October 6th, Day 3
Akira opened his eyes as morning light filtered through the trees and fell across his face.
“Hah… I slept pretty well for some reason.”
He yawned and looked toward the fire.
The flames had died down to a few faint embers, while Mariya was still resting nearby.
Akira pushed himself up, then suddenly paused.
“…Where’s Oomori-san?”
He looked around more carefully, but Kanako was nowhere to be seen.
“…Oi… don’t tell me…”
Akira quickly stood up.
A bad feeling began to creep into his mind as he headed into the trees.
“Oomori-san!”
There was no answer.
The sound of rushing water grew louder as he moved toward the waterfall.
When he stepped into the clearing, he stopped.
Kanako was standing near the edge of the water with her back turned toward him, washing herself after removing her dirty clothes.
Akira’s face immediately turned red, and he turned away before hiding behind the boulder.
“S-sorry! I didn’t know you were!”
“Eeeek! Sengoku-kun?! Don’t just barge in like that!”
“I said I’m sorry! You weren’t there, so I thought something had happened!”
“…I’m fine,” Kanako replied quietly.
“…You sure?”
“…Why?”
“You were acting funny yesterday…”
Kanako was silent for a moment.
“…Thank you.”
Akira blinked.
“…Huh?”
“I said terrible things and got hysterical yesterday,” she said.
“Even though you saved me.”
Akira scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“…It’s nothing. I just moved without thinking.”
“…Still… I’m grateful for that…”
“Hiiik!”
Before she could finish, Kanako suddenly made a strange sound.
“What happened?”
When she didn’t answer, Akira turned around the boulder.
“Oomori-san?”
“Something just touched my leg, and when I looked down, I found this.”
Kanako held up the half-filled bottle in her hand.
Akira’s attention immediately shifted to it.
“…This wasn’t here before…” Kanako said.
Akira stepped closer and glanced toward the waterfall.
“…That means it came from somewhere upstream.”
They quickly returned back and told Mariya what they had found.
Within minutes, the three of them were following the stream upstream.
The ground became steeper as they climbed, and the wet rocks made it hard to keep their balance.
Akira walked ahead, pushing branches out of the way while Mariya and Kanako followed behind him.
Kanako remained quiet, but she seemed more determined than she had the previous day.
After some time, they reached the top of the waterfall and continued following the stream.
The water eventually split away from the path they had been following, forcing them to continue through the thicker vegetation.
“Hah… hah… Keep going upstream,” Mariya said between breaths.
“If someone dropped this bottle, it could have come from farther up.”
Akira nodded.
They continued along the stream, pushing through the trees as the sound of running water followed them.
After another difficult climb, Akira pushed through the last group of trees and suddenly stopped.
“…No way…”
Kanako stepped out behind him and looked past his shoulder.
“…What is it?”
Mariya came out of the trees a moment later and stopped as well.
Partly hidden by the trees, the plane was sitting on the higher ground ahead of them.
Akira stared at it without saying anything.
“…We finally found it.” His voice trembled.
Kanako looked at the plane, her expression changing as she recognized it.
Captain Tsuchiya was an experienced pilot.
He wouldn’t have given up even during an emergency.
He would have done everything he could to land the plane safely.
“Something doesn’t add up. You’re saying the plane made an emergency landing, but there’s no damage anywhere. How did it land here without hitting anything?”
Mariya looked at the plane for a moment longer.
“And more importantly, if the plane landed safely, how did we end up outside?”
“That’s…” Kanako couldn’t think of an answer.
“Mariya, quit thinking about that,” Akira said.
“We finally found it.”
He ran toward the plane.
“…Hey Somebody”
Some time before Akira, Mariya, and Kanako found the plane, Yarai sat near the edge of the wing with a notebook resting against his knee.
The other passengers had left, leaving only Yarai’s group behind.
Each of them was occupied with a different task.
Ono, Itou, and Mikoshiba had been told to gather the luggage left behind by the other passengers and move it into the open so the useful items could be sorted later.
Rion was preparing food in the galley, though she seemed more interested in keeping herself busy than in the food itself.
Kurusu stayed with her and helped where she could.
Yarai had been writing for several minutes.
He normally would not have bothered with something like this.
There was no reason for him to keep a journal, and he had never been the type to record everything that happened around him.
Yet after waking up on the island, the idea of keeping a record had come to him naturally.
He wasn’t keeping a diary.
He was recording his observations in an observation log
He had no clear memory of ever learning to organize information this way, but the knowledge was already there.
He knew which details mattered, what needed to be compared, and which observations were still uncertain.
His pen moved across the page.
Observation Log – Entry 01
Location: Unknown
Time: Uncertain
Environment:
Mixed Jungle: The dense jungle along one side of the plane.
The air is hot and humid, and the ground is soft and covered with layers of dead plant matter.
Barren Field: The open clearing where the passengers gathered.
The ground is dry and yellow, with only scattered patches of weeds.
No trees or large plants grow in the area.
Open Tall Jungle: A different type of jungle on the other side of the clearing.
The trees are taller, the canopy is more open, and the ground is dry, uneven, and covered with thick roots.
The three environments meet within a relatively small area, with the barren field separating them.
Their vegetation and ground conditions are noticeably different despite being so close together.
Flora:
Plant species from different environments grow alongside one another.
Ferns, tree ferns, cycads, conifer-like trees, vines, and fruit-bearing plants can all be found within the same area.
Some plants are flowering while others are producing fruit at the same time.
Fauna:
1.
Small ground-dwelling mammal.
Its elongated body, limbs, and overall skull structure match Ptilodus.
2.
Large rodent-like mammal.
