It is surprisingly silent when Sina wakes up. All she can hear are birds and the rushing of the river in the distance, but as it seems, no one else is up so far.

Her back hurts, but it's nothing compared to her shoulder. It has been a while since Sina has slept in a car, and finding a comfortable position with her injuries has been pretty tough. While she can't say that it was a good night, she is optimistic that she will get used to it with time.

Not that she'd have another option since the Beach burned to the ground. Instead of warm hotel beds there are cars to shelter them from rain and insects, and instead of hot showers, it will only be the cold water of Tokyo's rivers. No cooled drinks and warm breakfast, but bottled water and whatever canned food someone is able to find. With some luck, one of them will probably even be able to hunt something down, a rabbit or frog or maybe a bird.

But the Witch Hunt taught Sina one thing: all the luxury means nothing if one doesn't value life. Because the few of them are lucky enough to be alive, and it's a gift that has to be used.

She gets out of the car and stretches herself as good as possible. Her wound has been properly cleaned and bandaged by now and she tries to follow Chishiya's advice; to move the arm as early as possible so it won't get stiff. It's not much she can do without crying out so far, but better than nothing.

This day, Sina wants to try and clean the hoodie with some washing powder if she is able to find some. But right now it's still too early, because morning is cold and she needs the hoodie to keep warm. She sits down on the ground of her makeshift camp and takes a water bottle. There's not much left, and they will have to roam the stores today to get more.

As the morning progresses, more people wake up and join her. That Tatta-guy even manages to make a fire and boils water in a battered pot for coffee. It tastes terrible, but it's caffeine after all.

"So many people have left since last night…" One of the other guys says, and Sina nods, looking around the cars. It's easy to understand why they had to go, but is it possible? Running away from the memories?

"But it doesn't matter where they go, the memory won't fade", the guy continues, as if he has read her thoughts. "What do we do from here on?"

Yeah, what now? Sina wants to search for Chishiya, but there's no clue where to start. Besides, it's necessary to focus on surviving right now. Going back to the basics, living on without the Beach providing everything. How did she manage to survive before she joined Hatter's Utopia? Sina can't even remember.

Though it's the basic skills that are important now. Knowledge of how to make a fire, how to find edible things in the wild that Tokyo has become, how to keep her safe from underestimated dangers. The Borderlands know many ways to kill someone, and a simple cold can quickly turn into a deadly fever if one doesn't know how to keep warm.

"It might be easier if we just get killed. The dead never have to feel this anxious. They have nothing left to fear…" Tatta mumbles, but Sina quickly shakes her head.

"No. I think the dead would think different about it. We are alive, and we owe them to fight on. It's the least we can do to honor their sacrifices."

Sure, her words sound great. But it's hard to actually think that way when the images of the Witch Hunt don't even leave one's mind for a single second. Is it really fair that out of all the people, the few of them were allowed to survive? Then again, it has never been clearer than now that life is not about fairness. It gives and takes without a system, and all one can do is to make the best of what is given.

The heavy-hearted atmosphere won't leave all day long. Everyone is lost in their own thoughts and memories, and there's no universal way for people to cope with last night's trauma. Everyone has to find their own way, and even though people try to avoid the topic, it is always there, hanging in the air with no need to be addressed with words.

Sina agrees to search for water and food with some others, because her injured arm doesn't make it possible for her to try to hunt and she still wants to do something useful. She is able to push a shopping cart though, and almost like a miracle they find a store that hasn't been completely roamed yet.

Breaking in is easy, and the glass windows quickly shatter into pieces, allowing them to step inside. The light is dim because there is no electricity of course, and it smells rotten and old. But it is not as bad as burning people, and Sina manages to get used to it soon enough.

Most of the goods are long decayed and mouldy, but some things would probably be able to last a century. Most of the water bottles and alcohol are still fine, and there's of course chewing gum and some snacks she can take. Whatever cup and instant meals Sina can find are thrown into the cart, but she also grabs shampoo, mousse, toothpaste and some books. Any of it could come handy some time, and it's better to be prepared. Safety preparations for the couples, sanitary pads for the women, shavers and all that.

If one would be asked what they would take with them to a lonely island, almost no one would think about that. But once one experiences a post-apocalyptic scenario like the Borderlands, it becomes clear how important supposedly secondary gadgets like plasters and pain killers can become. At least Sina is now aware, as she pushes any kinds of medicine into the cart that she can find.

Once they've collected anything, Sina realizes how heavy the cart has gotten and how hard it is to move it with one hand. But luckily for her, one of the others offers her to climb inside and push her all the way back to the camp.

