Darren holstered his handgun and Yuki did the same.
Laying around them were four gang members. Three of them were already dead. The one that had been shot first had dragged himself away but had bled out. The last one was the girl that Yuki had grappled with. Three bullet wounds bled profusely from her leg and side.
To Darren, it was amazing that she was still alive. She had a scared look in her eyes that had sadness to it.
“Freeze.” The deep growl came from behind him.
Standing in a small row were three police officers armed with rifles and riot gear. They marched towards Darren and Yuki.
“Hands up.” One police officer yelled.
Darren and Yuki raised their hands.
When the police officers got closer, one of them stopped.
“Little Yuki.” He said, “Yuki Tanamoro? Is that you?”
“Yes.” Yuki said, “Who are you?”
“It’s Keitaro Nishi,” Keitoro said.
“You know this girl?” the first one said.
“Yes.” Keitoro said, “Remember Masaki Tanamoro. He bought the old Terada place up the hill.”
“I do, but the last time I was him was two years ago.”
“That’s his daughter.”
The three police officers relaxed.
“My name is Joben Yano.” Joben said, “I’m the Police Sergent here and I’m in charge. Are you armed still? And are they all dead?”
Joben referred to the four gang members.
The gang member girl raised an arm.
“Shit.” Joben said, “One’s still alive. Keitaro, get the doctor.” Keitaro ran off down the street. Joben turned to Darren and Yuki, “Please sit there. I’m not done with you yet.”
The two police officers went to work on the girl. They removed pieces of clothing to get access to her wounds. Darren and Yuki sat on the ground by the bikes and just watched.
Keitaro and a middle-aged woman came running up to them with a pole and fabric stretcher.
They transferred the gang member girl to the stretcher. The doctor and the third police officer took off down the road.
Jedon wiped off his hands on a rag.
“What do we do about those three?” Jedon asked motioning to the dead gang members that lay in the street.
“The morgue has no power.” Keitaro said, “And with no communication, it’s not like we can notify next of kin.”
“Get the delinquents from the jail, and they can dig a small grave near here,” Joben said.
Chapter 42
An hour later, Darren and Yuki sat in a small police station or what they called a Koban. Their guns and swords lay on a desk while Joben and Keitaro looked over some papers. They had taken off their riot gear and now only wore their uniforms.
The delinquents were a group of four young men that were causing trouble in the village. They loaded the three dead bodies into a small cart and took them to a hastily created cemetery in the village.
“These are trying times.” Joben said as he looked up from his paper, “If these weren’t then I’d have arrested you for gang violence and possession of illegal firearms.”
Darren’s mouth dropped open.
“Tell me Yuki,” Joben continued, “What’s your plan now that you’re here?”
“I take it from earlier that you haven’t seen my father,” Yuki asked.
“No,” Joben said.
“The plan is to live in his house and to survive whatever this is in peace,” Yuki said.
“Tell me.” Keitaro said looking up from his paper, “What’s going on outside this village?”
Yuki looked at Darren, “Can you tell him?”
Darren nodded and told them of the situation in Tokyo. He told them how the JDF had quarantined the city. How they had enacted martial law. He also told them about Sakiko’s demise.
“Is it really that bad in Tokyo?” Keitaro asked.
“Yes.” Darren said, “I’m surprised you haven’t gotten any refugees up here.”
“We have.” Keitaro said, “The community center is full of people that we’re not sure how we’re going to feed them long term.”
“But that’s not going to be our problem.” Joben said, “I’m sure the JDF will get a shipment of food up here soon.”
Darren kept his mouth shut. He wasn’t sure what to say or how to say it.
“Are we under arrest?” Yuki said.
“No.” Joben said, “I won’t.”
“Can we have our weapons back?” Yuki said.
“That part, I’m not sure about,” Joben said.
“Why did that color gang come here to attack you?” Keitaro said.
“Back in Tokyo,” Darren said, “we were moving at night to avoid unwanted attention. We were trying to find a way through the JDF quarantine. They ambushed us and the leader tried to slice Yuki up with that sword.” Darren pointed at one of the swords. “I fired my gun at him, but I hit his sister who was going to hit Yuki with a tire iron.”
“So he’ll be back.” Joben said, “To get his revenge?”
“Maybe.” Darren said, “Or maybe that bullet wound he took will kill him. I don’t know.”
“Take the weapons.” Joben said, “But consider yourselves deputies.”
“Deputies?” Yuki said.
“Yes.” Joben said, “Due to the emergency and lack of communication. The people have made me the leader of this ‘village.’ That means I have the power to do many things. And I need help. So you two will help me.”
“That’s fine,” Darren said.
“Keitaro will accompany you two to your father’s house,” Joben said.
Darren and Yuki gathered up their weapons. They pushed the bikes out of the Koban and into the street.
Keitaro followed with them on a bike of his own. Darren thought it was comical seeing a police officer on a bicycle. He didn’t let it show on his face, however.
“So you two rode all the way from Tokyo?” Keitaro asked.
“Yes,” Darren said.
“That must have been scary,” Keitaro said.
“Our experience has been a mix of terror and boredom,” Yuki said.
“Either we are bored waiting for something, or we are scared for our lives,” Darren said.
They pushed their way up the hill and near the top of it was a small driveway. The driveway was blocked off by a large wooden gate. The gate was built of plywood and lumber. The gate had a large padlock on it. Darren thought a swift kick with his foot could break the gate apart.
“I hope you have a key,” Darren asked Yuki.
Yuki pulled one out of her pocket and unlocked the gate.
They pushed their bikes up the driveway and into the yard. The cabin, as Yuki had called it was a two-story building built of stacked rocks and cedar wood. Large windows encased one side of the building, and let in a significant amount of sunlight that lit up the main areas of the house.
“This is the cabin?” Darren said, “It’s huge.”
“It looks big, but it isn’t,” Yuki said.
Keitaro walked around the cabin. One hand was on his handgun.
“You’re clear.” Keitaro said, “There’s no sign that any squatters have taken over this place.”
“Thank you,” Yuki said.
“A bit of advice.” Keitaro said, “Get cleaned up before you come to the village.”
Keitaro turned on his heels and left the house.
“Yuki,” Keitaro said, “Can you unlock the gate for me?”
Yuki nodded and left.
Darren walked around the house. Paintings and pictures adorned the walls. Darren saw a picture of Yuki, her dad, and a woman. Yuki looked young in the picture, and Darren assumed that the picture was one of her mom.
A few moments later, Yuki walked into the house and locked the door.
“We’re finally here,” Yuki said.