𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒐𝒕
𝑯𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑
𝑻𝒂𝒈, 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒕, 𝒕𝒂𝒈, 𝒕𝒂𝒈, 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒕
♧.♤.♡.♢
The sun shines through the curtains, the loud music of the Beach, the presence next to me. All of my senses are slowly waking up.
I had fallen asleep in Chishiya's room again. It had become a habitude, like a routine.
When I look to my left, Chishiya is already awake, reading a book.
I stay lying down, trying to get as much rest and strength as I can for tonight's game. Both his visa and mine are expiring today, so we will have to play another game to expand it. I am not anxious about it, I accepted the fact that I could die in the games, but if don't play, I'll die either way, so let's try my best to survive.
'Did you sleep well?'
I stop what I was thinking about, 'Huh ?'
'On your first night here you had a nightmare. You implied it wasn't something out of the ordinary. The past few days, you were also having restless sleep. But you seemed to be more at ease, at least.'
I don't want to talk about it. I hated when the topic was on the table. Only two people knew about this and it was already too much.
'Yeah I slept okay, I'll be fine for tonight'.
I don't even wait for a reaction from him or anything he could say. I just get out of bed and go straight back to my room.
♤
It's almost time. The people with a visa expiring are gathered in the lobby.
It's crowded, and militants are here to assign people the car they'll leave with. I stay behind and try to see which team could be the best.
I see a group of four people, they seem in good shape and ready to fight. They could be great allies so I began to walk toward them when I feel a hand grab my arm, stopping me momentarily. Spinning me around so I could face them. I was about to punch whoever it was but stop myself
'I already got you a car, you're going with group 5'
I look at him, one hand still on my arm, the other holding onto his riffle. 'Why?'
'I won't be playing tonight. So you go with Aguni's group'
'I am not a baby Niragi. I can handle myself.'
'You don't know what kind of games it'll be. If it is spade or clubs I won't be here to save your ass'
'I don't need anyone'. I try to walk but his grip on my arm stops me from doing so
'I know you can be lethal. But your words won't save you against bullets'
I look at him. He is right, that's exactly why I was going for that group of athletics just before.
'Go with Aguni.' it sounds more like an order than a question
I yank my arm off his grip. 'Fine'. I say with gritted teeth.
I turn my back to him and change my direction to Aguni's car. He is the one driving, next to him is another man with a big bandana on. I walk to them.
'I was told you were the one to babysit me?' Aguni just looks me up and down. 'From what I saw at the Mascot game you'll be fine, but Niragi insisted on keeping an eye on you'
It's strange, Aguni is Niragi's boss, so why would he accept an order from Niragi?
'Get in, we're leaving', I do as told and just when I climb in, the other door opens, and one last person enters.
He puts his hood on and just smirks at me 'evening little nightmare'
I stare at him wide-eyed, taken aback by the nickname. 'Evening Cheshire'
The car starts and we make our way to the game arena. We impatiently arrive in front of an apartment complex, shaped like an L, with seven floors.
We make our way to the entrance and once we pass the lasers that indicate the perimeters of the arena, each four of us takes a phone. We are the first ones here. So we separate and wait.
I sit down and see Chishiya taking a few things out of his pockets. First, the same taser-looking thing he used at the store. He takes it and plugs it in for it to charge.
Never hurts to be prepared I guess.
Then he takes out some earphones and puts in on. Is he really going to listen to music right now!? Where did he even find this?
But I don't have time to elaborate more on my thoughts as two new players walk in. Two young girls, clearly terrified. Soon after two men wearing suits arrive in. Then a middle-aged woman, followed by a man with an ugly hat that looks really enthusiastic to be here.
The registration closes in five minutes so we wait.
In the meantime another boy arrived, he was wearing a blue cap, he looked so lost, it must be his first night. Poor boy doesn't know what awaits him. Just after a girl with a pink tank top walks in, she looks athletic and strong. Spade games must be her things. She takes a phone and the lost boy comes to her with questions but she didn't answer
𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀
As two other boys come in, and hear one of them says something that catches my attention.
'I wonder if there is a doctor here'. I look at Chishiya from the corner of my eyes, but he doesn't pay much attention to the rest of the people.
Registration as closed
There are a total of fourteen participants
The game will now commence
The lost boy goes to the two last newcomers for answers, and just as the brown-haired one was about to answer him. His friend with bleached blond hair stops him. 'Stop it. Beginners will only get in our way'.
