Death Game: Isolated

52 Cards

*Rustle

"Ugh!" Ace didn't know why but he felt something itchy on his back, he opened his eyes and what welcomed him is not the white ceiling of his room but the clear blue sky.

He blinked for a few times to recover his strength, he felt strangely weak, no, his body feels so heavy.

"What's this?" He got up slowly and after a moment of silence, his eyes suddenly widened as he look around him.

Trees, bushes, and a spacious meadow. He used the nearby tree as support to properly stand up, he discovered he is still wearing his all white attire from clothes to shoes.

"Where is this place?" He clearly remembered he was just inside his room a moment ago and slept but when he woke up, he is already in a different place. At first, he thought it was just a dream but he removed this idea, how can he tell this is a dream if he knew it's a dream?

Unaware of which direction he should go, he only followed what he thinks is right. He turned to the right and walked straight ahead not because this direction is on his right side but because it's a clear path ahead.

He was walking at the side of the path near the trees to cover himself from the scorching sunlight.

***

He doesn't know how long has he been walking but he is already tired, he can't help but to breathe through his mouth and nose simultaneously.

*Gulp

"Did I get isekaid?" He thought to himself. He remembered watching animes and reading light novels where the main character woke up in a different place.

"Hello? Is there anybody here!?" He shouted but only the sound of wind and insects replied him. He's starting to get nervous as time passed by.

He is walking straight ahead for too long but at this moment, he felt like he just received a grace from the heaven. Far away from his current position, Ace can hear the sound of flowing water but it will be a challenge to find it since there's a very dense forest in the direction where he can hear the sound.

*Splash

"It might be a big waterfall and it's definitely located far from here." He shifted his eyes to the direction he decided to follow but all he can see is a straight plain land . He can't even see the end of the path he's walking on.

"It's better if I can rehydrate myself first." He made his decision. He looked around him for a thick branch of tree he can use to brush aside the bushes on the way and if in case something fell from the trees and attacked him, he is not barehanded to defend himself. Snakes and other wild animals are not uncommon if he encountered one here.

"If I just read the jungle survival novels, I will not suffer this much."

*Sigh

What made him hesitate to plunge into the forest is not the trees but the bushes which completely covered most of the land.

Using the thick wood he's holding, he pushed aside the bush in front of him and entered the forest. Ace is feeling hurt in his heart.

'My shoes, it's my favorite shoes...'

***

Previously, Ace's white polo was still neat and tidy but now, it is already full of dirt and small leaves are stuck on it.

"It's only in front of me..." He walked faster and faster as the sound of splashing water entering his ears became clearer.

His attention was only focused in front of him and didn't notice the snake lying low in front of him, not that he has a time to notice something which has the same color as the grass. It was already too late when he saw it and stepped into it, causing him to stumble forward.

"Ouch!" He clutched his leg and...

"AAAH!" He was frightened witless after seeing the snake which body is thicker than his arm. He didn't even look around and ran as fast as he could but his frightened reaction is not needed because the snake didn't even move, there's a lump in the center of its long body and it is in the middle of digesting its food. He was lucky.

No matter how much it wanted to move, the weight of the food inside its stomach is keeping it slow but Ace didn't know it. He didn't even try to look back and only ran straight ahead, afraid that the snake will come after him.

"s**t! I thought I'm going to die..." He held his chest and inhaled only to let out a yell again.

*Crash

"EAAAAH!" He cannot feel the hard ground on his feet and it was already too late when he realized it because his body is falling from a height of more than 50 meters.

His mind went blank as his face is getting nearer and nearer to the water he mistakenly thought as a hard ground.

"SHIEEET!"

*Splash!

***

A moment before Ace fell from the cliff, there's already someone below looking up above after hearing series of shouts. From there, she saw someone in a white polo who unknowingly fell down from the cliff.

The girl immediately put on her clothes when Ace's body hit the water and sank deeper and deeper.

