Chapter 28

Interrupted travels

"Do you think we managed to get rid of him?" asked Yusuke.

Takamasa stopped, panting heavily. "Wherever he is, I can't carry on running."

"I don't think he ever bothered following us" said Aya.

"Huh sis?" asked Yusuke.

"I'm sure Ryo and the others held him up. And I'm sure they were able to get out of there. If anything, I bet he's after them. And there isn't any sensible way of getting back there and helping them."

"Do you think they're alright?" asked Kasumi.

"I bet they are" lied Takamasa, "Ryo can take care of himself- so can Miki. And Megumi's clumsy enough to accidentally get out of any situation."

"Well he probably isn't following us. But it's not a good idea to stand around in here. We can't trust anyone" said Yusuke, "And there are plenty of hiding places in this place."

"We'll get out of here first" said Takamasa. "Then we can have a look at the letter. See what to do next."

"Good idea" said Kasumi.

Yusuke stood confused as the others began to walk away. No one stopped to tell him what exactly they were talking about.

"What letter?"

---

Yohei slung the crossbow across his back. A short while ago he'd dumped his bag, taking only the map and water as well as any food he could fit in his pockets. He crouched down, pulling out the map. Mai sat down beside him.

"How far away are we now?" she asked.

He quickly studied the map. "It's just a short distance now. No problems- and we'll be there in just over an hour." He smiled. "It looks like a large complex- even with the danger zones there ought to be a place to take cover and find supplies."

"That's good news" said Mai. "And Yohei…I just wanted to thank you. I know we've never been very close at school- but thank you for helping me and Erika."

"It's no problem Mai. I'm just glad I was able to find someone to help. We've lost too many people so far. I just hope we can try and stop the deaths."

"Yeah…I can remember the look on Ai's face. It was horrible. Yohei…I don't want to die." She lowered her head and sat in silence. "And not like that."

Yohei was unsure how to reply. "All three of us are together. We're all going to help each other- we have to have more then a slight chance."

"I guess."

"We just have to work together." He spotted Erika wandering around slightly disorientated. He stood up. "Are you ok Erika?"

"Oh me? Yeah I'm fine…just a little tired. Been a long few days."

"It has Erika. But we will find a place where we can have some shelter and get a rest. We'll ready ourselves for the third day. We'll find a way off of this island."

Mai poked Yohei. He turned. "Yes?"

She pointed to the forest that stood on one side. "I think I heard something from in there."

"Come on Erika, we better get going. Only a short distance until we get there- and we have to be quiet."

Erika nodded. "I can be quiet when I want to be."

---

Aki Kasai sat, glancing out at the sea. It was far from the most beautiful coast ever seen, and the waters were rough. But she found it relaxing and peaceful. Here, hidden in the hollow of the cliff, undercut once by the sea, she could hear little of the violence on the island. A book sat beside her, crumpled slightly. She'd finished reading it- she was only expecting to need it for two moderate bus trips. Still, at least it had been good. She glanced up at the slightly cloudy sky. Just the thought of that book reminded her of her own small collection…at her home…with her family. Happy together.

She placed her bare feet in the small pool that had been left by the high tide. It was cool and refreshing. She couldn't go much further onto the beach- while walking along she'd crossed too far and her collar began beeping. Obviously that had been put in place to keep people from escaping the island by sea. She leant back against the cool rock wall.

How long would it be until she was found? She thought to herself.

How long would it be until she was dead?

She wasn't the only person close to the sea. Daisuke Kondo was busy flinging small stones from the forest across the sea. He'd soon grown bored of that and had then taken to seeing how far he could throw various sized rocks into the sea. He stepped away from the sea and sighed.

Perhaps he should have joined Ryo. He had actually sounded like he had a plan. But it was too late for that now- what chance did he have of finding one specific person on this island.

"Daisuke?" asked a feminine voice from behind him.

He paused. What should he do now?

"It is you! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

---

"So you're just going to trust this letter, written by some unknown person?" asked Yusuke. "It could be a trap by one of the soldiers- it could even have been a trick by one of us! What's to stop us getting there only to find a student with an AK-47 waiting for us?"

"You're right Yusuke" said Aya. "We have absolutely no reason to trust this letter."

"Aya?" asked Kasumi.

"But, we either trust this letter and see if there is a way to escape. Or we just sit and wait to either kill each other or die. What would you prefer?"

"I was just stating some thoughts" said Yusuke, "Just letting you know I wasn't one hundred percent certain about this."

"Come on, when we find a safer place we can see what the letter states" said Takamasa.

"I think we've found the edge of the forest" said Kasumi, "I can see a clear path just past these bushes."

"I'll go first" said Yusuke, "Just in case."

He stepped out, and came to a sudden halt as he suddenly found himself with a crossbow pointed at his head. He didn't move, trying to seem non threatening. He strained his eyes to see who stood there.

"Well look what we have here. Soiled yourself Yusuke?"

"Yohei!?"

The crossbow was lowered and Yusuke suddenly found himself in a tight bear hug. He replied with the lame man hug™.

"Good to see you made it this far Yusuke."

"I brought some guests with me" said Yusuke, as Aya spotted Yohei and jumped onto the path.

"Well look at this! Brother and sister reunited! Hope you don't mind, I brought some people too" replied Yohei as Mai and Erika stepped forward.

"So what brings you out here?" asked Erika.

"Hopefully good news" said Takamasa who had followed Aya. He noticed the bloodied bandage and seemingly deformed hand. "Hopefully some very good news."


Authors Note: With this chapter I should be over halfway through the story in terms of chapters. I am nearing the final chapters, which looks like finishing at around the 50 mark.