The Cycle Continues: Alice in Borderland Novel

24) Recruitment ✮

===Rafferty Bucke===

Lights flared in the distance, blinding against the night sky. I rolled down the window, sticking my head out, my mouth dropping in awe. "W-Woah. This place looks... Completely out of my budget, to put it simply." I said with a chuckle.

Judumai laughed, seeming to loosen a bit. The car rolled to a stop outside the gates, as a woman armed with a pistol approached. He bristled initially, but upon closer inspection, climbed over me to shoot his head out the window. "Gabura?"

She beamed, stepping out of the shadows of the gate, revealing her figure. "No way. Judumai? Rafferty?"

Gabura Sachi - Security Council ♛
Athlete
Specialty: ♤

"Wait, how do you know these two?" Chihaya asked from the wheel.

"We beat the Eight of Spades together! Judumai, you were awesome there!" She held out her fist in a fist bump, and Judumai warmly returned it with a chuckle. "Good to see you too!"

"I-It's crazy how w-we keep seeing each other. It's a small w-world after all." Rafferty said.

"Welp, what was the game today?"

"Five of Hearts." Niko said from the shotgun seat.

"New card?" Gabura exclaimed. "Hell yeah baby!"

"Yeah. The game was a but fucked up, but..." Niko trailed off. "We survived. Almost lost Charī though, but I guess I'll save the details for Ryota."

Gabura grimaced. "Fuck, man. That sounds ugly. Anyone hurt, though?"

We shook our heads.

"Well then, you guys all look like you need a rest. Ryota and Erina went into a game together, so they should be back soon. Cool off in the meantime." With that, she input a passcode into the gate. "Open sesame!" The gate swung open with a slight delay.

"Okay, catch you later, Gabura!" Chihaya said, waving.

She waved, and Chihaya turned into the parking lot.

"So, quick question." Charī said. "Why didn't you guys kill me?"

I shrugged. "That's... Just not the right thing to do."

"Yeah, we already get enough deaths in this place." Niko said. "I'm tired of doing anything it takes to survive."

"I mean, if I were me, I would've killed myself if it meant survival."

"That's not very reassuring..." Chihaya replied, pulling into a parking spot.

"Except I wouldn't, because I'm cool." An awkward silence followed his comment, as he nervously smiled and scratched the back of his neck.

"Just... Don't do anything out of line again." Judumai said. "Don't give us more reasons to suspect you."

"Um... Anyways," Chihaya said, putting the car into park and clasping his hands together. "Niko, why don't you go and take a rest for the day?"