White roses

Fear

„What kind of game?" Dilara thought to herself out loud.

At that moment, she got the feeling that she was being watched. Alarmed, she looked to her right. Her had been quite right about that - a woman, about Dilara's age, was casually leaning against the lockers. The two women's eyes met. The unknown woman gazed at Dilo with an interested expression and was chewing on something that looked like the stick of a lollipop. She wore a crop-top, jeans and sneakers, her hair was braided into dreadlocks.

Just as Dilara was about to look away, the woman winked at her.

"First game, huh?"

( -> https://youtube.com/shorts/yTIq4UkXbfM?feature=share )

Relieved, Dilara replied, "Yes, indeed. I just followed the signs out of town and now I landed here. I'm Dilara."

"My name is Kuina. If your life is worth anything to you, stick with me. I've been through a few games and know the drill. Cool pants, by the way."

Without another word, Kuina set off toward the field. Dilara followed her without hesitation.

The view that presented itself to them could only be straight out a dream: instead of a playing field, the square was crisscrossed with meter-high concrete walls. A single entrance led into the forest of countless walls, leading into endless darkness.

"What the hell does that mean..."

Only now Dilara noticed that there were other people that had joined the game.
With her and Kuina, five other people had entered the square. Most of their clothes were covered in blood, their faces expressionless. All of them had the same cell phones in their hands and were looking intently in the direction of the concrete labyrinth.

Frightened, Dilara looked at Kuina, who had her fist tightly wrapped around the cell phone.

Again the monotone voice rang out.

"You have 30 minutes to escape the maze. Whoever reaches the other side presses the red button and finishes the game. Time is running from now on."

"What..." Dilara didn't even get to finish her question before all the players were already rushing towards the entrance. One of them almost knocked her to the ground, Kuina just managed to hold her up by her arm. Now Kuina ran, too, with Dilara in tow.

The first fork opened up in front of them. They decided to take the right path and ran on eagerly.
The grass under their feet was slippery from the dew of the night air. They took two more turns and found themselves at a dead end.

"Shit," Kuina cursed. "Come on, let's go!"

With no sense of direction, they ran back again into the direction they came from. Slowly, Dilara felt a side stitch spreading through her chest, but she refused to let it show.

Panting, she just barely managed to get the words out: "What actually happens if we don't find our way out of here?"

"We die" Kuina replied emotionlessly.

The carelessness with which she uttered the words sent a cold shiver down Dilara's spine.
"DIE?" Almost stumbling, Dilara came to a halt.
Kuina did not stop, so Dilara was forced to catch up again.

"What do you mean - we die?! And why do you say it like you don't care?"

"Because I actually don't care anymore. You'll see, after some time in the Borderlands, you'll feel the same way."

Now Dilara was starting to feel panic clawling up her back. She felt the adrenaline in her veins, which only made her run faster. Countless turns and dead ends later, they both collapsed on the cold grass, panting. A glance at their cell phones revealed that there were only 7 minutes left to the game.

"We don't have time to rest. Come on!" Kuina pulled Dilara back to her feet. With the last bit of their strength, the two set off again.

"There's no point in this. We'll never get out of here!" Exhausted, Dilara let herself sink to the ground, leaning her back against a concrete wall. This time Kuina stopped as well.

"We need a plan."

The women looked around, but nothing was visible except concrete and darkness. Suddenly, Kuina looked up at one of the walls. "Get up and help me!"
Agonized, Dilara rose from her seat and stepped next to Kuina. "Give me a lift on your shoulders!"

Without hesitation, Dilara squatted down. Kuina jumped up, and as soon as Dilara got back on her feet, she made a spirited leap upward.
"Hey!" Dilara staggered backward from the recoil, just barely catching herself and seeing Kuina hanging by one arm from the concrete wall, two of her fingers hooked into a tiny crack in it.

She swung her legs briefly to get enough momentum, pulled herself up and managed to wedge the tip of her sneaker against the top edge of the wall.

A brief moment later, Kuina was standing on the wall. Proudly, she looked down at Dilara. "Come and join me, the air is much fresher up here!"
She reached down with one arm and gestured for Dilara to take her hand.

Dilo took a running start, jumped up and managed to grab her hand. They now both stood on the wall - the view was almost breathtaking. The labyrinth stretched across the entire field, illuminated by the spotlights it looked which gave it a spooky look. From a distance one could make out muffled screams.

"No time to lose, we only have 4 minutes left!"

Running and jumping, the two made their way to the other side of the field. Once there, they spotted a platform with a bright red button on it. while jumping down from the wall, Dilara slipped on the wet grass. Her knee hurt badly from the fall, but the adrenaline made her immediately pick herself up and run towards the button with Kuina.

Out of breath, Kuina was already reaching out her arm to push it, when Dilara held her back.

"What about the other players?!"

With a melancholic, almost even sad look, Kuina pressed the button. "Only the strongest and fastest players survive in this world."

"Some of the players have reached the goal. The game will end in 30 seconds." The tinny voice announced.

A distant gasp caught the attention of the two women and they turned toward the exit.

Their eyes already accustomed to the darkness, they could make out a person running panic-stricken along the last straight corridor in the direction of the platform.

"The game ends in 7 seconds"

His eyes got wider wide as he ran, that blood stained t-shirt was soaked with sweat. He had only 20 meters left to the exit of the maze.

"The game ends in 3 seconds"

The man let out a final scream that pierced through marrow and bones, his face distorted in horror, just before a red light illuminated the sky.

He was still running, his gaze filled with pain and exhaustion. A red beam shot out of the sky and pierced his skull. The momentum threw his lifeless body forward a few more feet before it slumped on the ground.

Their eyes wide open, the two women had watched the event without any power to change the man's fate.

Tears formed in Dilara's eyes, and she was unable to take her eyes off the man's lifeless body.
She was too shocked to say anything, even when Kuina pulled her by the arm towards the exit of the sports field.

She didn't even notice that her cell phone screen had lit up and a new tab had appeared with the words "Visa."

Underneath it said: 7 days left