187 - A Story of Gazing at One's Hands
After that, expeditions to the site of the Brotherhood's base were carried out frequently. With the truck also procured, the amount of supplies that could be brought back at one time increased, but the number of people going on expeditions was absolutely insufficient. Many of the residents of the landfill are in their 40s to 60s, and compared to young people, their movements are slow and above all, they lack the spirit to fight. That is exactly why they pushed troublesome and dangerous work onto the young people and as a result invited their defection, but that temperament seemed to still remain.
Perhaps because they have continued to be in danger since the young people defected to the Brotherhood, their treatment of the members was terrible, and they seem to hold no doubts about that. It's not that they are not doing work to survive. But seeing them only doing work without danger to life, such as fishing or farming in the vegetable garden, the boy could also understand the feelings of the young people who were here and left after losing patience.
"Well, it can't be helped. Besides, even if they went outside, they would only be a hindrance."
Sato said so and soothed the boy. But seeing the residents hurling abuse at the members who take on the job of going out to dangerous areas and bringing back supplies while staying in a safe place, the boy was becoming unsure if he had really done the right thing.
On the other hand, the former members were starting to cooperate with the boy and the others. Rather than being locked in a room in an apartment for a long time and spending hungry days without entertainment, they likely want to cooperate and go outside even a little. Naturally, guns cannot be handed over, but the former members were starting to join in the repair of equipment and supply procurement in expeditions.
Among them, there was even a member who had qualifications as an electrician. He restored the electrical system of the shopping mall, which had been broken and left alone, and made the solar panels, which had been ornaments until now, usable for power generation. Also, he is continuing trial and error to connect the batteries of electric vehicles and the electrical system of the shopping mall so that electricity can be used even at night.
Because the shopping mall does not have power storage equipment, it is not possible to use electricity generated by solar panels during the day at night. However, if they can charge the batteries of electric vehicles with electricity generated during the day and supply power from the batteries to the electrical system in the building at night, they can lead a very convenient life.
Above all, being able to use power at night is a great help in surviving. In a situation where electricity cannot be used, the only way to keep warm is to burn something. However, if fire is used, there is a danger of fire, and above all, there is a possibility of being found by ruffians or infected by the flames.
However, if it is an electric heater, the danger of fire is small, and it does not emit light. They can live more safely than ever before. Electricity was indispensable for leading a civilized society. Therefore, even Chiba and the others, who take a harsh stance toward the former members, were relying on the members only for this electrical equipment work.
About two weeks had passed since the first expedition, and the majority of the supplies left at the Brotherhood's base were transferred to the landfill. Among the supplies the Brotherhood had hoarded, some were burned in the fire, but even so, enough remained for dozens of survivors to live for half a year.
Since it is also a hassle to transport while being wary of infected one by one, there was even an opinion that they should just abandon the landfill and move to the Brotherhood's base. However, the Brotherhood's base has been destroyed here and there in the battles with the boy, Sato, and the infected, and safety within the base was not completely secured. Above all, including the boy, no one has good memories of that place.
Instead, it was decided to prepare a defense system so that they can defend even if attacked by humans or infected in the future. Until now, the residents of the landfill had been ruled by the Brotherhood, so the defense system was in a state close to non-existent. The only remaining bridge connected to the land is blocked with a barricade, but it is only to the extent that it can be moved immediately so that the Brotherhood can suppress it immediately in case of a rebellion.
A drawbridge-style bridge made using a crane's winch and iron plates is sufficient equipment to prevent the intrusion of infected, but there is no protective equipment of any kind on the land side connected to that bridge. If infected come to the opposite shore, they will immediately reach the bridge.
Therefore, in parallel with the procurement of supplies, the preparation of the defense system of the landfill was proceeding at a rapid pace. Men and women of all ages engage in the work of carrying materials and constructing barricades. Perhaps the fear of being attacked by the Brotherhood or infected is greater than acting overbearingly using age as a cover and working young people hard, as there were no elderly people saying "Are you going to make us work?"
Today as well, the boy was in charge of the construction work for building barricades on the opposite shore across the drawbridge. Thanks to the drawbridge, there is no fear of infected directly invading the landfill. But if infected invade the foot of the bridge, it will become impossible to go back and forth with the landfill. To prevent that, it was necessary to construct barricades on the road connected to the bridge to prevent infected or hostile survivors from invading.
Leave one usable road and block all others. A large gate was also installed on the one remaining road so that those returning from expeditions and such can drive directly to the bridge. Once this construction is finished, Sato seemed to be thinking of placing several personnel on the opposite shore of the landfill to perform patrols and operate the gate. If they remain holed up in the landfill, they cannot take any action even if a threat approaches.
Even though it's called making a barricade, it's not possible to move a bulldozer or make a concrete wall with a mixer truck. Therefore, abandoned cars found all over were used as materials for the barricade. Cars are brought to the road where the barricade is to be constructed, and the tires are removed there. By doing so, the road can be easily blocked. If gaps are filled with sandbags or rubble and iron plates are attached, a wall is easily completed.
That said, because the cars had been left for nearly a year, none of them move anymore, and movement had to rely on human power. Electric vehicles tow the abandoned cars to near the construction site, but from there, the side brakes of the abandoned cars must be released and they must be pushed.
Making sandbags was handled by the middle-aged and elderly, and the movement of abandoned cars was handled by the young people, including the members.
