√A Chapter 03: 【Meltdown and Time Limit】 9/16/2030 9:44

√A Chapter 03: 【Meltdown and Time Limit】 9/16/2030 9:44

Radiation Level: 1,571 mSv

Remaining AD: 5

Area 3, Inner Ring

Surveillance Room

TACHIBANA irritably drops her PDA back into her pocket.

“H-Hey, Ukita… What’s the whole deal with this radiation leakage prevention system?!” I ask in a cracking voice. “Why the hell would something like that activate and trap us inside?!”

“Hmm… Since you asked, perhaps I should explain for those of you who don’t know.” Ukita hesitantly answers my barrage of questions. “I need you to understand what a meltdown is first before I can explain why the bulkheads automatically lowered. It’s going to be a bit tedious, though. Are you fine with that?”

“Yeah. The abridged version, please, if you can.” I cross my arms and lean back against the wall as he solemnly breaks down the information.

“In short, a meltdown occurs when a nuclear reactor core rises to exceptionally high temperatures and proceeds to melt. A coolant system constantly cools the nuclear fuel burning inside the reactor to prevent overheating, but…when it’s not adequately cooled for a period of time, the heat will become too much for the reactor’s heat-resistant properties to contain, destroying parts of the containment and releasing burning hot fuel elements outside the reactor.”

“Is that what’s causing the massive fire in Area N right now?”

“Yes. It’s very probable that the extremely hot nuclear fuel set fire to nearby flammable objects. Melted nuclear fuel runs hotter than three thousand degrees Celsius and is capable of burning anything in its path.”

I gulp back the fear forming a lump in my throat and ask a follow-up question. “Am I right to assume the damage to the area is massive since the fires haven’t stopped burning yet?”

“Your assumption is likely correct. Considering the sprinkler systems are shot, there’s a high possibility steam explosions are going off as well. Area N has turned into a living hell of inferno heat and constant explosions,” Ukita details in a grave voice. “…And it goes without saying that nuclear fuel is radioactive material. The fuel that’s leaking from the reactor is releasing considerable airborne radioactive contamination. It might be easier for you to comprehend when compared to a similar case. Are you familiar with the Chernobyl disaster?”

“Nope… I might’ve known about it at some point, but I’m drawing a blank right now,” I answer honestly.

“It’s one of the greatest nuclear disasters to happen in human history. It took place about half a century ago in Ukraine. One of the nuclear reactors in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant underwent a meltdown, rupturing the reactor core in a highly destructive steam explosion that resulted in around ten tons of radioactive materials being leaked outside the chamber. It’d take five hundred of the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima to release ten tons of radioactive materials, which is why it resulted in many casualties. To this day, we don’t know the exact death toll, but some think it to be within the hundreds of thousands.”

“Hundreds of thousands died?! How did the death toll climb so high?!”

“Because of the radioactive materials, of course. It resulted in a nuclear fallout, which is when residual radioactive material following a nuclear blast and fire is propelled into the upper atmosphere and falls out of the sky with rain.” Ukita turns grim eyes on me. “Do you understand what I’m getting at here? This is where the true horrors of a meltdown lie. Think about what will happen when the radiation bottled up in this basement spreads to the surrounding regions! The fact is, the area around Chernobyl’s power plant has become uninhabitable, and we believe it will be that way for the next nine hundred years!”

“It’ll be uninhabitable for nine hundred years?! A nuclear fallout is that dangerous?!”

“Damn straight it is. As such, this facility takes immediate emergency action when there’s a meltdown, in which the bulkheads automatically lock down to prevent a nuclear fallout. That’s what we call a Case N.”

“So that’s what happened…!”

It definitely sounds like it’d be easier to deal with a meltdown if the nuclear reactor is shielded by the unparalleled strength of composite steel plates. If this facility had been made of, say, ordinary reinforced concrete instead of steel, then steam explosions and the like would’ve brought the whole thing down.

Maybe they made this facility into what’s essentially a giant heavy metal box—one they can close the lid on in times of emergency, sealing everything inside into an airtight container—to prevent that from happening. The logic behind it makes sense, but—

“…What’re the people who get trapped inside supposed to do?” I shoot Ukita a hopeful look. “Hey, Ukita, is there really no way outta here? The fact that we’re still breathing means air has to be passing through somewhere, right?”

