An Eye For An Eye - [Alice In Borderland]

ㄒHᗴ DᎩᔕＴO𝐏|𝖠

- CONTINUE, Looking down the abandoned streets that the arrow beckoned her to venture, illuminated only by the flickering lights of strange screens scattered throughout the eerie landscape. Each screen displayed a singke arrow pointing towards a distant location - a venue, it seemed. I could go home, or i could follow.

With a mix of curiousity and trepidation, I decided to follow the arrows. Cautiously, following until i was presented with a large supermarket, towering above me. I knew the place. I had walked past it many times on my way to and from work. In fact, I had seen it from that same morning. But, it was very different from how I remembered it, as it seemed to be im ruins.

The windows had been smashed in, and it had some vary of ivy clawing up 6, the rusted metal frame, and a partially collapsed roof. But it wasn't just the state of the building that intrigued me. Above the venue, a much larger screen displayed three interesting phrases:

𝙰𝚕𝚕 𝙿𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚎𝚛𝚜

𝙶𝚊𝚖𝚎

𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚂𝚘𝚘𝚗...

Questions swirled in my mind. but there was little time for answers as the timer below the message ticked down. I quickly decided that there was no point in waiting for it to reach zero.

As I was about to walk inside the building, suddenly bright red lasers appeared over the door, and the message disappeared, being replaced with:

𝙶𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝙲𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚒𝚗𝚐

It only took a few more seconds before a spine chilling, agonizing scream pierced in the air. A haunted echo that lingered long after it ceased.

I froze. Was that really what I thought it was.

"What the hell." I thought to myself as I carefully backed away from the door. Glass cracking underfoot.

I looked to the side, to the TV's. Where the arrows once were now stood by a standby screen.

I looked back to the door, specifically the strange red lines buzzing in front of it. Walking closer, I grasped a rock from underfoot in my hand, tossing it into the second line, from the top, the rock split, bouncing off the door and rattling to the floor.

The room was raided. My clothes ripped and left dotted around. My fridge was empty, and my desk was broken and left in a heap in the corner. It was a mess.

I knelt down, reaching under the bed to find a little box labelled 'for dad', it had no lid, so whoever had been there obviously looked at it... yet, it was still there, untouched.

They had taken my paper, my clothes, my books and yet left the money?

I pocketed it and got up, leaving the room as quickly as I had entered, and walked back down the hallways to the stairs.

But as I did, I noticed the rest of the old wooden doors, slightly adjar and worn with age. I slightly pushed the rotting doors open as I passed by.

The lightest push made them swing open without hesitation. The door opened to reveal the familiar sight. They were all in the exact same state as my own. Left broken and wrecked.

I exited the apartment building, zipping up my black hoodie with a black hat on covering half of my face. As the night got colder, I could feel the lone breeze.

I stayed silent, listening out for any sound. Not even daring to breathe, but there was nothing. No birds, no people, no cars, no music... nothing.

There was only one thing to do. Follow the arrows..

My heart pounded in my chest as I cautiously pushed open the rusted doors of the desolate hospital. The once clean and sanitary clothes were covered in ash and charred pieces of wood, the windows had been smashed in and the walls were stained black; It was as if there had been some sort of bonfire and the building was seemingly abandoned.

The eerie silence developed me, and I couldn't shake the feeling I was being watched.

I took a tentative step inside, my eyes scanning the shadows for any sign of movement. I was alone - or at least I thought I was. But then, I heard it - the faint echo of hushed voices - carried on the stale air as my breath caught in my throat.

The faint voices grew clearer, and I strained my ears to decipher the words. Were they friends or foes? I couldn't tell. Every instinct screamed at me to run, some sort of answer.

As I took a small step closer, the broken glass beneath my shoes seemed to echo loudly in the empty space, and the voices seemed to silence.

I walked around the reception corner with as much determination as I could muster, meeting the eyes of about 7 other people congregated around a small table, they all had phones in their hands but seemed to pay me close to no attention.

On the small table, there stood a sign that stated "Take 1". With one phone remaining face down in the centre.

After picking up the phone, it turned with facial recognition, showing a screen that stated the same as an electric billboard above the door outside. Though now the countdown only had about 50 seconds left.

"Face recognition?" But I've never been here. This isn't a normal phone.

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Part 3 will be the first game, btw.
~ 897 words