The chaos gradually came to an end.
Those who had caused it pulled away and blended in among the other passengers.
No one dared to leave the aircraft.
The darkness outside, along with the fear of encountering those vicious creatures again, was more frightening than the people around them.
The passengers who had been attacked remained silent, unwilling to confront anyone.
Many pressed cloth against their wounds or stared ahead, still trying to process what had happened.
Among them, Aya Tokiwa stood near her seat.
Her hands were still trembling.
She kept looking down at them.
Not long ago, those same hands had stabbed a person.
Her friends didn’t know the reason.
They stayed close to her and tried to calm her down, believing she was only shaken by everything that had happened.
Aya didn’t correct them.
Not far away, Arita stood in the aisle without speaking.
The person who was usually loud and cheerful now stared ahead with a blank expression.
Even those who often gathered around him noticed something was wrong, but no one approached.
Further back, Eiken slowed near the seats, still catching his breath.
He had gone to call the teachers earlier, but on the way, he ran into Yarai and never made it back to Rion.
He thought Rion would be safer with him.
Near the middle rows, Towa had not stopped crying since Asami told her what had happened to Eiji.
Kurusu remained quiet beside her, still shaken by what they had gone through.
Asami had stayed with them at first, but after finding a young girl alone near the rear of the aircraft, she had gone to help her find the people she had come with.
Rion ran toward them with a pale face.
She was still in shock.
Until today, she had never seen anyone die in front of her.
But in the past few hours, she had seen several people killed.
Some of her classmates, Tsuchiya, and Eiji had been laughing and talking together only a short time ago.
Now they were dead.
“Kurusu-sensei… are you okay? What happened?” Rion asked, noticing her disheveled appearance.
Kurusu forced a smile.
“We’re okay now… thanks to Yarai-kun. If he hadn’t come…”
She stopped mid-sentence.
Towa lowered her head.
Neither of them wanted to think about what might have happened if Yarai had not reached them in time.
Yarai stood nearby, watching them briefly before speaking.
“There are no rules here,” he said.
“We don’t know when rescue will come. It’s not just the animals outside. You also have to be careful of people. Stay in a group and stay with someone you trust.”
Rion and Kurusu nodded.
Towa remained silent.
After a moment, Towa looked past Yarai.
“Where’s Tsuchiya-san?” she asked, wiping her tears.
“He didn’t come back with you?”
Rion lowered her head.
Yarai didn’t answer.
The silence made Towa’s face turn pale.
“Is he alright?” she asked.
“He is… right?”
Yarai took a deep breath before speaking.
“Tsuchiya-san didn’t make it. By the time I got there, someone had stabbed him. He had lost too much blood.”
Kurusu covered her mouth in shock.
Towa stared at Yarai as tears continued to fall.
“Captain Tsuchiya too…?” she whispered.
Rion and Kurusu remained beside Towa as she struggled to hold herself together.
Yarai gave her a moment before asking,
“Where’s Asami-san?”
“She’s helping someone near the rear,” Kurusu replied.
Yarai nodded.
No one spoke for a while.
Towa wiped her tears and took a slow breath before lowering her hands.
“I’ll give them a proper burial in the morning,” Yarai said.
“For now, we need to decide what to do next.”
Towa remained silent, but she nodded.
Their conversation was interrupted by voices farther down the aisle.
“Heh… Ono, you really only pick on the weak,” Itou said.
“I just saw you get beaten by an old man.”
“Yeah… you got wrecked,” Mikoshiba added, letting out a short laugh.
Ono glared at them.
“Shut up! It was two-on-one! While you two were busy running away!”
“Yeah, yeah,” Itou replied.
His eyes moved past Ono and stopped on Yarai.
“…Oh.”
Mikoshiba followed his gaze and stiffened.
“Damn… we ran into him again,” Ono muttered.
Kurusu and Towa tensed as they glanced toward the trio.
Yarai glanced at them once before looking away.
“They won’t cause trouble,” he said.
Even so, the tension didn’t fully disappear.
The three exchanged uneasy looks.
From the situation, and from the fact that Kurusu and Towa had torn clothes, they could already guess what had happened earlier.