“Unfortunately, the air ducts are equipped with radioactive material filters that block potential routes to the surface and other areas, making it impossible to use them as a means of escape.”

“Did they have to be that thorough?”

“Of course they did. Japan once suffered through a major nuclear accident. They have taken every safety precaution possible to not repeat that grave mistake again. LABO’s basement floors have been completely severed from the outside world to ensure not a single speck of radioactive ash gets out. So, just as your commanding officer said, all we can do is keep injecting AD and wait until the lockdown ends—”

“I hate to break it to you, Mr. Ukita, but…we don’t have the leisure of sitting around and waiting for them to fix the problem without taking action ourselves,” Moribe says, interrupting him.

“Wh-Why not?”

She pulls out her Procyon and explains, “Take a good look at the reading on this Procyon. It was still around 100 mSv right after the bulkheads locked, but it’s jumped to 1,609 mSv now. The numbers bounce around somewhat depending on where we are, but they’re gradually increasing across the board.”

She’s right—the reading was only 1,100 mSv when I first checked the Procyon. The number has jumped by several hundred in the short time since.

“Why’s the number increasing so much, Ukita?! Don’t tell me you guys set up this facility to contain radioactive materials without doing anything to counter the spread within?!” I pound my fist against the wall.

“N-No, you see…I don’t know why either…”

“You don’t know?!”

“The security gates separating each area are supposed to be effective at stopping the spread of radiation like the bulkheads are, but…all the explosions and fires may have damaged the gates and inner walls.”

“Wh-What the hell?! Then what was all that crap about taking every safety precaution possible?!” Miss Ena presses Ukita, her beautiful eyebrows shooting up. “This damn facility locked down with people still inside and they can’t even open it up from the outside! The radiation is growing out of control, the phones and radios are dead, the elevators don’t work, and the sprinkler system broke! Your whole safety system is full of gaping holes!”

“I-I certainly admit that our safety precautions have a lot of shortcomings, but…the system going haywire and the explosions were all factors outside our forecasted expectations…”

“Isn’t preventing unexpected disasters the whole point of making safety precautions?!”

“Yes, it is, but I’m only a researcher at LABO—I’m not responsible for the security here! Don’t take your anger out on me! I understand why you’re upset, but could you calm down a little?!”

“How do you expect me to remain calm?! It’d be one thing if I was the only one stuck here, but my precious students have been trapped as well!” Miss Ena thrusts her finger at the monitor where the three children are on display. “I just know they must be running for their lives from the fires and fear of radiation exposure right now! At the very least, we need to get AD to them stat…!” She sounds like she’s on the verge of tears.

She comes across as a tough woman, but it’s only natural she’d be struck with concern for her students. She shouldn’t take out her anger on Ukita, but I’m all for finding a way to save the children.

“Okay, let’s go look for them right away!”

“Let’s do that!”

“Wait right there, you two!” Tachibana’s harsh voice stops us short. “There’s still an important factor we have to drill into your heads! Even if we regroup with them, we will require nine AD every hour to keep us all alive and well. However, we only have five AD on us.”

“Crap! That’s right…!”

“Ultimately, not only do we not have enough to give to those three, we’re lacking enough for the six of us present to survive the next hour.”

Miss Ena sharply inhales. “W-We only have five?!”

“I’m sorry to say so, but yes… We never expected to be caught in a situation like this.”

“How could you come so unprepared?! Aren’t you supposed to be rescue workers?!”

“…I sincerely…apologize.”

I grit my teeth as I watch Tachibana bow her head in dismay.

We need a minimum of six AD an hour to prevent radiation exposure for everyone here. With each person we rescue, the number of AD we’ll need increases.

“So basically, we need to find more AD while we’re looking for the other survivors, right?” I summarize for the group before the mood worsens.

“Yes, and as fast as we possibly can. Before their cumulative exposure exceeds fatal levels!”

“What’s cumulative exposure?”

Tachibana quickly explains: “What the Procyon shows us is how much radiation a person will be exposed to within an hour in their current location. In other words, we are being exposed to 1,605 mSv per every hour we stay in the present environment.”

“How bad is that?”

