THE GREAT WAR

iii.

ACT 1 — SCENE 3
' Snow White '

      LEAVING SHIBUYA PROVED TO BE A DIFFICULT TASK, especially with the lack of people to ask and Riko's horrible sense of direction, but navigating through a city that she was barely familiar with appeared to be even more of a struggle. Not only did she not have the stamina to walk to the nearest district, Shinjuku, with minimal breaks, but she also did not have sufficient survival skills to find another source of food and water asides from the grocery marts she'd pass by, dragging her solo expedition into three days as she had to rummage through several aisles.

     Assuming that the six-day visa she received from her previous game is the amount of time she can stay in this world without having to join a game, hence its name, she set off to search for clues as soon as she's able to last at least an hour without reliving the prior traumatizing events in her mind. Perhaps she'd find an alliance of players, working together to seek answers, or even those who already knew the truth and are already plotting their departure. Maybe she'd find individuals who, despite being on the same level as her when it comes to information, could be useful in clearing the games, like a survivalist, a doctor, or even just someone clever. Of course, she could very well run into the dangerous sort, the ones who fully took advantage of their freedom, but she figures it's better than simply wallowing in self-pity.

     Much to her dismay, Riko's solo expedition turned out to be quite futile, save for the articles of clean clothing she miraculously found along the way. She hadn't come across a single person, nor any evidence that pointed towards the purpose of the games, the cards, or the ones who made it. Eventually, her fifth day comes to an end, the desolate city now enveloped in partial darkness with only the stars peeking through the clouds.

     "This way, players."

     The cold evening breeze brushes her exposed skin, goosebumps forming in its wake as she follows the signs and curses herself for not looking hard enough for a jacket to accompany the white tank top and gray sweatpants she wore. She hides her hands inside her pockets in an attempt to keep herself warm and enters the game's venue, a spacious supermarket with an unusually large amount of fresh groceries.

     Beside the all-too-familiar table that Riko encountered upon her arrival is a basket filled with eight suspicious green apples. And, as per the instructions taped on the container, she picks an apple from the bunch, thoroughly examining it and comparing it to the others. Noticing a strange, shallow hole in the fruit, she puts it back and picks another, only to find out that every single one of them had the same feature. Despite her reservations, she follows the directions and takes a small bite out of it before grabbing a white-cased phone.

     "Please wait for the game to commence. Four more players required. There are currently four participants."

     Riko joined the players gathered by the center of the store, trying to capture every observable detail about them before the game began. In front of her stood identical twins composed of a stoic-looking man and his jittery sister, both of which appeared to be in the same age range as her and were dressed as if they had just gone to the beach.

     She then shifts her attention to the mysterious fellow leaning against one of the counter tables, his arms crossed and the hood of his gray jacket covering his features, save for a few strands of blonde hair. Intrigued, she walks towards the counter nearest to him and sits on the stool, garnering his attention for the second time as she had already piqued his interest the moment she came due to her vigilance which, surprisingly enough, was not a common characteristic within the people he had encountered so far. She smiles and waves when she meets his feline eyes, hoping to make an ally out of him, only to be given an eyebrow raise.