Chokehold

Nationals-4

I felt a heaviness being lifted off of me as I blinked my eyes open. Everything sounded foggy and there was still a ringing in my ears but it wasn't as bad.

"Is she okay?" I frowned, the voice was familiar but barely..

"Depends on your definition."  Another voice answered, that one I knew.. kind of?

Blinking until the blur was gone I saw Arisu and the same blonde from the top floor.  Looking down at me while a girl stood a bit back. I glanced down at my chest and arms and felt my gut roll, I was covered in blood.

The blinking red light on the man's collar.. glancing to the side I gasped, a noise getting trapped in my throat.  Lunging forward I covered my mouth with one hand unsure of if I was going to scream, cry, vomit or all 3.

The collar exploded, he exploded while choking me. He knew he was going to die and tried to take me with him... I couldn't look away, I didn't even notice Arisu and the girl leave the room.

"Hey."  The same voice called out to me and I blinked, turning to see the same guy with his stupid comforting yet invasive eyes.

"You can't let this stuff get to you."  He said and I stared at him, how the fuck was he so unaffected by this?

"Really? Cause he's dead." I snapped and he glanced at the corpse almost as if he was bored by my statement.

"Yeah." He agreed and I widened my eyes at him and he raised his eyebrows.

"And If he wasn't we would be.  That's how the games work.  You play to get visa days or you die."  He said and I felt my hands shaking as I tried to rub off the blood from my chest and face frantically.

"V.. visa days?"  I mumbled and he sighed walking over to the cot like bed in the corner that I hadn't even noticed, it was practically hidden in a shadow.  The furniture in the room minimal at best I hadn't paid it any mind.  He picked up the sheet from the cot and ripped a square off of it.

"How long have you been here?"  He asked while kneeling next to me and I glanced at him blinking back my tears, this didn't seem like a time to show weakness... but that's how I felt. I felt weak.

"Is that a trick question?"  I asked and the corner of his lip raised as he took my chin in his hand and raised the cloth to my face and began to wipe the blood off.

"You win visa days in the games.  When your visa expires that laser that you saw at the beginning?  It shoots you instead, so don't let your visa expire.  Play games but win them."  He said and gently ran the cloth down my throat and swiped it across my chest.

I'd normally have been mortified, embarrassed of my man touching the top of my chest above my tank top but he was doing it in such a way it didn't seem as if he was getting anything from it. He wasn't 'touching me' he was just cleaning me up, helping me...

"This game gave you 5 days so.. Get a grip on yourself during them and then you have to play another game."  He said and tossed the rag on the floor before popping his neck and standing up and going to the door and beginning to walk out of the room.

"Why are you telling me this?"  I whispered and he paused.

"I'd like to see you around again, so don't die."  He said and I rushed to stand up.

"Kaito." I said and he paused looking back at me again.

"I know." He said and I rolled my eyes.

"I know I heard you laugh." I said and he licked his lips his demeanor going back to calm and collected.

"My name is Kaito though.. in case I don't manage to fulfill that wish of yours." I said and he blinked.

"Chishiya.. and I think you will." He said and this time he did leave.

I took what he said and weighed my options, I had 5 days?  I shouldn't wait until the last minute to play another game, if they are all like this I could get killed.. Or hurt in the next one.  If I did get hurt I'd need some time to recover before the next one.  It seemed like a never ending cycle, like laundry. 

Dragging myself up I glanced around at the bodies with a wince before one by one I checked their pockets and on most of them I found wallets. I didn't care about money, this didn't seem like a world that needed such a thing. I took one thing from each and every body I found as I checked the grounds before forcing myself to leave the apartment building, I wasn't sure where I was going but I had to keep moving.

IDS.

I don't know if we'll get found.. or get out. It's the real world but different here.. so if I get back to the real world I could bring the IDs with me.. and tell them these people were here.. they mattered and they tried.. even the taggers.. but they lost the games.. the games someone decided to play with our lives.

"What's wrong with you?" 

I flinched turning to see Taeho looking at me with raised eyebrows.  I sighed and looked down at the orange dirt of the field, dragging my hand across it.

"Had a lot on my mind." I said and he nodded his head.

"So you decided to run bases?"  He commented walking over and sitting next to me on the field.

Had he been watching me?  I had been running laps around the bases and field for close to 2 hours before I'd given into my exhaustion and collapsed by 2nd base.  Sitting on the orange dirt I was just staring at the field my mind empty when he came over, must have been why I didn't notice him.

"If i'm running I can't think straight.  I focus on what I'm doing."  I said and glanced to the side.  He wasn't looking at me, he was looking ahead of him and nodded slowly.

Taking his baseball cap off he gave me a small smile and put it over my head, shielding my face from the sun.

"You can't run from your thoughts, if you need to get an escape from them you can always talk to me... or at least let me run with you."  He said and I blinked, my face heating up as he smiled at me warmly.

"What am I gonna do when you go off for nationals?" I sighed mostly to myself.  I didn't expect it when he chuckled and laid back on the ground.

"I can still run laps even if I'm on the nationals team idiot."

I sighed sitting on the roof of a random car while staring at the stars, it was nice to be able to actually see them for once.  I wondered what Taeho was doing?  Did he get dragged into the mess of a world too or was he happily playing baseball and making it onto the nationals team?

The thought made me smile, he'd make it on the nationals team this year...

—

I found an abandoned RV which was better than hopping between cars.  Whoever was staying in here before had some alcohol stored away which considering the events of the world was tempting.  Going through the cabinets I found the airplane bottles of alcohol and put them in my bag.  Worst case they could be used to clean wounds but maybe I'd have a bad day. That seemed likely at this point.. I didn't even like drinking.

Grabbing any food and water I could I threw everything in my bag and headed out.  It had gotten colder and I shivered against the bite in the air.  I regretted going out in just a tank the day of my softball game now more than ever, maybe I could find a jacket in someones car.

"Time to find another game.."  I mumbled and started walking.

The hearts game is coming up and I do change it a smidge