What Remains (Book 2): Quarantine

by Barrett, Tyler

  Chapter 12

  Making it back to Toru's house, they hid in the dead man's house. It had taken them two hours to find their way back. There had been a few close calls with the patrols, but they avoided them. A couple of times they had heard gunfire in the distance, only a few shots each time.

  They were so afraid that even once they were inside they had made sure every door and window was secure; none of them could relax. Sleep wasn't even considered, collectively they were all too wired to allow it. Instead, Minori and the others worriedly checked the windows to make sure no one was outside, while also trying to make sense of what had happened.

  “Why do you think those people are acting the way they were?” Nobou asked.

  “Like I said before it's probably some virus. It's making people go crazy!” Minori exclaimed.

  “But what about Toru? Why did he get back up after he was dead?” Interjected Hisashi.

  “Maybe the virus brought him back to life. I mean that’s what happened after all. He was dead, and there is no denying it,” stated Nobou.

  “But without any actual scientific source, we don't know if it was a virus and if that is what caused him to come back.”

  Hisashi sighed, “It would be a horrifying thought. Imagine if dead people were coming back to life... the military probably had a hand in all this. That's why they are being so secretive and controlling of our interview.”

  Minori nodded, “I tried to tell you guys the more I dug into what is going on here, the more it points to a widespread virus with the military attempting to cover it up. Tomorrow when I have my interview I'm going to expose them.”

  “How? Even if we showed the video, even if we told the country of what has happened, the government will just cover that up too. With the way the Major General killed his own soldier... I don't want to think about what he would do to us for breaking the story,” said Hisashi in a defeated tone.

  “It's our jobs. We signed up for this when-” she started.

  “I don't remember signing up for death and destruction,” interrupted Hisashi.

  A silence fell across them, “She is right. We can't let fear of what someone could do to us stop us from breaking one of the nation's biggest stories. The public needs to know what is happening; they can't be kept in the dark about this forever!” Nobou exclaimed.

  “No. I didn't sign up for this. You two have a death wish, go ahead and expose the military lying to us about a deadly virus, but leave me out of it,” Hisashi said as he walked into another room.

  She looked at the room where he had gone, “Leave him be for now Nobou. We can talk to him in the morning. I think he is upset about losing Toru.”

  He smiled weakly at her, “Fine. But we will do it without him if we need to.”

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  None of them spoke for the rest of the night or morning; they instead tried to find other things to do. Minori had been staring out the front windows that looked down the street. Nobou had turned on the TV, turning it down, so it didn't make too much noise. Hisashi hadn't left the other room, and they left him to be on his own.

  The time slowly went by, as they waited for the night to be over. They waited for the sun to rise. The dawn of a new day, a chance to expose the happenings of the night before. Eventually, the sun did rise, and once it was entirely in the sky, it was time to leave.

  Chapter 13

  Hisashi didn't say anything, but made sure to drive them back to the hotel. He was very solemn, and tired, as they all were. It had been a long night, and now a long day was ahead of them. The first thing that Nobuo did when he walked into the room was to unpack his camera. He hooked it up to the monitor and laptop system that he had brought. They didn’t dare bring the footage to the local station for fear that the military had taken over the media outlet.

  He put on headphones to more accurately hear what was being played in the video. He watched it several times, the soldiers being attacked; one getting mobbed, and then the Major General showing up, the soldiers killing the people that were there, and then lastly his own soldier. Hisashi sat in the corner of the room, occasionally glancing at the monitor. Minori knew that he was upset about what had happened, but he wasn’t ready to come to terms with it.

  She would need his help for the interview later in the day, so she decided to try to turn him around. She would have to talk to him and get him to talk about what was upsetting him.

  “Hisashi, are you ok?” Minori asked, knowing he wasn’t.

  He only grunted.

  “I know you knew Toru. That can’t have been easy to watch him get attacked, and well…” she said, trying to get him talking.

  “Yeah,” he replied.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.

  “Not much to talk about. I saw a man die and come back to life…If I had known he was going to die, I wouldn’t have asked him to get involved in all this,” Hisashi said sadly.

  “Hisashi, you can’t blame yourself for his death. There is no way you could have known that it was going to happen. I thought the worse that would happen last night would be we might get caught by the military, and they might detain us until the morning,” she said sincerely.

  “I know,” he said, letting out a heavy sigh, “I'm sorry for yelling at you guys. It's just been hard; I had no idea I would be watching someone die last night.”

  “You can remember him by helping us expose what is happening. The military, the government, and the virus. They are lying to us, and it costs people their lives,” Minori said earnestly, “Now imagine if we had been told this information from the beginning. Toru would probably still be alive, and so would all those people who have been attacked.”

  “I suppose that is true,” Hisashi said, gaining back his confidence.

  “So, then help us. We need help getting this video ready for tonight,” she said patting his arm.

  “Ok, what do you need me to do?” Hisashi asked, “Let's make them pay for what they have let happen.”

