Chapter 32: Man Eater: Quickman
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"Ah, you are finally back, Netto? That took a while. There, yours, on the table-" Yaito pointed at the table, "I had to work to save that for you, you know? Dekao is taking everything from the grill…he is like a vacuum cleaner. But, well, that's as expected… Mayl, on the other hand… Netto, did you know? She eats surprisingly much. I simply do not understand where everything goes inside her. And what happens to all the calories she ingests? Evaporate? Teleports into another dimension? How is this possible? How is she so slim?"
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Noticing a tinge of jealousy mixed with a vast scientific shock in her remark, Netto silently proceeded to the table.
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"So, what was that about? What happened to Enzan? Is he coming?" Yaito added.
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"…You clearly did not expect him to come back. I only see my portion." Netto observed.
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On the paper plate was an almost burnt sausage and two pieces of lettuce, grilled.
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"I did not have it in me to be nice to him. I can care about you, but him—why would I?"
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"…Well…" Netto sat at the table, which was rough and old and damp and smelled of decay. Netto saw something translucent, small, and moving on his sausage. It jumped onto the table and scurried into one of the crevices, longitudinal according to the grain of the wood. Netto bent over and squinted. Inside the crack were many similarly shaped and colored things—spiders, probably juveniles aggregating. Netto quickly stood up and stepped back, leaving the food untouched. "Grilled lettuce? Really? Whose idea was this?"
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"Sorry! It was my idea, and I am regretting it also!" Mayl answered from the grill.
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Netto looked up and saw Mayl so kindly working next to the fire while Dekao was orbiting around her, picking off anything that was adequately browned like a chicken cleaning a wasp nest of its succulent larvae.
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"Don't apologize! It was a fantastic idea!" Dekao protested.
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'If you thought it was a fantastic idea, then this sad lettuce would not have ended up on my plate. You would've gobbled it up already.' Netto estimated.
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Dekao noticed Netto. He also noticed that the boy's food remained undisturbed. So he came quickly in wide steps, and then, as if trying to prove his previous statement, dumped everything into his mouth. Ah, but the spiders…Netto decided to not say anything.
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"You still have not answered my question, Netto! Where is Enzan?" Yaito shouted, impatient.
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"He is not coming."
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"Why?"
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"He is off to solve the mystery."
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"What mystery?"
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"About the guy in the second cabin, supposedly. Crazy, they said. Remember?"
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"Ah- that mystery…more like a complaint by poor and deranged adults... So that guy votes to stay and then leaves us hanging like this? What was the point of the vote, then?"
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Netto sensed that Yaito wanted him to chime in, support her, agree with her, or say something piercingly damning yet true about Enzan. It was an invitation of a kind, to commit indecency together, perhaps to become a closer friend. Netto, however, did not feel like obliging; he had been an acceptably decent companion to Enzan the past month, and the idea of turning against him immediately after a fallout only left a bad aftertaste.
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"Maybe he has to work. He is a netpoliceman, right?" Netto ended up defending Enzan instead. And especially after that fallout a moment ago—what an irony!
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"Which shouldn't be an excuse. At least he could've told us himself! How urgent can it be?"
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"…'
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"Well, Netto? What do you think? Don't you agree? Did he say anything else to you?"
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"Who cares." Netto dismissed Yaito's invitation. Then, in order to escape from having to interact further with her, he volunteered, "I guess I'll work on the grill now. Mayl! I'll take over- go and take a rest!"
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Mayl, however, must have taken that initiative as a sort of a sign of Netto's interest in her, for she said excessively brightly,
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"Thank you, Netto kun!"
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Hot and bright sunlight, cold and pleasant stream, sheltering shades of trees arching over, chilled breeze of old forest dancing between them like footsteps of a sylph, and a sense of peace so great that even a grandmother's infinitely loving embrace would pale in comparison. These were all present in the hours after the luncheon, when everyone's stomachs were full to their heart's content, when they decided to wet their feet in the water glittering with fragments of sunshine, when Dekao attempted to catch a fish with his bare hands and then fell over, when Yaito was laughing free from her burgeoning aristocratic responsibilities, when Mayl thought coming here was one of the best decisions she had ever made this year, when Netto was watching over everyone, aloof, thinking,
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'…Only if I could wind time into the future and resume when Saito niisan gets a new body…then I can do something like this with him. He always wanted to do something similar…something picturesque and outdoors, something so stereotypically happy.'