It feels like one of those long forgotten childhood memories – being pushed around in a shopping cart. Sina almost feels bad that it makes her laugh, because she is not sure if she deserves to be happy. But what is living on about if one doesn't allow oneself to see the good things in life too?

Sina even takes the opportunity to pause at a clothing store before they return to the makeshift camp. While she refuses to take off the hoodie, there is no need for bathing clothes anymore, and a bunch of underwear and shirts could come in handy as well as proper leg- and footwear. It almost feels like a normal shopping day, and she wishes Chishiya would have been here next to her.

As soon as they arrive back at the cars, Sina grabs the washing powder from the cart and some shampoo and strolls to the river. The water is still cold, but the sun is heating up noticeably so it feels about right to clean off the blood as well as the invisible dirt.

It's hard when one can only use one hand, and it seems Sina won't be able to get the hoodie completely clean again. But most of the blood washes off, so that's fine. Once she is done, she takes on more functional clothes than swimwear and relaxes a bit as she lets the sun dry the hoodie.

As soon as she will meet Chishiya again, he will have to wear it for a day or two so it will smell like him once more. And this time, she won't let him go again that easy. He has left her more than enough times already.

Sina picks up the small note that she has placed under a shoe so the wind won't blow it away and can't help but smile. While she has no idea how to continue her former life as soon as she gets out of the Borderlands, Sina knows that this is the place she will find Chishiya no matter what. There won't be any more reason for him to run away, and all they both have to do is survive until then.

Hunger leads her back to the camp in the end, and she almost wants to jump as she sees something slowly roasting on sticks over a small barbecue. Someone really has managed to catch some frogs and even a rabbit! While it is not much, everyone is able to get some meat, and while it's definitely not the best meal Sina has had in her life, it does feel special somehow.

Yet the weight of the dead still presses on their shoulders, and that's when Sina comes up with an idea.

"I know it's hard for all of us to continue as if nothing has happened. And we don't have to! But we need to find a way so we can move on. So what about… a remembrance? For our friends and those that could have been?"

The idea quickly meets with approval, and as daylight wanes, a huge fire is burning in the middle of the makeshift camp. The flames and sparks trigger the anxiety inside of her, but Sina understands that it is needed to come to terms with the happenings. Even Arisu and Usagi join after it has been requested by some of the others. Arisu most likely is the reason why they are still alive after all, and it only feels right to have him here too.

The survivors are sitting around the fire and tell stories about those who died. About their dreams, their lives, their hopes. Sina also tells about Ichika, though it hurts her that there's not much she knows about her. But it feels good to say her name at last, so there's at least this to be remembered. It is necessary to share memories about the dead and to hear them, so they will continue to live on in their minds. That's the least they can do to honor the dead, and while many tears are shed, there is some laughter too.

With every name written down on a wooden board, a little weight seems to fall off their hearts, and with every happy memory replacing the image of the burning bonfire, it feels easier to live another day.

A sudden change of mood appears when two men approach their group. Sina instantly recognizes them as members of Aguni's militia, and she can't understand how they have the audacity to stand here now in front of them, with all this blood still on their hands.

It's obvious they're not welcome here, but all they want to do is share one more name with the rest – Serizawa Taketo. Sina doesn't remember him, and she wonders if it is the right thing to add his name to the other innocent ones – people that he probably killed in the first place.

But it doesn't matter in the end, because they all are victims of the Hearts game, and it helps a bit that those murderers at least suffer from their actions. It's the least they deserve, and Sina is relieved when they turn around and leave again. All they wanted to do is to give them that name and his story, so he will be remembered too. Sina is even sure to hear two lone gunshots in the distance soon after, but no one else notices.

And as the fire slowly is burning down, they feel like they can move forward finally.

Three days pass and life goes back to a weird routine of surviving and just being happy to live on. People laugh and argue, play games and tell stories. Tatta even manages to repair a Lamborghini, but the fun ride comes to a sudden end in the middle of Tokyo's highways because he has forgotten to check the fuel tank.

While Sina tries to enjoy all of it, she misses Chishiya so badly. She misses their casual talks on the roof and even more those tender moments, and she wonders where he is and what he does. If he thinks about her once in a while.

The Witch Hunt isn't omnipresent anymore, but there soon comes another topic that causes more than one headache. Ever since the Ten of Hearts has been cleared, there has been no other game. People have searched huge parts of the city to find one, but the message in all game venues is the same: that the games are currently undergoing preparations for the next stage. And it seems to affect the visa too, because Sina meets a couple of boys whose visa have expired the other day, and yet they're still alive because everything seems to be put on hold.

