The Winners Take It All | Chishiya [English]

Like a white cat

I was even more paranoid than before.

Ever since I was chased by this guy, I couldn't find peace, I even imagined that he would come back after all. So after two days I decided that I would move. I convinced myself that it would help if I changed locations. Then my tracks could be obscured, I told myself.

And so it happened that I was suddenly standing in the middle of Shibuya, holding my small possessions tightly to me. Where should I go now? I had a free choice. It would be safest in an apartment. But somehow I struggled. I felt uncomfortable breaking into someone else's home. Somehow it wouldn't be fair to invade someone else's personal space. But did I have another choice?

Besides, no one cared anyway.

Eventually I found myself in an apartment that was near Shibuya Station. I had searched all the other apartments in this house beforehand, but I liked this one the best. There were enough escape routes in case a dangerous situation arose and the front door keys still existed. I tried not to pay too much attention to the photos on the walls, to at least extinguish the last shred of guilt. Instead, I made myself something to eat, even though I didn't really have an appetite. No wonder, the events really upset me. But I had to eat something if I wanted to stay strong.

I still had three days off, but would I last? Was it perhaps better to increase your visa a little in case you got sick? Not that I hoped so, but somehow I felt uneasy that I only had so few days in the account.

So I made the decision. I would play again tonight.

I spent the rest of the day reading books I found and writing down things I knew from the last lecture at my university. I wanted to be prepared in case I found a way to get back into the real world.

When evening came, I put my gym clothes back on and tied my hair up before staring out the window intently. I had a good view from here. The lights would go on in a few minutes, I had found out by watching my watch the last few evenings. It was always the same time.

And so I waited. Of course I noticed the restlessness that was spreading within me again. I would probably never be able to get used to it.

And sure enough: the lights came back on at the same time. One location was directly located in front of my building: Shibuya Station. Great, I hated train stations. But I still pulled myself together, grabbed my keys and set off.

Every step outside was difficult, for a brief moment I thought I should give up everything, but in the end, I forced myself towards the game.

I slowly walked across the large intersection until I was in front of the building. I swallowed, entered the playground and... no beep. So I hadn't arrived yet. At the same moment, a billboard that was in the building lit up.

Game: This way!

The arrow pointed directly at the stairs that led into the shaft. I sighed, then started moving again and went up the stairs. It beeped. There was no turning back now. I quickly went down the stairs.

There was no one there when I came. I picked up a phone again and sat down on one of the benches. Because I had nothing else to do, I studied the train timetable. It was pretty tight.

My gaze averted when I heard a noise on the stairs. A young man walked down while wearing a white sweater with the hood pulled low over his face. He also had jogging pants on. Still, I could see strands of white blonde peeking out from beneath the fabric. He was a little taller than me.

My eyes immediately went to his arm. Lo and behold: a blue bracelet was hidden around his wrist. I felt sweat appear on my forehead. I pulled up my hood too, hoping he hadn't seen me. But apparently he wasn't paying attention to me because he disappeared into a niche so that he was hardly noticeable anymore.

Strange...

Someone came down the stairs again. From the steps I could already tell that the person was of stronger build. They seemed strong. I took a look and... a guy wearing military pants and a black undershirt appeared in my field of vision. He wore black boots and... a blue bracelet. If only I had stayed at home today!

5 minutes until the game starts!

I tried to make myself a little smaller to remain as inconspicuous as possible. In fact, I was lucky; they left me alone. The others' attention was more on the stairs, with the white hoodie guy being the only exception staring at the floor. I counted thirteen participants, four of them with wristbands, as the final seconds ticked down.

Registration complete!

The game now begins.

Game name: Consequence error

Difficulty level: 2 of Diamonds

Rules:

-

Time limit: -

The game starts in

3

2

1

The game starts now!

No rules? No time limit? That was new to me. I glanced around the room. There wasn't much reaction, apparently it happened more often.

White Hoodie had now taken off his hood and was standing in the corner, grinning. Somehow this gesture upset me inside. Suddenly our eyes met and he grinned even wider.

Somehow he reminded me of a cat. Arrogant, with a narrow, attentive look... It was as if he was staring into my soul, like pets sometimes did. I lowered my gaze. I preferred to concentrate on the game.

Nothing happened.

Attention, participants! The train is arriving! Please get in!

Should we get on the train? Somehow I had a bad feeling about it. Sure enough, the rattling of the wagons could be heard in the distance, and I stood still to observe my surroundings. The lights appeared.

Where is the best place to get in now? I chose the last door because that's usually where I always drove. Somehow it was a habit of mine.

Apparently I wasn't the only one with the idea, because white hoodie stood next to me. The military guy got into the wagon in front of us. Others chose compartments further forward, but overall the crowd was spread out pretty well. The train stopped and opened the doors, then we got on.

Attention! The doors are closing!

I found it strange that this woman's voice was giving the instructions. But at that moment I didn't pay much attention, instead I tried to put as much distance between myself and the guy as possible. The train started suddenly and I almost hit the ground. Then I waited. Nothing happened again.

I played with my fingers as I concentrated on the rattling of the wheels. Then there was a jolt through the compartment, the brakes squealed and I began to stumble before the train came to a sudden stop. This time I wasn't fast enough and actually fell. However, I wasn't the only one because the guy couldn't hold on either.

Oh no! Someone pulled the emergency brake! The train can't move any further! The train driver is trying to contact the control center!

The control center wasn't informed yet? That would mean that the other trains were still running normally... The timing. The time wouldn't be enough! If I'm not mistaken, we should actually be on a siding now so that other trains could enter the station from the front. But since we braked, we were standing...

...exactly on it.