“Bad enough to be fatal. The fatality rate is about five percent when the cumulative exposure reaches 2,000 mSv, and it jumps to fifty percent at 4,000 mSv. And you have a ninety-nine percent chance of death at 8,000 mSv.”

“Ninety-nine percent?!”

“What it comes down to is that the more your cumulative exposure increases, the higher and quicker your risk of dying becomes. And it takes a long time for any radiation you have accumulated to go away.”

In our current environment, that means our cumulative exposure will reach 4,000 mSv within two and a half hours, and 8,000 mSv in five hours without injecting AD. We’ll all be dead in a few hours without AD.

“At least AD can almost completely detoxify radiation exposure up to 4,000 mSv,” Ukita mentions as I shudder. “Plus, it’s extremely useful at keeping you alive significantly longer in environments over 8,000 mSv. Our cumulative exposure won’t increase so long as we continue administering AD.”

“Are you positive about that? Do you have proof?”

“I know it’s hard to believe, but please trust me completely on this matter. AD is our lab’s greatest achievement.” Something like pride fills Ukita’s expression as he gives a fluid explanation of it. “AD is a medicine that protects the entire body from radiation exposure through stable iodine agents, chelating agents, nine types of Prussian blue anti-radiation drugs, and medical nanomachines. The formula circulates through your body from the vein you inject it into, protecting your cells, blood, nerves, and genes from radiation. Furthermore, it detoxifies all radioactive materials and compounds, which are excreted from the body through sweat and urine.”

“I can’t believe such a miracle drug exists!”

“It’s new and hasn’t been approved yet. I’m able to remain calm right now because I know how incredibly effective it is. Otherwise, I’d be running around in a panic.” Ukita doesn’t sound or look like he’s lying about this.

The most important takeaway here is that we can survive as long as we keep administering AD. But it’ll only be a matter of time before death comes for us once we run out.

In which case, this isn’t the time for us to be arguing with each other. We need to scavenge every last AD in the facility and share it with the kids too.

“Hey, Ukita, is it possible to search for other survivors with the surveillance cameras? Or maybe use the PA to talk to them?”

“Sadly, the PA’s not working anymore, and the majority of cameras are broken.”

“How did they break?”

“The fires and explosions probably had something to do with it. Most of the surveillance camera footage is gone for good too. The kids seemed to be headed for Area 6, from what I gathered from the scarce footage I was able to recover.”

“Area 6!”

That means they were headed much deeper into the facility than Area 3. But that works out fine for us. It’s possible there are even more survivors than just the three kids, and we’ll need to check every corner of all the areas to save them.

We’ve already checked Areas 1 and 2. We’ll have covered the whole basement if we search from Area 3 to 6. Not to mention, the other two rescue workers we got separated from should be somewhere around here too. I’m sure they each have the AD they were supplied. It’ll be reassuring once we can regroup.

“All right, Tachibana, Moribe! Let’s search Areas 3 through 6 with a fine-tooth comb!”

“Agreed!”

“Roger!”

“I-I’m coming too!” Miss Ena pipes up in a firm voice.

“But it’ll be dangerous for—”

“Do you honestly think now’s the time to be saying that? Isn’t it more effective if we move ahead with the search as a group?” She looks prepared to face the worst.

“Hold on. I’m coming as well,” Ukita joins in. “I can be of some use to you with my familiarity of the lab’s layout.”

“Me too…,” Yuuri quietly says. “I might not be all that helpful, but I’ll do whatever you tell me to.”

My team and I hesitate, but arguing the point will only waste precious time, so we decide to have them assist with the search.

And thus our various wills aligned to accomplish the two same goals: to survive and to rescue survivors.

Tachibana swiftly starts giving orders to bring us closer to accomplishing our goals. “All right, we are going to split into two teams. After taking balance into consideration, I believe that Captain Kasasagi, Miss Yuuri, and myself should be on one team. Moribe, Ms. Tsubakiyama, and Mr. Ukita will form the other team.” She confirms everyone is down with that plan before continuing. “My team will search the inner ring, so I want Team Moribe to handle the outer ring. We have four search objectives. The primary two are finding survivors and AD. The secondary two are finding a Level 5 security card and a route out.”

All four objectives are things we mustn’t neglect. I carve each deeply into my mind.