Sina still has a couple of days left thanks to the Witch Hunt, and her injury is getting better with each day. She even manages to lift her arm up to her chest already, and the feeling in her fingers has returned almost completely. But she hasn't heard anything from Chishiya so far, and it seems that he won't come searching for her. So Sina has to search for him, because his face is the only thing she wants to see now.

Strolling through the streets of Tokyo feels so unreal every single time. It has only been a couple of months since she came to the Borderlands, and yet it seems as if the whole city has been abandoned years ago. Sina passes some collapsed buildings, many more with broken windows and trees growing through the concrete. It feels like a warning, that nothing built by human hands is made to last forever. Nature will always take back what has falsely been claimed by humans. Scars will remain, skeletons of buildings and facilities, but nature will cover it all soon enough.

And still it is beautiful.

Suddenly, she hears a high sound, somehow familiar and yet out of place. As Sina looks up, the sky lights up with fireworks in all colors and shapes. They are everywhere, and on top of that, the screens of a TV shop next to her all light up.

What is this? Are the games starting again?

Sina looks around, but can't find any signs of a new game. It's just the fireworks, and they seem to find no end.

The sound of trumpets returns her attention back to the TV screens. Huge letters say "Special urgent broadcast", with the four card symbols under them.

"Congratulations to all players."

The face shown on the screens is blurred at first, but it only takes a few seconds for Sina to recognize who this is. Mira. She has been part of the Beach's executives and disappeared without a trace once the Witch Hunt was over. What is she doing here now?

"With the exception of the face card games, all of you have cleared all the numbered games thus far, and emerged the victors. A sweet victory you've grasped by sacrificing numerous lives."

Ichika's face appears on her mind once more, and Sina welcomes the pain that comes along with her memory. It reminds her that there still is a reason to fight on, and Sina starts to believe that one of their enemies is right in front of her now.

"I wonder how many of your comrades have died? Try remembering… those that were shot dead with a gun. That girl you burned alive. Those struck with the lasers and those that drowned. Those whose heads were blown off. Those comrades of yours."

The TVs start to show video recordings of different scenes – games and players dying in the most different ways. Sina recognizes the guy who has been with her during the Five of Clubs game; the one who drowned because he panicked too much. There are so many more next to him, so many cruel deaths… And this woman actually seems to enjoy the remembrance of it!

"The despair you've felt so far and those dying moments that you can never forget. I'm extremely touched!"

Honestly, this makes Sina feel sick. How can a human enjoy the death and suffer of others so much? What's the sense behind it all?

"All of you players, we would like to give you a present. There will be new games! Let's play games together. You'll fight for face cards! We've still got many more wonderful games prepared for all of you, so look forward to it! The next stage will commence tomorrow at noon. Let's have some fun together!"

The game's next stage. So they're not done at all. The games will continue, and more people will die. But this time, it feels even more serious, because there's finally someone talking to them. Someone that might even be one of the game masters.

The lights turn off and leave her in the dark once again. Sina stares at the monitors for some minutes longer, unable to process what that broadcast was about. But it's time to head back to the camp eventually, and with a sigh, she starts moving. Maybe someone back there will know what to do with this new information, or at least it will be good to talk about it to someone.

As she passes the Minami-Aoyama Station, Sina suddenly pauses as she hears footsteps ascending the stairs. Someone is here, and as long as she doesn't know who it is, she tries to stay hidden in the shadows. The first ones to appear are Arisu and Usagi, and Sina exhales a relieved sigh. They seem to be distraught too, and Sina is sure they also have seen the broadcast. After all, it's good to see them since she hasn't heard much after the remembrance. Usagi had mentioned that they wanted to follow a trace to what could be the answer, and Sina didn't understand what she had meant back then. But maybe there's a connection between her statement and the broadcast.

Just another heartbeat later, Kuina's dreadlocks get visible too, and Sina's heartbeat fastens with anticipation because this can only mean one thing. That he has to be here too.

She forgets everything around her as Sina suddenly starts running towards the familiar blonde-haired guy exiting the station now. While Chishiya seems to be surprised to see her here at first, his expression quickly turns into his familiar smirk.

The moment Sina throws her arms around his neck she realizes the idea wasn't really well-wrought, as a massive pain shoots through her body the moment she lifts her injured shoulder. But it's okay, because Chishiya reacts quickly and holds her tight so Sina won't fall down again, rewarding her stupid action with a chuckle.

Sina touches his face with her unharmed hand now as she can't hold back some tears, and she is so ready to break the rules once more.

But there's one more thing she knows for sure.

With Chishiya on her side, Sina will be able to face whatever this game has prepared for them.

Together, they will be ready for Stage Two.

- TO BE CONTINUED IN BOOK TWO –