Chapter Text
As soon as Alice awoke, he knew something was wrong. His nose scrunched, the faint smell of metal in the air. It was recognizable to him, of course— blood.
He squinted as he opened his eyes, met with bright white lights shining on a bright white room, filled with small lockers. Miscellaneous items were scattered on the floor, including a walkie talkie and note in front of him.
“…What the hell?” The prisoner muttered.
He picked up the note. “‘The First Trial, instructions… you are paired with someone you cannot see. You can leave and ensure your survival, killing them, or try to save both of yourselves, and leave your fate in their hands…’”
Alice seemed to think about it. It all seemed stupid. No way there was death on the line, this was all… some idiotic prank.
Soon, he stood up. He walked over to the door, his hand hovering over the doorknob, until…
“H-Hello…?”
A small voice came from the walkie talkie in the corner. It was a girl’s voice. She sounded like a child. Alice paused.
He grabbed the cold doorknob in his clammy hand.
“…I-I don’t want to die.”
Goddamn it, could this child see him?! With a huff, he stormed over and grabbed the walkie talkie.
Alice scowled. “I won’t leave,” he said.
The child on the other end sounded relieved. “Ah, o-okay… sorry, I g-got scared. I… I-It feels like I can’t remember anything, and I—”
“That’s okay,” Alice interjected. His expression softened, just a tad. “I understand. This… whatever it is, is stressful.”
He was about to murder someone. Another person. A child, for Christ’s sake. What the hell was wrong with him? Reko was—
“I-I’m Setsuka.”
Alice paused, just briefly. The name was familiar.
There was silence.
“…Is e-everything okay? Y-You didn’t leave, did you?”
Alice quickly shook his head. Questions later. He had to… save this child. Not murder a second person. “No. I’m here. Um… what do you see in your room?”
“L-Lots of lockers… um…” There was some shuffling. She seemed to be grabbing papers. “I-I have these two maps, with n-nine rooms each… t-three by three o-on both.”
Alice looked around. The lockers in front of him seemed to match that. There were eighteen, and eighteen items, besides the walkie talkie.
“What’s the top left item on one of the maps?”
More shuffling. “Umm… it’s, uh, a red door with a boy and a girl.”
Alice sifted through the items, grabbing one and putting it in the locker. There was a ding. “I… think it worked. The next one to the right?”
“A-A gate thingy.”
The cycle continued until each locker was filled.
“I think it’s done now,” Alice said.
“C-Can we—” a voice on the intercom cut Setsuka off.
“Oh, wow! You actually did it!” An oddly familiar voice spoke. “Well, you two can leave now. See you soon!” The intercom was cut off.
Alice felt very confused. “L-Let’s get out of here. I’ll… keep the walkie talkie with me, okay?”
“O-Okay…” Setsuka stumbled over to the door, holding the walkie talkie. “I’m gonna go n-now…”
“Alright. I’ll find you.”
Both left their “First Trial” rooms. No screams of pain from the walkie talkie, so… she was alive. Good.
Only walking was heard for a while. Maybe a sniffle or two, but just footsteps.
He walked, but… the ground slipped from beneath him as he fell.