The Dormouse • ALICE IN BORDERLAND

iv

Pandora's Box Pt. 2

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Upon the reminder of their dwindling minutes, the room erupted into panic once more.

"Shit!" 'Orange Shirt' cursed, pinching at the bridge of his nose, "Are you sure?!"

"Yes!" Michiko responded, slapping at the open page of the book with the back of her hand, "It's the name of the store! Hermes Furniture!"

"Fuck, you better be right about this. Everyone keep looking!" 'Orange shirt' commanded, gesturing around the room with his finger.

The three more experienced players went back to their search, with more vigour than before. Before Michiko could also begin doing her part, Chishiya spoke up from beside her. "Well deduced."

Michiko looked up at his partially smug face, "you already had it figured out, didn't you?" Chishiya said nothing but his expression remained fixed, which was all the answer Michiko needed, "Why didn't you say anything?" She asked in frustration.

"I was interested to see if anyone else would figure it out. And someone did." He plainly said, as if it was the most reasonable explanation in the world in such a situation. Their lives were on the line and the man was playing his own games. Did he even want them to live through it?

"Tch, asshole." Michiko huffed the insult, deciding that they would manage just fine without him, before going off to look through the store herself.

It didn't take long for 'Hoodie' to call out, from the other side of the room, "I've found something!"

Everyone gathered around her as she presented a Greek style black vase with the caduceus, the staff of Hermes with two snakes twisting around it, painted on it. "What now?" She asked.

Michiko took the vase, giving it a small shake. There was a clatter as something rattled around inside. She reached into the opening to feel a small metal object at the bottom of the vase. Pulling it out, she showed it to the group. It was reminiscent of a ring, but had a plain, flat, circular surface on the top, where a ring would usually be decorated with gemstones.

"What is it?" 'Orange shirt' asked, examining the object in curiosity.

Michiko shook her head, "I have no fucking clue." A hand reached out and took the object from her palm, and everyone turned to the culprit to see Chishiya appraising it, before moving over to the box. "Hey, what are you doing?" Michiko asked as she joined him.

He began running the flat end of the ring over the surface of the box. "It's a magnetic key, so there is a magnetic lock inside this box. I'm trying to find it." His hand stopped in the centre of the box. "Ah, here we are." He smirked to himself before twisting the ring around, and lifted his hand away.

Everyone watched in awe as the top of the box split apart and opened up on its own accord to reveal another layer. This layer had a wooden knob in the centre, with a silver switch below it. In the centre of the knob was a cross, one of the lines extending from the middle was red, and the rest were black. At the end of each line was a letter. B, E, N, Z in that order, going clockwise from the red one.

"There's more?" 'Orange Shirt' asked incredulously.

"It's a diamonds game, Hajime. Of course there's more." 'Blue Polo' answered. At last, Michiko had a name for one of them.

They all scanned the new layer of the box, trying to figure it out. "So, miss Greek Mythology. Any more bright ideas?" Hajime asked.

The solution was trying to emerge from the back of Michiko's mind, like a worm burying its way out of her skull. She recognised the letters. But she knew she needed the context to remember. She looked at the cross in the centre. There was something irritatingly familiar about how one of the lines was red, but she couldn't place why. "Compass." 'Blue Polo' then whispered, and it clicked, "It's a compass."