Alice in Borderland

Chapter 41 - Drown

The final task: You must drown your last remaining player in the ice water. If you refuse, you die. As soon as the green lamp lights up, you have ten minutes to try to save it.

The next minute runs like in slow motion. My gaze is fixed on the tub and my heart races like wild. I just get along with it all and my thoughts are going to take a moment. Then my gaze falls on the other woman. She panics and tries to run away, but her teammates hold her and drag her towards the tub. Even if I managed to run away, Yuudai and Chishiya would die because of it. Sometimes there is simply no way out. I tremble my hair behind my ears before pushing my phone into Yuudai's hand. Shocked he looks at me, but I just nod to See Chishiya.

His eyes are cool and I can't see a single emotion. Nevertheless, I take a step towards him after watching the other group throw their player into the metal tub.

I press the black rubber ball in his hand and I think I can see that he looks worried for a fraction of a second. But then his gaze will be iacity again and he nods.

I turn to the tub and hold on to the edge before i get into it with one foot. Immediately my whole leg starts to burn under the cold and I suppress a scream when I also put my other leg in the water. Despite the water being freezing cold, it feels more like my skin is on fire. Slowly I sit down and wrap my arms around my knees, even though I know it's no use.

Yuudai seems to accept my decision and catch himself again. He gently puts a hand on my shoulder and I look at the other woman. She screams and tries to defend herself against the others with all her might, which I can understand somehow. They try to push her underwater again and again, but as she fights her way to the surface it seems like an eternity.

Suddenly a second hand rests on my other upper arm and with shaking lips I turn to the man with the white-blond hair.

"Try not to get any air beforehand, then it's faster"

"Get me back," I almost whisper and my voice breaks off. He tries to smile at me and nods to me.

Then I stretch out in the tub and lie down so that only my face is over water. I try to pull myself together and not cry. I look up at the ceiling and try to control my trembling breath and distract my thoughts.

As soon as they dive into underwater, the two push me slightly down. But I did not follow Chishiya's advice. I couldn't overcome myself for fear without taking a deep breath. The cold now attacks every fiber of my body and I clench my hands into fists. I stop feeling on my feet when I'm running out of air. My chest tightens and i don't have to fight against the feeling of reappearing. The two men seem to have understood and push me down more. Panicked, I stretch my arms out of the water. With one, I grab the edge of the tub and try to smash Yuudai's arm away. With the other, I claw myself into Chishiya's sleeves. Due to the hectic movements, more and more air bubbles rise upwards and my neck aches. I try to scream, but when I open my mouth, icy water enters my lungs and I shrug uncontrollably. My head feels like it's bursting every moment and I squeeze my eyes together in pain.

Slowly I get black in front of my eyes and the twitching subsides. I no longer have any strength to beat me with my arms around me and they sink limply back into the water. My body seems to have stopped fighting back, but I'm not unconscious yet. As the water calms down and calms down, the last air bubbles make their way out of my lungs. Before my eyes close again, I can still see Yuudai's sad face for a moment, and Chishiya's blonde strands.

Then darkness encloses me.