Wednesday, March 16, 2011, 4:00 a.m.
The sides of the tent flapped violently, and water dripped onto their sleeping bags.
Another gust of wind tore in off the ocean, threatening to shred the tent to pieces
as the tank rocked heavily from side to side.
“I feel sick,” moaned Yurie.
Karina put her arm around her. “It’s OK. Everything will be fine,” she said,
trying to comfort her sister. But her voice lacked certainty, and she looked to Ryota for
reassurance.
He forced a smile and nodded. “It’s just a passing squall. I’ll go outside and have
a look. He grabbed his backpack and then unzipped the flap of the tent.”
Karina grabbed his arm. “Be careful!”
“I will.” He pushed opened the flap and crawled out onto the cold wet metal of
the tank. He could barely see in the howling wind. Spray splashed over the sides, and he
tried to steady himself on his feet. He stared out into the darkness, but all he could make
out were the whitecaps churned up by the raging storm. He didn’t see the wave coming,
which crashed over the tank, sweeping him off his feet and smashing him back into the
tent. He heard both girls scream and could feel them squirming around under him. He
struggled to his feet, the wind and spray cutting icily into his face. He saw the two shapes
of the girls moving under the collapsed tent. He tore open the flap and dragged them out.
Another wave crashed over the side and swept them off their feet.
“Hold on!” yelled Ryota over the fury of the storm.
“Help!” screamed Yurie as water surged over and washed her past Ryota.
He reached out and grabbed her jacket collar just before she went over the side.
Karina crawled across the tank and helped him pull Yurie back. “We need to get
up higher!” yelled Karina, jabbing her hand toward the mound of wreckage.
They pushed Yurie up first and then followed.
“We’ll die of the cold if we stay out here,” yelled Karina.
“Follow me!” shouted Ryota. He took hold of Yurie’s hand and scrambled over
the mound of broken timber. “In here,” he shouted.
They crawled through the hole.
“We’re going to die,” whimpered Yurie.
Ryota took out a flashlight and switched it on. They were sitting in the roof of
the house where Ryota had first found the tents and supplies. Outside they could hear the
fury of the storm and below them the sloshing of water. “Wrap yourself in this,” he said,
stripping off some of the insulation from the roof.
“We’re going to die!” cried Yurie.
“No, we’ll be fine,” said Karina, wrapping the spongy insulation around her
sister. “Ryota will look after us, won’t you?” She looked at Ryota pleadingly.
He nodded, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. He then took off his
backpack. He had put some emergency supplies in it yesterday—just in case. He took out
a small portable gas cooker and inserted a gas cartridge and turned it on. The ceiling
glowed yellow and Yurie stopped crying.
“Some hot soup?” he asked, smiling.
“You’re amazing,” said Karina.
“Miso soup, please,” said Yurie and then laughed.
They all laughed, oblivious to the fury of the storm outside.
**
“Excuse me, sir,” said Kenichi.
Suzuki lifted his head off the desk. He had managed to sneak a few hours of
much needed sleep. “Yes?” he said groggily.
“The radiation level is increasing very rapidly,” Kenichi said.
Suzuki rubbed his eyes with the backs of his hands. “Why?” asked Suzuki.
Kenichi shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not sure. Things are escalating far more
quickly than I expected. It’s almost as if–” He stopped. The walls of the building began to
shake and a dull rumble filled the air, and then it faded away and the shaking ceased.
“As if what?” asked Suzuki, ignoring the aftershock.
Kenichi cleared his throat. “As if some…external force is at work.”
Suzuki looked at him puzzled. “Some external force?”
“Yes, I keeping thinking about the hole that was blown out at the bottom of
reactor four. Hydrogen rises, it should have blow upwards.”
“I know,” said Suzuki. “It has me puzzled, too.”
Kenichi put some papers on his desk. These are calculations I have done. I have
based the calculations on the worst-case scenario in which all four reactors melt down and
their containment vessels are breached.”
Suzuki studied the paper for a few minutes. “The radiation level is much higher
than what you have calculated.”
“That’s what I am saying,” said Kenichi. “I don’t know what is happening out
there. If the level increases any further, we’ll need to evacuate the workers.”