Body structure and proportions match Eumegamys.
3.
Large predator.
Physical characteristics match Andrewsarchus mongoliensis.
4.
Large sloth-like mammal.
Body structure and size match Megatherium americanum.
Key Observations:
Three distinct environments exist close together.
A barren field separates the surrounding jungle areas.
Plant species from different environments grow together.
Animals from different periods are present in the same area.
Anomalies:
1.
The plane appears to have landed with minimal damage.
2.
Visual distortions were observed during turbulence.
(Unconfirmed.)
3.
Several passengers are missing.
4.
The surrounding environment does not match any known natural ecosystem.
Conclusion:
The area does not appear to follow a normal ecological pattern.
The animals belong to different periods of Earth’s history and should not be living in the same environment.
Further observation required.
“Yarai-kun, food is ready. Kurusu-san asked me to call you.”
The voice came from behind, but Yarai didn’t turn immediately.
“Just a minute,” he replied.
Towa stood near the overwing exit, watching Yarai write something in his notebook.
“What are you writing, Yarai-kun?”
He partially closed the notebook before looking back at her.
“Just some notes about the animals we saw earlier.”
Towa tilted her head slightly.
“What are you writing down about them?”
“I’m just organizing what I observed.”
“They’re extinct species, but something feels wrong. Their physical features match the reconstructions surprisingly well. We only have fossils to work from, so reconstructions are based on what we think their bodies looked like. But what we saw was almost exactly the same.”
He paused before continuing.
“What doesn’t fit is their behavior. Eumegamys should have been more closely associated with water, yet we saw one moving through the forest. Andrewsarchus is generally thought to have been solitary, but we saw several together. Even the Megatheriums were staying close to one another.”
Towa looked at him with mild surprise.
“How do you know so much about extinct animals, anyway?”
“I just read a lot.” he said.
He couldn’t explain it any better.
He didn’t remember when or where he had learned so much about them.
Towa did not seem completely convinced, but she decided not to ask any more questions.
Yarai closed the notebook and stood.
“Towa-san, how do we access the cargo hold?”
“Why do you want to open it?” she asked, looking confused.
“We don’t know how long we’ll be here,” Yarai replied.
“The Megatheriums were harmless, but we can’t assume every animal will be. We should prepare while the plane is still safe.”
“But if we leave the plane, we won’t be able to see a rescue team. We’d also have to sleep outside.”
“I know. But our supplies won’t last forever. If we have to stay here longer than expected, we’ll need more food and other supplies.”
Towa hesitated before sighing.
“…The cargo hold is normally opened from outside. We’d have to leave the plane to reach it.”
“Is there another way?”
“There is. A maintenance access panel inside the cabin leads to the space above the cargo hold. It’s narrow, though. You might fit through it, but bringing large items back won’t be easy.”
“It should still be useful.”
Yarai tucked the notebook away.
“I’ll bring Ono, Itou, and Mikoshiba after we eat. We’ll see what we can retrieve.”
Towa nodded, but before following him, her eyes drifted toward the edge of the trees, where two shallow graves lay beneath the shade.
Eiji and Sawamura had been buried there earlier.
Yarai had insisted on moving their bodies away from the plane, knowing that the heat and humidity would speed up decomposition and that the smell could attract predators.
Towa clasped her hands together and lowered her gaze before the two of them returned to the cabin.
Inside, Rion and Kurusu moved carefully between the seats, carrying plates of simple instant curry poured over rice.
“Careful, it’s still hot,” Kurusu said as she placed one of the plates on a seat, while Rion placed another nearby.
Yarai and Towa returned from the wing and made their way inside.
“Looks like everything’s ready,” Towa said.
Kurusu gave a small nod.
“It’s not much, but it should help.”
Yarai looked across the cabin before taking a seat near the center.
A few moments later, footsteps approached from outside.
Ono, Itou, and Mikoshiba climbed in through the overwing exit, carrying several bags and loose items.
“Yo, we brought back whatever we could find,” Ono said, dropping a bag onto a nearby seat.
Yarai looked over.
“What did you find?”
Mikoshiba crouched beside the bags and began pulling things out.
“Bottled water, snacks, some clothes, towels, and a first aid kit.”
Itou dropped another bag beside him.
“We found batteries, a flashlight, and a couple of chargers too.”
Ono scratched his head.
“Most of the useful stuff was already gone. Guess the others grabbed whatever they could before leaving.”
“That’s fine. We’ll sort everything later.”
Kurusu began handing out the plates.
“Eat first. You’ll need the energy.”
“Thanks, Kurusu-chan.”
They each took a seat and began eating.
Once Yarai finished his meal, he set the empty plate aside and looked toward Ono, Itou, and Mikoshiba.
“Once you’re done, organize everything you brought back. Keep the food, tools, and medical supplies separate.”
“Yeah, got it,” Ono replied.
“We’ll take care of it,” Itou said.
Mikoshiba nodded.
A voice suddenly came from outside, near the exit facing the clearing.
Everyone stopped.
“…Did you hear that?” Kurusu whispered.
Ono straightened.
“Someone’s out there.”
Rion stiffened when she heard a familiar voice from outside.
“…Hey Somebody”
Her eyes widened.
“…Akira?”
Before anyone could react, Rion rushed toward the exit and pulled it open.
Light spilled into the cabin as a hand reached up and gripped the edge.
Akira pulled himself inside and looked up.
“Rion!”
She rushed forward and threw her arms around him.
“Akira!”
For a moment, she said nothing.
She simply held him tightly.
Akira blinked in surprise before giving an awkward laugh.
“…Hey. I’m back.”
Rion still didn’t let go.