Chapter 148 - Die Together
The harassment attacks against the Brotherhood by the boy and Sato continued several times after that. After attacking about two patrol teams and counterattacking the reinforcement units that came after the report of the enemy they purposely let escape, the Brotherhood stopped actively wandering the town.
They had already killed nearly 10 people since starting the attacks against the Brotherhood, but even so, many enemies still remain.
On this day too, the two were launching an attack against the Brotherhood. As the attacks by the two continued, the opportunities for the Brotherhood to patrol the town decreased, but even so, the Brotherhood still remains in the town. They had set up several small-scale forward bases in the town to find intruder groups from elsewhere or survivor groups they could draw into their ranks.
Three members of the Brotherhood take turns sleeping and eating in those forward bases using abandoned houses or apartment rooms, watching for those who try to enter the town or pass by. The reason he was attacked on the night the boy entered this town was also because he was found by the members who were hiding in a forward base and monitoring the outside.
The two launched an attack on one of those forward bases today. It was difficult to pinpoint the location of the forward bases set up in a corner of the ruins, but fortunately, they were able to grasp the location by finding a map of the forward bases from the belongings of the patrol they attacked the day before.
The raid was successful, and the Brotherhood members inside the base were neutralized. The two took the ammunition and food stockpiled in the forward base, and furthermore, they were bringing back one more "souvenir."
"Hey, walk properly."
To a ruined convenience store where product display shelves had fallen and a destroyed cash register was rolling on the floor, three figures arrived. There were the boy and Sato, and on this day, there was one more man walking as if sandwiched between the two. The boy pokes the back of that man, who had a black bag put over his head and was breathing roughly with a wheeze, with the muzzle of a rifle from behind.
"Hey now, that guy is a prisoner. Treat him with courtesy."
"Unfortunately, I'm not a soldier, so I have no obligation to follow the Geneva Conventions."
"Then when you are captured by the enemy, you can't expect courteous treatment either."
Saying so, Sato looked back to confirm that no one was following. The Brotherhood members in the forward base should all be dead except for this one who became a prisoner, but they should be doubly sure.
"Don't dawdle."
When the boy pushed the man's back with the muzzle again, the man raised a muffled scream under the bag and fell down. Perhaps because his hands were tied behind his back, he didn't seem to be able to stand up well, so the boy had no choice but to grab the man's collar and force him to stand.
"Proceed. If you show any strange movements, I'll shoot."
The man started walking again obediently, but sobbing and crying could be heard from under the bag. The boy grabbed the man's arm regardless and pushed his body into the backyard behind the cash register counter. The door whose lock was destroyed opened just by pushing, and he sat the man on a chair that was in the dusty backyard. The safe for sales management in the backyard had its door forcibly pried open, and small change was rolling on the floor.
"Now, there are several things I want to ask."
Removing the bag that covered the man's head, the boy peeks at his face. Because he was hit several times when capturing him, his face was swollen and blue bruises had formed around his eyes, but even so, the man's age looks not much different from the boy's. Staring at that face smeared with tears and snot, the boy asked.
"A few days ago, your companions should have brought several girls. What happened to them? What are they doing now?"
Whether he confirmed the safety around the convenience store, Sato, who arrived later, closed the door of the backyard. Sato must have witnessed the boy questioning the man, but he said nothing.
"Girls...?"
"Yes, about 10 girls around high school age, and one woman in her early 20s. Among them, the woman in her 20s was shot in the stomach. Your companions should have brought them together."
Recalling the figure of the blood-covered Yuko, the boy frowned slightly. What happened to Yuko after that, this man who is one of the Brotherhood would also know.
But the man either hasn't swallowed the situation well yet, or is choosing his words, or is trying to use it as a material for a deal with the boy; he shows no sign of opening his mouth at all, just looking back and forth between the faces of the boy and Sato. But looking at his state, there was no mistake that the man was terrified.
It's natural to be terrified. After all, the base was suddenly attacked by two people who came, his companions were killed, and he became a prisoner. By the way, the reason the two made the man a prisoner was because they happened to encounter him first when they infiltrated the forward base, and it wasn't because they hit the man after a thorough beating for a particular reason and made him a prisoner.
