"What kind of sick joke is this?!" B-ko cries, holding her head with a distorted look on her face. She was trying to stop her tears from gushing out, probably because her pride won't take it, refusing to stoop into tears against something as irrational as this.
Upon hearing B-ko's screams, I felt all my hair on my body go up and my back sweat cold. I felt slightly nauseous as the scene before me gradually makes sense. We're at the school's rooftop I think. A TV, which wasn't connected anywhere, blared in front of us a couple of minutes ago, saying something - like killing..? I couldn't understand much because my mind blanked out for a few seconds, then B-ko was screaming.
I need to calm down. Calm down. Breathe. Panicking won't get me anywhere. I need to make sense of the situation right now. Now, read the situation.
We're in a high place, the rooftop. I could feel the high wind blowing against my face and the sky seemed so close yet unreachable. It is a fine, cloudy day. Not too hot nor too cold. In front of me, in the middle of the place, is a television. It is in static and it is noisy that my head hurt a bit. Expanding my vision, I see the real scene before me that makes me shudder a bit.
An axe, knives, cutters, scissors, whips, rocks, matches, lighters, ice picks, pins, hammers, nails—different kinds of dangerous tools were scattered on the ground. I couldn't understand why they are here but the first thing that appears to my mind is killing. Murder. Pain. Stabbing. Blood. Violence. How dreadful of me, but I think anyone who witnesses violence on television or movies would have thought the same. It is something that instantly comes up to the mind once in sight of something sharp or dangerous. Also, the word kill have lingered in my mind ever since I woke up in this place, so it is natural to connect it to these tools. They wouldn't make much sense alone.
"What are you doing?" B-ko calls out to me, a crazed expression on her face. I almost lost my composure upon seeing her expression out of fear. Though B-ko has a lot of funny, twisted expressions, this is my first time seeing her as broken as right now.
"Looking around," I replied, with all the serenity I could muster. She tilts her head as if I said something funny, and then laughed. A desperate laugh.
"Hey, are you going to kill me?" she asks, silently laughing. "Will you? Will you?"
"Why would I kill you?" I ask her frantically. Something's so off with the situation. Why am I with B-ko? Where is everybody else?
"Why are you…" I ask, shuddering. I feel so cold and sick. My body tells me to run, run, run but I also knew it was useless. There were no exits except for the ground stories down that will greet me if I ever try to escape. Escape is impossible. Only death will welcome me. The death of gravity behind me that will crush my body and the death in front of me who is holding the knife that will assure of my painful, slow death.
"B-ko… Why are you covered with blood?" I whisper. She starts crying, her hand quivering. She slowly steps towards me. Then, I saw them.
I saw them.
Behind her.
I saw them.
They were behind her all along.
Everyone…
I saw them.
And they were not moving.
"Hey, B-ko…" I say softly. She stops. I couldn't look at her face because it'll only freeze me into terror. I don't want to see her. I don't…
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO," I shout with all my might, running towards her with the cutter I've held the whole time. Before I could plunge it through her throat, I see a glimpse of her grinning and before I knew it, I hear a splash and a scream. It sounded like an animal in pain, trying to cling onto the life that abandoned him.
It was my own voice.
"Why did you stopped?" she asks, her face hidden beneath her hair. Her voice is cold and distant, as if disappointed of the result. I was close to killing her huh.
So close, but that second of hesitation brought me to this. Feeling the stinging pain on my stomach, I began to regret my actions. I should have killed her. I should have stabbed her throat with that cutter. I should have plunged it deep, so deep that she won't be able to scream. Damn. Damn damn damn damn daaammn.
She kneels over my head and takes the knife from my stomach. Blood begins to flow rapidly and I could feel bits of flesh stuck with the knife. I tried closing the gash with my hands but it is no use. My hands feel so weak already and I could feel my energy flow out from me. Even so, my body still clings onto life because before the next stab hit my face, I hold onto the knife, slashing my hand in the process. Surprisingly, there is no force on it and I easily directed the knife back to B-ko, whose face I could see clearly now.
Hot tears fall from her wide open eyes, dripping on my face. I hesitate for a second again, the knife just pointing on her forehead, which immediately opens a small gash. Both of her tears and blood, mine and hers, fell on my face.
