“Stop now, or I’ll shoot.” The gruff voice said.
Darren recognized the voice from before. It was one of the soldiers that had loitered by the door to the storage unit.
“Run Sakiko,” Yuki yelled.
Sakiko pushed the child carrier down the steps. It bounced along the steps, and Darren caught the carrier.
A gunshot echoed in the stairwell. Drops of wetness spattered across the stairs and onto Darren. Darren looked up at Sakiko. The lifeless body dropped down to the floor of the stairs.
“Sakiko!” Yuki yelled at the top of her lungs.
Darren had his handgun out a second later. He headed for the steps with anger in his eyes.
“No.” Yuki said as she grabbed his arm, “There are too many. We need to run for it.”
Darren re-holstered his handgun and attached the child carrier.
With heavy footsteps cascading down the stairwell, Darren and Yuki jumped on their bikes and rode out into the pre-dawn light. He didn’t look back at Sakiko’s corpse. Angry tears welled up in his eyes.
Darren and Yuki rode as fast as they could away from the roadblocks and the soldiers. They sped down back alleys and along streets. Darren had no idea where they were going, but Yuki was following him. He had to lead the way.
After about an hour of riding, the sun had come up. And then went away again. Dark, red clouds filled the sky. Only they weren’t clouds. They were smoke. Darren wasn’t sure from what. A moment later, large gobs of ash fell from the sky. The smell of ash rose up as the ash fell.
“Hold up,” Darren said to Yuki.
They stopped in the middle of an alley.
Darren pulled a scarf from his child carrier and ripped it in half. He tied it around his mouth. Yuki wiped her face and dried her tears. Then she saw what Darren did with his scarf and she the same.
Yuki sobbed silently.
“Where are we going to go now?” Yuki said, her voice quiet, almost a whisper.
“We need to get off the street,” Darren said.
Chapter 22
Darren looked around the area they were in. He saw a few heads peek out the windows.
“Ride.” Darren said.
A larger man with wide shoulders and a shaggy beard left a building. He held a large ax.
“Don’t run.” The man said, “You need to get off the street. Its still curfew.”
“Where?” Yuki said.
“In here.” The man said.
“Don’t trust him.” A female voice said above Darren.
Darren looked up. Beside them was a small two-story apartment building. The building had suffered some damage but had survived the seismic events. Sitting at a window was a little old lady. In her hand was a broom. She held it like a weapon.
“He’ll likely kill you.” The old lady said, “My grandson is coming down to let you into the building. You can stay here for a few hours until curfew is lifted.”
The door clicked open and a young boy about six years old held the door open. The roar of an engine echoed nearby.
“In here.” The boy said.
Darren and Yuki both entered the building. The boy locked the door behind them.
With some effort, the three of them lifted the bikes up the single flight of stairs into a small apartment. They took off their makeshift bandannas.
The little old lady greeted them at the door. The lady was small in stature but held herself with confidence.
“My name is Hana Nagaoka, and this is my grandson, Toru,” Hana said.
“Thank you for letting us in,” Yuki said with a bow.
Darren followed Yuki’s lead and bowed.
“A Gaijin.” Hana said to Yuki, “My English is no good. You’ll have to translate for me.”
“No need to translate.” Darren said, “My Japanese is getting very good.”
“Very good.” Hana said, “Now. You two look a wreck. Come sit and tell me what happened.”
Darren and Yuki sat on plastic chairs and told Hana about the run-in with the Japanese Defense Force and what happened to Sakiko.
“Poor girl.” Hana said, “You didn’t know about the curfew?”
“No,” Darren said, “We had hidden in a storage building after we got attacked by some color gangs.”
“The color gangs are what started the curfew.” Hana said, “Those bastards ran all over town stealing anything in sight. The police and JDF did nothing to stop it. Then a few days in, the authorities appeared and built a wall blocking off the ways out of Tokyo.”
“We saw it.” Darren said, “Built out of wrecked cars.”
Hana nodded.
“They allow no one out, and nothing gets in.” Hana said, “They claim that the gangs are the cause.”
“May we rest here for a few hours?” Yuki asked.
“Yes.” Hana said, “But you’re filthy.”
“I’ll sleep on the floor by my bike,” Yuki said.
Hana nodded as Yuki leaned against a wall and fell asleep.
“Let me get you a cloth.” Hana said, “You’re covered in blood.”
Darren cleaned himself up as best he could. He didn’t use any water on the cloth. It was too precious to use to clean himself.
“You can keep the cloth.” Hana said, “Its not like I can clean it anyway.”
After five minutes, Darren scanned the apartment.
“Didn’t you have a grandson or something?” Darren asked.
“Yes.” Hana said, “Now that you mention it, where did he go?”
Darren watched Hana walk around the apartment as she hunted for Toru, her grandson. After a few minutes, Hana came back to where Darren waited.
“That child has gone across to Toboto’s.” Hana said.
“Who?” Darren asked.
“That man with the ax that offered you a place to rest before I did.” Hana said, “We have to go and get him.”
“The curfew.” Darren said.
“This is my grandson.” Hana said, “I need your help.”
“Okay.” Darren said, “But I want to leave Yuki here. Let her rest.”
“That’s fine.”
Darren wrote a note on a scrap piece of paper and left it on the child carrier for Yuki.
He followed Hana out of the apartment and onto the street. They waited and listened to the city. Darren listened to the telltale sound of the engines from the soldier’s trucks.
With no sign of the JDF anywhere near, Darren made his move.
Darren walked across the street with Hana following close behind. Across the street was a townhouse style building made up of tiny buildings built in rows that stretched down the road. Next, to Toboto’s townhouse, a small alleyway headed around into the back of the buildings.
Hana didn’t head towards the front door, but she headed down the alley. Behind the house was a small yard. It was a real luxury in Tokyo to have one.
Darren struggled to keep up with the old lady. There was a fire to her step that Darren hadn’t seen in many people.
With a swift kick, Hana kicked the gate open and entered the backyard. She walked towards the shed and opened it.
She screamed.
Darren craned his neck to see around Hana. Laying in the dirt on the floor was the small boy. Darren moved past Hana and into the shed.
An ax was embedded in the boy’s back. Hanging from the rafters of the shed were two more dead bodies. These bodies looked older and female, but it was hard to tell as they had been mutilated.
“He shouldn’t have come snooping in here.” A deep male voice said from behind him.
Darren turned to see Toroto standing in the doorway to the shed. He couldn’t see what Toroto had in his hands, but Darren knew it had to be a weapon of some kind.
A loud blast echoed from Toroto and Hana went down in a heap of blood and bone. Darren reached for his handgun.
“Don’t do it.” Toroto said.
In Toroto’s hands was a hunting style rifle. Darren wasn’t sure what type, or if it was bolt action or a semi-auto, but that was the least concern at the moment.