TOO MANY MOUTHS The road opened like a mouth from the abyss, sudden and hungry.
The first ant climbed over the broken tire of the Shirakawa truck, its black shell wet from rain and something thicker.
Its legs gripped the rubber with sharp clicks.
A second pushed through the split in the asphalt.
Then a third.
Then more, bodies forcing the road wider with every push.
Amamiya took one step back.
“No.
I hate this more than the hotel.” Shizuka grabbed Ren’s hand and pulled him back.
“Move.” Ren moved.
The system opened.
— MUTATED INSECT GROUP DETECTED — — SPECIES BASE: ANT — — GROUP COUNT: 9 — — MIASMA TRACE: MODERATE — — MANA DENSITY: LOW — — THREAT LEVEL: HIGH — — RECOMMENDATION: RETREAT — The count changed before Ren finished reading.
— GROUP COUNT: 14 — — COUNT ACCURACY: DECREASING — “Run,” Ren said.
Shizuka was already moving.
They bolted down the side of the service road, away from the truck, away from the dead engineer, away from the open black case beside him.
The ants did not all follow.
Some stayed with the bodies.
Some crawled over the truck.
Four came after them, their legs clicking against the wet road in a pattern too fast to be random.
Amamiya looked back and nearly tripped.
“They’re coming.” Shizuka snapped, “Run faster.” “Don’t look back, don’t look back,” Amamiya muttered to himself.
Ren cut into a side alley between a metalworks shop and a shuttered delivery office.
The alley was narrow.
The ants would not spread out there.
The system opened.
— ROUTE: NARROW PASSAGE — — GROUP MOVEMENT RESTRICTED — — EXIT DISTANCE: 61 M — — COLLAPSE RISK: LOW — Trash bags split underfoot.
Rainwater splashed up Ren’s legs.
A dead vending machine leaned against the wall, its front torn open and wires hanging out.
Behind them, the first ant entered the alley.
Its body scraped both walls.
Shizuka looked back once.
“One.” “More behind it,” Ren said.
Amamiya panted beside them.
“How many more?” “Many.” Amamiya swallowed.
“I hate that number.” They reached the end of the alley.
A chain-link gate blocked it.
Locked.
Ren grabbed the gate, then stopped when the system opened.
— STRUCTURAL WEAKNESS DETECTED — — TARGET: LOWER LEFT HINGE — — FORCE REQUIRED: MODERATE — Ren shifted down and kicked the lower hinge instead of the lock.
The gate jumped.
Shizuka was already beside him.
“Again.” Ren kicked the same spot.
The hinge bent.
The ant scraped closer behind them, mandibles clicking against the alley wall.
Amamiya grabbed a rusted pipe from the ground.
“I’ll buy a few seconds.” Shizuka kept her eyes on the hinge.
“Then buy them.” The first ant lunged.
Amamiya shoved the pipe into its jaws.
The mandibles snapped shut around the metal with a sound like cutting wire.
His face went white as the pipe bent between his hands.
Ren kicked the hinge a third time.
The frame tore loose at the bottom.
Shizuka struck the lock once with the baton.
The bent metal snapped.
The gate swung open.
Ren grabbed Amamiya by the shirt and pulled him through as the ant dropped the bent pipe and surged forward.
Shizuka slammed the gate shut behind them.
The ant hit it.
The fence bowed.
Another ant hit from behind the first.
The fence screamed.
“Not enough,” Shizuka said.
Ren looked around and found a stack of metal shelving leaning near the wall.
He pointed.
“There.” Shizuka moved with him.
They shoved the shelves over, and the metal frame crashed against the gate, tangling with the chain-link.
The ants hit again.
The gate bent but held.
Barely.
Amamiya clutched the ruined pipe with both hands.
“I helped.” Shizuka glanced at him.
“Good job.” Amamiya blinked.
“I was ready for an insult.” “Move before I change my mind.” Ren looked through the gate.
The ants were not biting at random anymore.
One pulled low at the fence.
Another pushed at the bent corner.
One climbed, slipped, then tried again.
The system pulsed.