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And then,
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'Oh, look, they are waving at me to come and have some fun. They are probably planning to push me over and make me like Dekao, all wet and fumbling…and I'll probably end up splashing them in retaliation. In the end, we will all be drenched and sleep like babies on the bus, on our way back. That is certainly tempting. Maybe I should do it. Maybe I'll do this so that I can practice it before repeating it to Saito niisan in the future. Yeah, that's right; to make the picnic with Saito niisan a perfect experience, I should practice this and that…all kinds of situations…'
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Netto imagined splashing water at Saito, his brother falling over, his hair becoming wet and winding around his neck like the blessed ivies around the ivory-colored dolomite pillars of forgotten temples, his shirt—white shirt—becoming semi-transparent from water, adhering to his chest, enticingly almost-showing what is underneath, and him smiling, as bright as the morning star before the sunrise, towards-
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…
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Strangely, and equally shockingly, Netto found it impossible to imagine the scene. As much as powerfully the idea flooded his mind, the center of the picture remained blurry and void, Saito unable to be painted. Then, something formed and filled the place instead: Rockman. It seemed, in just one year, that Rockman had penetrated his heart so completely that he became unable to remember how Saito was before the transformation. Was it a tragedy? Perhaps… Was it something else? Possible… But this new picture was somehow 'better,' more seemly, more attractive in a way, more ticklish. Why? That was a good question. That was a fearful question. Why was it so? What was the perceived difference between Saito and Rockman? Did the netnavi appearance hide Saito's form just enough such that a part of Netto's conscience, which evaluated and responded to visual representations of Saito, was bypassed? Did this mean that a fragment of his unconscious, burgeoning desire surfaced, finally unrestrained, and shocked him? A Freudian slip? Could it be true? If so-
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"Netto kun! Netto kun-!"
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Callings from the PET woke Netto up from the spiral of thoughts that was converging into the singularity of revelation. Netto was saved from an insight, a terrible knowledge.
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"Uh…oh, uh, right?"
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"Netto kun! Are you alright?"
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Netto observed the worried face of Rockman in the display. It was…vibrant. Because the echoes of the imagination were still audible, Netto found it a little bit embarrassing to see Rockman or be seen by Rockman.
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"Ye- yeah, fine. I am fine." Netto put the PET in his holster. "I was just thinking about something."
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"Something troubling you? I know, it's Enzan, isn't it? Don't worry about him. He will poke here and there, make some mess, and find out that he is making a big fuss out of nothing. This is just a picnic, and this was our decision, not someone else's…remember how we had to convince our Papa? I don't find any reason to suspect he knew something else or otherwise. That officer will soon come back to his usual self-"
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Rockman's voice, muffled, continued to stream from the holster. Rockman did not come out in hologram as he did not want to draw the attention of others, who would surely inquire much, and then the conversation would surely drift to uncomfortable subjects such as Enzan, at which point a word or two about this 'god' and their previous suicidal folly might slip through his lips. Netto also understood this and appreciated it.
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"…Yeah right." Replied Netto. It was not about Enzan; it was about wet Saito and then wet Rockman and his inability to picture Saito and how Rockman appeared more attractive and him finding Saito and Rockman simultaneously different and same and-… How to explain all that? "Ah, they are calling me. I better go. Let's talk about that guy later, yes?"
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"I'm still in your holster! Don't forget to put your PET somewhere dry! Have fun!"
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There was a pile of belongings just under a young tree—thin, supple, and green branches here and there—and it was here that Netto placed his PET, on top of the said pile, the screen oriented towards the stream where his friends were beckoning. He then gazed at Rockman for a moment while assuming a quite complicated expression that Rockman had never witnessed before. There was a faint hint of guilt and confusion, but Rockman could not be confident whether his impression had any semblance of accuracy.
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"…I'll come back soon and pick you up. Wait for me here, alright?" was what Netto said. The boy said it as if Rockman had any other options, as if the navi could somehow choose to leave or move around. It reminded Rockman when he was Saito—Netto would do the same to him back then. So, in a sense, it was just like in the old days; Rockman was still limited, confined, destined to watch Netto from afar, unable to participate in his life while being a part of his life at the same time…
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"I'll be here." Rockman replied, in the exact same way he used to back then. Upon hearing the reply, Netto left, looking acceptably satisfied.
