HOTD: New World: Tangshan
Looking for more survivors on the mainland, the group has to think fast and work together.
[Author's Note: This story follows the story HOTD: New World: Mainland. It is eighteen years after the Outbreak. The people involved are Nozomi Hirano (daughter of Saya Takagi and Kohta Hirano), Rise Komuro (son of Takashi Komuro and Saeko Busujima, adopted and raised by Rei Miyamato and Benaro Tatagi), Hotaru Tatagi (daughter of Rei Miyamato and Benaro Tatagi), Kuzuki Marikawa (son of Shizuka Marikawa) and Kemi Tioba (daughter of Reika Arimake and Naoki Tioba).]
"So the Yellow Sea really is yellow," said Rise, at the controls of the Archangel, as he steered the boat into the river.
"Silt from the Yan plain, apparently," said Kemi, who was reading the Japanese-language version of The Lonely Planet Guide to Northern China. "According to this, it got dark green at one point, due to industrial run-off – I'm not sure what that means – but I assume that that stopped with the Outbreak. Back to yellow."
Since leaving Bostovich and his group in southern Russia, they had not encountered any more survivors. As they had made their way southwards down the Korean coast, they had come across a series of fishing villages. They were all deserted, but in several places they had been able to find fuel, which had allowed them to keep going. They had stopped every second day or so to explore and gather food, and to make sure the horses stayed exercised. But their excursions inland had not revealed anything, aside from occasional evidence of zombies.
Nozomi was looking at one of the maps in Kemi's atlas. "This river takes us close to the city of Tangshan, which is marked here as being pretty big," she said. "What does your book say about it, Kemi?"
Kemi leafed through the book. "Large industrial centre, surrounded by agricultural land," she said. "Population 7.6 million. History going back for four thousand years. Area prone to earthquakes and tremors."
"Sounds like a wonderful place for a holiday," put in Kazuki.
After a few hours on the river, their way was blocked – by a concrete damn. Once, it had probably produced electricity, but those days were passed. It was cracked and falling apart in places, but nevertheless there was no way past. They moored the boat at a landing and unloaded the horses. There was a road leading west from the damn, and they followed it.
"Do you think the boat will be alright there?" said Kazuki, as they rode along. "I have to say that I'm getting a bit attached to it. You don't think anyone will steal it?"
"They'd have a hard time going anywhere without this," said Nozomi, taking a metal part from her pack. "Fuel regulator valve. Easy to take out, easy to put back, and absolutely essential. Momma taught me about things like that."
"I wonder what parents taught their kids before the Outbreak," said Rise.
"My mother said that it was mainly about clothes for girls and cars for boys," said Kazuki. "I'm not sure she was serious about that. And hair. Apparently, people used to spend a lot of time on their hair."
"That, I understand," said Kemi. She was trying to push her hair, now growing long again after their several months of travel, back and out of her eyes. She took a long clip from her pocket and pinned it into place.
"You sort of stand out with that colour," said Rise. "You could dye it black, you know."
"I could, but I'm not going to," said Kemi. "This is my mother's colour, and I got it from her, and I'm proud of it."
"Could be worse," said Nozomi. "Momma used to dye hers pink when I was little. For ages, until the supply of dye ran out, I thought that it was her natural colour."
The others laughed.
"I kind of wish I knew more about the Seven and what they did," said Kemi. "Saya and Kohta and the others actually didn't talk about the time between the Outbreak and Sheroda much."
"Hmm," said Rise. "Well, take look at this." He took something from his pack and handed it to Kemi. It was a photograph, faded and creased, of six people and a dog. "This is them, soon after the Outbreak," he said. "Except Shizuka, who took the photo. Alice gave it to me. She said that I should take good care of it. It's important, she told me."
Kemi looked at it for a long time. Then she handed it back. She said: "Okay, now I understand a bit more about you guys."
It was the next day. They were riding through a grey landscape of abandoned buildings and run-down factories.
"Fuck, I think this place could have been improved by a zombie apocalypse," said Rise.
"What's this?" said Hotaro.
A long line of people was coming along the road. They were carrying farming tools, and looked half-starved and cowed. Nozomi and the others moved to the side of the road and the people shuffled by, hardly looking at them.
A military-type truck drove slowly past. There was a heavy machine gun mounted on the back, and three hard-eyed men in odd-looking uniforms. They were obviously shepherding the line of workers to somewhere. The men stared at Nozomi and the others as they passed but said nothing.