She was quietly waiting for the pitiful man to emerge but it is unfortunate that Ace didn't know how to swim. Coupled with his unstable mental condition, he might definitely die in a matter of seconds if no one helped him.

"He... Elp me!"

He got a glimpse of the person other than him before his body sank to the water.

His vision is spinning under the water and instead of air, something different entered his mouth and nose. When the girl saw it, she then removed her clothes and only stayed on her underwear before jumping to save the drowning Ace.

In the endless darkness, Ace seem to see a hand covered in white light stretching towards him, he immediately held it and his surrounding changed.

*Cough cough!

More than a glass of water came out of his mouth, the water entered every hole on his body. Ace kept coughing, crawling his way near the one who saved him until he can finally regain his senses.

He removed his shoes and his polo and stared at the sky in silence. Granddaddy Sun if up above the sky but he feels strangely cold. Is ir because he almost died?

"Thank you!" He looked at the stranger standing behind him, it was a girl with a blonde hair.

"How did you get in here?" The woman asked him but her eyes were not looking at his face but rather at his chest down to the bottom.

Ace didn't notice it because he's busy removing the dirt on his pants and polo.

"I don't know, you will probably not believe it."

"Then how?"

"I slept and woke up here, haha! Maybe I was isekaid." He laughed because he also foumd it funny, are all of this real?

"Same here..." The girl replied, the smile on Ace's face disappeared as he faced the girl after wearing his white polo back.

"I didn't really sleep, I was opening the invitation letter when this strange smell made me feel dizzy." Ace replied.

"That was also what happened to me. How long have you been here?"

"I don't know but taking the time since I woke up here, maybe more than 2 hours."

"Hooh..." The girl exhaled after hearing Ace's words.

Both of them didn't know where they are, they also didn't have any suspicion on how did they get in this place.

Ace asked if she wants to go with him and look for a house or even people if there are somebody living near the area. The girl agreed since it's better if she has a companion.

***

From this moment, Ace discovered that they are walking down the mountain but the path is clear like someone cleared it for people to use. Although this road can accommodate two huge trucks side by side, there were no marks on the ground from wheels of vehicles and such. It seems like they were in a place which is unreachable by people.

Because there's only a single road straight ahead, the two people followed it. They sometimes stop and rest after a few minutes of walking until the sky is starting to get darker.

Their clothes were dried after a few hours of walking under the sunlight but they still feel uncomfortable.

"What's your name? I'm Ace by the way, Ace Santos."

"Ace Santos? I think I heard that- Your team was the champion in the esports category of Summer Camp last summer, am I right?" The girl asked after realizing something.

"Haha! That was only last summer, I don't plan on joining the Summer Camp ever again."

"I'm Angel Dela Cruz..." The girl offered her hand for a handshake and Ace didn't hesitate to accept it.

'A girl this beautiful offering a handshake? I will again feel a woman's touch.'

"It's a shame I don't know you, but it's nice meeting you. I don't really know how to swim, it is my second life."

"It's nothing, I only know you because my brother is a fan of your team."

Angel is talking about the team of Aris, Jiel, Edrian, and Ace during the previous Summer Camp which was held on May 1, 2020 to May 31, 202. The esports category is one of the most famous and rewarding competition during that time, that was the start why Aris became a famous video game streamer.

It is already dark, the sun has set. After walking for a few hours, they finally reached the bottom of the mountain. With the size of the mountain behind them, they were far from the peak of it when they woke up in this place because if they were really unlucky to find themselves on top of the mountain, walking an entire day is not enough to reach the bottom.

From this moment, the area in front of them is a wide expanse of land.

"What's that?" Angel pointed her hand at the sky in front of them.

They can see a large monitor showing the number 52 in red color.

"Let's go!" Ace ran forward and belatedly caught Angel's wrist and pulled her while running with his full speed.

"Is that a private villa?" Angel asked. Just a moment ago, it was only the big monitor but now, lights started appearing on top of the walls in front of them.

"Is there a villa covered in thick and tall walls? It's more like a prison." Ace replied and stopped running because apart from the two of them, there were other people approaching the same place with them.