Good thinking, for heart games, but otherwise he should think of being more persistent and considers future allies. The boy might be new he could still be helpful. But I like how he thought about it.
Difficulty: five of Spades
Shit, I tense up a little. Spades, the last time I played spades I ended up with an arrow in my thigh. Not the best memory.
But as I look at the others, most of them seem relieved, probably because it wasn't hearts.
I see the girl with a pink tank top stretch, she's preparing, she will survive.
Aguni is looking at me, spades, the reason why I had to go with him in the first place.
♤
Game: Game of Tag
Rule: Run away from the tagger
Clear conditions: Discover the safe zone hidden in one of the building's rooms within the time limit.
You clear the game when the objective is fulfilled
Time limit: 20 minutes
After 20 minutes have passed, the time bomb hidden in the building will explode
♤
Great! Perfect even, a fucking spade game, that actually sounds more like a club. I am fucked, I am good at reading people, not working as a team with them! My heart starts to accelerate but I immediately take back control of my mind.
I have to be smart. Find a way out. Overcome it.
Five minutes until the game begins
And then my brain switches to game mode. I look at everyone and everything.
They began to walk in different directions, to different floors. Trying to get the best spot to start with.
That's it, you need a good spot, where you will be able to see as much of the game as possible. Then you will be able to apprehend the game in a more logical way.
I smirk. I walk to the elevator. The door opens, and I get in, pressing the seven-floor button.
The doors are about to close when a hand stops it, making it open again, revealing a good mood Chishiya. He walks in and stands next to me.
He was about to press a button but stops.
'Happy to see I'm not the only one who uses her brain'. I say quoting him from our second game together.
He chuckles and puts his hands back in his pockets, as the door close finally and we move up to the highest floor.
Once we reached the seventh floor we walk to the end of the building and place ourselves in positions for the game to begin.
From up here, we are able to see most of the playground. Players from different floors walk around.
I see Aguni and the other guy from the Beach opposite us. Chishiya waves to Aguni but he just glares at him and walks in another direction ignoring the greeting.
'What? That's nasty', I laugh at his comment. 'Let's see, everyone looks like they are about to die, as usual'
'Wow there, calm down your enthusiasm'. I say sarcastically
'They just look like pawns waiting to be sacrificed to save the queen'
'Sometimes a Pawn is enough to change the whole game and those who ignore the importance of it, are liable to lose their Queen.'
He looks at me surprised but happy by my response. 'You like chess?'
'I am full of surprise'
The game will now commence
We both focus back on the game and look out for any signs of the tagger. It's silent for the first three minutes, nothing happens.
Until a loud noise of bullets being shot echoes in the building.
I slightly jump, surprised by the sudden violent noise. Then silence again.
The tagger has weapons, guns. That explains the spade then.
It came from the sixth floor, the tagger shoots again. I can see the two young boys and the guy with a hat running down the stairs to the floors below.
Once they reached the third floor, the two boys do something interesting. They stop, let the other man go down and hide a little further.
The tagger, which I saw was wearing a horse mask similar to the Mascots game, doesn't notice them, and mostly didn't think people would've stopped there and hide. Which is exactly what those two did.
And that was the good thing to do. Because once in the first floor, the man with a hat didn't have anywhere to go, and the tagger easily shot him. One of the men wearing a suit witnessed the scene and try to flee. Only to end up with a laser in his head.
'Ok most of them are going to die from stupidity' I say
'Told you'
The game keeps on going, and the two girls got shot down on the second floor. There are less and less people, and still no clue about where the safe zone is.
There are ten minutes left
'Everyone!', 'Hey!' the blond boys friend start to shout, what is he doing, is he suicidal?
'The tagger is currently at the second level of the central area! The tagger has bad vision because of his mask'
Nothing I already didn't know, so he better shut up or he'll get killed, and there aren't that many people left already.
'Let's inform each other of the tagger's location and search for the safe zone together!'
It could work, the game seemed more like a club anyway.
