Death Game (English) (Complete)

Chapter 27 - Time For Marshmallows

'Welcome Chosen Ones to your rest day. Behind me is the beach where you will have free time for the entire day. The whole area is fenced so you can't escape. We have provided food, sports facilities and of course you can swim. In here you can change and there will be swimwear ready for you.'

The woman looks briefly at her watch and then turns her attention back to us. 'It is now noon, at 9 o'clock everyone should be back here. Make sure you relax well today because the next few days will be intense and deadly for thirty of you.' Mira wobbles to her feet and tries to look past the woman to the beach. She has never been to a beach before and for me it will be only my second time.

We both took swimming lessons so can swim quite well. It sounds like a pretty fun day. The group of girls walk into the building, chatting curiously. A long corridor leads to the beach and six small changing cubicles are to our left. On the walls hang different types and sizes of swimwear.

After searching for a while, I found a bikini in my size and wait impatiently for Mira to pick something. She looks doubtfully at the different types of clothes and seems to be struggling with something. I don't understand what it is and grab a swimsuit in her size off the hook. 'Here, it should fit you.' She takes the garment and walks behind me. Only the back stall is still free. 'Go ahead, you can go first,' I say and give Mira a little nudge in the back. Then I stand in front of her cubicle and wait for her to change.

I don't really know what to expect from this day, but for some reason I don't feel like worrying about it all at all. I decide to push away the thoughts that continuously play through my head for a few hours. Not that it helps much, Li's blue-tinted face haunts me everywhere. Still, I try to focus on this day. This may be the one and last moment when we can just relax and be safe. If so, we should take advantage of it.

When Mira is still not out of the booth after ten minutes I impatiently knock on the door. 'What is the matter Mi? What's taking so long?' There is no response but I hear the latch shift. Mira pushes the door open while looking down. She has put on the bathing suit but has kept her vest on, with the zipper up to her chin. It looks ridiculous and I almost want to say something about it, until I realize why she did it. The scratches her nails caused on her skin won't have gone away yet, her entire upper body and arms are covered by tiny red scratches. And apparently she doesn't want anyone to see it.

She refuses to look at me and wraps her arms around herself. Worried, I also enter the changing cubicle and quickly change. What am I supposed to do with this situation? I'm sure no one will be weird about those scratches, and if they are, they will immediately regret it. But Mira seems ashamed of them and doesn't want them visible. When I put on the bikini, I can truly see the damage Daran has left on my body. My rib cage is adorned with bruises. I have to suppress the urge to put on a vest as well and step out of the stall with my bundle of clothes.

Mira and I throw our clothes in a corner and then walk curiously toward the beach. The shy expression is gone from her face and enthusiastically she starts walking faster. I decide to leave the vest for now, maybe she'll reconsider later. 'Are you looking forward to it?' she nods with joyful eyes. She seems to forget for a moment the burdens of the past few days and for that I am very grateful. She starts running down the hallway, toward the outside. 'Hurry up Ash! It's really beautiful. Come see!' Grinning, I walk toward the enthusiastic girl.

What I then see is truly magnificent. The sun shines on the deep blue water and the sand tickles between my bare feet. There is no trash anywhere to be seen, everything is pure clean nature. The beach and water stretch as far as I can see, and in the distance are large fences surrounding the water and beach. Mira runs laughing through the sand and then drops down. Wildly she moves her arms and legs until some kind of vague figure appears in the sand. 'Look, a snow angel in the sand,' she giggles. Smiling, I take it all in. The weather and the location is perfect. Everything points to a good day. And Mira is smiling! That alone makes this day fantastic.