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Rockman maintained his gaze at the back of the boy, for he remained troubled by the enigmatic expression that Netto had displayed. Ah, but what could he do? He had no idea what was going on in Netto's head…besides, he was soon occupied by a graver task: intensely observing Mayl playfully teasing Netto, hoping that the intensity would somehow deter her from getting any closer. Of course, it did not work, him having no psychic abilities to interact with noosphere; however, before Rockman could be troubled by his powerlessness and Mayl's progressively bolder acts (it wasn't Mayl being manipulative. It was simply she growing less embarrassed and more competitive in their little plays), he soon noticed another peculiarity: as he saw, Netto was perpetually distracted while interacting with his friends—as if he was seeing something else or someone else. Or, stranger yet, it was as if Netto was trying to see someone else through his friends.
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Had the peace lasted a few more hours, then Rockman might have reached, with some diffidence, the suspicion that Netto was trying to see him in the place of their friends, and such idea would've greatly mortified him as well as elated him to no end. And then, such a development would've surely led to Rockman realizing his desires, perhaps in a year or ten, for the human heart changes slowly, always quick to exercise denial in the face of transformation… However, fate would not have it that way, and the disruption came. Watching over Netto, and quite unsatisfied with Mayl, Rockman made the following assessment:
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'Even so, what a wonderful day…except for those strange people, and the alleged mysterious adult in the second cabin, Enzan going nuts…yes, wonderful as long as I ignore those happenings.' Thought Rockman. 'And I should be thankful that we achieved what we came here for: the outdoors, sunshine, barbeque, cool waters, fooling around, deadly silent forest, no bird songs… Yeah, that's right; let's forget about Enzan… Wait, what?'
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It was exactly as he assessed. The birds were silent; the bugs were silent; the forest was silent. There was only the sound of the water, of the stones, of the children, and of the wind—the chilling wind that howls through the ruins full of death, silence, and memories better forgotten. It rustled the leaves violently, bringing the cold air from the valleys of deep mountains where sun never shines, making the most lonely and disquieting sound.
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Rockman felt the chill, not that of the temperature, but of an instinct that knew something was awry. But what could be? Children were still oblivious, a terrible state of ignorance through which prey are often doomed. Rockman made himself into a hologram and gained as much altitude as possible, trying to secure a better view. He scanned the area meticulously, in the zig-zag pattern that soldiers on-watch employ, evaluating the contours of every object and every terrain around him, checking every gap between trees, every shadow under the bushes. The first pass did not yield any results. The second pass did not yield any results. The third pass did not yield any results. But, readers, do you understand? The paranoia so gripping that it becomes impossible to stop keeping vigil? The supernatural knowledge that convinces you that you are in grave danger?
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Then, during the seventh scan, beyond the children, on the other side of the stream, amongst the thickest undergrowth, next to the oldest tree obscured with lichens and twisted fungi, in the darkest shadow…he found a faintly glowing pair of yellow dots. Eyes.
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'Eyes!'
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The animal the adults talked about? At first, Rockman thought he observed wrong, that what he saw was simply a cat or a fox, and that he was greatly exaggerating the situation due to the sudden baseless premonition that swept him. The forest was silent—so what? The silence, although not the norm, was not always, or had to be, a product of the presence of an apex predator. In fact, in the presence of such an animal, it is already a well-known phenomenon that those occupying the lower part of the food pyramid diligently make alarm calls, and that multiple species often share and understand such alarm language. Chickadee's alarm, for example, is recognized and then utilized by other birds such as titmice, nuthatches, cardinals, and woodpeckers...
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However, the two glowing dots remained perfectly still for a while. Rockman considered the possibility of a mountain lion, but large cats did not exist in Japan. A bear as those intrusive adults claimed? According to the encyclopedia inside him, bears were not expected to stalk intruders or potential prey like that, often being bold and revealing, they being despotic in nature. A cautious deer frozen in its fear of humans? That was a hopeful candidate; in that case, its neck would be held high, trying to maximize sensory gains of sight and hearing, instead of concealing itself among the shadows, unless it was a fawn…but then it would be hiding, not watching. What else? A fox? A raccoon? Ah, both were highly probable. Maybe he was sweating over nothing.
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Just as Rockman was about to convince himself that he was nervous over nothing, the yellow eyes bobbed up and down slowly, steadily, and in erratic ways, as if the animal was conflicted between the need to gain a better angle and the desire to stay unnoticed. The way they moved—the speed and direction—was so controlled and bizarre that Rockman found it impossible to believe that it was produced by a natural cause. He would've believed it if somebody told him that it was a mythical giraffe-necked owl—that was how strange the movement was. He felt a chill, a fear of an unknown, running through his soul.
