by Yusuke Kishi
“Despite what the fake false minoshiro said, acid rain probably wasn’t the only element involved in the formation of these stalactite caves.”
A different thought suddenly surfaced in my mind.
Cantus leakage… No. That wasn’t my own thought.
It was as if there was some other person inside me.
Someone I know extremely well.
As we continued through the tunnel, Kiroumaru stopped abruptly and put his ear to the ground.
“What’s wrong?” Inui asked, startled.
Did he hear our pursuers’ footsteps?
“The rock here is thin. Underneath it is a deep pit. It’s a good place for a trap.
“Got it,” Inui said, catching on immediately.
He created large cracks in the ground spanning the width of the tunnel. It would hold the weight of one queerat, but would collapse if any more tried to pass.
“It probably won’t kill them, but they’ll start looking out for more traps and will slow their pursuit,” Kiroumaru said, sounding satisfied.”
“What if we have to come back this way?”
“If I fall for my own trap, then I don’t deserve to live.”
I started to wonder if I deserved to live.
The swarms of flies increased as we continued forward. They buzzed maddeningly around our heads, slipping in through any gap they could find. Sweat dripped down my face as the temperature started to rise again.
“I believe there is another bat colony ahead,” Kiroumaru said. “Our scent should be concealed for a short time after we pass through it…”
My heart sank at the thought of having to walk through that stinking cesspool again. The only good thing was that the way out was right after.
In the darkness ahead I saw dozens of faint ribbons of green light.
“What’s that?”
Kiroumaru growled with disdain. The sound reminded me of a tainted cat’s cry.
“They stick to you and prevent you from moving. But as long as you take care not to touch them, they are not dangerous. More importantly, their presence means that there is a shaft that leads to a higher level. If we take that route, we might be able to throw off our pursuers.”
We consulted the fake false minoshiro then took Kiroumaru’s suggestion.
There were dozens of large connected caves under Tokyo with even more smaller tunnels running alongside them. The caves were relatively close to the surface, with numerous levels built beneath them. These levels were accessible through natural faults in the rock, or more rarely, shafts.
In between the layers are numerous thin tunnels made by driller earthworms. Like normal earthworms, they have no teeth, but are able to move easily through concrete and rock by secreting a strong acid through their head and drilling their way through.
The holes made by the driller earthworms let in light, water and air, benefiting many creatures who live underground, including the flytrapper.
Flytrappers have existed since the ancient times and are a direct descendent of giant hammerhead flatworms of the planarian family. Giant hammerhead flatworms can grow up to a meter long and resemble a thin piece of tape with a mouth in the middle. They hunt worms and slugs and, like spiders, are able to produce silk.
Flytrappers spin silk to descend through the tunnels created by driller earthworms. Like glowworms, they give off a faint green light to attract flying insects, which get stuck to the sticky mucus on their bodies, and are then devoured by the thirty centimeter-long mouth in the center of their bodies. Flytrappers can grow up to twelve meters in length, and are said to be able to suffocate Tokyo giant bats by wrapping around them like a snake.
Sensing the heat from the lamp, the flytrappers slithered up, leaving the shaft in the ceiling clear.
Kiroumaru estimated that the rock layer between this level and the one above was about forty centimeters thick as driller earthworms have a tendency to drill where the rock is thinnest. Inui and I climbed up carefully. The flytrappers had already retreated to the next higher level and were nowhere in sight.
We came back down and hurried ahead to the bat colony in order to leave our scent. Then we came back and climbed up through the shaft.
After that, it was time for my specialty to come into play. I fashioned a plug from the rocks and filled in the shaft, then used the image for fixing broken pottery to meld the stone together and form a neat seal. I couldn’t see how it looked from the bottom, but I was confident that the plug wouldn’t be noticed unless it was closely examined. Although my skill looks plain, putting something together is fairly sophisticated–something a fiend who only knows about destruction wouldn’t be able to comprehend.
According to Kiroumaru, smells carry well in the flat tunnels, but do not spread as well through the shafts, so our scent should be hidden for the time being.
I thought it was a brilliant idea to switch levels. But we needed to think carefully before doing so. We might not be so lucky every time.
Compared to the level below, it was drier and cooler here, and there was much more fauna.
One reason for that was, unlike the rocky lower level, there was plenty of soil here. Because of that, worms of all sizes lived here. The other was that the only other mammal in the Tokyo underground lived in these levels. The fake false minoshiro called them cave mice, descended from brown mice that had adapted to the current environment. Now, their eyes had become useless and they relied entirely on their noses to hunt for cave botflies and other insects that gather near guano.
These two animals formed the bottom of the food chain, so naturally there were other animals that preyed on them.
We soon came across these predators.
The first gave me a shock when the lantern light fell upon it. A giant leech. It was orange with black stripes, over four meters in length, and immensely fat around the middle. Its tiny head swiveled menacingly this way and that as it peered at its surroundings, and I couldn’t help but think of it more as a snake than a leech. It scared me so much I unconsciously began chanting my mantra.
