Alice in Borderland

Chapter 42 - Cold

I hear dull noises from a distance and an unbearable pain spreads in my torso. Suddenly I feel pressure in my neck and try to gasp for air. Something blocks it and I swallow myself before spitting out the water. Someone turns me aside and I slowly regain consciousness. I cough uncontrollably and begin to tremble all over my body.

I put my eyes up and breathe heavily. My whole torso pulls together and squeezes even more water out of my lungs. Powerless, I put my head on the ground for a moment before turning back on my back. I lift my chest a little and I get a scream, so I instinctively put my arm around my side. I feel a hand on my cheek that lifts my head a little. I open my eyes again weakly fluttering and see in Chishiya's face. It is bordered by its white blonde, two strands and the black hood.

I want to say something, but my lips are shaking too much, so I don't get a sound out.

"Yuudai, look for a blanket or something like that"

My gaze goes to the other man, who kneels on the ground and runs a tear over his face. He seems to be at the end of his nerves, but he nods wildly and runs out of space. I try to get up, but the pain doesn't allow me.

"Do you hear me Sayuuri?"

"Cold," I bring out trembling. He looks annoyed at the passage in which Yuudai disappeared, but as soon as I meet our eyes he tries to make a smile. I feel him pulling my deaf body a little bit and I put my head in his arm bend. He puts his arms around me, probably because my body is completely hypothermic, but the sudden warmth feels like little needles. No one else is in the room, but I discover a lifeless hand hanging from the other tub. The other group did not even try to save this woman.

"No hectic movements, I think one of your ribs is broken in the heart-lung massage"

Heart-lung massage? At the thought of it, the numbness in my cheek immediately disappears and I turn my head a little to the side that he can't see it. I pull his arms closer to me on my sleeves as I freeze incredibly and almost faint again.

"Thank you," I say, relaxing a little. By raising and lowering his chest faster, I don't have to turn around again to know that he laughs quietly. The view blurs a little and I fluctuate between consciousness and fainting.

I just get to see Yuudai re-enter the room and throw a thin blanket around me. The next thing I feel is how they get me on my feet and support me. I have a short, clear moment in the car that doesn't last long before I step away again.

"Sayuuri?"

The female voice drags me back into reality and I open my eyes tiredly. I need a moment before I recognize Ann's voice. I look around and notice that I'm no longer in the car. I'm terrified, but a terrible pain under my chest makes me scream and sink back into the pillow.

I look to the side in amazement and realize that I am not in my room. The room here is much larger, but I can't see much as the light is dimmed. I'm still cold, but I can feel my arms and legs again. I look at the countless blankets that lie on me and crawl a little under the mountain. When I open my eyes, the woman next to me lights up with a small flashlight and I grumble only a little because of the headaches.

"Your brain does not seem to have suffered from the lack of oxygen"

"My brain is doing well," I mutter, smiling, patting my arm. She raises her hand in front of my face and raises three fingers.

"How many fingers do I show?"

"Twelve," I say sarcastically. She looks at me with a reprehensible look, but I hear a slight laugh. She looks to the side in the direction from which the laughter comes and I follow her gaze to Chishiya. He sits on an armchair and has leaned forward so that he rests his elbows on his knees. He still wears the black sweater and the hood from the game.

"She doesn't seem to have lost her sarcasm," Ann says, looking back at me.

"One of my bad habits"

"You should rest, we still have to go to a meeting. And if you get up or sit down please be careful, two of your ribs are sprained"

"Yuudai can report, I stay here," Chishiya says so strict and cool that even I easily shrug.

"You belong to the leadership, not Yuudai," she says just as sternly, and her smile disappears before she relaxes a bit, "It certainly won't be long."

His jaw appears to tighten for a tiny moment when he meets her gaze, but he raises his eyebrows and puts his typical grin back on. He gets up and looks at Ann waiting. She throws me a smile before running after him and both of them leave the room.