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The eyes remained still at a slanted angle for another while. Then, it moved upward quite bravely, and its head entered the space above the foliage that had a ray of light shining through, revealing itself. It was only for a very brief moment, for as soon as it realized that it was in the light it quickly sank back, but the brief window was enough for his netnavi eyes to develop a photograph. Rockman scrutinized it. Initially, the 'screenshot' showed an animal of which shape did not fit all of the possible explanations he had. How could it be? That the shape exposed in the light add more confusion? That clarity was worse than obscurity? And then Rockman grasped what it resembled, which he denied, but soon was forced to accept. It was a distorted and shrunken face of an old man, unnaturally hanging in front of something like an ill-fit mask, with two metallic horns protruding above. It was as if the creature was wearing the skin of a human, or a human had grown something underneath his skin. Who was the owner of that face? One of the adults earlier? Most unlikely; three families with children and belongings were a respectable caravan, and someone was bound to survive an attack and run back here. On the other hand, if that creature was somehow supernaturally swift and lethal, then it would be possible; in that case, Netto and company…they had no chance…
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The yellow eyes were still watching over them. Rockman was still in disbelief at what he saw; how was it possible? Could it be that Enzan was right? Could it be that they were still not free from the god of navis, and that something more terrible than the madness of dreaming navis were encroaching upon this world? Once thoughts drifted in this direction, Rockman remembered: Iceman, cursed, materialized. Iceman, cursed, was thirsty and drank blood. Iceman, cursed, wished for a soul. Iceman, cursed, wanted to devour Tory. So far, Hikaris were under the impression that the case of Iceman was an outlier. What if it was not? What if similar incidents were happening elsewhere and this was the consequence? What if the creature of those eyes was…a man-eater? A surreally extraordinary possibility that was fantastically realistic.
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Still, Rockman could not move. The possibility was so alien, and the presence of those eyes and his observation so surreal, that he was trapped in a box of fear and awe. He had to retrieve Netto, but how? He did not want to agitate that…thing, whatever it was. Maybe it was one of those mythical cryptids of silly forest stories…which would be equally bad. None of the cryptids were ever friendly. At any rate, he had to find a way to calmly de-escalate the situation. Maybe the best option was to wait for the children to come back on their own…
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The glowing eyes drifted like stones on ice and went behind the old, twisted tree that was next to it. It was on the move. There was now only one thing to do.
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"…Netto kun." Rockman tried to call, but the sound barely escaped his terrified throat.
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"Netto kun." Rockman tried again, but it was more like a mumble
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"Netto kun." The sound kept dying inside his throat.
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"Netto kun-" A sound at the volume of normal conversation, albeit very slightly trembling, was produced. Netto, of course, did not hear it.
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Rockman took a deep breath and steeled his heart. It had to be done, and it was no time to be scared. He mustered every strength inside him, and then,
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"NETTO KUN!"
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What came out was far louder than what Rockman had intended. His voice rang like a bell through a field. Everyone stopped and saw him. Surely, the creature heard him. There was no stopping now.
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"NETTO KUN- EVERYONE! HERE, NOW! OUT OF THE WATER! RUN!"
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They did not understand. At first, only Netto believed. The boy bolted and sprinted as if life depended on it; it might have been the case that his life indeed depended on it, though he did not know. Others followed suit, but not as urgently, having no idea what could be the matter. Yaito was the last one to join the pack, slowly jogging, maintaining her dignity as the heir of Ayanokouji.
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"Rockman! What is it-" Netto, out of breath.
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"No time! Pick me up and run!" Commanded Rockman. "And don't look back!"
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Maybe Rockman should not have said that. Everyone, except Netto, looked back. The creature had already hidden itself, and there was nothing to be seen. Truth be told, even if the creature was still in that spot, the children would not have found it.
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"What? I don't see anything-" Mayl innocently remarked, as she arrived.
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Netto did not wait for others. He secured the PET and began running.
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"To where?" Shouted Netto.
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"To-" Rockman hastily remarked, or at least tried to. A deep, rhythmic vibration filled the place at an unbelievable density, at a frequency that was barely at the lower end of the human audible range, at a magnitude so pronounced as to physically shake the heart of those who heard it. Inexplicably, the vibration gave an impression of a falling, a magnificently hopeless one like being hurled from a dark place to a worse place. Everyone staggered, including Netto. "-To the cabins! Now!" Rockman urged.