"Will you kill me?" she chokes.
This time, I realize, from the moment she asked me that question, she was actually begging for me to kill her.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry," she repeats over and over again as I slowly direct the knife towards her neck. Sorry sorry sorry sorry. She still held on the knife. Sorry sorry sorry.
"Sorry everyone"
Together, we kill her.
She dies kneeling over me. I could feel her hair brushing on my face, her tears and blood falling like rain. Even when she's bloody and all, she was still beautiful. She looks like a princess sleeping peacefully. Her closed eyes looks serene, her long eyelashes gracefully curling into a small smile, her lips still soft and delicate, and her face illuminating a reddish glow as always. I brush the strands of hair plastered on her wet face with my finger. She is still warm that almost made me think that she's still alive.
But the gash on her throat is enough proof that she isn't anymore.
Upon realization, I feel a boulder growing inside my throat. My body is shaking and I couldn't hide the tears anymore. I start to wail like a child, cursing myself and the heavens. Everything didn't make sense. Such deaths were not required. They didn't deserve such things. I don't deserve such thing. This bloody battle. This non-sense scene.
Suddenly, the television speaks, as if hearing my pleas for an answer.
A game without a traitor has begun.
If you wish to escape, pay attention to the following conditions, and seek the end.
—Now, let this a fun Demise Game begin.
・To reach the end of the game, everyone must die
・Either murder or suicide, any choice is free as long as you die
・Any method of death is permitted. Tools have been provided for your preference.
・Until the end of the game is reached, you absolutely cannot escape. … Absolutely not.
"What.. What kind of sick joke is this?"
C-ta forces a small laugh. "It's got to be a trick. I mean, killing? Is that even.. Possible..?" his voice didn't sound so convincing than made everyone feel more and more uncomfortable.
"But.. What are these..?" D-ne whispers. Surrounding them are without a doubt dangerous objects. She picks up a pair of scissors and felt its steel blades cutting through her skin. "They're sharp too," her voice quivers. She looks at A-ya, the only silent one. He seems to be taking the situation calmly but he couldn't hide the sweat dripping from his face.
"What do you think?" D-ne asks.
He was breathing fast. "I.." he swallows. "I think it must be some kind of joke too. But, it's rather too detailed.. And undeniably disturbing," He takes out his phone from his pocket. "There's no connection here and it appears that there aren't any exits either."
C-ta nods. A-ya's calm analysis brought back his composure. "I don't see any doors leading outside."
B-ko blares. "But aren't we outside?" she points to the sky.
"Yes, we are," D-ne's soft voice echoes from the corner of the place. "High up also," she adds. "We're high up above. Judging by the view, we're at the school's rooftop. The difference is, there's no way out except through this," she points to the ground below. There wasn't a single person in sight, which is unusual. Even on weekdays, the school has teachers and students buzzing around, either working or practicing for club activities. It was still morning as well, so it is impossible to have no one around.
"Just where were we before this?" C-ta says, sitting down and casually taking a cutter to have something help him think about this crazy situation.
B-ko touches her forehead. "In the classroom I believe. We were doing our usual activities. Then, all of a sudden, we're here, listening at a television telling us to die," she grits her teeth. Death was never an option for her. She couldn't imagine herself dying this early, or just dying. Just thinking about it terrifies her.
"Maybe we should try calling for help," C-ta suggests, the cutter glimmering in his eyes.
D-ne laughs softly, the scissors gently touching her chin. "Isn't that too simple? This elaborate prank won't succeed if it were that easy to get out."
C-ta smiles at her. "It IS a prank so it would be quite simple, no matter how elaborate the set-up is, it can be avoided."
"Well, I agree that it's a prank. But then, a prank doesn't mean it isn't real," says D-ne, slightly scoffing.
B-ko's pitch increases. "What do you mean by that? This is gotta be a joke right? Don't tell me you'll kill yourself?"
D-ne smiles sadly to her. "If it's the most rational thing to do, I won't hesitate. But then, I won't allow you to die B-ko-chan. I assure you that."
"Quit making the situation worse D-ne," says A-ya, his expression blank as always. "It does make sense if I take everything as real. But then, it doesn't hurt to try escaping this cage with a simpler and less violent way."
