1ST DAY IN THE
BORDERLANDS

VISA :: UNAVAILABLE

There was only one thing Marlene hated more than her brother's graduation ceremonies: silence. Not the kind of silence you'd find in a classroom or while taking a warm bath—no. It was the kind that echoed in your ears when you were alone, at night, walking down an alley. When you were in a city that was usually so noisy, and suddenly everything seemed to vanish. When the only thing you could hear was your breathing and the beating of your heart.

Silence was the one thing that could drive her mad. And at that moment, she was surrounded by it.

“Is anyone there?” she shouted, spinning around, standing alone in the vast Shibuya crossing.

Her gaze wandered from one skyscraper to another, desperately searching for a light, a voice, a sound. Everything was still, the air unmoving, with not even the hint of a breeze.

Marlene took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm despite the insistent pounding of her heart.

“Okay, okay. It's all fine. There has to be a logical explanation. An entire population can’t just vanish into thin air. It's impossible.” She had a habit of talking to herself whenever anxiety took over: the sound of her own voice reminded her she was still there and okay.

She pulled out her phone, determined to call her brother or one of her friends to demand an explanation, but no matter how hard she tried to turn it on, the screen remained black and lifeless.

Now, Marlene was really starting to panic.

“No, no, no, it was charged. I charged it this morning. I swear I did.”

She ran down the length of the street, searching for something, someone, any sign of life in this city that only moments ago had been one of the most populated metropolises in the world.

She looked around, alarmed, at the cars left abandoned, overturned trash cans, and empty, dark shops. What kind of cruel joke was this?

“Please, tell me this is a dream.” There was no other explanation. She was asleep, and sooner or later, she’d wake up. Yes, she just had to wait.

Slowly, she sat down on a bench, her back as stiff as a bowstring. She placed her hands on her knees, forcing her breathing into a steady rhythm.

It’s just a dream, it’s just a dream, it’s just a dream.

But then, why wasn’t she waking up?

She felt tears gathering in her eyes but blinked them away before they could fall. No, no, no, it wasn’t worth crying over—it was just a dream.

A nightmare.

A cruel trick of her mind.

I’m scared.

I’m so scared.

Where was Dae?

Where was everyone?

I don’t like being alone.

There was too much silence.

She clenched the fabric of her jeans in her hands.

Please, I want to wake up.

Let me wake up.

Her breathing spiraled out of control, and her head began to spin.

She opened her eyes wide, panicked.

No, no, no.

Calm down.

Why am I scared?

It’s just a dream.

Just a dream.

But it doesn’t feel like it.

It doesn’t feel like it at all.

No, no, no.

Calm down.

Let it go.

She lay down on the bench, resting her head on the white stone and pulling her legs up to her chest.

Go to sleep.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

For a second, when Marlene opened her eyes, she thought she’d imagined everything.

A blinding light shone behind her eyelids, and when she opened them wide, she really thought Shibuya had returned to life. Every giant screen was on, white LEDs so bright they almost blinded her.

She stood up, an insistent headache giving her a momentary bout of dizziness that forced her to sit back down.

Taking a deep breath, she looked up, mute as a fish.

In front of her, black on white, glowed the words: "Game Arena, 500 meters ahead. Registration closes in 15 minutes," with a giant arrow pointing left.

Marlene didn’t know what a Game Arena was, but it was the only sign of life she’d seen since the world seemed to freeze, and she followed it like a moth drawn to a lantern.

She walked without speaking, fists clenched at her sides. All she wanted was certainty, even a small sound.

She emerged into the courtyard of an apartment complex. She’d seen many like it before: a simple L-shaped building about eight stories tall.

But that wasn’t what caught her attention. It was lit up. Completely. The floodlights by the entrance shot beams of light into the sky, the balconies were clearly outlined, and there was so much light that Marlene could feel the warmth emanating from the building.

She didn’t wait. She ran toward the entrance.

A wave of relief washed over her when she realized she wasn’t alone. There were at least ten people standing in the entryway, waiting for who knows what.

Marlene crossed the threshold and looked around as if she’d just discovered Atlantis.

“Excuse me!” she called out, maybe a little too loudly, as everyone turned to look at her, staring as if she had horns on her head.

She didn’t understand why, but she found herself blushing, as if she’d been caught doing something wrong.

Then she realized she’d spoken in English.

Clearing her throat, she tried again: “Uh, su . . . scuse me.” Her Japanese was awful. “Do . . . you know what this . . . is?”

She heard a few snickers, and a couple of high school boys nudged each other, pointing at her.

She furrowed her brows. “My . . . Japanese is . . . uh, terrible. But, uh, can . . . you explain what’s—” She gestured around her to indicate the situation.

“Foreigner . . . leave her alone,” she heard a blond boy mutter to his friend, who was looking at her with an odd kind of pity.

Marlene raised her eyebrows. “Asshole,” she said in English, not bothering to lower her voice.

