"I would rather live a normal life than live in this grand castle confined"
The fourth round has already begun. There are four victims of unexplained sudden physical pain that they felt every round. I just noticed when Ninth writhed in pain according to the ball's content. It is silver in color and has a pair of eyes, a pair of ears, and a nose. Just like the sudden pain in Ninth's eyes, ears, and nose.
They've been playing for a minute. Ninth's left hand was still covering his face and was offered a wet cold towel to alleviate the pain. Fifth is also back in the game because he doesn't want to lose.
02:20
"Player Third, rule number 5, defied. Castigation will begin at any moment."
Third has been called by the timer machine.
"Players, continue the game."
The others did nothing, and the game continued. Third approached us suppressing the pain he was feeling.
"My right arm broke," he stopped squirming because he didn't want the players, especially his team to worry.
We sat him on the bleacher and supported his right arm. I held it for a look.
"Ouch!"
"S-sorry"
"I think I'm injured."
"Right away? You don't even play much," I throw him a small joke to lighten his mood.
"Hmp. It must have something to do with the 'castigation' thing."
Fourth handed me two face towels and I knotted them together. I wrapped it around his twisted arms up to his neck to support the injured arm.
"You think so too?" We must be thinking the same thing, if not, closely the same.
"You must've known by now. You're just uncertain."
I ended up giving first aid to his arm. "It's not like that..."
"You shouldn't have bothered with your improvised first aid. After two minutes, I'll be fine."
I gazed at him while he seriously looked at the players playing. "So, you already know"
"Almost"
"How did you know I might know something?" I'm curious how did he find out that I might know something.
"You look calm"
"Me? Not even"
He did not utter a word. Maybe he thought I was calm. That's just how I am. My face looks calm when I think a lot, especially in our current situation where the brain needs to be activated to decipher the trick behind this. Regardless of my expression, my head is chaotic.
I tried to remove the towel around his neck and arms because he said, 'I shouldn't bother anymore.'
"What are you doing?" Now he's baffled.
"Well, you said I shouldn't bother giving you first aid."
"Aw, aw! Stop it. It still hurts."
We just let him rest so he can return to the game.
Round 4 is over. No one scored. The boys went to the bleachers to drink water. I just noticed that they weren't sweating while playing.
"Looks like it worked," Ninezen appeals to everyone.
"Good job!" – Seventh
"Same method for next round," said Firstwen. It seems like they have their own world discussing their plans for the game.
I sighed in relief that their small plan worked. What is their plan? It's simple.
Everyone thought that every time someone shoots and breaks the rules, the specific body parts of a certain someone are suddenly in pain.
First, when you break a rule, like what happened to Fifzen and Third. The speaking timer machine will detain you and you will be removed from the game not because you were disqualified, but because your body part will hurt. Part of the body where no organ is involved, only tissues and muscles so the pain will be milder.
Secondly, earlier, before round 1 started, the color of the ball was dark blue, but it turned to silver when Seventh fell ill. It's dark blue because the ball has not yet detected which team will shoot. Dark blue is the color for the 'unknown' team that will shoot. It became silver before Seventh, Fifth and Ninth got sick because the gold team shoot and scored. The pain depends on what flesh or organ is inside the ball.
We also observed that in about a minute the pain disappears when someone violated a rule. Two minutes when the opponent shoots. Random members in a team will be chosen by physical pain. That's why our team is being attacked because we haven't scored yet. Instead of scoring, when you shoot, some opponent members will be hurt. I noticed that Seventh said that the pain disappeared suddenly, but it seemed to have a side effect, that is because Author wanted which team would remain stable despite having physical pain.
That's why Firstwen plan is not to score nor shoot the ball so that no one would get hurt. They plan to finish this strategy until round 5, which seems to work. Even if we think this game is unfair and hurts others, we can do nothing but find a solution.
More than three minutes have passed so Third's injury is finally okay. He didn't mean to be detained by the timer earlier because he didn't know anything about basketball, so he made a mistake.
"Was our game great? I'm cool, aren't I?" Seventh boasted. His energy is replenished because he's confident now that their strategy is working.
