The Dormouse • ALICE IN BORDERLAND

vii

THE CHASE PT. 2

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A furious yell echoed in the stairwell, distracting the killer from landing their final blow. Michiko opened her eyes to watch the looming figure get tackled away from her by despairing Arata, who jumped onto the fallen attacker, landing punches into their masked face.

She watched through teary eyes, her breath ragged, as a blurry figure stood in front of her, shaking her shoulders. She could just hear her name being called, but the sound was faint and far away, trying to break through the ringing in her ears. Coming out of her stupor, she saw Officer Nakajima in front of her, shouting at her to snap out of it. She took in his face, the weary lines, the panic in his eyes. Blood was dripping down from a cut to his forehead.

"Come on Michiko. Snap out of it girl, we need to run!" The older man grabbed her arm, dragging her up the stairs. He looked back, calling to Arata, "Come on boy!"

Arata looked up from his position, tears streaming down his face as he got up, leaving the attacker's limp form on the stairs. He looked down at the figure of his friend. His brave friend who had helped him through all of the games they played together. In his head, Hajime was always going to be the one to survive all of what they went through. Now he lay dead on the ground of an abandoned apartment building, face unrecognisable. Another victim to the games. It was a situation he ever even deigned to imagine.

He let out a sob, before managing to drag his eyes away from the body as he heard the pounding footsteps coming from below them on the stairs. He followed behind the officer and Michiko.

The trio ran up another flight of stairs and piled out into one of the hallways. They had lost track of what floor they were on, but that didn't matter for the moment. For now, they needed to find somewhere to hide. Michiko almost stumbled over another body lying in the middle of the floor, head caved in similarly to Hajime's. Her breath hitched in her throat as she looked down at yet another victim claimed, the unshed tears finally trailing down her face.

"Keep going." Officer Nakajima said to her gently, pushing her to keep moving from the sight.

"We- we need to find somewhere to hide." Arata managed to stutter out. "Check the apartment doors, see if there's any open." Even in the face of personal tragedy, he still thought logically, trying to find a solution for them to survive. Michiko found it admirable. As they made their way down the hall, they tried the door handles of the apartments, none of them budging. They kept quiet, holding back their sobs so they could listen out for the heavy footsteps of their pursuers.

When they reached the other end of the hallway without success with any of the doors, they regathered. A chime echoed out from their phones.

TIME REMAINING

THIRTY MINUTES

"What do we do?" Michiko whispered to the other two. The trio stood outside the door to the left stairwell, trying to figure out their next move.

Officer Nakajima let out a cough, before speaking up, "We need to keep moving until we can find somewhere to hide. We go down each floor, quietly. We keep an ear out for any noise of the attackers. If we hear them, we move in the opposite direction. Okay?" He looked at his two younger companions, tearful and bloody, and felt his stomach twist. They were only kids compared to him, and they had to witness such brutality.

He decided he would defend them with his life if it came to it.

Michiko and Arata nodded hesitantly, trying to calm their breathing. Nakajima put his hand on the doorknob, opening a crack in the doorway and peering through it. In the fluorescent stair lights, he saw nothing. No shadows ready to jump out at them. No large figures with metal weapons. With a shushing motion directed to Michiko and Arata, he slipped through, allowing them to follow.