"I'm telling you, you'd better not think about making a deal. Even if you keep your mouth shut here, there are still many of your companions. It's a matter of killing you here and now and hearing it from them."
Regarding these words, lies were mixed in. First, the boy wanted to confirm the safety of Yuko and the others quickly. As the boy said, there is no problem even if he kills the man here. He just has to capture another Brotherhood member and hear the story.
But that takes time. Whether Yuko, who was shot, survived or not, whether Aki and the others are safe or not, the boy has not grasped yet. If they are having a terrible time, he needs to rescue them urgently.
"If you speak honestly, I won't take your life. But if you say nothing, you have no value."
Saying so, the boy drew a handgun and pointed the muzzle at the man's head. When he cocked the hammer ostentatiously, the man started talking volubly.
"They came, they had come! Girls around high school age, they came the other day!"
"How many were there?"
"10, there were 10! Besides, there was one woman being carried on a stretcher."
11 people in total. It's the same number as when the boy was at the academy. For now, it seems Yuko, Aki, and the others all survived.
"What are those girls doing now? What happened to the woman being carried on a stretcher?"
"The girls are now doing various chores... garbage disposal and cleaning. I don't know about the woman because she was taken to the medical room. But I heard a rumor that she's alive."
"The Brotherhood also prepares a medical room. I thought for sure they were killing injured people who can't fight."
At the boy's words filled with irony, the man glares back.
"We don't do such a thing! We don't abandon injured companions, that's who we are! We're different from outlaws like you who only think about themselves!"
The boy hit the man who raised a loud voice once and made him shut up. He hasn't completely secured the safety around here. In a state where he can't deny the possibility of infected being somewhere, he can't let him shout.
"I'm not hearing your personal opinion now. So, they haven't been harmed yet, right?"
"...Yeah."
"Then good."
Confirming for now that everyone is safe, the boy was relieved. Yuko, who was shot in the stomach, also seems to be still alive. He thought they might be having a terrible time if they became companions of the Brotherhood or something, but for now, it seems nothing has been done to them yet. Or is it about to be done?
"Tell me information about your base. The security system, patrol times, locations of surveillance cameras, all of it."
"That... I don't remember. I just received the list of the security system for this week today..."
"List? Where is it?"
"It was left in the forward base, didn't you guys bring it?"
Without even needing the boy to signal, Sato rummages through the backpack containing the materials brought back from the raided forward base. He intended to bring back everything that seemed usable when they raided the forward base, but unfortunately, because it was a looting in a state where there was no time, there were many things overlooked. As expected, such a list was not found.
"Where is that list?"
"It's in the room of the apartment where we were... inside the bookshelf. It's sandwiched in a black binder. It's not a lie!"
Seeing the boy reach for the handgun again, the man said as if half-shouting. Looking at this state, it seems to be true, but the boy made sure.
"Listen. If I find out you're lying, I'll kill you at that moment."
At the boy's words with all his might of threat, the man shook his head rattlingly. After threatening the man plenty, the boy faced Sato.
"So, what should we do?"
"We have no choice but to go back and get it. It might be trivial information, but for us now, it's precious."
"Sorry, I should have searched for various things more."
The boy bowed his head to Sato. He intended to search once for things that seemed usable after neutralizing the forward base, but it seems there were quite a few oversights. Because he was panicking that the Brotherhood unit that noticed the communication was cut off might come, the cause was that he didn't have the leeway to search the room that had become the forward base thoroughly.
"No, I also couldn't find it, so there's no need for you to apologize. I'll go back to the forward base earlier and get that list or whatever. You wait here."
"I'll go together too."
"If you come too, who will take care of this guy?"
Saying so, Sato points to the man who is hanging his head.
"He's only an anxiety factor, so we should just kill him." Those words were about to come out of his throat, but the boy somehow swallowed them. That would be no different from what he has done until now.
Because they might betray, because they might attack. With such reasons, the boy has killed many unresisting people until now. The boy understands now that it was a wrong thing, and he has even been tormented by feelings of regret to the point of seeing hallucinations.
I don't want to do such a thing again. Even though he thought so, to think he would easily almost say "we should just kill him." The boy realized once again that he has not changed at all.
I look forward to your opinions and impressions.