Chapter 232 - Epilogue-6: A Story of the Testing Grounds
Beyond the Tsugaru Strait, where large flakes of snow danced in the air, a solitary gray shadow was visible. The mountains of Hokkaido across the sea were dyed pure white, with not a single hint of the spring thaw to be felt. The season had long since turned to spring, yet snow was falling in amounts that could be called unseasonable, even for the northern lands.
It was said that the decrease in greenhouse gases due to the drastic change in industrial activity as the human population dwindled, combined with the cooling effect of a nuclear war started by some country, had caused the climate to grow colder than in average years. Until now, such things were nothing more than baseless rumors, but since the person who told them was a JSDF member looking after Aki and the others, they could be trusted to some extent.
Many people were crowded onto the pier where the snow fell incessantly. Everyone was bundled in winter clothes, their bodies shivering from the cold, yet no one attempted to return to the warmth of the buildings. Everyone had come outside to catch a single glimpse of the ship arriving from the north.
More than half a month had passed since Aki and the others reached Cape Oma, the JSDF's base of operations on Honshu.
First, they were inspected down to every corner of their bodies; if there was even a small scratch, they were interrogated strictly about when and where they had sustained it. After that, they were isolated for about a week in a room where the entrance was locked and monitored, and only after confirming they were not infected were they finally released.
While Aomori City was crawling with the infected and other ports were rendered unusable across the board, Cape Oma, which had miraculously remained free of the infected due to its location at the northernmost tip of Honshu, was the only functioning port on the main island.
During Hokkaido's "isolation," it was used to transport JSDF members on special missions to Honshu, and now that the "isolation" had been lifted, it served as a base for transporting refugees to Hokkaido. However, due to fuel shortages, ships only arrived once or twice a month, and Aki and the others, having passed quarantine, were forced to remain at the port until a ship came.
Most of the original residents of Cape Oma had apparently been forced to evacuate to Hokkaido; those remaining now were fewer than a single company of JSDF members deployed as the port's defense force, and a small number of local government officials supporting the evacuation to Hokkaido. Naturally, no shops were open. For management purposes, all refugees were gathered at an elementary school near the port, living a communal life much like an evacuation center during a disaster.
Since leaving the elementary school grounds was prohibited, the only things to do were exercise in the schoolyard or read books brought from the library. With no margin to waste fuel, the only heating was a stove installed in the gymnasium. Lacking a surplus of electricity, they were forced into a quite healthy lifestyle of waking at dawn and turning off the lights to sleep at sunset, but no one complained.
While living such a life, other survivors who had heard the government broadcasts began to gather at Cape Oma besides Aki and her group. They too underwent quarantine and lived in isolation just like Aki, waiting for a ship to arrive from Hokkaido.
The number of refugees at Cape Oma was approaching over a hundred. The ships arrived primarily for the purpose of supplying the stationed JSDF, and since they would be empty on the return trip, the refugees were simply being allowed to board. Therefore, even if many survivors arrived, the timing of the ship's arrival would not become any sooner. Furthermore, depending on the weather, voyages might be canceled for safety, so Aki and the others were forced to live their lives under confinement at the elementary school without knowing at all when the ship would arrive.
Then this morning, they were suddenly told to prepare because a ship was coming, and Aki and the others were now waiting at the pier, unable to suppress their anticipation. To improve fuel efficiency as much as possible, they were instructed that luggage was limited to the contents of a single backpack, but many had not brought any luggage to begin with. They were all people who had left everything precious behind at their homes.
Aki remembered her own home. Since her high school was a boarding school, it had been a long time since she lived there, but she still had many memories of the family home she returned to occasionally during long breaks.
Was her home safe? Were her parents alive and well? Would her family ever be able to live in that house again? Now that she was finally able to go to Hokkaido, those worries crossed her mind.
However, thinking about it would not help. First, she would cross over to the safety of Hokkaido. Once settled there, she could search for her parents. Someday, they might even be able to return to their home.
What was needed now was hope that could create a bright future. She would leave all her anxiety here. Aki thought so and strained her eyes toward the ship visible in the distance.
"It's almost time for goodbye, then."