“AD can generally be found in iron medical boxes affixed to walls near the entrance to every room. We may be short on time, but please don’t panic, and always keep safety in mind. I’m counting on all of you to do your part!”

“Roger!”

United in our mission, we quickly depart the surveillance room.

Area 3, Inner Ring

TACHIBANA, Yuuri, and I immediately start exploring Area 3’s inner ring. We begin by running through the doorway across the corridor. There’s a fairly large office space inside. Seeing as rows of computers line the walls, a lot of researchers must’ve conducted their work here.

“All right, commence searching! Do it within one minute!”

“You’ve got it!”

“Y-Yes, ma’am!”

At Tachibana’s command, we scour the room.

I don’t find any survivors or medical boxes, but something else catches my eye. There’s a note written on the white board that says:

○ 9/18 Sprinkler System Inspection

*Make sure the sprinkler system is manually shut off before the inspection.

“…The sprinkler system was being inspected? Do you think this is why it didn’t kick in?” I ask, showing the note to Tachibana. She contemplates the information before answering me.

“No, the date is different. Today is September 16. Though we might figure out why the system’s offline if we go to the engine room.”

“Any idea where it is?”

“Negative. We can only hope we find it during our search.”

But obtaining this new bit of information feels like an advance forward, however small. We wrap up our search of the room in exactly one minute and move on.

We proceed around the corner at the end of the corridor and open the door there. Inside is no ordinary room, but an elevator hall. No survivors are around, and all the elevator lights are out.

“We can’t use any of the elevators?” I ask, shooting a hopeful look at those doors.

“We couldn’t use the ones in Areas 1 or 2, so I think it’s safe to assume all the elevators in this facility are disabled.”

“Any chance we can climb up the elevator shaft to get out?”

“Unfortunately, there’s a bulkhead in the shafts at the section leading to the surface. Probably just another part of their radiation leakage prevention system.”

This place is chock-full of bulkheads.

We give up on the disabled elevators and head for the connecting passageway leading toward Area N. But our path is blocked by another security gate. The terminal beside it requires a Level N card.

Looks like we need a special card just to enter Area N…

Area N requires the highest level of security clearance in LABO. It’s all because of the blasted fires burning with a vengeance inside that the bulkheads refuse to open too!

“Hey, Tachibana, is there any way we can get into Area N and stop the fires ourselves?”

“Are you insane?! That’s far too dangerous! It will be extremely difficult to put out the fire without external equipment, and even if we magically succeed in extinguishing it, we will be exposing ourselves to fatal levels of radiation!”

“Right… Dammit!” Not wanting to give up on the idea just yet, I hold the Procyon near the gate. The reading on the display instantly skyrockets to 2,406 mSv. “Holy crap! Get back, you two!” We make a hurried retreat until the Procyon’s readings return to normal. “I can’t believe it instantly jumped 1,000 mSv just by getting close to the gate! I hate to think what it’s like on the other side!”

“A gate made out of lead and other elements should be able to block radiation, but…the surrounding walls and ceiling may be damaged.”

As Tachibana said, it doesn’t matter how sturdy the gate is if somewhere else is cracked. Radiation and atomic ash could be leaking through it.

In any event, I have no doubt a melting reactor is just beyond this gate. It’s a death zone where raging flames and radiation have swirled together. I can’t even begin to imagine how much radiation is going to hit us if we open the gate when the contamination is this bad with it closed.

“Captain, with this we are finished searching the inner ring. We should go help out Team Moribe,” Tachibana says, putting her hand on my shoulder.

With my nod, we run back down the corridor.

Area 3, Between the Inner and Outer Ring

Connecting Passageway

MORIBE’S angry shouts fill our ears the moment we reach the connecting passageway to the outer ring. “You’re not qualified to handle this! Listen to the professional here!”

“What’s the big deal? It’s just a little smoke! Since when have rescue workers been such wusses?”

Moribe and Miss Ena are having a serious spat in the middle of the passageway.

“Stop fighting.” Ukita is trying to mediate between them, but they’re locked in a glaring contest like two cats about to go at it.

“What’s all the commotion? Something happen?” I ask as I approach.

