Kinoshita and Satsuki both turned to look at the guard by the gate, then back at Yukari.
“We were hoping to avoid that. Sorry we had to lie.”
“It’s okay. And Matsuri didn’t help her,” Yukari explained. “Akane told her not to.”
“That so?”
“You don’t have to believe me if you don’t want to, but that’s what she said.”
“No, I believe you.”
“Look, I see what you’re doing, but isn’t it a little abrupt to throw a girl fresh off the boat from Japan into a solo survival scenario?”
“We spent a whole week getting ready. And we’ve been far kinder than we would be to the usual applicants. There aren’t any dangerous animals on the island, and she’s carrying a transceiver. She’ll have plenty of difficulties, but not so much danger.”
“What about the poisonous snakes and poisonous frogs?”
“We took what preventative measures we could. We taught her how to inject herself with penicillin if it came to that,” Satsuki said. “For what it’s worth, this test wasn’t my idea.”
“It was mine,” Kinoshita said. “Don’t take it out on her.”
“Whatever. It’s fine.” Yukari’s shoulders slumped. She regretted not getting a chance to chew Satsuki out, but now she was too concerned for Akane’s safety to worry much about that.
Kinoshita turned to Matsuri. “So, where was Akane when you found her?”
“About three klicks from the eastern edge of the runway.”
“And when did you see her?”
“A little after noontime.”
“I see. She’s making good progress, then.” Kinoshita walked over to the guardhouse and quickly returned.
A few moments later, a spotlight began sweeping across the sky. It came from behind the main complex and the training center—probably from the runway.
“Don’t think I’m giving her any special treatment. This level of illumination is standard. Just don’t ask me to set off the sirens.”
Thanking him was the furthest thing from Yukari’s mind, though she regretted not having thought of turning on the lights herself.
Together, the four of them waited.
A little after nine o’clock, Mukai and Nasuda joined them, having finished work.
When Mukai saw the crowd, he quickly went back, returning a few moments later with a large cooler in his arms.
“I brought some sandwiches and cola from the cafeteria.”
Everyone held out their hands in silence. No one wanted to talk. It was hard not to feel guilty, standing there waiting for her.
Yukari turned to Matsuri. “So, jungle expert, what’s the best possible route she could’ve taken?”
“Well, the easiest would have been to go straight north until she hit the ocean, then walk down the shore. That would get her out of the jungle more quickly.”
“Right…”
That had been Yukari’s plan when they sent her out. Once she reached the coast, she would just have to go east until she ran into the base, then follow the line of the fence to the front gate. Yukari turned to look down the fence, but it was lost in the darkness.
“Did she have a flashlight with her?”
“Yes, but batteries for only two hours. No spares,” Kinoshita said. “Even if she saved them for her last day, they’d be dead by now.”
“Any moon tonight?”
“Not until the early morning,” Matsuri said.
“You could have at least waited until a full moon!” Yukari growled.
“Now now, Yukari.” Nasuda had just begun to console her when Matsuri waved for them to be silent. “Hoi? I saw something flash.”
“Where?”
Everyone turned to look in the direction Matsuri was pointing.
For a while they saw nothing. But then, several minutes later, all six of them gasped. Off in the jungle, a light twinkled. From the position, it was about half a kilometer away, moving down a slope.
“Where is she, Matsuri?”
“I think she was moving to the left. So she’s going for the main road, not the coast.”
“Think she’ll make it?”
“She’s about to head into a small valley. If she cuts straight across it, she’ll be fine, but if she tries to walk along it she’ll get into trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“Swamp trouble.”
Yukari swallowed. Just because they had spotted her didn’t mean she was going to make it. She kept watching the jungle, but the light was nowhere to be seen. Yukari had never considered herself to be particularly religious, but now she was praying with all her might.
She glanced at her watch. Eleven o’clock.
“There it is again!”
They spotted the light, this time much farther to the left than before.
“She’s past the valley.”
“Really?”
“As long as she keeps walking straight, she’ll make it to the road.”
“Thatta girl!” Yukari cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone and took a deep breath.
“Don’t,” Kinoshita said quickly. “This is a test. She has to make it to the very end on her own.”
Yukari blew out her lungful of air quietly and squinted into the darkness. The road went straight into the jungle before it curved. From just around the curve, she could see a yellow light flickering.
“She made it, Yukari. She’s on the road.”
Finally, they saw her emerge from between the trees. She was wobbling slightly, a makeshift torch in her right hand.
Yukari could restrain herself no longer. “Akane! Hey! Over here!”
Akane waved her torch in response.
“You did it!” Yukari shouted again, doing a little dance. “You did it, Akane!”
Now she could see the other girl’s orange coveralls. Akane’s feet dragged as she walked, but her progress was steady. Yukari ran up to the edge of where the paved road from the base ended and waited there like a relay runner waiting for her turn with the baton.
When she got closer, Akane threw her torch down on the ground and practically collapsed into Yukari’s arms. Yukari patted her cheek, covered with scrapes and mud.
“You did it, Akane. You really did it.”
Steadying her shoulders, she helped Akane sit down. Beside them, Satsuki knelt and began a cursory examination.
“Any injuries?”
“No…I’m fine.”
“How do you feel?”
“Good. No, great.”
“You did a great job.”
“The torch was a good idea,” Kinoshita said.
“I found some resinous branches on the fig tree and gathered them before it got too dark.”
“Well,” Nasuda said, extending his hand, “I think we’ve got our third astronaut.”
Akane reached out to shake his hand, then suddenly jerked away. “I…” she began, “I met Matsuri in the jungle.” Akane explained what had happened and how she had found the fig trees.
“Matsuri?” Nasuda turned to her. “What were you really up to out there? Did you mean to give her that hint?”
Matsuri shook her head. “Oh, I don’t think about those difficult kinds of things. I just thought the swallows were really cool. I wanted Akane to see them too.”
“Hmm. What do you think, Satsuki?”
“I think that Matsuri could tell me she’d ridden a pink elephant and I’d believe her.” Satsuki chuckled.
“Well then, there you have it.” Nasuda turned to Akane. “Congratulations, you passed.”
“Th-thank you, sir!”
“Training starts tomorrow,” Satsuki joined in. “If you’ve got what it takes to make it out there, I’m sure you can take a few extra G. Eight, maybe?”
“Well, I…”
“You’ll do your best,” Satsuki said with a wink.