Hope Always Dies Last | Chishiya [English]

The sound of water

"You must kill to survive."

Was it that easy to have to take the life of another human being to be able to survive?

Yes... No... Yes... NO!

But now I was the killer. I had to kill to keep my life. I must kill people. They would die if I betrayed them.

Players, please spread out on the field now!

We slowly started to move; I was able to catch a glimpse of my best friend who seemed composed. Our eyes met briefly, she smiled at me and then disappeared into one of the dark tunnels. I considered whether it was wise to follow her, but quickly decided against it.

It was a game of life and death.

The darkness swallowed me, and I shivered briefly as a cool breeze caressed my skin. It was a strange feeling to be alone again so suddenly.

9 of Hearts

My hand wandered to my belt where the gun was located. Do I need to make use of it? What would others do in my place? Would they also be willing to just kill their friends, acquaintances, and teammates like that?

The game starts in 3, 2, 1...

A fanfare sounded, signaling that the time had come. The game "9 of hearts" had begun.

My phone vibrated and I looked down at the screen. There was a timer on the screen.

30

29

28

27

...

A cooldown?

I swallowed before taking my hands from the gun belt and grabbing to my back instead. My hands touched what I was looking for: a pocketknife. I carefully unsheathed it and examined it in the dim light.

I would be able to kill without making a loud noise when I used this instead of a gun...

W-What?! Why did I have thoughts like that? Where was my moral? What was the point? Slaughtering people... wouldn't it be better to look for another way where nobody had to die?

No, there was no other way. Damn, couldn't I finally admit that to myself? It was an emotional game; it was a 9 of hearts! That's exactly what made it so difficult! Just the thought of becoming a murderer would drive you crazy.

There was no other way... THERE WAS NO OTHER WAY!

I had to...

"Be aware that you need to control your emotions. You will do things that hit the psyche. Death, murder... And so much more: you know that you too can become a murderer if the situation calls for it. At that moment, just think about the here and now, and you can ponder the consequences later."

There they were again, my professor's words. I finally had to admit that he taught me a lot about situations like this, just in another context.

I lived in the here and now. I'm not interested in the consequences now.

My hand tightened on the knife. It was now or never; my courage would soon fail me again. I took the first step, then stopped again and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath; the stench was now barely noticeable.

Then I listened.

Pling

Pling

Pling

It sounded like someone was dragging a sack of glass bottles. The noise echoed off the walls, making it difficult to pinpoint the source.

Splash