“We can’t. We must stay,” countered Suzuki.
“If they stay much longer, they will definitely die. I suggest we evacuate to the
Daini plant ten kilometers to the south until the level of radiation drops. We can monitor
the situation from there.”
Suzuki thought for a moment and then said, “We’ll stay as long as we can.”
“I want to go out and check the radiation level around Reactor Two.”
Suzuki nodded.
Thirty minutes later, Kenichi stood outside the Number Two reactor building.
The radiation level was over 3,000 times higher than normal. He could see steam rising
from Reactors One and Three and black smoke spewing out of Number Four. He turned
and was about to head back when he heard a strange sound. He turned back to face
Reactor Two; it sounded like someone was smashing the inside of the steel reactor vessel
with a sledgehammer. He stood there listening for a few minutes.
Half an hour later, Kenichi entered Suzuki’s office. “Something strange is
happening inside Reactor Two.”
“What do you mean?”
Kenichi explained what he had heard.
Suzuki rubbed his hands over his bald head and could feel patches of brittle
surfacing from the several days of not shaving. He looked at his watch, which read 6:05
a.m. “Give the order to evacuate to the Daini plant.”
“Yes, but someone must stay,” said Kenichi.
Suzuki looked at his colleague. Kenichi’s eyes were void of fear or concern.
“You understand that if the level increases further you’ll be exposed to a lethal dose of
radiation.”
“I have already been exposed,” replied Kenichi flatly.
“Very well. You may stay if you wish.” He paused a moment and fixed his eyes
on Kenichi. “I promise your family will be looked after, and I will make sure they are paid
enough compensation so they’ll never have to worry about money in the future.”
“Thank you,” said Kenichi bowing.
**
“We’ve lost all our supplies,” said Karina.
Ryota stood on Junk Island with the wind flapping his windbreaker and water
sloshing over the tank. The storm had washed the tents and all their food and water
overboard. “I know. We’ll need to find some more,” he said, his eyes searching the
debris.
“We still have the fishing rod,” said Yurie, holding it up. Her hair was a mess
and her clothes filthy.
“Where did you get that?” asked Karina. “That’s not the same one as Yuta had.”
“Over there,” she replied, pointing to the other side of Junk Island.
Ryota stared closely in the direction she was pointing. “That wasn’t there before
the storm!”
Karina saw it as well, the top of a house stuck out of the water at the far side of
Junk Island. “That’s why you’re so dirty. You’ve been inside, haven’t you? You
shouldn’t have gone alone.”
Yurie stood there holding the fishing rod, eyes cast down. “I’m sorry,” she
mumbled.
Karina glared down at her, and then her expression softened and she said,
“You’re a really good scavenger, aren’t you?”
Yurie looked up, a naughty smirk across her grubby face. “You really think so?”
“Yes,” replied Sachie.
Ryota laughed and then said, “Let’s check it out!”
The three scrambled over the wreckage until they came to the roof.
“Did you see any food or water?” asked Karina.
Yurie shook her head. “I could only get into the roof. I think they used it as
storage.”
Ryota poked his head through the broken vent and shined his flashlight inside.
“It’s completely flooded now.”
Karina sighed. “We need to find something or we’ll starve.”
“We’ve still got the fishing rod,” said Yurie gaily.
Karina shot her a look, which meant Shut up little pest of a sister.
The smile vanished from Yurie’s face.
“I’ll have to dive down to the living area and see if I can locate the kitchen,” said
Ryota.
“The water’s too cold. You won’t last more than a few minutes,” said Karina.
“I’ll have to be quick,” replied Ryota, taking off his jacket.
“No! It’s too cold!” Karina picked up his jacket and handed it back to him.
Ryota put the jacket down. “Do you have a better idea?”
Karina knew whatever she said wouldn’t stop him. “No, but–”
“We should make a fire so he can warm himself after he gets out of the water,”
interrupted Yurie.
Karina looked at her younger sister. “Good idea. We still have the gas burner.”
“Make the fire over there,” said Ryota, pointing to a metal sheet. “That way you
won’t set my island on fire.”