I saw Fifth talking to Fourth. Ninth sat quietly, he's doing good. Aeith argues with Fifzen and Sevenzen. Firstwen talks to Sixth. Thirtwen also approached the girls by the bleachers.
There's only one person I haven't talked to since the game started. Maybe he's not feeling well? I'd better approach him.
"Players, back to the game. I repeat, players back to the game. Round 5, the last round will start in 10, 9,"
Wrong timing
"8, 7, 6, 5"
I just went back to my sit.
"4, 3, 2, 1,"
The ball went back to being dark blue. I'm already waiting for the timer in case it has a follow-up message.
"This last round will be a special one. Previous rules were eliminated except for one new rule: There must be one team... who will win this game."
*whistle*
Aeith, Fourth, and I looked at each other at the same time. Even the boys cannot properly focus on the game. Because it still has a message to follow.
"If you intend to carry out your scheme, then sudden and unforeseen events will occur."
After saying that by the timer we heard an explosion. I turned to the left and saw the two pompoms that Aeith holding earlier exploded so we were all confused. Fortunately, no one was hurt.
There is a bad effect on this plan. We got caught. The boys' strategy of not shooting the ball in the ring is now not valid. If they continue with the plan, the gold team will win. There'll be a team that would win. The bomb exploded in our bleacher is because the silver team is losing. If the silver team doesn't fight and give the chance gold team, we could all die here in the explosion. Everyone will be forced to fight.
Their faces became more serious. All the players are complete, but it looks like the others are still suffering from pain, maybe they are suffering from physical pain again because this is the final round. It will be decided which team will win even if the enemy team is beaten.
There is a high chance our team will lose. The timer is smart that it noticed the strategy. While the girls are used as bait to force the players to fight.
00:56
"Yes! Finally," Tenth said with excitement.
We scored. I saw that the ball turned to gold and what was inside it was...brain?
"Huwaaa!"
Everyone knows this will happen again. What we are waiting for is who will be the victim from the gold team. We immediately aided Thirtwen who is enduring the pain he feels in his brain. He sniffed while closing his eyes.
We did score but someone is being from our friends. I know others feel the same way. They don't play for fun or for entertainment, they continued playing to prevent the explosion. They endure the pain just to follow the only rule in this game. I see Thirtwen enduring the pain. The two teams continued to play even though one player was removed from the gold team. They forcefully ignore Thirtwen even though they want to help him, but time is running out and the fight is heating up.
"I-It's like my brain is being pierced by worms!" My fist clenched. I sympathize Thirtwen and this not a mild type of pain. We gave him water to drink but he refused to. We can't do anything to alleviate the excruciating pain he feels.
02:05
It's only a minute and Thirtwen's headache will be gone as well. Just a little patience.
03:00
"A moment of second," the timer said in the middle of the game, so Ninezen stopped from dribbling the ball he was holding.
"This two-minute last game is the most critical one. Play to your heart's extent... The two-minute game will start in 10, 9,"
"I'm okay." Thirtwen stood up and ran to the center. The gold team is now back with their full potential.
The battle is getting steamy. We only have scored once while the gold team scored thrice. If in two minutes we have not scored two or more points, we will lose this game. If they can catch up and have two more shots, the game will be a draw, but the timer says there must be a winning team. We still need three points. Not to be a pessimist but losing this one renders a high chance.
This must be intentional. They meant to feel pain in the last two minutes of their play. It measures how strong their mind, heart, and body are even when they are struggling. This game challenges the players on which team is more determined.
And because the timer said that there was only one rule, I was saddened by what I am witnessing. They are pushing and hurting to shoot the ball in the ring. Many stumbles and falls from dribbling the ball to cornering the opponent team.
I no longer take sides with any team because, for me, we are one. During the few days we were together, even if it was just a short time to trust each other, they became a big part of my life. If this game is not team-based, I don't mind losing at all but to witness their endurance, suffering, and hope, wishes me for both teams to win.
First looks dedicated this time. I didn't notice what part of his body hurt. It's like he's just playing normally. There was also no expression on his face but there is a trace in his eyes of determination to win.
01:37
Still no score. We have already lost. Even if we score one, we still lose. Just a few seconds and the game will be over.
