Chapter 8: Time to Kochi to the Suupaa
I tell myself that thinking about the reality of living so close to such a strange and terrifying entity which seems to want to eat me – or worse – is a rabbit hole I can't let myself go down right now. I have too many immediate problems like starvation. So instead I turn my focus back to my earlier goal: making a plan.
I open a new word document and decide that if I'm going to be living here, I have to start to establish some ground rules for myself. Staring with some terminology. Names for the things I have no words for. The creatures of this town that look like nothing I'd consider natural.
I decide to call this palace Wandarando – the Japanese way of spelling Wonderland if you convert it into Romanji. Of course I mean like Alice in Wonderland. I have always been a fan of the book. And for anyone who hasn't read it, let me tell you, the whole thing is a lot creepier than Disney would have you to believe.
The calling the humanoid creatures I'd seen the "Metal" and "Plastic" head kids – while hardly being creative – seems to suits pretty well. So I decide to keep using those terms. Along with the individual names of Tire Iron, Hello Kitty and then "Big Guy" for their leader.
The creature in the shed I list as "The Grasping God". And, assuming they are some how connected, I call the finger creature in the tourist information centre a "Grasper".
Finally I decide I should name the town itself. For I play with a few options in my head before settling on the name "Obake no Machi", which I know at least vaguely means "Ghost Town". After all, monsters are all I have found so far in this place. I'm pretty sure even the cat is something more than it appears.
Next I open another bottle of water and guzzle it down. As I do I consider what exactly my problems are, what priority they take and how can I start solving them.
Though The Grasping God likely reflects the biggest threat. I assume it can't leave that shed it lives in, otherwise why would it need the Metal Heads? And since the Metal Heads can't – or won't – enter the shrine I can regard both those dangers as low priority for now so long as I keep my eyes sharp.
I'll trust that the shine fountain can keep me hydrated – But even though it draws from some outside water source. I should try and figure out how to clean the basin in future.
However, that leaves me with one obvious issue. I need food. Either a good stockpile, or some easy way to resupply it without leaving the shrine. The second option seems all but impossible unless I start a vegetable garden or something – but god I hope I don't get stuck here long enough for harvesting crops to seem like a rational solution... Thankfully, option one seems fairly realistic. The kombini was fully stocked, as was the camping supplies store. I seems like a safe bet to assume that basic supplies like food will be readily available, I just need to go out and get it.
The second glaring concern I have about our situation is I am almost certain I need medicine. If not right now for my leg, soon enough I'll be desperate for pain killers, and disinfectant for injuries. I could really use some antibiotics too, for safeties sake. Unfortunately that will be tricky since – even if I found a chemist – I don't know kana well enough to understand what any of the "behind the counter drugs" are for.
The third basic need I am missing are the day-to-day hygiene supplies like soap and toilet paper. In a similar fashion I don't think this shrine has any kind bathroom. My stomach turns a little bit a the idea, but I could also use a shovel so I could make some kind of cess pit.
Like I said earlier I have a clean enough water supply thanks to the fountain. However, clean water can only go so far. I want soap, toothpaste, and some laundry detergent if possible.
I think back to my idea about the supermarket, and realise it's my best bet if I want to try and complete all three goals on my list.
However, as I glance back to the shrine shop's open door, I can see that it is also well into the evening now. The cat is snoring quietly, and it is dark as pitch outside. I consider how dangerous Ombake no Machi can be in the daylight and quickly decide it is best to stay in at night whenever possible.
'Okay, tomorrow it is then...' I mutter sleepily to myself, closing the laptop and sliding away from the small table it is on.
I then finish my water bottle and eat another protein bar. I'm still kind of hungry. But I can tell it's not the kind of hunger that is going to be solved by more snacks. It's been at least three days since I have eaten a proper meal now. My stomach is crying out for some real food, however, it is going to be waiting a while yet. With the kind of sigh that you can only make when beyond exhausted, but also know that you are only at the start of a very long road, I grab my backpack and slide it over to where I am sitting on the floor. I open it and fish out the sleeping bag I had found in the camping supplies store. I then roll it out. It's a dark military green colour on the outside, and a creamy off-white on the inside. The whole thing is made out of a cheap polyether. But after two nights of trying to sleep without any kind of bed, I feel pretty confident when I say it is better than nothing. I slip inside the sleeping bag, stretch out on the shrine shop floor and try to fall asleep to the sounds of the soft breeze as it whistled through the cracks it the wall.
It must have been lying there for at least an hour or two. But eventually I fade into oblivion.
I wake up in the cramped, muggy room to the sunlight leaking in through the doorway and cracks in the window. It is hot again, and I wipe the sweat off my brow before I slide out of the sleeping back. Then, still lying on the floor, I stretch out as best I can. My muscles sluggishly wake up as blood starts to slow to them again and I let out a tired yawn.