"What? Where did this people come from?" Ace looked around and removed his grip from Angel's wrist. It was like this place just appeared out of nowhere, Ace clearly remembered that he didn't even see this place in front of them earlier.

A cemented road was leading into the entrance and he immediately followed it until he was standing in front of the opened metal gates.

Inside the walls are different infrastructures, there's even a playground, the place inside the gigantic walls seems like a neighborhood or a town. It can't be a size of a village since it's too small.

What caught Ace's attention is the tallest building ahead where the huge monitor showing the number 52 was placed above it.

"Let's go inside." He beckoned to Angel who followed closely behind him.

The walls were just as tall as a two-storey house but on top of the walls are barb wires, it is similar to a heavily guarded prison.

Ace walked towards the building with a "Pizza Hut" sign on its roof.

"There's no one inside?" He asked after he stepped inside the restaurant. He went to find a glass and fill it with water from the kitchen, it was the same for Angel. Ace drank like a cow, he can feel his strength recover a bit after drinking 3 glasses of water. The only problem is that he is hungry.

"It's like a ghost town." Somebody entered the place, three men, each of them is looking at Ace like they are annoyed for some reason.

Ace furrowed his brows. Why wouls they look at him like that?

"Let's go." He pulled Angel as they walked out of the building.

As soon as the two were outside, a noise was heard.

*Creak! Bam!

Everyone turend their heads to the source of the sound and were all surprised to see that the two metal gates are already closed.

"Hey! Who closed the gates?" Someone tried opening it but nothing happened, it seems like it was locked from outside.

"Damn! It's your fault, if you didn't just enter this place."

"Did I know that the gates will just close in the first place?"

Ace watched as some of the people here started making noise, each one of them is trying to open the gates but their attempts are futile. If they want to opend it by force, they would need the strength of an elephant.

The moment everyone's attention were focused on the closed gate, which is their only way to leave this unknown place, dozens of masked people started pouring out from the nearby buildings.

They are all wearing the same white masks but have different expressions, all of them wear black tuxedo with a red necktie and armed with a rifle. Their number was divided into two, forming two straight lines on each side of the road and in the middle is someone wearing a white tuxedo. His white mask is smiling with two teardrops on each cheek. He stood there with both his hands behind his back.

"Welcome, players." He first spoke and the attention of everyone except those men on the line shifted to him.

"Everyone might be wondering what's happening and now that everyone is gathered in here, I will explain everything."

He clicked something on the small device and on the wall of the nearest building, something was projected, it was the number 52.

"The total number of participants are 52, the only way for you to leave this place is to win the game. Survive until the end." He then clicked again and the projection turned into black screen.

"Honor students, varsity players, representatives for the national quizz bee, famous streamers, and artists: Everyone in here has their own achievements, everyone in here came from well known universities in the country but for now, we will step outside of your schools because we will play a game."

A bright voice of a woman can be heard behind despite the projector is only projecting a black screen.

"Starting from 52 participants to the last man standing, our exciting game will end the moment the 51 participants were all eliminated. Don't try to leave this place because no matter what you do, you can't leave unless I let you." After the woman's words, a hand holding a gun appeared from the darkness. The gun was placed on top of a table which seemed invisible because of its black color.

"Is this real? Not some kind of prank?" Someone stepped forward.

Ace immediately identified this person as Tomy, his school was the champion of the previous Summer Camp in sport's category, basketball and soccer. He played on both sports and achieved the title of the MVP. It was also rumored that he is a very cunning person.

Ace narrowed his eyes into slits as he noticed the Tomy's eyes were focused on the guns of the men on the line before shifting his attention back to the projection.

"Hoho! Of course, if it was a prank, why are you still here in the first place?" The voice answered.

"Then how did we get in here?" Another person asked.

"Should I answer every questions you ask? That question will be answered by you as the time passes, that's if you can last in the game."

The projection was turned off and the man wearing white tuxedo spoke next.

