Chapter 212 - A Ghost Ship Story
The luxury liner that arrived with the storm drifted as the waves dictated, washing ashore at the Reclaimed Land right before the boys' eyes. More accurately, it was a collision.
First, the bow of the luxury liner pierced the coast of the Reclaimed Land, delivering an impact so severe that those on the shore mistakenly thought a massive earthquake had occurred. The concrete revetment shattered easily under the weight of the passenger ship, which likely had a gross tonnage of 200,000 tons, but the ship's momentum did not stop simply by crashing into the land.
The liner rotated ninety degrees around its bow, which was wedged into the ground, and finally came to a halt after slamming its side against the quay. Now, the luxury liner—so massive one had to look up at it—sat stationary, parallel to the coast.
"Wait, this ship..."
Looking at the ship's name painted on the bow, the boy recalled the corpses that had washed ashore at the Reclaimed Land a short while ago. The life jackets those corpses had been wearing bore the same name as the ship now enshrined before him.
If that was the case, were those corpses the final remains of the people who had been aboard this ship? Looking closely, not a single lifeboat, which should have been suspended from both sides of the vessel, remained. Something must have happened on this liner, causing the people to evacuate, but the bad weather likely sank or capsized the lifeboats, leading to many deaths, and their bodies had reached this Reclaimed Land first.
"I have nothing but a bad feeling about this."
"Even so, we can't avoid investigating the interior. Not unless this ship decides to leave here on its own, anyway."
Sato, who was standing next to the boy making preparations to storm the ship, replied nonchalantly. From now on, the boy and the rest of the security unit were to enter and investigate the interior of this drifted luxury liner.
Since the ship had run aground, they had called out on various radio frequencies and used loudspeakers—prepared for the risk of attracting the infected—to urge any survivors to show themselves. However, not a single human figure appeared on the deck. Was there no one inside, were they ignoring the calls, or were there simply no humans left inside capable of responding to the radio?
If the ship were unmanned, that would be for the best. However, if some hostile humans had boarded the ship and were planning to seize the Reclaimed Land, they had to be stopped. Furthermore, there was even the possibility that the infected were on board. If that were the case, they had to prevent the infected from landing at all costs.
Unfortunately, the current security unit did not possess enough weaponry to sink the entire ship. If there was a hostile group inside, they would need to board directly and suppress them. It's just like medieval pirates, the boy thought.
"It would have been great if there was someone who could move the ship."
"We couldn't move it without a tugboat anyway. There's no use wishing for the impossible."
Even if there were infected inside, it would take a considerable amount of time to check every single room and compartment of the vast vessel. That was why they had first considered moving the drifted liner offshore, but unfortunately, not a single person in the Reclaimed Land had experience operating a luxury liner of this class. At most, they had experience with motorboats, and such experience was insufficient to move a giant passenger ship.
In the first place, the liner before them was in a state of being run aground after crushing the quay, and leaving the shore under its own power was impossible. When large vessels depart, they do not move on their own; they initially need to be pulled or pushed by tugboats. However, because the JSDF had thoroughly destroyed vessels to prevent infection, all the tugboats that had remained in the port area were sunk in the harbor. Without tugboats, it would be impossible to move this giant ship that was docked in a manner almost identical to running aground.
In any case, someone had to board and investigate the interior. And now, the boys were making those preparations. They stuffed rifle magazines into pouches and checked if their weapons were functioning properly.
The boy equipped metal protectors on his forearms. Should they encounter the infected inside the ship, it would certainly result in close-quarters combat in a confined space.
When the JSDF, police, or other general citizens were attacked by the infected, the most frequent site of injury was the forearms. The approaching infected would bare their fangs and bite to kill or spread the infection. In many cases, people would instinctively try to protect their faces with both arms, leading to their arms being bitten. Once bitten, even if they didn't die, the virus would enter the body and they would develop the symptoms themselves. Once that happened, there was nothing that could be done.
The protectors were meant to prevent that. They were made by survivors in the Reclaimed Land who had experience in metalworking. Armor covering the entire body would instead make it difficult to move, and if attacked by an infected, one would be pinned to the ground and pummeled by superhuman strength. Therefore, they were to wear only the minimum necessary protectors that did not hinder movement.
"Fall in!"
At Sato's call, the members of the security unit who had finished their preparations gathered in a line. This time, the investigation of the ship's interior would be conducted by three teams of two; everyone else would remain on the ground in case of an emergency. Two gun emplacements, combining sandbags and JSDF light machine guns, had already been constructed on the quay, establishing a system to immediately intercept if any infected or enemies emerged from the ship.
"We have no idea what the situation is like inside. It's unknown what might be in there, but act under the assumption that there are enemies."