They gathered some wood and lit it using the gas burner.
“Yurie, keep the fire going until I get back. Can you do that?” asked Ryota.
“Yes,” replied Yurie.
Ryota walked over to the roof with Karina and stripped down to his underpants.
“Kiotsukete. Be careful,” she said.
“I will.”
Karina gave him a hug and a kiss. “Just some extra warmth,” she whispered.
“Thank you.” Ryota picked up his empty backpack, put on some swimming
goggles, and crawled through the broken vent and slid into the frigid water. He sucked in
a deep breath and disappeared below the surface. His body was instantly assaulted by the
coldness, his head ached and his chest constricted. He swam quickly above the rafters of
the ceiling until he found the storage entrance and swam down through the hole. The right
side of the house had been torn off, and this allowed for good visibility. He saw a TV and
sofa overturned and swam through a doorway into the kitchen. The fridge lay face down,
but the cupboard was open and he spotted some canned food. He quickly filled his
backpack and swam back the way he had come. Seconds later he broke the surface; his
body was shaking, and he was hyperventilating.
“Are you all right?” asked Karina.
“Ye...s,” stammered Ryota, almost unable to speak. His face was red, and his
heart pulsated irregularly.
“Get out!” said Karina, stretching her hand out.
“No…there’s…more food.”
“You can’t. You’ll die–”
Ryota took a deep breath and disappeared below the water.
His body ached with coldness, but he forced himself down through the storage
hole and into the kitchen. He grabbed the remaining cans and put them in his backpack
and headed for the surface. His head broke the water, and he passed the bag up.
“Quick, get out!” said Karina, reaching for him.
He grabbed her arm, and she hauled him from the icy water. He was shaking
uncontrollably, his breaths coming in short gasps.
Karina helped him to his feet, but he fell back down. “Yurie! Help me!” she
shouted.
Yurie climbed over the pile of wood to where Ryota lay trembling. They
wrapped his arms around their necks and dragged him to the fire.
“Ryota, can you hear me?” asked Karina.
Ryota’s face was as blue as a corpse and his eyes open. “Yes…I…can hear
you,” his voice rattled.
“Don’t go to sleep. You have to stay awake,” said Karina, putting his jacket over
him.
“You need to dress him,” said Yurie.
Karina looked at her with an embarrassed expression. “Uh…yes. You keep
feeding the fire, and I’ll put his clothes on.”
“You’ll have to take his underpants off,” said Yurie, a slight smirk touching her
lips.
“I know, you idiot! Just keep the fire going.”
Yurie turned her nose up and threw another piece of wood on the fire.
Karina stripped his underpants off, trying to avoid looking. She then dressed him
in his jeans and T-shirt. “Can you sit up a little? I need to put your jacket on.”
Ryota’s eyes groggily opened. “Yes.”
He sat up and Karina put the jacket on and zipped it up.
“Thank you,” said Ryota, putting his arms around her.
“Not at all,” she said, hugging him tightly.
Yurie rolled her eyes and threw another piece of wood on the fire.
Ryota and Karina lay entwined next to the fire while Yurie stared out over the
ocean. She had spotted something—the black shape of a man lying on some wreckage.
**
Yukino knelt staring at Taka. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, but her throat stung with guilt.
She got to her feet and walked to the door and put on the jacket. Her mind raced
back to the day before when they had laughed and joked about the jacket. A tear slid
down her cheek. “Good-bye Taka-san,” she said, sliding the door open. Outside, she
bowed towards the house and then slowly walked away.
**
Kamata nudged his boat through the debris that clogged the entrance to the small fishing
harbor on the other side of Otsuchi Bay. He throttled back to neutral, and the boat slid up
to the side of the concrete dock—one of the few that had survived the tsunami. He, Seko
and Sachie jumped off and tied up the boat.
“Where are they?” asked Kamata.
Seko’s eyes searched the area; only a few rooftops and pieces of timber
protruded from the mud. “There!” she said, pointing to the two remaining houses halfway
up the hill.
The three trudged through the mud and up the hill until they reached the houses.
They could see a faint glow coming from the window of the house on the left and went up
and knocked.