01:45
Only fifteen seconds remaining.
"Whoa, First got the ball!" – Aeith
"Hopefully, he'll shoot that" – Fourth
"Hurry up!" – Tenth
What? Is it First? Even if he'll shoot the ball to the gold team's ring, we still lose. The ball is gold in color, but I wonder why there is no human organ in it.
"We're still losing" The three of them looked at me because of what I muttered.
"That's okay. At least we have two points instead of just one," Aeith said positively.
I observed First.
15, 14, 13, 12
He runs into the opponent's ring as Ninezen blocks him.
11, 10, 9,
He dodged and was close to the target.
8, 7, 6,
First raised his hands holding the ball and threw it.
5, 4, 3,
The ball flew in the air.
2, 1
It even hit the metal ring and rolled.
*whistle*
The ball was shoot in the ring and the game was over.
Why did he even do that? He can hurt other people even more even though we still lose.
I noticed something, earlier the ball, it was only gold when First dribbled but when he threw it in the air, there was some kind of red circle in the middle of it.
"It's over!"
"Who won?"
"*buwaarrllkk*"
We were all distracted by Firstwen when he sat down. He is on his knees and his chest heaved.
"Firstweeen!" Sixth ran down the bleacher and went near to him.
We gathered in the middle of the court.
Firstwen is coughing... blood.
"H-Hey, what happened to you?"
"The game is over, ah"
"What the?!"
We are concerned about his situation. This is not common and severe.
"I-I don't know... my chest hurts," Firstwen coughs.
I look at the ball that has just landed on the floor and I am shocked at what it looks like now. It is gold in color but if before there was no organ, now it has a heart.
"Firtwen's having a heart attack!" I shouted and pointed the ball at the floor.
Just a few seconds later we were surprised because the ball got broken into pieces as if it were made of crystal. Its crystals were scattered, and a red liquid inside came out of it.
"Let's help him!" - Sixth.
We didn't know how to help Firstwen. He is in severe pain the target organ this time is the human heart. There are no doctors here. He just kept on coughing and writhing in pain.
"Hey, Author! What did you do to him!" Fifzen shouted into the air.
I am also wondering. Not why Firstwen had a heart attack, but why he was the only one to suffer so badly. The other victims had body pain but there was no blood coming out of their bodies. He has also been enduring the pain for more than two minutes whereas the others only had it for a minute.
Author's hologram suddenly appeared in the middle. Finally, it showed up.
"Wealth level, stage 2 is about to be cleared!"
"What did you do to him?!" Sixth asked furiously.
"He has been attacked in the most fatal part of a human body. After two minutes, it's already game over."
As I thought, it was really his heart. And what does Author mean with the game over? That we have cleared the game?
"What? Why is he suffering like this?" This is the first time I've seen Sixth be angry.
"He's been chosen and attacked his heart because he lacks courage and wit. His strategy on round 4 is inexpiable. His life will be his atonement for it."
"Just because of that?!" Sixth is angrier now.
"If he really has a mind, body, and spirit, he could have survived it. A chance of 50/50."
A crease marked on my forehead. I looked at Firstwen, he looks tired. Another absurdity.
"His corpse will be dispatch when he can't do a thing about it. The winning team will be announced tomorrow. Stage 2 for girls will also hold tomorrow, same time, same place."
And the Author is gone. The brevity of what it said lacks information that we want.
Concurrent with the loss of Author was the darkening of the court. The whole basketball court and its equipment were gone. In an instant, it became an empty space again. The boys' jerseys became their school uniform again.
In the darkness of the surroundings, our faces and feelings also darken. Firstwen was dying. What's worse is that we can't do anything.
"'Don't leave me," Sixth sobbed. There must've been something going between them. I can feel their sincerity and care for each other.
"I-I remember who I-I..." Before he could finish what he wanted to say, he died.
A few seconds after Firstwen's death his body disappeared in front of us.
The last phrase that he uttered. It might mean that he did remember something before he died. Sixth could not hold any longer and she cried. Twentieth and Sixzen hugged her. Another tragic event happened by losing one of our leaders.
