Alice in Borderland

Chapter 12 - Return

I'm just trying to look at the pointer, but I feel all the looks on me. Yuudai gets up and seems to say something, but I only hear a ring in my ears. From the corner of my eye I see him waving his arms around and pointing at the dead man and me. If we do not follow the rules, we will die. I take the glass and drink it trembling until the last drop. I put the glass back in place and wait. My throat burns, but no more than from the tequila. I look up carefully and see that everyone is looking forward to me.

"How are you?" asks Yuudai tentatively, placing his hand soothingly on my shoulder. I breathe tensely, but everything seems to be normal.

"I think I'm fine"

The bitter taste makes me shrug and I cover my face. But I'm still alive. The others keep playing, but I can see the worried looks. My chest tightens and out of reflex I run to a garbage can in the corner. I have to surrender and a tear dissolves and runs over my cheek. I get goosebumps and start shaking all over my body. I sack and lean against the wall. I close my eyes and try to calm down, but when I look to the right, I look at the dead. I turn back to the bucket and hand myself over again. Slowly I get up and torpedo back to the table. I think I'm doing better. I sit down in my seat and drive through my hair. Niragi looks at me questioningly, but I just nod.

"Go again"

As we continue to play, I feel that all colors are getting more intense. I feel like I'm in a soap bubble and I see a slight pink shimmer. I lose all sense of time and the pink shimmer becomes a rainbow. I feel sweat forming on my forehead and my breathing becomes heavier. The muscular man opposite me twists his eyes and collapses on the table. Some of his muscles still twitch, but he seems unconscious. As a laser passes through his head, I am blinded and a blue liquid runs from the wound on his head. Confused, I stare at the color and stretch out my hand. It feels warm and my hand is colored blue. Fascinated, I look at my hand and am torn from my thoughts by Yuudai.

"Sayuuri?"

"Why is it blue?"

Everyone looks at me confused, but I just can't turn my gaze away from my hand.

"What are you talking about, that is his blood. It's red," says the last stranger at the table. I shrug and stare at him in disbelief. Niragi grabs the glass from which I have been drinking and smells carefully at it.

"Of course," he says, placing his hand on my forehead. I don't really feel like myself, which is why I don't shy away from touching him. His hand is freezing cold and that seems to be good for my forehead.

"A hallucinogen, probably ayahuasca"

My eye songs get heavier, but the play of colours is just too beautiful to turn my gaze away. I suddenly see a stall behind Yuudai. It is blurry, but I recognize it. It's like seeing a ghost from my past.

"Light?" it comes out of my mouth whispering and I feel a tear running down. He laughs warmly and looks at me lovingly with his ice blue eyes. How much I missed him. My heart makes a sentence and my cheeks start to glow.

"You have to stay awake," he says, taking a few steps towards me. I'd love to jump up and hug him, but it just seems too surreal. I haven't seen him since I've been in this mirror world. He owned the jacket I took with me from the university's locker rooms. I only now realise how much I missed him. My throat tightens and I feel a tightness in my chest. I know he can't be here, but I just can't get my eyes off him.

"Sayuuri!"

Frightened, my gaze falls on Yuudai, who looks at me anxiously. No. I look behind him again, but Light is gone. I feel more tears flowing over my face. I'm in a deadly game in Borderland, I have to pull myself together. I wipe away my tears and try to look at Yuudai smiling. He also doesn't look so fit anymore: his eyes are slightly reddened and only half open, as if he were just holding himself conscious. His hands twitch edhis, but he tries to look at me bravely. I look back at the table and notice that there is only one line left. As soon as the stranger pulls them, our phones flash and a well-known voice sounds.