▼ 2:16 pm
Area 2, Inner Ring
MISS Ena and I had escaped their pursuit and are now hiding in a room located in Area 2. I listen for sounds in the corridor with my ear pressed up against the door. I don’t hear any footsteps. We both let out a long sigh after confirming we’ve shaken them off our tail.
“…Everyone’s moods suddenly took a scary turn, huh?”
“Hard to blame them for it… Death is suddenly at their doorstep. I can understand why they’ve lost it.”
Miss Ena sharply narrows her eyes at me. “Don’t underestimate the situation. We very likely would’ve been killed if they had caught us there. You realize that, right?”
“Killed? …C’mon, you think they’d kill us?! They’d never take it that far!”
“You still don’t get it, Captain Kasasagi? What’s truly horrifying under these horrendous circumstances isn’t the fires, the smoke, or the radiation. It’s the madness laid bare by people who’ve been driven into a corner that’s the most terrifying.”
I gasp.
I had believed our greatest hope in this death trap of a facility was “people’s determination to survive.” But hope can be turned on its head when the situation grows so desperate it pushes people to the brink.
What happens when the determination to survive transcends morals? Will people choose to kill another so that they can survive? Or will they start to think it’s okay to kill someone in order to protect someone else?
Under normal circumstances, neither Ukita nor Moribe would even consider that. But now that everyone’s lives are in real danger, morals are teetering on cracked, thin ice. One wrong step and people can justify murder.
Dammit! How the hell did it come to this?!
I had thought of everyone in our group as allies, but they definitely don’t view me that way.
I let out a heavy sigh and say, “…Hey, Miss Ena? Can I ask you a question?”
“What is it?”
“Why did you defend me back there? I come across as mighty suspicious after what was shown on that camera footage.”
“……”
“Aren’t you the one who told me to doubt everything? So why would you stand up for me then?” It’s exactly because I’m starting to doubt my own memory that I want to know her real intentions.
She answers me in a voice steeped with hesitancy. “…Because I also want to know your real intentions.”
“Huh?”
“Say, Captain Kasasagi, you said you saw Miss Yuuri’s dead body, right? What are your own thoughts on that?”
“That was…probably a hallucination like Ukita said. I’ve got amnesia on top of my frequent visits into highly contaminated zones. It’s not odd if I’m starting to see things now.”
Tachibana told me before that vision impairment, neuropathy, and brain cell damage are among the adverse effects of radiation on the human body. Those effects are probably making me hallucinate.
“…Besides, I occasionally have auditory hallucinations too.”
“Auditory hallucinations?”
“At first, I thought it was related to those BC abilities you explained to me. Someone sending me telepathic messages would explain the voice I’m hearing, but…that theory is called into question by the incident with Yuuri’s body. Is there a BC ability that can make people hallucinate?”
“…No. BC is nothing more than the ability to read and speak into people’s minds, after all.”
“Then, that pretty much proves it… My brain’s been screwed up.” I’m consumed by helplessness. All of a sudden my skin starts to tingle, and my brain starts hammering in my head—just like when I’ve set foot into a contaminated zone. I glance at my watch and realize it’s past the time we should’ve taken our next AD dose. “Shit! Miss Ena, inject AD, stat!”
“O-Okay!”
We fumble with our last dose of AD and shoot it into our arms.
My headache instantly subsides, but the Procyon reading is 6,026 mSv. Quite a bit of time has passed since the radiation levels exceeded the first danger standard at all times. I’ve spent hours in radiation levels that not even AD is proven to protect against. Hallucinations might just be a part of the overall package.
I shudder at the thought.
“Hey, back to what you were saying…,” Miss Ena quietly starts.
“Hmm?”
“You said it’s not odd for you to start seeing things between your amnesia and visits into the contaminated zones, but what if your hallucinations aren’t caused by radiation?”
“…What do you mean?”
“I once read about the effects of radiation exposure. Radiation definitely causes impaired vision, but in the form of narrowed or hindered vision. I’ve never heard about it making people see things that aren’t there.”
“Then what’s causing me to see things?”
“You don’t have any ideas?”
“I don’t know… Maybe it’s the result of brain cell damage or neuropathy. Won’t damage to the brain and nervous system cause you to hallucinate?”
“It can… But there’s something even more concerning than that. Could you take a look at this for me?” She pulls out her PDA. A few swipes and a paragraph appears on the LCD screen.