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Netto rallied and did exactly that. He ran up the incline and reached the center of the camp. The soot—the remnants of the campfire of yesternight—was there with added shoeprints. Rockman recognized them as Enzan's.
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"Check the doors! One of them has to be open-" Said Rockman.
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Netto looked back and noticed that others were not behind him.
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"Shit! Rockman, the others-" Netto said as he pivoted around, intending to backtrack and fetch others.
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"No time!" Rockman stopped. "Check the doors, now! We arrived first! That's our job!"
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Netto was pursuaded. He ran over to the nearest cabin and violently rattled the doorknob.
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"Locked! As expected-" Shouted Netto.
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"Let's see… a digital doorlock… Needs a keycard. The campsite manager must have a master key, or at least it should be at the main office… Netto kun, can you-" Rockman said quickly.
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Netto stepped back and hurled himself at the door. The frame did not even flinch; it was a proper concrete construction that had an exterior finish mimicking the shape of stacked logs.
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"Ugh!" Netto hurled himself two times more, rather recklessly, to no avail.
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"Netto kun, stop! Can you see if there is a port to jack in?"
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"Nope, don't see any!" Netto briskly replied. "Let's check the other doors!"
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Rockman checked the number next to the door they had just tried. There was a brass tag nailed to the wall with '5' engraved on it.
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'Probably same constructions, same floor plans, same doors, same locks.' Thought Rockman, and correctly so. Netto ran over to '4,' which was the same. '3' also did not work. '2'…well, it was said that there was somebody inside. Whoever was inside did not respond. As a matter of fact, it was as if there was no one in there… '1' was locked just like others.
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"Now what?" Netto asked, short on breath, at the Rockman-hologram floating on his left shoulder.
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"It's… Let me think! There must be… Enzan did bring us a bag of woodchips, and he said he found it in a storage unit. That place must be open. Worth a try, don't you think?"
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"And where is that?"
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"Checking the map… It should be right…there-!" Rockman pointed at the general direction according to the campsite map that was not to scale. When Netto turned to see what was there, he instead found Enzan.
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"Looking for this?" Enzan waved a keycard in his hand. "Glad to know that you have decided to join in my investigation. While you were busy with your friends, I discovered that we have at least a murder in our hands. So, what's up with the hurry? Did you find anything? You look like you are being chased by something-"
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"Fuck, Enzan! There's no time for this! Just use it and open somewhere! Did you not hear it?"
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"Hear what? Ah-! You mean that vibration? Dear Netto, the proper description would be 'feel.' Even then, it must have been an earthquake from somewhere far away. It was faint and distant, don't you think? Besides, an earthquake in this country is not unheard of… Come on, Netto!"
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"It was not an earthquake! Enzan! Just, just do me a favor and open something, anything! We need to get in, now!"
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Enzan appeared unconvinced. Nevertheless, he obliged. The officer quickly trotted to cabin #2 and slid in the card at the lock. A green light flashed with a small, pleasant beep. Enzan turned the handle and opened the door.
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"Interrogation is a good place to start as any." Hummed Enzan.
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"Good! Now hold it there! I got to go back and fetch others, yeah? Keep it there! Keep it open!"
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Netto turned around. Mayl was seen running towards them. Yaito was closely behind, surprisingly fast for a person of her stature. She was clearly not interested in maintaining her dignity anymore; what could have happened?
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"Where's Dekao?" Netto spoke to himself. He signaled Mayl and Yaito to enter the building and ran past them. Soon, he encountered that large boy, struggling to move his large body with speed, red-faced, puffing, and exhausted. Netto grabbed Dekao's arm and then began running towards Enzan, pulling with all his might. Having external force applied, the swarthy boy did move marginally faster, but began to sound as if he was going to collapse and perish at any moment. Netto did not care. "If you are going to die, die inside!" Shouted Netto.
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When they almost reached Enzan, Netto saw the face of the officer light up in utter surprise, terror, excitement, and primordial hostility.
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"GET INSIDE!" Enzan screamed. The officer kicked the door as to throw it open, stepped aside to make room for Netto and Dekao, pulled out his pistol, and aimed. Netto could almost see down the barrel, indicating that the aim was almost aligned to his head. Whatever Enzan was aiming at was almost overlapping with him in the line of sight.
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Netto and Dekao dived through the gap, landing inside. Five rapid yet systematic gunshots soon followed. Enzan came in, and the door was slammed shut. A pleasant melody from the door indicated that it was now locked. Immediately, something collided with the door, and a thunderous impact shook the building.