King of Diamonds

Part IV

The tall woman dropped down on Chishiya's bed since he occupied the only available chair in the room while I leant against the desk. She obviously knew more than I did, which would explain why she had known about the medical wing. "How?" I asked aloud, but it was Chishiya who answered.

"You've been a citizen already before the relaunch", he stated. It wasn't even a question and Rikki nodded, pretty much unimpressed by his observing skills.

She scratched her chin and turned around to the door for a second, where another patient was shuffling down the hallway. "This has been my third relaunch since choosing to stay here", Rikki explained. "The days locked up in those rooms are boring, but you get used to it."

So many questions roamed around in my head, and yet I held back because asking all of them would for sure make me look dumb. It was hard, but I tried to stay patient and wait for Chishiya to answer some of them. He hummed, thinking about what Rikki had just said.

"It makes sense. I don't know how many players accepted the citizenship, but there have to be more than the number needed for the face cards."

"You're quite a clever one, aren't you!" Rikki laughed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm sure you already know that citizens aren't forced to play games. We have no visa anymore and thus don't rely on a game to stay alive. Basically, one could stay here for decades and die a natural death." She shrugged and rolled her eyes, indicating that this wasn't what she had in mind. "However, I haven't met anyone so far who did that. Everyone wants to be part of the big games eventually."

We weren't forced to play. It would be possible for Chishiya and me to stay here for months, maybe even years, without endangering our lives. I assumed that this building would continue to provide food and everything, so it would even be a comfortable live, if I ignored all the dying people.

I knew though, that Chishiya would never do that. He didn't decide to become a citizen just to relax and do nothing.

"What about you, then?" I asked Rikki, "do you plan to stay here forever?"

"Hell, no!" she snorted and leant back against the wall, pulling her knees up to her chest. It almost made her look innocent; not like someone who beat the game of the Borderlands. "Three rounds have been enough. It's always the same, you know? People come here and are confused and scared. Some form a bigger alliance – the Beach, the Red Church... There's one in every round. They beat the games until the second stage. Face games start. Sometimes the players win, sometimes they lose. If they win, it means new citizens for us. Yay. Anyway, the relaunch happens. Again. And again. And again, and again. It's impressing the first time, maybe even the second time. But I've seen it all now. I want action!"

"Red Church? Sounds like a conspiracy, if you ask me."

Rikki scoffed, probably thinking back to that round. "It was! They were even crazier than the people from the Beach. Praised the lasers as some kind of god, you know? Death brought by justice, bla bla bla... Justice won't help you here if you're too weak. It's a game, after all."

Chishiya had faced the window, seemingly lost in whatever he saw out there, but I knew he was listening. "God is a gambler", he hummed, but didn't explain his thoughts further. He didn't believe in God, and before I could question what he was trying to tell us, he continued: "You'll participate in the games this round, then."

I noticed how he winced again and shifted just so slightly. The wounds had to cause him pain still, even though he'd never admit it. At least I was sure now that they'd be treated well enough for him to feel better soon.

"I'll apply for becoming the Roamer, once all spot cards are collected", Rikki stated with pride and excitement in her voice.

Bit by bit, I begun to realize that this world was much more complex than I had originally thought. It was not just about beating games. The people who arrived here could either be a player or a dealer, I knew that much from my time at the Beach and from the dealer's base. Though we weren't given a choice here; it was probably a random distribution. Since the players had won the first stage, all of the dealers had been killed. Thus I assumed that if all players had died during those first games, the dealers would have won and would have been given the choice to stay.