Moribe looks over her shoulder at us. “Nothing yet, but I detected traces of an active fire somewhere up ahead. Since I don’t know where it’s coming from yet, I told Ms. Tsubakiyama and Mr. Ukita to wait in a safe room, but—”

“Stuff your stupid ideas! If there are traces of a fire, that’s all the more reason for us to search as a group to cover more ground!” Miss Ena won’t listen to reason.

Tachibana levels her with an authoritative look. “Ms. Tsubakiyama, Moribe’s judgment is sound. We can’t allow an untrained civilian to roam around where unchecked fires are burning.”

“You’re siding with her stupid decision, too, Lieutenant? It’s just a little bit of smoke—”

“Do you have a death wish? Unless you do, I suggest you listen to us.” Tachibana speaks calmly, but with a commanding aura that doesn’t leave room for argument.

Miss Ena winces. “I-I don’t have a death wish… I just wanted to help with the search…”

“The sentiment is appreciated, but please follow our orders during this disaster. Even the smallest fire, when underestimated, can claim lives. You would do well to remember that.”

“I see… Fine. I’ll leave the decision making up to the professionals, then.”

“Thank you very much. Now then, all civilians are to wait here. Our squad will handle extinguishing the fire.”

Naturally, Miss Ena obeys orders this time, along with Ukita and Yuuri.

“…Looks like it’s our turn to shine,” I say, feeling nervous.

“Sure is. It’s round one in your fight to recovery. This is just what the doctor ordered to reclaim your instincts.”

I nod and head to the outer ring with Tachibana and Moribe.

Area 3, Outer Ring

LIKE the inner ring, the outer ring has a stark interior with unfaced concrete walls, but with a different floor layout. Several doors leading to small rooms are located on either side of the six-foot wide corridor. I don’t see any immediate traces of a fire, but a thin layer of smoke is definitely hovering over the entire area.

“Is this facility’s HVAC system not working either?” I ask.

“It has been, on the most part, but there are some places where the vents have broken, like here. They’ve likely taken damage from the fires.” Tachibana looks around before continuing, “More importantly, Captain, I need you to take one extra precaution while searching this block.”

“What’s that?”

“Please touch the door with your hand and confirm how hot it is before you open it. Don’t open doors, under any circumstance, that feel hot to the touch.”

“Why?”

“Because you’ll cause a backdraft,” Moribe answers instead of Tachibana.

“I take it that’s a bad thing?”

“It sure is. When a fire burns in a sealed-off room, it’ll eventually consume all the oxygen inside and begin to smolder. So when you open the door, air rapidly rushes inside, causing it to combust explosively.” Moribe gestures to the smoke hanging in the air. “We don’t see a fire in this block, but there’s smoke, which means a fire is smoldering away in one of these rooms. So if you don’t check the temperature carefully beforehand, you could get us all blown away.”

“Geh…” I swallow my fear and survey the area.

Dozens of button-operated doors line the corridor. Every single one poses a serious risk of unleashing a torrent of flames if I open it. This feels like a game of Russian roulette, where one door has an explosive booby trap just waiting to be tripped.

But survivors and AD may be hidden behind these doors, and we can’t leave the source of the fire alone either. I have no choice but to muster my courage and carefully check each room.

“O-Okay, let’s tread carefully!”

Frightened of what lies beyond, we commence our search of each room. Tachibana points the hose at the closest door first. I take off my glove and place my hand directly on the door to confirm the temperature.

“…It’s not hot.”

“Roger that. I’m opening the door!” Moribe announces and presses the button.

I brace myself as the door slides open, but all that’s waiting for us on the other side is a tidy office. I let out a long breath—no signs of a fire here.

“Search for AD within thirty seconds!”

At Tachibana’s orders, we do a quick sweep of the room. I spot an iron receptacle the size of a tissue box on the wall near the door.

“Isn’t this one of the medical boxes?” I run up to the container and open it, but it’s empty. It looks like someone has already made off with the contents. Sadly, I don’t see any other survivors or security cards around either.

“On to the next room, then. Let’s increase our search efficiency!”

The next door leads to a stairwell. Unlike all the other rooms with automatic sliding doors, this one has a fire door with heavy hinges. After checking for heat, I open it to find a mountain of debris inside. The spiral staircase had collapsed. It’s been completely destroyed from the part connecting to the surface down.