Chishiya then speaks up. 'That's a good idea, but no one will respond'
I like how he underestimates people's humanity sometimes
'Not everyone is as heartless as you. I bet someone will'
He looks at me almost offended. 'I am not heartless'
'The tagger is moving from the fourth level of the central area! Anyone nearby, run!'. The athletic girl shouts in response
I look back at Chishiya with a triumphant smile
'Told you'
He just shakes his head and concentrates back, the same girl runs to the middle age woman, telling her to fuck off. Unfortunately, the tagger arrives and shoots the woman just as she jumps off the edge and climbs up.
'A climber? she's pretty good', I hummed in response
Eight minutes until the game ends
There are currently eight survivors
All of a sudden, the lost boy with a blue cap is being targeted. I straighten up, the tagger isn't even near him, why would he-
Got you
I move away from the edge, and began walking away
but Chishiya grabs my wrist. 'What are you doing?'
I look at the grip he has on me, his cold fingers holding tightly me in place
'I am not waiting here any longer, I won't let this boy get killed'
'You don't even know him'. He tells me confused as to why I would even think of helping some strangers.
But I know how to end this game, so I won't let any other victims get killed for the sake of the game.
'Sometimes a Pawn is enough to change the whole game and those who ignore the importance of it, are liable to lose their Queen' I recall our conversation from earlier.
He thinks back for a second, before gently letting go of my wrist.
I sprint to the fourth floor, making sure to avoid the tagger who doesn't stop shooting in his direction.
Just as I reach his level, the two other boys already started to help him out. They safely come back and I grab the lost boy who looks traumatized.
'Hey! hey, hey hey! Look at me'. He looks at me with tears pouring down his eyes.
'Those games are made to test you, to test how much you are willing to survive. It doesn't matter who you are and what game you are playing. If you really want to, you can always find a way out of here. But if you stay on the ground paralyzed, the borderland will take you. Do you understand big boy?'
He nods. 'Great, now stand up because we need to move now!'
He stands up and the four of us run to the end staircase. 'Hey hum?'
'Tatta'
'Tatta, go up a few floors and hide ok?' He nods and runs away.
I stay behind waiting for the two others, as the blond boy stops and takes out a pocket knife. Does he really think he can take down the tagger like this?
'Damn it. Let's take the tagger out.'
'We're going up against a machine gun here!' his friend says
'No, that's a human'. The familiar voice of Aguni resonates. I somehow feel safer now that I know he is here. He looks at me and suddenly looks more worried. 'What are you doing here? You should've stayed perched up there with Chishiya'
I look at him, feeling like I was being scolded by a big brother
'I was bored'. He shakes his head
'The tagger is 190cm tall and weighs 90kg. Their dominant hand is their right hand. His shooting is rudimentary. Most likely an ex-SDF officer or policeman.'
I smile at how confident he is, he knows how to fight.
'I got it' the other beach boy tells with an extinguisher
'Take this'. He gives it to the blond boy, 'Let's go hunt down the tagger'
He looks at me more gently. 'Ameya, you go search for the safe zone. If you need help, scream'. Which I know where is located.
'Don't command us!' the blond says angrily but his friend interrupts him
'I got it! I'll search from the top'
'Arisu! Don't do that'
'We don't have any other choice'
And just before anyone of them could speak again, the climber girl jumps to our level
'I checked the 5th floor on the south block and the 6th floor on the east and south blocks. Let's split up and search for the safe zone'
Damn, she's fast, but useless, if only she had taken a step back from the situation and observed more before acting. She wouldn't have needed all those efforts. I still give her an A for participation.
Arisu answers her 'I haven't checked the 1st and 2nd floors'
'Understood, I'll check it out' and she disappears as soon as she appeared.
'It's time to get rid of the tagger'. Aguni reminds us, as he and the other beach boy get down the stairs, followed by Arisu's friend.
Five minutes until the game ends
'Okay now come on, let's not waste any more time'
'Wait! where are you going?'. He tries to grab my arm, but I abruptly yank it out of his reach. He stops
'I know where the safe zone is.' I turn around
'why didn't you say it earlier?'
'I didn't want to interrupt your heroes speeches. Now hurry'
I turn back and walk toward where I suppose the safe zone is. We hear more gunshots and I stop on my track to listen, it keeps going, they are fighting the tagger.
I look at Arisu and move my head to indicate to him to keep walking.
We're almost there, to the door which Tatta was located the moment the tagger started to shoot at him, from distance. That's what gave it away.
