Alice in Borderland: The Cycle Continues

54.2) Side Story 4 - Queen of Spades [2]

Content Warning: This chapter contains depictions of self-mutilation and graphic violence.

"I often think back to the King of Spades when I think of power injustice. No one could consent to his wicked game. Anyone within the city could fall prey to his terror. Constant player GPS tracking, endless supply of firearms and ammunition, access to bombs, you name it. It wasn't much of a game—rather, just a wild chase for your life."

===Aoyama Tōka===

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"Right there." Araya whispered, passing me the binoculars. "You see him lingering between the shadows?"

I brushed a few strands of hair out my face, bringing the lens to my eyes. A young woman in a white blouse and black shorts walked down the alleyway, hands clenching her purse, turning back around every few seconds. We were within a hollow crate on a balcony of a building across from her sidewalk. Trailing behind her, a few alleyways away, was his figure.

"She's alert. He'll be careful with her." I whispered, lowering the binoculars.

"We should probably get down to ground level." Araya whispered. His dark hair brushed between my head in our tight hiding spot; the air was thick.

"Good call. Keep your pepper spray and knife ready."

He laughed, swinging his fist. "Why would I need knives when I have my hands?"

I rolled my eyes, crawling backwards out of the small cube of space. Keeping my steps light to avoid drawing a creak from the metal steps, I slid down the steps, with Araya trailing behind me. Once I was behind the main facade of the building, I stood up, hastening my pace and jumping over the railing, landing on my feet on a dry portion of the concrete. Araya opted to slide down a support beam, pulling out a small knife.

Out on the street, I scurried behind a dumpster, wrinkling my nose and switching to breathing through my mouth. The woman turned around, her eyes wide. "H... Hello? Is anyone there?"

She hesitated for another few seconds, before turning back around, this time we pace much brisker. But so was the killer. He slipped out of the alley, matching his own footsteps with hers. As she turned around again he slipped into the next alleyway.

We couldn't just outright make ourselves known to the woman, or else the killer would simply abandon his prey. But if he struck before we reached him, we could simply close in preemptively.

Araya had long since settled beside me; his shuffling was so quiet it had gone unnoticed by me. We met eyes and nodded; now would be the time to cross the street. I stood up, walking on light feet, when a trembling came in the distance. It filtered out my ears at first, but grew louder. I perked up, and so did the killer.

"Aoyama!" He hissed, pulling me back behind the dumpster right as the killer turned his head towards us, clamping his hand over my mouth. The trembling was accompanied by whooping, as well as the ringing of a bell. It was a bike.

Three high schoolers zoomed down the street, their figures a blur, laughing loud enough to wake up the entire neighborhood. They blew right past us, their noise disappearing as soon as they arrived.

"Those idiots!" I whispered. "They almost got us caught."

Araya shrugged. "They're just three high schoolers enjoying life. At least we're safe."

I sighed. "Doing dumb shit like that almost makes me miss high school. But anyways, there's more distance between us and them now. Let's get back to the matter at hand." As the killer slipped behind another alleyway, we stepped out, creeping through the street and onto the other side, behind a fence.