“…What’s this?”
“A file I copied off a LABO computer. I obtained it during the time I was roaming the facility alone after Ms. Moribe got hurt.”
“Why did you do something like that?”
“Because I’ve always felt that this was no ordinary accident. Think about it: Isn’t it extremely strange that the lockdown won’t lift for nine whole hours? It’s not like radiation will clear in that time either. So I was starting to think there’s another reason for it.”
“That’s true enough…”
“But all the computer data was encrypted. I tried to decrypt it, but most of the data broke in the process.”
I caught Miss Ena messing around with her PDA earlier. So she was trying to decrypt data instead of checking the maps?
“I still found some data in there that’s barely readable. Give it a read.” She hands me the PDA.
Some sort of broken proposal is displayed on the screen.
✦ ✦ ✦
Ca＊e N Specification Revision Pro＊＊sal
Aug. 1＊, 2＊21
＊＊＊ken Kashiwagi
On ＊＊＊＊＊2021, Subject N attempted＊＊＊＊＊cape＊＊＊
As you already know, ＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊.
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊ At the same time, ＊＊＊＊＊＊this chance to reevaluate the danger of＊＊
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊searcher S＊＊＊＊＊ook this opportunity＊＊use their own＊＊＊＊＊BC＊＊.
＊＊＊with “＊＊＊pathy＊＊＊＊’s ability＊＊＊＊the Communicator can＊＊＊＊the target’s brain ＊＊＊＊＊.
Subject＊＊was born inside LABO. However＊＊＊＊＊sire to go outs＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
＊＊what we should be cautious of is the test subj＊＊＊＊＊.
Several phrases pique my curiosity: “Subject＊＊was born inside LABO” and “what we should be cautious of is the test subj＊＊.” I haven’t the faintest clue what any of it means, though.
“None of this makes any sense. What are they even talking about?”
“It appears to be a ‘Case N Specification Revision Proposal’… It goes on endlessly like this with mostly unreadable sentences. The same goes for the rest of the data.” Miss Ena swipes her finger across the PDA, changing the screen. “I’ve managed to extract several lines with the tools I have on hand…and several strange terms popped up. This is the part I really wanted to show you. Does any of this mean anything to you?” she asks as she pulls up a fully comprehensible list of words.
✦ ✦ ✦
“…!” Chills crawl down my spine with each phrase I read.
Subject N! IGF2R Gene?!
There are multiple unknown terms mixed into the list, and it gives me a strangely intense sense of discomfort. But that feeling is immediately washed away by another emotion.
Negative feelings spring up from the depths of my heart like a geyser. They’re a pitch-black explosion of fear, rage, and hatred.
“Captain Kasasagi, do you recognize these terms?!” Miss Ena asks as I begin to violently tremble.
“Y-Yeah— AGH!”
Before I can explain, a sharp pain pierces my brain as if my flesh and body are refusing to remember that information. I push through the agony to find what’s hidden beyond it, but I can’t pull on any related memories.
“N-No… I don’t.”
“…I see.” She sighs as if she is truly disappointed.
I wait for my headache to retreat before asking, “Do you know what any of this means?”
“I don’t either. I thought it might be related to your amnesia and hallucinations because it mentioned ‘brain dysfunction’…”
“But I can’t remember anything… I really think my hearing and seeing things is the result of something wrong with my brain.”
It feels like everything, from my constant headaches to frequent memory defects, is due to a problem with my brain. I hang my head and hopelessly murmur, “And if it is my brain malfunctioning, I might not have even noticed that I stole the AD.”
Fear suddenly fills me the moment I voice that thought aloud. I can’t be one hundred percent sure that there’s not some dark recess in my heart that thinks it’d be okay as long as I alone survive.
What if there’s a wicked side to me that I’m not aware of—one that’s deciding all my actions on its own and driving everyone to their deaths? That’s a far more frightening thought than my own death.
I cover my face with my hand and tremble in fear. But Miss Ena reaches out, softly removes my hand from my face, and hugs me. “Get a hold of yourself, Captain Kasasagi. You’re not that kind of person.”
“Huh…?” I lift my head and see Miss Ena’s face right in front of me. Her eyes are clear of suspicion and doubt. She rubs my back as if she’s soothing a sobbing child.