“There is no need to kill them. Move around a little and you’ll see. They are able to tell how big we are by our movement and body heat.”
I wondered when Kiroumaru became such an animal rights activist, but did as he said. The giant leech sensed that I was too big for it to attack, turned swiftly, and disappeared into the darkness. The fake false minoshiro explained that they were tiger leeches, and used to live in the mountains. They were said to be descended from octanaria leeches. Although they are part of the ringed worm species, they have evolved intelligence closer to reptiles in order to hunt.
Immediately after that, we came across a different species of leech hunting for food.
There was a seventy or eighty centimeter Yamate worm with glowing spots along its body crawling on the wall. The fake false minoshiro said that it was named for its resemblance to a train from the ancient civilization.
Suddenly, something came flying down from the ceiling with the speed of an arrow and pinned the worm to the wall. It was a crown leech. A descendant of the toothed leech, which has three teeth, the crown leech has a “crown” of sixteen teeth on its head it uses to hunt driller worms and other insects. It was much thinner compared to the tiger leech, but seeing the way it swallowed the struggling worm in one bite made me realize how ruthless life could be as it fought for survival.
“We should be about a third of the way there,” Kiroumaru said.
I was disappointed there was still such a long way to go. From the barren, grassless area up ahead came the beautiful sound of insects chirping. I wondered what they were.
“What is that insect? Bell crickets?” I asked the fake false minoshiro.
“The chirping insects are related to the cockroach. Hexacentrich cockroach, oecanthus cockroach, kanetataki cockroach, and more, chirp to attract females…”
“Alright,” I said, wincing.
“Saki, don’t ask it any questions if you don’t have t
o. What if it runs out of batteries before we get there?” Satoru said sullenly.
“Sorry.”
He was unusually snappish. I wondered if it was because of his wound.
We walked single-file: Kiroumaru, Inui, Satoru, and me. I felt uneasy bringing up the rear, but I didn’t have any confidence in going first either. Plus, Satoru was in no shape to be the rear guard, so I was stuck.
Suddenly, I sensed something behind me and turned around.
There was nothing there. Just the dark tunnel I had just walked through.
I faced forward again, but the uneasy tightness in my chest did not disappear.
I took a few steps and spun around again. Again, the lantern revealed nothing. Just my shadow stretching over the tunnel walls.
“What’s wrong?” Satoru asked, perhaps feeling guilty for the way he had snapped at me earlier.
“Nothing. I keep feeling there’s something…it’s probably my imagination.”
We walked without speaking. I kept straining my ears for some sound behind me, but there was only silence.
Then I realized the silence was abnormal.
The sound of cockroaches chirping could be heard coming from ahead as well as either side of us. But not from behind.
The cockroaches did not seem to be disturbed by us as we walked through them, so why did they stop chirping after we passed by?
I wanted to ask the fake false minoshiro, but hesitated. After we had walked for a bit, I turned slowly around once more.
Still nothing but shadows. Yet…
I was standing still, but my shadow was slowly coming closer.
“The shadow is moving…!” I yelled.
Kiroumaru ran hastily back from the front of the line.
“Fire! Drive it away with fire!”
I could make a spark with cantus, but couldn’t make fire without something to burn. Opening the top of the lantern, I squirted out the oil and quickly raised its temperature to its flash point.
The tongue of flame licked the tunnel walls. But the shadow dispersed before the fire could reach it.
“What is that?”
“Run!”
We turned and ran for our lives. Apart from the uneven ground lit intermittently by the swinging lantern, I couldn’t see a thing. It was insanity running like this.
After two or three minutes, just when I thought my lungs would burst, Kiroumaru came to a stop on all fours.
“I think we’ve put a considerable distance between us. The ‘shadow’ can’t move quickly.”
“What the hell is it?” Satoru interrupted.
“I don’t know. But during my previous expedition here, that ‘shadow’ claimed the most lives. None escaped its hold.”
“Tell me what that ‘shadow’ is,” Satoru barked at the fake false minoshiro.
“Black widow mites. A carnivorous species of mites that hunts in shadow-like swarms. They possess a lethal neurotoxin and prey upon most lifeforms in the caves, devouring the soft tissue of their victims.”
“…anyway, we have to keep moving,” Inui said.
We continued at a fast pace. We could have tried burning them, but the mites were too small and quick to target. If we tried burning the entire tunnel, we’d end up destroying it. We couldn’t blow them out with wind either, as the tunnel had too many nooks and crannies that the mites could hide in. The absolute last resort would be to collapse the tunnel completely, but that might cause more destruction than we want. In any case, getting out of here was the best bet for now.
But before we had gone far, we discovered something strange on the ground.
“What’s that?”
Inui shone the light on it. It illuminated what looked like a flat bag a couple meters long. It was orange with black spots.
It was the skin of the tiger leech from before. We all stood speechless.
“…must have been eaten by the ‘shadow’. Nothing but skin and bones remained of my soldiers as well,” Kiroumaru said calmly.
