exclusion zone1

i’ve spent most of the day thinking on and off about the dog pack in a nuclear exclusion zone. maybe there was a power plant explosion on an island similar to hashima that had been designed to house the plant’s hundreds of employees and their families. the island is far enough from the mainland that it required a ferry, but after the accident and evacuation all boating activity was suspended for fear of radioactive materials in the nearby sea. the island was quarantined as an exclusion zone by the government and the remains of the plant were covered and sealed off, only being inspected for maintenance once or twice a year.

about 15 years after the accident, permits to access the island are still rarely given out to civilians. a small film crew manages to get them, however, making them the first to have the opportunity to take footage of the area.

most of the island is filled with stories high stone buildings that are very obviously apartments with convenience and grocery stores slotted on the ground floor beneath them. windows are broken, shattered glass littering the parts of the sidewalk that haven’t been upturned by earthquakes in years after the evacuations. while the buildings themselves stand sturdy and unmoving, the rest of the details are dilapidated, overgrown with tall grasses and other flora that have overtaken the ground throughout the entire island. the visible signage is like stepping back in time and despite the obvious damage, the insides of the stores and school look eerily untouched. the evacuation had been swift, getting the residents off the island in the middle of the night and the employees and rescue crews in the days after.

the film crew had come up with a strategy for principal photography, outfitted with a map and a geiger counter they split up to survey the island and get a real feel for its atmosphere. they could compare photos on their phones and then decide where to begin shooting. shirou, a newbie production assistant heads off and takes plenty of time to look around, though he’s also a little preoccupied with the geiger counter at first. he walks through the deep grass into what looks like the city square, with cracked red brick on the ground and a dirty, algae overwhelmed fountain. the frequent rain water manages to keep it alive. shirou can’t help but notice edible flowers and mushrooms growing alongside storm drains. even though this accident only occurred 15 years ago, the state of living through earthquakes and being on the sea somehow ages this place beyond its years in some ways, while imagery and fabric patterns from his youth jump out to him in others.

a light rustling of grass catches his attention. shirou catches sight of a figure. he can’t exactly make out too many details, but the rigidness of their body as they froze suggested an animal-like level of terror, though he was certain this form looked humanoid. he only gets another brief, but better glance of it as it disappears back into the grass.

lean. possibly malnourished? pale. hair is light. blue, maybe silver? not a lot of detail in the eyes, but the way they widened when the heard shirou’s footsteps was more than enough for him to take notice of. their ears had perked up and twitched in search of a sound initially, but shirou thought that kemonomimi people had become extremely rare in certain years... was his mind playing tricks on him?

much more aware of the sound of his own footsteps, shirou proceeds carefully with his head ducked down just below the top of the grass. he doesn’t want to disturb this person (creature?) but he does want to get a better look. were they trapped on this island? shirou can’t think of a situation in which they didn’t need some kind of help. he stops suddenly as he hears the sound of bare feet echo down a hall and slowly fade away. standing upright, he takes a photo of the building they ran inside and the surrounding area. admittedly he hadn’t expected to see much in the way of wildlife here, especially other people.

there’s no cell service so he can’t call archer or the other crew members, but it’s getting close to the time they ought be to reconvening. this feels like an emergency, though — or at the very least, a good reason to stick around here instead of going back.

noting the geiger counter rising as he stepped into the dark cement hallway, he walks quietly in hopes of finding that person again. speaking softly as he passes each additional hallway, he reassures anyone listening that he’s a friend; he wants to help. it becomes obvious quickly that he’s in one of the large apartment buildings. some of the units have broken doors or windows, while others look relatively undisturbed. peeking inside when circumstances allow, it looks as if most things have stayed in their original places, outside of what looked to shirou as the aftermath of families rushing from their homes in the middle of the night. there was no ransacking or looting here.

shirou truly has no idea where he’s going and he hasn’t heard a sound since the person outside had run into the building. with the maze of hallways and identical layout, he couldn’t even be sure he was investigating new areas. yet at no point did he ever feel like he was in over his head. he was so focused to seeing if this person was safe or needed some kind of help that he didn’t question anything else. it wouldn’t be the first time this kind of behavior got him into trouble, but shirou doesn’t know how to live any other way.