Chapter 4: Trip to Odo

Monday morning, November 2nd, 2015.

The dissipating columns of storm clouds on the horizon were cast in a brilliant mix of pinks, purples and oranges against the sunrise. The dark-blue ocean reflected a collage of blood-red and indigo colors. The ferry sailed smoothly in the serene Ogasawara waters. Cool morning air, salty to taste and moist to the touch flowed around the ship, creating wisping sounds. Ishiro noticed several dolphins swimming alongside the ship. Several seagulls were perched above him on the upper deck metal railings, chirping ever so often. He was sipping his tea, taking in the natural beauty of the early sunrise. Out in the horizon, water spirted in a series of small jets. Seconds later several grey whales breached right in front of the red rising sun.

"The last time I saw whales on the open ocean was over sixty years ago."

The flukes rose out of the water, smashing into the sea with immense splashes before receding out of sight again.

It seemed he was the only member of his team up this early. The only other people awake were the ferry's skeleton crew. One crew member walked by him, greeting him a good morning. Ishiro replied back in kind. He turned his focus back to the horizon activity, then looked at his watch.

"5:43 am. Another hour and a half until I finally return."

Ishiro glanced to his left. Akane was walking along the deck towards his direction. She settled on a spot within talking distance of Ishiro, leaning against the railing. She was still in her grey sweats with a blue tank top, walking barefoot on the cold surface, still groggy and half-asleep. It looked as though she was oblivious to Ishiro's presence.

"I did not know the twenty-year olds today could get up so early." Ishiro said cheekily. Akane jumped, turning to see the old man leaning against the railing.

"Professor Sato! Good morning. I was planning on watching the sunrise. My phone was set a few minutes too fast though. Have I missed it?"

"Not completely. It started around 5:39 am. There's still more to watch. The entire sky is drenched in pink and orange colors. Beautiful, isn't it?"

"It very much is. I'm feeling a bit sleepy though," she said, now trapped in a huge yawn.

"You infected me..." Ishiro said midway of letting out a big yawn, followed by two bigger yawns. Akane giggled.

"Would you like a cup of tea Akane? It might help you wake up."

"I am feeling groggy this morning. Thank you."

Ishiro left his spot on the deck. Inside he passed his room. He could have sworn he left the door open.

"A crew member must have closed it," he thought to himself. He observed his books. One was not in the spot he left it in.

"Erika or Shinzo probably..."

He was back on deck in less than two minutes, holding a nice hot cup of freshly brewed green tea.

"Thank you Professor Sato."

She took a sip, then another yawn escaped her. Ishiro broke the next bit of momentary silence.

"I honestly did not expect Professor Yamane to book the earliest ferry yesterday morning. I would have told him to schedule an afternoon departure. "

He paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts.

"Did you also wake up at 4 am yesterday Akane?"

"I woke up at three in the morning actually. I was lucky with Professor Yamane making the departure at 7: 45 am. I took a bus around 4 am, then transferred to the railway by 5 am. A little over 7 am I'm in Tokyo, within a fifteen minute bus ride of the ferry terminal. Traveling takes up a huge chunk of my morning, since I live a distance away from Tokyo, out in Chichibu. The process could have been much worse, so I count myself fortunate."

"Have you ever considered moving to Tokyo? One of the wards closer to the university? The Bioscience program is going be intense. Cutting out the traveling time could allot you much more laboratory and research sessions?"

"I'm already in the process of moving to Tokyo. I just have some personal affairs to take care of with a friend. She and I might be roommates."

Akane made another big yawning motion, her whole body stretching out. Her arm joints popped. Ishiro spoke up.

"I can't blame you. We're all still drained, even after all this sleep. Traveling is exceedingly taxing, for me anyways," Ishiro said, scratching off a little eye crust.

"Hideo is still dead asleep. Emiko hasn't called me yet, so I'm assuming she's out too. I think Professor Shiragami was awake around three this morning. She said she had a dream and wanted to jot down some ideas that came to her. Something about radiobiology and botanical gene splicing. She walked back and sort of, well, collapsed head-first into the pillow. Funny how her toes still twitch in her sleep," Akane laughed.

"Sounds just like her. Professor Shiragami sleeps in the faculty lounge every now and then. She wakes up to jot a note down, then falls back asleep. She seems to do her clearest thinking asleep."