— PROBLEM SOLVING BEHAVIOR: EMERGING — — GROUP LEARNING: ACTIVE — Ren’s throat tightened.
“They’re trying different ways through.” Amamiya stared at the fence.
“I liked them better when they were stupid.” A bark came from somewhere beyond the alley.
Three short.
Two long.
Ren and Shizuka looked toward the sound.
Amamiya closed his eyes.
“Dogs too?” “Move,” Shizuka said.
They ran again.
The lane opened behind a row of low buildings.
A drainage canal cut along the right side.
On the left, an old parking lot had flooded ankle-deep.
The water was brown, with oil colors moving across the surface.
The dogs barked again.
Farther away.
Still tracking.
The ants hit the gate behind them once more.
Metal snapped.
Ren did not look back.
Shizuka grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the canal path.
“Higher ground.” “The path is narrow.” “That slows them too.” They ran along the canal ledge.
The concrete was slick.
One wrong step meant water.
The canal below moved slowly, carrying plastic bottles, dead leaves, and something pale Ren chose not to identify.
Behind them, the ants poured from the alley.
Three reached the flooded lot and slowed as their legs sank into water and mud.
One pushed forward anyway, slower but still coming.
Another turned toward the canal path.
The system opened.
— WATER IMPEDES MOVEMENT — — ROUTE ADVANTAGE: TEMPORARY — — SPEED: MAINTAIN — Ren pushed on.
His lungs burned.
His head still throbbed.
At the far end of the canal path, a pedestrian bridge crossed to the next block.
A man stood on it.
White wristband.
Shirakawa work jacket.
Knife in one hand.
Plastic bag of food in the other.
Behind him, two workers crouched near the railing.
One had blood on her face.
The other clutched a packet of rice crackers like medicine.
The man saw Ren’s group and lifted the knife.
“Back.” Ren slowed.
Shizuka’s baton slid into her hand.
The man tightened his grip on the knife.
“I said back.” Ren glanced back at the ants closing in.
“Move, or they get all of us.” The man’s eyes shifted past Ren.
“What is that?” The first ant appeared at the start of the canal path.
The man saw it fully.
His face went pale, like all the blood had drained from his face.
Ren stepped forward.
“Move.” This time, the man moved.
He pressed himself against the railing, knife still in hand, food bag tight to his chest.
Shizuka crossed first, baton ready.
Ren followed.
Amamiya stopped long enough to look at the woman with blood on her face.
“Run or stay and die.
Pick fast.” She grabbed the other worker and ran.
The man with the knife did not.
He stayed on the bridge, staring at the ant.
Ren heard the knife hit the ground.
Then the man ran.
Too late.
The ant reached the bridge before he made it across.
His scream followed them into the next block.
The system pulsed.
— HARVEST EVENT DETECTED — — COUNT: +1 — Ren did not turn.
Shizuka stayed beside him.
No one spoke.
They reached a narrow street filled with abandoned bicycles.
Some had fallen in piles.
Some still had delivery bags on the back.
Ren found one in good enough shape to move.
“Shizuka.” She took it, tested the brake, then nodded.
Ren found another with a crooked handlebar.
Good enough.
Amamiya found a child’s bike, stared at the pink frame, then stared at Ren.
“No.” A bark came from behind them.
Three short.
Two long.
Shizuka looked at him.
“Take it.” “It is pink.” “You look good in pink.” Amamiya stared at her.
“That hurt more than the ants.” Ren shoved the child’s bike at him.
Amamiya took it.
“I hate both of you.” They rode fast.
Ren’s bike pulled left.
Shizuka rode beside him, while Amamiya pedaled behind them with his knees too high and his pride already dead.
The road sloped south.
Warehouse blocks thinned.
For the first time since the hotel, Ren saw a strip of open sky.
Grey.
Low.
Full of smoke.
His phone buzzed.
Forum notification.
He unlocked the screen while rolling slower beside a shuttered pharmacy.
[Thread] Pistol not working on ants anymore.
ammo_count41: Police fired a whole mag at two ants.
One died.
The other kept coming.
warehouse_eye: Where?
ammo_count41: Near Route 136 service road.
Shells are getting thicker.