“Hey. The swarm that ate the leech is somewhere around here, isn’t it?” Inui asked nervously.
“Probably. They might still be lurking on the walls or ceiling.”
I looked around nervously.
“Do not worry. After devouring such a large animal, they should be sated. Let’s go. We should make as little noise as possible to avoid provoking them.”
We crept away quietly.
“This level appears to house the mites’ nest. It’s unexpected, but it’s actually a good thing.”
“A good thing?” Satoru snapped at Kiroumaru’s optimism. “All of our lives are in danger. The tunnels are dark, and the mites are too small for us to use cantus against…”
“You’re correct. But don’t forget that the bigger threat, the fiend, will be coming though here too.”
Satoru looked surprised.
“If they happen to come to this level, the ‘shadow’ will capture them. That’ll stop them for a bit, and they might even be injured. …for that matter, we probably should have let the leeches live too. From now on, I suggest we do not kill any of the nasty creatures we come across.”
“That might not be a good idea,” Inui warned.
He had switched places with me and was now bringing up the rear.
“It seems like the ‘shadow’ is catching up to us faster than I expected.”
We were all eager to go, but Kiroumaru looked like he had all the time in the world.
“Luck is still with us. Look, there’s a safe area ahead.”
He pointed at a forest of glowing green ribbons swaying in the wind. Flytrappers.
“For some reason, the ‘shadow’ will not approach the flytrappers. We’ll be able to rest once we pass through.”
I realized that the waving ribbons were the mites’ natural predators. Even if they could fly through the gaps between the flytrappers, instinct would still tell them not to.
“If we scare them like we did last time, they’ll all retreat up another level. Please be careful not to touch the flytrappers.”
Following Kiroumaru’s instructions, we crawled on all fours through the forest of green streamers. The gap between the flytrappers and the floor was barely forty centimeters, so it was quite a struggle, but everyone managed to get through alright.
Looking back, I saw that the cave was so full of mites that light was blocked out altogether, but they stayed a safe distance away from the flytrappers and did not get any closer.
We were safe. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. But the flytrappers might decide to move to a different level at any moment, at which time the mites would descend upon us like hurricane.
In any case, we had to keep going. We came across a number of forks in the tunnel, and when possible we chose the one that went in the direction given by the fake false minoshiro. After about three of these forks, I had already completely lost my sense of direction. If I ever got separated from the group, I would probably end up wandering these tunnels until I died.
We traveled faster from here on out, covering a number of kilometers in a relatively short time. There was a faint sound of clanging metal coming from somewhere. Once, twice, thrice…”
Kiroumaru put his ear against the wall and listened patiently.
“It seems like the enemy has separated into two teams. They are communicating through those sounds as they search for us. …it also appears that there is another troop approaching aboveground.”
“How are they making that noise?” Satoru asked.
“Simply by hitting the wall with a hammer and nail…it’s a common way to send messages through multiple layers of rock.”
“Do you know what they’re saying?” I asked.
“No. Each colony has its own cipher. But I assume they’re saying that they don’t have a grasp on our position right now.”
I realized that the enemy was now moving in to surround us on all sides. Just like we had predicted earlier, this was a battle of time.
The real ques
tion now was whether the psychobuster still existed after a thousand years.
We stood stunned by the view in front of us.
A sheer precipice dropped away below our feet. The wall on the opposite side had no openings into the tunnels.
Faint, glittering light filtered in from a thin crack above us. There was the sound of water. At first I thought it was an underground lake, but after dropping a piece of paper into the water and seeing it drift slowly away, I realized it was a river.
“We’ll have to go upstream from here,” Kiroumaru said thoughtfully.
“That’s impossible,” Inui protested. “There’s no boat, no wood to make a raft, and it’s too dangerous to swim.”
Just thinking about swimming made me shiver. Who knew what sort of creatures lived in the water.
“What if we go aboveground?” Satoru asked. “Most of the enemy is underground, right? At least, the fiend is. So it would be faster to travel above…”
“I do not agree,” Kiroumaru said curtly. “The aboveground troops are using birds, so we will be spotted the moment we surface. That information will instantly be relayed underground. Once they know our position, we’ll effectively be under their control. We might also be ambushed, and we’ll have no idea when or where the fiend will appear.”
“But…then what do we do?”
“Let’s split into two groups.” Kiroumaru leaned over and peered down the cliff. “One group will return to the caves and lead our pursuers away with their scent, then return here. In the meantime, the other group will descend to a lower level and go back the way we came.”
“Why go back?” Satoru asked.
“To retrieve the boat and bring it here.”
Satoru looked dumbfounded. “Don’t be ridiculous. How are we supposed to bring something that big all the way here?”
“This river must flow to the sea. But we didn’t notice any rivers near the shore, so that means the mouth is underwater. Coming here underwater would be relatively safe.”
There was a silence. No matter which group we were in, it would be exceptionally dangerous.
But we also knew there was no other way.
