Alice in Borderland: The Cycle Continues

32) Ten of Hearts [2] ✮

Time left: 2 hours and 45 min.
Players left: 23/25
Militants: 4

===Gabura Sachi===

"Before all else, let's just find somewhere to hide!" Natsuki said, as we continued running down the hall. The crowd had thinned, and five people ran alongside us. Down the hall, gunfire continued, as the shooters continued to chase us down.

"She's r-right." Rafferty said. "W-We hide until the initial s-slaughter is over. A-After that, the violence w-will decrease as the militants move to t-torture their captives, and we can move f-freely then."

"There!" I shouted, pointing to the end of the hall, at the stair access. "Let's climb to the fifth floor to distance ourselves as much as possible. We reached the door, and at that moment, the lights flickered.

"Lockdown system activated." The speakers rang. It was in a different voice from the rule announcer, alluding to the fact that this wasn't part of the game. This had been caused intentionally.

"Oh no." I muttered, grabbing the door handle.

"It's a stairwell, it's a means of emergency escape. There's no way it'd have a lock!" Charī pointed out. Holding my breath, I pulled the handle, and the door opened, sending a sigh of relief out of my mouth.

But it was short lived, as the doorframe was boarded up from the other side.

Rafferty cursed; gunshots fired, and someone in our group gasped, before collapsing to the ground, a hole in their hip. One of the militants had arrived in our halls. The people scattered, screams filling the hallway, as the shooter fired madly, striking flesh, wall, and furniture.

I slammed my weight against the boards, but they held. "Someone help me bust this down!"

Natsuki grabbed hold of a pew of seats, pushing it onto its side, hiding behind the cover it provided. Rafferty grabbed hold of a gurney, holding it horizontally above Natsuki's defense.

"W-We have you guys covered!" Rafferty hollered. "Get through the d-door!"

"Trying my hardest!" I hollered back, throwing my body against the door once more. Two other people joined me, as another man slid his fingers through the shafts between the planks, tugging the screws.

"These are loose!" He said, pulling two out, the board they held up clanking to the ground.

"That's going to take forever!" I replied, busting down my first plank. I took a second to stand back; in that time, I was only able to break one down.

"Here!" Charī said, yanking a wooden table from the side of the hall with the help of another woman. "Use this as a battering ram!"

"Any second now... Guys!" Rafferty screamed, as the gunner was upon the fortification, shooting through the cushioning of the gurney, leaving trails of white fluff flying in the air. He and Natsuki pushed back, both staying below the gurney where the bullets could protrude.

"Someone help me!" The gunner—his voice deep and musky—yelled. "There's a huge group of people trying to escape!"

"Okay!" I said, the six of us lining the wooden table, each gripping its edge. "On three! One, two, three!" We charged; the impact shook my body to the core, but the wood splintered, releasing a crackling sound."

"It's working!" Someone shouted.

"Hurry!" Natsuki screamed, as another series of holes was torn through the gurney. The cushion was enough to neutralize any bullets that tore through it, though if the shooter created a hole big enough, they'd be able to shoot straight at us. Time was not on our side.