Alice in Borderland

Chapter 23 - Survive

The next day came to an end faster than I would have liked. After lunch, I take time to play several card games with Kuina, lie in the sun with Izumi and play a round of table kickers with Yuudai. I might not have wanted to admit it to myself, but if something happened to any of them, it would take me with me. Not building personal bonds is harder than thought. I spent the afternoon playing through my records and collecting my thoughts.

After the hatmaker's motivational speech, I walk comfortably outside to the car I was assigned to. Only the passenger seat is free, but after the last ride I have nothing against having some space. I get in and nod to the driver who starts the car. I look at my teammates in the rearview mirror. Two petite men and a girl my age. I don't know if I feel comfortable, that no one I know is there. There are many advantages: you don't have to worry during the game, if someone dies it doesn't hit you like that and I can risk more. After all, my choices only endanger my own life. We've been driving for quite a long time and are now on the edge of Tokyo.

The driver stops in a parking lot in front of a trailer park. Unlike the last few games, I wait and go to the venue as the penultimate. I'm surprised how many players are already here and staring silently at their phones. There are simply too many, so I spare myself an assessment. I grab my little ball and start jumping it as usual. At this game I wear a white shirt and shorts. I got used to just leaving my ball in my pants so as not to forget it. I hear a roar and look up. Opposite is a well-known boy with green hair and waves to me. I smile at him and recognize him, the boy from my second game. He seems to have gotten some things in his last games because his right arm is bandaged and he has a lot of bruises. But when the mechanical female voice sounds, I turn my gaze away from him on my mobile phone.

Registration completed. Number of participants: 28. Game: Survival. Difficulty level: Spade 10. Rules of the game: Survive the night. Good luck.

We enter the trailer park and everyone takes a different direction. I drive one of the unlit trailers and carefully open the door. Surviving the night can mean anything: booby traps, predators or poison traps. I line the window and can see that most of the participants drive to the illuminated caravans. Some disappear in the adjacent forest when I suddenly hear a loud noise, a shot?

I hear something on the other side of the door and before I can react, someone almost runs me over. I straighten up and look at the person who is covered in blood. My heart is racing and I start shaking easily.

"Everything okay with you?"

The girl looks at me confused and when she discovers the blood on her, her breathing spreads into a snap. Apparently she doesn't seem to be seriously hurt, but that's just an approximate assessment in the dark.

"There are masked people," she says in a panic, and I take a step towards her to calm her down and learn more.

"Have you seen how many?"

"No, the boy next to me suddenly fell over. He was still a child, what's going on here?"

Understand, it's their first game. She must have just woken up in Borderland.

"I can explain it to you, but you have to calm down," I say, and she nods vigorously, "Here are different rules. You need a visa, otherwise you will die. You get this visa through games like this one. It has a difficulty level of ten, which is the highest we know".

"Have you ever been in such a game?"

I shake my head and despite my answer she seems to calm down a little. The door is opened and the moment I see the mask I reach for the girl's arm and drag it with me towards the bathroom. I don't hear any shots and close the door. I try to hide everything and look around. On the ceiling I find a small hatch to the roof.