“Hold on, how did this staircase collapse? I don’t see any traces of a fire burning here,” I observe. There aren’t any scorch marks on the walls either.

“It certainly doesn’t appear to have been caused by a fire. I believe it was caused by one of those explosions of unknown origin.”

I investigate the staircase’s rubble as I listen to Tachibana. There’s nothing here, so we’re forced to move on to the next room.

We scour dozens of rooms after that, with no luck. Not only do we not find survivors or AD, but the fire’s source continues to elude us.

Crap! We need to find some AD and fast! I’m growing more impatient by the minute. The last time we administered AD was around 9:16 am. It’s almost 10:00 am now. We have little more than fifteen minutes left before we should take our next dose. Finding survivors and the security cards is important, but we won’t survive the next hour without more AD.

With growing dread biting at our heels, we approach the next room. I check the door’s temperature like every other time. It doesn’t feel any hotter than body temperature.

“No…heat here either,” I report.

“Roger. I’m opening the door.” Moribe reaches for the button.

We’ve repeated this routine dozens of times now. I’ve become less focused than I was at first because I’ve grown used to nothing going wrong. That’s why I didn’t notice it sooner. The door might not be hotter than body temperature, but it’s still hot!

“Oh, crap! Don’t open it, Moribe!” I yell, but it’s too late. Moribe’s finger presses the button, opening the door.

It feels like all the air around us is being sucked into the room. Moribe dives away from the door just as fire shoots toward me out of the room with a monstrous roar.

“AGH!” I cry out from the shock.

I’m dead—or so I thought, but thinking means I’m alive. My eyes peel open and I see Tachibana on top of me. She knocked me out of the way just in the nick of time.

“Are you all right, Captain?!”

“I-I’m fine! But this is bad!” I push to my feet and assess my surroundings, which have been engulfed in a sea of flames. The fire smoldering in the room had combusted and spewed into the corridor. The hose had been flung out of Tachibana’s hand and onto the ground beyond the fire.

“Are you guys okay?!” Moribe calls out from the other side of the swaying flames.

“We’re all right! Please throw us the hose!”

“On it!” Following Tachibana’s orders, Moribe grabs the hose and tosses it in our direction. The metal nozzle slides across the floor and into Tachibana’s reach.

As I’m watching her, the flames sway toward us and lick my left hand. “Ouch!” The heat passes through my glove, searing the back of my hand. The growing flames send a hot blast of wind my way, burning the inside of my nose and the back of my throat. I start coughing and gagging.

“What are you doing, Captain?! Please stand back!” Tachibana barks, bracing the hose turned toward the rampant fires. “I’m releasing the water!” A powerful jet of water bursts forth, steadily pushing back the flames as it blows them out.

“Amazing…!”

“You want to aim for flammable, burning objects, not the fire itself, when putting out a fire. Please watch and memorize how I do it,” Tachibana calmly explains as she nimbly manipulates the heavy hose. Water swells into the burning room like a living creature. The fierce blaze grows smaller by the second until it’s completely doused. “The fire has been extinguished,” she quietly announces as she shuts off the flow of water.

Moribe dashes over to us. “You guys were in a serious pinch there!”

“Yeah…we somehow made it, thanks to Tachibana.”

“I’m glad you aren’t hurt, Captain, but”—Tachibana suddenly grabs me by the collar, shoves me against the wall, and starts berating me—“why did you give the okay without properly confirming the temperature first?! I warned you about how dangerous that is!”

“I-I’m sorry… I was starting to panic when I thought about how badly we need AD…”

“You panicked?! You’re blaming your failure on panic?! Do you honestly believe you can do our job with such naive thinking?! In your state, you won’t be able to protect yourself, much less save others!”

“…!” I avert my eyes away from her furious rant.

“Don’t be too harsh on him, Lieutenant! He’s out of sorts today, so we can’t expect him to be himself!” Moribe intervenes on my behalf.

“I know. He never makes such rash mistakes.” Disappointment oozes from Tachibana’s voice.

“H-Hey, Tachibana…what was I like before this?” I ask, unable to take being such a letdown.

“You were the ideal rescue worker. You were an impeccable commanding officer who possessed both composure and bravery, while excelling in the field with your physical and rescue skills.”

