October 7th, Day 4
One by one, everyone began to wake as morning arrived.
Although they had all managed to fit inside, the cave was cramped, leaving most of them stiff and sore.
It made sleeping difficult, and most had only managed to get a few hours of rest.
Akira stretched and immediately winced.
“…My whole body hurts.”
“That’s because you kept moving in your sleep,” Rion muttered beside him.
“No, it hurts because I took a beating.”
“Wait, that reminds me. Akira-kun, what happened yesterday? And who was that Hades guy?” Rion asked.
Akira sighed.
“I don’t know who he was, but he attacked me from behind, dragged me toward a cliff, tied me to a tree, and nearly killed me with a stone axe.”
“What?”
Rion immediately grabbed his hand, her expression turning worried.
Even Kurusu and Towa turned toward him, while Kanako covered her mouth.
“The hell?” Ono exclaimed.
“That’s pretty sick,” Itou muttered.
“When did we get such a psycho in our school?” Mikoshiba asked.
“What? He was from our school?” Kurusu turned pale.
“You didn’t see what he was wearing? It was our school uniform,” Mariya replied.
“I didn’t see it clearly because he was standing in the darkness, but still… how could he do this?”
“Even I didn’t realize he was from our school. What happened after that, Akira-kun?” Rion asked.
“He missed when he attacked me the first time. Then, when he was about to attack again, Yarai-kun saved me.”
Akira scratched his head.
Everyone turned toward Yarai.
“He seemed strange,” Yarai said.
“If he had simply lost control, that would have been one thing. But he was too calm and clear-headed. Once he realized he couldn’t beat me, he escaped.”
“This makes things even more dangerous,” Mariya added.
“Animals are one thing. They act on instinct, but humans are different. They’re intelligent and capable of planning. If someone like that is roaming around, we need to be more careful.”
Kanako couldn’t help but sneak closer to Towa while Kurusu looked worried.
“Do you have any other injuries? Let me see,” Rion said, checking his arms.
“Eh… Rion, I’m fine.”
“You were almost killed yesterday,” she said, her voice still uneasy.
“I’m telling you, I’m fine.”
Rion finally let go of him, though she still looked worried.
“Now, let’s forget about that. We should check everything properly before we move again.”
Yarai slowly stood and looked toward the stacked bags near the wall.
Everyone gradually gathered around the center of the cave as the bags were pulled closer.
Towa looked around at the others before speaking.
“We still managed to save some supplies. Kanako had the medical bag with her, so at least we did not lose it.”
Kanako nodded and lightly held the bag closer.
“Itou and I carried the survival bag,” Ono added.
“And I grabbed another small one while leaving,” Itou said as he opened it.
“Looks like hygiene supplies.”
Mikoshiba lifted another bag slightly.
“I have some blankets and jackets.”
Rion raised the small pack beside her.
“I only managed to bring a few bottles of water and some snacks.”
Mariya adjusted his glasses.
“We lost the bag with food supplies and most of the electronic equipment during the escape.”
“Nothing we could do about that. We had to leave them behind,” Towa said.
“At least we were able to gather what we could find,” Kurusu nodded.
“Should we check what we have in the bags?” Kanako asked.
“We do not need to recheck every bag,” Yarai said calmly.
“Mariya already sorted most of them earlier. For now, just take what we can use for survival and self-defense.”
Kanako nodded.
Itou and Ono emptied the survival bag onto the floor.
Fishing rods, reels, hooks, lures, spare fishing line, and several small nets were spread across the floor.
Two sets of snorkel gear, a folded plastic tarp, coils of paracord, bottles of sunscreen and insect repellent, sewing kits, flashlights, and headlamps were placed beside them.
Itou then added two hatchets and several sturdy survival knives to the pile.
Kurusu blinked in surprise.
“…Why would someone bring all this on a flight?”
“Probably fishing enthusiasts, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that we can use them,” Mariya replied.
Yarai crouched down and picked up one of the knives before securing it to his belt.
