Stage 09: A Solution…?
The man grinned crookedly. "Oops."
No points left. I had nothing left. My currency, my very life, was reduced to zero. The thought was preposterous- I was dead. How was I going to buy Candy? My thoughts were so frenzied and clouded with black that I couldn't order or make sense of them, but somehow I managed to iron them out for a moment, just long enough to inject some logic into them. The last time the taste of Candy had filled my mouth had been this morning, when Nishi had brought me one of the black- and- white- wrapped sweets as an antidote to the poison that was seeping into my arteries had been this morning. That meant I had less than three days. Three days before I… Died. Before I died. Before the scales tipped, and the toxins became too much for my body to handle. Then I'd start coughing blood, and it'd flow out of my joints. I'd run rampage uncontrollably, trying to quell the agony boiling under my skin like oil. In my last moments of life I'd suffer pain that made death seem like a heavenly place.
Three days.
"Are you alright?" The man's smile had dropped, and his tone was a little concerned, but not overly.
I nodded vigorously, yet found that I was swaying unsteadily. Other people were staring at me with enquiring eyes, but I ignored them and was instead trying desperately to keep my head as far away from the ground as possible- I'd learnt that if I did that, I could work out which way was up and therefore prevent my descent to the floor. However, my reasoning failed, and the ground began to race towards me at an alarming speed until it was the only thing supporting my head. I didn't lose to unconsciousness, though- I crouched there, panting, completely and utterly hollow.
"Hey, kid- what's wrong? You worried about the Cast Points?"
My reply was a groan that came from deep within my throat.
"Here."
A set of hands grabbed the back of my collar and dragged me back, pulling me so that I was sitting against the nearest wall. I shuddered once and thought I was going to eject the contents of my stomach over my legs, but a hard palm across my cheek brought me back to reality. I found myself face to face with the man- his teeth were bared like a dog's, and he barked, "Pull yourself together! Just because you don't have any Points doesn't mean you're completely done. Now, just think- you need to regain them, right? Have you entered yourself into any of the games?"
"Games?" The word brought back to me all the images of the gladiator- style matches that defined Deadman Wonderland and gave it its infamous identity. However, if they meant Cast Points and life, then I'd gladly take part in one.
"Yeah. I'll enter you in one. There's a Carnival Corpse game tomorrow- I'll put you down for that. Oh, and I'll need your name."
"Oh, Jana Rizuku," I replied wearily as the man stood up and walked over to the opposite wall, where a posted was pinned down with thumbtacks. He produced a pen from his pocket and scribbled down my name on the paper. "What's yours?"
"Mine?" He turned, and for a moment I thought he was going to sink his fist into me, but instead laughed spontaneously and said, "Crow."
An odd name… I spent a moment wondering whether it was the one given to him by his parents or one he'd chosen himself, but it wasn't really important. What was really on my mind was what I'd just been signed up for, and what I'd brought upon myself- I couldn't help but want to know as much as I could about this game.
Reading the look in my eyes, Crow explained, "The Carnival Corpse is a fight, one that takes place in a small arena between two people. There's one winner, and they're the one that receives the big prizes. You lose, you get squat- so don't lose!"
"A fight?" I found myself repeating Crow's words in disbelief.
A… Fight.
No.
I was going to die.