“Hello!” Seko called, sliding open the door. Inside a group of elderly people sat
huddled around a kerosene heater.
One of the women ran over and hugged Seko. “You made it! Are you OK?,” she
asked, crying.
“Yes, I’m OK,” she said, hugging the woman.
Kamata entered and another woman ran over and hugged him. Kamata
reluctantly put his arms around her. He wasn’t used to such an emotional outburst; it
wasn’t part of the Japanese culture, but he could feel the woman’s emotion and held her
comfortingly.
Sachie entered and the same thing happened.
After a few minutes, Seko gently pulled away the woman’s arms and took out a
small package from her jacket. “Here’s the medicine.”
“Thank you,” said the woman, taking the medicine and handing it to the old
woman who needed it.
“You’re welcome,” replied Seko. “We will take you back to the other side of the
bay where they have food and somewhere warm for you to stay.”
The woman bowed deeply. “Thank you so much.”
**
Natsumi sat in Kubo’s truck, her face buried in her hands, crying. They had spent most of
the day searching Nakamaru Elementary School and the surrounding area for survivors.
Late in the afternoon, the search had been widened, and they had come across two girls in
Mickey Mouse T-shirts, one with plaits. The two girls lay dead, holding hands, one with
a plait in her mouth. They had survived the tsunami and miraculously washed onto higher
ground but had then later died of hypothermia.
Kubo rubbed her shoulders. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
Natsumi looked up, tears streaming down her face. “What type of God would do
this to young children?”
Kubo just stared back unable to answer. The question had raw truth in it. She
was right. What kind of God would be so merciless to his own children? We surely
wouldn’t do this to our own children.
“I don’t believe in God anymore,” she sobbed.
Kubo rubbed her shoulders. “I’m sorry,” he whispered again.
**
The skinny boy and his parents stood dressed in black. The mother placed the last flower
on her daughter’s body and cried.
“Let her go,” whispered her husband, putting his hand on hers and withdrawing
it from the casket.
“Yes,” she said, sobbing.
Her brother stared down at his sister from behind his black-framed glasses.
“Goodbye, sister,” he whispered.
A man in black walked over and bowed. “We will send her now.”
The three of them stood in silence as he wheeled the casket over to the furnace,
slid it in, and then locked the door.
The roar of the fire resounded around the crematorium, and the mother collapsed
to the floor unconscious.
**
Hiro sat with Erica in the Tono town hospital. He had decided that she needed some
medical help and had managed to get a ride from the Self Defense Force.
“Would you like something to eat?” asked Hiro.
Erica didn’t respond and just kept scribbling the number four in her notebook.
She had lost a lot of weight since the quake, and Hiro was very concerned. “You
need to eat something,” he said.
She didn’t look up and just continued writing.
“Erica Noguchi,” came over the speaker. “Please go to Room Three.”
Hiro stood up. “It’s your turn,” he said.
Erica didn’t respond.
Hiro reached down and gently took hold of her arm. “Let’s see the doctor.”
She tore her arm away and screamed “No!”
Hiro was surprised by her outburst. “The doctor will help you.” He reached out
again, but she slumped to the floor holding the notebook tight to her chest.
Everyone in the waiting room stared at her.
“It’s all right,” he said softly.
“No!” she screamed.
A nurse heard the racket and came out.
“She doesn’t want to see the doctor,” said Hiro.
The nurse, a pretty woman in her mid-twenties, knelt down. “What’s your
name?” she asked in a soft tone.
Erica glared at her.
“My name is Kiyo.”
Erica’s face flushed red. “Death!” she shouted.
The nurse looked confused. “What?”
“Death! We’re all going to die!” she screamed.
There was an uncomfortable silence in the waiting room.
“That’s not true,” said the nurse, smiling. “Come with me.” She put her hand out.
“Death! Death! Death!” ranted Erica and kicked the nurse’s hand away.
The nurse let out a short cry and stood up and rushed off into one of the rooms.
“That wasn’t very nice,” said Hiro.
Erica didn’t look up and began scribbling the number four again.
“What seems to be the problem?” asked the doctor, appearing with the nurse.
