Seems like we got delayed again. Delayed for a year hahahahaha.

Anyhow, here's part 4 of our short experiment. Have fun~


Phenomenon 4: Night Adventurer

It is always said that games are just games

This is said to be true even if there are many types of games

There are those that use balls, those that use cards and boards …

and those that seemingly threaten one's life like those in some cliche horror film

Someone end this already.

I don't want to die.

I kept on running. In the entirety of the 24 hours since I've last seen the sight that corpse, I kept on running. My tired self brought about many things.

How much more do I have to run ...

How to survive …

What to do when I meet my supposed murderer …

These were things I would have not given any thought of under any circumstance. Not that I lived my life in such away it could be considered normal.

I regretted the first time I replied to any of the letter, in fact, even going to the park that very first day. Despite this, there was a small part of me that actually liked what was happening. I mean, bull aside, there was nothing really notable about living a life of repetition and boredom. This was the complete opposite.

Like a child who got to taste her very first candy, I found something different.

Addictingly different.

I sighed deeply to myself as the cursed thought entered my mind. I must be becoming insane after going through all the unnecessary ordeals this last few hours.

Walking around, I stared at the signage of the bar I was standing in front of. With neon lights which blinked out-of-sync with each other, the signage read "Monochrome." Since it was already late and I had no where else to go, I took my chances and, decided to go inside the bar. I acted casually, careful not to careful not give any hint of my age.

Much to my surprise, the bouncer let me through, not even bothering to look at me.

Inside "Monochrome" was a rhapsody of blue and purple lowlights which flashed to match the music that was being played in the background. The people, who mostly appeared to be the same age as me, danced around, not caring about their surroundings. This was convenient for me as this made it easier for me to blend in. After pushing my way against the crowd, I reached the counter where the bartender was. He eyed me oddly as I took my seat at the farthest corner of the counter. He takes a sigh of relief and then accepts my order which was whatever. In act of professionalism, the bartender was able to quickly prepare my order, handing it out to me nonchalantly. As I stared at what resembles a cocktail, the bartender shows me something to which I almost took a spit.

He placed the two things in between us: A letter and an object wrapped in red paper. In all his honesty, the middle-aged man explained that he had found it in the alley behind the bar as he was throwing the trash. Not knowing what to do, he said, he decided to give it to whoever he felt needed it the most.

This person apparently, was me.

Seriously.

Much to my dismay, I again encountered what I was running away so hardly from. A letter. Not wanting to make the bartender worried, I hesitantly began to read it.

Dear prey,

Multiplying seven by seven then subtracting seven yields the meaning of life.

Too bad you'll be losing yours.

Joking aside, the game is finally getting interesting.

To make things even more fun, I have a gift for you.

It's a parasol.

Use it well~.

Your sweet predator

A parasol? Ain't that somesort of umbrella?

I made a mental note of things you can do with it as I tried to rationalize why a parasol out of all things. Aside from covering yourself from the sun and the rain, I was pretty sure there were more uses for it, something my pre-occupied mind can't think of at the moment.

I slowly unfurled the wrapping when bartender tapped my shoulder, telling me to stop and continue it somewhere else. He said that he didn't want to become accountable to whatever may happen.

Well, there is someone out there to kill me.

I nodded in agreement to the bartender's request. It would be horrible if he were to get caught in the middle of things. As I stood up after paying for my order, the bartender called out to me,

"You haven't finished your drink yet, Kid," pointing to the cocktail I left by the counter.

Since I did pay for it, I got the glass and gulped the whole drink down all at once. I never really drank alcohol prior to this so the cocktail's aftertaste sent me coughing.

"Hahahaha, I like the way you drink!" said the bartender as he laughed at the sight.

"You're pretty interesting. Come drop-by again sometime, drinks will be on me," he added.

"Sure. Sometime," I faintly smiled as I waved goodbye.

While walking outside, I continued unfurling the red-colored wrapping. This proved to be an unwanted hassle as oddly enough, similarly red-colored liquid oozed out, causing the wrapping to conform to the object inside, which was in itself, already hard to remove.

It took time as I worked my way around removing what was left of the wrapping. Since it was already way past midnight, I payed no mind and dipped the parasol at the fountain nearby. The red liquid slowly abated, revealing a now-yellow parasol.

