“Eh—” On the opposite side of Torii, whose large back had obscured my vision, Utena rounded her eyes in surprise as well.
“Uhmm, what just happened? Where did Torii-san...go...?” I had nothing but questions, but I couldn’t stop so suddenly, and I followed my momentum to reach Utena. Reflexively I picked her up in my arms, and then I looked back.
“Hitomi! Hitomi, right? I can call you that? It’s scary, I’m scared! Save Utena!!” She must have felt willing to cling onto straw at this point, because Utena latched onto me, too. She was just a small girl, younger than me, with a burningly high body temperature. Her face was pitifully stained and messy with tears.
“Hitomi, that! Look, what the heck is that?!” From inside my arms, Utena squeezed out another shout. I fearfully followed her gaze. What’s going on now, on top of everything else? Can’t the world give me a break?
Turning back, the strange creatures had multiplied. This one looked like a giant monkey. It’s still too dark, so I can’t say for sure, but it looked like its entire body was covered in lead-colored fur. It almost looked like an extremely muscular human; a man. But there’s no person this unnaturally large, it’s not a primitive human, either— nobody would have fur, especially not this thick.
The fur looked like it was undulating, and somehow even seemed noble, like a large dog of high pedigree.
Reaching from its chest to its head, there was a long, vertical screen implanted in it. Because of that inexplicable accessory, this monkey-like creature’s silhouette had been warped, as if its upper half had been forcibly caved in by a TV. But it was moving and lively, in a bizarre sort of way. It looked like it was CG, made for a foreign film with a big budget.
Apparently this thing, which had just suddenly appeared, punched Torii aside on the way in, or something similar. Using the momentum from its outstretched fist, it spun around several times. The wind pressure it gave off fluttered my hair.
“Torii-san—” I looked around in the darkness, and found Torii. Just as I thought, she had been punched by the new creature, and she slid and rolled on the ground quite a ways away. Crashing into several lined up mercury lamps, she finally stopped, and didn’t move.
She had collapsed face up. There was so much blood coming out of her face that it made me shiver. Her right arm, which is what the giant monkey’s fist must have impacted, was broken. The bone must have snapped in two— taking such large damage all at once, she must have fainted. No, she might also be dead. I shivered as that thought ran through my head.
Do people die this quickly? No, she’s not dead for sure yet... Scolding my trembling feet, I tried to go over to Torii, but there was something that moved before me.
It was that monkey-creature, which went towards the collapsed Torii without mercy. Compared to the giant slug, its movements were alarmingly agile. It reached Torii before I could blink, and grabbed her in its hand. It raised her high like a spoil of war.
The monkey let out a roar, or a victory cry, that hurt my ears. Was that how a giant monkey sounded? This thing didn’t have anything approaching a mouth. Instead, it had an angry emoji on its screen as it blasted sound like it had speakers.
It was too much for me. I could only stand, confused and staring, unable to comprehend the scene laid out in front of me.
This is bad. I have to move. Torii’s in danger, she’ll be killed— I can only see her being eaten. But I couldn’t move— I was scared and unwilling, and I could only shake in confusion.
Kousuke. The name of my childhood friend passed through my mind, but I couldn’t even call for help.
Right in front of my eyes, I could feel the monkey-thing putting power into its grip. I didn’t want to hear the sound of bones breaking. While bleeding, Torii convulsed unnaturally, before quickly becoming still.
“Stop!” Utena yelled, while scratching at her own cheeks. “Please stop—” It probably wasn’t reacting to Utena’s words, but the monkey creature unceremoniously threw Torii away. Every time she bounced on the ground, fresh blood sprayed.
I think I might just ball up, close my eyes and plug my ears. I could not imagine there was a chance that she’d lived through that. Torii looked like she’d been run over by a car— I couldn’t even confirm her death.
Shadows fell upon our surroundings. Looking up, I saw that the giant slug, which had been closing in on us slowly the entire time, was right behind us. Dripping its disgusting mucus, it wet our skin.
I wasn’t even allowed to be dumbfounded; Utena had already lost her senses crying. So biting my tongue, I grabbed on to her hand and pulled her along. I have no idea how I’m moving, myself— I ran like a broken puppet. I got away from the slug. If we don’t move, we’ll end up like Torii... That fear alone moved my body without speaking, just breathing in and out. Moving my hands and feet, I just ran until, feeling resistance, I pitched forward.
“Torii! Is she dead? No, no more! Why?! What the hell is happening?!” Screaming, Utena tried to head over to Torii. I could just let her go and run away myself, I really did think about doing that, but...I was gripping too hard. Our hands were entwined like glue, and wouldn’t let go.
With no other choice, I ran with her, straight forward, towards Torii.
The giant monkey passed right beside us. For a moment, I felt like I was dead, but it looked like the monkey had set its sights on the giant slug, and it leapt that way instead. In opposition to the roar made by the raging monkey, the slug raised a ghastly cry, like cloth tearing. Too afraid, I couldn’t even bring myself to look that way. I have no idea what’s what— both Utena and I reached Torii’s side together.
Crouching down, I looked at Torii. From up close, she really was in an awful state. She was covered in blood— and that blood completely absorbed the darkness, making her look ominously black. Her broken bones poked through her skin, exposed to the outside. I felt a pulse when I touched her, but I could not imagine she was going to stay that way very long. She didn’t move a muscle.
I got the shivers. Even in this dimension, we’ll probably die if we’re killed.
“Hitomi, please,” Utena begged. “Help me, let’s carry Torii to a doctor— oh, there isn’t one, is there... But we have to get her out of here. At least to somewhere safe, yeah, Hitomi?” Urged on by Utena as she pulled on my clothes, we somehow managed to pick Torii up. I held on to her legs, and Utena had her by the armpits. She was heavier than I thought— but I want to get out of here as soon as possible. I didn’t even have any time to wonder why this happened.
“Let’s go, let’s go! Hurry, to anywhere! I hate it here, Utena hates it here— hey, Hitomi? Are you listening? Put more power into it, please! She’s too heavy for Utena to carry alooone!” Utena’s voice sounded like a broken gramophone. Fixing my grip on her legs, we kept running with our burden. You’re profoundly heavy, Torii, I thought. I want to throw it all away, this ambiguous situation—
The giant monsters are probably still fighting behind us, ignoring whatever we’re doing. I can still hear the unbearable noises they’re making. What the hell is going on? I really don’t understand.
I felt a gaze on me, and looked around. Is someone watching me? I wondered. I’m not sure—
Hey, please, don’t just watch; help me out, here.