My hip hurts from where I slept on it. And my leg wound still has a simmering burn when I move it. But my body is feeling a hell of a lot better than yesterday. Not to mention the wonders a decent night's sleep did for my mind. The colours around me look a little richer, and I find I can focus my eyes a lot faster.
However, I have a lot planned for today, and I can't keep lying around. I stretch out my shoulders, then sit up. Next I bite my lip and slowly pull up the fabric on my jeans to examine the injury as I massage my the less sensitive areas around my calf muscle. The wound has scabbed over again. But this time it is a much healthier red colour. Well, that's progress at least... I think to myself.
Satisfied with my examination, I roll my trouser leg down and get up slowly. I hold on tight to the shop counter as I test the weight on my injured leg. It burns a little, but I feel it will ease up after I walk on it for a while.
I then glance around the room. The cat is nowhere to be seen, which is hardly unexpected. After all the door was open and as anyone who has ever owned a cat will tell you, they go where they like and when they like. I'm sure he will turn up soon enough.
I then focus my mind on today's goals. I bend down and pick up my backpack. I turn it upright and tip out the contents on the counter.
Inside I find five energy bars, one fresh water bottle (though I should refill the other at the fountain), my slingshot bag, and the fliers I had grabbed in the information centre with the town map.
I take the water bottle and two of the energy bars and put them back in the bag. Then I tear open another of the bars and eat it. Next I flip though the fliers until I find one with a town map. I slip it into my pocket. Finally I grab my hatchet and slide it into my belt. I am dead set on getting back before it gets dark. So I decide it is better to get moving now.
Just as I turn to leave I glance down at the stall of the shrine shop. I notice there is a blue talisman for good luck, and another green one for safe travels. I shrug and, deciding it can't hurt, I pluck them out and loop it around my bag.
Finally ready to go, I leave the shrine shop and step onto the soft grass of the shrine's lawn. The sun is bright today, even more than usual. It causes me to wince under its blistering rays at first, but as soon as my eyes adjust and I realise it is actually really dry today, which it a refreshing change to the dank humidity of the last few days.
I let my leg have a bit of a warm up before the main walk, by trudging over to the offering box at the front of the main shrine. I toss a thousand yen in as payment for the talismans. It occurs to me that I may need more money, after all the cat had seemed pretty insistent on it when I first arrived – at least by cat standards... Perhaps that only represents a certain amount of time I can stay here. I have no idea how much protection my lose change could have bought me. But I suspect it wasn't a lot.
I add "cash" to the mental shopping list in my head. Then I turn back to face the exit of the shrine. There is a small wire fence that marks the edge of the shrines property before me. The entrance/exit goes through a torii gate. The torii looks to be about 3 meters tall, and is made of a simple grey concrete. At the top there is some kind of kanji inscription, but as always I have no idea what it says. I make my way through the torii gate, stopping just on the other side of it. Then I turn, bow as a sign of thanks for sheltering me, and start to walk away – and praying that I'll be back soon...
I follow the road back the same way I had walked when I was trailing the metal head kids. It is one of those small town roads that doesn't have any kind of pavement or other walking path. Instead I find myself straddling the edge of the tarmac. The weather is nice, but the streets are still as silent as the grave. It's unnerving. Particularly after discovering the kind of creature that can be hiding in these buildings. Could a grasper be watching me right now? I try to stay as sharp as I can, my eyes flicking back and forth looking for anything that doesn't belong. However, it is hard to keep an ear out while my leg keeps stinging as it rubs against my jeans.
I try to stay close to the houses that are on my left side in case I need to hide in a rush. But as I go I try to look inside the windows. Every building seems to be both lifeless and organized as though the inhabitants had just taken off to the corner store but would be back in 20 minutes. There seemed to be books open on tables, futons folded up in the corners of tatami rooms, and even a few half eaten rice bowls in the sinks.
I remember seeing a documentary as a kid on the history channel about events that look eerily similar to this. Such as the Mary Celeste – a ship found adrift at sea with its crew missing, or the Roanoke settlement in the United States where the inhabitants appeared to vanish without a trace. Places that were abandoned, but never "fled" – at least as far as anyone can tell. All the investigations found no signs that anyone ran away from these places. There are no records of an attack or other source of panic. At the same time if they inhabitants had made a totally organized departure surely there would have been notes, journals or other forms of documentation that would give at least a clue as to why they had left.
Umbake no Machi gives me a similar sense. Obviously there were never any monsters found in Roanoke or the on the Celeste. But I can't help feeling that the monsters must have come after the town I am now trapped in was abandoned. After all I had two brief encounters with the unnatural creatures here. But both had involved a lot of blood and violence. I can tell by just looking through the windows that no one had ever had a grasper trying to gouge their eyes out in these houses. So if the monsters hadn't driven them away, what did?
