“And if they’re not?” Darren said.
“They will be.” Yuki said, “My dad was always going to the community center to visit.”
“Isn’t that a problem with the ‘Greyman’ approach?” Darren asked.
“No. Cause being the Grayman will only take you so far.” Yuki said, “You have to be friendly with some people, so if something happens like it has they might think we’re weird, but will still be friendly to us.”
“So do you think we can get to the mountains by the time the sun rises?” Darren said.
“Probably not,” Yuki said.
“Do you have any ideas about where we can hide for the night?” Darren said.
“I do.” Yuki said, “If it’s still there. The building was built fifty years ago, and it might have collapsed during the earthquakes.”
Chapter 30
Suddenly the earth started to shake violently. Darren got off his bike as the earth rumbled and shook. He lost footing and collapsed on the ground. Yuki sat beside him.
“Aftershock,” Darren said.
It took twenty minutes of the earth-shaking before it subsided. In the distance, Darren heard the distinct rumble and crash of buildings toppling over and collapsing.
“Maybe more than an aftershock.” Yuki said, “That’s a strong one.”
“We should get moving,” Darren said.
Darren and Yuki hopped back on their bikes and rode along the top of the berm. They followed the berm for quite a ways. They hunted for a way across the river. Before the Quakes, they would have been able to cross any one of a half-dozen different crossings. Now they rode past many broken bridges looking for a way across.
Eventually, they found a way across the river. They found a small foot bridge that crossed the river.
Once across, Darren quickly found himself in the midst of a city. The city was heavily damaged by the earthquakes and the many aftershocks. There were signs up in places. They pointed to where the emergency shelter was, or where the JDF station was. To Darren, it looked like someone was trying to keep things organized. Like they were trying to get things back to normal.
The two of them rode down the street. Damaged buildings were on either side of the road. Some of the buildings were freshly damaged. Broken glass spread out across the streets. It took all of Darren’s concentration to dodge the shards of glass.
Darren glanced over and saw that Yuki was doing the same.
People were emerging from the broken buildings, many had worried, and fearful looks on their faces. Darren saw men and women, children and the elderly all huddled outside of the buildings. A person with a megaphone was yelling orders into the device. He was telling them where to go and what to do.
Darren followed Yuki as they sped through side streets and down alleyways to dodge clogged roads full of debris and people.
Darren began to see figures in every shadow. Darren thought that he saw dangerous thugs carrying machetes and clubs.
In front of them, the street was full of abandoned cars and piles of debris.
Yuki turned to go down a nearby alley. Darren followed her down the narrow passageway. The tall buildings on either side blocked out most of the starlight and moonlight that lit their passage. The alley had many piles of boxes and garbages cans. Darren could see piles of other garbage waste piled around the sides of the lane.
A figure stepped out of the shadows. He was a middle-aged Japanese man who wore a business suite. In one hand he carried a broom handle. The businessman threw the broom handle at Darren’s bike underhand. The handle soared through the air and hit Darren’s front tire. The shaft of the handle went through the spokes. The broom handle crunched against the bike frame, and Darren’s bike suddenly stopped.
“Oh fuck…” Darren said.
Darren flew over the handlebars to scrape against the ground. Darren’s arm, shoulders, and face slid across the uneven pavement. Pain crept up through his body, and his clothes ripped in places. Blood dripped from his scalp and down his face. His fedora fell to the ground at his feet.
A flash of anger engulfed Darren as he got back on his feet. Yuki screeched to a full stop a little bit away from Darren.
The businessman ran towards Darren’s bike. Darren pulled out his handgun and aimed it just at the business man’s head.
The businessman pulled at the broom handle in an attempt to remove the handle from the spokes of the bike tire.
Darren squeezed the trigger, and his gun went off.
The gunshot echoed in the silence of the night. The business man’s throat exploded as the bullet hit. Blood and bits of bone spattered amongst the alleyway. Pieces dribbled on Darren.
The businessman unnaturally crumpled to the ground. His hands clutched at his throat as he thrashed wildly on the ground. Darren could see the fear in the man’s eyes as his life bleed out onto the street.
Darren walked to the man while still holding his handgun. He aimed it at the man, not trusting the sight before him. But it was apparent that the businessman was going to be dead soon.
“You son-of-a-bitch.” A loud, angry Japanese voice echoed from behind Darren.
Darren turned around to see three middle-aged business men holding makeshift clubs.
“Go away and leave us alone,” Darren said.
Blood dripped down Darren’s face and onto his Jacket.
Darren aimed his gun at the three businessmen.
“It’s a crazy Gaijin.” One said.
“Stupid cowboy American.” Another said.
“Kio is dead,” the third said, “Let’s get out of here.”
The three businessmen disappeared into the darkness. Darren holstered his gun.
Darren picked up his fedora and put it on his head. He walked over to his bike.
To Darren, the bike looked in decent repair. A single spoke had broken loose. The bike had toppled to its side. The child carrier was still attached to the bike.
Darren picked the bike up and up-righted it.
With a quick pull, Darren pulled the broom handle out of the bike spokes. He was on the bike a moment later and quickly caught up with Yuki.
“You’re bleeding,” Yuki said.
“It’s a head wound.” Darren said, “They bleed a lot.”
“Let me get the first aid kit, we need to look at that,” Yuki said.
“Not here.” Darren said, “This place isn’t safe, and people might be heading towards that gunshot.”
“Like who?” Yuki said.
“The police or army if they are still functional.” Darren said, “Or worse.”
Yuki nodded. She ripped a large piece off the bottom of her blouse. She wrapped it around Darren’s head.
“I know a place we can stop for a rest.” Yuki said, “We can clean that out when we get there.”
Darren and Yuki rode their bikes through the remaining part of the alley, and they were out onto a street. The tall buildings quickly disappeared, and they rode down residential streets with small houses decorated by small yards. After a few turns, they approached a small park.
The park had been turned into a makeshift refugee camp. The camp had spilled over the sides of the park and into the streets. There were signs that the park was once forested, but now all of the trees had been cut down. Darren could barely see the playground equipment through all of the makeshift structures.
Around the camp was armed men in army uniforms standing by a roadblock. One of the men turned to face them as they approached.
“Not that way,” Yuki said.
Yuki turned down a smaller side street away from the camp.
Darren heard the echo of engines spring to life behind them.
“Crap,” Yuki said.
“Get us out of here,” Darren said.
“Where. Where. Where.” Yuki said.
“Someplace that an army vehicle can’t go,” Darren said.