D-ne looks at A-ya amusingly as he walked towards a corner of the rooftop and shouted for help. B-ko and C-ta do the same. After screaming for hours, no help came. The screaming made them tired and thirsty.
C-ta checks his phone again. "Still no connection."
B-ko tried catching her breath. Out of the three, she was the one screaming the loudest. She now sits at a corner, far from the sharp tools scattered around. She looks as if she is about to cry. D-ne approaches her, scissors in her grip. B-ko eyes the tool and tells her to throw it away. D-ne didn't hesitate and threw it, almost hitting C-ta who was sitting nearby. She ignores his evil stare.
"Are you nervous?" she asks B-ko with a condescending smile on her face.
B-ko nods.
"I'm scared too," she says.
"You don't seem to be," B-ko sulks. She disliked how D-ne calmly took the situation as if it was a normal thing. Her bland reaction scared her more than the situation itself because she seems so ready for when something unexpected happens.
As if killing and dying in such a ridiculous way was what she expected all her life.
"That's because I have to be strong in front of B-ko-chan. Didn't I promised that I'd protect you?"
"When did you make… such a promise?"
"It doesn't matter," the long-haired girl smiles. "If you don't want to die, I won't let you die. I'll protect you, even from yourself. If you tell me the truth, I won't allow anyone to touch you. I promise you that.
"So, B-ko-chan. Do you want to die or live?"
Still toying with the cutter, C-ta sits beside A-ya, who was hunched with his knees at a corner not too far where B-ko and D-ne were. He almost caught D-ne's sharp scissors and this earned her a dark look from him.
A-ya sees the little commotion and blinks in surprise with the two's hostility towards the other. "D-ne doesn't seem to be a bit appalled of the situation," he comments, glancing at her with sheer amusement.
"Well you don't seem either," remarks C-ta, back with his usual cool.
A-ya stares at the ground. "Are you afraid?"
C-ta took a minute to reply. "Yes. You?"
A-ya nods vaguely as if he wasn't sure of himself. "It all feels very familiar.."
"You too? It has that dream-like feel but it also feels like.. It's all real… I mean.. The dying part," C-ta clutches his head as if in pain. "Like we're in a terrible nightmare that I've already anticipated but could never do anything about it. Where-"
"Hope is dead," A-ya whispers in a desperate tone.
Hours passed by but the day never changed and the four remained still. Days, weeks, months, they could have crossed by but the four took it quietly and kept their feelings hidden, knowing that such emotions wouldn't save them.
D-ne and C-ta were talking in hushed voices when B-ko sat beside A-ya, still hugging his knees. B-ko did the same and they both looked like terrified little animals trying to keep warm and comfort.
"You awake?" B-ko says in a little voice barely B-ko. She glanced at A-ya, whose face was hidden beneath his hair. He nodded in reply.
"It's all real, don't you think," she says in a sad tone. "The day's not changing a bit, even if it should be 7:00 in the evening. They didn't take our phones just so they could show us how serious they are.."
"It's quite a fitting analogy. Time is stuck in here unless we make a move to return back our time. This setting is merely the clock and we're the mechanism, the essence of time…"
"You're weird. Talking about irrelevant things when we're about to die," B-ko softly laughs. "We should be telling each other confessions."
"Do I look like the type who'll confess everything to a person just because I'm about to die?" he jeers.
"Yes. You're the type who keeps everything to himself. You have lots of regrets in life," she says this as a matter of fact. A-ya made a weird sound.
The talking between them stopped for a few minutes until B-ko said, almost a whisper, "…. Will you kill me?"
"What..?"
"I can't hurt myself nor could I let other people hurt me. It's my nature but if it's my only escape in this crazy game…
"I don't mind if you kill me..."
"You want me to kill you?"
"A-ya, I want an answer. Will you kill me?" she says in a desperate tone than with a question.
A-ya stares to the sky as if it'll give him an answer. "I'll think about it," he murmurs.
"How the hell could you even say that?!"
D-ne looks at him with irritation. "I just did."
"You're sick," C-ta grits in anger as he turns to leave.
"I may be, but not as ignorant as you."
C-ta stops. "It's impossible," he mutters.