My eyes caught Sixth's stare at First. In my mind, there is a chance that Sixth is blaming First for shooting the ball even though the game is coming to an end. Firstwen died because of First, that's what I think is the reason behind her intense stare. This is not good.
***
We're off. Some rested in their respective rooms while others remained in the living area.
I think it's about 4: 00-5:00 pm so we'll be cooking dinner soon. We didn't have the right mood to talk to each other much because of what happened. Before the game started, the atmosphere was noisy and playful. First entered my mind. I haven't noticed him coming down with us earlier. I went up again and searched every floor to find him. Yes, I want to talk to him. I don't know why he behaves so differently but maybe I'll know that reason if I talk to him. When I got to the third floor, I'll ask one of the boys if they had seen First. I saw Seventh left his room, so I approached him.
"No idea," Seventh replied.
I went up again and I was right in my suspicion that if he wasn't in his room, he would be here in the music room playing. He is currently paying a piece. I can hear him playing from the doorstep because the door is not locked. Unlike the music he played when I heard him playing for the first time, this one has a fast rhythm that has a sad and settles dark mood.
I just kept leaning against the door, as I did before. I plan to finish him playing first then I will enter the room to talk to him. 30 minutes later he was still not done playing. Maybe now is not the right time for me to talk to him. I was about to take a step to go back to my room when I heard a voice.
"Ironic, isn't it?" My feet were nailed to the floor as he suddenly spoke, and I didn't know if I was the one, he was talking to. "Come in." It's really me.
I opened the door and entered then closed it. He already knew I was here, which was embarrassing. This is the second time. I scratched my head when I entered and remained standing near the doorway. Our situation is awkward now, maybe I should just open it, but nothing, I'm already here.
"W-Why?" I stuttered and looked at him.
He smiled at me. "Sit," he tapped his chair and moved to the left so I could sit down.
I approached and stood beside him. I don't want to prolong the conversation. I want to talk to him seriously. He was just looking ahead of the piano and his expression was blank.
"Um, are you okay?"
He looked at me. "What do you mean?"
"I'm not going to mess around anymore." I sighed. "Why are you acting strange this afternoon?" I finally managed the courage to open to him.
"Huh?" he asked me in disbelief. Maybe he wasn't expecting that question from me.
"Y-You're kind of different"
He paused for a while. "You're right. Ask me about what's bothering you." He looked at me waiting to give him another question.
"Before the game started, you didn't talk to me. You were too serious and stuck. You didn't talk to others or even to your teammates. You seem that you didn't have physical pain during the two-minute game. You shoot the ball even if we'll lose the game, but it hurt someone. You're not too puzzled by the weird things that happened in the game. And… Sixth cried. She looked-"
"She's angry with me." He finished my sentence as if he already knows what goes in my head. I nodded.
He averted his gaze from me and looked at a distance. "I was also a victim in the two-minute game, a stiffed neck actually. I just pretended not to be hurt and stay focused. When I was playing, I talked rarely. I'm using my head to think of the circumstances and the next player who will be in pain. I quietly listened to my teammates' strategy, that's why even if I'm not good at basketball I managed to play. I'm not surprised by the unforeseen events because I already predicted some of it. It was a solemn game so I must take it seriously. As of why I shot the ball for the last fifteen seconds?" He stared at me. "Is because to win the game."
***
Aeith, Twentieth, Forzen, and Sixzen, and I were assigned to cook.
"Is Sixth okay?" Forzen asked worriedly to Twentieth while frying. Sixth is also a close friend of Twentieth.
"She's been sleeping since a while ago. I made her stay and told her to come down later for dinner." Twentieth answered.
"'Aren't we girls going to play tomorrow?" Aeith asked while washing the vegetables.
"Yeah, I wonder what it will be," Sixzen replied with curiosity in her mind.
Aeith added. "Oh shit. I might die this time when our game starts." A moment of silence filled the kitchen. Sixzen glared at Aeith. "Oh, my bad!" Aeith was saying it as a form of a joke but there's no room for jokes right now.
"As for me, who knows no sports to play because I prefer reading books." Forzen changed the topic a bit.
