Chapter 40 - Chapter 38: A Story of World War III
The youth——————the buzz-cut guard—was pushing through the woods without saying anything. Why did he help me even though he belonged to the guard that should be the enemy, and what does he intend to do from now on? There are many things I want to ask. However, for now, I could only follow him in silence.
Now that I've become a fugitive, the only person I can rely on is the youth in front of me. I haven't met Naomi-san, the most reliable person, since I was abducted, and I don't think there's anyone else in this village I could rely on. If he were a person on Yamato's side—that is, my enemy—he wouldn't go out of his way to help me by killing a middle-aged man who was a fellow village resident.
After proceeding through the woods for a while, there was a slightly open space among the trees. Is it more than 100 meters away in a straight line from the gravel road where I was saved earlier? The youth lowered the shotgun he was brandishing and said, "Sit."
"Hey, are you my enemy? Or an ally?"
"Don't raise your voice too much. Even here isn't safe."
Saying that, the youth also sat down on the ground where tree roots were exposed, and brought his face close, perhaps to keep his voice as low as possible, and opened his mouth.
"How does it look to you?"
"...You're not an enemy, but I also feel like you're not my ally. It's true I'm grateful for being saved, but I don't feel good after being sent a memo like 'get out quickly.'"
Though, in hindsight, it might have been the correct answer to escape this village quickly. When I said that, the youth made an exasperated expression.
"Hey, I went through the danger of sandwiching that memo in the book just to save you guys, you know?"
"Went through danger? What do you mean?"
"I can't agree with what Yamato-san and the others are doing... or rather, I'm against it. They're feeding precious surviving humans to family members who have become monsters and whose return to normal is doubtful."
"Then why were you following Yamato-san and the others? Even if you didn't follow them, you could have just left this village quickly."
"There's no way I could do that."
The youth let out a sigh and asked, "Why do you think the residents of this village are only people who agree with what Yamato-san and the others are doing?"
The people in that underground bunker were certainly the residents of this village. Among them were faces I had seen several times when I came to this village or went to the community center to receive distributions. Considering the number of residents in this village, the majority of the residents must have gathered in that underground bunker.
"Why... well, because everyone's family became infected..."
"Wrong. It's because they killed or fed to the monsters every single person who didn't agree."
"——————!"
Thinking about it, there's no way there wouldn't be people who oppose doing such an inhuman thing. Even if their families turned into infected, there must have been residents who held the same way of thinking as I do. A normal human simply cannot do something like using living humans as bait for the sake of the infected.
"After his precious family became monsters, Yamato-san changed... That man said he would confine all the bitten villagers in the underground bunker before they became monsters and shelter them there. Of course, there were people who opposed, but the majority of the residents agreed. No one could bring themselves to take matters into their own hands against the only family they had left."
"...And then?"
"Yamato-san took the people who opposed sheltering the monsters to the underground bunker and made them food for the monsters. Many of the residents agreed with that, or at least tacitly approved it."
"Do they support it so easily?"
"They do. The reason Yamato goes out of his way to gather the residents in that underground bunker when he makes humans into food for the monsters is to plant a sense of guilt in everyone. Nominally, it's so they don't forget the humans who were sacrificed for the sake of their families, but the truth is that by showing the survivors screaming and being eaten by the infected, he makes them realize they've also participated in an inhuman act and makes them easier to control. Those things only eat humans; if they want to keep them alive, they have to feed them survivors. Yamato took the lead in doing that, and the residents supported that action."
Hearing that story, I started to get a headache.
Even if you know the group you belong to is doing something wrong, it's a Japanese trait to follow along with the atmosphere. However, the abnormality of this village exceeds all bounds. Killing innocent people is clearly a bad thing, yet the majority of the residents in this village support it.
Just because their families turned into infected, would they try to keep them alive even by killing survivors? I couldn't understand the hearts of the residents of this village.
I realized that my mom was no longer human after seeing her with her lower body mangled but still alive. And that if left alone, she might kill someone before she died.
That's why I killed my mom. An infected whose reason has blown away, who has lost their memories and lives according to instinct, is not the same human. My mom died at the moment she turned into an infected. Thinking so, I took matters into my own hands so she wouldn't suffer any longer, and so she wouldn't hurt anyone.
But the residents of this village didn't do that. Was that because the infected were all their wives, husbands, and children?
I am not a parent of a child, and I've never had a girlfriend I'd want to protect even at the cost of my own life. If I were someone's parent and had an important life partner, and even if they became an existence that was not human, would I want them to live? I don't know, as a child.
But...
"It's crazy..."
"Yeah, I think so too."
"Then, why didn't you escape? If you resisted, you might be killed, but you could have escaped, right?"
I heard that people who opposed were made into food for the infected, but wouldn't it be no problem just to leave this village? I thought so, but seeing that he didn't escape, it seems that is also difficult.
