Kaito's face turned red with anger. Everyone except Doctor Baku and Kuragari had been poisoned. They were standing in the center of Tokyo. It had been six or seven hours since they left the shelter.
"IDIOTS… Who eats food contaminated with radiation?"
They had eaten packaged biscuits from an abandoned store. Consuming those poisoned biscuits meant death.
"They have no chance, Colonel."
Baku said this with sadness. As a doctor, there was nothing more he could do. Kaito didn't want to leave Tokyo without finding his sister, but with only three people left, there was nothing else to be done. He had to accept that his sister was likely dead. What were the chances of her being alive anyway?
---
Collapse Time:
Kaito was on his usual way to university. Shimizu was with him, and he was walking her to school (high school). Just then, Shimizu said:
"Brother, I really want something sweet."
"Alright, alright."
Spending a bit of his allowance wouldn't be a big problem. They went into a store. Kaito said:
"What would you like? Go ahead, pick something."
As Shimizu smiled and chose her snack from the shelves, a massive earthquake hit outside. The world seemed to stop for a moment. Then…
Kaito suddenly hugged his sister. Screams could be heard from everywhere. Nobody knew what was happening. The whole place turned into a war zone.
People were going crazy trying to get outside. Earthquakes were normal in Japan, but this was something else. It was a nuclear bomb. The shockwave had shattered all the windows…
Kaito let go of his sister and held her hand.
"Don't be scared, nothing's going to happen to you. I don't know what's going on, but we need to hide immediately."
Holding Shimizu's hand, Kaito kicked down the "Employees Only" door in the store and led her down to the basement. From the moment of the explosion, Kaito had realized it was a nuclear bomb. The shockwave gave it away.
In the basement, they found a small bunker left over from World War II. This shelter would keep them alive through the Collapse. It was a 10-square-meter area where they'd stay for a month—until soldiers found them.
The first day went by quietly. Kaito rationed out the food they found. Shimizu was still in shock.
"Brother, what happened to Dad? Mom? Grandpa??…"
"They went their own way, Shimizu. Right now, we need to worry about our own lives."
"But what happened out there? What was that explosion?"
"Most likely a nuclear bomb. I don't know the details, but it was very powerful. Just know that the outside is dangerous now."
Shimizu was terrified.
"But something like this makes no sense."
"I understand, but there's nothing we can do now. Our only hope is that help comes. I'll try to fix the broken radio over there."
That was their conversation on the first day. The following days passed similarly. They rationed their food day by day and kept trying to fix the radio. They had dropped their phones while running after the explosion, so the radio was their only hope.
After 15 days, the radio finally worked. Kaito had repaired the internal circuits and got it running.
"I finally did it. Now the only thing left is to call for help."
He adjusted the signal and finally got a response.
"This is TES-0809, how can I assist you?"
The voice from the radio was faint, but it was something. Kaito calmly said:
"We're in the shelter under Hajime Store. We're struggling to survive. Please help us. There are two of us."
A reply came from the radio:
"Understood. We'll send a team to your location. Stay put no matter what. Do not go outside."
Kaito felt relieved.
The next 15 days passed in quiet anticipation. The siblings barely spoke anymore. There was nothing left to talk about. Then, one day, the soldiers arrived at the shelter.
"Open the door, we're soldiers from TES-0809."
Kaito ran and opened the door. One of the soldiers immediately kicked him back.
"Don't get close, you might be radioactive."
The soldier said that abruptly.
"Looks like you're lucky. We'll test you for radiation. If you're clean, we'll suit you up and take you to your new home."
"Alright, start with me," Kaito said.
Kaito's test came out clean. Then it was Shimizu's turn. A soldier took her blood and tested it.
"She's radioactive, Captain."
"Then take this man and leave the girl here."
Kaito had a breakdown. He tried to walk toward the captain, but he was hit with a tranquilizer dart from behind. Since that moment, he hadn't seen his sister again.
---
Present Day:
Kaito thought to himself. Now there were only three people left. There was no point in trying to find someone who was most likely dead. He didn't want the remaining two to die either.
"I've made my decision. We're going to Atlantis."
To Be Continued...