A/N: Chapter 10 of Crimson Wing. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own OCs. Coppelion belongs to the rightful owner.
Special thanks to the reviewers and to the readers who Fav/Alert this story, I really appreciate it.
Chapter 10: Ghosts of JGSDF
Some place inside the city...
The time was 8:05am, October 4th 2036. We found ourselves some shelter in a rundown school and hunkered down for the night. As Ibara woke from her slumber and ran her hands through her hair I noticed the calendar hanging on the wall, the ink has faded but I could make out the numbers 10 and 2016. Since the meltdown no one had changed it in forever, always a reminder of the terrible tragedy that occurred and turned Tokyo into a radioactive dump.
"Doing this reminds me of school." Aoi commented from where she had her head laying across the wooden desk and stifled a yawn. Taeko had woken up earlier than the rest of us so she went out to scavenge for food, placing the food on another desk before staring out the window. "It's only been 4 days after the rescue operation started...I wanna go back to Osaka soon. I'm so exhausted."
"This is Tokyo and since everything's ready to go we should get going soon. Come on!" Ibara hollered as she tied her jacket around her waist and shouldered her bag.
"Ugh, my shoulder is still stiff." Kaige muttered and rolled her right shoulder a bit. "Laying on the floor wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world but...eh, beggars can't be choosers."
"We'll find a better place next time!" I smiled at her.
"The whereabouts of the next survivor..." Ibara flipped through the pages of the notebook with Taeko looking over her shoulder. "With this list of survivors handy we'll be saving them in no time. According to it, our next destination is...Choufu City Jaxa headquarters?"
"Jaxa?" I repeated with confusion, tilting my head to the side. "What does that stand for?"
"Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency..." Taeko replied thoughtfully. "It's a space station, missiles research organization."
"Oh...so it's basically Japan's version of NASA?" Ibara asked.
"NASA?!" Aoi exclaimed with excitement, all signs of fatigue leaving her body. "That's wicked! We can use the rocket launchers right?"
"That's...impossible to achieve in cities..." Taeko frowned, not wanting to rain on the girl's parade.
"But the availability of science facilities and equipment here...should allow survivors to live." Ibara stashed away the notebook and proceeded to walk forward. "Alright then! All aboard to Chofu City!"
Tamagawa Speedboat Racecourse...
High in the sky soared helicopters from the shelter, each one carrying what looked like a rectangular container with the biohazard symbol upon it. Thanks to some extra funding the government equipped them with a removable radioactive resistant hangar. A robotic arm would pick up radioactive material and stuffed them within the hangar, thus saving the men from having to actually stepping on foot in the contaminated areas.
"For now, what we can do is seal off the radioactive waste in the Tamaga speedboat racing course." Vice-principal Mishima spoke through his radio. "The helicopters will be arriving soon from Chufu."
"Go it Vice-principal!" Ibara's voice floated through cheerfully. "We can even see it from here."
"Shelters will be left in Tokyo until the survivors are found. From now on the radiation leakage should stop so don't worry." Mishima instructed, ignoring Ibuse's chatter in the background as he talked with the pilot. "I'll be in Nagoya due to another case and leave the survivors to you girls. "
"Yes sir, we'll get right on it." There was a moment of pause before Ibara's voice came over, "How's the professor doing by the way?"
"Ah, right now we are asking some questions. Once we had completed that, we'll try asking some questions."
"Well...if that's the case, please take your time."
"Naruse..." The vice-principal took a deep breath before continuing, "Thank you for saving Professor Shiba. I may have made a mistake about him. So I'm no longer mourning on the past and instead I'm gonna face the future head on!"
"Roger that, Principal!" Ibara signed off and signaled for us to continue on our way. The winds brought in the stench of radiation but we trudged onward. Some of the road signs were covered with plants or rust due to exposure to the terrible air condition.
"Senpai..."
"It's not the time for lunch yet, Aoi." Ibara told her, suppressing a sigh. "Hold out a little longer."
"That's not it...I'm worried what will happen after we enter the metropolitan..." The girl looked up at one of the road signs with a thoughtful expression. "Like, this and, other radiation warning signs surrounding the areas...I wonder who managed to put them up?"
"I assume they were put up at least 20 years ago." Kaige spoke up, her arms crossed over her chest. "You know after the fall out accident by the government but of course, neither Kaz nor myself know for sure since we've been out of line for a long time."
