End

Teika-kun was one of them. When did it happen? How long has he been one?

He unlocked the door to the bridge during the night. The rest of the possessed came in and took Watanabe-kun. I managed to fight my way out, but they chased me all through the ship. Eventually I found a lifeboat that they hadn’t yet destroyed, and got into it. For some reason, none of the possessed followed me as I lowered it into the water. Teika-kun and the others passively stood across the ship, merely watching my escape.

Although that escape only solved my immediate problem. Once again, I was trapped someplace without food, water, or hope of rescue. There were no currents, so I had to use my hands to row myself away from the ship. The water felt like ice when I put my hand in it.

Eventually I grew too tired to continue. I could still see the lights from the ship, and hear the faint sound of its broadcast. As I watched it, the sea began to move for the first time in days. My boat rocked as a wave moved under it. The wave continued on towards the Hakudo Maru, growing in size until it seemed as tall as a mountain. Then it came crashing down on the ship, sending out smaller waves which nearly capsized me. When the sea calmed down and I could look around me, there was no sign of the Hakudo Maru. There is nothing around me but unending sea and silence.