√A Chapter 05: 【Teamwork and Struggle】 9/16/2030 10:3５

√A Chapter 05: 【Teamwork and Struggle】 9/16/2030 10:3５

Radiation Level: 2,352 mSv

Remaining AD: 0

Area 4, Between Inner and Outer Ring

Connecting Passageway

MY consciousness is trapped within endless darkness. Without the ability to rely on my five senses, I have no idea where I am. After what feels like an eternity, I hear someone breathing through the haze.

“Huff, huff… You weigh a ton, Captain Kasasagi!”

I open my eyes to see the side of Miss Ena’s face. She’s walking with my arm around her shoulders so she can drag me along.

That’s right! I blacked out! I move slightly, causing her to turn her eyes toward me.

“Oh! You’re awake now?!”

“Wh-Where are we? Why are you carrying me?”

“In the passageway connecting to Area 4’s inner ring. Ms. Moribe carried you this far after you passed out in the outer ring.”

“Where’s Moribe now?”

“She met up with Ms. Tachibana and they’re working together to put out the fire in the outer ring. They asked me to take you to the system control room.”

“So that’s what happened… Sorry for the trouble.”

“You should be. It’s a Herculean feat to carry you with a woman’s slender arms!” She flashes me a teasing grin.

I smile back wryly. “By the way, what happened to the girl? Sannomiya, was it?”

“She got away, according to Ms. Moribe. She wasn’t anywhere to be found inside the outer ring.”

“Did she escape to another area?”

I don’t know where the girl went. I feel like I saw her running off somewhere right before I collapsed, but my memories from around then are nonexistent. But we know for a fact that she got away.

“…Why did she run away?”

“I don’t know.” Miss Ena gives her head a small shake. “Do you have any ideas?”

“None…”

But thinking back on it, Yuuri was clearly scared when she first saw me too. Is my face that frightening in a disaster? Or had that girl also come across those dead bodies and is on edge because of that?

The truth is a mystery.

“…I’m sorry, Miss Ena,” I say with a sigh. “I failed to save your student.”

“What?” She looks surprised, but that expression immediately gives way to a soft smile. “…It’s okay. You risked your life trying. Besides, it’s a step forward just knowing that Ms. Sannomiya really is trapped down here.”

“But she ran through a contaminated zone. There’s a high chance she’s been exposed to radiation.”

“Actually, there might be some hope on that front,” she says, pulling something from her pocket. It’s an empty AD ampoule.

“What’s the story with that?”

“It was on the ground near where Ms. Sannomiya had been. If she’s the one who used it, then it should offer her some basic protection at least.”

“We can’t be overly optimistic. I doubt she has a Procyon. It’s dangerous for anyone to stay in contaminated zones for too long, even with AD.”

“…She’ll be fine, Captain Kasasagi,” Miss Ena reassures me in a calm voice. “She’s actually a prodigy who excels at almost everything.”

“A prodigy?”

“She sure is. I just know she’s the kind of girl who can figure out a way to survive by herself.”

“I see… That definitely offers some hope.” I should believe in that hope, even if it’s little more than grasping at straws.

“By the way, how long must I carry you for?”

“Huh? Ah! Sorry!” Realizing my arm is still wrapped around her shoulders, I quickly take my weight off her. She chuckles at me.

“You don’t have to jump away like that. I won’t bite. And you’re still under the weather.” As she says that, the sternness that usually dictates her speech and mannerisms is replaced by kindness. Trying to save her student probably made a good impression on her.

Feeling a little self-conscious, I thank her. “Well, anyway, thanks for everything. I’m ready and raring to go again.”

“I don’t mind helping you out if this is all it takes. Anyway, we should hurry to the control room.”

We break into a run to make up time.

Area 4, Inner Ring

Outside the System Control Room

YUURI is waiting for us in front of the control room.

“Um, did something bad happen…?” she asks upon seeing us.

“Not bad per se. Our captain here passed out right after entering a contaminated zone.”

“You went into a contaminated zone? Why did…you pass out…?”

“Well, I got a killer headache out of nowhere…,” I explain calmly so as not to make Yuuri fret too much. “It might’ve been a side effect from radiation poisoning. Tachibana says radiation can damage your brain cells, so that could be the culprit here.”