Hiro explained what Erica had been through.
“I see.” He squatted down in front of her. “I’m a doctor,” he said, smiling.
Erica looked up and glared at him.
“I can help you.” He reached out for her hand.
“Death!” she screamed and kicked his hand hard.
This didn’t go down well with the doctor, who had had almost no sleep for the
past few days and was on the verge of cracking. “Call the orderlies,” he said to the nurse
and then went back into the room.
A few minutes later, the orderlies arrived, and the doctor reappeared with a
syringe.
“What are you going to do?” asked Hiro.
The doctor looked at Hiro. “I’m going to sedate her and put her on a drip.”
“Is the sedation necessary?”
“Yes,” snapped the doctor. He motioned for the two male orderlies to restrain
her.
Erica resisted, kicking and thrashing around on the floor.
“Hold her still!” yelled the doctor.
The two men fought to restrain the squirming girl.
“Hold her!” yelled the doctor again.
He stuck the needle into her arm, and her eyes went blurry.
**
Seko and Sachie walked away from the shelter where they had left the old people. “That
was really brave of you,” said Sachie.
“What do you mean?” asked Seko.
Sachie looked at her surprised. “Well you hiked over the mountains by yourself.”
“Oh…that,” she said, smiling mischievously. “Nothing really.”
Sachie let out a short laugh. “Nothing much! I don’t know if I could do it.”
“Remember what your father used to say. Where there is a will there is a way.”
The words caused Sachie’s eyes to brim with tears.
“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to–”
Sachie began to cry. Nothing could match the pain she’d kept locked up inside
her since her father’s accident. “I didn’t mean…to…hurt him,” she sobbed.
Seko was stuck for words.
Sachie wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up. “I hurt him.”
“Who?” asked Seko.
“My father. I was the cause of his accident.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you remember when Yukino broke her leg at New Year?”
“Yes.”
“After my father returned from taking her to hospital, he went into the barn to
clean up.” She paused for a moment and saw the look of realization on Seko’s face; she
also was a member of the secret sect. “He found the swords.”
Seko’s face drained of color.
“I was sleeping by myself in Aunt’s house next door when he burst into the
bedroom around one in the morning. He was furious and demanded to know how I had
come into possession of the swords. I told him it was none of his business and that I was
old enough to make my own decisions. He screamed at me to tell him. I’d never seen him
in such a rage; his face was red with fury, and I could see the veins bulging in his
forehead. I screamed back that I had the right to belong to the sect. This only maddened
him further, and he smashed the box to pieces. I yelled that he was an idiot, and he tore
the covers off me and yanked me to my feet. I tried to break free, but he slapped me hard
across the face.” She stopped and tears spilled from her eyes. “He had never once hit me
in my life, never once. I lost control and slapped him back across the face. He didn’t
flinch, just stood there, eyes narrowed, the veins bulging out of his forehead. And then he
collapsed. His brain had hemorrhaged.”
Seko stood there in silence watching Sachie sob and then gave her a hug. “It’s all
right; it wasn’t your fault. If Yukino hadn’t been so stupid to break her leg in the barn, it
would never have happened.”
They both hugged each.
“It was my fault,” said Sachie.
“It wasn’t your fault,” said Seko. “It was just an unfortunate accident.”
Sachie nodded wiping the tears from her eyes.
“Does Yukino know this?” asked Seko.
“No,” she muttered. “And don’t tell her.”
“I won’t.”
**
Kumiko took her phone from the battery charger. “I’m going to go and look for Sachie!”
she said, heading to the door.
“She’s all right,” said her father, grabbing her arm. “She’s gone to help Seko.”
Suddenly her phone rang and she took it out. “It’s Mariko.”
“Hurry and answer it,” her father said.
“Hello, where are you?”
“I’m in Shikoku,” the voice at the other end said.
“Where are you staying?”
“I’m staying at a friend’s house.”
“Are you OK? Do you need any money?” asked Kumiko.
“No, I’m fine. How is everyone?”
Kumiko was silent for a moment.
“Hello,” came her daughter’s voice at the other end.
“Sachie is h