  Minori smiled, she knew Hisashi was going help them accomplish their goal, “I need you to go make sure the van is all set up later to link up with the studio. Then after that get some sleep, we all need it.”

  “I will start right away,” Hisashi said, leaving the hotel room.

  She joined Nobou back at the monitor, watching several more times.

  “Do you think you’ll have it edited? I just need the video to start from where the soldiers get attacked,” she said.

  Nobou rubbed his eyes, “Yes, I have it cut down to what you want. I also tried to clear up some of the video clip, and it looks a bit better. I will have it ready by the time we leave.”

  “Good. I'm going to get some sleep; you should do the same once you get done,” Minori said to Nobou.

  She took out her phone, setting the alarm, giving herself several hours of prep time, and then threw herself at the bed. It only took a few minutes before she fell asleep.

  Chapter 14

  Minori’s dreams were not pleasant, mainly filled with people chasing after her. She ran and ran, but they were always right behind her. Some were soldiers, others, ordinary people. They shouted after her to stop, trying to get her to stop running.

  She knew better and didn't, making sure she had some length in between her and them. Soon the soldiers and the people were like a mob hunting her down. They yelled her name, begging, pleading her to stop running. All with villainous looks, they said they meant her harm.

  It was like a scene from a bad movie, replaying in her head over and over. The same places kept going past her, places from her past. Minori’s first house where she lived with her parents, the different schools she went to as a child until she finally graduated, her dorm and college she attended, and her studio she worked at.

  They were all essential places that had defined her. The path in life that she had walked. These were the choices she made, and it showed her where she was leading to. This moment right now; she knew it would be a signifi
cant event that would help her continue building a path to her future.

  They chased her to the last place, the dark alleyways she had been in the night before. Suddenly on both sides of her were Nobou and Hisashi, both important people helping her in this next step. They ran with her leading, and didn't stop running, the mob behind them still pleading for them to do so. Together they ran trying to find a way to get away from the mob.

  As if a sign, their one need was answered. The hospital appeared to them down the street still too far away, but now they had hope. As they approached the hospital, the soldiers manning the defenses saw them and began to open fire at the mob. It gave them the chance to pull ahead of the mob, giving them the freedom, they needed.

  They ran towards the fence the military had erected around the hospital. Soldiers kept firing, and a few opened the gate along the fence, waving them in. Safety was in reach, and once they passed that fence, they knew they would be safe inside. They ran through the gate, and the soldier closed it behind them.

  They caught their breath, panting. Soldiers moved past them, all running about to help stop the mob. She looked at them all; none of them looked scared, only determined. All the soldiers seemed preoccupied, and it dawned on her that she had free reign of the base. This was her time to discover entirely what they were hiding.

  Ahead of her was a tent, and she carefully entered to make sure no one was inside. It was empty, and she checked each table inside for something important. The tent held three tables, one on each side of the tent, and she searched the two side ones first. She found nothing important on either table.

  Then, like a holy grail on the middle table, she saw a folder, a relatively thick one, right in the middle. She flipped it open, finding a full report of people being attacked and a virus running rampant. It caused people to attack each other until they had infected that person. She had been right, and now she had the proof to show the world what they were hiding. Their time had come, and it was coming to an end.

  She picked up the folder, turning around, only to find the Major General opening the tent.

  “Well, look who I found here,” he said casually, “How did you get in here?”

  She was mortified, and couldn't find it in herself to answer.

  “What's that in your hands? The evidence you need to expose our operation here?” The Major General asked with a sneer.

  She finally found the courage to speak, “Yes! The world will finally figure out about the military and the government hiding what is happening.”

  He laughed, “Ha-ha! You think that showing the world that information will change anything? Do you really think the countries of the world won't do the same thing?”

  “NO! Someone will listen,” she said weakly.

  He unclipped his holster for his pistol, “Just hand me the file, and I will let you go. You and your friends can leave.”

  She eyed his pistol, knowing that he would use it as he had on the soldier, “I don't believe you. You will shoot us...”

  He slowly placed his hand on the gun, “I would have already shot you if I had wanted to. No. You don't understand what is happening here, and there is no way to explain it. Work with me, and I assure you the best of outcomes will happen. Just give me the file.”

  She tried to back up into the corner, but he slowly advanced. She waited and decided to run past him, but he was too quick, grabbing her. He threw her to the ground and grabbed the file from her. He pulled out a lighter and set it on fire, letting her watch it burn.

  “You really should have worked with me on this...” He said in a disappointed tone.

  He let the file fall to the ground, still burning. Upholstering his pistol, he walked to the tent entrance, calling for someone. As he returned to her, both Nobou and Hisashi, were brought into the tent, hands tied behind their backs. They both had been beaten severely; blood ran down both their faces.

  Nobou tried to speak, “Leave...er...alon...”

  The Major General and his soldiers laughed.

  “What have you done to them?!” She whimpered.