Then he took both hatchets and fastened them as well.
Kurusu looked slightly uneasy.
“…Do we really need to carry weapons?”
“Yes,” Yarai answered calmly.
His tone left no room for argument.
Meanwhile, Itou reached into his backpack and pulled out several batteries along with a folded solar laptop charger.
Mariya’s eyes sharpened immediately.
“…Give me that.”
Itou blinked.
“Huh?”
Before he could react, Mariya had already taken the charger carefully into his hands.
“…A portable solar charger,” he muttered while inspecting it carefully.
“This is far more useful than you realize.”
Akira scratched his cheek.
“…Do we really need something like that in our situation?”
“My laptop contains maps, survival references, medical data, extinct species records, and several offline documents,” Mariya replied flatly.
“So yes. I would prefer not losing access to it.”
“When you put it that way, I guess we can’t afford to lose it,” Akira admitted.
Mariya adjusted his glasses and carefully placed the charger beside his bag.
“This may become one of our most important tools.”
Yarai looked at them.
“There are enough for everyone. Take one.”
The girls hesitated at first before each of them eventually took a knife.
Itou examined one of the knives and nodded slightly.
“We can make makeshift spears with these.”
“That is probably the safest way to use them,” Mariya added.
“Getting close is too risky.”
“Yeah,” Akira agreed.
“I saw some long, smooth branches near the river yesterday. Those should work.”
Kurusu looked toward the remaining supplies nervously.
“…What should we do about food and water?”
Akira raised a hand casually.
“I already ate some fruits near the river yesterday. They tasted fine. I also drank river water, and I saw a lot of fish there too.”
Rion immediately turned toward him.
“Did you recognize any of them?”
Akira flinched.
“…I mean, they were fruit. They looked normal.”
“That doesn’t make them safe!” Rion hit him on the head.
“R-Rion, why do you hit me every time?”
“Because you are an idiot,” Mariya said, rolling his eyes.
Rion sighed in disbelief.
Yarai then clapped his hands once, drawing everyone’s attention back to him.
“…We need to pick a direction. Staying here isn’t realistic with dangerous animals nearby. Our best option is to head toward the sea.”
“Why there? Shouldn’t we stay close to the plane? It’ll be easier to get rescued,” Kanako asked.
“Because an open area gives us a better chance of being spotted. We also have a better chance of seeing ships or rescue plane near the coast than we do deep inside the jungle,” Mariya replied.
Kanako hesitated, then nodded.
Akira folded his arms.
“…The problem is, we don’t know where the ocean is.”
“That part is easier,” Yarai said.
“The river you followed yesterday was flowing downhill,” he explained.
“If we follow it, there’s a good chance it will eventually lead toward the coast.”
Akira blinked.
“Wait, is it that simple?”
“It’s basic survival knowledge,” Mariya replied.
“It also gives us a route we can follow,” Yarai continued.
“The river provides water and should be easier to travel along than forcing our way through dense jungle.”
“That’s indeed our best option,” Mariya agreed.
After deciding on their route, the group ate a simple meal using the supplies they had left.
Once they finished eating, the group prepared to leave the cave.
Ono and Itou moved the heavier logs and thorny branches blocking the entrance
Yarai stepped out first and quietly scanned the surrounding area before speaking.
“You said you followed the river from the opposite side of the plane when you reached it.”
He crouched down and began drawing a rough map on the ground.
“We’re still in the same jungle,” Yarai continued.
“But we don’t know which direction we should take from here.”
“That part is easy,” Akira said proudly.
“I marked the trees after we left the river.”
“Akira-kun, where did you learn something like that?” Rion asked in disbelief.
Yarai looked toward Mariya for confirmation.
“…Yeah, he actually did,” Mariya said, adjusting his glasses.
“Surprisingly, I never told him to do that. I only taught him the basics.”
“Heh. Even I know a few things,” Akira said with a smirk.
The group followed Akira through the jungle until he stopped beside a tree with a shallow cut carved into the bark.
