How Long is Forever [COMPLETED]

Hidden in the Dark

Once more, it dawns on you that the Borderlands are a cruel and reckless world. Not because of the dead twin lying in an unnatural pose right next to the hatch – more because no one pays attention to her except you and her sister.

The first death has been shocking for probably everyone, but it was nothing more than a reminder of what those games are capable of. Now as you look around, every fiber of your body frozen and your ears filled with the sound of your blood loudly rushing through your veins, you realize that even in a Clubs game, you're only worth something as long as you're still breathing. The moment your heart stops beating, you become invisible.

You can't hear the desperate sobs coming from the remaining twin as she shakes her sister, but you can see it. How she tries to wake the other one up, how she begs her sister to open her eyes, to move again. As the noise inside your ears slowly fades, so do the twin's attempts to bring her sister back. Soon enough, she curls up next to her and gently brushes her cheek while truth dawns on her that her other half will never come back again.

But you are the only one who notices, no one else in this room cares the slightest bit. You turn towards the fuse panel as if in slow motion, where Hibiki and the big guy are arguing heavily; from the few words that reach your ear you assume it's about who will try to grab the key next. Chishiya and Piercing are meanwhile adjusting the fuses once more, this time with the sequence that can be seen from the other side of the carpet. No single action could indicate that someone has lost his life a mere minute ago.

Someone calls your name, and it takes a long time for you to realize that it comes from Chishiya who is watching you with a frown. He is done switching the fuses, and next to him you can see Mr. Muscle's smile turning into a huge evil grin. In one swift move, he grabs Hibiki by his metal collar, and the sight of it alone is enough to make you feel suffocated.

"Stop that! Let him down!"

Your voice sounds foreign to you, far away, but it doesn't have any impact on the big one. You can't do anything but watch how he throws Hibiki against the hatch as if the boy weighs nothing more than a feather, and the crunching sound coming from his back forces you to swallow heavily.

"There we go! No voltage." The big guy clasps his hands with a smug chuckle while Hibiki's body slumps down to the ground right next to the dead twin, and for e terribly long second you fear that he might not be alive anymore as well. But a pained groan escapes his mouth eventually, and you immediately want to run to him – but someone stops you.

"Don't."

It is Chishiya holding your arm tightly, and you hiss as his fingers clasp around the bandaged cut. "What the-? Let go!" He quickly relocates his fingers away from your wound, but the grip is still tight.

You glare at him and hate how his face is so cold and plain as he slowly shakes his head. "No."

"You can't stop me from helping a friend."

Completely unimpressed by the freezing anger in your voice, he comes closer to you. From the corner of your eye, you can see how the big guy kicks Hibiki aside to reach the hatch, and another pained sound reaches your ear and makes you flinch.

"He's not your friend."

You love Chishiya, but this is too much. It's wonderful that he wants to protect you, but not like this. "What would you know about friendship?"

Chishiya tenses for a moment, then the grip around your arm is released immediately. Darting a last glance at him, you turn around just to see how the big guy takes the key out of the hatch with ease and twirls it around in his hand as he heads to the door.