Before anyone could say more, the aircraft shook violently.
Passengers stopped where they were and looked toward the windows.
Large shadows moved across the windows, close enough to block what little visibility remained.
The aircraft shook again as another impact struck the fuselage.
The metal frame creaked under the force.
Passengers backed away instinctively.
“W…what is that?”
“W…what’s going on?”
The shaking continued as one of the creatures came fully into view.
Its massive body leaned against the aircraft, causing the structure to bend slightly as it moved with slowly.
The entire plane shuddered.
A deep metallic groan echoed through the cabin as something struck the outer fuselage again and again.
“Monster… it’s a monster.”
“What the…”
“Aaaaaah!”
Some passengers dropped to the floor and hid beneath the seats, while others rushed toward the rear.
The creatures outside did not attack immediately.
They moved slowly, almost curiously, as if testing the strength of the structure.
Yarai stared at the massive, sloth-like creature climbing partially onto the aircraft.
A name surfaced in his mind.
Megatherium… that can’t be.
Another heavy strike hit the aircraft, and the metal bent slightly with a loud creak.
“What is this shit… damn it!” Itou yelled.
Ono and Mikoshiba moved backward until their backs hit the opposite wall.
Kurusu screamed as she tried to steady herself, while Towa covered her mouth and grabbed onto a nearby seat to keep her balance.
Yarai took a step back, but he did not move toward the exit.
Instead, he forced himself to think.
Running into the forest in the dark meant losing visibility and direction.
It also meant exposing themselves to unknown threats.
The jungle was dense, and if creatures like this were nearby, there was no guarantee there weren’t more.
Inside the aircraft, they still had a structure that could provide some protection.
The entry points were limited, and supplies were still within reach.
Outside, they would have none of that.
“If we stay inside,” Yarai said.
“We at least have something between us and those things. Outside, we’d be exposed, and in this darkness, we wouldn’t even see what’s coming.”
Another scraping sound ran along accompanied by a low, heavy exhale from outside.
“We need to turn off the lights and move somewhere more confined,” Yarai said.
Towa spoke quickly.
“The galley… there are switches there. Follow me.”
They moved without hesitation, toward the mid-cabin galley.
The narrow space was built for the crew.
Storage compartments covered the walls, leaving little room for everyone.
It was crowded, but it was away from the windows.
Towa reached the control panel and fumbled briefly before switching off the lights.
One section after another dimmed until the cabin was swallowed in darkness.
Outside, the scraping continued for a while longer.
Gradually, the sounds faded as the creatures withdrew from the aircraft and moved back toward the trees.
Their presence disappeared into the darkness until silence returned.
At the rear, passengers remained near the emergency exit, staring toward the dark forest outside.
“Don’t open it!”
More passengers rushed toward the back and grabbed their bags, food, and anything they could carry.
Within moments, belongings were pulled from beneath the seats and taken from the overhead compartments.
“What are you doing?! Stay inside!” someone shouted.
It was already too late.
The rear emergency exit was forced open.
For a few seconds, no one stepped through.
They stood at the opening with their belongings and looked out at the dark jungle beyond the clearing.
One by one passengers began pouring out of the aircraft.
They abandoned the plane and gathered outside, unsure of where to go but unwilling to stay.
“Move… we need to move!”
“Take your stuff!”
“Don’t stay near the plane!”
The escape was not coordinated.
People simply followed whoever was closest.
Some ran toward the deeper forest, while others headed for clearer patches between the trees.
Arita ended up with one of the larger groups without realizing when he had started leading it.
Eiken was pulled in another direction and became separated as the crowd split further.
Takashi tried to organize a few people around him, but his voice was lost among the shouting, and the group quickly broke apart.
As the crowd pushed toward the exit, Asami was forced outside.
The young girl remained with her, and they ended up in a group led by a large man with a boar-like face.
Within minutes, the open area around the aircraft was empty.
Back inside the aircraft, Yarai remained where he was and listened for movement outside.
The others waited quietly.
“…It looks like it’s gone,” Ono said.
Yarai listened for a few more seconds.
“Go out and check.”