"If a person who escaped this village spread the story elsewhere that 'In Osawa Village, they're keeping the infected alive and feeding them humans,' what would happen? Not only would no humans come to be bait, but as soon as this chaos settles, the JSDF would come first and kill everyone. That's why even if we can go outside the village temporarily for supply procurement or guarding, escape is impossible. Moreover, when going outside the village, we're always forced to act in groups—in other words, we're monitoring each other."
"Monitoring each other... so that's why you couldn't openly help us even though you knew we'd be made into bait?"
Come to think of it, this youth was also always acting with other guards when I saw him. I didn't mind it, thinking it was just a regulation, but that was to monitor each other so as not to rebel? That's why the youth couldn't contact us to convey the abnormality of this village and had no choice but to take a roundabout method like sandwiching a scribble in a book.
"Right, it's like a good old neighborhood association. Though, a person who is ostracized isn't just ignored, they're eaten by the infected. If you oppose, you're killed; if you try to escape, you're killed. Honestly, why does a police officer have to participate in murder..."
"A police officer? You too?"
"Yeah, that's right. Though I'm a student of the police academy, before formal appointment."
Looking closely, a holster containing a revolver handgun is also hanging from the youth's belt. This one is a revolver handgun exactly like the image of what police officers usually have, unlike Yamato's.
"When the infection spread, both the police and JSDF became short-handed. Naturally; the monsters attack humans and steadily increase their numbers, and if bitten, whether you're a police officer or whatever, you join the monsters. Even the police academy students were all given as many handguns and live rounds as possible and sent out for maintaining public order, but even veteran police officers were dying one after another. A unit of students who hadn't even faced a human was wiped out in an instant. At that time, I was saved by Yamato-san and the others and came to this village."
"Then, don't you also owe a debt to Yamato?"
"Even if I owe a debt, I'll oppose what is wrong. I respect Yamato-san for saving my life, but I can't agree with what he's doing. The reason Yamato-san and the others became like this is because their families are alive while being infected."
That's why... the youth said, taking a backpack off his back and taking something out from inside. I, who caught that in my vision, instinctively widened my eyes.
From the tip of the round, rod-shaped object the youth held, a fuse was extending, and to me, it looked like nothing but explosives like dynamite no matter how I looked at it. More than two dozen of those are packed inside the backpack with the flap open. If it exploded now, our bodies would surely turn into fine pieces of meat so small that individuals couldn't be identified without DNA testing.
"Wha— is that real? What are you going to do with that?"
"Don't worry, I don't intend to blow it up here. I'm going to blow up that underground bunker with these and kill every last one of the monsters. Even if they're infected, they're not zombies; once they die, that's it. If all the family members who turned into infected die, there'll be no need to continue feeding them humans. The fact that their families are still alive despite being infected is the cause of everything; if they die, they won't be able to be obsessed even if they want to. If that happens, Yamato-san won't have to continue doing inhuman things and might return to his senses."
That's why, the youth continued.
"Let's make a deal. I want to set these explosives in the underground bunker, but there are usually people there. But if you guys stir things up in the village, the guard will be short-handed, so everyone will likely head out for backup."
"I see, so you want me to start World War III in the village just to kill those infected in the cave?"
"To escape, you guys would have had to fight the village people eventually; you were going to end up having a shootout anyway. Cooperate with me, and I'll help you guys escape."
What if I refuse? There was no room to ask such a thing. If I refuse his proposal, the youth will just point a gun at me and take me to Yamato and the others. He is a person on Yamato's side; there is no disadvantage for the youth even if I refuse to cooperate. At worst, there's the option of shooting me dead on the spot.
Anyway, I have no information, no weapons, nothing. Right now I am in an isolated state, and if I move poorly, I'll be discovered immediately and taken back to the underground bunker. I don't know the terrain of the village well, and I haven't even grasped where Naomi-san and the others are now. I have no choice but to go along with his proposal if we are to escape this village safely.
"I understand, I'll do it. I'll start World War III or whatever."
"That's fine, but don't be reckless. It's no use if you die. You guys should just aim to escape from the village; if you do that, the village people will panic on their own."
Saying that, the youth put the explosives back in the backpack and took out something else instead. A map, a compass, and...
"These are the weapons we had, aren't they? Where on earth did you get them?"
The last things the youth took out were the weapons like knives and tomahawks that had been taken away. They had been missing since we were disarmed when entering this village.
"I took them from the village armory. There's an abundance of firearms; no one even looks at blades, and they were left to gather dust. I'm sorry, but the guard has confiscated the crossbow and is using it; unfortunately, there are no projectile weapons."
I'd like a gun if he's giving them, but I can't say something so greedy. Well, it's much better than fighting bare-handed. Naomi-san seemed to quite like the kukri knife that can easily slice through human bodies, so she might be happy if I bring it back.
I threw away the farm work axe I took from the middle-aged man earlier and took the all-metal military tomahawk. The axe, which I should be holding for the first time in a while, somehow felt familiar in my hand. I put the weapons I couldn't carry into a small spare backpack the youth had brought, and tucked the folded map into my pocket.
