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“I’ll check every inch of this room. You get out Sara.”
“But…”
“I’m sayin’ trust in your friendly policeman.” With a gentle push on the back, Sara proceeded to exit out of the room.
There was shuffling heard on the other side of the wall and the voice of what she assumed to be two people. Still high on adrenaline from the intense fear she felt earlier, she decided to stay quiet. She was hidden in a small compartment; a small hatch that opened up from the outside led to a dark but hidden room. While she had her knees to her chest to fit in the small area, she decided against leaving the area based on her little knowledge of the situation she was currently in.
She had woken up to a horrendous sight. Unaware of where she was or what was going on, she noticed the multiple screens mounted on the wall. Each monitor played a different tragedy. Videos of death and despair shined down onto her, her eyes burning into the screens as she watched people she didn’t even know meet their terrible demise. Impalement, russian roulette, crushing. There was even a woman who was torn apart by chains. She didn’t want to look, it made her sick. She’s only ever seen these kinds of things in video games and movies, however, knowing that these were real people terrified her. Her feet were glued to the floor as they froze her in place until she ran out the door of the wretched room, looking to go anywhere but back. Exiting the room, the door shut behind her forcefully making her jump and quickly turn around; it looked as if there wasn’t even a room there to begin with. She was yet again frozen in place. Alone, scared, and thrown into an unknown situation she did what she knew how to do best. Hide and cower.
“Well that doesn’t look right.”
She heard that same voice again accompanied by footsteps that got closer and closer. ‘Don’t open the door, please don’t open the door!’ she desperately wanted to say, but as much as she searched her voice was nowhere to be found. The latches of the small hatch clicked open, the sound of the metal tinked against itself. With a loud creak, the hatch began to open. She could grab the door and shut it, keeping her safe from whatever was on the other side. She could have done anything, really. Kicking, screaming, brute force. However her body didn’t let her. The only thing it allowed her to do was sit and cower as the little bit of safety she felt dissipated. She closed her eyes, waiting for the worst to come.
Keiji opened the small hatch. Not knowing what to expect, he kept his guard up. With what’s been happening so far, he needed to be on his toes if anything were to happen. However, he didn’t expect to find a scared girl hiding in a tiny room. He watched as she opened her eyes slowly and looked at him as if she was about to die. He could see her shaking while tears started building up in her eyes. If he didn’t know any better, he would have assumed this girl he’s never seen before was with the enemy. It was until he saw the collar around her neck that he eased himself of some worries. She was terrified, just like everyone else.
“I don’t think we’ve met before.” He held out his hand to the cowering girl. “Keiji Shinogi.”
The girl stared at him blankly, looking at his hand, then back at him, until she settled on piercing his hand with her fearful gaze. If she wasn’t already in a tight spot, she’d be curling herself into a tighter ball.
“C’mon. I don’t bite. You don’t know what’s going on either, right?”
She looked directly at his eyes, yet made no movement. He sighed.
“I’m not gonna hurt you. We’re all trying to figure this out together. I’d hate to leave you behind knowing you could join us instead.”
“Us..?”
“Mhm.”
There was a long pause of silence before she spoke again. Keiji’s arm started to get tired.
“How many..?” she said, about to reach out her hand.
“Eleven, if you include me.”
Her hand paused in the air. He could tell she was still frightened. He didn’t blame her one bit. She reminded him of Kanna. Keiji was never good with sensitivity.
“Look, kid-“ she winced at the name, “All of us are in the same situation you are. Besides, sitting in that box doesn’t seem like the most comfortable option. How about you come with me, yeah?”
She didn’t move an inch. The others were out searching and preparing for the main game; he had to get this chick to come out!
“I’ll protect you.”
“Promise…?”
“I promise.”
She grabbed his hand, giving him the weakest handshake he’s ever seen.
“Val...” she whispered quietly.
Keiji Shinogi hated promises.
…
“Hey Keiji, did you find anything in the-... who’s that?”
Exiting the room, Keiji turned to the left to look at the two women who were conversing in the hallway, with Val hanging around the doorframe.
“My new friend, I found her hiding in the white room. She’s not much of a talker though.” He said with a light chuckle, turning to see Val staring at the two women with apprehension and that fear he saw on her earlier.
The two women stared at Val, enough to bore a hole through her. She could tell they were wary of her, and rightfully so; she was too. Their gaze made her shrink into the room some, her furrowed eyebrows expressing her worry.