The five of them watched the truck and the line of workers until they were out of sight.
"Huh," said Rise.
"Did those guys in the truck look Japanese to you?" said Kemi. "But the others were Chinese, I think."
The others nodded.
They continued on their way. After a while, they came to a gate across the road, manned by several more men in the same uniforms. As Nozomi dismounted, she saw that the uniforms had a badge on the shoulder, with Japanese writing. It said: Daiko-Hasito Manufacturing Corporation – Security.
"Who are you?" said one of the men, in Japanese.
"Explorers, travellers, traders," said Nozomi.
"Huh," said the man. "And what are you wanting to trade?"
"Well, that's a nice sniper rifle you have there. And I see you a few clips of nine-millimetre bullets as well. How about that?"
"For what?" he said. He was looking at Kemi. He rubbed his chin.
"How about this?" said Nozomi. She pulled a bottle of potato vodka from her saddlebag. She removed the cork and let the man sniff it. "Good for de-greasing engines and stripping paint," she said.
The man exchanged glances with his colleagues. "Yeah, alright," he said. They made the trade. The man lifted the gate so they could pass through. Nozomi saw one of the men pick up a telephone.
"What's in this direction?" she said, as she got back onto her horse. She handed the gun and clips to Hotaru.
"What's left of Tangshan, and what's left of the Daiko-Hasito Manufacturing Corporation," he said.
They rode on. There were more signs of human activity: people preparing food, others making things. And more men, as well as a few women, in the Security uniforms, carrying guns and walking around with a certain swagger. They thought nothing of roughly pushing any of the others – who were, presumably, Chinese – out of their way, or simply taking something or other from them.
"Not a particularly pleasant bunch, by the look of things," muttered Kazuki to the others, as they dismounted and continued to look around on foot.
"But they have the weapons," said Hotaru.
A large military truck rolled up to them. A wolfish-looking man got out, backed up by a half-dozen others.
"I am Tukoshareo," he said. "You are ordered to come with me."
"Uh, perhaps you would like to re-phrase that," said Rise. "We are not good with orders."
The man started to draw his pistol.
"Please don't do that," said Hotaru. Her hand went behind her back.
Tukoshareo stared at her. "You can't kill all of us," he said.
"Don't have to," said Hotaru. "Just need to kill you."
He continued to stare at her. She stared straight back.
"Try the re-phrasing thing," said Rise to him in a mock whisper.
Tukoshareo glanced at him. Then he said: "Okay then. I ask you to come with me."
None of them moved.
He sighed. "Please," he added.
"There you go, that wasn't so hard, was it," said Rise.
Tukoshareo grimaced at him. "I really don't like you," he said.
"That's alright, none of us do," said Kemi.
"Since you ask so politely, we will come with you," said Nozomi to Tukoshareo. "Lead on."
He took them to a large building, perhaps seven stories. There were other buildings around it but this was the only one that looked relatively untouched. There was a sign: Daiko-Hasito Manufacturing Corporation – Central Administration. Tukoshareo led the group to a large office on the first floor. A number of soldiers came in behind them. Quite a large number.
A big man came out from behind the desk and greeted them. "I am Director Fukuyami," he said. "Welcome to Tangshan."
"Nice place you have here," said Nozomi. "We would be interested to hear how it came about."
"It's fairly simple," he said. "I was the head representative of the Daiko-Hasito Manufacturing Corporation, one of Japan's premier companies, here in China. We were, quite simply, taking advantage of the cheap Chinese labour at the time of the Catastrophe. When the zombies appeared."
"We call it the Outbreak," said Nozomi.
"Well, that's a good word for it," said Fukuyami. "We made two things here. One was feminine hygiene products. The other was guns."
"Say, you wouldn't have a couple of spare tons of that lying around, would you?" said Kemi. "Not the guns, I mean."
Fukuyami stared at her. "Well, you're a pretty one, blondie," he said. "A very pretty one."
"What happened when the zombies came?" said Nozomi to him.
"Fortunately, we had a large security force," said Fukuyami. "Necessary, in this country. And weapons, obviously. We killed a lot of them. They killed a lot of, well, Chinese. But there will always be more Chinese. Although now I think of it, that might not be as true as it used to be.
"After a few years we began to run out of food. So we turned most of our production line workers into farm workers. Not easy to keep them in line, at first, but some firm methods did the job. It's a simple deal. We protect them and organise them, they do the muscle work. An old story, really. Works for everyone."
"Yes, we saw some of your faithful employees as we came in," said Kazuki.
