"*buwaarrllkk*"
They were all distracted by Firstwen when he sat down. He was on his knees, and his chest heaved.
"Firstweeen!" Sixth ran down the bleacher and went near him.
They gathered in the middle of the court.
Firstwen was coughing... blood.
"H-Hey, what happened to you?"
"The game is over, ah."
"What the?!"
They were concerned about his situation. This was not common and was severe.
"I-I don't know... my chest hurts," Firstwen coughed.
Second stared at the ball that had just landed on the floor, and she was shocked at what it looked like now. It was gold in color, but before, there was no organ; now it had a heart.
"Firstwen's having a heart attack!" she shouted and pointed at the ball on the floor.
Just a few seconds later, they were shocked because the ball broke into pieces as if it were made of crystal. Its crystals scattered, and a red liquid inside came out of it.
"Let's help him!" Sixth insisted.
They didn't know how to help Firstwen. He was in severe pain. The target organ this time was the human heart. There were no doctors there. They didn't know what to do. He just kept coughing and writhing in pain.
"Hey, Author! What did you do to him!" Fifzen shouted into the air.
Second was 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 had also been enduring the pain for more than two minutes, whereas the others only had it for a minute.
Author's hologram abruptly appeared in the middle. Finally, it showed up.
"Wealth Level Stage 2 is about to be cleared!"
"What did you do to him?!" Sixth was furious.
"He has been attacked in the most fatal part of the human body. After two minutes, it's already game over."
As she thought, it was really his heart. And what did Author mean by the game over? Had they cleared the game?
"What? Why is he suffering like this?" This was the first time she had seen Sixth be angry. She was also crying.
"He's been chosen and attacked his heart because he lacks courage and wit. His strategy in round 4 is inexpiable. His life will be his atonement for it."
"Just because of that?!" Sixth was angrier now.
"If he had a strong mind, body, and spirit, he could have survived it. A chance of 50/50."
A crease marked on her forehead. She looked at Firstwen; he seemed tired. Another absurdity.
"His corpse will be dispatched when he can't do a thing about it. The winning team will be announced tomorrow. Stage 2 for girls will also be held tomorrow, same time, same place."
And Author was gone. The brevity of what it stated lacked the information that they wanted.
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 uniforms again.
In the darkness of the surroundings, their faces and feelings also darkened. Firstwen was dying. What was worse was that they couldn't do anything.
"'Don't leave me," Sixth sobbed. There must've been something going on between them. She could 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 them.
The last phrase that he uttered 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 their leaders.
Her eyes caught Sixth's stare at First. In her mind, there was a chance that Sixth was blaming First for shooting the ball even though the game was coming to an end. Firstwen died because of First; that was what she thought was the reason behind her intense stare. This was not good.
***
They were off. Some rested in their respective rooms while others remained in the living area.
Second thought it was about 4:00-5:00 PM, so they would be cooking dinner soon. They 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 her mind. She didn't notice him coming down with them earlier. She went up again and searched every floor to find him. Yes, she wanted to talk to him. She didn't know why he behaved so differently, but maybe she would know the reason if she talked to him. When she got to the third floor, she would ask one of the boys if they had seen First. She saw Seventh leave his room, so she approached him.
"No idea," Seventh replied.
Second went up again, and she was right in her suspicion that if he wasn't in his room, he would be in the music room playing. He was currently playing a piece. She could hear him playing from the doorstep because the door was not locked. Unlike the music he played when she heard him playing for the first time, this one had a fast rhythm that had a sad and settling dark mood.
She just kept leaning against the door, as she did before. She planned to let him finish playing first, then she would enter the room to talk with him. Thirty minutes later, he was still not done playing. Maybe now was not the right time for her to talk to him. She was about to take a step to go back to her room when she heard a voice.
"Ironic, isn't it?" Her feet were nailed to the floor as he spoke suddenly. She didn't know if she was the one he was talking to. "Come in," he invited her. It was really her.
Second opened the door and entered, then closed it. He already knew she was there, which was embarrassing. This was the second time. She scratched her head when she entered and remained standing near the doorway. Their situation was awkward now; maybe she should just open it, but nothing, she was already there.
"W-Why?" she stuttered and looked at him.
He smiled at her. "Sit here," he tapped his chair and moved to the left so she could sit down.
She approached and stood beside him. She didn't want to prolong the conversation. She wanted to talk to him seriously.
He was just looking ahead of the piano. His expression was blank.