Alice in Borderland: The Cycle Continues

7) Eight of Spades [1] ✮

Ten days after the Six of Clubs and Four of Spades...

===Rafferty Bucke===

In the distance, a venue lit up. The glint caught my eye, and people soon gathered like moths near a lamp.

I turned left. The streets began to litter with pink. Looking up, I saw what stood in front of me: a vast zen park, with towering sakura trees carrying countless fluttering petals into the air, tickling my cheek. In the center of the park was a great blue lake. Quaint pagodas lined the serene walkways.

I paused, taking in the sight.

"Rafferty?"

I turned around, and smiled.

"Haha... N-Nice to see you again, J-Judumai."

"Same here." He beamed, but stopped at that. Friendship was too costly to develop in the Borderlands.

"Such a large v-venue this time. This could only mean S-Spades." I commented.

Judumai opened his mouth, as if to add something on, but was stopped by the snapping of a twig. We turned our heads. A teenage boy walked past us, casting a leer with such discrepancy I was certain Judumai hadn't noticed. But I recognized the gaze—I too do it all the time; in that split second, he had studied us.

"Seeing y-younger or disabled people in the Borderlands always makes m-me a tad nervous." I said.

"How come?"

"They're naturally at an i-intellectual or physical d-disadvantage, so wh-when you see one surviving, it's apparent they're alive for a reason. They make the w-worst enemies."

The outdoor speakers turned on. "Registration closes in one minute. Please, if you wish to participate, hurry into the venue."

"Let's go, then." He said, his jacket fluttering in the wind.

We entered, the damp lake air stinging my nose. Before us was a table, with explosive collars laid out across it.

All players must equip a collar.

I sighed. "This c-could get ugly."

Someone else entered the venue, surveying the crowd, before lighting up when he saw the teen that had passed by earlier.

"Zakū!"

He glanced up, adjusting the sleeves of his jacket.

"Hi Niko."

He got closer, lowering his voice. "How've you been? Where's Saiki?"

"He didn't make it."

Niko's face dropped. "That's... Horrible. I'm sorry." He didn't press the boy any further, instead giving him a reaffirming whisper after a slight pause that I couldn't make out, before proceeding to the table and equipping a collar. One thing peculiar about that man was how he wore a red cloth around his wrist, with a word for food stitched within a white circle. I didn't think much of it.

A figure appeared from the street, charging at full speed. As it came out of the shadows, the lantern light revealed them—a muscular woman in her twenties, no doubt an athlete of some sort.

As she entered the gates, sirens rang. The gates slammed shut.

She wiped off a single, tiny bead of sweat. "Hey! I'm Gabura—you guys don't seem to be freaked out right now so I'm assuming you people are the ones to ask. Any idea where I am?"

My gaze shifted towards Judumai. Another newcomer.

"I'm Rafferty. You're i-in the Borderlands." I said. "You compete in g-games. You lose and you die. Simple as that."