Called from behind, she turned to find Sato there, dressed in green camouflage. He wasn't wearing a bulletproof vest and only carried a single handgun in a holster; from his casual appearance, he was likely off-duty.
"Yes. Sato-san, you've truly taken care of us."
"No, I was saved by you all many times as well. I should be the one saying thank you. Stay healthy over there."
Sato, the only JSDF member among the survivors who had arrived with Aki, had apparently received orders to enter the chain of command of the unit stationed at Cape Oma after completing his isolation. Aki had assumed he would come to Hokkaido as well, but Sato laughed, saying this was his job.
"They say they need every hand they can get right now. After working so hard to get here, I thought for sure they'd give me a break."
When he said that, Aki felt a slight hesitation. In Honshu and other regions, there were still many people living in fear of the infected, holding their breath every day. Was it right for her to cross over to the safety of Hokkaido so quickly? Should she stay here and offer some help—she thought.
However, Sato shook his head at Aki's suggestion.
"Listen, I'm an adult and you're still a child. Legally speaking, you're not even an adult yet. That's why the things we adults must do and the things you must do are different."
"The things we must do?"
"You are the ones who will carry the future. So first, study and gain knowledge. Then, think about how to prevent something like this from ever happening again, and how to help those in need."
And, Sato continued.
"Even if you go to Hokkaido, you won't be returning to a convenient and comfortable life like before. Electricity isn't available, and smartphones are down. Convenience stores aren't open. The only difference is that the probability of being killed by the infected drops significantly; you'll still be living a life where everything is lacking, just like now."
"I heard. Food is rationed, electricity is barely usable, and many people have frozen to death..."
"That's right. It's still a dangerous world where death is close. So take care of your health and live by helping your comrades."
The silhouette of the ship visible across the sea gradually grew larger. "Boarding in 30 minutes!" a soldier in charge of guiding the survivors shouted, urging everyone to prepare.
"...Well then, until we meet again somewhere."
"Live well. Oh, that's right—when you've grown up, how about all of us who made it this far gather and have a drink together?"
"That sounds wonderful. Until then, please make sure you don't die."
Aki and Sato exchanged a firm handshake.
Looking back, she had been constantly in Sato's debt. At one point, because Aki and the others had been deceived by dangerous people, they had even been hostile toward him along with the boy, but thanks to them, Aki and the others had been able to regain their sanity. If Sato hadn't been there, Aki and the others might have become pawns for those dangerous people, harming other survivors.
No matter how many words of gratitude she spoke, it wouldn't be enough, but Sato seemed to be out of time as well. Saying "See ya!" Sato turned his back to Aki and began to walk away. Aki hadn't been told what Sato, who was staying in Honshu, would be doing from now on, but he would surely continue to take on dangerous missions.
Aki prayed for Sato's safety and hoped for the day they could meet again.
The ship that had been visible in the distance was finally close enough for its form to be clearly seen.
The ship, painted in blue and white, appeared to be a ferry that had been used for civilian purposes. Since tugboats could not be used, mooring lines were thrown from the ferry, and workers waiting on the land side pulled them to bring the ferry alongside the quay.
At the same time the workers on the quay finished securing the landing craft with the mooring lines, a ramp installed on the side of the ship lowered, and several vehicles drove out. Trucks with fuel tanks and containers loaded onto their beds followed SUVs, and then over a dozen JSDF members disembarked as well.
The personnel and equipment unloaded from the ship all seemed to be JSDF-related. However, there was not a single tank or armored vehicle. According to what she had heard, they were short even on fuel to move vehicles, so the ones they could move were mostly limited to trucks and requisitioned SUVs.
It seemed that refugee boarding could not begin until all the loaded vehicles and cargo were finished being unloaded, and an air of restlessness spread through the crowd. Nearly a hundred refugees gathered at the pier, waiting for boarding to begin at any moment. If not for the JSDF members holding guns, they surely would have rushed the ship in a scramble.
After waiting several dozen minutes in the falling snow, all unloading was finally completed, and the refugees were permitted to board in their place. A long line formed in front of the ramp, which was originally a vehicle entrance, and local government officials checked names one by one as the refugees boarded. To those who tried to board with such force they nearly pushed the person in front of them despite there being plenty of space, the monitoring JSDF members shouted warnings.
