Chapter 11
Escape
It was 7:00 PM when the Taxi arrived. Aiko was packed and waiting in the lobby when he pulled up to the main entrance. The driver noticed there was only one passenger. "I was expecting two."
Aiko wrote Ms Suzuki's address on a piece of paper and handed it to the driver. "The other passenger is at this address. Please stop by here on the way."
The drive to Ms Suzuki's residence was only fifteen minutes. When they arrived at the house, Aiko asked the driver to stop the engine and then got out of the car. Praying that luck was with her that evening, she said, in an ordinary conversational level that not even the taxi driver could hear, "Lin-chan, this is Ae. If you can get out of the house without Suzuki-san seeing you, please do so now. I will take you to our home." As an additional measure, Aiko took a jar of liquid out of her purse and emptied the contents onto the sidewalk.
Lin was sulking in the makeshift guest room. The television was on, but she wasn't in the mood to watch anything. Ms Suzuki was preparing dinner in the kitchen. Suddenly, Lin perked up. "Ae?" Lin snuck to the genkan (entryway), put on her shoes, and quietly went out to the street.
Aiko spotted the small silhouette and, very quietly, whispered, "shhhh."
Lin ran to Ae, the two got into the taxi, and the vehicle started its way back to Tsuchiura. The driver, with the doctor's map in hand, knew how to get where he was going. "Are you sure I am supposed to get there this way? I'm sure Route 24 is quicker and shorter."
"Please follow the map, sir." Ae was curious. "Lin-chan, did you hear me or did you smell me?"
Lin turned and smiled, "You had a lot of coffee to drink today, didn't you?"
Not fifteen minutes had passed before Ms Suzuki looked in on her prisoner. Suspecting the doctor had a part in this, she called him at home.
The doctor was sitting by the phone, expecting a call any minute. It rang. "That sounds like an angry ring," he thought. "Maybe I should let it calm down a bit before I answer it." Not wanting to have Ms Suzuki involve the police, he decided to answer it. "This is Kitamura..."
"You're there."
"Of course. Who is this?"
"This is Suzuki. Where is Lin-chan?"
"I don't know, Suzuki-san. Did she run away?"
"I think so, but I thought maybe you might have taken her."
The doctor only wanted to delay things without dragging in the police. "Maybe Aiko took her. Have you checked Aiko's hotel?"
"No. I'll call you right back."
The doctor hung up the phone with a smile, saying "Tick-tock, tick-tock..."
The phone rang again less than a minute later. "Hello, this is Kitamura"
"This is Suzuki. She checked out about a half hour ago. A private taxi picked her up. They don't know where she's headed."
"I know where they went," he said in a tone of voice that made him sound sincerely helpful. "There's a place in Tsuchiura where I picked them up. Come by the house and we can go there together. Aiko won't be able to enter the portal until the proper time and I think we get there beforehand if you rush."
"OK" The phone clicked at the other end. "Tick-tock, Tick-tock," he said again as he hung up the receiver.
It took Ms Suzuki twenty minutes to get to the doctor's house. At that instant, the taxi was approaching the Route 6 crossing when they came upon a sign. "Miss, the sign says that the road ahead is closed for construction. We'll have to take a detour. The only way I know is to go south on Route 6 and turn left on Route 24. This will delay us about twenty minutes."
Ae looked at her watch. It was 0850. "Still plenty of time," she thought to herself. Now her only worry was whether Ms Suzuki called the police. She knew she was vulnerable on Route 24.
Doctor Kitamura climbed into Ms Suzuki's new Toyota Crown. He took his time getting in, looking very fascinated with her car. "I love this car! Is that a television?"
"No, it's one of those new navigation devices. I can set the destination and the navigator will tell me when I need to take a turn."
"Well, that will certainly save us some time," he said, not revealing that Route 24 was a straight shot to their destination. "How do I punch in the destination?" He had to admit to himself that the technology was really cool.
She took a minute to turn on the navigator and go to the SET DESTINATION mode. "Here, just move the cursor to the location and press the center when you have it."