"Here, the keys to your car. As for food, fresh things might have been thrown away, but I think there are still preserved foods. They're probably not in the car, so if you want to take them, look in the storehouse on the first floor of the community center."
"Thank you. So, do you know where Naomi-san and the others are?"
"Naomi, you mean that blonde foreign woman? Those guys apparently headed to detain them as soon as you were caught, but I heard on the radio that they escaped. Apparently she was hiding weapons and one person was killed. At that time she took a handgun and is currently escaping through the village with the two girls."
I see, that's just like Naomi-san. If you want to catch her, who received training from a soldier, you might need a whole platoon of trained soldiers.
While I was happy that Naomi-san and the others were still safe, on the other hand, it meant that joining up became difficult for me. If they were at the house, I would just have to head there, but now I have to search throughout the village. Though it's a different story if I were to leave them and escape, but I had no such intention at all.
We are comrades who have survived many life-and-death situations together. If I leave them and escape alone, I won't be able to forgive myself. That's why I intend for the four of us—me, Yui, Mana-chan, and Naomi-san—to escape this village no matter what.
At that moment, the radio hanging from the youth's waist emitted noise, and a man's voice flowed out. The youth grabbed the microphone, spoke something occasionally, and then released his hand from the transmit button with a sigh.
"It seems the fact that you escaped has already become known throughout the village. I just got an order to catch you as soon as you're found, and try not to kill you if possible. If you want to escape this village safely, you have to either not be found by anyone, or eliminate everyone even if you are found, you know?"
"It's fine, I'm used to fighting."
"Against the infected, right? Have you ever killed a human?"
I've fought against the infected many times until now, and I've survived each time. But the opponents I'll fight this time will definitely be humans. Unlike the infected whose reason has blown away and who have become beasts in human form, they are humans who each have emotions and have lived until now while thinking of various things.
Many of them are likely someone's son, husband, and father. They are likely people who might have families waiting for them if they return home. Although they are currently participating in inhuman acts, it's something they're doing because they have no choice but to do it to survive, and not all of them are born evil.
"...No."
"I thought so. I have. Besides the middle-aged man I killed just now, I've shot several people for maintaining public order. Do you have the resolve to kill a human?"
"Resolve or whatever, I'm just taking the best means to survive. Even if that means killing a human. In the first place, if they attack from their side, I have no choice but to fight whether the opponent is an infected or a human to survive. Even if the result is that the opponent dies, I won't regret it."
I don't want to die yet. It seems there were words in the past like 'human life is heavier than the Earth,' but now human life has become as light as a pebble rolling around. Anyone dies easily.
I just want to survive. If they come to attack, I'll just use my power to pin them down and push forward. It's the fault of those who attack; I won't feel any sympathy even if they die.
When I said that, the youth grinned and said, "That's fine."
"In reverse, I'll ask: even if I kill the residents of this village or the guards who are your comrades, you won't resent me, right?"
"Of course. In the first place, the only one I want to save is Yamato-san, and I don't give a damn about the other people. Those guys know they're doing something wrong, yet they aren't taking any action. If this situation settles and becomes peaceful, those guys will surely turn around and criticize Yamato-san, making excuses like 'I had no choice' or 'I was forced.' Such irresponsible people are better off dead."
"Then it's okay for me to do anything to escape? Even if that brings about a situation that destroys this village?"
"Yeah, I don't mind."
Hm?
Just now, he said anything, right?
Anyway, I've obtained his word. No matter how many dozens of people I kill to escape, the youth only seems to care that Yamato-san is safe. Even though he owes him for saving his life, why does he believe in that man so much?
"Could it be, are you a homo?"
"Do you want to die right here?"
"No, it's nothing."
Well, fine, the youth said, lowering the shotgun he had started to brandish.
"I'll also try my best to disrupt the village's defense system, but the rest depends on your efforts. If you want to get in touch, get a radio and set the channel to 15. That's for emergencies and isn't usually used."
"So, where am I supposed to get that radio?"
"Who knows? Radios were strictly managed. Snatch one from a guard somewhere, along with a gun."
He's asking for something quite unreasonable. But well, I'm grateful just for him helping me escape, and he acted up to the very limit of where his being a subversive element would be found out. It would be rude to wish for anything more.
"The search party for you guys has already been formed, and I have to join the unit too. I'll try to buy time by searching in completely wrong directions as much as possible. ...Good luck."
"You don't die either. Also, I hope Yamato-san returns to his senses."
I don't think the situation will change so drastically just by blowing up the underground bunker, and the youth likely thinks so too. The youth, who gave an ambiguous smile, said "See ya," and ran toward the gravel road, returning the way he came.
From here, I have to act alone. I can't rely on anyone until I find Naomi-san and the others, and the surroundings are full of enemies. Isolated and without help, surrounded by enemies on all sides.
But so what. I survived alone for weeks in a city full of infected; compared to that, this is nothing. Telling myself that, I started walking through the woods toward the village office with the axe in one hand.
I felt like Rambo, or Colonel Matrix. In this small village, I was about to start World War III all by myself.
I look forward to your opinions and impressions.