faint
white glow from the mainland to their south where the last nuclear reactor was located,
which increased their concern that another location away from the mainland
would be in their best interest. Most of their days were spent in the aquatics
center with bi-monthly resupply trips to Osaka, using the extensive maze of
underground tunnels to avoid the abominable creatures above. The aquatics
center’s hot springs provided fresh water, and an array of solar panels on the
roof enabled them to have a few hours of electricity each night.
Every few weeks or so, a couple of them ventured
across the bay at night to an isolated dock near the subway exit. Once inside
they made their way through utility corridors and snaked through an abandoned
power station until they arrived at the service passageway that paralleled the central
tracks. Most nocturnal excursions involved them repeating the same travel route
until they were underneath a derelict grocery distribution center. There they
obtained more canned goods, Soba noodles, medical items, pediatric supplies,
batteries, and sometimes even spent a few hours longingly scanning the streets
for any survivors.
***
The two nearly silent Yamasaki motorcycles
sped along the subway tunnel, the headlights providing some respite from the
darkness. Shiro was in the lead with Yoshi trailing slightly behind to his
right. The two men had outfitted six motorcycles procured from the streets
above and kept a pair stored in different locations throughout the tunnels.
Each was equipped with an array of weapons, spare fuel and parts, and trauma
kits. Shiro had welded four-foot sections of angled rebar onto the front wheel
frames which acted as lances for any creature in their way. Tucked into the
sides of the bikes were several Samurai swords, lead pipes, and spear guns
along with a bamboo quiver of spare darts. Yoshi had fitted the mufflers of each
with sound-dampening devices made from improvised grass-cutter mufflers he had
obtained from a golf course. In addition, they had fixed up a small railway
cart used by maintenance workers. This was hand-operated and the size of a van
but with a flat bed. The cart allowed them to haul large quantities of supplies
along the vast network of the subway utility routes beneath the main terminals.
The see-saw lever in the middle of the cart was laborious to operate so they
only used it for bulky items.
Shiro took a deep breath of the musty air
and exhaled. He was counting down the days until the end of August, when the
trade winds would be in their favor and Nora could sail the group to one of the
distant islands in the Pacific to see if they could locate something that would
provide them with a fresh start. Then he could be free of the goryo — the
evil that roamed the land. Shiro thought the creatures were the embodiment of
malicious spirits that had returned for revenge. In past conversations, he
mentioned to the group that it was only the powerful spirits of the mountain
yamabushi that could put the evil to rest but most of the less traditional
members of his group just nodded respectfully at his beliefs.
It was nighttime above them so movement
through the city would be to their advantage. With the goryo’s eyesight
decaying, the creatures relied on triangulation for locating their prey, using
sound and smell to pinpoint a human’s location. Shiro remembered the early
weeks of June when the goryo milled around clumsily as if they were
blindfolded. He thought maybe their end was near — that the mountain
spirits had finally come to release the land from this evil. But, in observing
them, he realized that they were slowly adapting to using their other senses.
It slowed the creatures down temporarily but the fact that there were so many undead
still made any daytime movement perilous. June was a particularly good month
for laying in provisions and they got around easier, only losing one of their
band.
After several miles of weaving through
white glow from the mainland to their south where the last nuclear reactor was located,
which increased their concern that another location away from the mainland
would be in their best interest. Most of their days were spent in the aquatics
center with bi-monthly resupply trips to Osaka, using the extensive maze of
underground tunnels to avoid the abominable creatures above. The aquatics
center’s hot springs provided fresh water, and an array of solar panels on the
roof enabled them to have a few hours of electricity each night.
Every few weeks or so, a couple of them ventured
across the bay at night to an isolated dock near the subway exit. Once inside
they made their way through utility corridors and snaked through an abandoned
power station until they arrived at the service passageway that paralleled the central
tracks. Most nocturnal excursions involved them repeating the same travel route
until they were underneath a derelict grocery distribution center. There they
obtained more canned goods, Soba noodles, medical items, pediatric supplies,
batteries, and sometimes even spent a few hours longingly scanning the streets
for any survivors.
***
The two nearly silent Yamasaki motorcycles
sped along the subway tunnel, the headlights providing some respite from the
darkness. Shiro was in the lead with Yoshi trailing slightly behind to his
right. The two men had outfitted six motorcycles procured from the streets
above and kept a pair stored in different locations throughout the tunnels.
Each was equipped with an array of weapons, spare fuel and parts, and trauma
kits. Shiro had welded four-foot sections of angled rebar onto the front wheel
frames which acted as lances for any creature in their way. Tucked into the
sides of the bikes were several Samurai swords, lead pipes, and spear guns
along with a bamboo quiver of spare darts. Yoshi had fitted the mufflers of each
with sound-dampening devices made from improvised grass-cutter mufflers he had
obtained from a golf course. In addition, they had fixed up a small railway
cart used by maintenance workers. This was hand-operated and the size of a van
but with a flat bed. The cart allowed them to haul large quantities of supplies
along the vast network of the subway utility routes beneath the main terminals.
The see-saw lever in the middle of the cart was laborious to operate so they
only used it for bulky items.
Shiro took a deep breath of the musty air
and exhaled. He was counting down the days until the end of August, when the
trade winds would be in their favor and Nora could sail the group to one of the
distant islands in the Pacific to see if they could locate something that would
provide them with a fresh start. Then he could be free of the goryo — the
evil that roamed the land. Shiro thought the creatures were the embodiment of
malicious spirits that had returned for revenge. In past conversations, he
mentioned to the group that it was only the powerful spirits of the mountain
yamabushi that could put the evil to rest but most of the less traditional
members of his group just nodded respectfully at his beliefs.
It was nighttime above them so movement
through the city would be to their advantage. With the goryo’s eyesight
decaying, the creatures relied on triangulation for locating their prey, using
sound and smell to pinpoint a human’s location. Shiro remembered the early
weeks of June when the goryo milled around clumsily as if they were
blindfolded. He thought maybe their end was near — that the mountain
spirits had finally come to release the land from this evil. But, in observing
them, he realized that they were slowly adapting to using their other senses.
It slowed the creatures down temporarily but the fact that there were so many undead
still made any daytime movement perilous. June was a particularly good month
for laying in provisions and they got around easier, only losing one of their
band.
After several miles of weaving through
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