  “They didn't want to tell me where you were, and I had my suspicions they were helping cover for you,” he said with a grin.

  She started to cry, “What...what are you going to do with us?”

  “Do what I do best. Cover my tracks,” The Major General replied casually.

  He aimed his pistol at Nobou, looking at her. Without flinching, he pulled the trigger, smiling. She shuddered as she heard the shot and saw her friend's head explode. The Major General then took another step forward and did the same to Hisashi.

  He ordered the two soldiers to take the bodies away. After they left, it was just her and the Major General, alone in the tent.

  “Do you see now? The mistake you made was to involve others in your plans,” he said aiming the pistol at her now.

  She felt the metal pressed against her head, still warm from being fired. She cowered, knowing that he would shoot her too. She braced herself for the gunshot, wondering how painful it would be. She shut her eyes tight and waited.

  The last thing she heard was the click of the hammer of the pistol being pulled back.

  Chapter 15

  Minori felt pressure on her wrists, and that's what jolted her eyes open quickly, her pupils rapidly adjusting to the light in the room. Nobou stood over her, holding her wrists down.

  “What in the hell are you doing?!” Minori asked accusingly.

  He let go, holding his hands up, showing that he didn't mean any harm, “Sorry.”

  “Seriously, what the hell, Nobou?” she asked confused.

  “It's not my fault. You started flailing around in your sleep, knocking stuff over. I thought you were having a seizure...” He said in a concerned tone.

  “Well, no. I am just fine. Next time wake me up before you decide to do something like that!” She exclaimed.

  “Then how do you explain the freaking out?” He asked.

  “Must have just been a bad dream,” she said, not wanting to explain what she had dreamed.

  It had felt so real towards the end as if it had been a reality. Clearly, as Minori looked around the room, it was a dream, though, nothing more. She sat up and moved to the edge of the bed, collecting her thoughts while Nobou eyed her from the monitor.

  After having enough of his worried glances, Minori stood up and went into the bathroom. She closed the door, locking it, taking a deep breath and leaned against it. After a minute, she moved to the mirror and looked at her reflection, inspecting herself making sure she was real.

  Minori still could feel the warm metal of the pistol's barrel against her forehead; she rubbed the spot. The dream had been so vivid she was sure that it was real. She decided that it was just her nerves; after all, watching Toru die wasn’t easy, even if had been someone she had barely known. The dream was just its way of trying to rationalize what happened.

  Still, it didn't explain the last part. The Major General and the file, those weren't there last night. Nor a mob chasing her. She felt as though her brain had been fried, and it was fighting to keep up.

  Minori decided staring at herself in the mirror wasn't helping. Instead, she walked over to the shower, turning on the water to let it start warming up. Leaving the bathroom she grabbed a towel out of the closet, and then the dress she was going to be wearing for the interview.

  “I'm going to take a shower and start getting ready, how far along is the video?” She asked Nobou.

  He ignored her for a second, clicking the mouse on the laptop, “I should have it done in the next five minutes. Then, I'm going to take a nap,” he said wearily.

  “Ok, I'll wake you up when I'm ready to leave,” she said walking back to the bathroom.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Minori had spent an hour in the shower, letting the hot water flow down her body. It helped release some of the tension she could feel in her back. The water helped wash away the dirt and sweat from last night, and she felt renewed. She no longer
felt like her mind was teetering between reality and fantasy.

  She carefully dried herself off and then began to dress, flipping the fan on for the room to help get some of the moisture out of the air. The mirror that had been fogged over slowly started to clear up, and she played some music from her phone, while she began to straighten her hair.

  Minori began to make herself look professional for the interview. Taking her time, dreading seeing the Major General again.

  Chapter 16

  Minori shook Nobou's foot, attempting to wake him up. He groaned, in response.

  “Come on we only have a couple of hours before the interview,” she said in a motherly tone.

  He threw a pillow, but then got up, “Fine.”

  They both walked over to the small fridge, pulling out drinks, making sure to grab the ones with the most caffeine. Nobou scrolled through the laptop again, checking again to make sure the video was done and ready.

  She looked around, “Hey have you seen Hisashi?”

  Nobou looked up from his laptop, “Yeah, he said he was going to sleep in the van.”

  “Ok, I will go get him,” she said.

  Minori walked to the door of the room and exited, several minutes later she was outside looking for the van in the parking lot. She quickly spotted it in the corner and began to walk over to it. As Minori approached the driver's door, she looked inside. No one was inside in either seat.

  She looked around, making sure that he wasn't just hidden from view. Then she tried the door handle, finding it locked, and began to worry about Hisashi and where he had gone. There was no sign that he had even been on the truck.

  Minori began to feel the tension creeping back into her body. There was only one place she had yet to check, the back of the van, where all the broadcasting equipment was kept. Minori began to reach for the side door, but before she could it opened swiftly, a hand reached out. She jumped back thinking someone was trying to grab her.