ferns, maybe and fungi, certainly. My gaze settled on a cluster of pallid slender stalks, topped with upturned, fluted yellowish caps. Hell no, stomach! No way I'm taking any chances with that!
I cocked my head forward, listening for any movement outside, but heard nothing. For now, there appeared to be enough daylight to avoid using the spelunking light, although the helmet still posed a problem. Of all possible colors in the visible spectrum, why did it have to be orange? Leaving it behind wasn't an option, nor was hiding it beneath my hood, which impeded peripheral vision under the most ideal circumstances.
Resigned to being a walking target (although now, one that wouldn't leave a fiery trail), I flicked off the headlamp, grabbed my naginata, and pushed my way through the undergrowth. I had to move quickly if I was going to reach Yomichi first. After a bit of a hard, upward scrabble, I wriggled out of the cave mouth and had my first real glimpse of Aokigahara's interior.
What I saw made me want to dive back inside the cave.