𝕬𝖌𝖗𝖊𝖊𝖒𝖊𝖓𝖙 | ℭ𝔖, 𝔑𝔖, 𝔎ℌ

𝕰𝖕𝖎𝖘𝖔𝖉𝖊 𝕿𝖜𝖔

𝕾𝖕𝖊𝖆𝖐𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖂𝖎𝖙𝖍 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕳𝖆𝖙𝖙𝖊𝖗

Khalin waited patiently in the back of the military grade vehicle, listening closely to her surroundings. It made her sort of uncomfortable to be blindfolded around people she barely knew. She felt uneasy at the thought that they may have been leading her straight to her death.

"So what's up with this Hatter? Why does he want to kidnap everybody?" She asked, crossing her arms. She aimed her head toward the window, though she could see nothing but a change in light.

"He's just doing his best to save everybody and bring everyone home." Niragi answered. She scoffed.

"Some people don't want to be saved. I'm sure lots of people find it nice here and wish to keep playing whatever those games are." She felt a sudden shift in the air between them.

"How long have you been here?"

"A few hours. Why?"

"Have you played in a game yet?" Chishiya asked.

"Hah, no. I'm no idiot. I'm waiting until I find a worthy group to play with." She answered.

"Well, then. You'll have to play before the end of the night. If you haven't played a game by the end of your first night, bad things happen."

"Bad things?" She felt confused, but that wasn't new for her. This entire new world confused her.

"A laser will kill you." Chishiya spoke. She then heard a smack, so she assumed he had smacked Niragi on the shoulder. The smack was dull and sounded as if it were against clothing.

"Don't scare her off, dimwit." Niragi snapped.

"A laser? This is going to be interesting." She grinned.

"Oh look. Another lunatic. Just like you, dog."

"Don't pretend like you hate it. You know you like the fact that I'm a lunatic, cat."

"Do you guys always banter like this?" She chuckled.

"Not always. Sometimes we get along real well."

"Shut up." The other one whispered, followed by another harsh smack.

"Ah. Okie dokie." She leaned back, letting her head hit the back of the seat. She closed her eyes and allowed the low rumble of the vehicle lull her into a light sleep.

♤

A sudden stop jerked her awake. She could see again, which meant they'd taken off the blindfold. She stared through the windshield from the backseat, eyebrows raised in pleasant surprise at the grandiose building before her. It was so stunning and clean compared to the rest of the city that seemed to be decaying awfully quick.

"Welcome to The Beach." Niragi motioned toward the resort building.

"Interesting. And Hatter is inside?" She asked, unbuckling the seatbelt that kept her bound to the seat. Once it was off, she sat forward.

"Sure is. We'll have to blindfold you again before going inside. Chishiya wanted to give you a break since you've been behaving so nicely." She looked over to the blond who kept his eyes trained out of the window.

"What can I say... I'm a good sport." She boasted, a small smile plastered to her lips. She lifted her chin up, but then decided it was a bad idea, as Niragi's face was only an inch from hers.

His eyes met hers. This time, she was the one who was intimidated, swiftly turning her head to the side. She swallowed thickly at the close proximity. The blindfold seemed like a better situation. At least then she wouldn't be so close to his face. Her impulsive thoughts were tickling in, urging her to just press her lips against his. She didn't quite understand why she wanted to so badly, but then decided it was just the closeness between them.