"Alright, let's go, on three...!"
At the boy's shout, the men push the car. Pushing the car with the boy were the former members he had saved. Now that they want to borrow even a little manpower, especially the hands of strong men, they cannot afford to keep the members locked in an apartment just because they were enemies. On the condition that the boy and the others act as guards, the members were permitted to go outside from the apartment rooms temporarily.
Whether it was successful because they were threatened that weapons would be used without hesitation if they tried to run or took a rebellious attitude, or whether the former members had no intention of running in the first place, no particular trouble has occurred so far. The former members followed the boy's instructions obediently and were sweating in the barricade construction work silently.
When the car the boy and the others pushed was stopped at the designated place, a former member with a wrench immediately came, bit a jack under the car, and removed the tire lock bolts. Since it is difficult to move a car without tires, there is no fear that the barricade will be easily removed even if rioters attack. Conversely, when we want to dismantle or move the barricade, we just have to attach tires to the abandoned car. Sato was trying to construct barricades that are easy to install and move like this all over the opposite shore.
It became break time, and the boy and the others each sat on a nearby concrete block or the hood of an abandoned car and took a breath. The season is winter, but they are sweating because they moved.
While the members were drinking from water bottles containing sports drinks brought from the landfill, one young man dragging his leg approached the boy.
"Good work. How is the progress?"
That man, with an automatic rifle hanging from his shoulder, was Han, Sato's collaborator in the landfill. Although Han has not participated in expeditions because he still has aftereffects in his leg, he was actively participating in work such as guarding and construction. Also, perhaps because he has some sympathy for the members who were also former comrades, he is running about between the members and the residents of the landfill so that they do not create unnecessary friction.
"It's going smoothly for now. But I'm worried if the materials will be enough."
"It can't be helped since we are making a safe zone on this side. I heard other expedition teams will recover materials, but..."
"...Um, Han-san. I'm younger, so you don't have to use honorifics..."
Han, who said he had studied abroad in Japan, was several years older than the boy. Being spoken to in honorifics by him somehow makes the boy feel out of sorts. If the opponent is a person without manners or morals, the boy would take a corresponding attitude, but at least regarding Han, he was a moral person who properly possessed manners and morals.
"No, this is better. Because I am a minority here."
"Because you're a foreigner, you mean? Is there anyone who cares about such things even now?"
"I'm not told various things in words. But I can somehow tell by the attitude. I've been going back and forth between my country and Japan since a long time ago."
"...Come to think of it, Han-san was from the neighboring country."
Han is from Japan's neighboring country. Han has spent a life going back and forth between Japan and his home country since he was a child due to his father's work, so he can speak Japanese as well as his mother tongue. After graduating from high school, he returned to his home country, and after spending military experience in conscription there, he reportedly came to Japan to study abroad.
"Yes. In the past, it was said to be close yet far, but now it has truly become so..."
Gazing at the western sky, Han says. It takes less than four hours to go to his home country by plane. From Haneda Airport, which can be reached in about an hour from here, regular flights would have been leaving almost every day.
But planes are no longer flying. For him to return to his country, he has no choice but to traverse the Japanese archipelago to Kyushu and find a moving ship there. But with infected overflowing all over Japan, that plan cannot be said to be realistic at all.
"Can I ask one thing?"
"What is it?"
"Um... do you still want to return to your own country after all?"
Back when the TV was still on, the news actively reported the current situation of foreign countries through live broadcasts. Among them, there were also images showing Han's home country. A large fire occurred in the capital, and the army that was dispatched shot infected who were attacking firefighters. Such images were flowing. The news reported that a large number of infected had occurred in Han's home country and various cities had been destroyed.
Han's home country must be in the same situation as Japan now. Many people must have died because of the infected. The city must be overflowing with corpses, and a hellish world where survivors fight each other must be unfolding.
Then it's no different from Japan now. What would get better by returning to such a place?
Even so, Han said with eyes without hesitation.
"Yes. I will definitely survive and return to my country."
"Why... is that?"
"Because I have family. I haven't heard that they died yet. Then, isn't it better to live with the hope that they are alive?"
When he was last able to get in touch, Han's family were all still alive. Since then, telephones and the internet have become unusable, so he doesn't know if they are safe now.
Maybe they were attacked by infected and died right after Han got in touch. Or maybe they lost their lives being caught in a fight between survivors.
"Even so, I believe they are alive. If I give up, it's over there. Believing that my family is alive is exactly what becomes my power to live."
Han said so and laughed. But the boy couldn't laugh. Han's smile was too dazzling.
Now that the communication infrastructure has gone down, there are any number of things that are unknown. Without knowing the safety of his friends, the boy has come to a place far from his hometown. And before he knew it, he had given up, thinking that his close people must also be dead by now.
When there are unknown things, anxious things, or uncertain things, the boy first thought pessimistically. Today is a worse day than yesterday. So tomorrow will likely be even worse. He lived thinking that way.
But Han is the opposite. He lives believing that tomorrow will surely be better than today. Even regarding his family whose safety is unknown, he believes they are alive and conversely turns it into his own power to live.
If the safety of my family were unknown, would I have been able to live with such a positive way of thinking? The boy looked down at his hands. The sensation of beating his mother, who had turned into an infected, to death still remains in his hands even now.