Love in danger 67 squid game

IX

The two towers were painfully high, and in the middle there was a light beige rope. It was definitely tug of war. This was different from the other games. In the others we just had to play for ourselves. But now we had to fight each other. And by the looks of it, we had to drag another team to the death. Or most likely get dragged to death our selves.

We formed in lines. ten people in each to be precise.

This morning we had exchanged names. 456's name was Gin-hu. He talked a lot about military, but i stopped listening, after some time. The strong man was Ali. He didn't know much, but looked precious. The sexist man with the round glasses, that clearly hates me was named Sang-woo. I got a bad feeling about him. His eyes always avoiding my gaze, like he was hiding something. Scared that i might get onto him. i already was of course. Me and Sae-Byeok had shared our name, but Gi-hun just insulted us, covering it up with a smile. Saying that it didn't suit us. Whatever that means.

My attempt to focus on anything else had failed, and my fingers were back in between my teeth. There were two guards in front of us. And I front of them there were two tables with boxes on. "The next game you will be playing is tug of war." The voice said. Even though I already knew it, I couldn't help but be disappointed. My shoulders shrug and the last piece of hope disappeared. I could feel something dragging my fingers away from my merciless teeth. It was Sae-Byeok. "Stop doing that." She whispered in my ear. "The game will begin."

The guards in front of us stuck their gloved hands in their box. They pulled out one ball each.;). It had a number on and they showed it to everyone. One of the first teams were 101's. He was confident. Or at least tried to look confident. I knew he was shitting his pants right now. The two teams were walking each direction towards the two towers. Soon they were out of sight. The silence was tight, and the only thing I could hear were peoples hard breath, and the sound of machinery working. My guess was that it was an elevator. And I'm usually never wrong.

The people appeared again, one after one. The teams standing in front of each others. I knew the other team, the opposite of 101's, were more then scared. They were too far away for me to see the details, but it was clear they were shaking. I squeezed my eyes, even though it didn't help. It looked like they were chained to the rope. Yeah definitely chained. "Players the game will begin in 5." The voice started counting down. Thank god I wasn't up there right now. But I am going to. "1. Go!" I heard and could see the other opponents grabbing the rope and pull as one whole. 101's team, who were much stronger and bigger, slowly pulled backwards. The other team slowly moved forwards. I didn't want to see, but my eyes didn't move away. The other team was fighting brave but everyone could see they were losing. And for one split of a second the rhythm broke. And 101's team pulled and dragged, making their opponents trip over one another. Their is tense try to get up and start again failed, leaving anxious grimaces all over their faces. The first one slipped, and got off the platform forcing everyone else from his team with him. When the last person had fallen with the rest a high pitched noise was heard and the rope cut. The ten people were now falling into their death. Finally my eyes gave in, and I quickly looked away. The loud noise of them reaching the ground, made me flinch. I tended up in every part of my body. My fists. My throat. My legs, and the feet that follows. I looked at the ground and saw a pool of dark sticky blood that was dripping out of the dead team.

The winning team got followed back to the dorm rooms. It was time to see who was next. They reached within the box again, and showed us the numbers. Our number. My face felt numb, as did my before so tight body. I looked to my right. The team we had to play against. It looked like they were all strong. At least a little stronger then ours.

We would never be able to win against them. And for the first time since I arrived, I really realised how close to death I am. What will happen if we loose? Who's going to take care of my mom? Is it just the end? One rhythm off can be the result in my death? In al our deaths? I looked around at my team, their faces looking just as terrified as I felt. We slowly got up, one after another. The other team followed up. The guards let us to the tower. I casted one more stolen look at the other team before entering the tower.

As I had predicted there was an elevator, leading us up the game that was most probably going to kill us. We had all stepped in, and the doors had closed behind us. "Hey I got a trick for how to win this game." The old man said, but every one regarded him. "We don't have time for that." Sang-woo said, moving in with his speech. "Hey!" I said loudly getting people attention. I tilted my head in the old mans direction before continuing. "Let him talk." And so he did. "When I was younger I always won tug of war. It's about technique, not about strength. At first placement. The strongest need to be in the back. Like an anchor." We all looked at Ali, and he nodded in agreement. The old man kept talking.
"Remember to hold the robe in between you armpits, like that you use all your body's strength. If you can hold a position still long enough to drain the opponent, and you can see a crack in their rhythm, you pull as hard as you can. You will most likely have won. " the elevator stopped, and opened in front of us. We slowly stepped out, and walked up to the rope. The crazy woman who had forced herself into the group was the first to grab it. The other followed. Gi-hun was up first. And of course Ali in the back. Me, Sae-Byeok and the other girl 240 were in the middle. I just had to remember the things. The other team had grabbed it as well. They looked almost confident in the fact that they would win. "Game begins in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 now!" Me and everyone else from the team leaned backwards, holding the rope still. I could feel a pull, as the other team hard tried to drag us down.  Even though I couldn't see their faces, I knew they were surprised. It was draining just to stand still in that position. "NOW!" Gi-hun screamed at the top of his lungs, which was the signals. The signal for them loosing their rhythm. We all got up, and dragged. It caught them by surprise and we managed to pull them forward. The whole team was dragging at the same time, making us one whole. I felt relieved that the plan had worked. We were so close, and I could feel the burn in my hands and armpits already. But my relief was short, as we started moving forwards again. This wasn't supposed to happen. We dragged all we could but it didn't help. We needed a plan now if we wanted to survive.

My mind was spinning, and my body burning and screaming for rest. "Hey listen after me." I said after an idea had hit me. "On the count of 3 we take 3 steps forward okay?!" I yell and the others struggle but still lets out a "no." So I yell. "This is the only chance we have in survival!" I yell a little more and it almost takes all my powers to say. "NO THATS BULLSHIT!" The crazy woman screams. She continues her rant but I am not listening. "We will die anyway let's just try!" I yell, and Gi-him helps me. "She's right let's do it."
"1." I yell, pulling hard to the rope.
"2." Gi-hun yells helping me.
"3!" I yell and we all run forward, finally giving my arms a little break. We can see the sudden stop at the other team as they're falling down on one another. I could see Gi-hun a few inches from falling down as his legs swing from side to side. "PULL!" I scream with every power within me, as the hope feeds me new energy. We pull hardly back, as the other team bravely tries to stand up, but fails. The first one falls down, dragging the rest with them. And as the last one falls down, a heavy weight can be feeled at the end of our rope dragging us with them. Wait no aren't they supposed to cut it? Panic spreads through me, and just as I think it's over a sharp sound cuts through, and lifts off the weight. A loud knock can be heard, and I knew they had died. But we lived. We survived the third game. I breath in, like it's a whole new kind of air. More vibrant. More raspy. We had all landed on our backs, in a line. Sae-Byeok right beside me. I grabbed her hand, and pressed it tightly. It was over. This game was over. My arms were screaming, but I ignored them.

They had taken us down, and led us back. The doors opened for us, and 101's team were staring at us in disbelief. They were sure we would have lost. I didn't have the energy t, but if I had, I would have flipped him off right here right now. Instead I just headed back to the beds there were around the place we had built. Me and the others. Me and Sae-Byeok.

A/N
I didn't have time to do this chapter today because my Tuesdays are really stressful, so it became a kinda bad chapter.but anyways please comment what you think about the book. And see you tomorrow:)