Several hours had passed since Blue comforted Y after the first announcement. In the time since then, the younger girl attempted to regain her composure. They talked about what they would do once they met up with the people they wanted to meet, about the absurdity of the game, and some small details about themselves in general. It wouldn't be such a stretch to call them friends after all those hours had passed.
Even though they chatted often, there was a drop in conversation shortly after the 12PM announcement. Blue had been stunned to hear Red's name on the list of the deceased, and Y recognized his name instantly. She had become worried that, after that announcement, Blue had come close to having a breakdown. While Y tried to reach out to her, the older girl smacked her hand away, and had grown pale. Despite how much she was trembling, and how panicked she looked, she didn't cry. Instead, after about fifteen minutes had passed, she raised her head and told Y that she was okay.
That strange way of dealing with her friend's death, as well as the fact Blue had been quick to push her away, had made Y cautious around her. It also made her wonder just now strong this girl could be, and perhaps ruthless, in certain situations. As much as she tried to push those thoughts away as she became friendlier towards the girl, those worries always seemed to resonate in the back of her mind.
Nevertheless, she still found herself becoming attached to the other girl. Blue was upbeat and compassionate. Y felt that, under normal circumstances, they could have become close friends. A part of Y wanted to become as close to Blue as possible, but another part of her was concerned about the brunette's devious nature. She gave off vibes that there was a side to her that she wanted to hide from Y, which kept the younger girl on her toes.
"Hey, I've been thinking", Blue spoke up nonchalantly, catching Y's attention.
"Huh? About what?" Y asked, hoping she didn't sound too spaced out. She had been lost in her thoughts for quite some time, before her ally spoke.
"Well, if this whole extra danger zone thing keeps up, then this area'll become a danger zone before we know it. They want us to keep moving, so we might as well get started now, right?" she suggested. Although she didn't mention it, Blue found herself growing bored of the supermarket.
"Hmm... Alright. I don't have much reason to object. Besides, we might find somebody if we keep moving!" Y replied, trying to get across her enthusiasm.
Hopefully someone we actually want to meet up with, Blue thought, as she gathered her things back into her daypack. She knew the number of people were dwindling, and the chances of coming across somebody who was participating was becoming higher. She tried to keep hopeful, for Y's sake as much as her own.
Once all their things were gathered together, along with extra rations of food and water, Blue and Y left the supermarket, and out into a slightly cold evening. Y tightened her grip on her mace as she walked, the spiked ball swinging with each step she took. The sun was setting, making the sky orange in colour. Despite the warm colours, the two girls felt colder as they walked further away from the store.
"Are we going to find more shelter?" Y asked in an attempt to start some small talk.
"I'm not sure... I was thinking of just walking until we found a spot we were happy to rest in. Doesn't have to be inside", Blue answered, before pausing, "Unless you want to find shelter again."
"No, no, I'm fine with staying outside. Besides, I was pretty prepared to. When I thought of going on a journey with X and the others, I prepped myself for camping outside. I'm pretty used to the outdoors now", Y said.
Remembering how quickly her journey was ruined, Y stopped talking abruptly, and instead gazed absentmindedly at the mace in her hand. Blue felt a pang of anger. It was clear that the effects of the program were weighing heavily on the girl. No teenager her age should be forced to go through this. Blue reconsidered her statement: No one at all should be forced to fight to the death.
They walked in a western direction for quite some time. Their journey was quiet, almost to a point of being awkward. Neither girl could think of any suitable conversation, and made no attempt to start small talk once more. As they walked, the wind was beginning to pick up. Y hugged herself in an attempt to stay warm, wishing she had brought a jacket with her. She figured the night would be a cold one, judging by the way things were before the sun had even fully set.
As she concentrated on staying warm, something else caught Blue's eye. To her right, something could be seen, poking out from behind a tree trunk. At first, she got her hopes up and thought that it might have been an abandoned daypack. She quickly stopped herself from hoping for that, because if there was an abandoned daypack, the most likely reason would be that its owner was dead at that stage.