“Oh no…!” Yuuri stares hard at my face. She seems concerned about me.

“It’s okay, Yuuri. This is our way of life. We’d be out of a job if we made civilians, especially young ladies, worry about us.” I craft a smile just for her, earning a teasing remark from Miss Ena.

“Oh my, you’re finally starting to sound like a man of your station, Captain Amnesia.”

“Well, amnesia aside, I’m supposed to be a rescue worker. This is just my way of playing it cool.” As I say that, it hits me that my subordinates are currently fighting fires in the outer ring. “All right, I’m off to help Tachibana and Moribe. Wait for us in the control room.”

“Huh? Will you be okay? Did you also forget that you just fainted?”

“I’m all better now. So I’ve gotta go make up for lost ground.”

“Good grief. You’re such a tough guy, aren’t you?”

With that comment at my back, I run toward the outer ring.

Area 4, Outer Ring

I race through the connecting passageway and find the outer ring still engulfed in a sea of flames. Surrounded by spark-spewing fire on all sides, Tachibana and Moribe are desperately suppressing the blaze with two hoses.

“Captain! Are you sure you’re okay to be up and about?!” Tachibana shouts over the roaring fire when she sees me.

“You needn’t be concerned about me! Anyway, is there anything I can help with?!”

“I would love some assistance putting out this fire, but you can see for yourself…”

I survey the area. Aside from where Tachibana and Moribe are standing, the rest is on fire. With heat, steam, and smoke filling the air, every breath I take feels like its setting my lungs on fire.

This fire looks like it can’t be controlled by just human hands anymore.

All of a sudden, the nearby flames surge fiercely upward and lick the ceiling before slowly rolling back to the ground. It almost looks like a giant writhing fire snake.

“H-Hey, guys, what’s that?!” I call out in warning.

Tachibana and Moribe both balk at it.

“Oh, crap! It’s rolling over!” Moribe yells.

“We won’t last against that! All hands retreat!” Tachibana orders in a loud voice.

Even I can tell we’re in too deep here. I break into a run behind Tachibana and Moribe. I hurtle into the connecting passageway and slam the gate’s close button. There’s a white flash on the other side of the closing gate.

“AGH!” A shockwave crashes through the opening, knocking me back. A sharp pain radiates from my rib cage as my body is tossed on the ground like a ragdoll. “GRAH! UAGH!” Moaning, I shove to my feet and stare at the closed gate.

It appears an explosion occurred in the outer ring, and the blast burst through the gate before it fully closed. I shudder when I think about what would’ve happened had we been even a second slower.

“Wh-What was that explosion?” I ask once I catch my breath.

“A flashover,” Moribe explains. “It’s a temperature-driven event where the contents of the room suddenly and simultaneously ignite. The snake of fire that darted out of the smoke was the warning sign.”

“So that’s why Tachibana gave the order to retreat…”

We would’ve all been torched to a crisp if we stayed there a minute longer. I gulp as the ferocious nature of fires is figuratively burned into me.

But I’m glad we got outta there alive. I glance toward Tachibana, only to find her painfully leaning against the wall with her hands pressed to her head.

“Wh-What’s wrong, Tachibana?”

“N-Nothing… Just got a sudden headache and a bout of dizziness…”

“You have a headache?!”

Now that I think about it, the area where we were putting out the fire had a reading of over 4,000 mSv on the Procyon. And it doesn’t help that Tachibana took a halved dosage of AD.

“Hey, Tachibana, are these signs of radiation damage?” I squeeze out in a hoarse voice.

“No, subjective symptoms of radiation damage shouldn’t manifest this quick. This is more likely the effect of overexposure to carbon monoxide.” Tachibana’s still blue in the face as she speaks.

She dismissed radiation damage, but we can’t be overly optimistic here. I experienced a killer headache and blacked out the second after I set foot in a contaminated zone. She can’t be much better off with a lesser dose of AD.

“At any rate, let’s return to the control room for now. Going back into Area 4’s outer ring is no longer an option.”

“O-Okay…”

Tachibana briskly walks off, leaving Moribe and me to run after her.

As we feared, a halved dosage of AD wasn’t good enough to do its job. Not to mention, it’s beyond extremely dangerous for her to have injected a drug housed in a damaged container.

We have to find more AD before it’s too late. With that thought clawing away at me, I take quick strides toward the control room.

