Okay, this came out when I was playing tic-tac-toe. (Yeah, I was bored.) I haven't been writing for a while, so I'm not really sure how this came out. I also apologize in advance for the vague description of the chess game. I only ever played a formal chess match once, and that was six years ago, so...
Okay, enough chatter.
Tic. Tac. Toe.
Chess. Her entire world revolved around that single word, and as she moved a soldier forward, her opponent quickly moved to capture it with his knight. She gritted her teeth together. If she moved the queen, her king would be open and ripe for the taking. But as it was, she didn't have much choice.
She moved the queen forwards and captured the knight, hoping her opponent wouldn't see that opening.
He didn't. As he puzzled over the chess pieces, a young woman wearing a white uniform stepped into her line of vision, bending over her opponent.
"It's time for your injection, Mr. Lancer."
At the word injection, her opponent let out a strangled yell and stood up quickly, upsetting the chair he was sitting in. She stared at him with a sort of blank curiosity, waiting for him to make the next move.
He stepped back, eyes wide, and and made a break for the door, only to be caught from behind by the young woman. Several more people in white clothing converged upon him, and one put something long and thing into his arm. He screamed again, as if in pure agony, then his head slumped forwards, limp and heavy.
Then it was silence - blissful silence. As they took him away, she turned her gaze back on the chessboard and smiled.
She had won the game.
---
It had all started with a simple game of tic-tac-toe, really.
She clearly remembered him, a classmate with dark brown hair and intelligent blue eyes. He was quiet, shy, unreadable. He always sat down leaning against that old tree in the school grounds, his face hidden by books. Everyone ignored him - except for her. For some reason, he intrigued her. Which was probably why she sat down beside him that warm summer's day, a small smile on her baby-ish face.
"What are you doing?"
He glanced up momentarily from his book and stared at her, making her squirm. For some reason, those eyes made her feel...strange. Haunted, almost. "Studying."
"Oh."
He went back to his book without another word. She shifted uncomfortably, rather bored, before deciding to break the silence again. "You want to do something?"
He glanced up again. "What?"
"I don't know - maybe play a game of tic-tac-toe or something?" The moment she said it, she wanted to kick herself in the head. Seriously, tic-tac-toe? "I mean, we can - er - "
"Tic-tac-toe sounds fine." He sounded unperturbed. "Crosses or noughts?"
"Wha...?"
That was years ago. She had been fifteen then. They became close friends after that peculiar little meeting, and it continued well even after several - very odd - years. Then he entered a chess competition.
"A chess competition? I didn't know you played chess."
"You don't know a lot of things about me."
That had stung, badly. They argued. After that, he grew colder and colder towards her, and it had reached a peak where he'd switched his apartment, his phone number and even his email address. By the time she realised she lost him, it was too late. She cried herself to sleep every night, because it was then that she realised.
That she had loved him.
She took up chess. It was the only thing that she could do, at least. But every piece she played ripped through her mind thoroughly - every move was a pain. And she began to sink.
"Lillian, would you mind setting the table, dear?"
"I'm busy, mum."
"But, dear, it's just chess - "
"I told you, I'm busy!"
Her mum had left her alone after that - everyone did. It was as if chess was the only life that she had - as if no one else ever mattered. She began challenging everyone she came across to a match. No one could beat her.
The she saw him again one day.
"Daniel? Daniel!"
He refused to look at her, and started to walk off. By the time she turned the corner to look for him, he was already gone. And she was soaking in the rain.
She screamed.
When she came to, she was in a big, white room. Nobody told her anything - how she got here, or why. Or even where she was. All they did was check her temperature, make small talk, hurry out of the room. It was the same everyday.
She had figured it out, eventually, that she was in a mental ward. After all, they did say that even for a patient with her condition, she was remarkably calm and lucid. They didn't have much trouble managing her.
After a few years of living in a single room, they decided to give her a new roommate.
----
By the time her opponent had returned to the room, two days had already passed. He sat down on the chair opposite her, waiting for her to bring out the chess table. But instead of that, she gave him a pen and smiled at him, looking sickly sweet.
"Crosses or noughts, Daniel?"
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