Just in case Ms Suzuki really intended to call the police, the doctor placed the cursor to a spot that was only approximately correct. "There. It's set."
Ms Suzuki looked at the destination. "That's right off Route 24! We don't need the navigator for that." She turned it off.
"Tick-tock, tick-tock," the doctor thought to himself.
Ae glanced at her watch when the taxi reached the Route 24 turn. Traffic was worse than expected, so they lost thirty minutes on the detour. The watch read 0854.
Five minutes later, the taxi stopped on the highway. "Well, here is your stop. The fare has been paid. I hope you can find the house you're looking for." He gestured toward a familiar gravel road. "It looks like it's down that road."
"I don't think so," Ae lied.
"Yes it is!" Lin was excited at seeing the familiar spot.
"Well maybe it is," Lin had to admit, hoping the police wouldn't stop and question him. "Five minutes left," she thought to herself.
After the taxi left, Ae and Lin walked down the gravel road about a hundred meters when they came upon a small shrine. "This is it," Ae said to Lin. "All we can do now is wait and hope."
Several minutes passed. Lin looked at the watch. It's radium dial revealed the time was 0859. "Any minute now," she said to Lin, very encouraged.
Ten more minutes passed, and still no portal opening. It was still 0859. "That can't be!"
Just then, the new Toyota pulled onto the gravel road. Lin heard it first. "It's an Automobile."
"Is it the doctor's?"
"No. This one sounds bigger."
Ms Suzuki asked warily, "Kitamura-sensei, are you sure this is the turnoff?"
"Yes." The doctor was confident they were too late.
Lin saw the light of the headlights start to pierce through the trees. The car was getting closer. Her eyes were glued to the watch as it relentlessly told them it wasn't time yet.
To Ms Suzuki's satisfaction and the doctor's internal horror, Lin and Ae were standing, huddled together, in front of the shrine. Ms Suzuki stopped the car, leaving the headlights on, and immediately went to Lin. "You can go back if you wish, Aiko, but Lin is staying in this world."
At that moment, the watch moved to 0900 and the shrine lit up. It was time...
Escape
It was 7:00 PM when the Taxi arrived. Aiko was packed and waiting in the lobby when he pulled up to the main entrance. The driver noticed there was only one passenger. "I was expecting two."
Aiko wrote Ms Suzuki's address on a piece of paper and handed it to the driver. "The other passenger is at this address. Please stop by here on the way."
The drive to Ms Suzuki's residence was only fifteen minutes. When they arrived at the house, Aiko asked the driver to stop the engine and then got out of the car. Praying that luck was with her that evening, she said, in an ordinary conversational level that not even the taxi driver could hear, "Lin-chan, this is Ae. If you can get out of the house without Suzuki-san seeing you, please do so now. I will take you to our home." As an additional measure, Aiko took a jar of liquid out of her purse and emptied the contents onto the sidewalk.
Lin was sulking in the makeshift guest room. The television was on, but she wasn't in the mood to watch anything. Ms Suzuki was preparing dinner in the kitchen. Suddenly, Lin perked up. "Ae?" Lin snuck to the genkan (entryway), put on her shoes, and quietly went out to the street.
Aiko spotted the small silhouette and, very quietly, whispered, "shhhh."
Lin ran to Ae, the two got into the taxi, and the vehicle started its way back to Tsuchiura. The driver, with the doctor's map in hand, knew how to get where he was going. "Are you sure I am supposed to get there this way? I'm sure Route 24 is quicker and shorter."
"Please follow the map, sir." Ae was curious. "Lin-chan, did you hear me or did you smell me?"
Lin turned and smiled, "You had a lot of coffee to drink today, didn't you?"
Not fifteen minutes had passed before Ms Suzuki looked in on her prisoner. Suspecting the doctor had a part in this, she called him at home.
The doctor was sitting by the phone, expecting a call any minute. It rang. "That sounds like an angry ring," he thought. "Maybe I should let it calm down a bit before I answer it." Not wanting to have Ms Suzuki involve the police, he decided to answer it. "This is Kitamura..."
"You're there."
"Of course. Who is this?"