No one reacted except the blond boy’s friend, who smirked slightly and lowered his head. Marlene noticed and her eyes lit up.

“You!” she exclaimed triumphantly. Hers was the only voice, and despite the silence, she didn’t care about sounding loud. “You speak English!”

The boy’s eyes widened, and he turned to his blond friend, as if seeking instructions, but the other boy simply glared at him.

“I—I . . . ” he started in Japanese, but Marlene didn’t buy it.

“You’re going to tell me what the hell is going on! Why has everyone disappeared? Why is this building the only one lit up for miles? What are you doing?”

“Girl,” the blond boy called her, his gaze so cold it sent a chill down her spine.

She didn’t understand much of what he said, but the general message was clear: “Shut up.”

“Not until you tell me what all this means!” she protested, throwing her arms up.

“Hey,” the other boy finally spoke in English, his tone calm and patient. “Relax. I know this situation is . . . strange, to say the least, but panicking won’t help. You’ll just get yourself killed.”

His Japanese accent was noticeable, but he spoke English so well that Marlene was stunned when he uttered that last word. He must have misspoken.

“Killed?” she repeated, confused.

The boy nodded grimly. “It’s . . . complicated to explain. But when the Game starts, just try to stay close to us, okay?”

“Arisu!” his friend exclaimed indignantly.

“Karube . . . ” The two exchanged words in Japanese that Marlene couldn’t decipher.

Eventually, Arisu—or at least that was the name she caught from their conversation—walked off to grab something from a table positioned in the center of the room.

Karube shot her another glare. She ignored him.

When Arisu returned and handed it to her, Marlene saw that it was a phone.

She looked even more confused. “Uh, I already have one,” she said, pulling her own phone out of her pocket to show him. “It’s dead, but . . . ”

He smiled grimly and shook his head. “This one is special. It’s for the Game.”

“Game?” she asked, glancing from him to the phone. “What kind of game?”

“The kind that’ll cost you your life,” Karube said, and Marlene understood him only because she was familiar with that phrase. Her brother was the most dramatic person in the world—even more than she was—and used it every time something remotely concerning happened.

“What do you mean?” she asked, alarmed, turning to Arisu. “What does he mean?”

“Just don’t do anything reckless,” Arisu said, swallowing hard. “We don’t know what kind of Game this will be yet. We just have to . . . ” He paused, his voice low. “ . . . stay calm.”

Marlene stared at the phone again. She felt even more scared, and the anxiety radiating from the boy made her certain he was telling the truth.

She took the phone.

The screen lit up instantly. "Facial recognition in progress," read the text as a loading bar rapidly filled. Marlene only managed to read it because it was in English. The phone unlocked, and she immediately looked for a keyboard, but the only options on the home screen were the camera and settings.

“What the hell . . . ”

“I know,” Arisu said, nodding. “You can’t make calls, and there’s no signal. Yet somehow, the Game areas are the only places with electricity,” he explained, pointing at the lit bulb on the ceiling.

“How is that even possible?” Marlene asked, incredulous. “I mean, we’re not in some rural village. How can you cut power in Tokyo?”

Arisu shook his head, his dark hair brushing his shoulders, his brows furrowed above his deep-set eyes. “I have no idea.”

Marlene bit the inside of her cheek, deep in thought.

She didn’t like this situation one bit, and truthfully, all she wanted to do was turn on her heels and get as far away from this city as possible.

Finally, she sighed. “Thanks.”

Arisu smiled, bowing slightly. “You’re welcome.”

“Arisu, right?” she asked. When he nodded, Marlene grinned and held out her hand. “Marlene.”

The boy stared at her hand for a moment too long, as if unsure whether to return the gesture or not, and Marlene realized her mistake, blushing furiously.

She pulled her arm back at lightning speed. “Shit, right, that’s not a thing here.” She gave him a small, embarrassed bow, her eyes fixed on her feet. “Marlene,” she repeated.

When she looked back up, he was smiling—a genuine smile that, for a moment, made her forget the situation. A millisecond of peace.

“Nice to meet you.”

Marlene could feel Karube’s gaze on her, but she paid no attention. She bowed to him as well, repeating her name. He grunted and looked away.

A soft chime filled the air, and the two boys straightened up, alert. Marlene shut her mouth, listening intently.

"Registration is officially closed. The Game will now begin," said a woman’s voice. "Number of players: twelve."

Marlene resumed biting the inside of her cheek. She gripped the phone tighter as it began to vibrate. The screen displayed the image of a playing card. A—

"Difficulty: Five of Spades."

She saw Arisu and Karube exchange worried glances, and once again, she didn’t understand why.

"Game: Tag."

jade speaks! —— hi!! this chapter is not very long, but i think it's cute. and sorry, but i already adore marlene and arisu, they're soo adorable :').

i will also explain why arisu is good at english, even though i think it's pretty obvious.

let me know what you think <3