“I’m not sure.” Darren said, “I’m sure this is a trap.”
In the distance was a rumble of engines.
“Someone’s coming,” Yuki said.
Darren and Yuki hid further in the alley.
The rumble of the engines came closer and closer. To Darren, they didn’t sound like car or truck engines. They weren’t the rumble of a large diesel engine.
After a couple minutes, the first one came into view. It was a lone figure on a motorbike.
Darren could just make out the person, but he was too far away to tell anything else. Darren swore that he had seen him before.
“Color gang.” Yuki said, “That guy that followed us by that boat.”
“Right.” Darren said, “Michio’s gang.”
After a few moments, the single rider turned around and rode off down the street.
“Should we try to sneak through?” Yuki asked as she stood up.
Darren put a hand on her arm.
“Wait.” Darren said, “I bet he’s come to the same conclusion as us about that roadblock.”
“Which is?” Yuki asked.
“That it’s probably a trap,” Darren said, “but it might not be.”
“So what do we do?” Yuki asked.
“We wait.”
Darren and Yuki didn’t have to wait long. Not ten minutes after they sat down, the rumble of the engines came closer. Sitting on the front motorbike, was the distinct figure of Michio. Behind him was at least thirty other gang members. Behind them was a caravan of twelve mini-vans.
A light turned on in one of the mini-vans. In the van were women and children. But the term women was subjective. None of the women in the van looked to be older than Darren. A couple of the other vans turned their interior lights on, and Darren saw that they were much the same.
Darren immediately knew what this was. This was a migration, an exodus. Michio’s gang was leaving the ravaged city of Tokyo and leaving the area.
Michio said something to a gang member, and he ran towards the roadblock. He pulled a hatchet out of his belt and smashed the cargo vans window.
“Keys are in it.” Darren heard the gang member yell, “Give me a moment.”
Darren saw the bike-riding gang members pull weapons out of their belts. Darren thought they must believe it was a trap.
A moment later, the cargo van’s engine started, and it rumbled to life. The van rolled forward and out of the way. The van’s engine died a moment later.
The gang member exited the truck and ran back to Michio. Darren watched the gang member hand Michio the keys to the van. Michio threw the keys across the street.
Michio started his bike and bolted forward towards the roadblock. The gang started their engines, and they followed close behind Michio.
The echo of the engines faded into the night as the gang drove off into the night. The resulting silence was deafening. Darren found himself holding his breath.
“Are they gone?” A voice said behind Darren.
It wasn’t Yuki’s voice.
Darren had his handgun out a moment later and pointed at the figure behind him.
“Don’t shoot.” The figure said as he held up his hands.
Darren looked at the guy. It was a Japanese man who seemed to be in his fifties. He was dressed in a business suit and a tie.
“Do you want to get shot?” Darren asked.
“Sorry.” The man asked, “I watched them from above. I wanted to get a better look.”
“Then look.” Darren said, “Just don’t sneak up on people.”
“That JDF roadblock is empty.” The man said, “Isn’t it.”
“What do you think?” Darren said, he still pointed his handgun at the man.
“I’ve got to spread the word.” He said, “There has to be food and supplies on the other side.”
The man backed away and ran down the alley.
“The way is clear!” He yelled as he disappeared.
“We better get moving.” Darren said, “Before this roadblock gets closed again.”
“I agree,” Yuki said.
Yuki and Darren hopped on their bikes and rode through the roadblock. It was empty of people and material. There was no sign that the JDF was there.
“Why did they abandon their post?” Yuki asked.
“No idea,” Darren said.
“Maybe they don’t have enough men to man all the positions?” Yuki asked.
“No idea.” Darren said, “Let’s get some distance between us and this roadblock before the JDF decide to man it.”
Darren and Yuki passed out of the Special wards of Tokyo and into a different prefecture. The city melted away and farmer’s fields appeared around them.
The fields were bare of crops and were filled with clumps of grass. A thin layer of ash covered the ground. Grass was growing up through the layer. The path that they were following rose up a hill. They rode along the top of a large earth dike next to a river.
On the other side of the river was a different city. Darren wasn’t sure what city it was, his geography wasn’t perfect. Darren couldn’t tell the state of the city in the distance. He didn’t know how many buildings had been affected by the earthquake and how many were burnt down by fires from rioting, hungry people.
Darren could see a handful of lights flickering in the distance. Most of them were from fires that burned through some of the surrounding buildings. Darren could tell that a few other lights were made by electrical means.
“Are we lost?” Darren asked Yuki.
“No. I know where I am.” Yuki said, “I’m looking for a bridge that hasn’t collapsed.”
“Didn’t we pass one?” Darren asked.
“That bridge was partially collapsed,” Yuki said
“So we’re backtracking?” Darren asked.
“No.” Yuki said, “We’ve been forced to go the long way.”
“Ok,” Darren said.
“Are you okay?” Yuki asked, “After that incident, you’re acting differently.”
“I’m beating myself up.” Darren said, “That’s all.”
“Her name is… was Emiko Asahara,” Darren said.
“Darren…”
“It’s one thing when it’s someone wanting to do us harm…”
“Darren…”
“I can live with that, at least for now…”
“Darren…”
“But some girl that’s only crime is that she wanted to do what her brother does.”
Yuki grabbed Darren by the face and pulled him into her. She kissed him on the lips.
“Stop.” Yuki said, “We’re also hurting from what happened to Ryoo and Seiji and Jiara. We can deal with our emotions later. We need to keep it together.”
“Yes,” Darren said, “but now Michio is out of Tokyo.”
“I know…” Yuki said.
“He’s going to want revenge.”
“Stop.” Yuki said, “Japan is a big place, and they have vehicles. They could go anywhere.”
“Right.” Darren said, “I’ve got to get in the game.”
“Good.” Yuki said, “The night is still early, and we have a long way to go still.”
“Where are we?” Darren asked, “I’m so turned around.”
“That’s the Arakawa River, and Saitama Prefecture lies on the other side of it,” Yuki said.
“Oh.” Darren said, “Where are we going again?”
Darren took a chug from his water bottle.
“We’re going to the mountains above the City of Sano,” Yuki said.
“I’ve heard of Sano, but the city goes into the mountains?” Darren said.
“Exactly.” Yuki said, “No one knows it’s there.”
“How much farther do we have left to go?” Darren asked.
“About a hundred and fifty kilometers,” Yuki said.
“That long?” Darren said.
“I plan on taking a longer route so we’re in the mountains more. I’m hoping there will be fewer people up there. I mean, most of the people there are more friendly.”