“Hey, ease up. She’s one of us.” Keiji piped up after a couple seconds of awkward silence. “She has a collar too.”
“How are you so sure? Why didn’t we see her after the first trial?” one of the women questioned.
“I don’t think the kidnappers would send someone down to hide in a hole in the wall waiting to be found. As for the first trial…” he says looking in Val’s direction, “I’m curious about that myself.”
Everyone was looking at her. She felt scared to move.
“Guys, I think you’re scaring her…” the other woman interjected, walking closer to the white room door. “I’m Nao Egokoro.” she said with a smile. Val couldn’t tell if it was genuine or forced; maybe pained.
The other woman sighed. “Reko Yabusame. Jeez your first trial really messed up, huh? You alright?”
Feeling the tension die, Val felt more at ease; at least enough to spill a few words out of her mouth.
“Huh…?”
“Your first trial.” Keiji reiterated, “What happened when you first woke up?”
“She knows what the first trial is, we all had one. Maybe it’s you that’s scaring her! Ever think of that?”
“I don’t think she would have come out of the box if I scared her…” he said with an unimpressed look on his face.
“Uh…what’s a first trial? I don’t think I had one of those…”
“What? Wasn’t there a voice when you woke up?” asked Nao.
“No? Was there supposed to be?”
“I don’t know. What did you have to do?”
“What did I have to do? I didn’t do anything. All I did was watch the videos…”
“Videos?” Keiji asked.
Val noded. “There were a lot of monitors with videos playing on them.”
“What were the videos about?”
Her face went pale at the question. The memory flashed through her mind for a split second. She remembered the faces of the people in those videos. Reko and Nao, she saw them both. Nao was with another person in her trial as well.
“It was real…” her voice wavered.
“What?”
“It was real… the videos. It was-...” she felt her throat constrict as the reality of her situation hit her. It always took her a while to take things in. She gripped the door frame for support as she felt herself shake and become mute.
“Woah- hey! Kid, you alright?”
“Of course she’s not alright! You have eyes right?!” Reko chimed in.
She held Val and shook her lightly.
“Hey…you don’t have to talk about it if it was that bad. We’ve seen some messed up stuff here.” Val only nodded in acknowledgement.
“...We should tell the others,” said Nao. “The main game is soon too, we should hurry.” She turns to Val with worry on her face. “You don’t mind staying with Keiji for a while, do you?”She shakes her head.
“Okay, Reko and I will go round everyone up!”
Taking Reko’s hand, Nao leads the both of them to the staircase at the end of the hall.
“And if Keiji does anything weird don’t be afraid to scream, we’ll come running!” Reko yells.
Val giggled for a little, until her face fell because she couldn’t tell if she was joking or not. She looked up at Keiji out of the corner of her eye with uncertainty; it didn’t take long for him to notice.
“Hm? What’s with that look? You don’t think I’m a weird guy, do you?”
Still not feeling her voice, she shook her head hesitantly. He smiled.
“Don’t sweat it kid, I get it. Besides, you just met me. Given our situation, I would think I was weird too.”
She grimaced, but smiled nonetheless.
“You alright?”
“I’m not a kid…you calling that makes me feel weird.”
“Ah, sorry. I forgot to ask. You just look young is all.”
“I know, that’s not your fault. I’m sorry.”
“Hm? Why are you apologizing?”
“Huh? Oh, sorry. It’s a habit.”
“You did it again.” he says with an amused smile.
“Sor-” she slaps her hand across her mouth.
“Wahaha, I’m just teasing.”
‘Was that supposed to be a laugh?’ Val thought.
“Well, since we’re on the topic, how old are you?”
“Um…nineteen.”
“Hm.” He stares at her blankly; his silence made her feel unnerved. “Got it.” he finally responds with a smile.
“Um…what about you?”
“Me? I’m an old man.”
“Pfft, you can’t be.”
“Oh yeah? How old do you think I am?” Keiji asks with a smirk.
“Uh…I don’t know? Thirty?”
“You think thirty isn’t old?”
“Technically, no? Old would be like…sixty or something. Wait- are you thirty?”
“Nah. Twenty eight.”
