The air felt heavier than ever, and the rain chilled me to the bone.
It was a far more grueling trek than even the Seikan Tunnel.
I tried striking up a conversation with Akira a few more times after that, but she refused to even acknowledge my existence. The state of affairs between us hadn’t improved one bit, and the rain showed no sign of letting up. If anything, the downpour had only gotten worse as we went on. Yet still we trudged on without rest, our minds and bodies both utterly exhausted and drenched to the core.
I’d hoped we could make it out of this rainy patch before the end of the day, but that was looking less and less likely by the minute. If we didn’t find somewhere to take shelter soon, we’d only end up making the rest of the journey even harder for ourselves.
I took a look around the vicinity. We’d long since made it over the pass, and we were now cutting across a wide-open plain. To the right, there were only more mountains. To the left, acres upon acres of newly harvested rice fields, with no buildings to speak of aside from the occasional plastic greenhouse or barn. But we were in no condition to be choosy, so for the time being, maybe it would be a good idea to try breaking into one of these barns and see if we could find ourselves some umbrellas or waterproof raincoats or something.
Just then, I realized that things had gotten awfully quiet. Not that this wasn’t par for the course here in the timefreeze, mind you—but there was one particular sound I’d been listening for that was decidedly absent: footsteps.
I spun around. Sure enough, Akira was no longer walking close behind me. She was sitting slumped over in a heap on the pavement quite a way down the road. Oh, shoot. I hadn’t even noticed. I rushed back over to the place where she sat and leaned down beside her.
“H-hey, are you all right?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”
Akira lifted her head up slightly, her body still hunched over—but as soon as I caught a glimpse of her face, I recoiled at the sight. Her eyes were completely unfocused, and her lips were dyed a faint shade of purple. Chances were, they weren’t getting enough blood flow; I knew this was a common symptom of poor circulation known as cyanosis.
“I’m fine…” she said. “Don’t worry about me…”
These were the first words she’d spoken to me in several hours, but I wasn’t buying them for a minute. She sure as hell didn’t look fine to me, so when I saw her attempt to get back up to her feet on unsteady legs, I tried to stop her—but there was no need. She soon fell flat onto the pavement of her own accord as her legs gave out, and her body went limp like a ragdoll—her sopping hair draping itself over the pitchy asphalt like a golden mop.
“I-Iguma-san!” I cried out.
No response. I could tell from her expression that she had completely passed out. Damn it. This was not good. But what could I possibly do to help? It wasn’t like I could just call an ambulance. And hell, even if I took her to the hospital myself, just who exactly was going to see her? There was no one else I could entrust her treatment to. I’d just have to figure something out myself.
I knew I couldn’t leave her lying out on the cold, wet pavement like this, for one thing. That would only drain her of what little body heat she had remaining. I needed to somehow get her dried off and into a warm, clean bed so that her immune system could start recovering. But she was in no condition to move on her own right now, with or without assistance. Which meant there was only one thing to do.
There was no time to waste—and so I didn’t hesitate for a moment. I twisted my backpack around to wear it over my chest, then crouched down next to Akira. I knew if I let myself stop to think about what I was about to do, it’d only make my heart palpitate even worse than it already was, and I could feel a cold sweat dripping down my scalp. I felt that familiar wave of visceral discomfort creeping up my spine like a billion little spiders crawling up my back—but I shook off the intrusive thoughts.
Don’t even think about it. Just go, already!
“Hrnnngh…!”
In the span of a single breath, I hoisted Akira up onto my back, then pulled her arms over my shoulders as I rose to my feet. I gritted my teeth, doing everything I could to keep from dissociating as I hobbled down the road in search of shelter.
Damn it… Goddamn it…
It was even more brutal than I ever could have imagined. My very humanity was tested as every fiber of my being screamed at me to just drop her and leave her to die. It wasn’t anything against Akira; I would’ve had the same reaction no matter who I carried on my back. But recognizing that it was involuntary didn’t make it any easier to resist the urge, especially when it felt like my leg muscles were about ready to snap like rubber bands as well. This much was to be expected, though, considering I was carrying the full weight of another human being, plus two heavy backpacks, on my shoulders.
So yes—in a word, it was brutal.
“What’s so bad about being touched? I don’t see what the big deal is.”