"A-ya can't kill himself. You wouldn't want him to see his friends dying in front of him? You care for him, right? If you truly care for him, you'll do it. It won't be that difficult once you get started on it," D-ne says in grave seriousness that C-ta couldn't get angry on her.
"I can't kill A-ya…"
D-ne pulls C-ta back to her and stares right through his eyes.
"You can… If you want to save anyone here, it's A-ya."
"How could you say those things D-ne? How could killing save someone?"
"Those morals do not apply in this world, apparently," she replies in a bitter tone. "I won't suggest this if we weren't in this situation."
"But.."
"Can't you see C-ta? We've been here for a day yet the sky hasn't changed a bit. I don't mind dying if we're going to be locked here forever."
"D-ne.."
"So kill him. Then if you want to be free, kill yourself."
"D-ne," says C-ta with a tone as cold as ice.
"You're bluffing.."
She couldn't even look at his eyes as she stabs the scissors against C-ta's stomach. C-ta immediately slumps to her as D-ne covers his screams with her free hand, making it seem like they were in an embrace. D-ne pushes the scissors deeper, making him immobile because of pain.
She whispers in his ear. "I was giving you a chance and yet.." she repeatedly stabs his stomach.
"I don't want B-ko to see me like this but you're quite stubborn. You are supposed to kill A-ya, then yourself. But then, you're forcing me to do everything by myself," she laughs bitterly. "But then, isn't it always the same? I'm the one who does everything. Alone."
D-ne suddenly lets out a painful shriek, making B-ko and A-ya turn their heads towards their direction. D-ne stumbles backwards, pulling the cutter jabbed to her waist and splashing blood to the ground. The sudden pain freezes her body and before she knew it, C-ta slaps the cutter from her hand and pushes her to the ground.
He raises the cutter to her face and puts it down, prepared to kill, when D-ne holds it between her bloody hands despite the stinging pain of it. Blood drips on her crazed face, making her look more menacing than before. Both of their little smiles were gone, their true nature open to the other in twisted form.
"No one understands me until the end…" D-ne whispers as her hands slowly pull away. She turns her head to B-ko, frozen in terror, looking through her eyes with a sense of longing that couldn't be mistaken for anything but unrequited love.
The cutter fell. Again and again and again and again.
C-ta breathes loudly, his eyes widely staring D-ne's face full of holes and flesh, blood oozing out from what used to be her eyes, cheeks, nose..
A-ya and B-ko looks at the scene with the same wide eyes as C-ta starts screaming and staggering away from the body. B-ko starts to whimper uncontrollably and A-ya trembles, shaking his head repeatedly.
After few minutes of silent cries, C-ta tilts his head towards the two figures trembling at the corner. He especially looks at B-ko for a long time, sending her into loud cries.
"C-ta.." A-ya finally speaks in a weak voice, almost inaudible.
"She tried to kill me," C-ta explains in a soothing voice that makes A-ya shudder. He shifts his gaze to D-ne's bloody face. "Somehow, I understand her…"
"Hey, A-ya. Do you want to live?" he continued, taking the scissors from D-ne's face.
"…"
"Do you want to live or die?
"Or rather, do you want to be alone or not?" C-ta points the scissors towards his neck.
A-ya screams his name and hurriedly runs towards him, taking the scissors from his grip but it didn't even budge.
"C-ta!"
"A-ya. One last question. Do you want to be alone or not?"
"What kind of question is that?! What are you talking about?! Don't do thi—"
The scissors plunges through A-ya's stomach. "C-C-ta.. Wh… What are you..?" he mutters as his eyes widen at the sight of his blood staining his uniform, a pair of scissors piercing his skin.
"D-ne's right," C-ta murmurs under his ragged breathing. "It's easy once you do it.."
Before he could even stab A-ya for the second time, B-ko appears and pushes him away. C-ta rolls through the sharp objects on the ground. Blood starts to show through his clothes. He lets out a little cry. B-ko pulls A-ya away from him, returning him to the corner where they sat before. She pulls picks up a knife and stands after A-ya, pointing the blade towards C-ta, who is barely breathing.
"What's with the knife B-ko?" an amused grin creeps on his face.
"You're going to kill us. Like how you killed D-ne," she coldly states this, the blade still pointed to him.
"You would have done the s—"
"BUT YOU STILL KILLED HER."