Area 4, Inner Ring

System Control Room

MISS Ena, Ukita, and Yuuri are already inside the control room when we get there. Ukita’s mortified shout echoes through the room when we step inside. “Damn it all! I can’t steal the root authority!”

“Wh-What’s going on, Ukita?”

He turns around at the sound of my voice. “Oh, it’s you guys. I heard everything from Ms. Tsubakiyama. Sounds like you went through hell.”

“Yeah, but we’re good now.” I decide to leave out Tachibana’s worsening health for the time being. “Anyway, did something go wrong? What’s this about not being able to steal authority?”

“Well, I’ve been expending all my efforts toward gaining control of the bulkheads. The control systems are buried under thick layers of protection I can’t get through no matter how I try.”

“I see…”

Everyone’s expression falls at his explanation. Having our hopes, however small, dashed is a huge blow.

Sensing our disappointment, Ukita quickly fills in the silence. “…I can’t say this makes up for it, but I discovered several things in the process. Please turn your attention to the monitor.” He operates the control panel, bringing up a picture on the screen.

“What’s this?”

“A detailed map of this lab. I marked the places of note.”

“Oh, this’ll be a huge help! This facility has a crazy layout I’ve been struggling to figure out.”

“And it’s not just a basic diagram of the layout. You can also use it to somewhat confirm the state of areas. Here’s what I learned from it.” Ukita gives his explanation while gesturing to the map. “First, all routes leading to the surface have truly been blocked off by the bulkheads. There are no alternative exits either. Incidentally, while some of the staircases going down are intact, every staircase leading up to those bulkheads, excluding the one in Area 2’s inner ring, have collapsed.”

“Hmm? What are these red marks, then?”

“Oh, those indicate the areas that are on fire.”

Red marks blot out whole sections of the map. They cover Area 4’s outer ring where we just had our run-in with the flashover. Worst yet, Areas 5 and 6 are drowning in red. In other words, all the areas we’re going to visit from here on are on fire.

“These fires probably damaged the security gates, causing radiation leaks…which is why the Procyon’s readings are jumping to higher and higher numbers.”

“Can we stop the numbers from increasing by sealing up the damaged areas?”

“It wouldn’t be easy. We don’t know what parts have been damaged, and it’s likely a lot. Besides, I highly doubt slipshod repairs will prevent radiation from spreading.”

“Great. Just great. We can’t continue our search with the whole place on fire.”

Some sections are no longer accessible to us even though we need to get more AD to Tachibana ASAP. And with all the unsearched areas on fire, I’m worried about the other survivors’ safety.

“Hey, Tachibana, Moribe, what do you think we should do next based on this new information?” I ask.

“The first order of business is finding AD, stat,” Tachibana says grimly. “Putting my own situation aside, the whole group is running out of time before we need our next injection.”

“But where do we look? The block we planned on searching next is burning away like there’s no tomorrow…”

My comment gets Yuuri to break her silence and speak up. “U-Um…I found this while I was waiting for you…”

“Oh?” I look at the small booklet in her hand.

“I think this is the facility’s disaster prevention manual. If you take a look at this page…” She opens the book to a certain page and holds it out to us. Our group walks over and takes a look at it together.

Disaster Prevention Manual (2030 Edition)

In the event of an emergency such as a fire or accident occurring in the facility, please be prepared for a Case N to occur. Follow the procedures listed in this manual, and secure AD within the facility first and foremost. Please take the following countermeasures on the off chance a Case N does indeed occur.

The first thing you must do in the event of a Case N is immediately administer AD to yourself. Please do not panic should the bulkheads seal off the passageways to the surface. Remain calm, go to the nearest room, and wait for help to arrive.

A supply of AD is available in all areas. We recommend all personnel learn and confirm where the AD is kept in their area. Spare AD has been prepared in Areas 1, 3, and 5 for emergencies. Please obtain a supply as soon as possible and administer it.

There are several other entries in the manual, but those are the only ones that pertain to our current predicament.

I crack a smile at this new information. “Sweet! Sounds like there’s spare AD located in Areas 1, 3, and 5! Is there anywhere we haven’t checked in Areas 1 and 3?”

“There is—toward the end of Area 3’s outer ring, where we just were earlier. There’s one room we couldn’t get into because a backdraft destroyed the button.”

