Alice in Borderland: New York

A Burning Passion (3): Liar's Profit

Seven of Hearts
    Rounds: 3/6
Alive Players: 5/6

"Oh my God! Who died?" June said, running out of the room as quickly as she could. "Oh shit." Teineji said, peering into Room 601 as everyone crowded around him. When June ran up, she saw a burned up corpse that was about her size. It had clearly died in agony.

June felt sick to her stomach. "Rayna! That's...that's horrible!" She yelled. "No one deserves to die like this..." she started to cry. "Rayna...no..." Tei said, clearly saddened. "She was a good person..." Pier mourned. "Why...why would someone get Rayna killed? Why would they tell her that the tablet was wrong?" June's mind reeled.

At that moment, the speakers came back to life. "Round 4 has begun. Charlie is the new Oracle." Charlie glanced down at his screen and smirked. "Rooms 602, 603, and 604 are all safe!" He said loudly. "Charlie...it sounds like you're lying." Teineji said softly. "Why would I lie, Tei?" Charlie said, still smirking. "I have no reason to betray you." "Don't call me that." Tei snapped. "And clearly someone here had a reason to betray us, considering Rayna just died." "Let's all calm down now." Pier said, stepping in between them.

June, meanwhile, was still in shock. Someone had just died! Right in front of them! And they had been killed! Just how fucked up was this world they had been brought into? "Everyone. Pier is right." Steven said, jolting June out of her brooding. "We have to calm down. We should just use the same strategy June used last time; lying about a room that is safe but doesn't affect us in the game." "...Fine." Teineji said reluctantly after a pause. "Alright, works for me." Charlie said, standing up and stretching. "I'm gonna go get a drink; apparently this place has some high quality beer." He said, before leaving the hallway.

"Room 922 is safe!" Teineji said suddenly, turning to June and Pier. "Alright, I guess it is." Pier said, as June said "Okay, I'll trust you." Teineji nodded, satisfied, and walked into room 608. "Room 135 is also safe." June said confidently. "Indeed it is." Pier said. June went inside room 607 and heard Charlie return just as the door locked. "Ahh, that hit the spot." Charlie said as he returned. Suddenly, June heard the sound of something spilling. "Hey, watch it!" Pier demanded indignantly. "Whoopsies...I must've gotten super drunk, heh." June overheard Charlie snicker.

"So, what room are you heading to?" he said after a short pause. "Room 604, probably." Pier said. "Oh, alright then." Charlie said casually. "Stay safe." "You as well." Pier said, and June heard another door lock. After another pause, June heard more liquid splash, and the final door locked. June could hear Charlie giggling, slowly and softly at first, before becoming a howl of maniacal laughter. Then, she realized something. "That laugh...
...it sounds like the one I heard when Rayna died!" June tried to call out, but it was too late. The sound of fire raged through the hallway and the rooms, longer than usual, as June desperately tried to call out to Pier.

But, she only heard screams in response. "Someone! Help! Please!" she heard someone beg, as smoke began entering June's room and settling close to the ceiling.

June coughed and kept her head low as the heat got worse. Eventually, the doors unlocked again. "Round 4 concluded." The speaker droned, before confirming June's worst fear. "One player has died."

Immediately, June burst out of her room and ran to room 604. Sure enough, the hallway was on fire. The air was thick with smoke as a trail of fire burned its way into Room 604, where the burnt and barely recognizable corpse of Pier, holding a half eaten cracker, laid right next to the door for everyone to see. "Pier! No! Oh my god, Pier!" June started to cry. "Oh my god, Pier, no!" Teineji said, coughing, as he came out of his room and ran to Room 604. "How did she die?" Teineji demanded, looking June in the eyes. "Room 604 was safe, right?" Out of the corner of her eye, June could see Steven, looking worried, and Charlie, acting like nothing was wrong. "That's a shame." Charlie said nonchalantly, sipping some beer. "Damn it, Charlie!" June yelled, her anger boiling over. "That was supposed to be you! Why did you kill Pier! And Rayna!"

"Round 5 has begun." The speaker said before Charlie could answer. "Teineji is the new Oracle."

Teineji turned to June. "What do you mean, June?" He asked urgently. "Room 604 was safe, but Charlie poured alcohol into the hallway and the room, meaning it burned. And the round before that, he told Rayna that her tablet was lying to her, and convinced her to go into an unsafe room." June explained, near tears. "Oh my god..." Teineji said, clearly shocked. "I'll take care of Charlie. For now...go into room 608. Please." He said after a pause. "And hurry! The fire's getting worse!" "Alright." June said, and she started running to the room. June's mind was running at a million miles an hour.

"Damn it...how can I stop anyone else from dying?" She asked herself desperately. "There has to be a better way than just relying on other people..." And suddenly, as she looked across the hallway with her hand on the doorknob, she realized something. Her brain connected all of the dots, and she gasped. "Wait, Tei!" She yelled. Tei turned to her, and suddenly his expression was one of shock and panic. June, however, was oblivious, having tunnel vision due to her discovery. "I found the solution! There's a way for everyone to survi-" Suddenly, June felt a blunt, heavy pain in her head.
As she fell to the ground and began to lose consciousness, the last thing she saw before blacking out was Charlie, standing over her, smiling triumphantly as he held a fire extinguisher with both hands.