I got what you need
Baby, just come see me
I got the remedy, take the pain away
Easy as one, two, three
You know I got what you need
I got the recipe, take the pain away

I opened my eyes with difficulty. At first I could only make out vague shadowy outlines. A human silhouette appeared in my field of vision. I blinked, hoping that my surroundings would become clearer from this, and indeed the outlines soon took on sharper contours. A young woman had bent over me with a curious expression.

"Good, you're finally awake," she said with a raised eyebrow. Only then did I realise that I was in a bed. The scent of fresh bed linen hung in the air, but there was something else that smelled immediately familiar: disinfectant.

No no no.
Please don't!

Panicked, I looked around the room to regain my bearings. I was surrounded by colourless sterile walls. Right next to me was a white curtain that was drawn. I also recognised an IV drip and a small heart monitor, but it was switched off. This obviously looked like a hospital, but it was definitely not my room.

Had I been moved to another ward?

When I tried to sit up, a burning pain went through my guts and I immediately sank back into the pillow with a groan.

"Not a good idea. You've just had stitches," the stranger said, pointing to the left side of my stomach.

With a questioning expression, I looked back at the woman, who was still eyeing me intently, as if trying to figure out how I had gotten here. I also looked at her more closely now for the first time. She had a pretty face with flawless skin, shoulder-length dark hair and wore a very revealing blouse together with hot pants that were far too skimpy. An outfit that did not exactly give the impression that she belonged to the medical staff.

"Who are you?" I asked uncertainly.

"Funny. That's exactly what I was about to ask you. I came here this morning and found you here in the hospital room. You obviously don't belong to Beach." Her gaze strangely fell on my wrist. When I looked at hers, I saw a bracelet with a key attached, almost like the ones you usually saw in swimming pools. I had seen it somewhere recently. But where? I strained to reconstruct the last memory in my head...a short sequence of images flashed through my mind. Lights in the sky. An abandoned clinic. An empty intersection in the middle of Shibuya. A young man in a white jacket. Wait...

Feverishly, I tried to remember more details and put the fragments together in my head to form a meaningful whole. However, when I realised how absurd these memories were, I was almost certain that it must just be an absurd dream.

"My name is Izumi Tsuki," I said when I realised she was still waiting for me to answer. "Where exactly am I?"

She frowned at my question.

"You are here in the hospital ward of the Beach Hotel. It used to be called Seaside Paradise, but it's been renamed since...since the madness started here."

This time I was the one frowning.

"The madness? What do you mean by that?", I asked, irritated.

"Ever since we landed here in Borderland. I don't know what you call it, but that's what we call it." I admittedly didn't understand any word she was saying, but nodded hesitantly. "What interests me more is how you got here. Someone from our ranks must have brought you here and apparently tended to your wounds as well. I changed your bandage earlier to be on the safe side and I've rarely seen such perfect stitching. Someone knew exactly what they were doing. So tell me, Izumi, how did you get here?"

She now sat down on a chair next to my bed, crossed her legs and then eyed me expectantly.

"Well, I....I-I don't know," I stammered, grabbing my head because it began to throb painfully at that very moment. My fingers groped for a piece of gauze as they moved to my forehead. Whatever had happened had obviously hit my head.

"Remember! What happened before you came here? Who brought you here? Who has been treating your wounds?"

Her voice sounded much more impatient by now. Again I tried to dig in my memory for useful answers. The image of the abandoned hospital reappeared in my mind's eye. That's where it started....

"Tsuki, have you heard yet?
You've moved up one place in the list," my mother said euphorically and reached for my hand.

I just smiled tiredly.

"Yahh, heard about it," I replied languidly, doing my best to share her excitement about it. If she were realistic, she would know that this one place didn't change much about my current situation either. But I knew she was just trying to keep me happy. Lately, however, I found it harder and harder to get anything out of my life. I felt like a prisoner. The drab white walls, the bland food, the musings about death. I was so sick of it all. For weeks I had one examination after the next, only to get the same result every time.
I needed a new heart and I needed it yesterday.

And although I had moved up to 23rd on the donor list by now, er no 22nd, the wait was still at least 2 years. Time that, according to the doctors, I no longer had. With a lot of luck, they gave me another six months. My mother, however, seemed to be grasping at straws. There was even talk of implanting an artificial heart. A thought that was unthinkable for me at first. It was scary enough to receive someone else's heart, but a heart that wasn't even real? My doctor, however, had quickly reassured me, saying that it wasn't really an artificial heart that would replace mine. It was just a device that would help my heart maintain its normal function. Something it no longer did on its own. It served to bridge the waiting time until a suitable heart was found for me. An artificial heart also meant having to live with many restrictions. But at least I would live. Despite all this, I had not yet been able to bring myself to make a final decision.

"Have you already thought about the operation?" my mother interrupted my train of thought.

"Mmmh."

She squeezed my hand tighter again and looked at me with glazed eyes.

"You know it's the only chance you have. Please, Tsuki. Be reasonable!"

I gave a soft sigh.