“Oh, okay.” she stares blankly ahead.”Wait, you’re…”
Her sentence drifts off and goes silent. He looks at her confused. He can see her deep in thought, however he doesn’t realize what she’s doing until she starts counting on her fingers silently. However, she messes that up too and starts counting audibly; she lost track and had to count one more time. ‘Can she not count in her head or something…?’ he thinks.
“Nine. Wait- nine?! You’re nine years older than me!”
“Who would have thought.” he says, amused by her counting process.
“That feels weird to say…”
“I know right. Hey, now you know something about me. What about you?”
“Huh?”
“We’re in this together, right? Tell me about yourself.”
“Uhhhh…” She struggles to say anything. “Like what…?”
“Hm. Where are you from? You don’t seem like you’re from Japan.”
“Oh, I’m not. I'm a Hispanic American. I came here because of an internship. Sorry, is my accent that noticeable?”
“Just a little. It’s not bad though. You speak Japanese well.”
“Ah, thanks. I had to learn pretty quickly, so I know it’s not perfect.” she flushes at the compliment.
“Don’t sweat it. I understand you perfectly fine. So, you’re a student?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Cool, cool.”
There was an uncomfortable silence between the two. With Keiji carrying the conversation and Val answering his questions with minimal effort, the two were at an impasse. If only he wasn’t curious about her whereabouts before introductions, that silence would have continued.
“If it’s too early to ask I’ll apologize in advance but ah…what were you doing in the white room anyways?”
“The white r-...oh. Um. Hiding…”
“From what?”
“When I left the monitor room the room was really dark…I could barely see anything. I don’t like the dark so I didn’t want to move, but I saw someone walking around and I got scared. I ran up the stairs and hid in the wall.”
“Hm. What do you mean ‘it was dark’? How did you get in the room?”
“Huh? It was pitch black! I could barely see my own feet…and I just walked up the stairs, down the hallway, and into the room. I’m just glad I didn't trip on the way up.”
“That doesn’t make any sense…”
Val looked at Keiji with confusion written all over her face. ‘Didn’t make sense’? It made perfect sense!
“I don’t get it…”
“You say you easily got to the white room…but you couldn’t have!” he says, looking her in the eyes with confliction.
“I don’t…”
“Before the stairs popped up, it was dark for a little bit, but that still doesn’t explain how you got through the bars…”
“Bars…? Wait, what do you mean ‘popped up’? Weren’t the stairs always there?”
“No…and there were thick bars covering this entrance plus a passcode to open the door.”
His expression was unreadable. She faltered. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but she couldn’t help but think that he thought of her as untrustworthy.
“But then…I don’t understand.”
She couldn’t understand. His reasoning made no sense to her. She wanted to wrap her head around a possible explanation, but she couldn’t do much when all she did was hide. She didn’t even have an answer for why she was here, so there’s no way she could give him an acceptable answer. Keiji noticed her defeated look. He felt bad for the girl, but confusing answers won’t gain trust.
“Right well, let’s forget about that. Do you want to tell me what happened when you woke up?”
“Oh, ok. Um…I woke up in a dark room in a bed. It was small, but there were monitors on the wall. A lot of them.”
“How many were there?”
“I don’t remember exactly, but I’d say over 15. I didn’t exactly get time to count them all.”
“Right, right. Gotcha’.” He thought over his next words carefully. “Alright, I’m gonna ask you one last question, okay?”
“Oh, I thought you would have asked more…”
“Heh. The monitors…what was on them?”
“Ah…”
“I’m not asking you to remember what exactly happened. I just want a simple explanation. Though, if you think you’ll be alright sharing details, I’m all ears.”
“No, I think I’ll be fine. Um…it was videos- a lot of videos. I think they were from the ‘first trial’ you guys mentioned?”
“What makes you say that?”
“I saw Nao and Reko in them.”
Keiji looks shocked, “You did? What were they doing?”
“Uh, well-!”
“Bis sis Reko I found-…who are you, woof?!”
…
The chatter amongst everyone was getting to her head. Reko and Nao managed to group everyone together in the large room before the stairs and introduce everyone to her. There was a lot of yelling at first–she hid behind Keiji–before the small crowd simmered. She remembered seeing some of their faces on the monitors when she woke up. Two high school kids, “Sara” and “Joe”, she’d seen their faces before. The girl was strapped to a bed while the other ran frantically around the room; she didn’t pay attention to what he was doing all that much. Nao was in that same position as well, but she was with another person. He looked older with white hair and glasses, she couldn’t find him in the crowd. She noticed a small girl with green hair, “Kanna”. She saw her video as well. She saw the person she was with die tragically, she heard her screams. She didn’t want to look her in the eyes out of guilt.