Blue continued to stare in that general direction, and began to realize that it wasn't a daypack. It was a human head. What had caught Blue's eye was the person's dark brown hair, which was held high in a ponytail. She stopped walking, and continued to stare. All she wished for at that moment was for the person to make the slightest movement with her head, to do anything, to prove that they were still alive.
"Blue? What's the matter?" Y asked, coming to a halt as well.
She took a few steps backwards, until she was standing by Blue's side. Following the older girl's gaze, she held her breath, realizing what Blue had been staring at. Unlike the brunette, Y didn't even think of praying that the person they were staring at was alive. She was certain that they were staring at a dead body. Thankfully, most of the person had been shielded by a large tree trunk. If they had died a bloody death, it was obscured from the girls' perspective.
"Do you think it might be any of your friends?" she asked quietly. It was a blunt, almost harsh, question, but one that she needed to ask.
"No. I'm pretty sure the body belongs to a girl. Yellow has blonde hair, so I don't think it's her", Blue answered, her tone equally as soft.
Neither girl spoke for a while, and instead, they simply gazed out at the scene. After a few minutes had passed, Y looked downwards. Staring at a deceased person for this length of time wouldn't help their mental state in any way, and the last thing Y wanted was to become more on edge than she already was. She tugged on Blue's shirt, urging her to move on.
Both girls seemed to lose any motivation they had to speak on their journey forward. Y didn't feel any worse than she previously did, and instead, found herself thinking of her future within this competition. Those thoughts kept her completely occupied, and subconsciously, her pace quickened. Blue didn't seem to make any objections to her attitude for a while.
Lost in her own thoughts, Y lost her footing all of a sudden, and found herself falling forward. Considering she usually remained poised and graceful, she cursed herself for making a fool of herself in front of someone she was still getting to know. Before she could fall to the ground, however, she felt a pair of hands grip onto her own arms. Looking behind her, in a brief moment of panic, she was relieved to just see Blue standing there.
"That was close!" Blue laughed, helping her stand up properly.
"Yeah, it was. Sorry, I got caught up in my thoughts", Y mumbled, feeling a little embarrassed.
Blue shrugged it off, and continued walking. Y followed her, this time at a much slower pace. She kept that up for some time, until she suddenly saw something. When her eyes fell upon it, she began to run, and quickly surpassed Blue.
"Hey, be careful! We're near the edge of this place!" Blue called out, but Y ignored her.
Rolling her eyes, she ran to catch up with the younger girl. Y had come to a halt a few feet away from the cliff's edge. Standing by her side, she copied the blonde's earlier actions, and attempted to see what made her stop so suddenly.
As she looked out, all Blue could see was the sun setting below the horizon. The sky was a deep, orange colour, which would soon be giving away to the night. The colour of the sky reflected in the water, which was lightly rippled. It was completely silent.
"What are you staring at?" Blue asked. She had given up on trying to guess what had fascinated the girl so much, as she couldn't see anything.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Y murmured, her stare fixated on the scenery.
Blue was surprised to hear that she was just simply admiring the view out in front of her, but as hard as she looked, she wasn't able to see anything else that would've caught Y's attention. The girl never struck her as being the type to stop and admire the scenery, but she supposed that in these circumstances, it was easier to learn how to appreciate the little things in life more. Deciding not to voice her thoughts, Blue sat down, looking out at the setting sun as well.
"Yeah, it is. Do you like sunsets?" Blue asked.
"I guess so. I never really took the time out to admire one that much before, but now that I've finally done it, it's easy to see why people find them so beautiful", she commented.
They remained silent for quite a while after that. Y remained standing, gazing out at the ocean with awe in her eyes. Blue remained sitting, playing with the zip on her daypack absentmindedly as she stayed quiet. Even though there were many things weighing heavily on their minds, they were both grateful to have a moment to enjoy the peacefulness of the scenario. The things that were bothering them the most could be discussed at a later stage.