Another wave of yawns enveloped the sole awake members of the research team on deck. Ishiro was first to regain control.

"Thank you again for letting me go on this trip Professor Sato. I know Emiko and Hideo weren't into the early hour departure, but they should enjoy themselves...or at least each other. How did they get roped into this trip anyway?"

"Emiko is my colleague's granddaughter. She's been wanting to see him, so I figure now would be a good time, and Yamane's all for it. Hideo is with us for two reasons; He and Emiko are a thing, and two, he needs extra credit points in an Anthropology class he's taking, like you."

"Strange Professor...I thought Emiko and Daisuke were a couple?"

"I hear- don't tell anyone I told this to you...Daisuke is obsessing over Oxygen right now. His alienating demeanor might just push Emiko away towards Hideo for good. I prefer to stay out of these matters...I recommend you do as well."

"Yes...OH, Professor Sato, your books fell off your desk in your room. Your door was open, so I hope you don't mind that I put them back up."

"That was very kind of you Akane. I thought they were out of place when I passed my room."

"If you don't mind me asking, what kind of research are you doing with those books?"

Ishiro looked up at her, raising his right eyebrow slightly.

"A wandering eye I presume Ms. Yashiro?"

" Sorry...they looked cool. I only read the covers...and a few pages. Is it leisurely reading? "

Ishiro thought for a moment. Considered individually the textbooks meant nothing, but taken as a whole they could give away important clues to his covert purpose for going to Odo. He decided to be honest, in a discreet and subtle manner.

"Part of my quiet little obsession, actually. Past life experiences have been putting me down this path of enquiry for some time."

"For more knowledge?

"In a way yes. I'm always hunting down information that can assist me in my own personal research."

"I'm just curious Professor, what kind of research entails books on oceanic anomalies and abyssal gigantism? They seem like unrelated topics," Akane asked in a puzzled manner. Ishiro thought to himself, "You couldn't be more wrong." It seemed she only glanced at a few of the books. All of them in combination would have given her a massive clue. Of course, the ones she mentioned should have given her some inclination. She was probably still too tired to piece together the facts.

"I thought the university didn't engage in cryptic research?"

Ishiro warmly huffed out with a small smile, "The university has no affiliation or financial involvement, so I consider it within the confines of my own private, passing fancy. Now that I'm this old and near my retirement Akane, I'm more willing and able to do untraditional methods of research that are not strictly along the lines of the scientific method, although they still rely heavily upon the known laws of physics, chemistry and biology."

" So, if this research is personal, would you rather that we keep this conversation confidential?"

"Yes please Akane. I don't normally divulge this kind of information over to my students very willingly, but you seem unusually trustworthy, something rare in these times."

"For some reason people feel like they can trust me with secrets. I'm just glad you didn't give me any gruesome specifics. Only that your extracurricular research is not within the norm...wait, do Professor Shiragami and Mafune also know?"

"They know what I like to read in my spare time; not so much why."

Silence encircled the two for a few moments. Akane took out her Ipod and took a picture of the rising sun over the ocean, the colors still beautiful and vibrant, bathing the scenery in pinks and oranges.

"We'll be arriving in Chichijima in about fifteen minutes. You should get your things ready Akane. The best seat in the seaplane is towards the center left-side. I think it takes off around 8:00 am."

"Should we wake the others up Professor Sato?"

He replied with a gentle grin, "I think we should let the ferry horn wake them."

The sky was clear of the storm clouds two hours earlier. Small isolated patches of fog rolled over the ocean. The Albatross seaplane glided smoothly below the few puffs of clouds.

The seaplane interior was extremely comfortable, save for the small amount of engine noise filtering through the aircraft body. The seats were black leather, adjustable and had cup holders. The left side of the plane had a single row of three individual seats with personal flat screen televisions, the right side one row of double seats running down for four seats. Ishiro sat in the front row left side, Erika and Shinzo together on the right side, Akane a seat behind Ishiro, Emiko and Hideo behind the two bickering Professors.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the research party, we will be reaching our destination of Odo Island in thirteen minutes. Please remain seated until we land," the captain's voice said soothingly over the intercom. The engine noise was becoming somewhat louder but not deafening. Two people could talk to one another loud enough to be heard by each other, but quietly enough to not be heard by anyone elso.