The investigation would proceed more smoothly if they knew the internal structure, but unfortunately, there were no documents indicating the interior layout of the luxury liner anywhere. However, the position of the bridge was certain to be in the upper section at the front of the ship with a good view. This time, Sato and the boy's team planned to head for the bridge to determine what had happened to the ship, while the other two teams would investigate the ship's interior from the upper deck.
"What if there are survivors?"
One of the members raised his hand. Given that all the lifeboats were gone, the possibility of survivors being on the ship was low, but it couldn't be said there were none.
"In that case, protect them. That said, there's no guarantee they'll understand Japanese, so avoid any actions that could be misunderstood at all costs."
"What if we're attacked?"
"You have permission to fire freely. However, if there are infected or hostile survivors, prioritize escaping by immediately turning back the way you came."
The internal structure was unknown, and fighting under such conditions was beyond reckless. This investigation was strictly to confirm what was inside the ship; if fighting became necessary, they would regroup with proper equipment and personnel.
"Regardless of what is inside, withdraw once one hour has passed. If by any chance there are infected, do not allow them to land on the Reclaimed Land under any circumstances."
The Reclaimed Land, surrounded by the sea and accessible only by bridge, was an ideal place to prevent intrusion from external enemies. On the other hand, once invaded, the people inside would not be able to escape easily. Preparations for the evacuation of non-combatants were already underway in anticipation of an emergency, but they wanted to keep the threat confined within the ship.
Beside the members who had finished their preparations, the work to breach the ship was progressing. Fortunately, the boarding door was either warped inward from the impact of running aground or from hitting another ship while drifting, leaving a large gap. Currently, workers with experience in construction were in the middle of widening that gap further so a person could pass through.
Once a space large enough for one person was created using spreaders and jacks, the boys pulled the bolt handles of their rifles to chamber the first round. The workers stepped back, and in their place, the boys stepped into the ship with Sato in the lead.
Inside the luxury liner they were boarding for the first time, all lighting, including emergency lights, was extinguished, and a persistent darkness stretched out. When each of them turned on the lights attached to their guns, they found a hall with a carpeted floor and numerous picture frames lining the walls. Right next to the door was a large counter, perhaps a place for staff to guide guests.
"Look for a floor plan."
At Sato's instruction, the boys shone their lights on the walls to see if there was a floor plan of the ship. The boys had no information regarding this ship.
They soon found a panel depicting the ship's internal structure. Currently, the boys were at the entrance in the exact center of the ship; they were told that if they went to the stern, there was a hall that cut through several floors, containing a movie theater, restaurants, and even a park. However, since the boy was poor at English, he had Sato read out all the contents of the ship's map.
Furthermore, the ship's guide map was strictly for passengers and did not depict the locations of the engine room, warehouses, or the bridge, which passengers were not expected to enter. However, if they headed toward the bow, they should be able to reach the bridge.
"As previously communicated, Team 1—us—will confirm the situation at the wheelhouse, while Team 2 and Team 3 will go up to the top deck and investigate the ship's interior from there. Report immediately if you notice anything, no matter how trivial."
After photographing the ship's map with a smartphone so they could check it at any time, Sato and the boy separated from the other four and headed toward the bow. To ensure they knew the way they came, they occasionally placed chemical lights on the floor. The trail of chemical lights served as a guide to turn back in case anything happened.
There were windows on the hull wall near the entrance, but because they were in the shade, almost no light entered. Furthermore, as they moved forward, they immediately entered the cabin section, and because cabins lined both sides of the corridor, there were no windows at all. Along both sides of the narrow corridor, numerous doors stretched on endlessly. Most of them remained closed, but some rooms were open. However, they did not have the luxury to check the interior of every room now. Just looking at the guide map, there seemed to be a thousand cabins.
He peeked quietly into one room where the door remained open. That room facing the sea was likely the cheapest grade, but the boy felt it had the texture of a high-class hotel. Of course, he had never stayed in a high-class hotel before.
The curtains of the window in the cabin, where a large twin bed sat in the center, remained tightly closed. Sato and the boy shone their lights inside the room, and after confirming no one was there, they stepped inside.
He didn't notice at first, but the room was slightly disheveled. Wrinkled clothes, presumably left where they were taken off, were scattered on the floor, and the blankets and duvets had slid off the bed. A carry-on bag, seemingly belonging to a passenger, was left open, with underwear and clothes overflowing from within.
However, no bloodstains or corpses were found in the passage or inside the room. It didn't seem as though an infected had gone on a rampage inside the room.
Unable to return to port, yet with nowhere to go during the long voyage, had the passengers' mental states also deteriorated? He thought such things.
Yet, even though there should be no one on the ship, there was much luggage left in the room. The passengers had likely evacuated the ship in a great hurry, taking only the bare minimum. What happened might be understood once they reached the bridge.
"Let's go. There are stairs ahead."
Sato tapped the boy's shoulder, urging him forward. The boy nodded, pulled a chemical light from his belt, snapped it, and tossed it onto the floor.
Waiting for your opinions and impressions.