"*buwaarrllkk*"
We were all distracted by Firstwen when he sat down. He is on his knees, and his chest heaved.
"Firstweeen!" Sixth ran down the bleacher and went near him.
We gathered in the middle of the court.
Firstwen is coughing... blood.
"H-Hey, what happened to you?"
"The game is over, ah."
"What the?!"
We are concerned about his situation. This is not common and severe.
"I-I don't know... my chest hurts," Firstwen coughs.
I look at the ball that has just landed on the floor, and I am shocked at what it looks like now. It is gold in color, but before, there was no organ; now it has a heart.
"Firtwen's having a heart attack!" I shouted and pointed the ball at the floor.
Just a few seconds later, we were surprised because the ball broke into pieces as if it were made of crystal. Its crystals were scattered, and a red liquid inside came out of it.
"Let's help him!" Sixth insisted.
We didn't know how to help Firstwen. He is in severe pain. The target organ this time is the human heart. There are no doctors here. We don't know what to do. He just kept on coughing and writhing in pain.
"Hey, Author! What did you do to him!" Fifzen shouted into the air.
I am 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 has also been enduring the pain for more than two minutes, whereas the others only had it for a minute.
Author's hologram suddenly appeared in the middle. Finally, it showed up.
"Wealth Level Stage 2 is about to be cleared!"
"What did you do to him?!" Sixth is furious.
"He has been attacked in the most fatal part of the human body. After two minutes, it's already game over."
As I thought, it was really his heart. And what does Author mean by the game over? We have cleared the game?
"What? Why is he suffering like this?" This is the first time I've seen Sixth be angry. She's also crying.
"He's been chosen and attacked his heart because he lacks courage and wit. His strategy on round 4 is inexpiable. His life will be his atonement for it."
"Just because of that?!" Sixth is angrier now.
"If he has a strong mind, body, and spirit, he could have survived it. A chance of 50/50."
A crease marked on my forehead. I looked at Firstwen, he looks 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 hold tomorrow, same time, same place."
And the Author is gone. The brevity of what it stated lacks information that we want.
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 uniform again.
In the darkness of the surroundings, our faces and feelings also darken. Firstwen was dying. What's worse is that we can't do anything.
"'Don't leave me," Sixth sobbed. There must've been something going between them. I can 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 us.
The last phrase that he uttered. It 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 our leaders.
My eyes caught Sixth's stare at First. In my mind, there is a chance that Sixth is blaming First for shooting the ball even though the game is coming to an end. Firstwen died because of First, that's what I think is the reason behind her intense stare. This is not good.
***
We're off. Some rested in their respective rooms while others remained in the living area.
I think it's about 4:00-5:00 PM so we'll be cooking dinner soon. We 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 my mind. I didn't notice him coming down with us earlier. I went up again and searched every floor to find him. Yes, I want to talk to him. I don't know why he behaves so differently but maybe I'll know that reason if I talk to him. When I got to the third floor, I'll ask one of the boys if they had seen First. I saw Seventh left his room, so I approached him.
"No idea," Seventh replied.
I went up again and I was right in my suspicion that if he wasn't in his room, he would be here in the music room playing. He is currently playing a piece. I can hear him playing from the doorstep because the door is not locked. Unlike the music he played when I heard him playing for the first time, this one has a fast rhythm that has a sad and settling dark mood.
I just kept leaning against the door, as I did before. I plan to finish him playing first, then I will enter the room to talk with him. 30 minutes later, he was still not done playing. Maybe now is not the right time for me to talk to him. I was about to take a step to go back to my room when I heard a voice.
"Ironic, isn't it?" My feet were nailed to the floor as he suddenly spoke, and I didn't know if I was the one he was talking to. "Come in," he invited me. It's really me.
I opened the door and entered, then closed it. He already knew I was here, which was embarrassing. This is the second time. I scratched my head when I entered and remained standing near the doorway. Our situation is awkward now, maybe I should just open it, but nothing, I'm already here.
"W-Why?" I stuttered and looked at him.
He smiled at me. "Sit here," he tapped his chair and moved to the left so I could sit down.
I approached and stood beside him. I don't want to prolong the conversation. I want to talk to him seriously. He was just looking ahead of the piano. His expression was blank.