Moribe agrees wholeheartedly with Tachibana’s evaluation. “That was you all right. You were a bit standoffish and strict, but someone I could count on to keep us safe.”

“That was me, huh?” If that’s what they thought of me, then I must’ve been an exceptionally talented rescue worker. I feel like such a worthless coward in comparison to the me I don’t know. “I really am sorry for making such a big mistake… I know it’s late to say so, but I’ll make sure to put safety first from here on out.”

“Please be extra cautious until your memories and skills return. This area is in the clear now, so let’s continue the search before we waste more time,” Tachibana declares and briskly walks off.

Moribe and I follow behind her. My burned left hand stings. I would’ve never made such a stupid mistake if I was my normal self. Just knowing that eats away at me.

“What’s wrong, Captain? You look horrible,” Moribe whispers.

“I’m reflecting on my actions… I feel pathetic.”

“Ha! You’re like a completely different person today. You’re saying the same stuff I do.”

“You say stuff like this too?”

Moribe flashes a wry grin. “Truth is, I often think the same thing you just said. I always wonder, ‘Am I really fit to be on SIRIUS’s squad?’ SIRIUS is led by awesome people like you and the lieutenant, so I can’t help feeling like I don’t belong.”

“Awesome people, huh? Too bad I’m a far cry from that person now.”

“Don’t be hard on yourself, silly. It’s only natural you’d be a mess without your memories. I’d seriously be out of a job if you showed me up in your state.” Moribe gives me a light thwack on the back. She tends to be overly familiar with people, but she doesn’t seem like a bad person. “Well, you can’t beat yourself up over spilled milk forever. I’ll cover for you when you make a mistake, so let’s work hard together without losing hope!”

“Thanks, Moribe… I’ll try to catch on fast, so I’ll be counting on you to watch my back until then.”

“Okay! I’ve got you covered!” She smiles at me.

I’m filled with reassurance when all I’ve felt until now is helplessness. She’s a whole twelve years younger than me, but she seems to have a natural inclination to look after others. She has a cheerful disposition that makes her easy to lean on for mental support as well.

Thanks to chatting with her, I’m able to pull myself together and recommence our search of the outer ring. But we don’t come across anything of value. Worse yet, the last door is jammed because of the flames let loose by the backdraft.

“A room we can’t get inside, huh? This is my fault too…”

But unlike the other doors, this one has a small square window. I take a peek inside, but it’s empty.

“I don’t see any survivors… Should we still break down the door and look inside?”

“Breaking it will take time. Let’s wrap up our search of this block and return to the inner ring.”

Moribe and I are in full agreement with Tachibana. We turn around and travel back down the path we took to get here.

Area 3, Inner Ring

MISS Ena and Ukita are waiting for us when we get back to the inner ring.

“D-Did something happen?” Miss Ena stutters with worry. “I heard something explode earlier.”

“It wasn’t quite an explosion. I caused a backdraft…,” I inform them, explaining what happened in the outer ring.

Ukita frowns at my story. “Hmm. The fires are spreading farther and faster than I expected. Shouldn’t we speed up the search?”

“Yeah, let’s move to Area 4— Wait a sec.” I pause and look around. “Hey, guys, where’s Yuuri?”

Everyone gasps and looks around.

“What do you mean ‘where’? She’s not here?! Where did she go?! She was here until just a minute ago!” Miss Ena panics.

“Crud! Let’s look for her! She’ll be in danger alone!”

Everyone agrees and we break into groups to look for Yuuri.

As I run through the corridor, I mull over where she might go. Yuuri shouldn’t have a security card, which means she can’t have left this area. So if she’s going to be anywhere, it has to be within Area 3’s inner ring.

The emergency stairwell comes into view as I’m working out her possible destination. Maybe she went to check if there’s a way to the surface from there? I charge inside, hoping to find her, and spot Yuuri trembling in the dark depths of the stairwell.

“I found her! She’s in the emergency stairwell!” I shout, summoning the others right over.

“You can’t run off like this, Yuuri!” Tachibana harshly scolds her. “Why did you leave Ms. Tsubakiyama?”

“Um, I…heard an explosion and got scared…,” she weakly answers.

“Going off on your own is even more dangerous than an explosion! You must never leave us without permission!”