I saw sparks off one.
oldhunter7: Aim under the head or at the joints.
The shell takes too much.
skeptic771: Now ants have armor?
Sure.
ammo_count41: Come here and say that.
tankboy_ex: SDF vehicle hit one with a heavy round.
That worked.
Small guns didn’t.
drainrat003: Stay away from drains.
They keep coming out from there.
Ren read the thread and locked the phone.
Shizuka saw his face.
“What?” “Bullets are starting to have less effect.” Amamiya heard it and went quiet.
The road felt longer after that.
A radio broadcast crackled from a shop speaker somewhere nearby.
<<< This is an emergency update.
Police have confirmed armed response against aggressive animal clusters in multiple districts.
Citizens should avoid drains, service roads, and abandoned vehicle lots.
>>> Static.
Then another voice cut in.
Not official.
“Shirakawa is lying.
They are moving people south under work orders.
They are not feeding them.
They are testing anchors.
If you have family on a white band, get them out.” A burst of static.
“Militia groups hit two convoys.
We got partial files before someone wiped the servers remotely.
Kuroshima.
Rift control.
Anchor failure.
Count shortfall.
Shirakawa is losing control.” The signal cut.
Official broadcast returned.
<<< Please ignore unverified information.
Spreading false reports during emergency conditions may result in arrest.
>>> Amamiya pedaled closer.
“That was fast.” “What?” “The cover-up.” Shizuka looked ahead.
“They are trying to bury it fast.” Ren kept pedaling.
His phone buzzed again.
Hayato.
Shizuka’s phone buzzed a second later.
Same group chat.
They slowed without stopping.
Ren kept one hand on the handlebar and read the messages.
Shizuka rode beside him with her phone low in her hand.
~~ Hayato: Ren, the leak is everywhere now.
People are saying Shirakawa is taking workers to the south road and some are not coming back.
~~ ~~ Hayato: Sato came back.
She told Mrs.
Takane to keep the curtains closed.
She looked mad.
Like scary mad.
~~ ~~ Hayato: Also she asked if Shizuka is with you.
I said yes.
She said good.
Then she said that girl has sense.
~~ Shizuka read the last message on her own screen.
“She said good?” Ren typed first.
~~ Ren: Stay inside.
Don’t click anything weird.
If you see something important, screenshot it.
~~ Shizuka typed from her own phone.
~~ Shizuka: Keep Mrs.
Takane and Airi away from the windows.
If Sato comes back, listen to her.
~~ Hayato replied fast.
~~ Hayato: Shizuka texting me directly feels scarier than the leak.
~~ ~~ Shizuka: Good.
Then listen.
~~ ~~ Hayato: Yes ma’am.
~~ Ren typed again.
~~ Ren: We are still moving.
Don’t ask where.
~~ ~~ Hayato: I wasn’t going to ask.
Less I know, better for me.
Officer Sato has scary eyes.
~~ Ren locked the phone.
Shizuka looked at the road ahead.
“Sato knows too much.” “She is helping.” “For now.” They kept riding.
The road curved past a small logistics office with its shutters half open.
Inside, three people lay on the floor.
No blood.
No bite marks.
One held a framed photo.
One held a phone.
One held nothing.
The system opened.
— HARVEST EVENT RESIDUE — — COUNT: +3 — — ANCHOR RESPONSE: MIXED — — FAILURE TREND: INCREASING — Ren slowed only long enough to read the room, then kept going.
Shizuka looked at him for a second.
“Worth stopping?” “No.” She nodded.
“Good.” The dead stayed behind them.
For now, that was the only way forward.
A kilometer later, the road split.
The main road dropped toward a fuel station where smoke rose from behind the pumps.
The side road climbed toward a residential slope, then cut back south through smaller streets.
The system opened.
— MAIN ROAD: HUMAN DENSITY HIGH — — FIRE RISK: HIGH — — ANIMAL CLUSTER RISK: MODERATE — — SIDE ROAD: HUMAN DENSITY LOW — — TERRAIN COST: MODERATE — — RECOMMENDATION: SIDE ROAD — Ren turned the bike toward the slope.