Finally, it was Aki's turn, and she told the government official her name and the management number she had been assigned during her time living there. Name, original address, date of birth, and so on—information that would normally have been managed by a government office. But now, local governments were almost entirely non-functional, and the Basic Resident Register Network was down along with its lines and servers. Since many people had lost their identification in the chaos, the government officials had to manually collect the refugees' personal information and share it with relevant agencies in Hokkaido.
The government official, comparing Aki's face to a photograph taken beforehand, nodded and gave permission to board. The personal information collected here would be sent to Hokkaido and used for food rationing and resident management during their life in the isolation zones.
The metal ramp made a pleasant clanging sound under the soles of her shoes. The vehicle deck, where all the vehicles had been unloaded, was hollow, and perhaps because the air conditioning was not on, the air was freezing. Passing through the ship from the vehicle deck, which smelled of exhaust fumes, she went up to the passenger deck.
The ship, perhaps originally used for a short-distance route, was not that large, and its onboard facilities were not extensive. Naturally, the shops were closed and the vending machines were all stopped; most of the onboard facilities were as good as unusable. The only things available were the toilets and a single electric kettle sitting alone on a cafeteria table.
Since the nearest port, Hakodate, was still crawling with the infected and unusable, the ferry was said to be heading for Tomakomai, which the JSDF had recaptured. It would take less than two hours to reach Hakodate, but they had been explained beforehand that reaching Tomakomai would take six hours or so because they had to go out into the Pacific Ocean and could not maintain speed for fuel efficiency. During that time, the refugees were assigned to a large communal passenger room with no beds or anything, but Aki went out onto the observation deck where the snow was falling.
It seemed the refugees had finished boarding, as workers were beginning to untie the mooring lines. Watching the pier where people moved busily about, Aki wondered when she would be able to return here next.
Hokkaido was a land she had never visited before. She had no family, no relatives, and no one she could rely on. She knew nothing about what was where, and she felt anxious thinking about what kind of life awaited her.
Still, she had no choice but to live looking forward now. They had the role of creating the future. If one only thought of dark things, only a dark future would arrive.
What should I aim for in the future? Aki wondered. In today's world, where there was a shortage of labor everywhere in the literal sense, any profession she took would surely be of use to someone. Though, whether the freedom of choice in profession was provided was another matter.
The image of her mentor flickered in Aki's mind. The teacher who, as the only adult in the boarding school that had become an island on land after the world changed, had protected and guided Aki and the others. However, she too, like many others, was no longer in this world.
But thanks to her, Aki and the others had been able to survive, and they had been able to live through such a world with a sense of ethics. That they were able to maintain a human way of life was undoubtedly thanks to their teacher.
Maybe becoming a teacher would be good, she thought. She didn't know if she could teach and guide someone, or if she had the qualification. But if children were the ones to create the future, she wanted at least those children to live in a human way.
That living humanly at all times was important was a vital experience Aki had learned since the world became like this. She wanted many people to know that.
What would he have said about her dream of wanting to be a teacher? Would he support her, or would he say something realistic like, "Being a teacher is a black-company profession with long hours and low pay despite the heavy responsibility"?
It was very regrettable that the boy was not by her side now. She had wanted to talk more with him about a peaceful future and their own futures, but that opportunity would never come again. The boy who had sought the future so much had sacrificed himself to protect Aki and the others' future.
If she could become a teacher, she would pass on his story as well. The figure of the boy who suffered and agonized many times between the heartless reality and his ideals, who stained his hands with blood many times, yet in the end tried to live through it as a human being. Precisely because it was a world where one couldn't afford to say sweet things, she wanted everyone to know about the boy who struggled to live as a human, and she wanted them to think about what human dignity is, like he did, without their thoughts coming to a halt in the face of the harsh reality.
Black smoke rose from the ferry's funnel, and the hull left the quay. Waiting beyond the rough sea was the land of Hokkaido, dyed in snow. It was surely an unknown land, a tomorrow, and the wonderful [Brave (Brave)] New World [New World (New World)] that they would build from now on.
I look forward to your opinions and impressions.
There are probably about 2 chapters left until the end.