“I-I’m sorry…” Yuuri hangs her head, tears welling in her green eyes. Being yelled at by an adult has thoroughly crushed her spirit.

“Don’t be too tough on her, Tachibana,” I say to smooth over the tense mood. “Yuuri was frightened by the backdraft I caused. You should be blaming me instead of her.”

“You’re being too soft, Captain! If something like this happens again, we might find a body next time!”

“I agree, but Yuuri’s learned her lesson. Haven’t you?”

“…I have.”

I offer the crestfallen girl a reassuring smile as we head to Area 4.

Along the way, I glance at my watch. “We’re in deep here. It’s already 10:07 am. We have less than ten minutes before we need our next injection,” I mutter, more to myself than anyone else, but it gets a reluctant response out of Yuuri.

“U-Um…if it comes down to it, I don’t mind passing on the shot—”

“How could you say that, Yuuri? We don’t have to think about those things until we’re out of time for sure. Let’s have faith that we’ll find more AD in Area 4.”

“O-Okay…,” she timidly agrees.

As I’m encouraging her, my suspicions start to rouse. Yuuri is in no way uncooperative with our search. She’s terribly afraid but she still puts others before herself. So why would such a kind person try to escape on her own?

I think back to the face she made when we first met. Fear undeniably twisted her features when she saw me.

Is she scared of me the most? If so, why? I don’t have the time to figure it out as the gate dividing the areas comes into view.

I open the gate with the Procyon in my opposite hand. It’s reading 1,782 mSv—a safe level with AD. There aren’t any signs of a fire either.

But something entirely different has us frowning at the open door.

…What in the world is this smell?

The passageway beyond the gate has a strange odor like rusted iron. I’m getting a bad feeling about this.

“That’s the smell of blood…!” Moribe cries out, shocking the rest of us.

Between Area 3 and Area 4, Inner Ring

Connecting Passageway

“BLOOD?! Could Tenkawa and the girls have gotten injured?!” Miss Ena is the first to react aloud.

My heart lurches at the thought. This connecting passageway goes around a bend in the middle, making it impossible to see to the end. But the smell of blood is definitely coming from farther inside.

“…Don’t jump to conclusions, Miss Ena. There’s no guarantee it’s one of your students.”

“I want to believe otherwise too! But—” She bolts down the passageway before she finishes speaking.

“Tachibana, Moribe, after her!” I shout.

“Roger! Yuuri, please wait here with Mr. Ukita!”

Tachibana, Moribe, and I run off, leaving Yuuri and Ukita at the gate. Miss Ena is already to the bend. A second after she disappears around the corner—“KYAAAAAAA!” —she lets out an ear-piercing scream.

Her shriek stops us in our tracks. She staggers back into view.

“What’s wrong, Miss Ena? Did you see something?!”

“A-Around the corner! C-Corpses…!”

The air around us instantly freezes. For a second, I imagine those children’s bloodied bodies.

“Corpses? Please don’t tell me you found your students!” I ask in a hoarse voice.

She shakes her head. “N-No, not them… But they aren’t normal corpses!”

“H-How so?”

“…You’ll know when you see for yourself.” Trembling, she points beyond the bend.

Gripped by terror of the unknown, I squeeze out, “Let’s go…”

Tachibana and Moribe silently nod. I reluctantly peer around the corner and sharply inhale.

A gruesome scene straight out of a horror movie jumps out at me. The first thing that floods my vision is deep red. The passageway is dyed with the color of blood. Lying in a pool of blood are two corpses ripped full of holes. Farther past them is yet another dead body, wearing the same hazmat suit as the ones Tachibana and Moribe showed me.

The second she sees the third body, Tachibana cries out in a quivering voice, “I-It can’t be! That’s… That body is…!”

“You know them?”

“Y-Yes…it’s D-Dojima.”

I’m floored by that reveal. That’s the name of one of our teammates!

“Does that mean our teammate died?!”

Tachibana nods and weakly mutters, “Wh-Why did he…have to die this way…?!”

No one has an answer for her. I stare at that dead body in a daze.

I always thought the corpses I’d see in this facility, if any, would be those who had been burned to death. But that clearly wasn’t the case here. It doesn’t take a professional to know that’s not what happened. These were the bodies of people who had their lives taken by another—they’ve clearly been murdered.