Pearl had been surprised to hear the 6PM announcement. While he was sitting in the house he selected, he had been thinking nonstop. He felt no desire to eat, drink, or do anything else, other than reflect on his actions, and wonder about Dia and Platinum. His only way of knowing that time was progressing was by the fading light outside the window. By the time the announcement began, the room was almost completely dark.
After hearing the name of the person who died, Pearl was tempted to finally leave the house. Considering how angry Charon sounded about the lack of deaths, he was certain that the killers would attempt to up their game before the next report. He wanted to go find Dia and Platinum before somebody else got to them first, which was beginning to look inevitable, given how many people were after dying.
Pearl's worry briefly made him forget about his deep guilt over killing. Determined to ensure his friends' safety, he finally got up, feeling that his knees were stiff upon standing up. Taking one last look around the room, he hurried out of the dark place where he had spent so many hours, wallowing in his guilt.
Bounding down the stairs, and occasionally missing steps, he felt excitement build up in his chest. By the time he reached the front door, his heart was pounding, and it took him a few seconds to regain his breath. When he brought his hand out to touch the door handle, however, he found himself hesitating.
It was then that he remembered the exact reason he chose to hide in a house for so long. As a murderer, he didn't have any right to find the people he cared about. While he wanted to find them for a good reason, Pearl remembered that he had denied Red all chances of preventing those he cared about from dying. Besides, why would Dia and Platinum even want to associate with a murderer?
Sighing defeatedly, Pearl brought his hand back to his side. It was pointless to get his hopes up. He didn't know how many times he would walk to that door, incredibly tempted to open it and search for his friends. He had to resist, however. At that point, he hadn't thought about his future in the program. If he hid for that long, and everyone else killed each other, he didn't know what he would do as the sole survivor. If he was in close vicinity with a murderer, he was unsure of whether or not he would put up a fight.
Pearl trudged back up the stairs, trying not to think about anything in particular. He was trying, and failing, to hide the fact that he was becoming more and more depressed, as time passed without knowing what was happening to his friends. While he tried to convince himself that they were more than likely to be okay, he still couldn't brush away the possibility that they may have been dying at that very moment.
Once he reached the bedroom once more, he grabbed his daypack, hugged it to his chest, and plopped down on the bed. He had no idea what he wanted to do, exactly, but his most important priority was trying to get his mind off any disturbing thoughts.
At first, Pearl unzipped his daypack, took out a bottle of water, and twisted the cap off. He was still on his first bottle, but it was only half full. After killing Red, he hadn't eaten or drank anything. It was unhealthy, but he felt absolutely no appetite for anything.
The truth was that he still didn't, but knew that he'd end up in a much more painful state if he didn't stay fed or hydrated. He hesitantly brought the bottle to his lips, and let the water slide back through his parched mouth. After taking a small sip, he put the cap back on the bottle, and put it on the nightstand.
He reached into his bag to retrieve one of the bread rolls, his hand suddenly came to a stop within the bag. It had only truly hit him then and there that he was officially without a weapon, considering he tossed the knife away once he was done with it. Wow. I really am defenseless after all, huh? I'm practically perfect for anyone who wants to kill in this game, he thought.
The thought of feeling completely defenseless had sent another shiver down his spine. Pearl zipped up his bag once more, no longer feeling any desire to eat whatsoever. He laid his daypack on the floor. Once he did, he rested his head against the feathery pillow beneath him.
Closing his eyes, Pearl decided the only way to feel any remote peace was by getting some rest. He wanted to sleep easily, but that didn't happen at all. He knew he could open his eyes easy and immediately at the slightest sound. Even though he couldn't consider himself fully asleep, he had finally brought himself to stop thinking about distressing topics.
As Pearl fell into a light sleep eventually, he still felt as if he didn't even deserve that simple necessity. It had been several hours since his confrontation, but he needed much more time to recover from what had happened.
18 Remaining.