Shinzo loudly whispered next to Erika, "I still don't see how we'd be useful here. We're glorified biologists, not archaeologists."

"Shinzo, we're here as expert guests. Quit lamenting and being so critical of this trip. Try to enjoy yourself!"

"Just hear me out on this point then. Forget all the complaining I've done. One thought, just one thing for you to mull over."

"Okay Shinzo. One more, but after this, no more complaining! I would appreciate if we could go over the island's topographic relief one more time."

"Thank you. I just want you to consider this. Why is a Biophysicist, Paleontologist, Deep-Sea Marine Ecologist and Radiobiologist/Botanist going to an archeological dig? What's our purpose? Professor Yamane is the Paleontologist in case you missed that," Shinzo said blankly.

"I KNOW HE...I know he is." Erika said impatiently

Erika was about to answer before the collage Shinzo constructed struck a cord.

She trusted Ishiro, and was still firm-set in the assurance that this excursion would be an academically rewarding and "out-of-the-box" experience. She had to admit though, the way Shinzo framed the question, those kind of researchers would be out-of-place in an archeological dig.

"Come on Erika! You have to admit that it's curious to have biologists with little to no archeological background be invited to an excavation site, just to be guests."

"I trust Ishiro and his judgements Shinzo. You don't?"

"I do Erika. I owe him a few favors...well, a lot actually. You owe him a few favors..."

"Good. Then you should drop it! We're guests, and-."

"I'm just saying that there seems to be something we're not being told here. There's a couple of layers of meaning well beyond just beings guests and assistants. Maybe...maybe Ishiro doesn't even know it himself. "

"Couldn't you just enjoy this trip without suspicion Shinzo? Quit being overly-critical and cut loose," Erika said with some irritation in her voice.

"I can cut loose Erika. I down more sake in one setting than the whole population of partiers at the university."

"That's a drinking problem Shinzo."

Ishiro could hear them bickering the whole time. Listening to the sarcastic humor was the only thing keeping him from shaking and sweating. He was feeling tense, excited, nauseous. Back to the island where everything changed. He thought what it would be like just to see it, let alone walk on it again.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in a moment the fog will be dissipating. You will be able to see Odo Island in a few seconds. We will be landing shortly. My copilot will take this time to give you a brief overview of Odo Island and its history."

The calm voice of the co-pilot gave a brief history of Odo Island. Ishiro knew the captain got all his factoids from a government website. He knew the historical facts about the disaster were...incomplete. The fog thinned out completely now.

Ishiro glared out his small window. For the first time in sixty years, he was looking at the little tropical island that once housed his entire life. The island looked radically different from the aerial images and topographic relief maps. The center island still had a huge section of earth covering it.

"The landslide," Ishiro thought to himself, "the mass is barely covered by any vegetation... other than some grasses, nothing's colonized it." There were a few tents and several modular buildings, a helicopter landed near the shoreline in a designated landing zone, and lots of cross-grids around the interior slump mass, leading to the remnants of the hilltop were the landslide originated.

"This is definitely a well-funded government sponsored excavation," he said to himself silently.

He saw Shinzo and Erika moving over to the left side with everyone else to watch the island pop into full view. They were up for only a moment until the seatbelt light came on. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Akane, not staring through the windows like the others, but at him, several times. There was a slight look of worry on her face. Ishiro thought she was reading his body language. Little things making it look like he was nervous, fluttered and stressed filtered over to her. He refocused his attention to the window views.

"My eyes...why can't I see?" His vision was turning grey and blurry. He looked around the cabin. Everything and everyone else he could see just fine. It only started when he looked out the window. Then he looked at the edge of the island.

"Is that fog rolling in?" Ishiro squinted closer, looking deeper and deeper. He put his glasses back on. His vision wasn't blurring; its was fog. The fog seemed to just roll in out of nowhere. He squinted further.

He looked at one the cliffs. Then, something enormous and dark, cloaked in the fogbank loomed over the side of the cliff, a huge blackened tail waving through and disappearing. Ishiro coughed hard, his eyes widened as if pulled apart by a razor...

"THE SILHOUETTE!," he screamed in his head. The opaque spiked form, masked by the dense unfathomable fog, looked up towards the general direction of the declining seaplane. Fiery-amber eyes looked at Ishiro head-on. It turned its head, dropped down and headed behind a cliff.