“Ah, I remember that. So it’s my fault, huh?”

“Wait, there’s a room you couldn’t get into?!” Ukita blurts. “All right, if I can pull this off, we might be able to solve both our AD and fire problems at once!”

“How? Did you come up with something, Ukita?”

“Yes. Take a look at this part of the map.” He points to the bottom right of the screen where something unusual is on display. There’s a block beside Area 3, called Area 3 Attic.

“What’s this?”

“It’s like a mezzanine floor between the surface and basement floors. This is the engine room where various equipment is stored.”

Hearing that reminds me of the note I found during an earlier search. “Is this the engine room where the sprinkler system is located?! How do we get there?!”

“According to this map, through a room at the end of Area 3’s outer ring. In other words, there’s a ladder leading to the engine room, located inside the room you couldn’t access. We should be able to restart the deactivated sprinkler system there.”

“So if we can find a way inside that room, we can put out the fires and get a hold of some AD!”

The news gets us all excited.

“The problem is how to get in that room. Want me to try repairing the jammed door?” Moribe offers in an ecstatic voice.

“Can you do that?”

“I don’t know, but it’s worth a try. I’ve got my handy army knife on me.” She whips out her knife for us to see.

The civilians in our group are all for her idea.

“I’ll lend you a hand, then,” Ukita volunteers. “I’m the only one who knows the engine room’s layout, after all.”

“I’ll come along as well. It’s kind of scary waiting here,” Miss Ena admits, hugging her shoulders.

“I-I agree… I’m coming too,” Yuuri quietly mutters.

Our next destination is set. Fires will no longer be a concern if we can get into the engine room. We leave the control room with a new hope tucked away in our hearts.

Area 3, Outer Ring

AS a group, we head for Area 3’s outer ring, eventually arriving at the unopenable door. I peer inside through the small window and spot a ladder in the back corner. I hadn’t noticed it the last time, but Ukita’s information was spot on.

“Alrighty, I’ll give repairing it a whirl. Give me a few minutes, guys,” Moribe says, taking up position in front of the door. She fiddles with the switch using her army knife’s screwdriver.

Hoping for the best, we watch her as she works on it. I shift my eyes from her to where Tachibana is rubbing her arms with unease etched into her features.

“What’s wrong, Tachibana?”

“Oh, not much… I just feel this tingling pain in my skin…”

“You do?”

I have a seriously bad feeling about this. Forty minutes have flown by since our last AD dose. What if the damaged AD isn’t working like it’s supposed to? Has her cumulative exposure surpassed 2,000 mSv by now? It doesn’t help that we haven’t gotten a single AD since then. Time will finally be up for us if Moribe can’t fix the door.

As we’re impatiently waiting, Yuuri suddenly cries out from behind us. “Oh no, smoke…!”

“What?” Everyone turns around at once. “Smoke? Where, Yuuri?”

“Over there…” She points to the floor a slight distance away.

KA-BOOM! The floorboards are blown away and fire spews from where they had been like a flaming geyser.

“Ack! Why’s fire coming from the floor?!”

We instinctively move as far from the spot as we can.

“On rare occasions, the wiring under the floor will short out and catch fire! Let’s put out the flames!” Tachibana orders in a sharp voice.

“O-On it!” Luckily, there’s a fire hydrant right beside us. I pull a hose from it and hand the nozzle over to her. “Here comes the water, Tachibana!”

“Roger! Everyone else, please stand back!”

Learning by example, I twist the fire hydrant’s valve, and Tachibana directs the water toward the incoming flames, pushing them back. Steam rises on contact. But flames burst through another floorboard, sending it flying. Even with her experience, it’s taking all of Tachibana’s effort just to slow the fire’s progress.

“Holy crap! Moribe, are you done yet?!”

“G-Gimme another minute!” Moribe speeds up as fast as she can. But with every passing second, the fire is coming ever closer.

“Khh!” A heat wave slams into Tachibana and she lets out a pained moan.

Miss Ena pulls Yuuri into her arms and begs, “Ms. Moribe…please hurry!”

I’m praying for her success, too, when the door finally slides open. “Yes!” We cheer and make a break for the door, but before we can get there, Moribe sways violently on her feet.

