YOU, ME & DEATH ━━ polyam ann & kuina

𝟭𝟱 witch hunt

A LOUD, BOOMING voice announced over the loudspeakers of The Beach, "All participants must assemble in the lobby immediately."

Chills running down her spine, Tomoko shook her head and forced herself to stay calm and nonchalant, muttering, "Let's get this over with."

The group of four headed inside the building once more and rushed into the lobby. A swarm of players, every member of The Beach, were already inside and crowded around a table full of phones. Tomoko picked up a phone and exchanged a glance with Kuina, who had done the same. Tomoko noticed that as soon as her brother picked up a phone, he left the lobby. Angling her head at him, she silently asked where he was going. He nodded upwards, gaze on the balcony above the lobby. Tomoko was tempted to join him but decided to stay with Kuina until she knew what the game was.

And finally, when the crowd parted, she noticed a horrendous sight.

   A corpse of a young girl was laying on the floor in front of them, a bloody knife sticking out of her chest.

   "Momoka!" A girl ran to the dead girl, crouching by her side. Tears spilled from her eyes and slipped down her cheeks, "Why?"

Everyone's phones chimed, "Game: Witch Hunt. Difficulty: Ten of Hearts. The murderous witch who killed this girl is hiding amongst you in plain sight. The witch role is not limited to women. To clear the game, you must find the witch and burn them in the fire of judgement. Time limit: two hours."

At those words, fear gripped Tomoko. Ten of Hearts was the hardest game of all. Now that she was a player, she either won or died.

An amber glow lit up one side of The Beach. As the rules has stated, a fire of judgement had erupted — a bonfire that burned haphazardly, anticipating its first victim with glee. It crackled and roared as the flames rose higher and higher.

"Game start!" Their phones announced.

Ann spoke up from somewhere in the crowd. Glancing over, Tomoko realised she was only a few metres away. "We have to find whoever murdered Momoka and burn them in the fire of judgement."

A familiar cackle was heard. Tomoko turned to see Niragi strolling into the lobby. He held a rifle on his shoulder. He cut through the crowd like a knife as he smirked, "A with hunt game, huh? This ought to be good."

As he walked past Usagi, he muttered something into her ear, which made the girl cringe in discomfort. Stepping forward, Tomoko grabbed Usagi's hand and pulled her away from him. It was clear Usagi was still upset that Tomoko had lied to her but she allowed herself to be protected by her.

"Alright, let's go witch hunting!" Niragi exclaimed, creating an overlapping clamour of terror and perplexion.

"Hey, you!" Someone from the crowd called to the girl beside Momoka's corpse, "You're Asahi, aren't you? You're always with her. Why weren't you today?"

A man beside the person who had called out nodded, "That's true, you weren't. What happened? Did you fight?"

Niragi cocked his gun and pointed it at Asahi, "Are you our witch?"

"It's not me!" She cried out.

"I guess we'll know when we throw you in the fire!" Niragi returned with an evil laugh. He continued to step forward, which made Asahi shuffle backwards in fear in attempt to get away.

"Back off, Niragi!" Tomoko yelled as she walked through the crowd until she was stood in front of Asahi.

Tomoko had never taken notice of the girl until now. She knew nothing about her, apart from the fact that Asahi's friend was dead and she could or could not be the witch. Still, she had an urge to protect her. She had an urge to protect anyone preyed upon by Niragi.

"Shall we throw you in first, then?" He scoffed.

"I'd like to see you try." Tomoko snapped, pulling out her switchblade and unsheathing it. Now that she was at the front, everyone could see her — and the blood on her hands from her previous murder. Gasps sounded around the crowd and she could hear people speculating about her role as the witch.

Niragi was not fazed, "I have a gun, you have a knife. How do you think the fight will go?"

"Last time we fought, you lost." Tomoko stated, gesturing to the wound on his shoulder. He had ripped off a piece of his shirt and carelessly wrapped it around the injury, so the blood was still visible. "Do you really want to make the score 2-0?"

A woman from the crower exclaimed, "You attacked him and she killed her friend! They're the witches!"

Niragi pointed his gun at Tomoko and Asahi, "Great, we're in agreement! Let's take them to the fire!"

Four people from the crowd ran forward and two grabbed each girl. As much as Asahi tried to shake them off, she couldn't wrestle her way out. However, Tomoko thrashed her arms to-and-fro until their grips were weak enough to break out of. She elbowed one in the teeth before yanking her arm free and using it to stab the other in the hand, making them let her go. Then, she punched one of Asahi's assailants in the face, causing them and the other one to free her.

"That's enough!" Usagi yelled at the people who had tried to drag Tomoko and Asahi into the fire. "We're all suspects in this game. Where were you all? And what were you doing? Can you prove it?"

"I can prove that you and I were having a good time in bed!" Niragi retorted in a sing-song voice.

Ann stepped forward from her place in the crowd, announcing, "Everyone will take turns explaining what you did in the past hour."

Maybe this could be their peaceful way out.

🂱