"This is Suzuki. Where is Lin-chan?"
"I don't know, Suzuki-san. Did she run away?"
"I think so, but I thought maybe you might have taken her."
The doctor only wanted to delay things without dragging in the police. "Maybe Aiko took her. Have you checked Aiko's hotel?"
"No. I'll call you right back."
The doctor hung up the phone with a smile, saying "Tick-tock, tick-tock..."
The phone rang again less than a minute later. "Hello, this is Kitamura"
"This is Suzuki. She checked out about a half hour ago. A private taxi picked her up. They don't know where she's headed."
"I know where they went," he said in a tone of voice that made him sound sincerely helpful. "There's a place in Tsuchiura where I picked them up. Come by the house and we can go there together. Aiko won't be able to enter the portal until the proper time and I think we get there beforehand if you rush."
"OK" The phone clicked at the other end. "Tick-tock, Tick-tock," he said again as he hung up the receiver.
It took Ms Suzuki twenty minutes to get to the doctor's house. At that instant, the taxi was approaching the Route 6 crossing when they came upon a sign. "Miss, the sign says that the road ahead is closed for construction. We'll have to take a detour. The only way I know is to go south on Route 6 and turn left on Route 24. This will delay us about twenty minutes."
Ae looked at her watch. It was 0850. "Still plenty of time," she thought to herself. Now her only worry was whether Ms Suzuki called the police. She knew she was vulnerable on Route 24.
Doctor Kitamura climbed into Ms Suzuki's new Toyota Crown. He took his time getting in, looking very fascinated with her car. "I love this car! Is that a television?"
"No, it's one of those new navigation devices. I can set the destination and the navigator will tell me when I need to take a turn."
"Well, that will certainly save us some time," he said, not revealing that Route 24 was a straight shot to their destination. "How do I punch in the destination?" He had to admit to himself that the technology was really cool.
She took a minute to turn on the navigator and go to the SET DESTINATION mode. "Here, just move the cursor to the location and press the center when you have it."
Just in case Ms Suzuki really intended to call the police, the doctor placed the cursor to a spot that was only approximately correct. "There. It's set."
Ms Suzuki looked at the destination. "That's right off Route 24! We don't need the navigator for that." She turned it off.
"Tick-tock, tick-tock," the doctor thought to himself.
Ae glanced at her watch when the taxi reached the Route 24 turn. Traffic was worse than expected, so they lost thirty minutes on the detour. The watch read 0854.
Five minutes later, the taxi stopped on the highway. "Well, here is your stop. The fare has been paid. I hope you can find the house you're looking for." He gestured toward a familiar gravel road. "It looks like it's down that road."
"I don't think so," Ae lied.
"Yes it is!" Lin was excited at seeing the familiar spot.
"Well maybe it is," Lin had to admit, hoping the police wouldn't stop and question him. "Five minutes left," she thought to herself.
After the taxi left, Ae and Lin walked down the gravel road about a hundred meters when they came upon a small shrine. "This is it," Ae said to Lin. "All we can do now is wait and hope."
Several minutes passed. Lin looked at the watch. It's radium dial revealed the time was 0859. "Any minute now," she said to Lin, very encouraged.
Ten more minutes passed, and still no portal opening. It was still 0859. "That can't be!"
Just then, the new Toyota pulled onto the gravel road. Lin heard it first. "It's an Automobile."
"Is it the doctor's?"
"No. This one sounds bigger."
Ms Suzuki asked warily, "Kitamura-sensei, are you sure this is the turnoff?"
"Yes." The doctor was confident they were too late.
Lin saw the light of the headlights start to pierce through the trees. The car was getting closer. Her eyes were glued to the watch as it relentlessly told them it wasn't time yet.
To Ms Suzuki's satisfaction and the doctor's internal horror, Lin and Ae were standing, huddled together, in front of the shrine. Ms Suzuki stopped the car, leaving the headlights on, and immediately went to Lin. "You can go back if you wish, Aiko, but Lin is staying in this world."
At that moment, the watch moved to 0900 and the shrine lit up. It was time...