Ishiro was trying to regain his breathing. He shook violently, his glasses fell off into his lap. His heart rate, dangerously fast, his mouth numb, his vision blurry...

"Aye...my stomach."

Ishiro grabbed a Vomibag and threw up in it. Akane, Erika and Shinzo saw this and jumped out of their seats towards Ishiro.

"Professor Sato, are you alright?" Akane asked worriedly.

Ishiro quickly looked out the window. No fog...no fiery-amber eyes...no silhouette.

"My apologies everyone, I'm sightly airsick, but once we've landed and have a moment's rest, I should be quite alright."

Everyone else seemed to have accepted Ishiro' assurance, except Akane, and to a lesser extent, Erika. Ishiro regained his composure, taking a sip of the tea he had in his thermostat. He glanced over at Emiko and Hideo. They were holding hands, reminding him of Masako and him doing this often when she was frightened of flying. It looked like Hideo was frightened. The surge of warm memories and young couple comforts further relaxed him. He always found some solace in little things like this.

"I'll talk to the captain and ask them to do as soft a water landing as possible," Shinzo said to Ishiro. He got up and went to the cabin, much to the displeasure of the captain. It was an unusually kind gesture from him.

"Off to a rocky start, but I'm sure I'll improve from here on out," he thought to himself optimistically.

Two minutes of circling Odo Island. The seaplane made a gradual landing in the surrounding bay waters before coming to a complete stop. The Albatross plane glided towards a fiber glass dock. When the engines finally died down, the pilot voices came over the speaker.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the Sato Party, we have gracefully and successfully arrived to Odo Island. We are now at the docking zone. Please insure all personal items have been acquired. Enjoy your leisure and research here on Odo island."

As soon as the pilot finished, Ishiro rose out of his seat.

"My team, thank you dearly for taking time out of your busy lives and coming with me on this trip. I know Archeology is not wholly within the Integrated Bioscience curriculum, but this trip will be a chance for you to engage and apply the research techniques you've acquired thus far. As you know, I'll be head of this team. However, Professor Yamane invited us all to the site, so he will effectively be in charge and responsible for us during our stay here. Please be on your best behavior, follow the rules and guidelines set forth by our hosts, and have fun. I also apologize for earlier...I suspect I ate a bad cookie on the ferry."

The last comment got a slight chuckle from Erika and Emiko.

"Now, while we're here, we will be exploring the dig site and assist in data collection on the island's overall geomorphology, ecology and archeology. Now, Akane and Hideo, you'll be assisting with me and Professor Yamane on additional research. Emiko, you'll be under your grandfather's responsibility. What you do is optional within his rules, although if you're with Hideo, you might as well have your notepad ready...your grandfather will probably have you take notes. Professor Mafune, Professor Shiragami, Yamane has asked that you stay on stand-by with the other researchers at the dig site, but you are free to explore around if you'd like, provided the researchers know. You should be holding your itineraries and daily schedule. This will be your most important protocol paper for the next two days. Keep to it. Are there any questions anyone?"

No one replied back. Instead a yawning ripple effect circled the whole cabin. They all laughed at how contagious it was. Ishiro spoke up again.

"Me too. First order of business. Anyone who would like to get an additional few hours of sleep, raise your hand."

Everyone except Akane and Erika shot their hands up at lightening speed.

"Alright. New plan then. When we depart off the seaplane to greet our hosting team, I'll push for you to get some extra needed sleep, even though we had plenty on the ferry. It's...,"Ishiro rolled his sleeve up slightly to look at his digital watch, "...7:29 am. We"ll be settled into our quarters around 8:00 am. You can sleep till noon. After that, we start operations."

Shinzo smiled for the first time in several days. Emiko and Hideo punched the air. They were quite happy in the new changes.

"Erika, Akane, since you'll be up during that time, I would like to request you come along with me on a preliminary tour of the island."

"That would be a wonderful idea Professor Sato. Would you enjoy that Ms. Yashiro?" Erika asked smiling. She looked jolted and fully awake, even after all the yawning.

"I'm down for that Professor Shiragami," Akane replied back with excitement.

"Then it's settled. Let's depart everyone," Ishiro said with gusto.