Alice in Borderland: New York

Side Story 1: Five of Hearts (1)

                The following is a Side Story.

Alice ate her lunch alone, staring outside at the window as the other kids played outside. At this point, she was used to it. Her home life had been going downhill for a while now, but every day it seemed like it sank to a new low. Even at her elementary school, she was known as the "weird kid." The quiet, reserved one. She only had a couple of close friends, but they meant the world to her. She thought about this as she ate her lunch. Why couldn't they just...accept her? Why did they feel the need to force her into a box, to make her life black and white, a choice between two and only two options?

Feeling drowsy, Alice finished her lunch before stretching and putting her head in her arms for a nap.

Alice groggily woke up to find the classroom empty. "Huh? W...where did everyone go?" She said, confused. The sun was setting, causing orange light to seep through the windows as she walked around the seemingly abandoned school. "Hello?" Alice called. "Anybody there?" Suddenly, she heard a voice respond. "Alice? Is that you?"

Alice relaxed slightly and walked into the library. Dexter, a boy with tan skin, curly black hair, and soft green eyes who also happened to be one of her closest friends, was sitting there. "Do you know what happened?" Alice asked him. Dexter frowned. "Nope. One minute I was sleeping in the library, and the next I'm here. I guess we slept through the entire school day, haha." He laughed, before standing up and stretching. "Guess we'd better get back home. Man, my mom is gonna yell at me..." Alice nodded and walked with him, deep in thought. Something felt...off. However, she shrugged it off and walked with Dexter to the lobby, where they noticed a tall man with messy brown hair standing there.

"Finally, other people." The brown-haired man said in relief as they walked up. "I was wondering why there was no one else here." "...why are you in our school?" Dexter asked. The man shrugged. "There wasn't anywhere else to go and the lights were on. Alice looked around. Now that the man mentioned it, there really weren't any other buildings in sight that had their lights on. Despite that, the school's lights were still working perfectly fine.

Suddenly, a bearded man with short black hair and a scar on his cheek walked through the doors. "Good, I'm not late." He said. Alice and the other man turned to him. "Who...are you? And why are you also here?" Alice asked him. The man sighed. "Wait, don't tell me...are you all newbies?" When this question was met with a blank stare from all three of them, the man sighed. "The name's Max. This place is called the Borderlands. Each day, we have to play death games, or our visa runs out and we die." He explained bluntly. "V...visa?" Alice said. "What are you talking about?" The man said. Max sighed in exasperation. "Trust me, you'll find out. Just hope it's a low level game." "I...don't believe you. This is some weird joke, and I want out." Dexter said. Max raised an eyebrow.

"Fine. Your friend over there gets to watch you die, then. You can't leave once you're in a game venue. And unluckily for you brats, this place is a game venue." Dexter fell silent, and looked at Alice. Suddenly, the doors to the school slammed shut. "What the-" Dexter banged on the doors. "Hey! Let us out!" Max scoffed, and glanced at the intercom system. Alice didn't understand...until suddenly, the speakers crackled to life.

"Four players have registered. The game may now begin." A soft, overly happy voice said. It was the kind of voice you would use with little children. "To get to know all you precious children better, let's play a game."

Max scoffed again. "Out with it, then. What's the suit?"

As if responding to Max, the speakers continued. "The game you will play today is Pop Goes the Weasel. Game difficulty: Five of Hearts."

A Five of Hearts playing card appeared on all screens, and four lockers suddenly opened. Inside each one was a metal collar and a pair of gloves. "Each player, please take one and only one. Failure to comply will result in your participation rights being revoked." The speakers said. As everyone put on a collar and the gloves, Max sighed. "Well...it was nice knowing you all. But you're all going to die." The man with the brown hair frowned. "What do you mean? The card...means something?" Max nodded. "The suit is the type of game, and the number is the difficulty. This is a Five of Hearts, meaning it's a middle of the road game that focuses on betrayal. So, no hard feelings, but I'm likely going to have to kill you."

Alice was shocked. Death? Cards? Betrayal? Where were they? Just what the hell had they been brought into?

The speakers suddenly came back, and Alice listened as the rules were announced.
"Rules:
-One person will be assigned the Weasel role. No one knows who the Weasel is, except for the Weasel themselves.
-Telling people your role is not allowed.
-Players may switch roles with someone else by directly touching them.
-There are two Monkeys who can "chase" the weasel. If they successfully touch the back of the Weasel's collar, the Weasel will die and all remaining players receive a GAME CLEAR.
-However, if the Monkeys touch the collars of a player that is not the Weasel, the Monkey who did so will receive a GAME OVER.
-There is also one Eagle, who can touch players to reveal their roles to the Eagle. However, they can only do this twice.
-Violence is allowed and encouraged.
-It is GAME CLEAR for all players if the Weasel is dead by the end of the time limit.
-It is GAME OVER for all players except for the Weasel if the Weasel is alive at the end of the time limit."

Max let out a long, slow exhale. "Alright, then. So one of us is gonna have to die." He looked at Alice, Dexter, and the brown haired man as the speakers returned.

"GAME START."