Chapter 5: Unnamed

It all happened pretty quickly, but I got a good look at her. I was a little shocked at first, and then I was a little frightened.

I looked at the mirror and saw the girl who was dressed like an adult lady except her face was younger by ten years. She had long hair and a cute hair clip. She wasn't too tall, but she's pretty. She stayed focused as she was staring right in my eye. 

Then I noticed that someone was creeping towards her. "Eh?" 

I became confused and baffled as it apprehended her in an instant. I started to wave my hand to warn her. In my attempt to scream, I felt a hard object hit my head making me unconscious. 

* * *

I cannot see everything, and only a flash of light was warming the left side of my face. 

I tried to move my hands yet I was tied up. Is this it? I asked myself as I remembered what Serine had warned me about. 

For some reason I do not feel any kind of fear nor my anxiety is gone. I breathe, and I almost laughed for no reason. 

I was lying down sideways, crumpled like a baby in womb. I straightened my leg and laid flatly. I could already feel the cold cement stimulate my back muscles that I momentarily shivered. 

I spread my legs in missionary and like a gymnast I tried to lift my upper body. I've been practicing this move since yesterday evening so I'm pretty confident. 

Slowly I lift my neck and back with the help of my spine and upper body muscles, while tightening my core and thighs to support my lift. 

I was able to sit upright, with a sloppy sit-up strategy. Panting a bit, I strengthen my legs and spring it upwards. Now I was able to stand back up. 

I sighed as the first hurdle was solved, now finding a hiding spot. Luckily I already found a potential hideout that will be hardly noticeable, second I need to remove this rope in my hands. 

The hands were tied at my back, so to place it in front I rolled it below my feet one at a time. I reach for my left chest under my shirt and get the sharp razor blade hidden in my bra. 

Pinching it tightly with my thumb and pointer finger I bit it with my teeth, I held my wrist up near my mouth and started running it towards the edge of the blade, 

I was nearing to fray it when I heard a sudden noise. I flail my head around and I don't know where to hide, my vision is impeded with a blindfold and my hands are tied. 

I felt a hand touch my shoulders, which made me nudged it away and ran mindlessly. 

'My razor blade fell'

It quickly recovered and ran following me. "This is bad," I said to myself as my plan didn't work out to the last detail. 

'I need to take a little detour.'

I snapped the rope to free myself and started swaying my arms from left to right. I was able to detect walls and other obstacles like doors and even chairs.  

I was almost able to memorize the layout of the facility, but the problem is I conditioned my room to be the starting point. I was a bit complacent with that matter. 

Running, I tried to be as alert as I coul—

'Thud'

I just bumped into someone just now. I'm a bit confused, and right after falling down butt flat…. I heard a mob running towards us, about five ahead and one behind.

And now there is one in front of me, I was already preparing for that person to attack me yet it screamed, "Help, don't kill me!" 

It was coming from a guy, his voice was guttural and brittle. 

A question mark formed in my head, why is he pleading not to be killed, if I know correctly there should be only one target in each round. "Wait, are you also a target?" I asked. 

He paused for a moment, perhaps contemplating… "Also? No I'm the target," he confessed. 

This is certainly new news, I was able to confirm that there should be only one target per round, and there has been no instance that two targets are being chased simultaneously. 

This is going to be a long night, as Sunday always seemed. I wonder when this round is going to end.  The killers that were about 15 meters away were preparing for a group kill. I was, then, startled when he removed my blindfold so suddenly. "So you are also a target, how unfortunate…." he said and pointed at his blindfolds, "Ah, can you remove mine?" He asked.

"What?" I was confused, and it looks like he found out why I'm curious. "Oh, you might not know this but it is possible to remove a blindfold given that another person did it for you."

That surprised me for a second, although I quickly recovered from the shock. "I see." And removed the blindfold in his face. 

He momentarily glanced at his watch, which I think reads 9:15, and that suddenly brought worry to his face. "Ah, by the way, I'm Marco, Marco Lindsay… you what's your name?"

I became wary at first, after all telling him my name might be a disadvantage in the next rounds. Marco Lindsay, I tried to remember the name and then I realized that he's telling the truth. Yes, I remember that name, Marco Lindsay. 

His fingers drummed nervously as I wasn't able to answer and paused for too long. "Ah, Eliza LaRue." I said. 

With the momentary silence I was able to hear the voices of the killers getting nearer. " Aren't we supposed to be doing somethin’ now!" he said. 

"I am also thinking about that," I said, but I still cannot decide which way to go. 

"Marco is with me so I have a liability, should I just hurry and leave him here?  I cannot possibly do that can I— I'm always acting to help but always getting truthful and hurting them in the process. "You know you won't be safe if you come with me," I tried to warn him, but it seems that he won't listen.