It looked pretty beautiful. The yellow parasol was analogous to those used by aristocratic women during the Enlightenment. The yellow shade it had was audacious and would seem to often call attention to itself. It was a perfect fit for anyone who had a rare sense of fashion.

I gazed at it, ensnared by its otherworldly beauty. It seemed to me that it'd be a huge waste for something like it to be thrown away. A grave sin. And I didn't really just want to invoke the "beauty" that was the deadliness of the other player in this game.

Since I got the yellow parasol for free, I decided to open it just for the sake of it. It was large, enough to eclipse the moon which lay peacefully low over the sky.

It made me feel relaxed. Something I haven't felt for eons, even way back before all of this began. Unfortunately though, the relaxed feeling was soon replaced with anxiousness as I came crashing down to the reality that I needed to reply to her.

I remained stoic, trying my best not to give any hint of emotions.

Dear sweet predator,

I've had it.

You're just some crazed-out murderer.

I know. Go. Have your game.

Just not with me.

"_"

That was uninspired. Even though I tried my best not to, my tired self may have hinted a bit of fear accidentally. I kept my reply straightforward, not mentioning anything about me taking the parasol or how much I liked it

After writing my reply, I came down to the business of how to send it.

Should I just leave it here, or go back all the way to the park?

Since it was the bartender who gave me the letter this time around, I thought it would be best to ask him to place it back to wherever he may have found it.

"He'll probably think I'm crazy," I murmured to myself as I made my way back to the bar.

Crazy? I think I am. At least.

Compared to the first time I entered the bar, the bouncer gave his fair share of attention as I hurriedly entered the bar. A young high school student visiting a bar alone was already odd in itself, a young high school student visiting the same bar twice in one night must've been really notable.

Paying no mind, I made my way towards the bar counter. There, the bartender eyed me and gave me a friendly wave.

"Here for my offer, Kid?" he asked grinning. "Would love to, but I can't. Y'see, I'm in the middle of closing shop. Some other time perhaps," he said as he cleaned the counter.

Wait, it was closing time already? Come to think of it, there were no people around when I entered. No wonder the bouncer stared at me. I must've lost track of time.

Thought aside, I approached the bartender and handed him back the letter.

"Not yours, Kid?" he asked as he scratched the back of his head.

"I must've inconvenienced you, seeing that you went all the way back, early this morning even. Sorry 'bout that." he earnestly said as stopped cleaning.

I shook my head no and explained to him my situation briefly. At first, he showed obvious signs dumbfoundedness, which was very much expected seeing as my story seemingly had stains of dubious integrity in it, something you can get off some fairy tale, but as I got more into detail, he eventually started nodding as if to show of his believing in me, which I hoped he really did.

He closed his eyes, as he gave thought to my request and everything I've said.

"I understand, I'll take this letter of your back to the side alley. But Kid, I seriously think you should stop running and just go and report this directly to the police. This will make your life easier, I mean, you may really have a psycho out there who's after you."

The police … damn!

I cursed myself as I thought of the idea.

Why didn't I think of that!

The influx of relief was soon replaced with dread as I looked down on the object I was holding.

The parasol. As soon as I realized what it was, images of the impaled corpse began to flash. The corpse was stuck high up into the tree, impossible for a human to be able to do, unless he were to do it with a group of several, but still, they very thought that people would do something so cruel was sickening.

Just as I was about to lose strength, I ran. I ran yet again.

As I went out of the bar, I could hear the bartender's voice shouting at me. I must've made him worried. With all the strength I had, I ran. Though it made me look like an idiot, I ran. I knew that I simply just had to get away, even if it meant going nowhere.

I didn't stop until I had lost my breath nor until my lack of strength turned turned into a sharp pain which quickly spread across my body. Surprisingly enough, all my running had brought me to a beach's secluded shore. Considering where my house was, I can say I ran pretty far.

Literally dragging my beat body along the sand, I sat by the sidewalk's staircase, gazing at the far horizon. The cold cement was in no way accommodating, but this did not stop me from appreciating the scene presented before me: Sunrise.

While not as romantic as its counterpart, the sunrise have out a melancholic feel as it painted the morning sky an orange hue. Little by little, my gaze went further into the rising sun, soon, I found my vision consumed by a deep black, drawn into the ephemeral world of dreams.