Shizuka followed without asking.
Amamiya followed too, the child’s bike squeaking under him.
Halfway up, they passed an old woman kneeling beside a vending machine.
She was feeding coins into it one by one even though the display was dead.
A boy stood beside her, maybe twelve, holding an empty plastic bag.
The woman pressed the button.
Nothing happened.
She pressed again.
Nothing.
The boy stared at Ren with hunger in his eyes.
His face was thin, his lips dry, and his hand tightened around the empty plastic bag.
The system opened.
— HUMAN CHILD — — MALNUTRITION SIGNS: EARLY — — DEHYDRATION RISK: MODERATE — — INTENT: FOOD SEEKING — — THREAT LEVEL: LOW — Ren slowed.
Shizuka watched silently.
The old woman pressed the dead vending machine button again.
Nothing happened.
The boy looked away first.
Ren took one pack of crackers from his side pocket and tossed it to him.
The boy caught it with both hands.
The old woman looked up.
“Thank you.” Ren did not answer.
Shizuka watched the boy clutch the crackers, then looked back at the road.
“We need to find more food soon,” she said.
“I know.” “He looked bad.” “Yeah.” She did not argue after that.
She only moved closer to Ren as they started riding again.
Then the old woman screamed.
The boy jerked backward.
A man stepped out from behind the vending machine.
Too thin.
Eyes glassy.
One hand holding a broken bottle.
He grabbed the crackers from the boy and shoved him hard into the wall.
Ren moved.
No thought.
No system.
Only distance, angle, wrist.
Shizuka moved with him.
The man raised the bottle.
Ren swung the front of his bike sideways and slammed the handlebar into the man’s wrist.
The bottle fell.
Shizuka’s baton struck the man’s knee.
He dropped with a cry.
Ren grabbed the crackers and shoved them back into the boy’s hands.
“Go.” The boy froze.
Shizuka pointed down the side street.
“Now.” The old woman pulled the boy and ran.
The man on the ground cursed and reached for the bottle.
Ren kicked it into the drain.
The system opened.
— HUMAN THREAT: LOW — — CONTINUED ENGAGEMENT: NOT ADVISED — Shizuka took Ren’s hand.
“Enough.” The man spat at Ren’s shoe.
“Hero.” Ren looked down at him with disgust.
He got back on the bike.
They rode on.
Shizuka rode beside him without saying anything.
She understood what he had done.
He had not stopped to be kind.
He had stopped because the boy was alive, the man was close, and the cost was small enough to pay.
The slope ended at a service junction with a broken traffic light.
Beyond it, the southbound industrial route stretched open for nearly two hundred meters.
Too open.
Ren stopped before entering.
Shizuka stopped with him.
Amamiya nearly crashed into them.
“Warning would be nice.” Ren raised one hand.
Across the open stretch, a Shirakawa convoy had stopped.
Two black SUVs.
One white van.
One technical truck with roof equipment.
Three armed escorts stood near the front.
One had a rifle raised toward the ditch.
Another shouted into a radio.
A third dragged a worker by the collar away from the van.
The worker screamed.
“I did what they said.
I did what they said.” An engineer in a white helmet stood beside the technical truck, holding a scanner over a black case.
His hand shook.
Ren’s system opened before he focused.
— SHIRAKAWA CONVOY — — PARAMILITARY ESCORT: 6 — — ENGINEER PRESENCE: 2 — — ANCHOR ACTIVITY: UNSTABLE — — ROUTE BLOCKED — Shizuka looked at the convoy.
“They stopped.” Amamiya stepped beside them.
“They don’t stop unless something makes them.” One guard fired into the ditch.
A black shape jumped out.
Not a dog.
Not an ant.
A fox, maybe, once.
Its back twisted wrong, legs too long, mouth split wider than its head should allow.
The guard fired again.
It dropped.
Then the engineer screamed.
Ren’s head snapped toward him.
The engineer in the white helmet clutched his wrist.
Something strapped there flashed with weak blue light.
Another anchor bundle.
Not charms.
Tech.
A metal band wrapped around a personal item, maybe a ring inside glass.
The system opened.