The closer we get, I can see a silhouette from the other side. Slowly approaching as well. I recognize him instantly. Only he could have figured it out too. He looks at me all proud of his discovery and winks at me
'So you realized that too?' he ask nonchalantly to Arisu
'Yes the safe zone is in this apartment' he puts his hand on the handle and spots a second
'Aren't you going to open it?' Chishiya ask
'Why did the tagger chase us? They could have just waited here' says Arisu hesitating
'Seems like there is something else we don't know' I tell him
Chishiya grabs something in his pocket. 'However'. He shows us the time remaining, 'If you don't open the door'
Three minutes until the game ends
And Arisu finally opens the door, slowly, but nothing happens.
I open it more and walk in followed closely by Chishiya. It's dark, and the room is empty, except for a small sink in the corner.
There is also a black door at the end of the room. The safe zone must be there. But something if off, it's too simple t-
'Look out!' Arisu shouts pushing Chishiya and me at the same time out of the bullets shot by what seems to be a second tagger.
Chishiya is quick to move and uses his homemade taser on the tagger's leg. Successfully knocking them out.
I stand back by his side, catching my breath. I look at the object in his hand
'I really like your diy'
He smiles 'It never hurts to be prepared-'
But the new bullet being shot stops him from finishing his sentence.
He grabs my hand and pulls me out of the room and immediately closes the door as the impact of bullets shows on the door. We both look at each other still in shock, heavily breathing.
When we hear the muffled voice of Arisu shouting 'someone, please come over! The safe zone is in Apartment 406! It's impossible to clear the game alone! We need two people to do this!'
I keep looking at Chishiya, panicking, 'Seriously!' he whispers
One minute left
Then more gunshots, I quickly stand up and open the door. I look inside the new room and see Arisu fighting with the Tagger. I also feel Chishiya's presence behind my side and it distracts me at the worst moment because more bullets are fired. Chishiya acts rapidly and moves me out of the way, spinning me around and slamming me against the wall.
He looks at me concerned, My breath gets stuck in my throat for a big second, Arisu's cry for help bringing us both back to reality.
'Someone! Help!'
Time remaining, thirty seconds
That's it, we're fucked, the time is almost over.
Arisu keeps fighting, and when I thought all hope was lost
'You called?', the climber girl gets in from the opposite window
Ten seconds
The tagger shoots, Chishiya leaves my side 'hey', he calls the girl and throws the taser at her.
She jumps, grabs it, and tases the tagger. Knocking them out once again.
Five
Four
Three
Two
Then both Arisu and the climber girl jump to push the safe butons-
One
right on time
Game clear, congratulations
I let out the big breath I was holding, relieved
I look at the tagger, or should I now say, the woman. She has a collar around her neck, beeping. She looks more terrified than ever and as the beeping intensifies, the collar explodes and her crimson blood spurts on the white walls, as her body falls to the ground.
I look away from it, my eyes landing on Chishiya. His white outfit miraculously barely got stained. He looks unfazed. Not the least bit shocked.
After a few seconds, both Arisu and the girl settle down from the situation and leave the room.
Leaving the both of us alone with a dead woman's corpse. The light of the building goes down. I don't move, I just observe Chishiya as he walks closer to the body and kneels down. He looks in the pockets of her cargo pants. Probably looking for some piece of information.
Those people were like us, they were playing games, with different rules.
He takes out a small piece of paper from one of the pockets. from where I stand I can't see what it is, but I don't bother to ask anyway.
He stands back up and approaches me, he looks deep into my eyes.
'Come on, we are leaving'. He says in a whisper almost like I only heard his voice in the back of my mind. As if I could break under the power of his voice.
I nod and follow his lead out of the building.
Aguni is waiting by the car, alone. His comrade surely died fighting the tagger.
To my surprise, I see that the lost boy is still alive
'Tatta!'
He was waiting down the stairs and looks up when he hears my voice.
'Thank you! thank you! thank you! You saved my life'
I smile at him. 'You did it yourself big boy'
Chishiya walks past me, I was about to follow him back to the car but I look back at Tatta. He looks so lost, it's his first night here, he doesn't have anywhere to go.
'Follow me, I know a place where you will be safe.'
'Really?'
'Hum hum, I am Ameya by the way'. I smile and he smiles too, I nod to him to follow me.
We both make our way to the car, and back to the Beach.
♤