Mathijs woke up with a jolt and realized he was lying on a bed. "This game gets really hard when someone faints and you still have to carry them across the bridge," Lisa muttered. Lisa was beside him, idly playing with her hair. "Lisa, thank you," Mathijs said as he sat down next to her. "You're beautiful." "You too," Lisa whispered. Mathijs handed her a large pink neon bow. "This matches your top." Tears welled in his eyes. "My little sister used to always wear this in her hair, but she's not here anymore. Please take good care of the bow." Lisa nodded gently and placed the bow in her hair. Such an important gift, it made her heart pound slightly. Then a TV screen above their heads flickered on. It showed the teams. Mathijs had been grouped with people he didn't know. Lisa had been placed with Alice. Was that just coincidence, or deliberately arranged? The screen blacked out for a few seconds. Then a countdown appeared: 23 hours, 58 minutes, and 23 seconds. That's how much time they had left until the next game started. Mathijs and Lisa had been sitting on the bed together for an hour, staring ahead in silence. "What are we supposed to do now?" Mathijs sighed. Lisa toyed with her top. "No idea." "You could prepare with Alice," Mathijs said, trying to stay polite, although he realized it sounded a little rude. "We don't even know what we're going to be doing," Lisa grumbled, annoyed. Then there was a knock at the door. Mathijs stood up and saw a girl with long purple hair—(Melody.) She was holding a stop sign. She pulled Lisa away and raised the sign when Mathijs tried to follow. Lisa was dropped off in her own room. The lights went out. Was it time to sleep?
Alice woke up to glaring lights. Someone banged loudly at the door, and the locks clicked open. She stepped outside into a large room filled with couches and chairs. She flopped into one and sat down with her legs spread wide. "Sit more properly," a voice said. Cato stood in front of her. "I'll sit how I want," Alice retorted, and spread her legs even wider. "I'm Cato. I'm on the team with one of your friends," Cato said, sitting next to her. They each received a milk carton. "You mean Mathijs." Alice looked at the paper straw. "Mathijs and I aren't friends." Cato rolled her eyes. "What's your name?" Alice groaned dramatically. "You're not getting my name." Why is it so hard for some people to just be nice? Cato thought. Then Melody appeared on a balcony, holding a microphone. "We're going to play the game: Trust?" she announced. "You'll each find another group of three. One trio will face the other. Each person will stand across from an opponent. You'll choose between: Together, Alone, or Give. If both say 'Together,' you both win. If one says 'Give' and the other says 'Together,' then 'Give' wins. If one says 'Give' and the other says 'Alone,' then 'Alone' wins. The player who loses will lose all their memories and be sent to a new world. Any questions?" A hand went up. "What happens if you win every round?" Melody sighed. "Then you win an entire galaxy for yourself."