Chapter 17 - The Supply Procurement Team and the Storehouse
The five people walked without making any sound on the way to the staffroom.
Among them, Jun thought back upon a memory.
That summer day.
About the day he first refused to talk.
The 21st of August.
The cicadas were making loud noises.
The heat from the sun had made the asphalt road like a hot iron plate.
The heat from direct sunlight and the asphalt came from both sides, and he remembered sweating a lot.
When he had opened the door to his home, the smell had been different than usual.
Still, he hadn’t thought it was strange, and after he kicked off his shoes, he shouted that he was home.
What he had seen first was red.
It was obviously not because the interior design of the living room was red.
The room had been stained by an immense amount of blood.
And then, he saw his own mother, father, and grandmother lying collapsed on the floor.
A man had slowly stood up.
The man he had never seen before approached him while dragging his little sister by her hair.
The blood rushed around in his body.
His pulse accelerated.
Even if he told his body to run, it didn’t listen.
His breathing grew shallow.
The man whispered close to his ear.,
“What do you feel now?”
That moment, he tried to scream as loudly as he could.
But, his voice never came out.
It was hard to see the man’s face because of the light behind him, but thanks to him coming closer, he could see his face.
He would kill that man with only his hands.
He would, with these hands…
Click.
The sound of the door to the staffroom pulled him out of his thoughts.
With this chaos, that guy must have fallen to hell too.
Even though he could escape from the police, he couldn’t escape from the dead.
Otherwise, if he didn’t think like that, he wouldn’t be able to put an end to the rage surging in his heart.
Even in this disaster, the staffroom was left as it always looked until now.
Documents were scattered all over the floor, but there wasn’t any sign of zombies or blood.
“Well then, is there anyone here knowing the digits to the dial lock?”
Tooru asked, turning to everyone.
Since it was a dial lock, they had to naturally input the right code, but it wasn’t known to the students.
Sayo opened her mouth,
“I don’t know it since students haven’t been told it, but shouldn’t there be something like a disaster guide in the staffroom?”
It was completely right.
In fact, they found the guide after searching a little and learned the code.
“4, 6, 9, 2…”
While saying it aloud, he put in the code.
After doing that, the door opened with a click.
“Alright, then, we’ll carry the contents.”
Various things from food, blankets, and so on to portable toilets were put in the storehouse.
Although he knew they had stored up in preparation for disasters, the amount was overwhelming.
“Then, we’ll transport the blankets first. After that food. Don’t forget drinks too. After that, if you have any hands empty, grab clothing.”
Even though he said blankets, they weren’t that big since they were stored in bags.
It would be enough for two to take blankets for 15 people.
He’ll have Sayo and Jun bring the blankets.
“For the food, stuff it in this bag. For drinks, carry them in your hands.”
Everyone put as much food as possible in the bag and carried as many pet bottles in their arms as possible.
And then, holding clothing, Tooru took the rest of the pet bottles and stood up.
Kazuma was the guard.
“Well then, let’s return.”
“Yeah! Leave the guarding to me!”
Kazuma walked in high spirits.
He looked like a boy who had found a rhinoceros beetle, and everyone in the supply procurement team burst out in laughter.
Except for Jun.
He didn’t remember a lot after that incident.
For the rest of the world, it was widely reported as “The massacre of the Shimoicho family”, but he couldn’t muster up any interest in it.
Only, while he didn’t understand anything, his family disappeared, and only saddness dominated his heart.
His memories after the incident were from the day his last name was changed to “Haiga”.
Not wanting a child who was unable to speak or worrying about what others would think of them.
He was sent among his relatives without finding someone to bring him up.
Unable to just watch, Sayo’s father brought him in.
“Sayo. This is Jun who will be your little brother from now on. Get along with him, would you?”
Sayo replied that she understood, and after her father left the room, she turned around to Jun.
To think of it now, Sayo had probably been a pretty mature child for that age.
She had understood the meaning of a family slaughter, and above all else, had tried to soothe him.
She had hugged him, saying,
“Was it lonely? Was it sad? It’s okay. From now on, I’ll protect you.”
He hadn’t shed any tears.
However, he hadn’t tried to release himself from her embrace.
If he was released, he felt like she would go somewhere far away too.
And then, he had fallen asleep like that.
It was a good sleep for the first time in several weeks.