"I know, I know," was all I said, trying not to sound too annoyed. At my age, you shouldn't have to deal with death yet, but instead hang out with friends, have hilarious parties or romantic dates with your boyfriend.

My heart contracted painfully as I thought of my last broken relationship. This time, however, that pain had nothing to do with my health condition. No, it hurt because I had been nothing but a burden to my ex-boyfriend. Because of me, his life had been nothing but hospital visits for two years and the few times I had been home, I was usually too exhausted to do all the things people my age did. In other words, we hadn't dated in a long time, let alone had a physical relationship. We had grown further apart day by day and in the end it just felt to me like he was with me out of pity. He hadn't had the guts to break up with me, so I was the one who had made the move. I had cried and wallowed in self-pity for weeks, but now I was mostly over it, even if I still thought of him often. But he and I were on two completely different sides. He was on the side of the living and I was on the side of the dead. At least almost. It was only a question of time.

"Stop letting yourself down like that again. It will all work out. I'm sure it will," Mum smiled confidently.

I rolled my eyes. Who was she actually trying to convince with that? Me or herself?

I merely growled in response. Suddenly she stood up from her chair.

"You know what. I'll just get us one of those aloe vera drinks from the vending machine. You like it so much and it will surely refresh us in this warmth."

Before I could stop her, she had jumped up and rushed out the door with her bag.

I knew Mum only meant well, but sometimes she was exhausting. At the moment I felt little desire for company and her exuberant manner sometimes got on my last nerve. I looked thoughtfully out of the window. The sky was a clear, rich blue. How much would I like to be outside now and jump into the cool water somewhere? Just live a normal life like everyone else. That was my greatest wish.

However, my attention was suddenly drawn to a small flickering point of light in the sky. I straightened up a little and followed it curiously with my eyes. Was that a shooting star? In broad daylight?
No, it moved much too slowly for that.

I would have liked to get up to follow the spectacle, but unfortunately I was tied to all these devices, so I had no choice but to watch from a distance. Completely unexpectedly, the light exploded into hundreds of smaller points of light like fireworks. I wondered if this was an omen. After all, it was a strange coincidence that a light rocket exploded over Shibuya just at the moment when I was thinking of my dearest wish. But to be honest, I didn't believe in such supernatural things. It would take a real miracle to change my fate. Unfortunately, this light rocket remained the only one of its kind. It was a pity that it wasn't a real firework, because who knows if I'll get the chance to see one again. But if it wasn't a firework or a shooting star, what was it? A comet perhaps?

I reached for my mobile phone, which was lying next to me on the bedside table, to research comets on the internet, but when I tried to switch it on, the screen remained black. Hadn't I just fully charged the smartphone earlier? Annoyed, I fumbled the charging cable back into the phone and tried again. But nothing happened. I let out a frustrated groan. As if I didn't have enough problems already, of course fate had to add one more. After countless more attempts, I gave up. The mobile phone was dead and no longer made a sound. It was a hair-raising experience. I would have screamed out loud if it hadn't been for my bedmate. I looked over at her and frowned.

Where the hell had she gone?

"Shima-san?" I asked, feeling my heartbeat quicken. Of course, there was no answer. She wasn't there and she certainly wasn't hiding under the covers. But how was that possible? I hadn't seen her go out. Besides, she was a frail old woman who could hardly manage to get up on her own. How could she have managed to leave the room on her own? Even from outside, not a single sound penetrated. It was a silence that made me uncomfortable. A little worried, I reached for the small remote control and pressed the red emergency button. If Shima-san was not in her bed, the hospital staff should know about it. I waited a few minutes while chewing nervously on my lower lip. My mother had also been gone for quite a while. My gut told me that something was up. After I pressed the button one more time and no one appeared, I became increasingly panicked. By chance, my eyes fell on the heart monitoring monitor I was hooked up to. The screen was dark. Was there a power failure? If that was the case, then the hospital must be in a complete state of emergency right now.

I looked thoughtfully at my arm, to which the infusion tubes were attached. If the power had gone out, what were they good for? I hesitated for a tiny moment, but then made short work of it and pulled the infusion needle out of my skin with a jerk. The puncture immediately started to bleed, so I quickly pressed a handkerchief onto the wound. Despite the pain, I immediately felt freed. I removed the electrodes from my skin and swung my feet out of bed. Normally I was not allowed to go anywhere alone, as my condition was far too critical at the moment, but this seemed to be an exceptional situation. I didn't feel like waiting any longer to find out what was going on out there and especially why my bedmate had magically disappeared. With bare feet, I groped across the cold linoleum floor. The fact that my legs even had the necessary strength after all this time surprised me a little, but curiosity was stronger than my reason. If it came out that I had removed my infusion tubes on my own, I would certainly get into trouble, but I simply had to know what was going on here. Hesitantly, I put my hand on the metal handle and opened the door to look out into the corridor. But it was completely deserted.

Impossible.

Where had the people gone?

Normally there was always someone on the move here, even at night the staff or sometimes an odd restless patient roamed the corridors. But not a single person was in sight.