— HUMAN MALE — — ROLE: SHIRAKAWA ENGINEER — — ANCHOR RESPONSE: FAILING — — HARVEST STATUS: INITIATING — — REMAINING TIME: 00:00:15 — Ren went cold.
Shizuka saw his face change.
“What?” “Anchor problem.” She looked toward the convoy.
“Does that give us an opening?” Ren watched the engineer stagger away from the truck, shouting at another man.
“Reset it.” The other engineer backed away.
“I did.” “Then do it again.” “It’s not responding.” The first engineer slapped the metal band oredo it untill the endThought for a few seconds Ren’s mouth went dry.
The word rose again.
Stay.
Shizuka grabbed his wrist.
Hard.
“No.” Ren looked at her.
“I’m not going in.” “Then don’t look like you are.” He looked back at the convoy.
The guards had not seen them yet.
The engineer was dying in the middle of the road, the route south was blocked, the black case was still open, and Shirakawa was losing control in front of them.
That mattered.
Broken systems left openings.
Amamiya whispered, “We should not go near that.” “We’re not,” Ren said.
Shizuka’s grip loosened, but she did not let go.
“Then where?” Ren looked past the convoy and saw the sloped concrete channel half-hidden under weeds and trash.
“There.” Shizuka followed his gaze.
“The ditch?” “It cuts under the road.” Amamiya stared.
“That is not a road.” “It is now.” The system opened.
— ALTERNATE ROUTE CONFIRMED — — SIDE ROUTE: DRAINAGE CUT — — RISK: UNKNOWN — — ROUTE BLOCKAGE BYPASS: POSSIBLE — — RECOMMENDATION: MOVE BEFORE CONVOY COLLAPSE — The engineer fell to one knee.
“Please.
Please.
My daughter’s ring is inside.
It should hold.” The other engineer shouted, “It’s not the ring.
It’s the count.” The first engineer looked at him.
“What?” “The count is short.
It’s pulling harder.” The guards did not understand.
Ren did.
Shizuka understood enough.
Amamiya heard too much and went still.
The system flashed.
— HARVEST NOT MEETING MINIMUM THRESHOLD — — COMPENSATION BEHAVIOR: ESCALATING — — ANCHOR FAILURE TREND: CONFIRMED — — REMAINING TIME: 00:00:06 — Ren kept moving toward the ditch.
Shizuka stayed with him.
The engineer sobbed behind them.
“It was stable.” The same words.
“It was stable ten minutes ago.” Ren did not turn back.
The metal band cracked.
The blue light went black.
The system pulsed.
— HARVEST EVENT COMPLETE — — COUNT: +1 — — ANCHOR FAILURE CONFIRMED — — ADAPTATION RECORDED — The other engineer screamed and ran.
One guard grabbed him.
“What happened?” The engineer tried to pull free.
“It failed.
It failed again.
We can’t hold the road.” The guard hit him.
“Shut up.” Then the ground under the convoy moved.
The technical truck tilted.
One tire sank into the asphalt like it had become mud.
Amamiya whispered, “That is bad.” The road split open.
Ants poured out.
Not one.
Not three.
A black wave.
The guards opened fire.
Bullets cracked across the road.
The first ants broke apart.
The ones behind climbed over them.
One guard went down.
Then another.
The white van door burst open from inside.
Workers spilled out, hands bound with plastic ties, white wristbands on every arm.
Some ran.
Some fell.
Some were dragged back by guards.
Some were caught by ants before anyone chose.
The system opened.
— MASS CASUALTY EVENT DEVELOPING — — HARVEST COUNT RISING — — ROUTE BLOCKAGE: TOTAL — — RECOMMENDATION: DRAINAGE CUT — Ren grabbed Shizuka’s hand.
“Now.” They dragged their bikes into the ditch.
The concrete was slick, but the slope led south under the junction.
Water ran around their ankles.
The smell hit hard.
Rot.
Fuel.
Dead fish.
Behind them, gunfire turned into screaming.
The system counted at the edge of his vision.
— COUNT: +2 — Then.
— COUNT: +5 — Then.
— COUNT: +9 — Ren stopped reading.
