Alice in Borderland ~ Chishiya

9 - ♠5

As soon as the first billboard starts to light up and announces that a game is about to begin, my body immediately jumps into action. I don't know if I have the luxury of choosing which location seems the most interesting to me. Something inside of me says that I really haven't reached that seventh day yet, but I don't know for sure. Therefore, I continue my way to the nearest location and join the lobby of an apartment complex.

Something strange happens when I cross that invisible dividing line. I feel tension, of course, but also a certain kind of fighting spirit, which has been hard to find in the recent days. It feels like I'm completely back in it now. As if I'm really participating again.

I try not to look at the others when I walk towards the table and pick up a phone. Quite a few phones have already been taken, but there's still ten left. So this is going to be a big game. They can't turn it into a kind of battle royale again, can they? Out of the corner of my eye, I see someone leaning against the wall. He's wearing a white vest with black stripes on the edges and he has his hood pulled over his face. Still, I can just see that he has some locks of hair reaching up to his cheeks. The rest of his hair comes up to his neck. He stands out, not only because his hair is kind of silver-blonde, but also because of the object lying on the ground next to him. It's a kind of self-built gadget that he's plugged in to charge. Electricity is only available in the arenas. How smart of him to use it in this way.

'Hey.' I look up when I hear the voice up close and look straight into Yuri's face. 'Yuri,' I mumble. He's never really been friendly towards me. Not like it's any different now, but he's at least acting normal. After saying goodbye to the group the day after our game, I didn't ever see any of them again. I have to say that I didn't think about them much, except for when I was playing my second game.

I look at the screen of the phone I picked up and see that the facial recognition is completed. My name's being spoken out loud by the female computer voice and I can see the miniature images of the three of clubs and the seven of hearts. I look at the timer and see that it takes another four minutes for the registration to close.

'How are you?' Yuri asks. I don't get the impression he really cares how I'm doing. I think that, because I see him looking at the other participants from the corner of his eye. He wants everyone to know that we know each other, so they might think we have an alliance or something. Well, I have some news for him: we don't. I don't answer his question. Instead, I ask him one in return. 'Where's Toshi?'

I spoke out neutrally, as if we were classmates or colleagues of each other and I noticed he didn't come today. Yuri also avoids my question. 'How many games have you played in the meantime?' I'm getting tired of this dodging game, but I don't know if it's smart to answer honestly. If the others find out that this is only my third game, they might think of me in a certain way. Well, what do I care about that? I decide to just answer honestly.

'Including our game, two,' I reply. He no longer manages to maintain his façade and is genuinely surprised. 'What? But our game was eight days ago,' he mumbles. If I take three days off from that, I end up with today being the fifth day of my visa. 'Haven't you played a game for several days?' he asks unbelievingly. I don't just have to remember that I have two days of visa left. Yuri looks at my screen very quickly and adds: 'You even have two days of visa left. What level was your second game?' I hide my screen. I don't want to talk about it. Luckily, I don't have to. A man who's wearing a stupid hat interferes with the conversation. 'Do you still have two days of visa left? Then why'd you already participate in a game? Ladies and gentlemen, I think we've got a thrill seeker over here.'

Several people look up to me with interest. Shit, I shouldn't have answered that question. I should've just said something else. Now everyone here knows that I have completed a game of a fairly high level. I don't want to draw any attention to myself. What if we get another challenge where people have to be betrayed and sacrificed? By achieving a high level game, I have proven that I'm capable, which would make me an asset to a team challenge. But when it comes to individual success, I might be the first one they want to lynch right now.