“This is it,” Akira said. This story is hosted at g.com.
“Wow… it’s actually true,” Rion admitted.
“Did you think I was lying?” Akira complained.
“No,” Rion replied teasingly.
“It’s just hard to believe sometimes.”
Akira grumbled under his breath.
They continued following the marked trees until the sound of flowing water gradually reached them.
“…You guys hear that?” Mikoshiba asked.
“Yeah,” Itou replied.
“That’s the river,” Yarai said.
The group moved forward as the sound grew louder, and soon the river came into view.
Clear water flowed steadily across the rocky riverbed, while thick clusters of tall bamboo grew densely along the opposite bank.
“We found it,” Kurusu said softly.
Towa and Oomori nodded in relief.
“Wow… look at those bamboo trees,” Ono muttered.
“This place feels strangely familiar somehow,” Rion said quietly as she looked at the bamboo.
“…Yeah,” Akira replied with a faint smile.
“It reminds me of home.”
Seeing the mood dip slightly, Mariya cleared his throat and brought the conversation back to the bamboo.
“Anyway, bamboo is basically the hardware store of survival,” he said.
Kanako tilted her head curiously.
“What does that mean?”
“Bamboo is extremely useful. You can build shelters with it, make containers, pipes, traps, fishing poles, spears, and even rafts depending on the size,” Mariya explained.
“Some species are stronger than regular wood for their weight.”
He lightly knocked his knuckles against one of the stalks.
“People underestimate it because it’s technically grass.”
Akira nodded.
“I remember survival shows where people made almost everything out of bamboo. I know how to tie the knives properly, but I’m not sure how to choose the right stalks.”
“Green bamboo bends too much,” Mariya muttered, thinking.
“We can dry it near a fire or under sunlight,” Itou added.
“Heating it carefully can also make it stronger.”
Mariya looked at him in surprise.
“Don’t tell me you watched survival shows too,” Akira snickered.
Itou rolled his eyes.
“My grandfather liked living outdoors,” he said.
“Whenever I visited him, he taught me basic carving. Spears, walking sticks, fishing tools.”
“No way,” Ono exclaimed.
“We never saw you do any of that,” Mikoshiba added in disbelief.
“Well, that was before I met you guys,” Itou replied, scratching his head.
“I stopped after he passed away.”
“I take back what I said,” Mariya said dryly.
“You might actually be the most useful guy here. Definitely better than these two.”
“Hey!” Ono protested immediately.
Mikoshiba pointed at himself.
“Why am I included?”
The others also began looking at Itou differently.
Seeing the attention focused, Itou became embarrassed.
“Anyway,” he continued quickly, “we need bamboo around six to eight feet long. Mostly straight, with fewer branches and about wrist-thick.”
Yarai nodded.
“We should stay here for now and prepare properly.”
He looked toward Akira and Kanako.
“How far was the Smilodon from this area?”
Akira and Kanako immediately stiffened.
“It was lower down the slope, near the river,” Akira replied.
“We didn’t see it from here, but it was somewhere in that direction.”
“Smilodon was different from most of the other animals we’ve encountered. It specialized in ambush hunting rather than long-distance pursuit, so we need to be prepared if it comes back.”
Kanako turned pale while Akira let out a nervous breath.
“Prepared? For what? To get eaten?”
“At least if you don’t want to serve yourself on a platter,” Yarai said.
Akira grimaced.
“Yeah, yeah. I get it.”
Yarai looked toward the bamboo forest.
“Akira, Itou, come with me and gather bamboo. Ono, Mikoshiba, keep watch around the area. The rest of you start cutting the paracord.”
Akira looked toward Mariya with a grin.
“What about him?”
“Sengoku,” Mariya replied immediately, “even if you dragged me along, I wouldn’t be much help there.”
Akira laughed.
“Fair enough.”
“Let’s get started. We don’t have all day.” Yarai said.
With everyone assigned a task, Yarai, Akira, and Itou headed deeper into the bamboo forest.