“So yer sayin’ she was just hiding away up the stairs in some room?” Q-taro said; ‘That was his name, right?’ she thought.
“Yeah. I found her after Sara searched the black room.” Keiji responded.
The group kept asking questions which Keiji answered seamlessly. Val was grateful for that, it gave her time to observe everyone and remember their names. The kid that interrupted her and Keiji’s conversation was named Gin. That was easy for her to remember because of his attire and simply because of the drink. Something was starting to bother her though. As soon as the questions died down and the group started talking to each other, she turned to Keiji and whispered.
“Hey, Keiji? Is someone missing?”
“Hm? Why do you ask?”
“Oh uh…no reason. I just remember seeing someone with Nao in her trial but they’re not here.”
Immediately he put his index finger over his mouth with a grimace planted on his face.
“Huh?”
“I’ll tell you later, but don’t mention that, alright?”
“Okay…I still don’t know what’s going on. You never told me that.”
“It’s uh…complicated. When we get some down time, I’ll tell you everything we know.”
She nodded in response. It was only now that she got a good look at Keiji since meeting him. He was taller than her by a couple inches, if she stood in front of him her face would probably reach his neck to his collarbones. Even with the small height difference, his build is what intimidated her most. ‘He could probably pick me up and throw me no problem…I shouldn’t upset him’ . He took a couple steps away from her, his attention focused on something that Gin said; she wasn’t paying attention. He got down on his knee, making it so that she was able to see over him. At this angle she could see the top of his head. It reminded her of- ‘That woman’s video.’ . Val froze once again. She remembered the monitors, the video of a woman being held by chains. Keiji was in that video, he was the reason for her death. She took a step back.
“Keiji…”
He turned around to face her. “Hey…what’s with that look?”
She stood in silence. She opened her mouth to speak-
A thud was heard from the second floor. Everyone including her looked around.
“What was that?”
“I don’t know!”
“Should we check it out?”
“Don’t run head first into the unknown!”
“I don’t like this, meow…” Chatter broke out in the group again.
Everyone talking left and right added to Val’s stress. The room was loud, but no one was looking her way. Curiosity spiked inside her. ‘I was alone for a period of time…more time wouldn’t hurt’ . She decided to sneak away up the stairs, she knew at one point everyone would see her –they would be blind if they didn’t– however, she felt the need to do something. Making her way to the top, she heard them notice her leave. Voices of concern didn’t reach her, however she could make out Keiji’s voice from the crowd. He was coming after her. She ran past the four doors and down the hallway. Not even noticing that the farthest door that was closed had opened, she entered. The last thing she heard was her name before everything went black.
…
“...selected by majority vote, and that person will die. That is all.”
“Ow…”
Her head ached as she woke up groggy and on the floor. She moaned and grabbed her head with her hands; the loud voice was giving her a headache. Opening her eyes, Val found herself in a long room with an equally long table. It was adorned with food and drinks; it looked like a feast in her opinion. She almost didn’t notice the big screen with a woman on it until she heard it talk again.
“The vote will be split into two parts. Through the first round, the preliminary vote, half the total will be chosen as candidates. Currently 11 are alive, so this will be 5. A final vote will be held using these, deciding the ultimate victim.”
Standing to her feet, she looked in the direction of the sound. Keiji was standing in front of the screen.
“You’re finally awake.”
“Keiji…where are we-”
“Shh.” He puts his index over his mouth, shushing her and turning back to the screen.
It spoke again, “In short, the victim is decided by gradually narrowing it down from 11 people, to 5, to 1! Of course, even those not chosen as candidates will participate in the vote itself! Please, do kill of your own volitions!”
She didn’t know what was going on in the slightest, however hearing the voice talk about death and killing scared her. Keiji turned back at her and motioned for her to come closer. Her previous fear of him dissipated as she walked in his direction. ‘What is going on?’ she mouthed at him, ‘Listen. We’re playing a game.’ he mouthed back.
“There are four roles given by the cards. The first is the Commoner. This is a meaningless card with no power at all. The second is the Keymaster. And oh my! It's a terrifying role indeed, for if chosen as the victim, everyone will perish!”
Keiji pulls a card out of his pocket. It’s just like what she said, his card says Commoner.
