Free Dark Water by Kôji Suzuki Page A

specimen of vegetation, he angled his camera, recorded it on video, or drew it in his sketchbook. There wasn't any plant Kensuke didn't recognize that Sasaki could not identify; the mentor was indeed proving himself a specialist of the natural sciences. The serious look in his eyes seemed to give lie to his usual jocularity, and Kensuke saw him in a different light again.
    The soil, unused to the trample of human feet, was soft, and black liquid oozed out of the humus under their deliberate tread. If not for their boots, their feet would have been soaked completely a good while ago. Even the air was wet. Grasses and trees that were a rare sight in Tokyo thrived here, giving off an eerie odour for some reason and forming a hybrid copse unique to the island. When the sea breeze stirred the treetops, sounds fluttered down all around them, and from time to time Kensuke would not know where he was. He had pretty much forgotten about Yukari. The island was just too different from the site of his fantasies.
    The deeper they went, the thicker the gloom - and Sasaki spoke less and less. He wasn't peering through his camera and video as frequently, either. Facing this way and that, he finally halted.
    'How odd,' he muttered.
    Kensuke, who'd been following Sasaki, also stopped. 'What's odd?' he asked.
    Sasaki just let out a sort of grumble and didn't explain, lost in thought. They both stood still for some time, neither of them uttering a word.
    'Are you all right?' Kensuke looked concerned as he broke the silence.
    'The clump of angelica back at the landing looked just the same. But the further in we go… something's odd.'
    'You mean, it's different than before?'
    'I can't put my finger on it. Sure doesn't feel right though.'
     
    Hearing this, Kensuke looked around him nervously. He thought he was getting bad vibes, too. Apparently, back in the '20s, Battery No. 6 had been rumoured to be a sort of haunted isle. Just recently, a windsurfer practicing at the Seaside Park had passed from view behind the island and disappeared for good, board and all - or so Kensuke had heard. Recalling such stories, Kensuke didn't feel too good.
    'Let's go on, shall we?' urged Kensuke, intending to muster courage, but his voice trembled somewhat.
    'No one's supposed to have come here in ten years Sasaki mumbled to himself, as though to confirm the fact, and resumed walking. Naito had told them aboard the cruiser that the Minato Ward Council was participating in the survey for the first time and that there hadn't been a comprehensive field investigation in ten years.
    Kensuke remained silent.
    Sasaki stopped again. Looking up, he cried, 'This forest's nurturing something!'
    'Why not? Don't trees always sustain nearby life-forms?'
    Sasaki pointed diagonally ahead. 'That's a persimmon tree. The one beyond it is a medlar. Last time I was here, there weren't any fruit-bearers.'
    No sooner had he said this than Sasaki started running ahead.
    'Wait!' cried Kensuke.
    But Sasaki only gained speed, and it was all Kensuke could do to keep up. Dripping with sweat, he was about to give up the chase when the view changed suddenly and he found himself in a clearing about thirty feet wide.
     
    The place seemed to be the centre of the island, the woods appearing equally thick on all sides. To the north the Rainbow Bridge towered against the sky. It was jarring to catch sight of a modern structure from the centre of an island that resembled an uninhabited jungle. It was as though the dimensions had come unhinged and Kensuke had wandered into an alien world.
    The noonday sun drenched the grassy clearing with its rays. Cicadas chirped loudly. It wasn't hard for Kensuke to come up with a word to describe the clearing: it was a garden. Tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, and other summer vegetables had been planted in a neat configuration. It was impossible now to deny that there was some force at work here other than nature. These vegetables had been planted according to some