3:03 P.M.
3:03 P.M.
“Teratsuki Kyoichi’s voice!” I called out, trapped in the darkness.
The song was Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir.” An eight-minute song from the middle of the album Physical Graffiti. One of their best.
This clinched it.
“He has to be the King of Distortion!”
His voice went on. “I don’t know how many people there are inside this Moon Temple…but I’m sure they’re doing what they can to get out. Oh, for those of you outside, there’s no way for you to get in, so don’t bother trying.”
What an asshole.
“God damn it!”
I was grinding my teeth.
“To those of you inside! I’m sure you heard that sound before ‘Kashmir’ started. That was the sound of all the vents in the Moon Temple closing. I’m sure you’re all smart enough to know what that means.”
I gulped, and turned towards the closed vent.
It was sealed tight. No light passing through.
“You’re right! When humans breathe, you inhale oxygen, and exhale carbon dioxide. A basic fact… but your supply of oxygen has just been cut off. I don’t know for sure how long it’ll last you… but if you don’t do something soon, the carbon dioxide will rise to poisonous levels.”
The fuck?!
Was he insane?!
“I wish you all good health! Do your best!”
And the voice cut out.
“Oh my god! Is he trying to kill all of us?” I yelled.
“Settle down,” Shiro said. “I doubt it’s that simple.”
“B-but…”
“Closing the vents alone isn’t enough to cut off the air flow. That’s just a threat—he’s trying to make us panic.”
“…!”
He had a point.
Even in this tiny room, I could feel the air moving.
“R-right. And panicking doesn’t get us anywhere.”
“Perhaps he’s trying to get us to come to him? If you tell people they’re trapped, where do they usually go?”
“The exit. But those are sealed off, so…”
We both looked at the ceiling.
“Then we go up…?”
“This really is a video game…”
But we were locked in here. How could we escape? How could we get to the top of the building?
“We’ll have to find another exit. Shiro!”
“On it.”
We focused our efforts on combing every inch of the narrow back room.