BURY A FRIEND ♱ squidgame

016. honeycomb

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐃 𝐍𝐀𝐁𝐈 𝐀 𝐒𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐁𝐎𝐗. Nabi didn't thank the guard, but walked out from the line, eyes glued to the little circle box. She sat down on the ground, looking around at the other players, unsure what to do next.

"The second game will be honeycomb! The shape you have chosen is the shape you must remove from the honeycomb."

Nabi looked at the triangle, feeling scared to even breathe. Sure, the shape was easy, but Nabi was clumsy. One wrong move and she was out of the game.

Players started to spread around the play yard, focusing on their combs. Nabi balanced the metal box against her knee, as she started to carve the shape out. Her eyes flickered around the room every once in a while, unsure if was even doing the carving right. Nabi uttered every single prayer she knew in her mind, as she snapped the first piece out. Letting out a sigh of relief when it came out clean. But Nabi had no time to celebrate, as she started to carve the next line, repeating the same movements as she did a second ago.

When the first gun was fired, Nabi almost dropped her comb, squeezing her eyes shut as the man slid down the huge slide. Nabi tried her best to ignore the man, only meters away from her getting shot. It was time for Nabi to snap the second line. She did it carefully, making sure she wasn't putting too much pressure on it. It came out clean. Nabi wasted no time but started on the last one.

More and more people were shot dead as the minutes went by. Nabi hadn't lifted her gaze from the comb in what felt like forever.

"Player 67, passed", the mechanic voice announced, making Nabi look up. 67 gave Nabi a cold stare, before leaving the playground with the guard. Nabi felt a bang of betrayal in her chest, but again, would she wait for some other player? No, she probably wouldn't have.

Nabi took a deep breath in as she prepared to crack the last piece off. She held the comb with her fingers, slightly bending it where the cut was, snapping the extra wall off. It came off. But not clean.

There was a crack on her comb. Not a huge one, but still visible. Nabi felt her heart drop as she struggled to keep the tears in. She lost.

The shadow of the guard covered Nabi's cookie as he walked closer. Nabi squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for the deadly shot. Tears streamed down her eyes as she removed her hand from the metal box, revealing the honeycomb that she was hiding underneath. A small sob escaped her mouth as the guard leaned closer, eyeing the cookie.

"Player 66, passed."

Nabi's head shot up, her eyes wide as a plate. Nabi felt her blood run cold as she stared at her honeycomb. There was a crack. There was a fucking crack in it? Was it so small that it didn't matter, or something? Nabi started to feel lightheaded as she forced herself to stand up and walk out of the room, keeping her eyes glued to the door.

She fucking made it.

Nabi walked down the stairs, following the player who had gotten out before her. The adrenaline started to fade, as Nabi made her way back to the hall. The headache started to crawl back and conquer Nabi's head. She needed water.

Nabi forced herself to walk a faster phase, trying to get to the sleeping hall faster. Her head started to spin from all the colors. Nabi could hear a distant gunshot every once in a while, which every time triggered a new wave of nausea. Nabi ripped the hair tie out of her hair, feeling like it was ripping her hair out. A pulling sensation started to grow behind Nabi's right eye, making its way to her temple. It was like a parasite, moving inside Nabi's head.

Nabi froze as the sound of a series of gunshots filled the staircase. Guess the time ran out. Nabi looked up, seeing the room spin like a carousel. She swore she saw Oompa Loompa dancing somewhere.

"Move", a voice ordered behind her, making Nabi move her legs. Although now she was feeling like she wasn't in control of her body. Like it belonged to someone else. When Nabi reached the main hall, she immediately took off and ran towards the small door on the other side of the hall. Pushing it open and running towards the bathrooms. Nabi slapped a hand over her mouth, trying to hold the vomit.

Nabi ripped the first stall door open and puked. For her luck, she hit the toilet. Nabi felt a warm handprint on her shirt and another one on her neck, gathering her hair up. Nabi breathed heavily, squeezing her teary eyes shut. She felt weak. Not only physically, but weak. Nabi felt sweat drip from her forehead, as she spat on the toilet, wiping her mouth to some toilet paper. She flushed the toilet, before leaning back and covering her face with her hands. The assuring grip had disappeared from her back, making Nabi miss the warmth.

Nabi opened her eyes a little to find out who was sitting across from her, although somewhere deep inside she knew who it was.

Neither of them spoke anything. They just sat in the half-lighted bathroom stall, waiting for something. Nabi was the first to talk. "I need to shower", she said, rubbing her eyes. She felt disgusting. 67 didn't answer but stood up and opened the stall door. "Where are you going?" Nabi asked, her voice coming out weaker than she would have wanted it to be. It sounded like a pathetic cry for help.

67 looked over her shoulder, giving Nabi a look. It was the usual cold and emotionless, but the words that followed it were the ones to give Nabi a warm feeling again. "I'll be back in a second."