"It's a mystery...there wasn't enough time for this these to happen." Ibara explained.
"You know...it seems like a territory marker..." Aoi turned to us after thinking about it. "Hey...like what animals do you know? To say things like, 'This is our territory' of some sorts..."
"By the way are we even close to Jaxa yet?" I asked out of the blue, folding my hands behind my head. "Not that I'm complaining about the walking but it really does a number on the feet."
"From where we are, there's a highway and the Hitoumichidoro intersection..." Ibara pulled out a map and began to read it, using a finger to trace a path. "Then we will reach Jaxa...wait a minute..." Lowering the map she noticed some weird tracks along the ground. She knelt down and gently ran her fingers over it. "Seems like one of those heavy construction vehicle...a bulldozer perhaps?"
"Ibara, over there!" Aoi spoke up and pointed with a shaky finger. Near a small hill seemed to be a large object lying on the road on its side, the wheels turned over and pointed up towards the sky. "A rolled over car! It looks like an ambulance! And there seems to be smoke coming out of it!"
"The survivors!"
"Oh no...! Oh no...! This is bad!" Taeko gasped as we all started running. "Who knows what we'll find!"
"Uhhhhh..." A weak groan came out from the front. At first we thought it was something on the wind but it came again a little louder. "Uuuuhhhhhhhhh...!"
"You, in the front seat!" Ibara shouted as she latched onto the front door, prepared to open it up. "Are you alright?! I'm going to get you out now!"
"I'm still alright..." A voice, sounded like a male's, replied. He sounded like he was currently crushed by something from the dashboard "Before that...my daughter is in the back seat! It's unlocked and she's wearing a protective suit..."
"Kaz! Lend me a hand!" Kaige shouted and pointed to the back of the truck. "Rip it open!" Transforming into my wyvern form I gripped the flimsy material and tore it from the hinges. Peering in I found another person on her back with a swollen belly. I locked eyes with the woman and she let out a strangled cry, no doubt afraid so I pulled back.
Ummm...she's pregnant. I spoke through telepathy, scooting over for the others to take a look.
"WHAT?! PREGNANT?!" Kaige snapped as the others stared in shock. "Well what are we waiting for! Taeko! Where's that thing you guys use?!"
"Oh right! The Ether..." Rummaging around in her bag the medic to be quickly knelt beside the woman and proceeded to inject the medicine in. "Oh good, this should do the trick."
"Naruse! Come in Naruse!"
"In this kind of moment..." Ibara growled and whipped out her radio. "What the hell is it Principal?!"
"Report has just got in! Someone shot down one of the helicopters!"
"Shot down...by who?!" Ibara gasped. The military was already low on helicopters so shooting one down could prove fatal to anymore rescue missions.
"I don't understand but the members who managed to retreat reported so! And the high level radioactive waste shelter container...all of them were taken away!"
"Impossible!" Ibara snapped once she heard the news. "Why would someone do that?!"
"Moving the three shelters should require quite a manpower!" Mishima's grave voice continued. "That means they must still not be so far from here! I've got a mission for you all, locate the culprits immediately!"
"Are you shitting me?!" Kaige roared into the radio, multiple tick marks appearing on her forehead. "We got another problem on our hands! Go and find those containers yourself!"
"It's coming..." A feeble voice came through the daughter's helmet, taking their attention off the radio. "It's coming..."
"Eh...? What is!?" Ibara asked with worry.
"Please tell me the babies aren't what's coming...no offense." Kaige said sheepishly. "I mean, babies are welcoming..."
"Beware...this place..." The daughter's breathing was becoming ragged. She was fighting to keep conscious as sweat rolled down her face. "The ghost of the self-defense force is here..."
"The self-defense force..."
"Ghost?!" Aoi paled at the term. Suddenly a noise from outside caught our attention. It sounded like something heavy like a military tank. "W-W-What's that?"
"The First division has arrived." The woman's voice answered, recognizing the familiar noise and her brows furrowed."They're our enemies...They were the ones who attacked us."
"Umm...I really don't want to be the bearer of bad news now but," I peeked in, already back in my human form but with a look of worry on my face. "it looks like they're ready to blow us up with that tank."
"Then Taeko, lend me a hand after I fire this smoke bomb!" Ibara stood up, loading her gun at a rapid pace and pointed it at the approaching threat. "We'll use the smoke bomb as well as this ambulance as a cover. Let's move!"