7. Help

'Hey…'

'Hey…'

Akira woke up by the call and the tapping of his face. He slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the afternoon glow of the sun on the west then looked to the person on his side.

"You okay boy?" The man asked.

"Yeah." Akira slowly sat up and looked at the smoke up the hill. The crashed chopper, the burning wagons and the dead bodies. All of it was evidence that all of what he encountered and happened earlier were all true. The men in black. The serious trouble he unwittingly messed up. His narrow escape from death. All of it was real. The realization made him pale slightly. He remembered the 'thing' that he took in the toilet. He almost wanted to check it inside his packet but stopped himself because of the stranger beside him.

The man saw Akira's reaction after looking at the cause after the incident.

"It's okay boy. Don't be afraid. Police and ambulances are coming."

"Ahhm, thank you for your help sir." Akira said as he slowly stood up.

"No probs boy. I was on the road on the other side of this mountain when I heard the sound of an explosion." The man said as he looked at the fallen wagons on the other side.

"Tsk,tsk. You lucky boy. Almost all of them are dead. Only a few of you are alive. And they all said it was because of you. Now you are not just a lucky boy but also a hero boy." The man teased as he left his sight on the fallen wagons back to Akira and smiled amusedly.

Akira, who was currently dusting off some dirt and dust on his clothes, suddenly stopped.

"I-I just did the right thing to do." Akira answered without looking at the man and continued to dust himself off.

"Still, you are very brave doing that while you yourself were in great danger. If it's anyone else, they were going to save themselves first rather than saving the lives of others you know." The man commented while crossing his arms as he watched Akira dusted off.

"Hey boy, what is your name?" The man  then asked Akira's name.

"I am Yanase Akira sir." Akira introduced himself as he offered his right hand for a handshake.

"Hahaha! Nice meeting you boy. You can call me Hasuda." The man accepted his handshake happily.

"Hasuda-san, are you the one who called the police?"

"No but I am the one who told someone to call. By the way, I am sure that the police will ask you some details when they arrive."

"Will it take a long time Hasuda-san? Akira asked the man.

"It may take time. Why? Are you scared? Hasuda-san teased.

"Ah-no. It is just that I have a flight tomorrow at 8:00 in the morning." Akira explained.

"Is that so? You really have a long journey huh? Well, looking at the time now if the incident did not happen you will arrive at the Small Island City at 7:00 tonight and this is the only train that services in this area straight to Small Island City. The next town will be one hour and a half from here by train and two hours if you take a bus. Oh boy, the last bus in the next town will leave at 5:00 in the afternoon on that route to Small Island City and it is already 5:03 PM." Haruda-san said as they slowly climbed up to the top. He paused a bit and shaked his head as he said the last sentence to Akira.

"I will just take the first trip tomorrow then." Akira answered while looking up as he heard the sound of the ambulances and the police mobile cars.

"He is quite quick huh." Haruda-san mumbled softly while looking up as he also heard the sound of sirens.

"You boy, I think I could help to lessen your time with the police. I know the man who's in the lead."

The two were finally back at the top after some time. Haruda-san introduced Akira to the leader of the police investigation team. The police officer then thanked Akira after hearing his heroic deed which made Akira suddenly feel embarrassed.