"Is there still a zombie threat?" said Nozomi. "Or do you just tell people that?"
"Oh, it's very real," he said. "There's thousands and thousands of them on the other side of the city. We built a wall to keep them out. It's been effective but we never forget they're there. And every now and then there are cases of people turning.
"And now tell me about Japan. How did things develop there?"
"Not bad," said Nozomi. "We've taken most of the country back but the zombies still have the big cities."
"How many survivors?"
"Enough."
"And how did you get here?"
"Via southern Russia."
He stared at her. Eventually, he said: "So you will stay with us a while."
"No, I don't think so," said Nozomi.
"But I insist. Not often we have visitors."
"No."
Fukuyami sighed. "If you must," he said. "The four of you can be on your way."
"Five," said Nozomi. "There's five of us."
"Oh, didn't I mention that the blond girl has to stay here? As my … personal … guest. This is not open for discussion."
Nozomi was suddenly aware of the sound of Fukuyami's soldiers drawing their guns. The sound of a dozen safety catches being flicked off.
"That's great!" cried Kemi.
"Huh?" said Kazuki.
"Look, I can recognise a winning team when I see one," she said. "And Fukuyami here obviously has the top position. It would be foolish to refuse his generous offer."
"Oh," said Nozomi. "Well, if that's how you feel, Kemi. We'll miss you."
"See you later," said Kemi, handing Nozomi her pack.
"Tukoshareo," said Fukuyami. "Please escort our friends to the city edge and see them on their way."
Tukoshareo and three soldiers led Nozomi, Rise, Hotaru and Kazuki to their horses. The truck followed them as they rode back the way they had come.
"So that's it?" said Kazuki. "We just leave her there?"
"Of course not," said Nozomi.
"But she said we should go."
"Which is better than all of us being shot," said Rise.
"Why do you think she said 'see you later'?" said Hotaru.
"Oh," said Kazuki.
"But first, we have to ditch these guys," said Hotaru. She stopped her horse and dismounted. The others did the same.
The truck stopped, and Tukoshareo and the soldiers got out. Hotaru walked up to Tukoshareo.
"I just wanted to say," she said to him, "that I'm sorry about that thing before. I wouldn't have really done it. I didn't even have any bullets in my gun." She offered her hand.
"Really?" said Tukoshareo, as she shook her hand.
"No, not really," she said. In a single movement, she suddenly changed her grip on his hand, swinging him around and pulling his arm behind him. With her free hand, she pulled one of the Makarovs from the holster at the back of her belt. Tukoshareo was between her and the three soldiers, a shield protecting Hotaru.
"Don't shoot!" shouted Tukoshareo to his men.
Not that it mattered. They were still lifting their guns when Hotaru put them all down, one after the other.
"Well, that was … efficient," said Rise. "Mum?"
"Dad," said Hotaru.
Rise collected the soldiers' guns and ammunition. One of them had a pair of handcuffs in his pocket; Rise added them to his collection.
They looked around. There was a couple of Chinese workers watching them. Nozomi gave them a little wave. They waved back.
"Now what?" said Kazuki.
"Now we find out how much this asshole can tell us," said Nozomi.
With Hotaru still holding Tukoshareo's arm painfully behind him, they went into a nearby empty building. Rise cuffed his hands behind his back and they pushed him into a chair.
"The clock is running, so don't make us wait," said Nozomi. "Let me say that you have not made a good impression on us, and we are willing to use whatever means necessary to get the information we want."
Hotaru drew her hunting knife from her belt.
"Go fuck yourself," said Tukoshareo.
Hotaru plunged the knife into his thigh. He screamed. She gave it a twist, and then pulled it out.
"What I want to know," said Nozomi, "is where he will take her."
Tukoshareo remained silent.
"Okay," said Hotaru. She took off her jacket and hung it over the back of a chair. She raised the knife.
"Wait!" he cried. "If I tell you, you'll let me go, right?"
"Sure," said Rise. "We don't particularly like you, but we just want our friend back. It's nothing personal."
Tukoshareo looked at them.
"Tick tick," said Nozomi.
"Okay, here it is," said Tukoshareo. "He has an apartment on the top floor of the Administration building. He'll take her there. But later on, at the end of the day. he's done it before with Chink girls. Keeps them for a while, a couple of months sometimes, and then disposes of them. He likes them young. You can't get in, there's only one door to the stairs. It needs a cardkey and he keeps it with him."
"Windows?" said Hotaru.