C-ta frowns at her for a moment then softens his face as if he has come to an understanding.
"Yes, I killed her. I just did my part in this game. D-ne did hers, just for you…
"How about you, B-ko? What will you do from now on?"
B-ko trembles. "I…"
"I have a request for you B-ko, if you don't mind," C-ta says with a sad smile.
"Please kill A-ya for me.."
"Do you want to live, or die?" D-ne asks B-ko with a bland expression.
"I don't want to die…" B-ko cries, looking away from D-ne.
"Is that your answer?"
"Is it too naïve, considering that we're in this kind of game?" B-ko says bitterly, tears falling from her eyes.
"I don't mind that answer," D-ne says calmly. "It's natural. B-ko-chan doesn't mind to die but she doesn't want to feel the pain of dying. At the same time, B-ko-chan also understands that dying as a necessary part of this game; to die in here is to live, but it's such an inevitable contradiction, right?
"Dying is too sad for B-ko-chan, eh? As expected from her! Such a simple yet complex answer, and so beautiful and cute," she laughs teasingly.
B-ko starts to wonder if it's what she thinks, or what D-ne truly thinks about the situation.
"Shut up," she weakly replies.
"So, if B-ko-chan's afraid of getting hurt, I won't hurt B-ko-chan," D-ne talks to herself, looking at the sky in wonder.
"I don't get what's in your head at times.." B-ko murmurs.
D-ne merely smiles in return.
B-ko turns to A-ya and checks his wound. Fortunately, it wasn't that deep and the bleeding has even stopped. It would heal up quickly if just rests.
"C-ta?"
She shakes her head. "He's gone…"
A-ya stays silent.
"Hey, A-ya… Will you—"
"Let's die together."
B-ko looks at him, trying to gauge his expression. He looks determined yet he couldn't hide the slight tremble on his voice.
"I don't want to be alone," he whispers.
He slowly stands up and hoists himself to the short wall around the rooftop. He slightly cringed with the pain on his stomach and almost falls if B-ko didn't hold him tightly. "Don't leave without me! We'll do this together, remember?!"
B-ko stands beside him and they both looked at the ground below, far beyond their reach. They could feel the air sweeping softly against their face, as if welcoming them with a warm, comfy embrace.
"Hey, say something," B-ko nudges him. She was getting nervous. 'If you don't say anything, I might back out."
"I'm not the type who indulges himself in sentimentality before jumping off a building."
"My ass! You're exactly the type!"
"Huh, do you really want to know what I'm thinking right now? I'm thinking how stupid those two were, stabbing themselves when there's a much easier, faster, and painless way to do it."
"You do have a point. Anyway, since it's our last good-bye, I just want to tell you something," B-ko says, blushing.
A-ya seems mildly amused. "Is this a confession then? How disappointing. I didn't think you'd succumb into melodrama-"
"Oh, just shut up! Let's just jump and get this over with."
They both stared at the ground.
"Ready?" B-ko asks reluctantly. A-ya nods and they both hold hands.
"1..
"2…
"3!"
It was just a second. A second to die. Red painted the ground below as if someone had thrown a huge tomato on the ground. Not a scream was heard, just a squish, and then it was all over.
"...You let go of my hand..
"You're a fucking coward until the end..
"A-ya.."
"WHAT KIND OF SICK JOKE IS THIS," I cry as the television shuts off, reflecting my crazed expression on the black screen.
A knife was stuck in my throat.
Author's Note: I think I'm a pretty morbid person. This was pretty gory, even for me, and I'm not really the type who loves gore. I find gore meaningless in the many, many movies and books I've read because I think it rather blurs the story's message or essence, and the whole point of creative story-telling by using disturbing images that can be represented in less violent means. I think that would be creative; showing violence without violence.
I think I haven't been creative with this one, limiting myself to bloody, killing a-la Saw stuff. But I what I'm really trying to say is that I don't waste my words whenever I write. Every single sentence in here is particularly meaningful and it'd be great if you could see through it~ Especially if you read Shuuen. I hope I didn't messed up with the characterization, because that's the most dreadful thing I could ever do (haha not really, but I dislike OOC fics but I enjoy different character interpretations as well. How weird)
Merry Christmas.