Saku no Akumu ( Pastel Nightmare )

lana ; sixteen

╳ S I X T E E N ╳

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The next round looked simple, but it never really was with this game.

Her temples throbbed, but she didn't look away from the game. Her eyes burned, but she didn't shut them. Her pulse still mocked her, whispering the same word to her over and over. She wanted to rip her heart out to shut it up.

The girls had chosen a mental round to play this time around, and as such they were a very different setting. It seemed that Terrarabella had the upper hand, a confused Rocket sitting opposite her. It was much like the way that her second round with Alexander had been; the walls had floral wallpaper and the chairs had restraints.

She wondered if anyone had ever escaped in a round like this. They were probably taken down before they got far. Blinking, she thrust away those thoughts. They didn't matter; she would never end up there. She wouldn't lose and see herself set in those chairs, forced into those games in that way. She would remain the person behind the controls. She would be safe in some form.

Lana tucked hair behind her ear just as the instructions for the round popped up. Match the notes! There was nothing on the table by the girls, but it was then that the wall beside them shifted. It slid away in time for a piano to come forward, then shifted behind it again. The keys tapped themselves, like a ghost at play, and Terrarabella bucked in her seat.

Her face was still a mess, a mosaic of violence and rage. Only one eye remained open, but even that was blocked by her swollen cheeks. Her face was not something to look at easily. So Lana stopped looking at it all together. Instead, she looked down at the small keyboards that melded into the tabletop in front of both girls. Their straps were released around their arms and their chairs moved closer on what had to be some sort of automated conveyor belt.

Both girls looked shocked and displeased. The camera shifted to focus only on the keyboards and Lana suspected that they'd zoom back out again. There had to be some sort of risk happening, otherwise there would be no fun for the creators. Her attention turned over to Brie and Olivia, regarding them carefully. They had returned to that focused state of theirs; eyes narrowed and lips parted slightly in their concentration.

All the people that had said video games were bad for kids weren't wrong, not really. It was a mind-numbing, yet stimulating thing. This game, for example, was just that. You had to let go of the perception of reality you had and focus only on the fact that you could be next to die. But that, of course, was only if you knew the consequences of losing. Lana wondered how many people had played with Alexander or Olivia without knowing that crucial fact.

Just inviting anyone over for a round of games sounded innocent enough. How many friends had they tricked, how many strangers? It was a dangerous thing to think about, she knew, but her mind wandered there no less. It was easier to do than watching the countdown clock to start the round. It ticked away, carefree and oblivious to what it led to.

The piano notes drifted through the room like a soothing melody, a nauseating distraction from the reality of the situation. Sheet music rolled on screen for both players before the music paused and the keyboard reappeared. It was their turn to match the notes. She watched the sure concentration on Olivia's face break for a moment before her fingers slid over the controls with an ease that could almost be graceful. But she wouldn't admit that it was; not at this time.

Brie struggled for a moment longer, gaze flitting up to the timer. Her movements were unsure, but she went through carefully choosing her options. The timer dinged and the notes were matched with the sheet music. Olivia had managed to get them all right; Brie had not been so lucky.