Was I dreaming?

"Hello?" My voice echoed muffled on the walls. "Is there anyone here?"

Again, no answer.

If anyone was trying to play a trick on me, this was clearly going too far. By now I was beginning to doubt my own ability to chastise.

Uncertainly, I stepped out and walked up and down the corridor several times. I went through the staff rooms, but no one could be found there either. Everything looked as if it had been abandoned. Okay, it was getting scary. Had the hospital been evacuated and I was the only one who hadn't noticed?

"Mum?", I called frantically as I passed the vending machine. I arrived at the lift and pressed the button next to it. Nothing happened. There really seemed to be no power left. Could I risk taking the stairs, even though I usually got respiratory distress that could cost my life with even the slightest exertion?
On the other hand, I had just walked back and forth several times without any discomfort. At the moment I did not feel the slightest sign of chest tightness or shortness of breath as usual. On the contrary. I felt more energetic than I had in a long time. A frightening thought flashed through my mind.

Was I perhaps....dead?

Did I have a heart attack without noticing anything?

Would I now haunt the hospital forever as some kind of restless ghost?

There was only one way to find out. Hastily, I ran down the stairs as fast as I could. I used to love running, but because of my illness I hadn't done it for a while. It just hadn't been possible. But now....when I reached the bottom, I was completely out of breath and felt an uncomfortable twinge in my side, but it didn't feel like I was going to suffocate at any moment. Breathing heavily, I looked around the foyer. As expected, there was not a soul to be found there either. If I really were a ghost, there would surely be other ghosts besides me. I looked longingly at the door. I could just walk out now. Into freedom. I could leave all this behind forever. Determined, I approached the exit and opened the door without glancing back.

"Izumi-san?" The mention of my name brought me back to the present. "Did you think of something?"

"Well...I remember all the people suddenly disappearing, but...I...that must have been a dream."

She shook her head.

"It wasn't a dream." she confirmed my fear. "It happened to all of us when we came here. This is our new reality now. Tokyo is not what it used to be. Over half the people have disappeared all at once and with them the power supply. We who are left have to survive here alone from now on. This hotel is the only place far and wide that is supplied with electricity by a powerful generator. The Beach is a community of people trying to get back to our world. So you're lucky you ended up here and don't have to fend for yourself out there."

I swallowed as I tried to process what she had just said. That meant that people had really all disappeared in one fell swoop? How was that possible?

"But do you remember how you got here? Were you in a game?" she probed further.

"Game?", I repeated slowly. The mention of that word triggered something in me, as if she had flipped a switch in my brain with it. I had indeed played a game. How could i forget about that? "Yes. I was...in a library. With other people. They were the first people I met."

"Do you remember each of the players?" she urged.

I nodded briefly. I did indeed remember. Every single one of them. But one of them in particular had stuck in my mind. As if out of the blue, another snippet of memory popped into my head.

The young man in the white jacket was bent close over me as he carefully dabbed something from my forehead. His half-length platinum-blonde hair kept falling into his face. Then he turned away from me again. Only a short time later I felt an unpleasant tugging in the crook of my arm. I looked down. He had pushed a long needle under my skin. My gaze fixed involuntarily on his face. Despite the hellish pain in my abdomen, I was fascinated by his dark eyes, framed by thick long lashes, and could not tear my gaze away from him. He noticed my inquiring gaze and our eyes made brief contact.

"If anyone asks, you have no idea who brought you here, understand?" he said in a voice that immediately sent a pleasant shiver down my spine. "You'd best forget about me quickly."

I nodded in a trance.

My eyes fell on the blue plastic bracelet on his wrist, but before I could think about it further, my eyes went black.

"And which of the players brought you here? Who stitched up your wounds? It's really important for me to know that, you know?"

The woman's eyes were still looking at me piercingly.

Why did she want to know so badly?

"I-I don't know," I murmured softly, a little intimidated by her brash expression. That, at least, was only half a lie. I didn't know his name, but I remembered his appearance very clearly. The mysterious dark eyes. The pleasantly deep voice...

The woman next to me groaned in frustration.

"It's all right," she said, audibly disappointed. "Ann Rizuna. That's my name, if you want to address me. You should stay here for a while for observation. I will go to Hatter in that time and ask him what we should do with you. After all, you brought us the missing 4 of spades. That should make him feel a bit lenient." She smiled and pulled out a skat card from her pocket, visibly holding it aloft. "You had these in your hand when I found you. I'm sure you won't mind if I borrow it."

Once again I felt I understood nothing of what she was saying. I had no clue where that playing card had come from, nor did I know what this Ann wanted to do with it. But before I could ask her, she rose from the chair and turned away from me.

"Don't move from the spot. And drink some water. Maybe then you'll remember."

She pointed to the glass with the bottle of water on the side table and then left the room without another word. I continued to look at the door for a long time, even after she had long since disappeared. Even after Ann's answers, I wasn't much smarter than before. Nothing she had told me made any sense to me.

What kind of strange place had I ended up in?