As I rack my brain for any theories, I turn off the residential street and onto what I have come to think of as the main road. A little ways down the street I see the Seven Eleven I went into yesterday. Something strikes me as off about it, but I can't figure out what it is. I shrug, deciding that I'll remember if it is important, and continue down the road. However, I keep an extra level of wariness as I move from now on. It was one of the houses just down the road that the metal head kids had sprung out of, and running into them is the last thing I want right now. As I walk I flip out the pamphlet with the map from the my pocket and examine it. There is a side street just past the kombini that takes me off the main road and onto a back street. It seems that if I follow the back street I can return to the main road by cutting through what looks like some kind of children's park that is runs alongside the supermarket. The route will take a little longer, but I would avoid the area that the metal head kids had attacked the plastic head kid two days earlier.
Wait, that's it! I think to myself. What seemed missing from the road earlier. The plastic head kid was attacked only a hundred meter or so beyond the Seven Eleven. He had fled, leaving a trolley of supplies in the middle of the road. So where the hell were those supplies?
I look away from the map and examine the road to be sure. There is nothing in sight. 'Well, that's weird...' I mutter to myself. I feel a sudden tug of curiosity pull at me. So I turn and start to walk towards the kombini.
I can feel my heart start to pick up in my chest as I get closer to the white red and orange store sign. I'm also subconsciously aware of my hand naturally finding a grip on my hatchet and sliding it out of my belt.
However, I realise I am just being paranoid as I reach the glass doors. I feel a wave of relief as nothing jumps, screeches or otherwise harasses me as I step through the entrance.
The first thing I noticed is that the onigiri shelf is fully stocked. I can't help but frown. I had eaten several of those only two days ago. I had also discarded the wrappers on the floor. So in the last 48 hours or so someone had come to the store and not only cleaned up after me, but replaced the missing stock as well? Why?
I consider the kid with the plastic bucket head. He had been walking towards the Kombini with his trolley. I hadn't given it much thought at the time. But in the back of my mind I had always assumed he was coming to gather supplies. However, now I give it some thought that really didn't any sense. His trolley was full, what possible supplies could he need? So maybe he wasn't out gathering, but distributing? If that's true then I have an answer as to who is refilling stock. But that really doesn't help me with figuring out why... or how...
I decide to put it out of my mind for now. However, it is good to know that there seems to be a steady supply of food and fresh water that is a close walk from the shrine. But this kombini is on the smaller side, so I can't see anything better for first aid than a pack of band aids. So I can't call it a day yet.
Still, regardless of what happens, this is a good opportunity to make sure I don't come back totally empty handed. So I start grabbing some of the non-perishable foods like the bags of potato chips and various packets of nuts and jerky. I also spot a half filled box of Black Thunder chocolate bars in the confectionary section. These snacks are the single greatest junk food in the world and are the severely underrated as far as I'm concerned. So I scoop them up as well and slip them into my bag.
My pack is about half-filled now. So I sling it over my shoulder and leave the Kombini – making a metal note to examine it again in a day or two. I need to see if everything has been replaced again.
I walk back onto the main street and make my way down the side road I had seen on the map so I can circulate to the park.
It takes me another 10 minutes of walking through a dense housing street to make it to the park that leads to the supermarket. My bag has a little weight to it now and it audibly shuffles as I move, making my nerves grow ever more tense with every step.
As I reach the park I let myself pause on the outskirts as I survey it. It still strikes me as odd whenever I see one of the city children's parks here in Japan.
Every one of them that I have seen are nothing more than miserable squares of hard dirt. In contrast the parks for adults are beautifully designed with lush grass and colourful gardens. I always wondered what kind of imagination the soulless block of land in front of me was meant to spark?
It's one large, long open space. Broken up by nothing apart from a line of trees on the outskirts and some play equipment that looks like it is as old as my grandfather. Not to mentioned it is so rusted and unmaintained that it looks like my grandfather's generation was the last two use it too.
As barren as they are my students would always go nuts for places like this. Yet with nothing to actively keep them entertained. They would soon start making their own fun. This left me having heart attack after heart attack when they would insist on climbing to the top of any hill, tree or beaten up old play-equipment and then hurling themselves off.
Children make parks like this fun. They fill them with laughter and energy. However, there isn't a soul in sight of this place. I always thought city parks were sad. But I don't think I had ever seen one as lifeless as this in the middle of the day. I feel a small pang in my heart as I try to recall the faces of my students but inevitably fail to create any defining images in my head. There hadn't been all that many of them. The school was small. Maybe around 70 all together.
I could remember having those that I clicked with, and those that I endlessly had to scold. I can particularly remember one small boy who adored trains, and another girl who rattle off endless facts about Anpanman in Japanese. She would talk for hours while I'd nod and smile, not understanding a word of what she was saying. I can remember spending countless afternoons that way; so how is it possible I cannot recall her face? How old was the boy who spent every morning drawing his favourite trains? I had been gone a few days now. Would they notice if Theo Sensei was suddenly gone? Would they care? If I never came back, would I have meant anything at all to them?
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone