▼ 11:08 am
Area 3, Outer Ring
Oxygen-Deficient Room
I hold my breath and descend the ladder into the deadly air, believing AD is somewhere in the room below. I jump the last few rungs and rake my eyes over the area. The room is cluttered with cardboard boxes. Tucked away in a corner is a medical box. I lunge for it and flip the lid. AD is inside! But only two!
Not enough!
I stuff the AD in my pocket and throw the medical box aside. Four more AD to go if I want to save everyone. Biting the inside of my cheek, I scour the room.
I consider returning to the engine room first, but I don’t want to risk letting the lethal gas inside by constantly opening and closing the airtight door. Searching until I can’t search anymore is my best bet.
But I can’t find a single AD even after flipping over every box and checking every nook and cranny.
Dammit all! Are there none here?!
My second round of anaerobic exercise is a test of extremely painful endurance. My heart feels like it’s about to burst, and my lungs crave oxygen like a bad addiction.
How soothing it would be to take just one breath. Pushing back the craving that could see me killed, I turn over more boxes. A medical box spills onto the ground from the last box I dumped. Throwing it open with shaky hands reveals five AD.
I found some! More was here!
With seven AD, I’ve secured everyone’s safety for another hour. I jam the AD into my pocket and start climbing the ladder.
But I have no strength left. Lack of oxygen to the brain causes my consciousness to fade. My arms feel heavier than lead, tears fill my eyes, and even my vision is going out.
Sh-Shit…I’m done for!
The strength leaves my arms. I’m starting to fall back from the ladder when someone grabs my hand.
Startled, I look up. Through my narrow vision I see Tachibana. She had opened the airtight door and caught my hand as it let go of the rung. She clenches her jaw and pulls me through the door with a voiceless scream.
✦ ✦ ✦
▼ 11:09 am
Area 3, Attic
Engine Room
JUST as the airtight door seals behind me, I take a deep breath. Tachibana catches her own breath before saying, “Captain, are you all right?”
“Y-Yeah… Thanks, Tachibana…!” I say through ragged respiration as I pull the AD from my pockets. “Here, take this…AD! …Now we can save everyone!”
Tachibana’s brows snap together. I’m prepared for her usual stern lecture. “Good grief, you really are always so reckless…!” she says with a sweet smile. Her unexpected expression and comment catch me completely off guard.
“Y-You’re not going to scold me?”
“I don’t endorse heroics, but I can’t deny that your actions deserve merit this time.”
“Is…that…right? Good to hear.” Relief and joy well up inside me at the same time. I’ll admit I was being reckless, but I unquestionably took the necessary action to save everyone.
I clench my fists at the first sense of accomplishment I’ve felt since losing my memories. Tachibana is looking at me with kind eyes like a superior officer who takes pride and joy in her subordinates’ growth. It’s a tad embarrassing, but it doesn’t feel half bad.
After catching my breath, I take another look around the spacious but cluttered engine room. Pipes, steel beams, and cables run endlessly in all directions, with some connecting to giant machines placed in different locations in the room.
✦ ✦ ✦
No doubt this is where the sprinkler system and power generators are housed. Each machine is letting out a low, eerie droning noise.
And Moribe, Yuuri, and Miss Ena are lying on the floor not too far away, while an exhausted Ukita is sitting on the floor beside them.
Tachibana removes her Vital Checker and wraps it around everyone’s wrists in order. I watch with bated breath as she monitors everyone’s blood pressure and temperature.
“…Examination completed. Everyone checks out as all green,” she reports with relief. “They are all unconscious, but they will recover with some rest.”
I breathe a huge sigh. “Phew! I’m glad everyone is okay… They don’t need antidotes or anything like that?”
“They will recover as long as they continue inhaling clean air. Oxygen-deficient air is extremely harmful to the human body, but it’s not poisonous.”
“Good. Then why don’t we start up this sprinkler system before they come to?”
“But where is it? This place is a maze…” Tachibana examines our surroundings.
True enough, there are pipes of various sizes and pieces of equipment strewn all over the place without rhyme or reason, making it impossible to tell where anything is. I survey the area in hopes of finding a blueprint somewhere and spot a small monitor on the wall.
“What’s that?”
Tachibana and I run over to the machine and read what’s written on the screen.