Marco pulled off my hospital gown and grabbed my clothes.

"What exactly are you doing?"

"Why, I'm going with you of course. Shouldn't we hurry?" he explained. 

We ran towards the hallway, "We just need to find that room and we're set," I said when Marco stopped me. "We're going to be killed."

"Nonsense, you might not realize it but aren't you one of the veterans, so for sure this is not your first time to be chased by a group of killers, if you are able to survive that, you probably know a thing or two in survival 101. I assume that's the case, right!?"

I empathize with the last part not for him but for me, since I'm worried that he'll become a dead weight instead, he's too much of a coward to participate in this game. 

 I saw a glimpse of the killer which made us alert, at least I'm alerted. 

Now that I'm playing this sort of death game in a new perspective, I should've been ecstatic, not moping around. If I let my guard down for a second we will be killed. The killer, a woman, looked at us. Marco held his fist high, although shaking. 

I could almost imagine that she’d say "What’s the matter with you two?" 

Well that's only possible if she was a talkative one, but she's the silent type. This type of killer is what I'm most afraid of, since they are mostly the ones who won't hesitate to kill. 

Without saying a word she started to run towards us. It took Marco a second to react, and then he hid behind my back. At virtually the same time the lady reached for her weapon, a handy scalpel. 

After holding it on reverse grip. She smiled wickedly. She's a maniac!

Marco puffed a breath and pushed my body towards her like some kind of shield and ran. My body lay on the floor and a sharp object protruded from the side flanks. Marco spoke through clenched teeth, though he tried to be apologetic.

"Eliza, please understand somehow." The scalpel was inserted just below the left kidneys...

... That hurts ...

... Somehow, I felt more relieved now than I could ever be. Although I've been betrayed I kind of think that I also deserve it. I almost lose consciousness after feeling intense pain. 

On the floor the killer set me down, held me in her arms, and looked at me. "You're still pretty…" she said creepily. 

"Thanks?" I replied no matter how awkward that might be. 

She was breathing, excited perhaps. 

I was shocked when she started caressing my hair, like I'm her daughter or something. I felt a thrilling feeling crawling in my spine, it's surreal but surprisingly refreshing. 

The nostalgic fear I had yet to comprehend started to arouse my veins. 

'Oh my… this woman will definitely kill me!" 

Along with the sharp pain in my lower abdomen, I still realized something, her name! That's it I just need to name her and I might survive this. 

I can now feel her reaching for the scalpel standing upright on my body. I tried to recall every name I was able to study… 

I memorized them perfectly yesterday yet there is no name entering my mind. It's like I blank out. 

At the very last moment, I thought it was the end… but;

Then I smelled a faint sweet strawberry smell. A grin formed in my face and fearlessly grabbed her hands to stop her from pulling out the weapon. "You're Yumiko Takahashi… right," I whispered to her ear and everything seemed to stop. 

Now I find myself in 'that' room holding a notebook with her name on it.

I was lucky to stumble upon 'that' room to begin with. That might have been a dangerous gamble but somehow, I made use of that recklessness once in a while. 

I looked inside, it was room number 373 and the owner was going in my room so she should be gone for a few minutes. After looking at interesting things, I heard something from behind the wall, a whimper, or more like a sob, coming from the other side. I tried to eavesdrop from behind the wall but it was to no avail, I could only barely hear it. 

I was starting to get more curious, the more I got curious about something the more I put myself in a dangerous situation quickly, I shivered thinking about it. 

I had to know what's happening and I had to do it fast. I saw my body hidden in the cabinet. And someone is calling me. However, the voice was distorted, so I barely understood. 

I was in an open area with a great stone patio when the atmosphere shifted. A pixelated lady placed the tulips on the table and painstakingly taped the box shut before carrying it outside and loading them onto the back seat of her car. "Mom?" I asked, gently picking up the flowers on the table and placing them in an open box on the floor. The woman's voice echoed throughout the house, "Yes, dear?" Blood spilled in the box's bottom, but it didn't bother me.

It was a young boy, she beheaded his corpse and cut off his limbs before arranging the body parts inside. 

I closed my eyes tight for just a second. I didn’t want to see the corpse looking at me, it's not disturbing but I felt some discomfort inside me. "There is definitely something wrong," I said to myself. 

I went back to reality and heard the alarm blaring indicating that the round had ended. 

I sigh in relief and the lady now stood up, "Let's play again next time," she laughed and left just like that. 

That could've ended badly. 

I stood up and walked, I didn't try to put out the scalpel on my lower stomach to stop the blood from excessively flowing. As I was starting to feel groggy and weak, I felt someone catched me before I fell on the ground. 

There I finally let go of my strength and closed my eyes, "It's time to sleep," I guessed.