“You didn’t happen to have a card with you, right?”
She shakes her head. “No, you know where I was.” He nods in acknowledgement.
“Third is the Sage. By holy divination, they know who the Keymaster is. A very lucky role! Congratulations to its owner! Fourth is the Sacrifice. Amazingly, this curious card allows the person to survive only if chosen as the victim!”
“That makes this difficult.”
“What’s going to happen? Keiji I don’t know what’s go-”
“Hush. You’ll be alright.”
“Which means if they're not chosen, they die! However, there are positives as well! The Sacrifice alone gets 2 votes, and also...if they win, they can escape alive with a person of their choice! Well, but in that case... all the others will perish. So good luck! There is one Keymaster, Sage, and Sacrifice each. All the rest are Commoners. Committed it to memory, yes?
“Keiji!” He doesn’t respond, he just stares at the screen.
“So at minimum, two people will die. Everyone, do your best not to be one of them!”
There was a loud thump from the right side of the room. Val jumped.
“There is still time left until the Main Game begins. Please spend your time freely here.”
Glaring at Keiji, she waits patiently for him to explain the situation. However, minutes pass with no sound from him.
“It's now time. Please head to the grounds via the door near the screen, everyone. I wish you luck. Eheehee... Ahaha…”
“Right, let’s go.” he said, making his way to the opened door.
“I’m not going anywhere until you explain to me what the hell is going on right now.”
Stopping in his tracks, he turns around and looks at Val.
“What?”
“If you wait 10 minutes without leaving, you will be killed as penalty. Please hurry.”
“I said-”
“I heard what you said, and I hope you heard what she did too.”
“Oh I did. Which is why I hope you’ll start talking because you have exactly 10 minutes.”
“Val…I told you I'd explain later, didn’t I?” he said, soothing his voice.
“Don’t give me that shit, I heard what she said! People are going to die because of this stupid game and I don’t want to be one of them, hell- I might die immediately because I don’t even have a card! You might as well tell me what’s happening before I walk out to my immediate death!” she screamed.
She felt like she was going to cry again; she despised crying in front of others. Keiji sighed. He took one look at the door, then Val.
“Was…that promise a lie?” her voice wavered.
He didn’t respond with words however, she knew her answer when he turned around and walked out the door, leaving her all alone.
…
“Ahaha...! Let this wonderful, wonderful Main Game begi- ah…another participant?”
All eyes turned to Val. She stood in the doorway with a frown and a wet sleeve.
“Val! Where were you? We were starting to get worried!” Reko shouted from across the room.
“Sorry…guess I got a little scared. It’s not like anyone explained anything to me. ” she glared at Keiji before completely ignoring him and making her way towards the podiums.
“Ah…wait- Miley! She doesn’t have a podium!” Sara exclaimed.
Before ‘Miley’ can even say anything, Val interjects, “Can I just share a podium?”
She pauses, staring at Val with both confusion and a frown. “Share a podium? Hmm…do you even have a card? You need one to play the game after all…” her face changes to a sinister smile.
“I’ll share mine with her.” Keiji responds. Val stares daggers at him.
“Fine. However, I’ll have to make a new rule for our unexpected guest.” she turns to Val, “You will share a card with the person of your choosing. You will participate in both the preliminary vote and final vote alongside that same person. How you negotiate your one vote is none of my concern. If by the final vote your partner has been voted, you will be voted as well. If your partner dies, you will die as well . Do you understand?” Val slowly nods. “Good! Now, choose wisely.”
She looks at everyone standing at their podiums; she has a choice to make. She can feel Keiji looking at her, but that doesn’t change how she felt when he walked out on her. She’s not used to saying no to people, however, this is different. If she has to choose between life and death with a simple ‘no’, she’ll force herself to spit that terrifying word out of her mouth.
“I’ll share with Nao.” she said simply as she walked towards Nao’s podium and situated herself next to her.
“Heeheehee... Well, I shall go over the basic rules one more time…”
Listening to Miley, she felt chills go down her spine. She didn’t know how, but she could always tell when Keiji was looking in her direction; she internally thanked Nao for having her podium a ways away from him.
“Ah, yes... I have left rulebooks on the desks. Make use of them as items, everyone.That is all... Heeheehee. Use your time however you please.”
Miley quietly sat down in a chair, and in dead silence, the Main Game began.