Alice in Borderland: The Cycle Continues

35) Ten of Hearts [5] ✮

Time left: 1 hour and 15 min.
Players left: 15/25
Militants: 3
Players captured: 3/12

===Gabura Sachi===

By the time Rafferty had finished his explanation, the fire had reached the fourth floor, which was announced by the speaker.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Charī asked Rafferty again, as we left the safety of the locked room. "Announcing for every player to meet up in the lobby is going to be impossible! No one will trust that, everyone will know what room we're in, and it'll be a complete hotspot for the militants!"

"It's n-not like w-we have any other choice." Rafferty said, my rifle sitting in his lap; he had offered to carry it for me. "Unless you w-want to traverse the entirety of the hospital in our group's c-current state. The solution w-will require the trust of everyone in this game. That's p-precisely wh-why this game is rated so hard."

"Rafferty's right." Aoyama said, pushing Rafferty, as we made our way down the hall. Natsuki opened and checked every room for crutches to aid my limping; currently, I was being supported by Aulia, whose injured arm was still painted red, soaking her sleeve with a deep red.

"Now that I think about it, the solution actually makes perfect sense." Aulia said, my weight leaning against her. "But even with it figured out, the game still doesn't get any easier. How ironic."

"I found some!" Natsuki shouted. "Finally!" She ran out of the room, smiling, as she handed me two sets of crutches.

"Thank you." I said, putting them below my armpits. My body lurched forward as I yelped, falling a slight height.

"They must be too short, but I think you can adjust them." She said. The group paused as the two of us lengthened the device; after extending the arms by a few centimeters, I was able to walk with its support.

I gasped, the weight of my body now pressing against the crutch instead of my feet. I let out a calm breath, the blood rushing back through my feet without any strain.

"I know we're all pretty battered, but can we hurry it up?" Aoyama asked. "We're almost to the stairs, which'll lead to the end of the hallway of the lobby. If we head down to the lobby then turn left, it'll be the speaker room. Come on."

"Okay, I'm good." I said. "Let's keep going." Our group made our way to the door of the staircase. Aoyama sped past us, pressing her ear against the door, before opening it.

"Is there no wheelchair ramp?" Charī asked, turning his head towards both ends of the stairs. "I mean, this is a hospital."

Aoyama shook her head. "I assume most disabled people would use the elevator. This is an older hospital, so it doesn't exactly have most things that modern hospitals have now."

"Charī, you help me carry Rafferty down." Natsuki prompted. He nodded, taking the handle from the higher end, as Natsuki grabbed the side of the chair from the lower end. Charī fumbled with the handle, his fists gripping it tightly.

"Will you be okay?" Aoyama asked me. I nodded, sitting on the stairs and lowering myself with my arms one step at a time. She took my crutches and handed them to Aulia, before crouching to my eye level. "Do you just want me to carry you down?"

"What?" I asked, my face hot and hands aching. The continuous, shrieking fire alarm drilled into my mind and my vision swirled in the corners of my vision like morning mist. The flashing lights left white spots whenever I blinked, with dark spots lingering when my eyes were open.

"That way you don't have to struggle climbing down, and we can save some time."

"Um... Sure. Actually, I would really appreciate it. Thank you." Out of the corner of my eye, Rafferty and I caught eyes as he was already on the lower portion of the stairs, and he flashed a smile at me. 'What was that about?' I pushed the thought away as she picked me up, carrying me down as I pressed against her back.