Ono hesitated before stepping outside.
After a moment, his voice came from outside.
“I think it’s gone.”
Rion broke the silence.
“…What was that?”
Yarai recalled the creature’s massive frame and long claws.
The name came to him almost instinctively.
“Megatherium americanum.”
The others looked at him in confusion.
“It was one of the largest land mammals ever known,” he said.
“An adult could weigh around eight tons, about as much as an African elephant. If it stood on its hind legs, it could reach nearly six meters.”
He stopped and looked toward the forest.
“It’s supposed to be extinct. Just like the Andrewsarchus.”
“What kind of hellish place is this?” Itou muttered.
“If animals like that are living here, I don’t even want to know what else is out there.” Ono said with a strained smile.
“At least we’re safe here,” Mikoshiba said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“Unlike those idiots who ran out.”
Kurusu lowered her eyes.
“…They all went into the forest.”
“Maybe they’ll find Akira-kun and Mariya-kun,” Rion said.
Yarai looked out through the window.
“As long as they stay together, they have a chance. They probably haven’t gone far.”
Neither Kurusu nor Rion replied, but both nodded.
Ono glanced at Yarai, then at the empty cabin around them.
“…Can we stay with your group?”
“We can help carry things,” he added.
“Yeah, we can handle the heavy work,” Itou said.
Mikoshiba nodded.
“We won’t cause trouble.”
Yarai looked at the three of them.
“Fine. But follow what I say.”
“We will!” they replied.
“Start by checking the aircraft. See if anyone is still inside.”
The three split up and moved through the cabin, checking every row of seats, the storage compartments, and the spaces near the emergency exits.
Several minutes later, they regrouped near the front of the aircraft.
Only seven of them remained inside the aircraft.
Rion lowered her gaze.
“…Even Asami-san went with them. I hope she’s alright.”
Towa forced a faint smile, though worry still lingered in her eyes.
“We can only hope they all made it through.”
Yarai went to the front and placed Tsuchiya and Eiji side by side.
He covered their bodies with cloth taken from nearby luggage.
Towa stood nearby, her eyes fixed on the two covered figures.
“…They were good people,” she said quietly.
“They cared about the passengers and always took their jobs seriously.”
Her voice shook.
“They tried to help everyone… and that’s what got them killed.”
Yarai remained silent.
“People can be worse than animals when things fall apart,” he said.
“Animals kill to survive. People can hurt each other for all kinds of reasons.”
“If you’re looking for justice, you won’t find it here.”
Towa looked at him.
“…What happens to the people who did this?”
“We don’t know who they are,” Yarai replied.
“Whoever they were, they’re already gone. Right now, staying alive is more important than chasing them.”
Towa closed her eyes for a moment before wiping away the last of her tears.
“…You’re right.”
The two of them quietly returned to the others.
With everyone gathered together, they began discussing what to do next.
“…What should we do?” Rion asked.
Towa thought for a moment.
“In situations like this, we’re told to stay with the aircraft,” she said.
“It’s easier for rescue teams to find. Moving without knowing the area is dangerous, and if we scatter, it will be harder to find each other.”
Yarai nodded.
“That’s the most logical choice. We have shelter, supplies, and a place to return to. If we leave without a plan, we lose all of that.”
“…But if we stay here, how long should we wait?” Mikoshiba asked.
Towa hesitated.
“Three days. That’s the standard. If no rescue comes by then, we can decide what to do next.”
Yarai nodded.
He looked toward Ono, Itou, and Mikoshiba.
“Let’s start organizing the supplies.”
Towa led them toward the storage areas.
“Start with water” she said.
“We’ll sort food after that”
They opened the overhead compartments and gathered the bottled water.
Ono and Itou carried several packs and stacked them near the center of the cabin.
Mikoshiba sorted through the supplies and separated usable items from damaged ones.
They collected packaged meals and snacks and placed them together.
Towa checked the emergency kits and gathered the medical supplies.
Kurusu collected blankets and other items they could use for rest.
When Yarai finally looked outside, the horizon had begun to brighten.
By the time they finished organizing the supplies, the first light of dawn had spread across the clearing.