Shizuka moved beside him, one hand still locked around his.
Amamiya followed, dragging the pink bike like it had personally betrayed him.
Something crashed above.
A Shirakawa SUV rolled sideways into the ditch entrance behind them, blocking part of the way back.
The drainage cut ran under the road through a low concrete tunnel.
Too dark.
Too narrow.
Ren stopped at the entrance.
The system opened.
— TUNNEL ROUTE — — LENGTH: 84 M — — HUMAN PRESENCE: NONE DETECTED — — ANIMAL PRESENCE: UNKNOWN — — MIASMA TRACE: LOW — — MANA DENSITY: TRACE — Shizuka looked at him.
“Bad?” “Unknown.” “That is worse than bad.” “Yes.” A scream came from behind them, closer than before.
The ants had reached the ditch.
Amamiya pointed at the tunnel.
“Unknown is better than teeth.” They entered.
The tunnel ceiling forced them to bend.
Water splashed underfoot.
Their breathing echoed back wrong, like more people were running with them.
Halfway through, Ren heard scratching above.
Not in the tunnel.
Above it.
Ants crossing the road overhead.
A thin crack in the ceiling shed dust.
Shizuka looked up.
“Keep moving.” “I am.” “Faster.” “I am.” Amamiya whispered, “Please argue while running.” They reached the far end.
A metal grate blocked the exit.
Ren grabbed it.
Locked.
The system opened.
— STRUCTURAL WEAKNESS DETECTED — — TARGET: LOWER RIGHT HINGE — — FORCE REQUIRED: MODERATE — Ren kicked the lower right hinge.
The grate jumped.
Shizuka shoved beside him and struck the latch with the baton.
Once.
Twice.
The third strike echoed through the tunnel.
Behind them, a shape entered the other end.
One ant.
Then another.
Amamiya’s voice cracked.
“Shizuka.” “I see them.” Ren kicked the hinge again.
Shizuka struck the latch.
Amamiya looked around, panicked, then jammed the pink bicycle sideways into the tunnel.
Shizuka snapped, “What are you doing?” “Blocking them.” The first ant hit the bicycle.
The frame bent.
The wheels spun uselessly.
Amamiya shoved the second bike into the gap too.
Ren kicked the hinge a third time.
The grate shrieked.
Shizuka struck once more.
The latch snapped.
Ren pushed the grate open.
Shizuka climbed through first, then grabbed Ren’s jacket and pulled him after her.
Amamiya slipped out last.
The first ant broke through the bikes and lunged.
Shizuka slammed the grate back.
The ant hit it.
Ren grabbed a rusted metal rod from the ground and jammed it through the grate handle.
The ant struck again.
The rod bent.
“Go,” Ren said.
They ran.
The tunnel exit opened into a quiet residential street south of the blocked road.
Small houses lined the slope.
Most windows were covered.
A few curtains moved as they passed.
No one opened a door.
No one called for help.
Smart people.
The barking started again far behind them.
Three short.
Two long.
Amamiya looked exhausted.
“How are the dogs still part of this?” Shizuka said, “They kept running too.” Ren almost smiled.
Almost.
Then his phone buzzed.
Hayato.
~~ Hayato: Sato just left.
She told me if you reach the south service road, don’t stay on it.
She said Shirakawa is checking route cards now.
~~ Ren slowed.
Another message came.
~~ Hayato: She also said if someone says refrigerated medical return, don’t answer.
I don’t know what that means.
~~ Ren looked at Shizuka.
She had already read it.
“That is our cover.” “Yes.” “She knows too much.” “She is helping.” “For now.” A third message came.
~~ Hayato: She looked at me like I was hiding you in my pocket.
I said I’m not that strong.
She didn’t laugh.
~~ Amamiya leaned in without thinking.
Shizuka looked at him.
He leaned away.
“Sorry.
Habit.” Ren typed.
~~ Ren: Tell her nothing else.
Stay inside.
If she comes back, listen.
~~ Shizuka watched the message send.
“You trust her now?” “No.” “But?” “She is keeping Hayato alive.” Shizuka looked away first.
That was answer enough.