"The game will begin tomorrow, follow me." He turned his back and began walking.

Everybody hesitated at first because they didn't understand the situation. They can't be called dumb and stupid but at this moment, they were.

"Will you get enlightenment about everything that happened this day if you stood there?" Tomy asked and followed the man first. The students shurgged their shoulders.

Ace looked at Angel and also followed afterwards but at this moment, he suddenly stopped when three familiar people approached him.

"You guys, you're also here?" He asked after seeing Darell, Jiel, an Sofia.

Sofia glanced at Angel first before answering.

"Yes."

"Let's follow that guy first, I have a bad feeling about this." Jiel stated and held Darell's hand.

"It's better to talk later on." Darell told them.

The five people including Angel followed the other people in here as they look around. A neighborhood where there is not even a single soul present.

The man stopped in front of the tallest building, he clicked something on the devices in his hand and the metal door slowly opened, revealing the luxurious interior of the place. Marble floor and walls as shiny as a glass.

"Enter one by one and find your room."

The first one who entered was Tomy but he stopped in front of the stairs leading to the next floor, in front of him is a table where 52 playing cards were placed. From the Ace all the way to the King: Club, diamond, heart, and spade.

"Pick one." Someone told him and he immediately picked one of the 52 cards.

"Go!" The man behind him pushed Tomy with the muzzle of his gun until he reached the stairs and went upstairs where 10 closed doors were placed.

On the door, different name tags were hanging and he began looking for his name. Unfortunately, his name was not in here so he went on the 3rd floor under the guidance of a masked man.

***

'What should I pick?' It was Ace's turn to pick a card, the only remaining cards were 4, Ace of Spades and Ace of Hearts, Jack of Clubs and King of Diamonds. It was quite funny that the most powerful cards were left behind, did the other people pick randomly?

Ace picked the Ace of Spades and glanced at Jiel, Darell, and Sofia. He let Angel pick first that's why she already left.

"Go!" Someone escorted him upstairs with the rifle pointing at the back of his head just like the other students.

He looked at the names placed on the doors in the 2nd and 3rd floor of the building but his name was not here so he made his way to the 4th and 5th floor, he was unfortunate because his name was not also here.

"Is there a need to point a gun to me? It's not like I'm a prisoner or a hostage."

"7th floor, go there alone." The man pushed him to the stairs leading to the 7th floor of the building. Before taking his first step, he looked at the man with him. His mask has a sad expression but no tears. A sad expression but no tears, the one wearing a white tuxedo is wearing a smiling mask with teardrops. Maybe those were tears of joy.

"7th? There's still the 6th floor..." Ace mumbled.

***

*Click

"It's not locked?" In the 7th floor, there are only two doors but he didn't pay any attention to the other one because he didn't know whose room is it although the name is already hanging on the door.

He entered his room and closed the door afterwards.

A single bed, wardrobe, and a restroom. On top of the pillow, there is a booklet. Ace picked the booklet and began reading what was written inside.

***

Jiel was inside his room but went outside first to look for his girlfriend whose room was just beside his.

"Let's exchange cards..." He said.

"I don't want to!"

"Hmmm... Why? Oh, maybe you're just tired. Let me give you a massage first." He smiled and sat behind Darell.

His girlfriend's expression is sour and she kept moving her shoulders up and down.

"Gentle, my body is like yours!"

Jiel decreased the force on his hand and continued massaging Darell's back.

"Why is your face like that?" He asked after noticing that her sour expression didn't change after his few minutes of hardwork.

"Hmp! You kept staring at that Angel girl, did you enjoy?"

"Wha-"

"You're jealous?" Jiel smirked and suddenly poked Darell's side.

"Ah!"

She jolted away from the bed and glared at Jiel, then...

*Bog!

She punched Jiel's chest, the latter started coughing and his eyes became all white.

"Oh! Does it hurt!?" Darell suddenly asked and touched her boyfriend's chest.

Jiel was breathing heavily.

"Shit... I thought my soul just left my body!"