“Hey! What’s wrong, Moribe?!” I rush to her side and catch her before she falls.

She doesn’t respond to me at all, and her eyes have rolled back into her head—she’s completely lost consciousness. Instinctively sensing danger, I shut the door we’d only just opened. But then Yuuri and Miss Ena let out agonized moans and fall on top of each other.

“Yuuri! Miss Ena!” People are dropping like flies! I have no idea what’s going on.

The color drains from Tachibana’s face when she notices. “Oh no, is this oxygen-deficient air?!”

“What’s that?”

“A lethal gas generated by fires! Inhaling it will knock you unconscious and, at its worst, kill you.”

Ukita starts shouting in a shrill voice after hearing that. “This is very bad! The HVAC is broken here and can’t properly ventilate the room!”

In other words, the room in front of us is teeming with oxygen-deficient air, while the path behind us is covered in flames—we have nowhere to run!

“How do we handle this, Tachibana?!”

Tachibana makes up her mind on the spot. “We have no choice. We have to climb the ladder to the engine room while holding our breath.”

“Will that work?”

“Oxygen-deficient air generally occurs in sealed off rooms. There should be an airtight door at the top of the ladder. We’ll be saved if we make it to the engine room!”

“But what about the three who fainted?!”

“I’ll carry Ms. Tsubakiyama. You carry Moribe and Yuuri, Captain!”

“Y-You want me to climb the ladder while holding my breath and carrying two people?”

“You can do it, Captain! Please have faith in yourself!”

Tachibana looks me in the eyes. The trust there sets my spirit on fire, igniting my self-confidence.

“G-Got it! Leave it to me!”

“That’s my captain!” She smiles, then turns to implore Ukita, “I’m terribly sorry, Mr. Ukita, but can you climb up by yourself?”

“H-Hmph, I can try.”

“Thank you!” Tachibana exclaims as she lifts Miss Ena up and over her shoulder.

I use the rope I always have wrapped around my chest to tie Yuuri and Moribe to my back. They’re light. Together they probably weigh around 220 pounds, but they feel lighter than feathers to me.

“All right! Move out!”

At Tachibana’s signal, I open the door to the room teeming with lethal gas.

We dash through the room chock-full of oxygen-deficient air and white smoke while holding our breath. I lunge for the ladder in the corner and begin climbing it. Smoke instantly stings my eyes until they’re tearing up. Looking up, I see a circular airtight door about twenty-five feet above. That’s got to be the engine room door. Such a short distance feels like it will take an eternity to reach with my breath held. But the weight of the two lives literally resting on my shoulders gives me strength.

Bear it! If I run out of gas here, two more people will die with me! Powered by that thought, I frantically scale the ladder.

After what feels like forever, my fingertips finally brush the doorknob. I grab hold of it and push it upward. The spacious engine room lies beyond the opening. It’s covered in poorly lit darkness, but the air is clean. The three of us pull ourselves up and roll onto the engine room’s cold floor.

“Haaaaaaaaaaa!” I take a huge breath, allowing fresh air to spread through my strained lungs.

Breathing heavily, Tachibana seals the airtight door behind her. Meanwhile, Ukita lets out a moan and collapses to his knees.

“Ukita, you okay?!”

“I-I’m horribly dizzy… I think I inhaled some of the gas!”

At least the lethal gas can’t get into this room. We’re safe for the moment, but we’re not entirely in the green yet either! I glance at my watch—it’s 11:07 am. Only nine minutes to go until we need our next AD dose. And we currently don’t have any on us! If we don’t do anything fast, everyone here will be exposed to radiation.

There’s a very high chance there’s a supply of spare AD in the toxic room filled with lethal gas below. So we need to restart the sprinkler system—thus putting out the fires—wait for the ventilation to kick in, and then search for AD—that won’t work! We’ll never make it in time!

Making it through the lethal gas and reactivating the sprinkler system won’t mean anything if we run out of time before finding more AD. That leaves me but one option.

I untie Moribe and Yuuri and lower them to the ground. “Tachibana, look after the group!”

“What are you planning to do?!”

“I’m going back into that room to look for more AD! Close the airtight door behind me!”

“Don’t be crazy! Please stop, Captain!”

Ignoring her advice, I open the airtight door and descend the ladder into the room that’s essentially a death trap.