They moved through the residential street until the houses thinned and the road opened to a high overlook.
From there, Ren saw the south route.
The city below looked like it was breaking in layers.
Smoke from the helicopter crash.
Smoke from the Shirakawa convoy.
Crowds around food points.
Police lights near drainage channels.
A dark line of ants moving across a service road like spilled ink.
Farther south, beyond the industrial sprawl, the hills of Izu sat under a low grey sky.
The route card in Ren’s pocket felt heavier.
Kuroshima.
The jade bracelet.
The Rift.
His mother’s word.
Stay.
Shizuka stood beside him.
Not behind.
Not ahead.
Beside.
Amamiya dropped onto a low wall and breathed like pain had won a small victory.
“What now?” he asked.
Ren looked down at the roads.
Main route blocked.
Service road watched.
Drainage route behind them.
Dogs somewhere back there.
Ants spreading.
Shirakawa wounded but still moving.
Government losing ground.
Militia leaking half-truths and dying for the other half.
The system opened.
— SOUTHBOUND ROUTE REQUIRED — — KNOWN ROUTES COMPROMISED — — ALTERNATE ROUTE SEARCHING — — SIGNAL DETECTED — — SOURCE: POLICE BAND — Ren looked toward a nearby patrol car wrecked against a wall.
Its radio still crackled.
A voice broke through.
Female.
Tired.
Sharp.
“Any unit near Route 136, confirm sighting of Shirakawa private convoy.
Repeat, confirm sighting.” Static.
Then the same voice, lower.
“This is Sato.
If anyone hears this, keep civilians off the south road.
Something is moving under it.” Shizuka’s eyes narrowed.
Sato.
Ren moved to the patrol car and took the radio.
Shizuka followed so close her sleeve touched his arm.
Amamiya stood.
“Are we answering police now?” Ren looked at the radio.
Then at Shizuka.
She looked at him, then at the road below.
“Careful.” Ren pressed the button.
“This road is not safe.” Static.
Then silence.
Then Sato’s voice came back.
“Who is this?” Ren did not answer.
Sato paused.
Then her voice changed.
“Ren?” Shizuka’s hand tightened on his sleeve.
Amamiya mouthed, bad idea.
Ren pressed the button again.
“South road is gone.
Ants under it.
Shirakawa convoy down.” More static.
Then Sato said, “Where are you?” Ren looked at Shizuka.
Shizuka’s eyes said no.
Ren released the button.
Sato’s voice came through again.
“Do not use the route card.” Ren froze.
Shizuka did too.
Amamiya went pale.
Sato continued.
“They are tracking cards now.
I don’t know how long you have had it, but if you got it from Shirakawa, throw it away.” Ren’s hand moved to his jacket.
The route card felt hot now.
The system opened.
— ROUTE CARD SIGNAL DETECTED — — PASSIVE TRACKING ACTIVE — — TRACKING DURATION: UNKNOWN — — THREAT LEVEL: RISING — Ren pulled the card out.
Shizuka looked at it.
Amamiya backed away.
“That thing is calling them?” Ren did not answer.
He snapped the card in half.
The system pulsed.
— SIGNAL INTERRUPTED — — TOKEN STILL ACTIVE — Ren looked at the black token.
It was still in his pocket.
Before he could take it out, a dog barked below the overlook.
Three short.
Two long.
Then another answered from the road behind them.
Then another from ahead.
They were not behind anymore.
Sato’s voice cracked through the radio.
“Ren, if that is you, move now.
Shirakawa is not the only thing tracking you.” Ren looked south.
The road ahead was no longer open.
It was waiting.
Shizuka stepped closer, her hand still on his sleeve.
“Ren.” Amamiya gripped the wall.
“I hate how everything has an extra problem now.” The system opened.
— TRACKING SOURCES: MULTIPLE — — SHIRAKAWA SIGNAL: PARTIAL — — ANIMAL PATTERN: ACTIVE — — UNKNOWN THIRD SIGNAL: DETECTED — Ren looked at the token in his hand.
Then at the road.
Then at Shizuka.
“Move,” he said.
The barking answered from every side.
Chapter 15 ~ End