"Me too," Twentieh agreed.
I'm glad because I get to know them better. I also get a chance to talk to Aiezen and Sectwen. The only two girls that feel distant from me. Aeizen is quiet and doesn't socialize a lot, but she is a good person. Sectwen can be straightforward in saying her feelings whether it is good or bad stuff, she is a sweet person too.
We ate dinner afterward. The joy of feeling that even though I can't remember who my family is, I have a bigger family here.
"Let's eat!" Ninezen said excitedly.
After we prayed, everyone ate. Everyone is tired not only physically but also of our emotions. I watched Sixth leave the dining table early. I hope she will be okay. We were getting done eating and some already left the dining area. Our chairs in the dining area have an engraved number to the assigned chairs according to number names. We wondered why we had to sit in a proper position by ordinal number, but we just did it. On the right side of the table are the boys, on the left are the girls. I am facing First as we eat. He was just seriously eating his food and silently left after eating. I still think about what he told me earlier in the music room.
She took the last shot ball even though we will still lose. How does he make sure we win if he by what he did? Why is he so confident that we will win? Author will say the result tomorrow, probably at the same time as which team will win the next game.
***
After eating, I took a shower and put on sleepwear. I saw First playing chess with Third. Of all the boys here, he is closest to Third probably because they think the same way. Glad to see that interacts with others. We routinely do what we do here in the castle since we're trapped. There is nothing new except for Author's gimmicks.
When else can we get out of here? I would rather live a normal life than live in this grand castle confined. I can't imagine myself being quarantined for the rest of my life because a lot of strange things happen in this world.
"Hey, let's play!" I saw Ninezen waving at me, so I went close to him.
Ninezen, Seventh, and Tenth are playing board games. They are missing one player, so I joined as well. It's fun because the board games here are out of this world.
Scrabble in which it automatically shuffles and no need to flip letters because it will be blank. The board has a magnet thing that even if you touch or flip the letters it will not be easily removed from its place. There is a small digital scoreboard in each corner of the board.
Chess, you don't need a hand to move chess pieces. You just need to speak where you want to place a chess piece by coordinate. The colors of chess pieces per player vary. It can be transparent, translucent, neon, and more.
Snakes and ladders, stairs, and snakes are in 3d and look like real-life snakes. The circle used as a marker is not just a simple circle, but a cartoon-style face of the player. There are sound effects and digital scoring.
Monopoly, 3D-like image. Touchboard with sound effects. Unlike the ordinary monopoly board game that is in top view, here you can see on the board the infrastructure, business, and more, from different angles and perspectives.
Cards, the characters on the cards are also 3D with real-life-looking people. They move in a repetitive motion if you move the card you're holding.
Shogi, similar to chess, you just have to speak to make each piece move. The written Japanese/Chinese characters are glowing in the dark so you can play even in a dim area.
Tower of Hanoi, is made of steel but lightweight, probably made of titanium-like material.
There are also dominoes, mahjong, word hunt, checkers, sci-checkers, and many more.
We're just like that all the time. Eat, bathe, sleep, have fun. Some complain because there is no internet or any gadgets here. But my favorite thing about this castle of all is the art room and library. If you go to the library, it just seems ordinary, but the books are magical. If you want to read something and if you know the title and if you are lazy to look for it on the shelves, you can just mention the title in the air and the book you are looking for will fall to the floor.
Although not hardbound and without a plastic cover, the cover has no creases. It is also dustproof and waterproof.
"Ah, I win!" Tenth won this match.
"Another," challenge by Seventh because he couldn't accept defeat.
I was second in the ranking. Not that bad. I became drowsy after playing a couple of matches. I stood up and stretched. There are only a few of us here in the living area. Others are already asleep because I think it is midnight.
"Where are you going?" Ninezen asked me.
"Room. I'm sleepy"
"Good night" – Seventh
"Sweet dreams!" – Tenth
"Don't forget to sleep," I said to them because these two might deprive themselves of sleeping.
I turned around and said bye. I went up. I lay down and hugged my soft white pillow.
Unlike the board games we play for fun, the game we will play tomorrow is not a fun one, but a gamble in which our lives are at stake.