"Big ones. But thick glass. And like I said, the top floor. And there's always soldiers on the ground floor. You can't do it."
"Let us worry about that," said Nozomi. "Anyone have any other questions for this guy?"
Rise, Hotaru and Kazuki shook their heads.
"So now I can go, right?" said Tukoshareo.
"Er, how can I put this, no," said Rise.
"Then what?"
Kazuki picked up one of the soldiers' pistols from the table where Rise had put them. He checked the clip. Then he walked up to Tukoshareo, put the gun to his head, and fired. Tukoshareo, still on the chair, toppled backwards.
The others stared at Kazuki.
"What?" he said.
"Well, that was fairly cold," said Rise.
"So torturing the guy was okay but killing him was not?" said Kazuki. "And he needed killing."
"Yes," said Hotaru. "He did."
Nozomi and Rise were on the roof of the Administration building, having climbed a fire escape ladder up the side. They had ropes that they had found in Tukoshareo's truck wrapped around them, with the other end tied to brackets on the roof. It was nearly dark.
"Of course, if she misses then we'll just splat against the windows like bugs on a windscreen," said Nozomi.
"What, you really think she ever misses?" said Rise.
In the run-down building facing the Administration building, Hotaru adjusted the sights of the sniper rifle. She took careful aim at the window; a light was on. She fired, the gun's built-in silencer reducing the sound to a p-tunk. Four times.
Nozomi and Rise went over the edge, swinging back towards the window. Weakened by the bullets, the glass collapsed inwards with a crash.
"Well, you took your sweet fucking time!" said Kemi. "I've been waiting for an hour!"
She was sitting in an armchair, leafing through a twenty-year-old Chinese celebrity magazine.
"And it's good to see you, too," said Rise.
"Fukuyami?" asked Nozomi.
Kemi pointed. He was lying in the other room, in a pool of blood. And his neck was broken.
"So which did you do first?" said Rise.
Kemi took the clip from her hair. She pulled something from the middle of it. It was a small, but extremely sharp-looking, stiletto knife.
"Much easier to snap someone's neck when they're rolling around trying to keep their blood in," she said.
"I didn't know you could do that sort of thing," said Rise.
"Well, you don't get raised by ex-soldiers without learning a couple of things over the breakfast table," said Kemi. "Now what?"
"Rise, time?" said Nozomi.
Rise looked at his watch. "Another two minutes," he said. "Kemi, did Fukuyami have a key for the door, something like a card?"
She took it from her pocket. They put it into a slot in the door, which opened. They started down the stairs.
Eventually, they came to the ground floor. They stopped. Rise looked at his watch.
On the far side of the building, there was a burst of machine-gun fire. A stream of bullets whacked into the building.
Most of the soldiers in the building rushed to the source of the shots, taking up defensive positions and firing at the muzzle flash of the gun.
"Now," said Rise.
They opened the door and ran out into the vacant ground level of the building and through the front door.
A truck screeched to a halt next to them.
"Hi," said Kazuki, pushing the door open for them. They piled in.
But as they took off, another truck came around the corner behind them. It started coming after them.
And then suddenly it swerved to the side, running off the road. Looking back, Rise saw that several bullets holes had appeared in the windscreen.
"Hotaru?" said Nozomi.
"Hotaru," said Rise.
"Kazuki, it looks as if the diversion went well," said Nozomi.
"Once I found a good spot and tied the gun into position, it was pretty easy," said Kazuki. He brought the truck to a stop outside the building next to the Administration building. Hotaru calmly walked through the main doors and got in.
"Hello," she said.
Ice water and then some, thought Nozomi.
They reached the horses and, in the darkness, by-passed the gate on the road. They returned to the road a kilometres further on, heading back to the Archangel.
"Wonder whether the Daiko-Hasito Manufacturing Corporation will carry on being a generally nasty bunch of bastards," said Rise. "Or maybe their little feudal empire will fall apart without Director Fuck-you. Those guys were enough to give the Japanese a bad name."
Suddenly, the horses grew skittish, neighing and rearing.
From the direction of Tangshan, there was a deep rumble. For a few seconds, the ground beneath them shook. Then it was over. The horses became calm again.
"Area prone to earthquakes and tremors," said Kemi.
"And speaking of things falling apart, I would say that there goes their anti-zombie wall," said Nozomi.
"Not exactly an all's-well-that-ends-well conclusion," said Kazuki. "Ambiguous, at best."
"Welcome to China," said Hotaru.
END